Mad Dogs Café

Great place right next to the beach! I got the famous breakfast sandwich with andouille sausage. It was Delicious! Especially with the bottle of sauce that came with it. I had been working nearby for a while and didn’t know about this place. I’ll definitely stop by for lunch next time to try their alligator or bratwurst. Check it out and take a stroll on the beach afterwords and relax :)

My friend and I walked here after running a few miles beachside in Mission Beach. She recommended the acai bowl, which I had heard of before but never tried. It’s supposed to be really good for you… loaded with all them antioxidants! I ordered mine with granola, banana, strawberries and coconut shreds. Really delish after a hot run! I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a healthier alternative to ice cream on a hot day in PB!

CRUMPETS!!! GET YOUR CRUMPETS!!!
Wow, if you want an amazing English, Bread, Chewy on the Inside, Warm on the Outside Crumpet Experience with some Jam on Top… Go to MAD DOGS CAFE!
ooooh Yah! I said it :-) Absolutely delicious. Along, with grrrreat Coffee. And, I usually get the veggie scrambler with Egg Whites. Yes, all of it is amazing :-) No complaints. Also, a block from the beautiful Pacific Ocean!

This little place was a pleasant surprise in the heart of P.B. I came by for breakfast and had them make the the breakfast sandwich on a baked baguette filled with fluffy scrambled eggs, onion, bell pepper, jack cheddar cheese and Andouille Sausages for $ 6.49. (
) I also ordered a English Crumpet with Black Berry Jam for $ 2.99. (
)
The breakfast baguette was simply prepared yet delicious. All the ingredients went well together and the andouille sausage just gave it that extra punch that took it over the top. (
) The eggs were well scrambled and the baguette came warm and moist. I really enjoyed the sandwich. The spicy chipotle mayo sauce that came in a bottle with the sandwich was awesome. (
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The crumpet was equally as good. It was the perfect size where you just get enough to enjoy, but not to much where it over stuffed you. The black berry jam was sweet and full of flavor. The crumpet was moist and airy with a slight crust. (
) Very good stuff.
My Iced coffee that I ordered was terrific and the service was outstanding. The people who work here are very personable and make you fee comfortable. They have a few outside seats and a nice amount seating inside. They have wi-​fi and a tele.
Great place…

The selling point of this place is probably the game meat and sausage that they offer. I had the scrambled breakfast with alligator sausage. And honestly after the sausage was fried, the meat pretty much tasted like the regular meat sausage that we are used to have. The scrambled breakfast was pretty good itself, well-​seasoned, big portions, fresh ingredients, however, it was not that exceptional to a point that I would go again for breakfast. So yes, it was just OK.
Service was just average. I can’t say they are friendly, but at least they are not rude when taking my order. The food was also delivered in a timely manner.
I guess this would be a good spot for breakfast if you live nearby. There are certainly much better breakfast places in PB and the rest of San Diego.

I am so MAD at myself (pun intended) for not writing a review for this establishment sooner. My husband and I go here on the weekends ALL the time, and we absolutely love it. The prices are right, the staff is friendly and quick, and most importantly, the food is awesome. My husband and I have only ever gotten the scrambles. I get the egg white veggie and he gets the sausage scramble. I’ve gotten this dish at least 20 times and every time it’s perfect. We also LOVE the Mad Sauce, fantastic selection of unique flavored teas, and the fresh baked crumpets, which are a warm and heavenly delight for the taste buds. I sincerely hope Mad Dogs is in business for a very, very long time.
P. S. Try the banana bread (toasted with a little butter). It’s scrumptious!

Such a dainty, little place. The women that run the place are as cute and accommodating as can be.
The boyfriend and I each got some «extreme» mad dogs – duck and alligator. I preferred the alligator over the duck because it was surprisingly juicier. Both mad dogs were a great treat. We got wasabi mayo and raspberry chipotle sauce on the side and she threw in some mad sauce for us :)
Great for a quick, cheap sausage fix; just don’t expect Regal Beagle or Wurstkuche style dogs.

