Crest Cafe

This restaurant is out of this world. Today is my Birthday, and I’m spending my day with my husband at the Beautiful, Cheery, atmosphere of Crest Café. My favorite place to eat! Can’t wait to get there… gotta jump on it and go!

Joella is a moron. Ordered these famous: «Lemon Ricotta Pancakes» and they tasted like McDonald’s Pancakes, no lemon… no ricotta. And yes Jo-​ella! I read the entire (italics) description of how these pan-​cakes are made: it’s in the batter! I get it! But not this time girrrrl. Ugh-​Ugh, No-​No. $ 30 bucks for 2 orders of pancakes and I could’ve gone to f****ing Mickey D’s! #SkipandWhip PS: Unilocal,please create more opportunities below for Unilocalers to describe these thirsty half A$$ gentrified neighborhood restaurants; ex: TRYING, THIRSTY, PERPETRATING. CHECK, CHECK, CHECK.

The food is okay, but for all the hype it got from Triple D, it wasn’t that impressive to me. It’s very crowded and it felt like forever to get our food.

Food was great! Cesar the server was mediocre… Too bad!
It happens that now (3 days after) my review, the Person in charge (Cecilia) send me a note apologizing for the bad experience we had at this restaurant, which I appreciate, however, she Mentioned how Great was Cesar in his service, totally dismissing what I posted on my review. Now this reinforce my thoughts about this restaurant and how the People in charge condone bad behavior on her staff. I am so glad there are many other choices around.

Went there on Saturday morning with my kiddos and my hubby. I loved the food! It’s a little bit small just to walk to the bathroom you have to follow a bit of a maze and try to not bump into peoples chairs… But that’s just a small issue. So I asked my server, Fabiola, what Was her favorite and she recommended the Yucatan Tostadas, they were DELICIOUS, they were missing some shredded chicken or some meat but they were delicious nonetheless. Younger Kids opted for Chocolate Chip Pancakes, and my oldest a meat lover omelette. Hubby had some Benedict choice, on a croissant. That was the only bad choice. Mainly because my husband didn’t like that big ol’ piece of meat (maybe he was just being lazy) maybe dice/​slice it up?
The service was good, no complaints… Although people need to smile in that establishment… Everyone that worked there that passed by our table seemed to be lacking in the smile department. Not a bad thing necessarily… But makes me wonder if that’s a good place to work at or not? (I work the restaurant business as well) and there’s nothing worse than a great employee working in an unpleasant work environment!
Well «TL;DR» food was great, service was good & prices were good. Will be back to try new items on the menu!
Oh! Maybe add a bit of seasoning to the potatoes… They needed some oomph!

Finally got a Chance to try their Famous «Lemon Ricotta Pancakes» Recipe !
Friendly greeting, Prompt seating and efficient waiter.
3 Medium size Hot Cakes got delivered with Fresh Strawberries and sliced Bananas on Top and I REALLY Enjoyed them.
No easy Parking BUT Worth the Drive !!

Horrible service. Only 4 tables filled and it took over 10 minutes to place our order.

Just in town for the weekend and wanted the simple breakfast lucky for me I found this special cozy joint. As I sat down the waiter was on it and say me down immediately the menus and a flyer that shows the the famous shows Triple Ds was here Awesome !!! That’s a good sign but I was really impressed to see that the waiter Faustino knows his regulars by first name and that they know him that’s a great sign of customer service and just that he really cares about this place. By the way the food is great I don’t think I have seen a plate come out that didn’t look yummmmmyyyyy. I recommend this place to everyone you will love it.

Delicious. We’ve been here several times. Huge portions and great food. I’ve been here for breakfast lunch and dinner. All awesome. I got the Yucatan tostadas the last time they were amazing the mango salsa the perfect accompaniment. Yum

Absolutely loved the Texas fried chicken. Quite possibly the best fried chicken I have ever wolfed down. It was so crispy and had lots of spicy heat to it because of the added jalapenos and dashes of Tabasco sauced mixed into the batter. Very clever and certainly a piece big enough for any hungry man such as myself.
Mashed potatoes were good and the steamed veggies felt like I was eating healthy when in reality I was really just pigging out on Americanized comfort food with lots of added butter and salt.
Had a taste of the herb chicken pasta and even though the menu stated linguine noodles the noodles tasted overly thick and almost as if they were Japanese udon noodles. Only reason why I didn’t award a perfect score was because those noodles weren’t up to par.
Beautiful artwork hanging inside but the tables are placed a little too close for my comfort. Luckily it wasn’t that busy but I could imagine the chaos if the diner was reaching maximum capacity.
All of the staff encountered during visit had cheerful and positive attitudes and treated all guests with generous hospitality.

