What a great place! We had lunch today. My daughter and I shared a club with onion rings and added a side of fries. Food was so good! My husband got a chili omelette and biscuit and gravy. He said his omelette was very good, great chili. And the biscuit and gravy, one of the best we have had. Service was outstanding. We originally were seated at a restaurant across the street, Diner 101, and after waiting and asking if someone would take our order we left for this place. So much better, I highly recommend. read more

Fast friendly service and great food! Had the MINI special which wasn't MINI at all! Generous portions and plenty of Coffee refills. read more

arguably the worst eggs benedict I ever had. the Hollondaise saice was a weird yellowish liquid and just tasted salty. Took the food about 30' to come. Sure wasn't worth the wait. Amazing how they can stay in business at such a prime location. Waitress was very professional and kind. Tipped her well in spite of this culinary disaster. Never again.... read more

Encinitas Cafe - eggs benedict - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Encinitas, California

7/10. Solid spot in Encinitas but there are still better options here in the same area

I do not think any trip to Encinitas is complete without visiting both of their nice, classic diners, which are conveniently located across the street from one another. Since I visited the 101 Diner the day prior, the Encinitas Cafe was next up. The place has plenty of space and you can opt to sit at the diner counter or a booth/table. What does one expect from breakfast diners? Hearty, simple food and fast service, and that is what you get at The Encinitas Cafe. Craving a bit of everything, I opted for the Encinitas Special. I chose the waffle instead of the pancakes and definitely didn't regret my decision. Being greeted with a massive waffle was a great way to complement my eggs and sausage. The waitress was nice and prompt and always kept my coffee full. So I assume there is a local rivalry between the two places, but both are great options to grab some breakfast. Instead of choosing one, why not both? You cannot go wrong either way. read more

Encinitas Cafe - The Encinitas Special - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Encinitas, California

Debbie, Eric and Erica are an amazing family! Great consistent food! Clean, delicious and efficient! Good place, good people! Heart of Encinitas read more

This cafe is a cool spot. I had a Denver omelette. Delicious. Hash browns were good as well. The service and staff were awesome. If you have kids, or don't, the chicken tenders are probably some of the best I've had. The breading is not your typical tender breading. DELICIOUS!! They serve alcohol here and the Bloody Mary's are on point!! We would definitely come back to this cafe when we are close by again!! read more

We were in town and thought let's give this local place a try. Mistake - service was awful - food was below average. If I was you I would try a different pace in town. Coffee was cold, the lady served one person in our party then we had to wait 15 minutes for everyone's else's food. They never came out to check on our food. Maybe this just one a one off bad experience, but we'll never go back. read more

Food was ok for a cafe but the banana bread was delicious. The service was great which is why I'm giving the cafe a 4 star rating. It was quiet since it was Monday which was great. read more

Overall this place has a very welcoming and relaxing vibe. We sat outside on a beautiful Saturday. Despite being quite busy, our server was quick and very professional. We ordered the Ruben and the special grilled cheese (I forget the name) with avocado, bacon and tomato. The grilled cheese was AMAZING! Tons of flavor and the onion rings were very well made as well. We weren't overly impressed with the Ruben - something tasted a bit different opposed to a classic Ruben. It was still tasty though! We would definitely go back again sometime in the future. Reasonably priced and a friendly environment! read more

Disappointed! Waited for an hour and the food never came. I had to go inside to cancel the order then left. Very poor service!!!

As an ex-New Yorker who's probably been to every diner in Manhattan, the Cafe is def one of the best I've been to. Their Eggs Benny has got to be one of the best I've had. Got the traditional Benny, with ham. Their hollandaise is as good as it gets. The eggs were perfect. Staff is awesome! Friendly, attentive and polite. Some really dumass reviews here. Got cold toast? Just ask for a fresh one. They'll accommodate. read more

Solid breakfast place, with all the classic greasy options and some healthy choices as well. Service is fast friendly and no nonsense. They have multiple different rooms to dine in as well as sidewalk seating. On my most recent visit, my partner and I dined here for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. There was a brief wait but we were seated after about 5 minutes and received our drinks immediately. I went with the single scoop acai bowl, which was $8.50. While I've had acai bowls before, having this one on this particular day has made me a total convert, constantly on the search for the best acai bowl. This one was very good, but not 100%. It came with one scoop of acai sorbet, granola, bananas, frozen mango and frozen strawberries and blueberries, which seemed fresh. Overall, it was an excellent start to my day and made feel pretty healthy, especially on Thanksgiving! My partner got an avocado and bacon omelette with hash browns. He liked it but said it was just okay. For the most part, this place is consistent and good and I would definitely look forward to returning. read more

Encinitas Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Encinitas, California

Love the fresh food and the service. We are always in and out in great time, or you can linger and have your cup of coffee refilled.

