Cully's Restaurant is a small hole-in-wall breakfast and lunch place in central Poway in the same shopping center as the Body Beautiful Car Wash and O'Rielly's Auto Parts. This is its third location spanning some 28 years under the present dog lovin' manager, Mark, but the restaurant dates back to the 1960s, under its original owner--Cully, making it a true Poway institution. It clearly has a local following from the large number of regulars that patronize it and can get a bit crowded on Saturday and especially Sunday mornings. But, do not worry the wait is never very long. Cully's is easy to miss if you are driving through Poway, tucked back in a shopping center off of the street. As you walk into the place there is a collection of photos of dogs past and present belonging to the dog loving owner. The counter for the register and ATM looks as if it was a mahogany bar brought home from the Philippines by some sailor returning from WESPAC. The walls on one side have cute stencils of a garden scene with puppies and kittens and on the other side the bird photography of a local birder. The tables and chairs are worn from years of use, and the dark green swirled pattern carpeting is dated testifying the restaurant's history. In the back by the restrooms is a shelf with small free book exchange where regulars donate novels and pick up novels to read at no charge, which adds to the friendly quirkiness of the place. The portions are good size "home-style" cuisine at a reasonable prices. Like I said "home-style" so don't expect anything fancy, but menu has a good selection of breakfast dishes: a good selection of large omelets, pancakes and French toast, corned beef harsh, and Chicken Fried Steak, etc. The O'Brian potatoes are chunks of potato grilled with onions and bell peppers are great. They offer breakfast sausage, Bratwurst, Italian sausage, Linguisa, Kielbasa, pork chops or ham steak. The biscuits have always been large, light and fluffy--almost cake-like. They also have a good spicy home-made salsa. Lunch sandwiches offer: old fashion burgers with the fixin's, French dipped sandwich, tuna melts, toasted cheese sandwich, club, etc. Their burgers are nice size instead of those expensive greasy fast food joints and come with all the fixings. The French fries are golden brown and crispy. As far as I am concerned the home run hitter is their old fashioned French Dip sandwich. Tender slices of beef steak served on a French roll. The deluxe version is done with grilled onions and bell peppers, and cheese making it more of the Philly cheese steak-like sandwich. It comes with the traditional cup of au jus and fries. You don't want fries with that, you can opt for sliced tomatoes or whatever fruit is in season and on hand. The coffee is good and often refilled. The sodas and ice tea are large. Substitutions are not a problem and orders to go are available. The staff, is a mixed bag of personalities. Mitch usually has a joke or two. Chris is always greets you with a smile and is eager to please. Jordyn is sweet and attentive. All are friendly and after one or two visits make the effort to learn your name. When a regular walks in, it is reminiscent of the old television Cheers when everybody shouts a greeting to the heavy set accountant Norm as he enters. The staff is attentive, but you have to be a bit patient when the place is packed during a morning rush or on the weekends. Not nearly as expensive as the Original House of Pancakes or Kountry Kafe nor is the wait as long as it is at the Original House of Pancakes or the Broken Yolk. Plenty of parking, but during the week after 9:00am you sometimes have to compete with the students from the neighboring beauty college and on the weekends with the parents bring their youngsters to the martial arts school. Primarily a cash and serve business. They do not accept credit cards in payment. You won't see the credit card decals in the front window. Some people do not realize that the credit card companies charge businesses a user fee too, which can be a financial drain on small businesses. However, they have an ATM onsite for a minimal $1.50 fee. The catch is as it is not a regular bank ATM and your bank might hit you with maximum allowable California fee on top for using it. So, debit card users be advised. Gift certificated are usually available upon request. Restaurants don't last long in southern California if they are not good and Cully's Restaurant has stood the test of the times and is a favorite local residents and workers. read more

eh. just go to denny's. nice people, but the food was odd and greasy. i ordered a veggie omelet and all the veggies and cheese were hiding underneath this lumpy egg patty. i would go back cuz i want a mom and pops type breakfast place nearby... maybe use a lil more Pam and not so much butter and mix up your omelet too. read more

Service and food was excellent. Go with an appetite because the portions are big! Corned beef hash and eggs are a must get!