I live down the street from Crest Café, which also means I live down the street from about 50 different brunch spots. However, I keep coming back here. I’ve tried all sorts of menu items and everything is always spot on. The eggs are perfect, the meat is never over cooked (unlike what another reviewer said happened to him), and the service is always on point, even when they are packed. There’s a tall man with «salt and pepper» hair and glasses that always seems to be working as a server. I think his name begins with a K, but I’m terrible with names. Anyway, he’s one of the best servers in town and my roommate and I always talk about how great he is.
Check out Crest Café, you won’t regret it!

Wow! That would be the best word to describe our experience at the Crest Café.
We came as a family based on the Triple D show and unlike many others places we ventured out to try-​only to be disappointed, this place did not dissapoint!
I tried the brûlée French toast, my wife went with the chicken pot pie. My 4 kids ordered all manner of pancakes, and they were all licking their plates clean.
The atmosphere was great, our server from Toledo was equally great and our experience was a-​one! My only regret is that I was too full to try the butter burger! Next time…

Went here for breakfast on a Monday holiday since the place down the street had wayyyy too long of a wait.
We were able to be seated right away in this throwback breakfast diner.
For my main meal, I ordered the ortega omelet and substituted chorizo for the chicken apple sausage. This omelette was delicious and really hit the spot. It was well-​cooked, oozing with cheese, and tasty with the spice from both the ortega chilis and the chorizo. It was also a good size as well, in addition to the hash browns and cottage cheese. The hash browns were fantastic, while the cottage cheese was very lackluster.
I also enjoyed a large glass of fresh squeezed orange juice, which was very enjoyable as well.
Overall, this place has breakfast down, the prices are reasonable, and the service is friendly and speedy. A great breakfast option in San Diego without the long wait time!

We discovered this breakfast place within walking distance of our hotel and fell in love with it.
We tried the biscuits and gravy, the veggie breakfast mess with spicy chicken sausage, and the raspberry ricotta french toast. AMAZING!!! The gravy had a nice pepper kick to it and the biscuits had just the right texture. The breakfast mess was this tasty mix of veggies and potatoes made even better with the sausage. The french toast was perfect– not overly sweet but full of flavor and lush berries.
The service was very fast and friendly, we went early in the morning but they definitely picked up as the morning wore on. Definitely check this place out!

My friend and I ended up coming to this place after we walked past it and saw the beautiful artwork right outside (a purple elephant?! Amazing and creative). Walking in, it was super busy and we weren’t greeted right away but ended up standing there for at least five minutes not knowing whether to leave or just wait for someone to notice us. Now, I try not to be super picky because I’m pretty understanding when it comes to seeing a busy restaurant in full swing. After being noticed, we were seated right away, which was nice.
Our waiter was alright, honestly nothing special or great customer service was given, that’s why I’ve decided to give four stars to this place. I don’t remember his name but he was just in an out way too quickly for us to even think he cared at all about us. It was also a little hard to understand him; luckily our order was right.
I ordered the Crème Brûlée French Toast with a Caramel Vanilla Latte (which I thought I would get well before my food arrived but I did not) and my friend ordered the Macadamia & Caramelized Banana Belgian Waffle and the Almond Mocha (interesting taste because they use almond syrup), which the food was to die for. We loved it, it was delicious! And our coffee was amazing as well. This place is definitely a place to come back to because they have so many different food choices! We came for breakfast but I want to come back again for that, lunch and dinner!
The atmosphere is cute, with a classy kind of feel of a diner but new age and hipster feeling at the same time. They have outside seating and inside seating, so whatever your preference if they have it available. Get here before the rush.
Give this place a try! You won’t regret it!

Reading these reviews I don’t think we ate at the same place. We came here for breakfast and to keep it 100… we really didn’t have to eat for the rest of the day. Food was beyond good. Had to stop after the first bite and thank the Lord for granting us the privilege of eating here. Ample parking (or maybe it was another gift from the food God’s) and a really nice diner vibe inside. Wasnt crowded at all when we got there and the food…
Wifey had the crème brûlée french toast and I almost teared up when she let me taste it. I was between the chicken and waffles and one of the French toast dishes so I asked the waiter, who was hella cool by the way, which one I should try. He suggested the chicken and waffles so that’s what I ordered. The waffles had a little spice too them that added to the flavor which was really good. Had to dip it in my girls crème brule sauce just to try it out… I bout crawled under the table… it was so good. And the chicken tenders were really good. Not too mention my girl got the snickers latte and I had an Arnold Palmer… I’m from the east coast and we call them half and half, but I digress.
I see why this place was featured on Diners Drive-​Ins and Dives… it’s hella good food.

After exploring the neighborhood we are visiting in San Diego we came across this restaurant. It was advertised as being a DDD place and we loving trying DDD places so we visited this establishment.
My husband and I split the chicken quesadilla and sliders. The sliders came on pretzel buns and the angus beef was flavored with tomatoes and basil. Holy cow! It was an explosion of flavor in your mouth. The meat was sooooo juicy! The sliders came with their chips on the side. They were yummy (but not as good leftover). The quesadilla was filled with hearty veggies and lots of flavor. It came with a green sauce on the side that my husband decided to finish by drinking it because «it was that good». I agree! This place is that good and I suggest you give it a try!

Not going to lie, the reason I came to this place because my family and I were watching Diners, Drive-​Ins, and Dives all day and they popped up. «Oh, they’re just down the street,» I told them. So we went.
The place has a diner-​type feel, 50s-​ish. We were seated after a few minutes and barely glanced at the menu since we knew what we were going to get.
Crême. Brulée. French. Toast.
Me being the struggling Paleo that I am, decide that we should get the french toast for the table, namely stating that I would try a bite of it, but the rest would be for everyone else. I, on the other hand, needed to decide on something that I would normally eat. I settled on the Hangover Omelette, which had all sorts of goodness in it: jalapeños, avocado, spicy chicken sausage and jack cheese, topped with chimichurri sauce. I wish I was hungover to see if this would live up to the name, but it does a good job of filling you up.
That crême brulée french toast, though.
(back when the site actually existed). So much sweet goodness.
It’s a cozy little spot in Hillcrest. Stop in and say hello!

I have been wanting to try this
little café for a while now. I love
cafes. They have good food
and cheaper prices. We looked at
the menu in our car and decided
to get some good eats.
«CREST CAFE» «HERE WE COME»!
When we pulled up and parallel
parked on the side of the road
in front of Crest Café we spotted
Guy’s signage to Crest Café. I
finally remembered the episode
on Triple D!
I ordered the Patty Melt. I sometimes
prefer a Patty Melt over a hamburger
I wished I would’ve asked for sautéed
white onions. Instead of saying NO
onions.
They use red onions and I’m not
very fond of red onions. I
should’ve asked first if they will
do substitutions.
They grilled it perfectly. It wasn’t pink
in the middle and was still pretty juicy.
That’s how I prefer them.
I also got coleslaw as a side and it’s
probably the best coleslaw I have ever
had. I love the big chunks mixed in
with the coleslaw juices. There was
something super special and YUMMY
about the taste.
We also ordered the Chicken
Pot Pie and my mom had Brad’s
Chicken Piccata and she had
Mashed Potatoes along with hers.
We ordered the same
dessert and it was delicious.
They forgot to put the Chicken
Pot Pie inside the to-​go box.
After we left the café they called
us not even 5 minutes later to let
us know they forgot to put the
Chicken Pot Pie inside the to-​go
bag by leaving a voicemail.
My mom didn’t answer the call
because she was driving so it went
straight to voicemail and she looked
at it when we got home and called
the Manager back.
The Manager comped our
Chicken Pot Pie and asked if we
wanted to come back anytime
and would give us the Chicken
Pot Pie on the house.
Instead of that she
asked for her money back.
I ordered dessert and I got an
Apple Pie! It was delicious. It was
a little over done but I loved my
Apple Pie anyway.
The Apple Pie also comes with
vanilla ice cream and was it ever
delicious to mix it with the pie.
I usually don’t order that kind of
dessert at a restaurant but here
I did and it was scrumptious.

2÷14÷15 DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT COME HERE! WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM STAFF & BUSINESS OWNER CECELIA!
Waited 20mins to get served… Only got served because we asked for a waitress. Never got our water while we waited. Others got served before we did. Makes me think the owner is racist… 88% of the customers were white, My friends and I are not white. The owner did not apologize for Keeping us waiting. My friend asked to follow up on our drinks and All she said was «different server (while pointing at the table next to us) different server (pointing at another table)» The least she could have done was apologize and give us our water/​coffee — she was just walking back and forth pretending to work.
We were nice and waited patiently. We didn’t deserve the slow incompetent and rude owner!
We left! DO NOT PLAN TO HAVE BRUNCH HERE! GO TO DBAR, FIG TREE CAFE OR SNOOZE DOWN THE STREET! Definitely worth the wait and better customer service!