Came this morning and sat outside with my dog. All the workers came out to pet and feed him treats :) the service was great! I ordered a breakfast sandwich and it was ok. Nothing fantastic but I can definitely see myself coming back to try more items off their menu. read more

The service here is honest and accommodating. You can definitely tell they put in the work. Food was decent, it's edible for sure. There's definitely some updating that needs to happen with the paint, vents, seats..just cosmetic cleanup. It's definitely a seasoned joint lol but I'd come back here, it's a sincere place. read more

I'm always a bit sorry to leave a poor review. This place is practically a historic landmark in Oceanside. My review is based on only one visit, as I won't be going back. I was encouraged by the fact that it was quite busy on a Tuesday morning. I expected the moderately high prices, but I really wanted decent quality food. I had 2 eggs over easy, 3 strips of bacon, home fries and their special raspberry coffee cake in lieu of toast. My wife had their California Omelet with bacon, avocado & Swiss cheese and home fried potatoes with toast. I factor 5 things into my restaurant reviews; quality of the food, quality of the service, quantity of the food, value for $ (basically price, but you should expect to pay for service & atmosphere too), and ambiance. I love a good breakfast place and with the beachy, surf diner ambiance, 101 looked promising. Sadly the food was not only pricey, but it was merely edible, and that's the principle reason for eating out. My wife is particularly fond of home fries and these were about as "home-like" as a sachet of McDonalds hash browns. The coffee cake was not edible. Service was adequate. All in all, I could not complain, but nor was there anything to cause me to return. I assume the turnover of tourists that are drawn in by the coastal ambiance must keep the management happy. I can't see too many local regulars. read more

Amazing food, amazing staff, awesome classic decor. Kelsey was amazing super funny nice and attentive, with us and all the other guests, only been here a couple of times, but now will be a regular, great place. Awesome shakes to.. I will be recommending this place to all my friends and family can't wait to come back and eat here again read more

101 Cafe - 50/50 burger with bacon on it - American Near Me - Oceanside, California

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Haven't been to the 101 in a while, ordered turkey club they used to use real roasted turkey ! What a disappointment $10 for a pressed turkey sandwich read more

I have never been treated so poorly at restaurant. I watched many people walk out because the service was so bad. I got snapped at by the waitress when I asked for water. It took forever to get the water, then it took forever to get the check all the while patiently waiting. We were clearly ready to go, but didn't want to be rude so we waited some more. When we finally got the check it was thrown in my face, same thing with the change that was clearly meant for my boyfriend. The busboy cleared the table and hovered over us to watch how much tip when left, and when we stood up and my boyfriend mumbled a comment to me as we were leaving the busboy the gall to ask, "What?" As if he was part of our conversation and looking to start something. The icing on the cake was the waitress in question running out to give us a dirty look as we drove off. read more

Good pancakes. Bacon cooked right. Yummy eggs. This joint's a nice one. We saw hot rods parking outside and they were cool. Just one thing, anyone who works there, pay attention, Do. Not. Put. The. Spoon. In. The. Coffee. Innit? read more

My son and I came in the door just as they were closing. We chose this place because it was the only place around with a place to park a truck towing a boat trailer. Initially we were told they were closed, but the lovely ladies said they would prepare one last meal if we didn't mind them closing up around us. I was so appreciative of that. The food did not disappoint either. We had a turkey club sandwich with fruit, and a tuna melt with fries. The fruit was excellent, especially the fresh pineapple. The fries were some of the best ever. If we are ever in Oceanside again we will definitely stop here. I am so glad the restaurant we had initially planned to eat at had no parking! read more

First time here with my fiancé. I ordered the French Toast and he ordered the chicken fried steak....BOTH WERE YUM YUM YUUUUUUUUMMY!!! Service is great, food tastes great, and it's a lovely quaint little cafe. I'll definitely be back! read more

This has been my regular Sunday morning place for breakfast. The cafe is always crowded, but it moves along, really great waitresses and the food is good. I was saddened to read the cafe was sold to new owners. Came in today, disaster! The regular waitresses are gone, the ones remaining don't know how to get the people in and out. The wait time for food way too long. What a confused mess. I hope they get better otherwise time to loom for a new place. read more

Great food fair price good service! Small place but its nice and clean. We tryed french toast, cheeseburger, and onion rings. Everything tasted and smelled great. read more

