English Breakfast

1500 Butler Ave.
Tybee Island, GA 31328
(912) 786-5984
Open 7a-1p daily
Accepts cash & debit/credit
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? Y/N/N
Kid-friendly? Y

Visited: Monday & Tuesday, July 20 & 21, 2015

Even though I haven’t been to The Breakfast Club in about 18 years, visiting there again feels like a bit of a homecoming. Why? Well, two reasons:

1. The Breakfast Club was one of the places I learned to love breakfast. I can count it amongst a handful of restaurants that offered memorable experiences of going to breakfast. I remember – even from decades ago – the anticipation of going to breakfast when vacationing on Tybee Island. What stands out especially is my love for the waffles and hash browns.

2. Breakfast Club was also featured in the documentary on PBS. I didn’t know that Rick Sebak was going to shoot there (he went to Tybee after he filmed in Columbus), but it was a delight to see an old favorite featured in the same program.

So in planning a family trip to Tybee Island, Breakfast Club was automatically included in the itinerary… at least twice.

Breakfast Club is that type of place that always has a following. Locals gather regularly, vacationers seek it out as a feature of their trips. The place runs like a well-oiled machine, so you need to know how the process works. First, expect a line. Things move quickly at Breakfast Club (don’t hang around when you’re done eating), but waiting is often part of the game. Line up outside, and server will poke his/her head out once in a while to check on your group size (your whole group needs to be present to get seated).

While you wait, you can eye the specials on the board.

Once you’re inside, you’ll be directed to one of two rooms. The front room is my preferred seating. That’s where you’ll find the counter, booths, and kitchen. Half the fun is watching the kitchen at work.

The other room is just as fun, though. It’s a back dining room with tables.

The Breakfast Club serves what I’d call upscale diner fare. It can be simple and filling, but the owner Jodee Sadowsky and his crew know how to ramp things up a notch. This is one of their regular features, the eggs florentine. Sauteed spinach, mushrooms, cheese, and a poached egg buried somewhere in there. Like many dishes, it’s served on a bed of grits.

They’ve got a page of omelets on the menu, too. You can also build your own, and by default they come with buttery grits.

On our first visit we dug into a country fried steak, which was up there with one of the best I’ve had. The bread and gravy were nice and peppery, the steak itself was very tender. You can’t beat it when paired with hash browns.

I love their hash browns. They’re crispy, they’re salty, they’re browned. I recall loving their hash browns even as a kid.