Decided to try Penguin Cafe again after a couple years since the new manager or owner Brandon took over. Marika the server was so sweet and welcoming!! I liked how she used tongs to put toast in the toaster but the other server used her hands I sat at the counter watching all the breakfasts come out, it all looked delicious especially the french toast. I ordered the basic breakfast (no meat) it was ok (what do you want for basic, eggs & potatoes) The eggs had a funny taste maybe it was what they were cooked in or the cheese on top. They no longer have Eggs Benedict which was my favorite here Another bummer is I always sat at the counter facing the ocean so I can see the ocean while I ate breakfast but they put in saloon doors blocking the view. My tip is solely for Marika!! read more

Penguin Cafe - Saloon Doors - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

The Penguin Café is an old tradition in Laguna Beach, having been there something like 80 years. Unfortunately, this visit did not hit the mark. We came in at about 1230 on Saturday May 23, and were able to sit right away which was nice. The problem is when a restaurant is slow the service can be too. It took a while to order, our coffee was only filled one time, and sat empty for about half of the meal. My sourdough toast was not provided at the meal and I had to ask for it. I was also surprised that it was a single piece of toast. I've never heard of a single piece of toast being delivered with a meal. My wife also ordered the combo breakfast with the smallest sausage I've ever seen. It was actually funny when we saw it. They even messed up my daughter's order (delivered potatoes instead of fruit), but they did provide her with her fruit subsequently and it was a nice fruit plate. We even had to remind them of the whipped cream we ordered on the pancakes. My corned beef hash and eggs were OK but nothing I would write home about. Breakfast was average / below average. Im pretty disappointed. I grew up in Laguna and I have been to Penguin Café at least 100 times and I've never had an experience like that. read more

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Penguin Cafe is no more. Sunday morning and several tables available and every barstool empty. No wait list? We sat 10 minutes waiting for a menu. Got up to get our own. Looked around closer: empty tables full of dirty dishes, empty long bar counter dirty, coffee pots both empty and turned off, a young man and woman uninterested in providing service, one cook doing takeout orders. We got up and left. Won't be back. It's not the lovely lively welcoming Penguin of old. Very sad to see a beloved local business of so many many years so uncared for. read more

Horrible. Stopped by Sunday afternoon with friends. Asked if they were open but really meant to ask if they were still serving bc it was 1:30. They laughed said yes and proceeded to take a long time to give us menus/water etc. we all ordered burgers horrible idea. The food was cold. You can tell the Hamburger patty was frozen prior and served the burgers wet and medium rare and cold. Such a cool spot just to serve up done bad attitude and really bad food under cooked. read more

For some reason we have missed this cafe in Laguna all these years. Great service, lovely eggs and French toast. The mini combo is a great deal! Lots of specials not on the menu including Benedict's. If you want a nice, casual value breakfast, you will enjoy. read more

Penguin Cafe - Mini combo - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

The food was very expensive for being tasteless and thrown together. The potatoes were soggy, the "pico" was a ketchup-like salsa, and flavorless. The staff was nice, but it took forever and not everyone got their food at the same time. We also saw the waiter split a pancake order onto two plates using his bare hands. It cost $70 for three people and it was gross and inedible. read more

Good find today... We're looking for quick meal before we go back to SD Good was yummy, great burger and hotdog and fries so so good Friendly service shout out to Penguin L she's lovely and friendly Ambiance isa family owned cafe vibe clean space and nice view of the beach at the back Def coming back here again when in LB, cheers read more

Penguin Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

Cute cafe for breakfast! Great huevos rancheros and some of the best corn tortillas I've ever had! The other breakfast food looked great too. Service was fantastic and would definitely come back! read more

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All new ownership now and all organic food excellent service great food. I love that. They have pure maple syrup for their pancakes. I highly recommend this place. read more

I hate leaving bad reviews, especially for a small restaurant, however our experience just didn't hit the mark...at all. The restaurant is VERY small but that didn't stop our party of 4 in trying a new breakfast place. We were greeted quickly but everything went downhill after that. My daughter wanted a waffle and she was told that they didn't have any. She opted for the small side of fruit. When our food arrived, we were missing her fruit so we had to ask for it along with the syrup for my French toast. The fruit was rotten. My husband's carne asada burrito had zero flavor as did my eggs, which is hard to do. Our server completely disappeared on us and we had to ask for our check after waiting awhile. We will never return. So sad to cross this one off the list. read more

