Well the new owners are going to learn something, in last few months one of there best waitress quit ,3 cooks left in 1 day, so now you have unskilled cooks,the first thing they did was treat salsa like gold, 1 dollar per container ,witch to me is Micro managing,the place was hopping before it sold, 20 waiting outside not now,the food today was cold hash browns witch i ask for well done were cold,alot less portions,I think having 8 kids behind the counter bsing around, when you wait 15 minutes to place your order, good luck, read more

Service is amazing. The food used to be amazing. I went a couple years ago and it wasn't the same. My family was not happy. I need to go again but we're very hesitant to have the same experience with the food. The servers are great! read more

I had their chicken fried steak and eggs years ago and every time we come back to Pismo I have to go tto IT'S and get it again!! Always Awesome every time. read more

CJ's Cafe - Chicken fried steak and eggs!! - American Near Me - Arroyo Grande, California

Having been coming here for years! Can't say enough great things about this restaurant. The food, the staff, both outstanding. Always friendly and the food is fast but amazing! We will continue to to come here for as long as we live in the area read more

Locals and visitor's favorite in the 5Cities. Omelette and burritos are consistently good. CJ's erves generous portions and tops it with good service. Ambiance is laid back local diner feel. Be patient, the place always gets busy during breakfast hours but dont worry, food service is always excellent and fast. Bottomless coffee will start your day right! read more

I came here for the early bird dinner which is served daily between 2 and 5 pm. For only $14.99, you get a choice of various entrees, along with soup or salad and a dessert. I had the fish and chips which was quite delicious. They gave me a generous five pieces of fish along with a generous portion of fries. For dessert, you can have a choice of several flavors of ice cream or tapioca pudding, which is what I had. Not only was everything quite tasty, the portions were generous, and the service was very attentive. The early bird is very popular here, as the place was quite busy during these early dinner hours even though it was a weekday. read more

CJ's Cafe - Front Entrance - American Near Me - Arroyo Grande, California

See all

Before and after the owner change; I have always had great service and delicious breakfasts!

We come to Pismo often so as we head into Arroyo Grande to wander, shop, eat we've passed by CJ'S and the parking lot is full. Most times of day. Possibly why is the fact that the parking lot is really too small. It's a good ol fashioned cafe with the usual fare. We had breakfast. The fruit cup...the fruit was bad. I didn't want melon so asked if it could mostly be pineapple, but the waitress said "no, they won't do that!" The plates with burgers passing by looked good. Lots of seniors. Prices reasonable. Glad we tried it. Probably won't return. read more

Food was well prepared and portions were generous. The staff was courteous and attentive. Parking is easy right off grand Avenue, which is the main through fair. read more

The food is consistently good here so we always know we will enjoy what we order. Huge menu and while their prices have also jumped, they are considerably less than most other restaurants. Breakfast is our favorite to eat here and the veggie omelette with country potatoes and a muffin are my go-to. Service is good, especially when you consider how busy this place usually is! I always have enough leftover for dinner or the next days breakfast. If there is a line, it normally moves fast. They have a very good hot turkey meal that my husband likes. Not much on ambience but it's always clean and presentable inside. I'm sure we will be going again soon read more

Hello, I have been enjoying my Chef salad at CJ's for years. I try Chef salads at many restaurants and I always rave about yours. Yesterday I went with my friend. I ordered the Chef salad with thousand island dressing with raspberry iced tea and she ordered the soup and half sandwich. As soon as my salad was set down, I was disappointed. It came in a ROUND bowl rather than the oval elongated plate. Items on the salad were not clearly visible as they have been in the past. The turkey looked more shredded than cubed. While eating I found three hard white particles (maybe bone.) I have attached a picture of what it used to look like. I'm not sure if I will be returning for the Chef salad. read more

CJ's Cafe - Chef salad and raspberry iced tea. - American Near Me - Arroyo Grande, California

