Driving from San Diego to LA decided to find a place for breakfast along the way. Picked this place from Yelp and was a great choice. Really cool little divey surf diner. Kids at the tables next to us talking about waves, servers were local kids that just had a cool vibe. Colleagues and I got breakfast burritos and holy crap they were awesome. Fantastic food, great service, really cool vibe. I felt like hitting the waves, of course I'm from jersey so little chance that's happening. Have to stop if you are in the area. Highly recommend. read more

As a former sous chef for a well know and here unnamed restaurant in Los Angeles I understand what it takes to create meaningful quality meals for my guests, which is why I get so frustrated when I see a complete lack of regard for food preparation or quality. Almost all of the breakfast restaurants in San Clemente are sub par but sc cafe is the second to worst after sunrise cafe for the same reasons. The quality of the ingredients they order from the food distributor are the cheapest tasting that you can possibly order. If you are a breakfast restaurant you serve a lot of eggs as a main dish so why would you order eggs that taste terribly bland and coppery? In a good breakfast restaurant they use an organic egg equivalent to egg lands best organic but you don't need to spend that much to get some good eggs. Another example of bad food made poorly is the "hash browns." They actually don't make hash browns, they make something only resembling a form of breakfast potato that are just sliced potatoes, which are then served half cooked. I can't decide if it's negligence or incompetence for these issues but in this case you could just not call them hash browns and you could continue to get away with that, i guess. Again as a main dish along side eggs, it's an unacceptable quality for a restaurant. The establishment itself is outdated and small and I prefer a place like that if the food is good. The waitstaff are very nice and that is all and well if the food is good. The issue is that the food purchased from the distributor is bad, very bad. Then the cooks make it very poorly and hastily all while salting it to death to drum up some flavor out of the bad ingredients. Or because they smoke too many cigarettes and can't taste, so in goes the salt, an issue I dealt with often in many restaurants kitchen. It's easy to get way with many of these things these days as more and more people are just happy to get out of the house to not have to make another bland meal themselves. As an industry professional theses problems are glaring and obvious to see with many of the restaurants in San Clemente, as if the beach or ocean view makes bad food taste better and as the people here prioritize fitness more and more religiously, which is not my issue, food is becoming a means to an end goal instead of a pleasurable experience. (A San Clemente phenomenon as this is the only city I've ever lived in with this many bad restaurants. From the Mississippi to Mexico I've worked in restaurants everywhere.) I originally gave them a good review even though I never had a good meal but if I keep trying to give a place my money and try everything on the menu over the course of a year to be disappointed every single time then it becomes necessary to shed light on the problem. read more

Huge portions, food cooked to order, and friendly staff is a plus. Small Cafe but full of customers. Nicole was our waitress. Fun personality. Perfect for that type of job. Would recommend! read more

SC Cafe - BLT on Sourdough.... It's about to go down.... Friendly staff. Met Nicole from Nicole's Mix on the menu....Yummy!! - American Near Me - San Clemente, California

Great food and awesome family owned environment. Found it right off the freeway and had to try it. Husband got the the Ranchero omelet, so good! And I got the French Connection, really good. All was super Delicious! read more

I was craving breakfast so we decided to stop in this little cafe. This place is simple and amazing. No frills. Not fancy but so good!! Service was perfect. They make you feel at home. Very casual. We had the breakfast burrito and the chiliqulies. Both were amazing. Probably could have split the breakfast because both items were huge. We will be back! read more

SC Cafe - Breakfast burrito. You can 100% share with someone and still be super full! - American Near Me - San Clemente, California

Quick stop for breakfast after the San Onofre Generating Station your. Arrived around 10:30 am on a Saturday and waited less than 15 minutes for a table. Nicole our server was fantastic. Very good standard breakfast: French toast, eggs, bacon, corned beef hash. Tiny parking lot but head straight through to park on the street. read more

SC Cafe - Yummy French toast - American Near Me - San Clemente, California

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Delicious food and great friendly vibe. Staff was friendly. Small restaurant with beach vibe.

This place was awesome!! Kids friendly and kid portions are big! They have so many great options! Breakfast burritos were amazing. The taquitos were delicious, as were the pancakes and waffles and French toast. Our party of 8 were seated right away. The service was fantastic. Food came out quick and hot. We will definitely be back. read more

Went in on a Sunday morning and I love this place! The customer service is great and little to no waiting time. The prices are not bad at all for the portions you get! The chilaquiles are a MUST TRY!! read more

Great little place we discovered on our road trip south. We even got lucky with a parking space in the street for our RV. Our vegetarian breakfast burritos were hot and fresh tasting. We will be back for lunch on our way back home. read more

i love this little joint. i just moved to SC and my boyfriend and i have been struggling to find a cute breakfast spot that is consistent and delicious, but we finally found SC cafe and now it's our go to! cool vibe, friendly service, fair prices and delicious food :) read more

