Dining Out: Johnny D's

Happy Friday! With the weekend upon us, there is only one thing worth talking about - brunch.

It's no secret that brunch is my favorite meal of the week and I definitely consider myself a connoisseur of the best options in Boston. One of the best kept brunch secrets is Johnny D's in Davis Square in Somerville.

Johnny D's is right across the street from the Davis Square T stop.

You can't miss their giant sign over the front windows which boasts all the musical acts performing that week. In addition to being a killer brunch spot, Johnny D's has a packed lineup every night of the week.

If you decide to check out Johnny D's for brunch, you can enjoy it on Saturday or Sunday. I love when restaurants serve brunch on Saturday too.

We arrived at 10:30am on a Saturday morning and were seated right away. Our waiter appeared with ice water and delivered each of us a clipboard with the brunch menu and the specials (the top orange sheet).

Before reading the menu, I got distracted by the album covers on the table top. Each table is wallpapered with musicians.

Menu in hand, I zeroed in on the brunch cocktail options. Any place with a section of their menu dedicated to Bloody Marys is a-ok by me!

There were the regular brunch cocktails (which are always available) and then a second cocktail list of seasonal drinks. I wanted every single one of them!

In the end, I went with the summer mimosa and my brunch date chose the tropical mimosa. Our drinks came in a pair of parrots! Each cocktail was garnished with a cherry and a paper umbrella.

The tropical mimosa (on the left) had guava, mango and papaya. My friend said, "You can't really taste any of the fruit. This tastes like straight up champagne, which isn't a bad thing!" The summer mimosa had champagne, Ketel 1 Orange and fruit punch. It tasted like pure juice (in a great way). It was ice cold and so refreshing.

My only complaint about the drinks is that they were so large that I wish we could have taken them in to-go cups!

With our parrots in hand, we returned to perusing the menu and attempting to narrow down the list of things we wanted to order. What I love most about Johnny D's is that you don't have to choose between sweet (French toast, pancakes) and savory (eggs, omelettes). They have an entire section of brunch combo plates that let you get both!

We both decided to start with oatmeal. It arrived in diner-style mugs with a huge bowl of brown sugar for sprinkling on top (or mixing in). The oatmeal was served nice and hot and it had the perfect texture. Total comfort food.

After a long deliberation, I landed on the special omelette of the day. It was tomatoes, black olives, cherry peppers and feta cheese.

The omelette came packed with what I am positive was an entire block of feta cheese. There was a generous portion of veggies and I really loved the heat for the cherry peppers.

My omelette came with a side of home fries and two slices of lightly buttered wheat toast. I wish the home fries had been a bit crispier.

My brunch date chose another one of the morning's specials, the spinach, artichoke and roasted red pepper quesadilla. The tortillas were stuffed with scrambled eggs, mozzarella cheese, goat cheese and all the veggies. It came with a side of chipotle ranch dipping sauce.

After a few bites, my friend explained, "This thing is so jam packed with veggies! This spinach is super fresh and the artichokes are huge. They went light on the eggs, which was actually good, because otherwise I'd be too full. The chipotle ranch was great and added some extra flavor to every bite."

The quesadilla was so huge that she wound up taking half of the plate home.

While we were gobbling up our incredible plates of deliciousness, we also got to enjoy some music. Johnny D's always has live music at brunch. This guitarist was pretty mellow so it was more like background noise than a set you actually watch purposefully.

I can't say enough about the brunch at Johnny D's. They are in a super convenient location, it's easy to get a table, the menu is huge, the cocktails are fantastic and you can mix and match all your favorite brunch foods into the perfect super star plate. The best part? You can usually get everything you want (drink included) for under $20 per person.

Visit Johnny D's at 17 Holland Street, Somerville, MA 02144.

 

Molly Galler

Welcome to Pop.Bop.Shop. My name is Molly. I’m a foodie, fashionista, pop culture addict and serious travel junkie. I’m a lifelong Bostonian obsessed with frozen confections, outdoor patios, Mindy Kaling, reality television, awards shows, tropical vacations, snail mail and my birthday.

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Address:
Johnny D's
17 Holland Street
02144 Somerville , MA
United States
Massachusetts US