Highly recommend going to this place on a sunny weekday (no crowds, easy to find parking), especially since it’s near the beach. My friends and I were craving a hot dog but ended up changing our mind once we saw the menu. They have a lot to offer! We ended up ordering the Mad Scrambler (sausage, bacon, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, potatoes, jack & cheddar cheese) per the suggestion of one of the workers and I would also highly recommend it.
I’m not a fan of onions (slowly transitioning to loving it tho!) but the onions in this dish were sauteed and went very well with the dish. They also have a «secret sauce»…which I found extremely tasty and it complimented the dish really well. I finished the whole thing (no regrets because we ended up walking to the pier and shopped all over PB). We also had gelato (yes, they serve gelato there!) so that was a nice way to finish our meal.

«This is nothing short of fantastic.» «There are so many incredible things going on in my mouth right now.» «I wish I wasn’t so full; I want to order that again right now.» «I’ve found my happy place.»
These are all comments from my friends whom I have introduced to the foodgasm that is Mad Dogs Café. Everything that I have tried here has been delicious.
You want breakfast? The acai bowls are the best I’ve had in PB. For the meat-​lover you can’t go wrong with a breakfast scrambler (it’s worth the extra buck to get sausage AND bacon), and the breakfast sandwiches feature their homemade bread which is amazing. I have to say that this is the most perfect hangover food I have ever half-​drunkenly shoveled in my mouth.
Lunch or dinner? Treat your taste buds to one of the varied selection of sausages stuffed into a baguette of sorts that is closed on one end. This allows for your choice of sauce to gather at the end for a tasty finish to your dog. With the combination of sausages and sauces it will take a while before you repeat a taste experience. The extreme sausages provide a nice exotic touch as well (and the duck sausage has BACON in it!!!). The potato chips are sliced in-​house and cooked in rice oil so you can feel healthy about eating them.
For desert or a snack, the crumpets cannot be beat. I have never had one before eating here, and I realize now my life has been shallow and unfulfilled up to this point. My current favorite is the ricotta honey & almond, but the peanut butter and chocolate chip crumpet beckons to me each time I order. The gelato is fresh, local, super smooth and creamy, and I’m pretty sure has healing properties as well. They have a great selection of coffees and teas. I’ve never had one of the smoothies so I can’t speak authoritatively about them.
Last but not least is the all-​powerful, omnipotent, goes-​great-​with-​everything signature mad sauce. I don’t know what is in it but be careful of getting it on your fingers or you might accidentally eat those too. Seriously.
The staff is incredibly friendly, they have free wi-​fi, and your pooch is just as welcome as you are. I can’t really think of anything bad to say about them, and with the supremely satisfied feeling I have in my stomach right this moment, I really don’t want to.

Tried this out with a Groupon Deal. I am always down for a good dog. I am use to the Costco kind though and this place took me a moment to get my head around all their choices. Don’t expect your standard wiener in a bun, this place has artisan sausages that come from a variety of animals. I was tempted to try the Buffalo but settled for a Sweet Italian. They are on the pricy side for a dog. 4 — 5 bucks for the standards and 6 — 7 for the more exotic. I went for the meal deal; small drink, chips, and one of the standard dogs.
Took a few to order up. the buns are not your standard split roll but more of a french doughy bun cored out and your dog slipped in the center. Very pleasing since i like my rolls like that. The condiments are equally exotic; wasabi mayo? Had to try it and the counter lady ordered those and placed on the side for me.
The chips were a surprise, they were made in store it would seem. They came out warm and tasted good with the excess dips from the dogs. They have coffee stirrers that i used to coat the inside of my roll without having to dump the dog out on the tray.
I plan on going back to tryout the other types they had and that’s a good recommendation from me.

Unique and new take on the time tested Hot Dog but with a twist. The roll is house made, and not split down the middle but hollowed out and your choice of sausage put inside.
So many choices; Bratwurst, Chorizo, Andouille, Italian, Chicken Tequila Habanero, Veggie.
Then you got the Mad Dog Sausages; Duck, Buffalo, Ostrich, