For years, Cracked Pepper Bistro in north Fresno has collected awards for its fine dining.
But it was always for dinner — for its filet mignon, eggplant appetizer and that famous bread pudding.
Now, the 19-year-old restaurant is offering brunch. From 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, Cracked Pepper serves a brunch-inspired menu.
It’s not the same full-service experience you get dining in the evenings. In order to keep prices between $12 and $16, there are no servers taking your order at the table. Instead, you order at a counter and the food is brought to you.
The brunch menu
The menu is part breakfast, brunch and lunch.
So there’s a croque madame, the French ham and cheese sandwich served with a creamy cheese sauce and an egg on top.
Another highlight, according to chef and owner Vatche Moukhtarian? A pork belly that is sous vide (slowly cooked at a low temperature in a vacuum-sealed bag) overnight and then sautéed til crispy and served atop rice with a crispy fried egg.
Pork belly, pan seared with sweet chili sauce and served with fresh basil and a fried egg, has become a favorite at Cracked Pepper Cafe, says Vatche Moukhtarian. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
Avocado toast, eggs with bacon and potatoes, a bread pudding French toast, and bagel sandwiches are also on the menu.
It’s a limited menu with about 10 items.
“A lot of stuff is very simple,” he said. “We’re not doing biscuits and gravy. There’s enough restaurants doing that.”
Sanctuary Coffee
The coffee here is not an afterthought. In fact, it’s what led to the creation of brunch.
The coffee served at Cracked Pepper is roasted weekly by Moukhtarian from a location in Clovis. In addition to regular coffee, there is espresso and a few other basic coffee drinks on the menu.
“Just the classics only,” he said.
There are cocktails available, including mimosas and an espresso martini.
Moukhtarian has run his own roasting operation, Sanctuary Roasting, for about two years. He also runs a coffee shop, Sanctuary Coffee Shop, on the Northwest Church campus at Barstow and West avenues.
Vatche Moukhtarian has started offering classic coffee drinks made from fresh roasted beans from Sanctuary Roasting at his new Cracked Pepper Cafe. The new cafe offers counter service breakfast and brunch. Photographed Tuesday, March 10, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
That serendipitous arrangement happened after his son was dating the pastor’s daughter. The pastor was trying unsuccessfully to find a coffee shop to open at the church. When the men were out to lunch, he pitched the idea to Moukhtarian and the chef ran with it.
Moukhtarian started with local coffee roasters, and eventually got into roasting his own.
He was thinking of opening a second Sanctuary Coffee shop. But it costs so much to open a new place these days, he decided to open something in the spot he already had, Cracked Pepper.
Reservations are only available for parties of 10 or more.
Vatche Moukhtarian has started offering counter service breakfast and brunch along with offering his Sanctuary Roasting coffee drinks at his Cracked Pepper Bistro, photographed Tuesday, March 10, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com 
Fresh blackberries alongside Bread Pudding at Vatche Moukhtarian’s new Cracked Pepper Cafe, photographed Tuesday, March 10, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com 
Avocado Toast is seen at Cracked Pepper Cafe, a new counter-service option at the Cracked Pepper Bistro. Photographed Tuesday, March 10, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
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Bethany Clough covers restaurants and retail for The Fresno Bee. A reporter for more than 20 years, she now works to answer readers’ questions about business openings, closings and other business news. She has a degree in journalism from Syracuse University and her last name is pronounced Cluff.