Our family has been coming to CJ's for years. In the last year, the food quality has gone down but staff like Vanessa and Carson W bring a smile to our faces! read more

Great food, equally great service. Old coffee shop with a great home cooking menu. It's like going back in time with meatloaf, fried chicken, pot roast. Breakfast is good. Homemade muffins are real good. Love CJs. It's always packed on the weekends. read more

Terrible service. Got seated and almost and hour passed with no service and the place was not busy at all. Had to just leave because we couldn't wait around any longer. Staff was just talking. read more

Visited 04-27-25 about 5:00 p.m. I had the ribeye steak that came with pilaf, vegetables, bread and a green salad. I was expecting a juicy steak. Instead I received a flat over cooked piece that resembled dry liver. The pilaf also had no flavor. A disappointing meal for me. My husband had the Chile verde. He loved it. The staff and service was great. Seating areas were clean and ladies bathroom as well. If I came back I'd order a simple sandwich. You can't go wrong with that. :( read more

So to start, this review doesn't not have anything to do with food taste or food quality. All of these are fantastic and love the food here. I have only put this review at 3 stars for one specific reason and that reason is that food prices sharply increased after the new ownership took over. The things that frustrates me the most is the fact that a single pancake or single slice of French toast is $5, that is ridiculous! A small cup of gravy is also $5!! I went to a close competitor in the area (Francisco's) and noticed that a single pancake or single French toast slice there is just $2.50-$3, so yea no idea why It's more here. I know things are more expensive across the board but I find the increase and price of certain items completely unacceptable. I'v been coming here for many many years and to see this happen is disheartening. I hope the owner can see this and possibly give an explanation of why things are costing this much because I know for a fact one pancake does not need to be $5. All the best,.. read more

So i came in here for breakfast while i was getting new tires on my work truck down the street. Fair amount if people for a weds morning, so thats a good sign! I ordered the chili verde omelette and hash browns with toast. Everything was great, with a great waitress and fast service. 4 stars for all that. Id recommend this place for sure. Not over priced, and food was fresh and delicious. Minus one star for: some of my pork in the chili verde was not tender. Most of it was. Also a couple of chewy fat pieces in there. Im good with edible fat. This was not. The butter in my toast was not melted and cold. I found that strange. hash browns could be a little crispier IMO. And lastly i told the host i did not want coffee and asked for water. He then brought coffee? He's a younger/teenage guy, and i don't like making a fuss, so i just drank it. It is what it is lol. Anyways i WILL be back. They have real folded egg omelette's and i cant wait to try the mushroom/bacon/ jack cheese one next time. I say 95% of you out there in yelp land will love this place. read more

Great service great food is hands down a local favorite it's especially nice the serve breakfast all day

Oriental Chicken Salad This was lunch brought to me by one of our teachers at our school where I work. I'm a custodian at a local elementary school. It was a thank you for taking care of her classroom. She knows how much work during the summer, it sure was very nice of her to think of me and the salad is delicious. read more

CJ's Cafe - Oriental Chicken Salad - American Near Me - Arroyo Grande, California

Recently started trying oh this restaurant, the food and the service is spot on. Highly recommend this restaurant!

Great food and the staff is very friendly. We go here for breakfast all the time. Love me some waffles!!! Always busy, cause it's good.

Ok so I love old style American diner comfort food. And this place has lots of that. I'm not big on foofy food with weird combinations of ingredients and that sticks to current food trends. If you want nice service, good home style food (with reasonable prices). I'm happy to come here on a regular basis and so are a lot of other folks judging by how full the place gets on a regular basis read more

The food is good. The service is done with a smile and attentive. It is a cafe. It is clean and well done. A veggie omelette is a real veggie omelette. read more

CJ's Cafe - Veggie omelette with broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, and spinach. - American Near Me - Arroyo Grande, California

