Indigo Cafe and Catering

The 4 stars is for breakfast/​brunch. This is one of our go-​to spots in San Diego; however, we went once for dinner, and the bartender decided to just give me a beer of his choosing rather than letting me cull through the menu. Maybe he assumed we were tourists. I don’t know. It was obnoxious.
Still, it’s a fantastically cheap and tasty place for breakfast/​brunch. We’d go back for dinner sometime too.

i came here based off the star reviews and the rave breakfast reviews. I’m not sure if I am in the same restaurant as everyone else (based on photos and address, I am) because my experience wasn’t as pleasant.
I Walked in and the gentleman did in fact greet me, which was a good start… but he was on the phone. The smell of the entire place wasn’t appetizing at all. It had a smell as if dishes needed to be washed. The man let me pick my seat, and while still talking to someone on the phone, handed me a dirty menu. I immediately started to question if I wanted to eat here, or just walk out and find somewhere else to eat…
I should’ve gone with my gut.
I ordered an orange juice and my favorite: eggs Benedict. The eggs were ok. I was served a weird, bright yellow sauce, which was Odd, because most hollandaise is a creamy white color. I asked him what type of sauce it was, and he said it was a standard hollandaise sauce. Okay, whatever. I’ll just eat it. As I’m about to drink my orange juice, I noticed the cup was filthy. I was literally able to scrape dirt off the cup. When I brought this attention to the man working there, he just said «oh no, I don’t know how that happened.» Took my cup, and that was it. Never took ownership and never brought me another orange juice.
I paid, but was really not satisfied with my order.

Stopped in for breakfast before heading to the zoo. The service was pretty efficient ordered two pineapple drinks and two BLT’s.
I would definitely stop back in to try other items. Has a pretty laid back vibe.

Fun staff and good eats. I like Indigo Café and have been a few times. There’s a neighborhood feel to it, and it seems like there are always ‘regulars’ there, which to me is a good sign. Yum…

Tried Indigo for breakfast recently. Service was OK but the food was disappointing. I had scrambled eggs, well done potatoes and dark toast w/​butter. The eggs came w/​o the cheese that I requested, so the cooks threw it in the microwave. Butter for my toast came on the side pretty melted, which was good, except for it wasn’t real butter and looked very unappealing. It’s a dog friendly place, so that’s a plus — though I don’t see myself returning here.

If you’re looking for a spot to zone out and eat food without waiting an hour for a seat, this is the spot.
The food is decent with a decent price. (Try the pancakes, they are fluffy.) The waiter service is less than attentive, but that’s to be expected from a hole-​in-​a-​wall restaurant.
Just make sure to check the cleanliness of your dishes and silverware… Noticed halfway through my meal that my water cup was nice and dirty. GROSSSSS!
My appetite abruptly abandoned ship for some reason…

Gained a star!
Came here for some brunch action and the food was much better. I got a breakfast burrito and it was just the way I like it (not too busy flavors). I also got a side of hash browns because I am THAT type of girl, and they came through on my request for extra crispy.
The service was also really good. I used a groupon and still had money I could use on it. My waiter noticed and made sure I got another mimosa.
Again solid spot with $ 2 mimosas. They also have bottomless for $ 8. I would give them a tip and say they should shy away from pre making mimosas and serving from a pitcher. It takes all the bubbly from the bubbly so to speak and while they were not bad, they could have been better.
One more note is that the owners should think about a deep clean and some updated décor. Not like it is a HUGE deal (and watching too much Kitchen Nightmares probably made me notice this anyway) but the sprinklers on the ceiling were caked with dirt. Ick.
Everything else seemed clean so I wouldn’t worry about the food. Service was great. This place actually got better AND it was during the time they were offering a Groupon. That speaks volumes.
I will be back.

This is my first time here and it’s ok. Came for brunch with my friend and we both had mimosas! They were $ 2 each! Sweet.
I had the chicken pesto burger on ciabatta bread because my they were out of the turkey burger which was my first choice and very excited about. The chicken burger was dry. It looked good but after a couple bites I had to chug it down with my water. I liked that they served tots. My friend had the California burger. She said it was very juicy. I can also see that it was juicy cause there were drippings when she was taking a bite.
Our server was a bit off today forgetting a lot of things. It wasn’t too big of a deal as it was a mellow Sunday.
I guess today was a bit off. I would like to come check out dinner here some other time though.

I had never been to this place before my friend and fellow bartender Jimmy starting tending bar there. It’s a very small bar and like the rest of the place could use a makeover .
The GM, Bill, is a cool guy and I did meet the owner once and she seemed very nice. Drinks are cheap and food is really fair priced.
Jumbalaya, spicy tuna sandwich, salads and the burger are very very good. I think the place is very good over all.
Thank you Bill & Jimmy! See you soon.

