Shakabrah - Tacoma, Washington

Annita F.

First impression definitely a old building (we love hole in the wall places) we always find it the best food for the best prices.

However this place was very confusing. We walked in and no one greeted, until someone behind the counter said hi and that's it. We sat down for a little bit not knowing what to do. Then someone approached and explained that there are two sides to the place. Where we walked in is basically self service. & the other side is full service. We ended up moving to the other side. & were finally handed some menus.

We were expecting a more hawaiian theme food as (I'm hawaiian) and the name of the place is shakabrah. However it's just regular breakfast place. They did have Loco moco on there but I think that was it.

Hubby: big country breakfast
Me: cowboy hash
Son: the classic with pancake

Overall breakfast was just regular expected I guess. Nothing stood out and the cowboy hash was kind of spicy for me. Which I should of asked or read that it had Chipotle sauce so that was my fault. The portion size was expected for that price. My son did love the pancake though. It was monster size lol. & for $8.50 for one pancake.

Overall experience was just ok. Confusing but ok. Is this a place we'd come back to, prolly not, but I guess for locals it's a cute diner place or a place where regulars would go.

4/10 recommend.

Anita B.

I ordered the magic shakas with two eggs over medium. This is the kind of place where you seat yourself and then they bring you a menu which you then take to the counter to order and pay and then they bring food to your table and then you bus your table yourself. Kind of a strange set up. I didn't, therefore, feel compelled to tip.

My food was excellent and delicious and abundant. Food was piled so high on the plate and there was such little rim space on the plate food kept falling off onto the table. It was a good value for the price. The eggs were perfectly cooked.

I noticed a hair. Had it actually been in my food I wouldn't have noticed of course. I reported it and they offered to remake it but I didn't have time so I just ate the areas far from it. I was not offered a refund. Seems a strange response, "thanks for letting us know!"

I won't be back.

G E.

I visited the restaurant with a friend, and I tried the Top Choice. It was a great amount of food for the price.

Quality-wise, the food was excellent. The meal included 4-5 pieces of bacon, which were thick & crispy. The pancake was about an inch thick and exceeded the plate about 2"-3". The pancake is a meal by itself, and there was plenty of butter and syrup available.

Kathy R.

Following another PT appointment, my husband and I were in search of breakfast. On our way to check out another restaurant, we passed Shakabrah and decided to have breakfast there.

The restaurant is in an old building that I think was an auto shop. There is a big garage door to the left of the entrance. Building history always intrigues me.

There are two sections to the restaurant. One side is modified self serve, with a few tables, where you order your meal and pick it up at the counter. The other side is seating with full service. Interestingly enough, the prices were the same.

After an explanation, regarding the two sides, we moved over to the full service side, although it was hard to tell the difference. The restaurant was not busy but we sat for the longest time waiting for coffee and water which finally arrived. Then we placed our order, only to discover toast was extra but we both wanted toast with our breakfast so we went ahead and added it to our orders.

While waiting for our breakfast to arrive I had to get up and walk to the counter to ask our server for more coffee. She had been standing behind the counter and ignored our attempts to catch her attention. I don’t know what she was doing, but whatever it was, it wasn’t urgently serving the other 5 occupied tables in the restaurant. After my first request she did make sure to regularly check on our table. I had to request more sugar twice.

Our meal arrived and everything looked and tasted good. The Shak potatoes were excellent!

Our meal was enjoyable until the group at the next table discovered “something” in their food. They called the server over and showed her what had been found. Her attitude, at first, was not the reaction I would have expected. While they were polite, and did their best to be discreet, whatever they found was enough to turn them off, and leave. They were offered their choice of the same meal, which was immediately refused, before being offered other meals, which were also refused. Had we not been next to them we would probably have been unaware, until the server and another employee, decided to stand at the table and discuss it as it was being cleared. Discretion was non-existent.

I checked our food, which was fine. Their discovery definitely tainted the rest of my meal, and it was much less enjoyable than when it was first brought to the table.

The atmosphere was supposed to be eclectic and edgy. Instead, it reminded me of a has been. The staff was polite but appeared to be forced. Our server was wearing Beats headphones so any conversation was out, without making a pretty big display to get her attention first. Maybe this is what eclectic is all about, but to me, it was sadly lacking.

Even though the food was good, the entire experience was off putting enough I would be hard pressed to come back. I love unique out of the way, places. This type of unique did not impress.

Meagan S.

If I could give it 6 stars, I would. This is the best breakfast place in Tacoma. Their magic potatoes are phenomenal. And I love that they always have ice water.

Erik H.

Unreal. This is some of the best breakfast diner food I’ve ever had. Pancakes the size of a steering wheel, perfectly seasoned potatoes, great prices and serving sizes. Absolutely will make this a mandatory stop when I’m in Tacoma again!

C F. D.

Although the inside of the restaurant was a little worn down, the food was absolutely amazing! I loved the potatoes mixed with vegetables so full of flavor. And I got the small pancake, and they have a different definition of small. That thing took up the entire plate! It was good, not sweet, but yummy. Our waitress was friendly and helpful. I would definitely recommend.

Chelsea S.

By far the best breakfast in the south sound. Problem location is terrible. Anywhere else it’d be packed 24/7. Great coffee. Giant portions. I love the build your own potatoes. Pancakes are huge. French toast delicious. Omelettes never make it into a to go box. Highly recommend. Fine for kids but again I think the area deters families.