It is always full for a reason. Families, and friends gather to eat in groups. Seniors sit alone or come with their partners...Just make sure everyone is there before you enter to be seated. The food is really good, some waitresses have been there for a long time and know the customers by name. It is a very good environment with great value for your money. I recommend it because I attend it (often)! read more

We just missed the early bird dinner which seems to be a fantastic deal. My family ordered two burgers which didn't come with fries (its a side add on) and one breakfast. I wasn't particularly hungry and ordered some soup of the day. Portions are average sized for an American diner and the food tasted good. The booths are a bit snug if you're whole family is plus sized but in compensation the parking lot is huge! It was a decent experience but nothing stood out as extremely positive or negative. My older parents were excited about this place because of that early bird special and most likely we will come back for that experience. read more

Great food - feels like home cooking, comfort food. Lovely family atmosphere. The restaurant has a casual, diner atmosphere. I wish they would stay open a little longer. read more

Best secret in Arroyo Grande! Great food and great service. Love this mom and pop restaurant..........

Good local eatery. Nice old fashioned diner. Got seated right away but the wait service was a bit slow. The beef barley soup was delicious with lots of yummy pieces of beef. I ordered the fish and chips with baked potato and fresh veggies. The portions were quite large. It was diner type food and no special sauces added. The ranch steak wasn't really a good cut of meat. The potatoes and gravy were good. You also got to try free ice cream or tapioca. May come back again to try other dishes. read more

See all

Very good service and great food at this restaurant. They are known for their breakfast and lunch service but they are also open for dinner. They also have a great selection of muffins for breakfast and they are definitely popular among the local residents. read more

See all

Oh yes this was a lovely change from cooking breakfast for me! Kids were just wanting to go out. Greeted with smiles...yes I know they were smiling behind the masks! Food was good, service was impeccable, and the place was spotless. They've really gone the extra distance to make everyone safe yet comfortable. The food was just amazing, service was amazing. I'm not sure what's going on there now since they're in California and I know there's another lockdown going on. If they're open, head there, if not make sure they're high up on your list as soon as they're open again. read more

See all

OK, I have to admit I am a sucker to find a place that all the regulars go to. And I think I found the place in Arroyo Grande. I've been seeing CJ's for a while now. It looks a little bit rundown on the outside, but there's always cars there. So I figured I'd finally try it out. I think I got the last parking spot. I walked into the restaurant, and the only spots to sit were at the counter. Every table was in use. I thought to myself, Self, this could be a good find. I wasn't wrong. I watched as the waitt staff took orders cheerfully and made sure that everyone's order was to their satisfaction. I usually read a book if I'm in a restaurant by myself. Today was no different. But I still noticed things. The dishes coming out of the kitchen, were all hot and delivered quickly to the tables. I saw a lot of conversation between the Waitt staff and the customers. I know and understand why this is a popular place. It's not fancy, it's not dressy, it's not over the top. It's the kind of food that you got back in "the day ". and personally I'll be back. Next time, my husband's going with me. :-) By the way, I did order the grilled chicken Florentine sandwich. I could barely eat a third of my fries if even that. But they were hot and fresh. Hope you try the restaurant and you like it too. read more

CJ's Cafe - My very delish grilled chicken Florentine sandwich with extra crispy fries. - American Near Me - Arroyo Grande, California

Decided to try CJ's Cafe for breakfast as I love good cafe food- We were seated right away. Looking around it appeared as a general diner restaurant. Nothing special really stood out, except the waitress who had a big friendly smile! Well this breakfast was mediocre. Not bad but not over the moon tasty. I would have enjoyed it more if the food was hot not just warm, if the hash browns had been cooked more to get a good crisp and if the sausages had been cooked a lot less, they were a bit shriveled and dry. They looked like farmer John's sausage. My scrambled eggs were more on the cold side and overcooked. My son had the Cattaneo Bros. pork linguica which he seemingly enjoyed as well as his muffin. I might give this place another chance in the future as perhaps it was an off day being that it was a Wednesday- read more