Best food ever!! Staff was so nice and the food just hit the spot. Yhere was so many different things on the menu I wanted. I would definitely recommend the hash browns with hot sauce read more

Service is always super friendly and fast. The food is delicious. We always get the hash-browns "Sbux style" The chilaquiles is the best we've ever had!!!! read more

Really liked the whole crew. They were really young but were so polite and professional. Ordered the asada and eggs for breakfast. It was really tasty and again the overall feel in the restaurant was so inviting and friendly. Highly recommend this place and really love the fact the such a young crew knew how to treat their customers. Keep it up guys! See you next time we are down in the area. read more

This was my favorite meal on my trip! I love breakfast and this place is great! I made my own bfast tacos with an omelet, hash browns, side of bacon and their salsa that my boyfriend is obsessed with. I couldn't stop eating. This is why smaller family joints always win over big chains, every time! read more

This is a great place for a good, diner-style breakfast. The servers are very nice, too.

Comfort breakfast at its finest! I personally don't come here to eat healthy and feel all proud of myself, pat myself on the back..."Great job, Brandon, showing some self control and having egg whites and a quarter grapefruit for breaky." Nope. Not when I come to SC Cafe. I come here for one reason: The Country Scramble, Spuds Style. Is it too much food for me? Yes. Would I be more responsible if I shared it or ate something lighter instead? Who cares. Ain't happening. I cover that bad boy with ketchup and have at it! The place is a little on the small side so sometimes, honestly, I'll drive by, see a hundred people waiting outside and go with plan B. But everyone that works there has a down to earth SC local vibe and they make you feel like they're stoked you came. Did I mention the Country Scramble, Spuds Style is pretty good ;) I definitely recommend read more

The bomb breakfast. Small place great service, great food. Always a go to coming back from San Diego to LA. read more

SC Cafe - Nicholas mix mmmmmm good - American Near Me - San Clemente, California

The service was good and the people are friendly. I got the Rancho omelette. It's plenty of food and no skimping on ingredients. read more

SC Cafe - Rancho omelette. - American Near Me - San Clemente, California

This place is incredibly over rated. It must be either employees or local regulars that have given this place 4 or 5 stars, it was THE worst breakfast and THE worst, slow, sloppy service I have had in a long time. Stopped by this morning with my daughter and her fiancé after viewing a local wedding venue. The place is tiny, dirty, cramped and has no air flow inside but I figured most diners are more about the food than the decor. After waiting for 10 min even though there were open tables, we were brought to a cramped booth. I went to slide in to the booth and could not slide on the plastic booth due to a sticky substance being all over the seat, apparently maple syrup had spilled all over both sides of the booth and it was not properly cleaned up. Thanks, SC Cafe, for making my pants sticky and disgusting for the rest of my day. Things went down hill from there. I ordered the special of 2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon and two pancakes. The eggs were WAY over cooked, the bacon was tiny and cold and the pancakes were burnt. They put the burnt side down so I guess they thought no one would notice the burnt smell or taste. They put a glob of bright yellow oily *margerine* on top of the pancakes (even though I asked for butter) and their 'syrup' had no maple taste whatsoever. My daughters food and her fiancées food was the same crappy quality, and not once did anyone ever come over to refill a water glass, ask if we needed anything else, or ask how the food was. I would have gladly told them how their food was but I guess that's why they don't ask. Some of the waitresses look like they are completely stoned and out of it. Do yourself a favor and go elsewhere. There is NO WAY this place deserves the rating they have, everything about it is gross! Oh - to add insult to injury , our bill was $48 too, for 3 horrible breakfast items. PASS on this place! read more

Descent food. Unfortunately I don't like to spend most of my Saturday here. After we're done eating I don't need to hang around for another 30-40 minutes. Yes I could stand up and close my tab but should not have to. I was out of refreshments as well after the first 20 minutes. read more

This place is awesome!! Quaint old timey type feel!! The menu has so many choices, from lunch items to all kinds of breakfast items, including Mexican themed dishes. I had the chilaquiles. They came with chicken in them, and the sauce was delicious!! Fresh avocado on top. The chicken fried steak was great and the potatoes looked awesome. We will return!! read more

Just ate the best Chilaquiles ever (added 2 over easy eggs on top). so delicious. Food came out fairly quick and hot off the grills. A short wait but well worth it. Tiny place. Our Server wasn't the friendliest, but the 2 young guys were friendly, helpful and working hard to bus the tables, keep everyone's coffee filled and seat people! We will definitely go back! read more

The food was good and the portions generous. I ate the potato scramble 'country mix' the dish was a bit bland, but much improved by the pico de gallo. Mary ate the chilaquiles and was pleased with her choice. Parking was a little tricky. read more

