Note: Out of business, January 2025

Bebop Waffle Shop is a pink and gay waffle-centric breakfast spot at the corner of Admiral and California, in West Seattle. I’ve seen it for years when I’m in the neighborhood, and it’s always looked promising and smelled great, so there I was for breakfast this morning.

Bebop is a small space, with perhaps a dozen tables plus a few more outside, and several stools at a counter alongside the kitchen. At most diners, if there’s a counter and I’m alone, that’s where I’ll be — you tend to get better service and quicker coffee refills, because staff is right on the other side of your plate. So I took a corner seat at the counter.

A 25-ish white man was ringing up two customers at the register, and after he’d said “Thank you” to them, he slid a menu toward me and said, “You can order at the register.”

Ah, my faux pas — it’s a ring-up first, then sit down place.

Having already studied the menu online, I knew what I wanted, so I only glanced at the menu before rising from the stool I’d chosen, and walking to the register to order. As I did, the two men who’d just finished paying took my counter seat, and the seat next to it.

This was a slight rudeness, and couldn’t be interpreted as anything else, but who cares? They’re probably regular customers who ‘own’ those seats at the counter, and I’m the new guy with no squatters’ rights.

I ordered the “waffle meal,” which is a waffle, scrambled eggs with cheese, and four slices of bacon — and also, of course, a cup of coffee. It came to $21 plus change. I handed my money to the guy behind the counter, and he handed me one of those oversize numbers, so my food could find me.

Eating at the counter was now out of the question; I would’ve had to sit next to my seat-stealers, which would’ve put me almost in front of the cash register, so everyone would be ordering breakfast over my shoulder.

Instead I wandered the place, which took no time at all, because did I mention that it’s a very tiny diner? Settled in at an auxiliary counter, a flat slab with two stools, in a space too small for a table, but not adjacent to the kitchen.

Looking around the restaurant, it has a comfy look, with small tables and big windows overlooking the street. Has a loyal local clientele, too. Everyone seemed to be regulars, chatting amongst themselves, with each other, and with the staff.

There were six sets of customers during my 45-minute stay — the two men who’d stolen my seat, and five him/her couples, each with at least one child. All the couples were 30-ish and wearing sweaters, all the children were 5-ish, and everyone was white except for a graying black man who stood near the kitchen, eating an egg sandwich and having a long, cordial conversation with a woman I recognized from the website as the owner.

That kitchen, by the way, is not much bigger than the kitchen in a cramped studio apartment. Dunno how they crank out a restaurant’s worth of breakfasts from that space, but they do.

My coffee was good and came immediately, in a Bebop-branded cup that said “Friends, waffles, puppies,” and had a picture of a dog. Yup, this is a pet-friendly restaurant. I knew that from reading their website before coming, but saw no critters during my meal.

Waiting for my food took about as long as you’d expect to prep a mid-size Belgian waffle, and the waffle was fine but without an exclamation point. For a place with ‘waffle’ in the name, it was ordinary.

However, it comes with a dollop of what they call ‘maple butter’, which seems to be butter infused with syrup and possibly cinnamon. It looks wrong and weird, like a small pile of boiled mushrooms, but it tastes exquisite, and deserves this exclamation point!

There was, however, only one blop of maple butter, a tablespoon or so, which is slightly stingy. And it’s fresh from the fridge, so it couldn’t easily be spread. About half my waffle got maple butter and was awesome, and half got only syrup and was good.

The scrambled eggs with cheddar was fluffy, cheesy, and I wished there was more. That’s not a complaint, though. I’m a big guy, and whatever I’m eating, if it’s good I could eat more.

The bacon was not grocery store bacon, and deserves another exclamation point! The menu and website should brag more about these four slices, very thick, very tasty, and perfectly cooked to be chewier than crunchy. It was possibly the best bacon of my life, and I’ve eaten at least several pigs worth of bacon.

Many superlatives could describe Bebop Waffle Shop, but one that doesn’t apply is ‘friendly’, at least not for me. The only words anyone said to me were, “You can order at the register,” and the announcement of the total tab as I paid. The cashier didn’t say “Thank you.” The coffee and later the food were both delivered wordlessly. Nobody stopped by to ask if everything was OK. No coffee refills were offered. When I left, passing a yard’s distance from the employee at the register and the owner in the kitchen, neither seemed busy, but neither said thanks or toodle-doo.

It happens sometimes, in places where they’re trying to appeal to young professionals and trendies and families on the rise. I was pushing three times the age of anyone else in the restaurant, fat and by habit disheveled (though I was wearing one of my nicer polo shirts). I’m simply not the customer they’re looking for, so no effort was made to welcome me.

To be clear, no-one was rude to me (except the seat-stealing duo), and I don’t think the chill was intentional. And it doesn’t much matter, anyway.

Everything was fine, and I don’t mind being left alone to eat my meal and read my book, so I might be back at Bebop, just to annoy them by being there.

Bebop Waffle Shop
(now out of business)
2600 California Ave SW, Seattle WA (West Seattle)
Food & drink: very good
Price: OK
Service: quick but cold
Transit: #50, #56, #57, #128, #775
Verdict: YES.

11/9/2024

Cheap Seattle

Affordable eats

itsdougholland.com
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