Has the Boutique, Bou-peaked? ( A Breakfast Boutique Review)
June 14th, 2022
Authored By Nina Wilson and Dynisha Murray
Pictured above, The Boutique Seafood omelet ($15.50), Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Waffles ($14.50), and Boutique French Toast ($8.50). Photo Courtesy of the Brunch Besties.
On a brisk Saturday morning in February, we ventured out to Chestnut Hill to visit The Breakfast Boutique. This restaurant is not new to me. During the winter of 2021, I (Nina) visited this restaurant with my family. We also went on a Saturday morning, and received exceptional service and delicious fresh food. My previous experience was what encouraged us to go back to visit during black history month to formally review it. I assumed that because the service and food had been so amazing, that this second visit we would receive the same level of quality as I had before.
A little background on the restaurant and the owners. The owners are Robert and Desiree “Des” Pollard who have been married for roughly about twenty five years. Robert Pollard has 25 plus years of culinary experience, and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. There was not much information that I could find on Mrs. Pollard’s culinary career, aside from her managerial positions with the Breakfast Boutique as well as with their other business ventures.
The idea for the restaurant was born out of a catering company that the couple operated and owned together called Rodez Caterers back in 2013 (Chestnut Hill Local). However this catering company is now defunct, and they opened the first location of the Breakfast Boutique back in 2014 on North Broad Street (Chestnut Hill Local). Thanks to the success of their first restaurant they managed to open two more locations, Chestnut Hill on May 1st, 2018 (Philasun) and Mt. Airy location around the beginning of 2019. However the initial location on North broad street, eventually closed. At one point there were whispers of an additional Breakfast Boutique location opening up in East Falls called Boutique River Falls. This location was going to be located at the same location as the old Trolly Car Cafe, and was slated for a March of 2022 grand opening (The Local Revive Media). However due to unforeseen circumstances the future of this third restaurant, seems to be undetermined at this point in time.
Upon arrival at the restaurant it was packed, and it appeared to be somewhat short staffed. The walls were covered in a bold black and white wallpaper, with local artwork adored on the walls. There was a clear French influence in the design of the space, from the wood and metal chairs to the sleek wooden tables, that had a rustic vibe to it. The restaurant had a huge wall length window at its facade that allowed for an abundance of natural light. There was a loud hum of people talking and in between their conversations weaved clattering plates, and silverware as they were cleared off the tables to seat the next party.
After we waited for 15-20 minutes, we were seated and left to review the menu. Aside from coffee, we decided to order The Boutique Seafood omelet ($15.50), Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Waffles ($14.50), and Boutique French Toast ($8.50). It took us a while to receive our food, I am assuming because of the main schick about the restaurant being that the food is made to order. Nonetheless, we had no reason to assume that our food would be anything less than delicious.
Boutique Seafood Omelet
Pictured above Boutique Seafood Omelet ($15.50), Photo Courtesy of the Brunch Besties.
This was an item that I tried on my previous visit, and it was the perfect balance between refreshing, light, and flavorful. The restaurant’s menu described this dish as “Three egg omelet with Salmon, Shrimp, Spinach and your choice of cheese.Served with Boutique Potatoes or Grits and toast.” The presentation was sloppy. It could have been better. The omelet was nicely cooked and the contents were well proportioned. It was supposed to have salmon and shrimp, however we could only taste shrimp.
The dish was surprisingly bland, and that was the same for the side of potatoes that accompanied it. More specifically regarding the potatoes, not only were they not seasoned but they also appeared to be undercooked. Some improvements we believe should be made, was to add different kinds of seafood,ie. crab and scallops. Also to incorporate a standard cheese that would blend well with the seafood. Seafood can be a really delicate kind of meat to work with, so you have to be careful with the kinds of cheeses you mix it with. Overall, this was a bit of a disappointment thus why we rated this dish 2 stars out of 5.
Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Waffles
Pictured above Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Waffles ($14.50), Photo Courtesy of the Brunch Besties.
On my previous visit, I believe this was an item that I got as my main dish. From what I recall, the chicken was crispy and packed with flavor. The waffles were light and fluffy and both the chicken and the waffles blended together beautifully with syrup to make a unique but near perfect blend between savory, spicy and sweet. That was what I was primed for, even though the first dish we sampled was not good. The menu’s description of this dish was simple, as it described it as a “Classic Belgian waffle and jerk chicken”. Straightforward and to the point.
When this dish arrived at our table it looked burnt and inedible. Upon trying to pull the wing apart, we realized that the meat was so over cooked that pulling the wings apart was extremely difficult. So although the flavor was present, it was a waste. The waffles were godawful. They tasted like a mix between instant oatmeal and cardboard. It tasted like a cheap premade waffle mix. This was an inedible dish, and it's why we rated it 1 out of 5 stars.
Boutique French Toast
Pictured above Boutique French Toast ($8.50), Photo Courtesy of the Brunch Besties.
The last item that we tried during our visit. It was the most tolerable out of the three. The menu described this item as, “ French bread topped with confectioner's sugar & a strawberry.” The presentation looked appetizing, the french bread was cut on an angle which added a nice touch. And in place of a strawberry there was a strawberry sauce that was plated on the side.
Onto the flavor. It was light. The choice to use french bread was a unique one. But considering that the restaurant appeared to have a kind of French influence, it made sense. The flavor was subtle, and otherwise not that memorable. Thus why we rated this dish, 2.5 stars out of 5.
Closing thoughts
This was one of our final restaurants that we visited for Black History Month, and it was surprisingly horrid. It was especially so disappointing, because as I mentioned throughout this post, this was a restaurant that I had visited once before, and all of the food had been amazing. I don’t know what happened or changed between when I came last and this visit, however whatever happened clearly was not for the betterment of the restaurant.
Through my research, something that the restaurant mentioned is that due to COVID, they were experiencing some struggles with staffing. So I believe that could have been a factor. However taking into consideration that the owners were slighted to open a third location, around the time we went, I don’t see how that would happen if you didn’t have stable staff at the other restaurant locations. Bottom line, no matter what factors went into the restaurant's performance dropping, it did and because of that we give the breakfast boutique 2 out of 5 stars. And until the restaurant pulls itself together, it is not someplace we would recommend going to.
Please let us know your thoughts! Do you think that we should attempt to revisit the breakfast boutique in another couple of months to see if it gets better? Would you still want to go check it out all things considered? Please let us know below. And as always, please follow us on social media if you are not already. And share this review with any friends or family you might think it might be useful to.
Until Next Time..
XOXO,
The Brunch Besties