Great restaurant great food and service it's small but definitely worth trying it's a go to for me

A low star review I really don't want to leave because the restaurant industry is a hard one to work in; I've been there, so I feel terrible about it. But I would like to share my experience. In January, I came with some friends for breakfast and it was decent. I was excited to bring my husband to experience this adorable little diner. I was able to eat only the eggs. I could tell I was not going to eat the potatoes and bacon because they were as cold as the plate they were served on. The potatoes were soggy and cold, the bacon, I didn't bother to try. The plate came with French toast, and I did my best to eat them, but abandoned them as well. They were dry and rather flavorless. Another customer came in and sat near the from window. I could see the steam rising from his plate from the back of the restaurant. I wondered why my food wasn't served that way. Again I am so sad to leave such a review since the server had a good attitude. :'( We ended up going to Bear Coast down the street. read more

It was okay. The food was bland- needed lots of salt and pepper to even taste anything and the bacon was not good. They only had one server- who I commend because she was working so hard- but it was pretty slow and we had to remind her of things. The place is conveniently placed walkable distance of other things. The ambiance is pretty chill- its small. The best part was the dogs sitting outside. read more

This is a cute spot for an early morning breakfast. Diner standards are common here: scrambled eggs, pancakes, hash browned potatoes, etc. It's not fancy. Just good food, kind service and reasonable prices. You'll find it on the ocean-side of Coast Highway near Thalia Street. If you come early enough, you might be able to find parking on the same side of the street or on nearby streets. read more

Breakfast burrito Perfect start to a beach day Elite ambiance Ugh wanted this to just be a haiku but they needed more characters!!!! read more

I've been reading some of the reviews from a month ago and yall are just wrong I'm sorry. First off, the employees couldn't be kinder. We had to take our coffee to go and she poured me a fresh cup. The pancakes were fluffy and delicious and the prices are super reasonable (18 dollars could get you like two eggs and bacon in most la restraunts) we sat by the window and people watched. 10/10 read more

cuuute lil place! they don't give you waters atuomatically, you got to ask for waters which is okay!! just know that. huevos rancheros is good, so is the brek burrito. the hot sauce that comes on the side/ automatically is good. the decor is super silly too!! penguin themed, they went the whole nine yards read more

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Always a great spot! Friendly staff, great food, quick and easy!! I don't go as often as I would like but always look forward to going back

Very small place but very good. Everything tastes very homey. The servers brought me someone elses order twice but it wasn't a big deal. My friend didn't like that they never offered a coffee refill. I would come again. read more

Penguin Cafe - The Griddle Combo w/ French Toast/pancakes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

Service was great, food was delicious. The eggs were a bit dry but the French toast and pancakes were great. Warm hot chocolate on a rainy day read more

Penguin Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Im glad we cam accross this as we wanted to have choices off good breakfast food and not limited to sandwiches. It was nice to able to find a quiet place and just enjoy the morning. This place has everything. Sandwiches, omelets, french toast, pancakes and corned beef hash. We ordered the Penguin Breakfast and Corned beef hash. Nothing like a good breakfast to start the day! Hats off to our server and the folks who prepared our meal. read more

Penguin Cafe - Corned Beef Hash - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

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The food is marginal, The service was good, I just wouldn't recommend this place. I will never go back.

New owners. Coffe spots on wall. Floor was dirty New worker came in with supplies with a grumpy face. Just not the same

Great food, great price, friendly service. Try the French toast--it's awesome!--and bacon is actually crispy when you ask for it crispy. Cute little location right on PCH, too. You might get to see a few car clubs cruising by while you eat. read more

Food was gross my baby didn't even want to eat the eggs and she eats everything. Brought me out water half way full. Never again! Asked for a discount but she looked like she didn't understand. read more

Ordered the omelette and Penguin club sandwich. Omelette was okay, nothing great, club sandwich was good. Ambiance is nice for a home town cafe. Service was less desirable. When raking for ketchup, water or more ice tea you'd think we were bothering the server. Two times we had to ask twice, and if looks could kill. We were here years ago and service was much better. read more

straight up good vegan breakfast bowl! clean nostalgic inside seating is welcome on a chilly day. read more

Penguin Cafe - the counter and seating area - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

