A Long, Easy Breakfast at The Old Broadway in Fargo

A breakfast plate of two eggs, toast, hash browns and your choice of meat is a fine way to begin at The Old Broadway, but it is hardly the only direction a meal can take. In downtown Fargo, this restaurant gives breakfast and lunch equal room on the same menu, making it an easy answer when one person wants biscuits and gravy and another is already thinking about a sandwich.

The room has a vintage character without asking anyone to dress up for it. It is bright, clean and spacious, with an elegant-but-relaxed manner that works just as well for a solitary morning meal as it does for a lingering table of friends.

Breakfast is a major reason people make their way here. The familiar diner framework is present: eggs, toast, hash browns and breakfast meat. That combination has a comforting directness, especially when the goal is simply a proper hot breakfast rather than a complicated morning project.

Biscuits and gravy add another classic choice, while corned beef hash gives the menu a more savory, old-school route. The range is useful because it allows a table to order in different moods without anybody having to settle for the same sort of plate.

The Old Broadway's broad menu also changes the rhythm of a morning stop. Breakfast does not have to mean foregoing lunch, and lunch does not have to mean waiting for the late riser at the table to abandon eggs. For couples, families and mixed-age groups, that bit of flexibility can be more valuable than it sounds.

Large booths are among the most inviting seats in the house. One of them can look out toward downtown, a small bonus for a meal that already feels nicely removed from the rush outside.

The remodeled furnishings include new tables, cream-colored chairs and stools. Together with the roomy layout, they keep the interior from feeling cramped or overly nostalgic. The vintage tone is there, but the seating reads as current and comfortable.

Conversation tends to be easy here. The room has a calm enough atmosphere for catching up over brunch, which is not always a given at a busy breakfast destination. At the same time, its scale has accommodated gatherings of 10, so it does not feel limited to two-top occasions.

The beer cheese soup deserves a place near the front of the lunch conversation. It has become one of the restaurant's particularly well-liked orders, the sort of warm, substantial bowl that can turn a sandwich lunch into a longer stop.

For diners who have trouble choosing just one soup, soup flights offer a more playful option. They make sense for sampling at the table, or for anyone who prefers a few smaller tastes to committing immediately to a full bowl.

The Chicago-style chicken melt is a notable lunch choice, with the Reuben and chicken strips providing familiar alternatives. This is not a menu that treats lunch as an afterthought following breakfast; it has enough range for a midday meal to stand comfortably on its own.

An Irish coffee gives breakfast or brunch a bit of occasion without changing the easygoing mood of the room. It fits the old-fashioned side of The Old Broadway especially well: a warm drink, a comfortable booth and no need to hurry through the meal.

Espresso drinks offer another path for those keeping the morning more conventional. The availability of both coffeehouse-style drinks and Irish coffee helps the beverage list meet a table where it is—alerting up for the day, stretching brunch into afternoon, or simply taking a break downtown.

Bread pudding is a signature finish here, with a reputation substantial enough that it need not be confined to the end of a sit-down meal. It is also available to take along, which is handy when breakfast has already become lunch and dessert begins to sound like a later decision.

That take-home option suits the restaurant's unforced style. A person can have a straightforward plate of eggs, linger over coffee, then walk out with something sweet for the afternoon.

The bar adds a different note to the restaurant, with drinks accompanied by hip-hop and R&B, including older-school selections. It is a specific bit of personality in a place otherwise known for its approachable breakfast-and-lunch format.

That contrast works. The Old Broadway can be a quiet place to talk over coffee in the morning, then offer a drink later on without requiring a change of venue or a completely different atmosphere.

Service is friendly, professional and attentive, a welcome quality on a menu with enough choices to invite questions and substitutions of mood. The setting has served solo diners, couples, families and larger brunch groups without losing its comfortable scale.

Morning visits have sometimes been pleasantly straightforward, including Saturday mornings around 9, though the pace can naturally vary. What remains consistent is the basic appeal: a downtown table, a wide-open menu, a good booth if one is available, and several reasons not to stop at just coffee.