SC Cafe - American Near Me - San Clemente, California

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My absolute favorite breakfast place! Bea's omelette is incredible - with veggies and avocado and a side of pica de Gallo and yummy potatoes. read more

First time in Santa Clemente & it definitely won't be my last! Not only was the staff extremely friendly, the service was fast, and the food was to die for!!!! I will definitely becoming here again. read more

SC Cafe - American Near Me - San Clemente, California

If you are looking a delivery option during the stay in place restrictions, this is not one you want to use. We have had at of prepared breakfast deliveries where we got what we ordered. We ordered breakfast from SC. Arrived cold but more importantly no toast with egg dish and no syrup for the pancakes. How do you forget syrup? Especially if we asked for extra. How do ypu forget the toast for a breakfast meal? Better choices out there that won't disappoint. read more

I go out of my way whenever I can just to come to SC Cafe. The Abi-Loutfis are the best! All their food is fantastic... Whether you go with Nicole's Mix, Chilquiles, Bea's Omelette, or any one of their burritos, you won't be leaving dissatisfied (or hungry!) read more

Got here after briefly sitting at the neighbouring Adele's Cafe, which looked old and empty. SC on the contrary was very much alive, with people coming in and out and a very friendly crew. I'm giving a two, because the expectations generated by the general review, honestly don't match the food. Pancakes were a bit too compact and a bit bland, feeling maybe even undercooked. The stack made it to the table not too hot. Eggs and bacon took some time to arrive after the pancakes, making it worse. Maybe some other food items are the ones that have boosted their review, that's why I'm not giving it a one. read more

Great staff, busy and food took a bit for us to get. It was all good and big portions. Coffee was ok. My husband ordered the 2breakfast burritos and I ordered the veggie omelet with cottage cheese. We arrived about 10am and it was picking up. If your traveling, this isn't a bad spot. read more

Loved the food and service - recommended to us by another local. Angela at New Leaf Esthetics

Small hole in the wall breakfast spot that's been a local favorite since as long as I can remember. Parking is limited, as is seating for any larger groups. Great service and good food. If you don't have a crazy appetite, try the country mix spud style and split it. read more

Love this spot great food and great people chilequilles are the best ever!!!! This place is a must while on vacation we love you sc cafe see you soon!! read more

SC Cafe - My favorite spot....great food and very friendly people best chilequilles ever!!! - American Near Me - San Clemente, California

Had a choose your own omelette and boyfriend tried the ranchero. They don't skip on toppings, thank god. Sauce on the ranchero was awesome.

If you were wondering why this place gets 4.5-5 stars , i have one word : AMAZING. The food is fresh, the waiters and waitresses are super friendly, efficient and relatable. i ordered an omelette with sausage, ham, spinach and jack cheese. Even tho it is a small and family owned cafe they are doing their best with the covid restrictions on eating and how they are coping with the changes (including outside seats , they are limited). To anyone thinking to go here, JUST DO IT! read more

This a small local cafe right off the I-5 Freeway, a great place to stop by if you're on your way to or from San Diego or even post surf-sesh. I came on a Saturday afternoon around 1:30 PM, and there was no wait. The staff was pretty friendly here. I ended up ordering the Rancho Omelette with egg whites. It came with hashed browns and toast ($12.50). It was a huge omelette! It was a little (maybe a lot) on the greasy/oily side, but nothing your napkin can't soak up. The hashed browns were good. They weren't oily at all and were nice and crispy. Even the toast was perfectly toasted. Not phenomenal but not too shabby for a cafe you can hit up after catching some waves at the beach. read more

Awesome breakfast spot ! Came this morning with the fam and everything was great ! Definitely found our new go to spot. I had the gringo burritos and they were huge !! Portions are on the bigger side. read more

SC Cafe - Our daughter asked for happy face pancakes ! They are awesome she ate her entire plate ! - American Near Me - San Clemente, California

As always as SC café delivers, with friendly staff, and delicious breakfast. No complaints here, and the best salsa anywhere!

Right off the 805 Freeway and very accessible. I reserched restaurants for breakfast for my wife and kids and the SC Cafe came up. The service and food was great! The food prices are reasonable as well for all families Whenever in San Clemente you should check it out. I'll be back for sure. The owner was a sweetheart! read more

First time here... needed a dog friendly place since our fur baby was with us on vacation. Small hole in the wall in a small newer plaza, but plenty of patio seating. A bit on the pricey side for mexican food than we're used to for a hole in the wall. We tried the California Burrito... definitely Haoli version... but it was SO flavorful!!! Lots of bacon. Each bite had an even amount of flavor. A bit greasy, but no worries... it was devoured quickly! Lol. Would definitely recommend. And for sure we will make this a regular stop heading back and forth from Cardiff! read more

SC Cafe - California Burrito is a MUST! - American Near Me - San Clemente, California