I came here after my night shift and a lousy experience at Sharp Urgent Care downtown. Exhausted, disappointed, I came here with a friend to find some comfort in this Cajun inspired café. They had normal breakfast foods as well, but I just wanted something warm and soothing, so I ordered the gumbo entrée with shrimp. The rue was a nice medium brown, it was served chock full of andouille sausages, plenty of shrimp, perfectly cooked okra, and the rice was quite nice. It was just the dish to help me feel better, and warm me up. I had a great nap afterwards and woke up feeling much less the worse for wear. Ambience is casual, lots of morning light coming in through the windows, service was warm and wonderful, prices were very reasonable. Street/​metered parking, but there were plenty of spots available right in front of the restaurant. Grateful to have the day saved by Indigo Café!

Got the a google offer and was glad that they allow using it on takeout and I’m always on the lookout for a good gumbo or jambalaya. We got fried okra, gumbo with shrimp over rice, and the cajun chicken pesto pasta. The fried okra was a little too bready for my taste — the chipotle aioli was quite good though. The gumbo had good flavor but was way too thick… it turned out to be more of gravy so it was hard to have too much of it. Also could’ve used a little more rice. Cajun chicken pesto also had good flavor but not nearly enough noodles, so we just ended up with a lot of bready chicken and a lot of sauce.
Overall, wouldn’t go out of my way, but the service was friendly and the café had pretty comfy feel. If I came again, I’d give their breakfast a shot.

This is a great little eclectic café! Lots of regulars and tons of tourists from all over the world dine here! They have jazz/​blues music, a tv, full bar, and AWESOME servers. I’m one of their regulars & I always have fun when I eat here. Affordable & good food.
The food is California-​style cajun cuisine (which means cajun influenced, but not as heavy as most cajun food). I love their Bubba Blues Jambalaya, Tequila Penne Pasta, Red Beans & Rice, Tiffany Salad, & awesome burgers! Save room for the Bread Pudding because it is amazing.

I came here today with my colleague for a casual lunch… I chose the place because I wanted to make sure I could get something vegetarian…
Here are my take-​aways:
1.) I ordered the veggie burger and out came an edible FLYING SAUCER. Baby Jesus in a stroller, this thing was MASSIVE and mushy… and gray. It tasted okay but was not mouthwatering by any stretch. I ate like ¹⁄₃ of it. It also needed lots of ketchup which, by default, means that it was kind of bland.
2.) The ambiance was underwhelming and extremely…“eh”. No music, crappy/​dumpy interior design, bad lighting…
3.) Customer service: our waitress was good enough. I noticed that she didn’t make any modifications (lowering her voice or trying to speak closer to me to dilute the volume) when my colleague was on the phone so I thought that was kind of rude. Other than that, she was pretty adept.
4.) Value: My edible beanbag burger was $ 10…a fair price but I’ve had better burger experiences at less expensive places (In-​n-​out, Habit and that other one… what is it called? Two Guys or something…)
Overall, extremely average place and goes to show that you get what you pay for — it’s one star in price range so it’s not like I was expecting some totally awesome culinary delights or anything but it is nice to find those rare gems that have AWESOME food yet are hole in the walls or conversely, super charming places that are all unassuming. This place was neither, unfortunately.
Bottom line: Come here for gigantic average-​tasting food that is fairly priced. Don’t expect much more beyond that.

I am always up for trying a new place for brunch, and when I saw this place with its Cali-​Cajun Cuisine, I figures it was a must for me.
I came by here around 8 am Sunday morning, I was the first one there, but soon more patrons started arriving. They had quite an extensive breakfast menu to my surprise, but the first thing that caught my eye was at the top of the brunch menu: a pull pork omelet accompanied with chile verde sauce, breakfast potatoes and your choice of toast. I ordered it with some coffee and my choice of bread was English Muffins.
When my plate arrived, I was impressed with the golden breakfast potatoes and the chile verde sauce poured over the omelet. (
) The potatoes where perfectly cooked. They had a nice crispy crunch on the outside and were soft and flavorful on the inside. The color on them was great. (
).
The omelet was super as well. First, the pulled pork. The pork was more like carnitas to me, but I have absolutely no complaints. The meat was had a nice char on the outside and was delectable on the inside. It was not only great, but it was also was abundant (
) in the omelet. Secondly, the chile verde sauce went perfect with the pulled pork. The sauce was not hot nor mild. It had a nice tang and well balanced. Overall the omelet was a big hit.
The omelet cost $ 8.79. The place is nice. It has the feeling of a comfortable café but slightly up-​scaled. The service was good as well. it was not evasive nor over attentive, just right. I do not drink that much, but if you do, they serve $ 1 mimosas during brunch. Great deal.
They Have Pulled Pork! Pulled Pork! Pulled Pork In an Omelet!