The food is really not very good. Cheeseburger tough, chewy, not juicy. Potato salad starchy and sticky, french fries not salted when they came out of the fryer so by the time I try to salt them it just falls off. Bun was basically too soft and falling apart. What was worse was the service. Our waitress never once cracked a smile. She seemed put upon that she even had to take our order. After serving the meal she never did check back. About halfway through the meal I wanted a soda refill but I could see it had gotten kind of busy and the waitress wasn't even looking in our direction so I took my glass up to counter and I asked her if I could get a refill, figuring this would make it easy for her. OK, you're not gonna believe this but she just glared at me and walked away! Five minutes later the busboy came over and asked me i I'd like a refill. I was in fine dining service for years so I know about service and tipping etc. but there is no way I tipped this woman. And I will never, ever go back. I really do not get why in today's world any restaurant cooks like this and serves like this. read more

Thinking this place would be a good try...I was sure surprised at how bad it was. Very small place litterally sitting on top of other people. Not clean at all, flies everywhere. Service is horrible and the food is way over priced. They do not except credit or debit, however there is an ATM located 6 inches away from where other people are trying to eat. I will never go here again or reccomend this place to anyway I care about. read more

This is to inform all of you readers, interested in having a good 50's style diner breakfast, that we can all have a bad experience at a restaurant and an experience that needs to be heard! A while back, I had voiced my complaint here on Yelp about this place, when very promptly, a concerned owner contacted me. I explained to him my unsatisfied experience, where he apologized, but assured me it was an anomaly and that he'd wish I'd give them another chance to prove their worthiness. He insisted on sending me some coupons for a free breakfast. I was not looking for a free breakfast, nor am I ever looking for a free handout when I post my sincere experiences on Yelp. So in them mail, as promised, were coupons to go back and try it out again. So I asked a friend of mine to join me at 101 Cafe for another try. I went in, not mentioning that I had free coupons to pay towards our breakfast, as I felt that if they only give those coupons out in a case like mine, they might make the breakfast super good to try and prove they make good breakfasts all the time. I ordered a bacon avocado and cheese omelette, which was perfect. The egg was prepared in a nice, light yellow and white marbled way, which is perfect in my humble opinion, because I feel it doesn't just seem like scrambled eggs. The eggs weren't over-cooked or oily, just perfectly prepared. The bacon was super flavorful, thick, which went well with the cheddar cheese and fresh avocado. I ordered a pancake on the side; very tasty, as well! My friend Big Rob, ordered the Chicken-Fried Steak and eggs and said it was very good, as well. At that point I had almost felt bad about using a generously-given coupon to pay for the quality breakfast I received. I can tell you that if you want a great breakfast, you should definitely try the 101 Cafe? Why? You don't even know me, right? Well I know good food. I am very picky! I don't ask for alot, just if you are going to claim you have a quality product, back it up! No fluff, just be real! This place has definitely made me a fan now! Bravo!! One last thing, the bathrooms were some of the cleanest 50's style diner bathrooms, let alone any bathrooms, that I have ever seen. read more

Straight-up, I used to be a regular at this place and probably paid all the overhead for a few years straight. The food is good keeping in mind that it is diner food. However, having experienced multiple significant price-increases at 101 they finally succeeded in driving me away. I have to take exception to the single "$" price rating for this place. It will definitely cost you $11 or more each, which is a "$$" rating. Lunch for two, which included a burger and a breakfast plate with two drinks was over $23, plus tip. Service is very hit or miss depending on how busy they are, whether the owner has skimped on waitstaff to cut corners, and which waitresses are working. On many occasions I've had to chase down waitresses that are overworked or not paying attention and/or had to refill my own drink. The waitresses they have are usually good but the owner is pretty cheap and will frequently understaff. This place has always been something of a dive diner, although a good one. But now it's a dive diner with boutique prices; Cash only by the way. One food note: never had anything too bad there except their ice-cream which just sucks. It's the really cheap institutional type that's mainly agar seaweed thickener which will maintain its consistency on a hot sidewalk all afternoon; gross! Also, they owner is too cheap to invest in a lettuce drier so all the salads have sopping wet lettuce with a pool of water in the bottom of the bowl/plate. If you like salad soup then give it a try. As long as you avoid the ice cream and salads, and can stomach the prices and hit or miss waitservice, 101 Cafe is pretty good. read more

