Near Eastern Necessity: A review of Clay & Fire’s Near East-inspired brunch

I am a brunch girl through and through. Whether it’s a Sunday brunch at Snooze with my friends or my mom and I making a pancake bar at home whenever we have a free morning, I will drop all plans for a brunch date.

With that being said, I am a basic brunch girl — First Watch or Urban Egg always seems to be where I end up. When I heard of Clay & Fire serving brunch reminiscent of the Near Eastern region — a region around the East Mediterranean with West Asia, Southeast Europe and North Africa. I was slightly nervous to venture from my go-to waffles or egg white omelet. I decided it was time to give up my third-grader brunching habits and try something new.

Me and my equally-brunch-obsessed mom headed to Clay & Fire in Westside for our most recent Sunday brunch.

The outside immediately beat my usual brunch spots, with an almost cottage-looking building complete with an adorable patio area decorated with string lights. The inside matched the aesthetic just as well, feeling like I’m in a European cottage rather than a Kansas City restaurant. 

The staff immediately made us feel welcome and had us seated within 25 minutes — an impressive time for the Sunday brunch rush.

After being seated we quickly realized they were out of both of their hummuses that we had seen on social media a depressing sight — especially since they had only been open for two hours. Nonetheless, we persevered and decided to get their seasonal pickles to start instead since we love pickles almost as much as we love brunch.

They came out quickly and didn’t have an overpowering vinegar taste like some, but didn’t have much flavor. While I would most likely order these again if I went back, I also feel like my usual Grillo’s pickles beat these any day.

Then the seasonal lemonade I ordered was delivered, and I was obsessed after the first sip. The purple color of the drink and flower on top filled my purple-loving heart with joy. The drink itself had a rosy taste — almost like a grandma’s floral perfume taste but in the absolute best way possible. But the strong taste somehow doesn’t overpower the acidity of the lemon. If I could order this by the gallon I would in a heartbeat.

They scattered the delivery of the food which I enjoyed as my mom and I were sharing everything we ordered, but for some, this may not be as appealing. The next thing they brought was the Serpme Kahvalti — a classic Near Eastern breakfast spread. It was served similar to a charcuterie board with carrots, cucumbers, pickled cabbage, olives, pistachios, dried apricots drizzled with honey, tahini with date syrup, a spicy jam, feta and yogurt. They also delivered a bowl filled with their house-made bread which both of us compared to pita bread to pile the items onto.  

While I never pictured myself chowing down on a charcuterie board for brunch, Clay & Fire somehow pulled it off. While nothing particularly stood out on the board, the mix of it all made a superb brunch board that I couldn’t stop dipping into. My favorites on their own were the tahini with date jam which nicely balanced the nutty and sweet aspects of both. Plus honey drizzled apricots which was shockingly not overly sweet like I expected and provided a nice textural balance to the other board items. But my mom and I both enjoyed making our own topping combos to put on our bread since we are simply indecisive and way too extra. My top pick was yogurt topped with spicy jam and pistachios. 

To end off our brunching they brought our Yumurta Cilbir — poached egg, yogurt, garlic and paprika butter. The eggs were well poached and had the ideal runny center, perfect for putting on the pita. The yogurt and paprika butter surrounding the eggs were well-seasoned and made a nice dip for the remaining pita, especially when topping it with some of the egg. 

While I don’t know if I would choose Clay & Fire over my go-to First Watch waffles, it is definitely a new experience that brings a different taste to the KC brunching scene that’s worth a try.