See all

I took my family to CJ's café for the early bird dinner, and couldn't have been more pleased. All three of the young people were happy as well. The youngest of them, in high school, is doing a lot of growing and needs to have a big meal as soon as he gets out of school in the afternoon. The restaurant was clean and had cute decor. They serve beer and wine, and have a solid selection of American diner offerings. The waitress was fabulous as well as her assisting staff. Drinks were kept full, plates were kept cleared, and there was no shortage of attention to whatever we might need. I highly recommend CJ's Café. I have not been there for several years and I'm hoping that I will make this part of our regular routine. Very affordable early bird dinner. Steak, baked potato, salad, cheese, toast, vegetables that were beautiful and nutritious. Even included dessert! This was only $15. Just like the waitress said, CJ's is the place to be between 2 and 5 PM. read more

My husband and I are remodeling our kitchen. So now going out more for a later afternoon lunch/dinner. CJ's has Early Bird dinners from 2 to 5 pm. It comes with soup or salad, baked potato, mashed and other options, plus dessert. You can't beat it. The food was delicious. My husband ordered the pork loin and I ordered the turkey breast. CJs does a nice job! You can't get any better! The servers are friendly and efficient. They work hard and want to please their customers. We will probably be back every week! No pics as the food looked too good and I was too hungry to wait! :-) read more

Very good old school diner. French toast platter with bacon(2) & 2eggs was very good and reasonable price. Wife had chicken wrap also good. Granddaughter had chocolate chip pancakes, short stack (2 big) she liked. Plenty of seating and excellent service. Really rate 4.5 to 5 stars. Will return. read more

Great food - both inside and take out. I love their breakfasts but the 2-5 turkey special was amazing! Salad, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and dessert was all fabulous! read more

Well to start off i ordered the special of the day chicken and waffles , it came out 30ish minutes later and the "fried chicken" was ICE cold... Not to mention the chicken was precooked (as said by waitress). I let my waitress know my chicken was cold after I bit into it and she took it to the back. As it was brought back to me I noticed all they did was microwave the SAME piece that was sent to the back.. I got zero refills on my drink throughout my entire visit, and got no discount on my icey cold microwaved food. The best part is they included a gratuity tip of 18$ onto my bill...?! What am I tipping for? The service was not good, and the food definitely was not. Probably one of the worst food experience. This was ridiculous, Ive been here a few times but this was the most disappointing. Never will i come back again after the experience I've had today. read more

Nice place for breakfast. Great combos. Not to noisy even though it was busy. Worth returning. read more

CJ's Cafe - We beat the crowds. - American Near Me - Arroyo Grande, California

See all

What a lovely little diner in such a quaint little area near the beaches! Also convenient if you're staying at the little motel next door, which we did and we'll likely do it from now on, because it's like you have this restaurant inside the motel. Literally a few steps away. The service was beyond stellar, and the quality of food just that - delicious hot & tasty food that you would hope your mother would make when you lived at home. And I have to say all three times are the best & I'm a diehard breakfast fan, but the expectations were met for dinner as well as lunch. It does get full so try to go before popular times, but it seems to be always accommodating. It's a cute diner, ran efficiently, typical diner decor that's contemporary not dinky or outdated with tacky decorations just simplicity and clean. Lots of parking too. Can't wait to go back. read more

I don't know if someone quit or got fired but this is the fourth time my meal has been barely OK. Maybe the boss is on vacation. There are several old style diner comfort food type places but for us this has been our favorite for decades. THE local gathering place. Today we decided to switch to Francisco's. I am not standing in that line again for $25 eggs with a starch and another starch with slightly warmed, greasy starch on the side. That is Pismo (with view) pricing! They need to change the "fruit bowl" to cantaloupe bowl as in a full year I have not seen anything but cantaloupe. As usual our waitress was wonderful. read more