Darling cafe with friendly service and delicious breakfast. The best breakfast potatoes I’ve ever had! Eggs were cooked to perfection. Cakes and lunch food coming out looked delicious and were large portions. Food arrived quickly! I definitely recommend!

Randomly discovered Bluebird Cafe thanks to a family member visiting from Southern California. We were staying up in Ukiah, and they were looking for a good spot to grab lunch on the way out of town.

Bluebird is located right off Highway 101 in a small town called Hopland. Street parking was pretty easy right across the street, and felt safe. There was even a lady on the corner set-up with a table selling local honey!

The place itself looks very unassuming – like a very old building that’s been around for 100+ years. Once you step inside, it’s got such fun classic diner vibes! There’s a handful of counter seats, in addition to a bunch of tables for groups of 2 or more. The vibes don’t stop there. The decor is incredible and ubiquitous. In addition to a giant moose head on the wall, there’s a large display of classic soda bottles, retro metal signs and thermometers, and newspaper articles and photos. It’s almost like looking around an antique shop, you just can’t take any of the stuff home.

We came with a group of 9 adults and 4 (well-behaved) kids. Thankfully we came around 1pm, so it was mostly empty from whatever crowd they had, as they close at 2pm.

Despite being one big group, we had 3 different families. Our server was super friendly and patient. We were able to split checks by family, which was very helpful and MUCH appreciated. She was also very patient and thorough with any and all requests and modifications.

FOOD:
Our group got a combination of both breakfast and lunch dishes. More specifically, the wifey and I got one of each. There are a dozen or so options under the “Burgers & Such” section.

I went with the Western Bacon Cheeseburger. This had onion rings, BBQ sauce, and of course bacon. You can choose fries, potato salad, or green salad as the side. I went with the fries and was not disappointed. They were crispy, fresh, and flavorful. We ordered sides of ranch ($1/ea) that were served in good sized little bowls, and was GOOD. I’ve become more picky recently with my ranch, specifically not liking ones that taste like they’re filled with preservatives.

Other options in this section include: Bison Burger, Ortega Chile & Jack Burger, Salmon Burger, Garden Burger, French Dip, BLT, Club, Chipotle Chicken Sandwich, Chicken Strips, and Fish & Chips.

For breakfast, they have scrambles, omelets, pancakes, waffles, French toast, various “specialties”, and some classics. We’re particularly big fans of corned beef hash, and based on some Yelp photo research, we knew we wanted to try it. Another thing we like is for things to be extra crispy. The server, and by proxy the cook(s), were happy to accommodate our request for well-done potatoes AND corned beef hash. Let me tell you, when she brought that dish out, the whole table took notice. This thing was literally what dreams are made of. Honestly the closest thing I could compare the hash to, was a smash burger. It was flat, crispy, and legendary. It looked nothing like the other photos on Yelp, and we LOVED it!

A couple people in our group ordered the chicken fried steak, and had really good things to say about it.

Breakfast drink options include coffee, tea, hot chocolate, juice, and mimosas. Lunch beverage options include iced tea, Arnold Palmer, Coke products, and limited beer & wine options. We split an iced tea and enjoyed it, especially since it was freshly brewed, and had free refills!

They have a great hot sauce selection at the tables, including Tapatio, Cholula, Tabasco, and a local brand called “chili gods” that had a Red Pepper Sauce that was quite flavorful, and not too spicy. Think Taco Bell hot sauce!

OVERALL:
This place is a gem! The staff is friendly, the food is delicious, and the vibes are hard to beat. Huge shoutout to the hardworking staff at Bluebird, and especially the kind server who helped our group on Sunday, March 29th that stayed ~30 minutes past closing (sorry!). This feels like the quintessential small town diner, and is absolutely worth the stop if driving up or down the 101!

IG: @bbnem.eats

I have been here multiple times in the 3 decades. The food has always been great. I decided to go there today. My last visit was 7 years ago. I got chicken fried steak with eggs and hash browns and a side of corned beef hash. All the food was great, except the chicken fried steak which was way over cooked and not very tasty. Everything else was superb. The service was fantastic and she was very attentive to what I needed. I will come back, but just not order this again.