We used to come to this place as a family for breakfast when I was a kid on the rare occasion we went out. In high school I came here with groups of friends and team mates for before school and game day breakfasts. I still like to come for a Friday morning breakfast during the fall. I always see the same group of old coaches from the area, meeting up to talk about the match ups around the county that night. This is probably my favorite restaurant I've ever been to just because of all the memories. That being said, the food is what ultimately brings me back. I like to get the hamburger patty, or linguisa breakfasts with hashbrowns and toast. It's like 7 or 8 bucks and keeps me felling fed all morning long. The corn beef hash is unreal as well. I will tyopically grab a side of that on the weekends when my wife and I bring our son. She likes the buiscuts and gravy which is unlimited for around 4 or 5 buscks. Oh man.... My mouth is watering right now. read more

The owner is very nice. He made me feel very welcome. Food is good. The inside might need a little freshening up, but I have no complaints about my experience there. read more

A cute little mom and pop restaurant. I've been here many times and I always get the egg white vegetarian omelette with their salsa. The only thing that I don't like is their sides for the breakfast. The last time I got the hash browns they were stale and cold and their biscuits don't have too much flavor. Other than that their omelette is delicious and service is great! read more

love this place! the owner and staff are amazing people and the food is amazing! the price is also fantastic! its around 32 bucks for 3 people to have lunch and you get alot of food. 10000/10 would recommend read more

Looking for breakfast, my first visit. Quick personable service. Food came fast and hot. Great coffee. Food was very good, hash browns especially. Will try pancakes next time. I enjoyed my first visit and for an old-fashioned breakfast and lunch place - very good! read more

place is great for anytime of the day. the counrty fried steak with gravy is on point..went for Veterans Day and was seated quickly..the corn beef hash was great too!! read more

located in old dated center. this place has been here forever. good service with great people. food? unfortunately it's not all that. Very inconsistent. Some days breakfast will comes out totally undercooked. on plus side, rarely there is wait here. read more

Not as cheap as it's claimed to be...I would say two $$ Is more appropriate. The food was decent, nothing special. NO military discount--what a shame. The service was quick, so if your starving and don't mind paying $10 for an omelette (same price as ihop really) then this is a great choice. Quick service and the people were friendly! read more

The host was very friendly and we were seated almost immediately. The waitress took the order quickly but got it wrong. Also ordered pancakes but had to ask for syrup. The menu said add blueberries for $.80 but that is per pancake not for the whole the stack. They were ok, but not as good as the ones at The Original Pancake House or IHOP. The portions were very generous but the food was just ok. Being from the South, we were excited to see grits on the menu, but were disappointed that they were obviously instant and definitely overpriced at almost $4 a bowl. Nice people, quaint storefront restaurant but not worth a return visit from me. read more

Went here today for liver and onions. The food was excellent, server was cheerful and for the price you got a ton of food. So glad we found this on Yelp! read more

I have only been here about three times because I do not live in the area but it is a solid breakfast place. If you are like me and want to leave breakfast actually full then Cully's is your kind of place. Not only do you walk away full but the food is quite good as well. Definitely a very good breakfast joint. read more

Awesome breakfast spot. Excellent service and great food. Definitely has that home cooking comfort food feel. Alot of locals here seems like they know most patrons by name. read more

Very good! I'm not from this area, and I needed a break from the typical "chain" places. This was perfect, good old-fashioned breakfast. The price was fine. Food was pretty good. Definitely worth it. read more

I come here for the pancakes. Totally awesome! It's a great family run place to eat and the owners are extremely outgoing and just generally sweet! read more

Absolute favorite go-to breakfast spot. The staff is super friendly and I love the small business vibe. The owner is always greeting every customer and their food is very comforting. read more

Owner greeted our large soccer party of 12 at the door with a smile and helpful attitude. We came in last minute on a busy Saturday morning to grab some grub between soccer games. The food was decent, but the four stars are for the great service. If you're looking for a little restaurant with an old school diner vibe, this is the place to go. read more

This is a good breakfast diner. My husband loves eggs benedict, but good luck finding it outside of Cully's. The servers are all nice people. The place is small and there isn't a lot of waiting room, but they do the best with what they have and you have to hand it to them. Also, anybody who can serve me with a smile while my terrible two year-old is making a scene, earns an extra star from me. read more

I really liked this place, the food was very good, the service is very friendly. I never once had to ask for my coffee to be refilled, the server was on top of everything. The portions are large and the prices are cheap. My husband and I went there for breakfast/lunch and spent only $22! The only reason I didn't give this place 5 stars is because it definitely has an "old" feel. It could use a little pick me up! Other than this, service and food is very good. We will definitely be back for future breakfasts. read more

I went here after reading reviews. The food was great, and very large portions. I got the ham and eggs and it was real ham and there was a lot of it. The potatoes were awesome. Yes there are a lot of regulars here, but the staff was just as friendly to us as if we were regulars also. read more

I go here every Saturday that I work. Always get the same thing. Biscuits and gravy with 2 eggs. The staff is always awesome.