Penguin cafe was great! Perfect location walking distance from my hotel. I'm sure if you had to find parking though...you might have to drive around a bit depending on when you were there. Anyways, I want to say thanks to Sabrina the server because she was friendly and efficient. Great service here, the other staff were also friendly. I sat up at the bar and got a little ocean view looking through the back door by the bathrooms haha I had a breakfast sandwich with fruit and it was really tasty. This place is also super affordable for the area so that is a big plus. I shall be back soon :) read more

Penguin Cafe - Breakfast sandwich with fruit! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

Wow... what else to say than this spot is awesome. I've been coming here for years and it always great!! When I'm in Laguna for a week, I start my day off at Penguin Cafe every morning! read more

A classic diner smack in the middle of Laguna I had Bri's bowl (a vegan burrito bowl) it was really good & pretty healthy. My boyfriend got the chili cheese omelette & devoured every last morsel. Their coffee is strong, bold & hot & the service was very friendly. We'll absolutely be back read more

Great food and great service! Perfect for a quick breakfast before the beach! Small inside but it's cozy:)

Very disappointing. Fairly expensive and food was greasy and uncooked. Eggs over-easy were done well. In the past, we have enjoyed the Penguin, loved the service and easy breakfast menu. Today we happened to stop in and the service was terrible even though not crowded. The food was over-priced for what was served and either too greasy (potatoes in the O'Brien Bowl) or it was under cooked like the soggy raw egg French Toast. The servers were absent from serving, no coffee refill or water. We will not be returning. read more

Like the pleasant service by Sabrina and friendly customers. Great location a block from Oak Street overlook. Free refills of coffee were nice. Had huevos rancheros pancakes scrambled eggs sausages. All tasty. Inside & outside seating. Historic - in operation since 1942. Easy parking on street at 7:10 am on a Monday. Can see ocean out of back window. Sorry to say the breakfast places not near the ocean have a hard time keeping up, assuming the diners have time to hang out at Oak Street overlook for 20 minutes or so after breakfast. read more

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The cutest little diner I have ever been to! My husband and I were walking around Laguna Beach on a rainy day and decided to pop into this location. It's a tiny diner I'm talking about 4 booths a 2/3 tables and the seating at the counter. Staff was incredibly friendly and food was amazing as well. Will be coming back again! read more

Penguin Cafe - a plate of french toast and pancakes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

My family and I enjoyed our simple and satisfying meal at Penguin Cafe. We initially sent an order for takeout but received a cancellation via GrubHub. Just happen to find a parking spot right up front, so it wasn't long until we were seated indoors. Still not at full capacity, there are 4 tables indoor and 4 outdoor. If there is something on the menu you prefer to substitute, it doesn't hurt to ask and see if they can accommodate. Some people like their bacon extra crispy, others don't mind a not so crispy hash. Toasted bread? No problem. Hold the butter? Sure, why not! If you are looking for white tablecloth & white glove service, Penguin Cafe is a diner. Good old' fashioned no frills they'll fill your coffee cup kind of deal. Servers were all very pleasant, even through their masks you knew they served and spoke with a smile :) We'll be back again for sure! Thank you Penguin Cafe for wonderful service and delicious breakfast. read more

My family and I really enjoyed our breakfast! It was delicious and everything was cooked just the way we liked it My kiddos wanted to go back the next day because Of how much they liked it and the prices were reasonable considering you are in Laguna Beach. The service was also great will for sure be back when in the area. read more

Penguin Cafe - Breakfast Combo - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

Great little place, can eat inside or outside. Service outstanding, food delicious. Prices excellent.

I have eaten at the Penguin for many years and never had a problem. Today was might just be an off day. I had the green chile tamale omelet. It just wasn't good. When the waitress asked me how I enjoyed the meal I told her it wasn't good. To which she replied I am glad you enjoyed the meal. My daughter had the scrambled eggs, sausage and hash brown that were good. read more

Amazing service, excellence staff really wonderful food as well. Definitely would recommend this place to a friend. I would probably also recommend it to my enemy in hopes that they will love the food so much we could one day be friends. read more

Penguin Cafe - An overall great experience. Yes I would recommend to a friend. I would also recommend to an enemy in hopes they will enjoy as well - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

I was not impressed with this place at all. I ordered the vegetarian sandwich and the bread was dried out and everything was just thrown in there. Onion rings were very oily and it was not even the whole onion it was like onion straws. We ordered the quesadilla and they were okay, but avacado was brown, and beans just had an odor. Overall I would never come to this place. I did a togo order. read more