It's ok, it's diner food so don't expect really high quality food, it's basically Denny's food. I got the Avocado Benedict etc was just average. Only thing is the eggs were not hot, they were just a little warmer than room temp I think because the avocado was fridgerated it made the eggs cool down quick. Orange juice is minute maid concentrate. read more

I love this place, but something has changed with who is making the food. Once the home fries were bigger with spices. Now its a lot of small pieces, with heavy oil and seems like they were sitting on the grill all day. Something is going on with a lot of these restaurants. Three chinese restaurants that I know of went down hill because Chinese people were not making the food. The same thing happened with an Italian restaurant in the Village. Italian people were not making the food and it was not good. That restaurant closed. read more

Better of making my own breakfast at home. The breakfast we had was poor quality. I expected more from this place since it's in a nice busy location. Waiter was nice but the food was not good. read more

This is a small old fashioned cafe located in old town Encinitas. We Stopped here for a quick breakfast on our way to Old Town San Diego. My husband ordered "Homemade banana walnut pancakes". It was different looking (more like bread) but was really good. Those pancakes will bring us back again...For-sure! It has a old fashioned feel about the place with a counter and several small Booths... they've opened the sidewalk to offer a few outdoor tables... Locals must love the place.... Service is good and food is served quickly read more

As a local we love the Encinitas Cafe !! We eat there regularly. The Grilled Turkey Sandwiches are second to NONE . This is real Turkey . Not Processed lunch meat ! Everything else is top notch ! Fries and Onion Rings SO GOOD. Can't tell you how good the Kitchen Chefs are ! Owner and Staff make it that much better . Erica , Cant even tell you how much enjoyable you make are meals . Just visiting with you honey means so much to Debbie and I !! LOVE YOU !! read more

I'm not a big diner person but when I do diners, I have to be in the mood for it. This place was chosen by my friend who was visiting and my husband so we came here as two families. The diner wasn't packed, maybe a few other tables so we were seated right away. Breakfast was served all day so my husband got a ham and cheese omelet with biscuits and gravy on the side. It was pretty good. I got the fried chicken with mashed potatoes and salad, also good. My friend got the adult grilled cheese with avocado and tomatoes and her husband got the fish tacos. My kids each got grilled cheese with fries. We were all pretty happy with our food. The staff were very personable and kind, it made the experience that much better. It was a great way for us to end the day after spending most of our afternoon at the beach with our families. read more

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I like seeing these old school type diners surviving the test of time, because they really do have something special to offer. They have down to earth direct to the point friendly service and some great eats to go along with that service. I stopped in for breakfast and ordered the Encinitas Scramble with spinach, tomatoes, and feta served with a side of crispy hash browns and rye toast. It was a very good scramble. The scrambled eggs were well prepared and were soft and well seasoned. The scramble came with a good amount of fresh spinach and tomatoes and topped with a generous amount of tasty feta cheese. A very good scramble indeed. The hash browns were crisped to a light golden brown. They had that nice crispy exterior and soft tender center. They were well season and were best eaten with a little Cholula hot sauce. The rye toast was great. It was well toasted and with just the right amount of melted butter. The rye toast tasted great on its own and eaten in combination with the scramble. I really liked the forward yet friendly service here. The lady who served me was not only knew what she was doing, but did it with a smile and sincerity. This a great place to stop for breakfast if you find your self cruising down the 101. read more

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Loved everything we had for breakfast! Portions are huge and very well prepared. Could not eat it all. Had omelets, with home fries, eggs, pancakes and biscuits and gravy for 5 people. Fantastic value! Great service too. read more

Old school diner feel- New school delicious food. Yogurt parfait + Avacado Benedict with home fries Coffee was average, but food made up for it. Can't go wrong here. read more

Encinitas Cafe - Menu - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Encinitas, California

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My favorite cafe for breakfast in Encinitas! Close to the beach and very lively. My family and I always enjoy friendly staff and the outdoor seating. read more

The Encinitas Cafe seems like one of those places Chuck Bukowski would've haunted for the Navy Bean Soup and a few good pages of a dog-eared book. The inside looks like your Gramma's kitchen, which is to say it hasn't changed since 1977. Everyone who works here is a lifer, and if there's any justice in the Universe, it'll still be here when the virus-y air clears. I come here on cold, cloudy days and go face down in a steaming bowl of Navy Bean Soup. I lean in and let the rising steam hit my face and senses before going face down. Don't be afraid to eavesdrop. There could be clandestine CIA Agents at the next table over deliberating when to enter the secret time-portal back in the kitchen. And the soup? Well, It's what I need. It's what you need. It won't set the world on fire, but it may save your life read more

Friendly service, great food, reasonable prices, and can't beat the location. Very good blueberry pancakes. Convenient parking located behind the building. Only wish would be real maple syrup. Seems like the kind of place that would have this. read more

I stopped by for a quick light breakfast and sat outside. Not too busy on a Wednesday morning. Nice day so everyone wanted to sit outside. The acai bowl was good and it looked like everyone else's food was pretty standard for a breakfast place (eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy). Service was quick. Good coffee refills and relaxing. I'll swing by again if I'm in Encinitas on a nice day and want something easy. read more

Excelente costumer service , food was delicious. Ambience Was chill. Definitely recommend Ensenada cafe breakfast burrito.

