The Encinitas Cafe

I love finding little places like this! We went there before heading to the beach and were seated immediately. The inside reminded me of an older place I use to go to when I was younger. You just know the foods going to be good. I ordered a hot open face turkey sandwich with gravy and mashed potatoes. Omg so good. Like I want to go back tomorrow and order the same thing! My husband ordered the patty melt and my son got a kids chocolate chip pancake shaped like a Mickey Mouse :) the service was great. I think our servers name was Denise but even the other server took time out to just come talk to us. Also, we found out on Thursdays they serve chipped beef! What?! I’m from Pennsylvania originally and haven’t had it in so long so we will for sure be back on Thursday for that. Next time I’ll take some pictures of our yummy food.

One of my favorite diners! Good homemade food, inexpensive and an old school diner feel.

Amazing food and service! My husband and I decided that we wanted to start eating at mom and pop shops and the Encinitas Café has been around for years… even before I was born I think. The service is really great, everyone is super nice and they are really good at making sure you are satisfied with your meal. Over the years it’s gotten pretty pricey but I’ve never had a bad meal there. There are some reviews complaining about the price, you’re in Encinitas, what did you expect. Overall, one of my favorite diners to eat on 101

Brunch isn’t complete without mimosas. They have a great deal on mimosas here. It’s either $ 3.50 for a glass, $ 7.50(i think) for half a carafe or $ 14.50 for a full carafe. Of course we got the full one!
I ordered the small acai special. It was pretty good. The presentation was cute. It tasted pretty similar to the Sambazon one I usually purchase at Costco.
Service was good at first, but we literally waited over 10 mins just for them to pick up our check. It literally got to the point where we had to find our server. 1 star taken off for that.

Stopped in this morning and had just a great simple breakfast. Eggs over medium house potatoes and some very creamy buiscuits and gravy. Oh all so good;)

If you want a delicious small diner experience in Encinitas, look no further than Encinitas Café! Right on the main strip, this little joint has a lively staff that makes you want to come back and visit almost as much as the food does.
Decent burgers and lunch, but the real winner here is the breakfast! Their ham and egg combo makes any morning better. Perfect diner meal!

How is this a $ restaurant? A family of four with no alcohol came to $ 71.28 for lunch. That falls into the $$ easily.
Terrible service. I’m ok with average food but service better be on point. She sucked. Plain and simple. When asked about special or what was good, everything was «great»! Really?! How about an actual genuine opinion?
She left one straw for four beverages. Not busy, just steady. I asked about our soup and chili after 10 – 12 minutes or so and she said, «the chef puts up the chili but I can bring the soup». Cool, whatever.
She didn’t bring the cornbread I order with the chili (which showed up after everyone else’s entrees) but had no problem charging me for onion and cheese that she admittedly said she forgot to ask me about but had already put it on.
Food was overall solid, but service sucked.

We stumbled across this place while driving through town. What a gem! We were hungry for breakfast and this place looked like it was perfect. I don’t think the architecture and décor has changed since it was built! I ordered the half carafe of mimosa for $ 7.95 because it was my birthday and I wanted mimosas! We shared the corn beef hash and potatoes and eggs over easy. We also shared the eggs benedict with hash browns. We also ordered the French Toast! I told you we were hungry! The mimosa was a great deal for the half carafe, I would order it again. The corn beef hash was tasty, salty and a nice addition to the eggs over easy and the country potatoes. The French toast was dessert! I ate a few bites and had to take the rest home! The staff were all friendly, attentive and happy. Thank you Encinitas Café!

I came here to have breakfast with my mom. It was fantastic. Love this place. I will be back.

Little and quaint. Service was timely and friendly. Hole in the wall feel with beachy charm. The food was basic with an A+ for flavor. Felt like an encinitas local spot. A best kept secret. Thank you.

Good, fast, filling breakfast. Feels like a classic diner with really good service. I’d come back in a second.

Our coworkers talked this place up, so we thought we’d give it a go on a Sunday morning. Service is really nice and it feels very «homie». Pancakes and home fries are decent, the breakfast burritos are truly horrendous though. Literally a scrambled egg, strip of bacon, and a slice of melted cheddar. Big let down. My date was not impressed. Hope she still likes me after that burrito.

Pretty much an average breakfast place in a great town.
Located on Coast Hwy as it passes through Encinitas you have a couple choices for breakfast. This being one of many, it doesn’t necessarily stand out for any particular reason but it is decent. I like it. it’s good. I love the location, I love to be on the sidewalk seating. Something very nice about a beach community breakfast place while sitting outside watching people and enjoying the beautiful day. I love this town. I’ve said that many times in my reviews I believe.