Cullys is a home away from home whether youve known the family for years or just met you'll always feel welcomed. The food never fails the taste buds seeb you soon Cully's read more

This place is awesome! Incredible customer service and great price. Food is exceptional!! You'll never leave hungry.

Ambiance and food like a truck stop in the Midwest. I'm sure there are lots of patrons in the area who love that, but if you don't count yourself among them, I would steer clear. Very friendly service - it just very much has the feel and food of a Truck Stop diner off the highway in the middle of Ohio. read more

This place is amazing. We went to another place for breakfast first but left because the wait was so long. Glad we did! Fantastic food! Great service. Super speedy. Great prices (for the amazing food, I think the prices are too low). I'm definitely coming here again read more

Cully's in Poway is practically a landmark- I don't live there anymore but it was our family's gathering place for years- I still have family & friends that live there, who still goes - I have been reading the reviews from people who expected Cully's to meet their hoity toity expectations-- NOT! This ain't La Jolla, or the Beach Cities folks- Poway is a country town, The owner is about as nice as you'll ever find- (and he gives great hugs).And about the credit card fees? Business's everywhere are now charging fees- It's how they operate in 2012, so get over it- read more

we went to Cully's on Saturday morning for brunch. We chose the place based on the good reviews on yelp. The ambient was making us feel homey and the staff were friendly. The food tasted OK but 20 min after we had our omelets both myself and my girlfriend had upset stomachs! maybe that was just an one time incident, but I don't think I will go there to eat anytime soon. Also please carry cash or debit card as they don't seem to be friendly to credit cards. read more

This was my first visit to Cully's. We went for breakfast on the weekend. My scrambled eggs and my husband's Denver Omelet were fine. But the hashbrowns were warm and mushy, rather than hot and crispy. The "biscuit" tasted like it was straight out of a Bisquick box, and was cut in a square, as if it had been made like a sheet cake rather than a traditional biscuit. The menu said two sausage patties, but I got one enormous one instead. It was tough and chewy and the had an odd color in the thick center that was a little off putting. We won't be back. read more

Food was good and waitress was great. But I walked up to pay showing my credit card and the owner/cashier said no problem and had me swipe my card on his "debit card" machine. He asked me to enter my PIN then reached over and started to click on the buttons answering yes to all the debit questions. Then he gave me a few dollars from the cash register. I was confused as to why I was getting change from my debit card purchase. Only then did I realize he does not take credit cards or debit cards but uses the machine like an ATM and was giving me the cash from his register/ATM. He charged me $1.50 for using his machine without even giving me choice. I see this as poor management and service. The owner should of just said, "I don't take credit cards, but you can use my ATM/debit card machine for $1.50." I hate to complain over $1.50 but it is the principle of not telling customers and being sneaky about it. Unfortunately I will not go again, because who knows what else this guy is hiding? Maybe charges for coffee refills? Butter costs a few cents extra? Who knows... Watch out. Two stars because the food was okay and the waitress/servers were great. read more

We have been coming to Cully's for nearly 20 years (used to go to the old location on Poway Rd.) and it is truly a great place to go for consistently good old fashioned food and service. The Hamburger is one of the best we've ever had and really tastes and looks like a hamburger and not one of the stamped out patties that passes for a hamburger nowadays in fast food/casual dining restaurants. The breakfasts are filling and the staff doesn't blink an eye when a substitution is requested (e.g. Fruit instead of bread and tomato slices instead of the potatoes). Other restaurants charge extra or decline to make substitutions, but Cully's aims to please no matter what your diet might be. And if it isn't on the menu and they have the ingredients they will make it for you (e.g. Chili Size). Their grits are just like being in the south. We haven't had a bad meal here ever. We just hope that they keep in business for a long time to come since the small Mom & Pop type restaurants are increasingly rare to find. read more

i have eaten there several times and each and every time i received quick, friendly service. the portions were quite large, food tasted great and the staff was very attentive. would highly recommend this place read more