Al's Breakfast

413 14th Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
(612) 331-9991

Category: Breakfast

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 8
Service: 5
Ambience: 1

Recommendation: Very good. If you are willing to stand in line in a crowded place that has no ambience (think messy college dorm room), with servers yelling back and forth, for a great cheap meal, this place is for you! Bottom-line, Al’s offers delicious and cheap breakfast eats but if you need your space and are looking for a relaxing experience, stay away from Al’s.

Located in Dinkytown, Al’s is known for its cheap food and is a popular spot among U of M students. The place is very tiny, only 10 feet wide (tiniest we’ve ever seen), has one row of bar stools that face the cooking area and seat around 15 people. The rest of the diners have to wait in line (immediately behind the ones seated) and wait for someone to leave to get their turn. Waiting in line is a given. When you’re seated, you have no privacy as people are standing in line right behind you (probably peering into your food, thinking when you will stop talking and be done eating)! The inside is greasy, hot from the griddle area, and probably needs to be scrubbed down. However, this is part of the charm of Al’s Breakfast. We were forewarned that the servers are very rude and often shout at their customers and are sometimes mean. We found none of this. Although eccentric, the servers were very decent and took good care of us. The coffee was promptly filled, our order was taken, food promptly brought out, etc. Warning – if you don’t go with the right expectations and humble attitude, you will certainly be turned off. This is not your neighborhood Perkins. There are no smiling servers here. The servers also yell the order out to the cook each time someone orders so this place can get pretty loud. Your meal is prepared right in front of you which is fun to watch but the place also gets very hot due to the open griddle.

The menu has your typical breakfast classics such as eggs, omelets, toast, pancakes, bacon, sausage, etc. In addition, they also have a few specials such as Scrambled eggs with Mozzarella, Tomatoes, Basil. This was delicious. They also serve Scrambled eggs with Asparagus and Hollandaise sauce and Eggs Benedict. The Blueberry pancakes were delicious…very soft, almost melted in your mouth. The Hash browns were another one of our favorites. Very crispy. Our bill with Tax and Tip for 2 was only $14!! (Included Scrambled Eggs with a side of bacon, 2 Blueberry Pancakes, Hash browns, and 2 coffees). We definitely plan on going back…for $14 for two, this is one of the best deals in town.

$. Street Parking available on 14th Avenue and side streets. Free on Sunday. Hours of operation are Mon-Sat 6am-1pm, Sun 9am-1pm. Cash or check only, no credit cards.