Great food, what ever you choose will be good.
I tried the Pulled Pork Special, it was delicious. My wife had the albacore sandwich with Sweet Potato fries. She said the fries were the best ever.

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.

We were in our way back home from a weekend trip to Moonlight State beach and decided to have breakfast before we left. So Encinitas Café was it today. No parking lot. All street parking. The place has two dining areas plus a few tables outside. What we figured out is find an empty table and seat yourself.
We found our booth and were greeted right away with menus and brought our drinks out right away.
I had the Mini Special which had one egg, choice of pancake so I picked a blueberry pancake, and a choice of your meat but I substituted with potatoes. Our waitress Megan recommended the Hash Browns so I went with it. The blueberry pancake was really good. Lots of blueberries and it was very light and fluffy. Really good pancake. They serve Log Cabin syrup so I was happy cause I really like Log Cabin. The hash browns were spot on. Nice a crispy. These were freshly made and not frozen. It was really good.
My daughter got the mini special too but got walnut banana pancake. I got a bite of the pancake and it was really good. Seemed like every bite has lots of walnuts. It it was really good.
My son had a three egg omelette with bacon and cheese. I would say it was really good. Got to sneak a few bites of it. Everyone cleaned their plates off. So we really enjoyed the breakfast here
As for the service, we had Megan (she only works the weekends) and she was great. Very friendly. She was talking and laughing with us. She even thanked us for laughing with her to make her day. The service was really good. Everyone is very friendly. Food came out fairly quickly and they cleared our dishes in a timely manner. Also, filled our water cups too.
Really good breakfast, excellent service with a little home town feel at this café made our meal. If your ever in the area, you’ve got to try it out. Great relaxing breakfast

This is my second time coming here and both times I’ve been blown away with their food and amazing service. I had their bacon, avocado eggs Benedict with hash browns and let me tell you it’s out of this world! Just look at the picture and you’ll understand.
I would highly recommend checking out this café. It’s so quaint and the old fashion vibes is a nice change of pace.

I love this restaurant. I meet my friends here. I bring family from Europe here for a classic American experience. I love the food and the service. It’s consistent and delicious. The fried chicken is the best I have ever tasted — and I know southern fried chicken. It’s crispy and not at all oily. It’s so good! The corn bread is seriously good. Yummy!
The free wifi is nice so I can let my toddler watch a movie on my phone if the energy gets too high. The staff is friendly, the service is just right, and the ambiance is very warm. My French in-​law said the experience brought him back to 1967 when he did a USA cross country tour and he loved it. It reminded him of all of the good things about classic Americana. I found that to be a nice compliment. My picky mother-​in-​law ate all of her scramble and enjoyed the meal — a very good sign.

Fast service and tasty food. Perfect match for this cool town.
Pancakes are Hawaiian style café sized.

I had a chance to stop in at the Encinitas Café while I was visiting another spot in town. While I was only in to grab a quick bloody, I was struck by the iconic «Highway Diner» feel of the place. It was a classic Route 66 stop and go, complete with the counter and hand written orders for the cook. The café also boasts free Wifi, so you can post «morning-​after bloody» sefles as fast as you want.
The menu was what one would expect from an establishment like this, varied, extensive and pure americana. As I stopped in early on a Saturday, the menu was geared towards brunch and lunch. As noted, you could suffer from a bit of menu fatigue combing through all the options, but, due the to the wide range of choices, there’s something for everyone.
Keeping with the classic diner vibe, regulars, greeted by name on arrival, popped in and sat at the counter. One gentleman, despite stating that he was in a hurry, was unwilling to forgo his Saturday tradition and skip his meal at the café. Playful banter was exchanged and the server rushed his order to the cook to ensure her familiar face would make whatever appointment he had next.
The café offers beer and wine, mimosas and bloodies for brunch, but doesn’t have a full bar for the cocktail fan. My bloody was spicy and had flavor, though it was a pre-​made mix. Nonetheless, it was enjoyable and fit the atmosphere of the restaurant.
There was a bit of chaos in the café, as seating was «wherever you’d like,» setting up a situation where servers could be double and triple sat at random. That being said, although I walked in at the same time as several other people, I didn’t have to wait long for a server or my bloody.
This is a classic roadside diner with hangover-​cure style food. It’d be a nice landing spot for a post rowdy Friday or Saturday night.