Jake: Recently expanded to include the neighboring smoothie bar, the Moon Rise Café in Lakewood offers breakfast and lunch at a reasonable price and a relaxed setting.  I arrived mid week to a packed café, which was a good indicator that breakfast at the Moon Rise Café just might live up to all the recommendations that I received from friends and family. 

Jason: The Moon Rise Café won the Weekly Volcano's Tournament of Breakfast last March, meaning, not only do we like the place, Volcano readers whole-heartedly gave their seal of approval as well.

Jake: As I nabbed the only empty table in the place, the staff was friendly and instantly welcoming even though they were clearly busy. The wait staff was clearly a bit frazzled by the large number of customers and left a few things unchecked throughout our meal. However, by meal's end, we had each received everything that was ordered, in reasonable time, hot and ready to enjoy.

Jason: The Moon Rise is head and shoulders over other Lakewood breakfast spots, so yes, it can be tough at times finding a table.  But the food is worth the wait.

Jake: The menu options are what one would expect from a café known for its breakfasts, including omelettes and scrambles ($7.75 - $10.50), breakfast sandwiches ($4.25 - $5.50), biscuits and gravy ($4.95 - $7.25), and of course pancakes and French toast ($2.50 - $6.05).  While my son went for his breakfast standby of French toast, I opted for the biscuit and gravy (notice I said biscuit not biscuits) with scrambled eggs and extra sausage. Before we knew it, we had four plates in front of us because the servings were so large that it could not fit onto one plate. The singular fresh, house-made biscuit took an entire plate all by itself and was topped with flavorful gravy that was chock full of sausage. As a rule, I always order a side of sausage with biscuits and gravy because the gravy is nearly always lacking in the sausage department. At the Moon Rise Café, however, this was not an issue.

Jason: The vegetable scramble is by far my favorite.  The fluffy eggs co-mingle with crisp vegetables that help me justify also ordering the hash browns and biscuit slathered with butter and jam.

Jake: The French toast plate was equally filling as it included buttery, cinnamonny, pieces of toast, hash browns, homemade biscuit and of course a side of bacon. This is a lot of food, so bring your appetite when you arrive, because you will need it!  Additionally, you do not want to miss out on any menu item that includes its homemade raspberry jam, even if this means the mini loaf and jam ($1.60) which I took as a to-go order for good measure.

Jason: This review is a bit too happy.  So, the coffee could be better.  There!

Jake: Starbucks is across the parking lot, so order juice!

The Moon Rise Café; 6020 Main Street SW suite L; Lakewood

Open Tuesday - Saturday 7AM - 2 PM

(253) 983-9999