The primary reason for leaving a one star rating is that there is no lower rating that could be left. On this our first, last and only visit, the teenage wait staff was not only careless in not bringing out half of the items included on the order, but they could also have cared less about any of the customers. It was clear that on Friday night, there were other things they would prefer to be doing. The food really solidified the one star rating. The Clam Chowder soup, which the waitress forgot to deliver, was watery, canned, cold, of poor taste and low quality. The meatloaf was a compressed meat-like substance that bore little resemblance to actual meat loaf. It was devoid of flavor, and the brown 'gravy' covering it was bland at best. The vegetables were frozen, and barely thawed, and of a variety one would expect to find at the local government food bank. This is the first meal I have tasted that made c-rations seem like Haute Cuisine. To add financial insult to dining injury, the waitress, on her own accord, brought an iced tea refill, and had the audacity to charge for two ice teas. I am baffled by the many reviews that consider this restaurant of any level of quality. This overall experience was among the worst of a lifetime. When factoring in the prices, you would be well advised to advised to avoid this establishment at all costs. Please let this be a warning. Dine here at your own peril. ;-( read more

Good old fashion burger joint. Typical breakfast and burgers. The fries are different, they are coated no a little extra crispy, not my favorite type of fries. I had a fish sandwich and it wasn't that good. It came with two pieces of crispy greasy fried cod on a bun with lettuce, tomato and tarter sauce. I wouldn't Oder this again. I'd stick to the breakfast that I've ordered before and always loved. My husband had a hamburger and he liked it. Cooked to order with all the fixings. He didn't care for the fries either. They serve Coke which for us is a plus. The place use. The server was friendly but did have to ask for refills on our drinks. The restrooms are out back and you to ask for a token or pay a quarter to use them. The restrooms were clean. We like to eat here but decided we'll stick to ordering breakfast, it seems that's what they do best. read more

Love this place! When I go up to Los Angeles for business, I always stop here for breakfast before I hop on the Metrolink. Great breakfast items and yummy coffee. read more

Depends on the day and time. I've had the pleasure of going on a slow day and meeting the owner and it was amazing, friendly service great food overall a five star breakfast. But then I went on a busy day, still great food but the service dropped severely which was expected but the service time got worse and worse as time went on. If you see it's a slow day 10/10 would go but if it looks busy you may want to think twice read more

Recieved no service once food placed on table. Food comprised of burnt bacon, soggy hashbrowns, dry toast and don't even know what to say about eggs. A definite must miss diner. read more

Perfect classic diner. The staff takes great care of you, food is eggsellent (had to).

This place is so awesome always visit here when our family comes in town from sf and they absolutely love it too! Super dog friendly every time we come they bring our dog some water and treats and tell her she's a good girl...service is awesome and extremely nice anything u need they'll get it.. and the food is so yummy with so many choices. We will always come here to spend our family meals when our parents are in town bc it's the perfect place in the area! read more

Please read pages 3 and 4 of Yelp's "not currently recommended" reviews at the bottom of the page. The 101 Cafe has many "5 star ratings" on very recent reviews. Please read what satisfied customers had to say about their wonderful experience at the 101 Cafe. read more

It was delicious , our server kelsey was so welcoming, the food came out fast and toasty. We loved our first experience there and will be coming back for sure read more

101 Cafe - 101! - American Near Me - Oceanside, California

Whenever I go on a road trip, one of my favorite activities is eating in authentic roadside diners. The type where the onus is on feeding the hungry, tired motorists, not the business or tourist crowds. Such places, unfortunately, have been disappearing from major cosmopolitan areas. Luckily, the 101 Cafe is bucking the trend and keeps the tradition alive. I love that place. The menu is basic, Americana diner food. Huge portions are served quickly and efficiently without any pretense. Coffee arrives instantly, and is refilled before the cup is half empty. There seems to be no effort spend on making the food health conscious, and I'm grateful for that. Warning to the health food nuts, food at the 101 diner is greasy and cholesterol laden. This is not the place to take your yoga instructor. Bikers seem to eat there regularly, if that's any indication of the customer preference. My favorite is by far eggs with home made hash browns. It's simple, absolutely delicious and really hits the spot. I think it even comes with a side of a tiny fruit salad. Outside of that, the location is next to perfect. The building is old, small, and scenic. The view of palm trees and the 101 adds much to stimulating the appetite. Overall, a great location for locals and tourists alike. read more

I really like this place. The decor is very classic 50's style Diner. I think it's cool and especially convenient to stop by for a quick classic American breakfast. I usually have just a simple combo plate keeping classic. You can't really go wrong here. read more

Just got breakfast this morning. Amazingly friendly service and great food. Definitely recommend for a good breakfast.