My coworkers have been bragging about this place for a while. Many go there for lunch quite often and they also have catered events at the job, sandwiches and wraps. A coworker was retiring and I somehow ended up on the committee. This guy loves red beans and rice and I heard Indigo Café had it on the menu.
A fellow committee member and I went there for lunch to have taste test. Gretchen, the caterer manager, was very helpful and professional. We picked out the two dishes we wanted and then she brought use out the bread pudding to try. Now I am not a bread pudding fan. OMG… this was out of sight. It was warm and just gooey enough. Total fan now.
Fast forward to 3 weeks later at the retirement party. All you heard was people eating and going mmmmm mmmmmm. Everyone loved it. I would highly recommend them for catering an event and going to eat at the restaurant.
I am definitely a fan!!!

I ordered the corned beef and hash. They don’t do a traditional take one the dish, but its pretty good. Ended up coming back a second time and ordering the same dish.
The pancakes are good too!

We came for Sunday Brunch so we were given the special Brunch menu and their regular breakfast menu. We both ordered off the breakfast menu even though I was tempted to get the banana pancakes or pulled pork omelet.
I ended up with the Mediterranean Scramble (with chicken, feta cheese, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach). My husband got the eggs benedict with carne asada. Both dishes come with your choice of hashbrowns or homestyle potatoes — we went with the hashbrowns. I really liked the ingredients in my scramble, but I thought the chicken was really dry and they could have done a lot more to enhance the flavor.
The eggs benedict was a really sad sight. I expected these beautiful poached eggs over fluffy english muffins topped with a golden hollandaise. The eggs didn’t even look poached because they were so flat and liquidy. One of the eggs was actually already popped by the time it came to our table! I can’t believe they served that to us. We probably should have complained, but ate it anyway. The carne asada beneath the poached egg is a nice idea, but it was flavorless and dry.
Yay for $ 1 mimosas though! You’ll need it to force down the subpar food here.

So for about 3 years I have been a patron of Indigo simply from being a pure captive audience — they catered our café at my school. So i was familiar with their wraps and salads.
I came to the shop finally. It’s kinda cute. Neighbor-​hood esque. Small bar, with a guy who clearly knew everyone that walked in. Good amount of jazz, and a definitely small shop, and service was attentive, and fast.
— Turkey Burger w/​tater tots: Nothing amazing and the patty seems more soy-​tofurkey-​ness then a turkey burger. The tots were tots, but how do you mess that.
— Chicken & Brie Wrap: This was a staple that I used to eat all the time. Nice wrap and the brie is nice and warm. And hey, it’s brie. you can never go wrong w/​brie.
All in all. This place is a-​ok. Nothing amazing, Ok priced I suppose. Not super cheap, but not super expensive. I would come back if I was starving and too lazy to head more to gaslamp. But I wouldn’t make a special trip out there for it.

My friend and I where looking for a place that would aid us to continue our Mimosa Sundays ritual while she was at a conference in Downtown San Diego. We did an internet search for a place that was within a 5min driving distance and that had mimosa brunch!
We found Indigo Café and headed over instantly. We did not know what to expect, but what we found was greatly pleasant… the food was good, the vibe was chill and we had a fabulous time!
Great food, friendly service (a bit slow). Awesome Saturday and Sunday brunch specials till 3pm with $ 1 mimosas and $ 2 Bloody Mary’s.
Tasty omelets, delicious Cajun food menu and cute place… not too fancy but quaint with a great neighborhood feel.

I’ve been running past this place every weekend for years, and finally found the time to drag my family over here for breakfast. I agree with the previous review by Heather A. that the blue and white façade makes this place look like a Greek restaurant from the outside, or anything but a New Orleans/​jazz themed café.
Waitresses are attentive and super-​friendly, kitcken is SLOOOW. 20 minute wait for a San Diego special (bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast) and an eggs benedict. The place was nowhere near busy.
Prices are very reasonable, food quality is good. My eggs benedict had a delicious homemade hollandaise sauce. One of the poached eggs was cooked perfectly, the other was overdone (solid yolk). They have the option of carne asada instead of the usual canadian bacon, which intrigued me so I ordered it. The carne asada was really good, but made the entire dish VERY greasy. I don’t mind grease sometimes if the food is good, but I still think I’ll order the canadian bacon next time.
One cool little aspect about this place is that they have several types of Louisiana hot sauces lined up on their counter, and they let you try whichever one you want. I tried one called «Support Global Warming» that the waitress recommended and said was REALLY hot. It tasted good, but wasn’t hot at all. I guess this global warming thing really is a myth.