I’m all for vegan brunch spots, if they actually measure up. It takes a lot to get me out on a weekend.

Ladybird looked quite promising: their insta showed alluring snaps of “yolky” vegan eggs, millenial-pink digs and a welcome escape from the drudgery of doing dishes. So, one sunny Saturday I headed out after making a Resy res (which will charge you a $25 no-show fee, FYI, if you skip out— though I do have a snazzy way of avoiding that*) to check it out.

Only, it was not to be. They had apparently jumped the gun and posted their brunch menu ahead of launch, to a very confused and annoyed party of two (yours truly and my friend Rach). I didn’t return until Halloween.

So, Halloween arrived and I was ready, but of course Ladybird still wasn’t— at least, not quite. Basically, we waited a good 20m for our food to arrive and had to do the car wash air puppet dance to flag down a waiter every time we needed something. Maybe don’t put a table in the very corner if you’re gonna ignore the customers sitting there?

Brunch tatos ($6): 4/5

Crispy, savory and filling: there wasn’t much I found lacking in these taters. They pair perfectly with the saltier entrees on the menu and come atop a slick of interesting smooth gravy. I would recommend an order of these, because the portion size of the entrees are a bit lacking.

Grilled cheese ($18): 3.5/5

Toast lovers, dig in! This is basically a luxer version of your mama’s grilled cheese, with a luxe price to match (mama would not approve). I felt the cheese was a bit heavy but nevertheless quite tasty. The addition of the cauliflower cheese sauce was what pushed this into “meh” territory for me— I think it would have been better without it.

But let’s talk about the veg elephant in the room; that veggyolk! Appearance-wise, it’s quite striking: it does look like a baby egg yolk. Tastewise, less so; it just kinda tastes like watery beans. Still, I appreciated them trying.

The toast comes with a small bowl of tomato-bisque-esque dipping sauce with some veg mozz shreds inside, which I loved using. It elevated the dish by a half point.

Egg sandwich ($16): 4/5

Ladybird’s take on the classic brekkie sammy was satisfyingly junky tasting, with an extra middle muffin layer to boot (what do they do with the extra slice, I wonder?). I would say it is the most filling item on the brunch menu. It also comes with a side of their excellent tatos.

Scallion pancake ($16): 3/5

Like eating a salt lick, this scallion pancake was just way too sodium-spiked. The flavor otherwise was not too bad. Definitely not worth $16, though. I could 100% make this myself at home.

Note about the coffee: Ladybird does not brew their own coffee, they give you hot water and a Waka instant coffee pouch and then charge you $5 per cup. What a nifty racket! My husband the coffee lover did say for an instant coffee, it was not bad. Additional pouches and water are free, which I guess makes it a leeeeetle better, but nah.

*to avoid the no-show fee, just use the Privacy app or a prepaid debit card with like a few cents leftover on it. I always keep one around for those trial offers!