Great breakfast & lunch! 1st time here & I highly recommend. Staff was wonderful & very attentive. Best place to stop & have breakfast with out a doubt. There banana & walnut pancakes were so delicious. read more

Our favorite local brunch spot! Very cozy, homey feel with quick, friendly service. Plenty of outdoor seating, and the wait wasn't long even for Sunday brunch. They have delicious food with daily specials. Their homemade cinnamon rolls are the BEST in the county! An absolute must every time we come to eat here. read more

Great food and friendly service! Reminds me of an old style dinner/cafe. Honestly probably the best onion rings I've ever had!

I haven't had a good waffle (that's good to me anyways) at a breakfast place since I don't know when. And this place definitely does it. It's thin and crispy and stays that way even with syrup and butter all over it. So good. I got the Encinitas special I think so it also came with 2 eggs and meat. I substituted the meat with hash browns. Good portion size of food.. couldn't finish everything. We also got coffee that was refillable and the waitress would refill every time we got half way. Waitresses are all super friendly and everyone in the place seems like they're having a good breakfast. It has a very calm and nice atmosphere read more

We had a large group of 40 for their Thanksgiving dinner. I really didn't expect much but honestly it was the best thanksgiving dinner I've had. The turkey was moist and tender. The serving size was large enough for most of us to have leftovers and the pie was delicious. Also the service was great, especially for such a large group. The seated us right away and got our orders in and food out quickly. Shout out to server Jen who worked her tail off but always had a smile on her face. read more

We love breakfast & lunch here! Always plentiful and delicious! Turkey sandwich is off the bird fresh. BLT not salty! Reuben lean sandwich is the best in the plant! Mimosa's reasonable and delicious. Fantastic homemade soups and home made pies! Just wish they were still open for dinner!!! Their burgers and fries are phenomenal too! Family owned and a treasure! read more

This place is cute, fast and delicious. First time in, definitely not my last. The corned beef and tomato Benedict was to die for! Definitely stop in for some delicious, classic cafe breakfast! read more

Encinitas Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Encinitas, California

Got the veggie omelette with home style potatoes. Eggs tasted old and not fresh cracked. Potatoes also tasted like yesterdays. Very basic breakfast. Service was average. It's breakfast not expecting a lot but if the prices increase due to inflation I'd expect a little better quality food. read more

Loved this! Definitely a great little breakfast joint. Being from the Midwest I'm used to delicious diners with the perfect hangover food (whether you're hungover or not, ha!). I had a mad craving for some "diner food" and this came up in my search - of course we HAD to try it, and I'm so glad we did! Between the two of us we had corned beef hash well done, hash-browns well done, eggs, chicken fried steak, one biscuit + gravy, one banana walnut bread and of course Mimosas. DELICIOUS, I can't think of anything I would change. You can taste the love they put in the scratch made food and feel it from the friendly & fast staff. Our waitress was so sweet and accommodating! Planning on going back very soon, I hope to see you there! read more

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Stopped in for dinner last night with my best friend. I had the meat loaf dinner, came with mashed potatoes, carrots, dinner salad, and cornbread. It was terrific! My friend has the turkey dinner and I tried a little, this will be my choice next visit. Service was great, Stephanie took excellent care of us. They have tables on the sidewalk out front, it was a very nice. read more

Stopped here looking for sandwiches to grab for the beach. Almost didn't stop because with a quick glance the prices were a little steep for quick beach food, but decided to just split something with my boyfriend. So glad that we did! A quaint little family owned restaurant with exceptional wait staff. After asking for their preference, we went with the chicken salad sandwich with raisins, but not before the kind server brought us a sample to try. (Who does that at cafes? I was really surprised by this!). The combo was really yummy. I've only ever had chicken salad with cranberry prior. We ordered it to go and It was ready quickly. The sandwich was huge! More than enough for us so It was perfect that we split it. The potato salad side was good, but a bit too much of some green herb (dill perhaps?) for my liking. It wasn't bad, but if you don't like dill I would select a different side as there were many to choose from. Looking forward to going back! Thanks for being a genuine place that was so welcoming- that's rare these days. read more

This is such an excellent cafe!! Classic business with a great history, how can you Not stop here ? Our meal was perfect, cinnamon French toast for the wife, Reuben sandwich with sweet potato fries for me. And, the Reuben was served on "real" rye bread!!! Waitress was very nice, fun to talk with and quick to approve of our meal choices. Their prices are Very Reasonable. We really enjoyed the vibe and the pace of the cafe, busy but friendly and welcoming. Gotta come back here soon. read more