If you find yourself around the University of Memphis area and need a yummy breakfast, Brother Juniper’s is the place! You will find the massive open face omelets that they are known for piled high with delicious and unique toppings.
I can’t believe that I grew up in Memphis and I had never tried this place until today! Let me tell you, I have been missing out and you have too if you haven’t tried Brother Juniper’s breakfast! And since Frommer’s recently named Memphis as one of the Best Places to Visit in 2019, I am going to be reviewing more fun things to do in my hometown!
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Location of Brother Juniper’s Breakfast Restaurant
The location could not be better if you are visiting for a Tiger’s game or visiting your child at college. It is just a short walk from campus if you are at the University. Or even if you are visiting Memphis and staying Downtown, you are only a 20 minute Uber ride away from a delicious local breakfast experience.
This part of the University area has been revitalized in the last couple of years and offers a pretty cool scene. You will find some newer, upscale restaurants like Char and some long time Memphis favorites like Garibaldi’s Pizza. Some other neighbors to Brother Juniper’s is The 901 Scoop to try out the rolled ice cream trend or the Tiger bookstore to get yourself outfitted in Tiger blue.
So now that you know the area you are going to, the actual Brother Juniper’s breakfast that you want is located at 3519 Walker Ave, Memphis, TN 38111.
Hours of Operation :
Monday : Closed
Tuesday – Friday : 6:30a – 1:00p
Saturday : 7:00a – 12:30p
Sunday : 8:00a – 1:00p
Brother Juniper’s Atmosphere
There is a small outdoor area out front but it was super cold today so we entered into the old house right away. We were promptly greeted by a friendly hostess. Since it was a Saturday morning, we were expecting a little wait but were pretty pleased that it was only about a 10-15 minute wait. There are also two fairly large bar seating areas if you don’t mind sitting there as opposed to a table to avoid the wait.
We were quickly called back to our table by the hostess. And in true southern, Memphis style “follow me ya’ll” is probably what you will hear. In the dining room, you will find a diverse crowd of people ranging from families with young kids, couples and college kids.
The main sitting area has a warm, family feel. I always love restaurants that are in old homes because it just gives it that quaint feel that you want when you are about to eat a big stack of pancakes and a hot mug of coffee.
On the table, you will find a laminated menu with the extensive offerings. The large menu is printed front and back, completely filled with every breakfast option you can probably think of. There is sure to be something to please your belly!
Brother Juniper’s Breakfast Review
Right when we sat down at our table, our server came to take our drink order. I was really excited about this because while we were waiting, I had been scoping out a big chalkboard that detailed all of their specialty lattes. I love a sweet coffee treat.
Coffee
My husband takes his coffee black so there isn’t much to talk about there but he did say that it was a good cup of coffee. (I wouldn’t touch a cup of black coffee with a ten foot pole. Give me ALL the sugar.) I chose the Juniper Latte. It is an espresso with caramel and topped with whipped cream. The caramel was prominent and delicious.
It was one of my favorite parts of our Brother Juniper’s breakfast experience. If you love good coffee, you know a lot of times the coffee at a breakfast diner tastes like burned motor oil but that was not the case here! My hubby even tried it, his exact comment was “that tastes like candy!”
Savory Brother Juniper’s Breakfast Entrees
There were so many options, I had a really hard time choosing what I wanted. Thankfully, I did know that I wanted to try some type of eggs benedict so that narrowed down my choices a bit.
The gravy benedict was the option that I chose featuring a southern, fluffy biscuit topped with chopped sausage, tomatoes, green onions and two over medium eggs. But here is the kicker. It is topped with hollandaise sauce and white gravy. I love biscuits and gravy and adding in the hollandaise just elevates it to the next delicious level.
My husband went with one of the Brother Juniper’s breakfast specialties, the open face omelets. The Hungry Tiger is a three egg open faced omelet featuring tomatoes, green onions, bacon, ham, sausage, feta, cheddar, mozzarella and swiss. Basically every breakfast item you can think of piled on top of an omelet.
Omelets are not usually my personal favorite but I love trying things so in my mouth it went! I really enjoyed this for two reasons. Piling all the toppings on top made it taste less eggy to me which is why I don’t love omelets in the first place. The open face omelet style was a nice twist on the original and is something that Brother Juniper’s states is unique on their menu. The other thing that really made this choice stand out was the feta. I don’t know why more places don’t use feta at breakfast because it is delish!
Sweet Breakfast Options
I will literally not go to a breakfast restaurant if they don’t have good sweet options. My idea of a perfect breakfast is a little savory and a big sweet something on my plate. And I don’t want just a pancake! I want some delicious bakery dessert stuffed into my french toast or pancakes.
Brother Juniper’s did not disappoint. I wanted to sub my home fries that came with my meal for a Cinnamon Roll pancake but our server let me know that was not an option. We decided to just order one pancake as a side to try it. The one pancake is huge! Both of my kids could have shared that as their main meal and been full with leftovers.
The cinnamon roll pancake does not just make an impression for the size. The cinnamon sugar and cream cheese icing will leave you feeling like you had an amazing dessert for your early morning meal. We added a teeny tiny bit of syrup to our pancake but it really needed nothing.
And that Monte Cristo on the menu is calling my name for next time.
Side Dishes
The two main sides offered are the home fries or cheese grits. The home fries are diced potatoes that are well seasoned with savory spices and lightly fried. A quick dip in ketchup and these started disappearing quickly.
But the table favorite was definitely the cheesy grits! The grits were full of cheese which is important because why call them cheese grits if they are not going to be swimming in ooey gooey goodness? And the consistency was perfectly creamy and just what I think of when imagining some good southern grits.
Overall, we really enjoyed both the food and experience at Brother Juniper’s. Do you have a favorite Memphis breakfast or brunch place to eat?
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