Executive Chef Brent Martin of Eques can and could whip you up a yellow tomato gazpacho sorbet over a bed of Dungeness crab, but he’d rather just put a fresh Northwest twist on your favorite brunch and breakfast classics.
Eques, at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue, Washington, is an award-winning Eastside brunch staple that draws crowds of locals and vacationers alike from summer to winter and back again. Having gained the plush hotel’s bright, soaring lobby, patrons climb a wide, regal staircase to the second floor and step through the restaurant’s front doors into the soothing, airy environs of an eatery that feels classy enough for the most discerning business traveler, and relaxed enough to play the part of a neighborhood family favorite. Artistic clay horses stand here and there around the large room, looking in this direction and that over what quickly swells to become a talkative ante-meridiem crowd, especially on busy Saturdays and Sundays. The horse motif, which reflects the theme of an earlier restaurant on the same premises that the property developer harbors fond memories of spending time at as a child, is indicated in the restaurant’s name.
Eques’s menu is indicative of the experimental nature of its New Zealand-born executive chef. When I accompanied Chef Martin on a recent excursion to the Bellevue Farmers Market a half-mile up Bellevue Way, the purchases he made to bring back to the Eques kitchen ranged far and wide, and he greeted many of his favorite vendors by name. “You’ve got to let the market speak to you,” he professed, heading back to the hotel with a few things he didn’t expect to pick up. His whimsical inspirations show up in subtle twists on the menu items you’ll find Monday through Sunday, like the caramelized oranges on the apricot-nut French toast.
Most popular on the menu are the Benedicts (chief among them the cedar plank Pacific salmon Benedict with eggs, spinach and chèvre hollandaise over Macrina potato bread); the corned beef hash (with Walla Walla sweet onions, poached eggs and an herbaceous hollandaise, plated alongside house potatoes); and the simple yet lip-smackingly satisfying Poached Eggs on Toast (a creation of the chef’s own making, served with roasted tomatoes and smashed avocado over toasted Macrina potato bread). Other tantalizing options include the red lentil and coconut breakfast bowl (honey yogurt, pine nuts, golden raisins, poached egg) and the corn pancake, dressed up in smoked cheddar cheese, fresh apples and local honey butter.
Can’t choose by the time your server comes back? Opt for the perennially popular daily breakfast buffet; $20 for continental, or $23 for the complete experience. And don’t forget to tack on a mimosa – bubbles mixed with orange, grapefruit, pineapple or even cranberry juice – or to hit the Bloody Mary bar to make it feel like a luxe hotel vacation, whether you’re simply passing through or here to stay.