What kind of person buys an establishment and then fires all of the employees who have been working there for years.?? I'll tell you what kind, this kind, don't eat here, the food's not going to be the same, the atmosphere is not going to be the same, and it's just not right to do that to hard-working people. If your smart and you agree with this you'll do the right thing and spend your money elsewhere. read more

It is a nice place to eat for your family. We just got off from the Oceanside pier. They have good portion and service. But, it took a little longer to wait for our food. Other than that it's great... I will recommend this part of history here in Oceanside... read more

Awesome!!!! Love the old school style, the history, the MILKSHAKES!!!!! Great place!

Whenever I stay in Oceanside I want to come here. The Pile Up is my favorite dish and I love the casual family environment. The waitresses always take great care of us! It's cash only here but don't worry, it's on every page of the menu and they have an ATM on the premises in case you forget. I would recommend this place to anybody! read more

Café 101 looks like a shabby diner, but don't let its looks fool you. The food is amazing, and the servers are locals with lots of knowledge of Encinitas. Be sure to check the whiteboard for specials, such as the Carnitas Benedict, which could be featured on 'The Best Thing I Ever Ate'. If you see a spot at the counter, grab it. You'll have a front row seat to your own cooking show. read more

Walked in and the waitress made me feel like a huge inconvenience. Took my order and just walked away have yet to see her smile in the 15 minutes I've been here. Except when she is talking/joking with other employees. After being here a while she turned it around she was just having a busy stressfulday and was ready to leave. i cant be mad at that. Not a terrible place to eat. The milkshakes are pretty darn good too. read more

Pretty mediocre diner. The chicken machaca is decent. The home fries are bland. The hot tea was luke warm at best. The pancakes were the same as you could make at home. The inside was pretty neat, kind of like museum for old Oceanside. The service was cheerful. read more

I hardly ever give less than 3-4 stars. But this place, man. First off, it's a nice little restaurant, very old school which is nice. But when we walked in it seemed understaffed. No one greeted us or told us to seat ourselves. We were standing there for a good 5-10 minutes waiting. Then a waitress tells us to pick wherever we want to sit, i just wish they had a sign or something indicating so. Then we sat down picked a nice little booth, it took about 15 to finally get our order down, the husband got the biscuits and gravy, little man got the mickey mouse pancakes and i got the eggs benedict. The food seemed sub-par. The biscuits and gravy had no real flavor, the potatoes although they claim to have cajun seasoning had no flavor and the eggs benedict tasted sour, now i don't think they're supposed to taste like that. So it's a no go for us. read more

Went back 4 dinner to give diner a second chance. Big mistake after we ordered our drinks the actual owner of the restaurant came out and told us we had to leave because they were closing. This is not an exaggeration that actually told us we had to leave because they are closing. WORD FOR WORD. Never go to this place never go to this place Never Go TO This Place save your money read more

I've lived in north county for many years and finally stopped by this place today. Gotta say, it's so great!! The service was speedy and our food came out quick. Food tasted great too. This is a great and affordable place for classic American breakfast! The cover page to their menu had a big story about the history of the cafe and how it's grown over the years. I'll definitely come back here. read more

Wost service I have ever experienced! I stood there for 10 min staring at the staff while they argued about who will clean a table off. No one said "hi" or "I will be with you in a moment". Whats worse after they argued I noticed customers handling cash at their tables. I asked one of them while arguing about tables if they used ATM or Visa. They rudely replied "no!". I walked out without any acknowledgement. NO WONDER WHY THE OWNER CUT HIS HOURS. The staff is HORRIBLE read more

We went for our first visit during Sunday lunch hours. Do make sure you bring cash, as it's the only form of payment they accept, and it you need the restroom, ask for a token! There were no problems in waiting for food to arrive and when it did it was delicious. Our waitress did bring check before I had decided whether I wanted dessert or not and without checking to see if we needed anything else or if everything was alright, which left us feeling a little rushed, but we went with it since we were full anyway. :) We'll definitely go back, though, as there were a lot of delicious-looking items on the menu! read more

New to Oceanside area so just starting to check out what the town has to offer. I came home on a late train and we popped in for a quick bite and thus place is an adorable little dive. Formerly a drive in according to their information around since 1928. I love any place that serves breakfast all day. I had French toast with eggs and bacon, my usual go to and the hubs had an Ortega burger and fries. Mine was good but he loves a good Ortega burger when he can get one. He was not disappointed. Fantastic fries perfectly done. Crispy outside fluffy inside. Our waitress was super sweet. I think she said it was her third day but you couldn't tell. Provided great service and really attentive definitely will be back to check out the rest of the menu read more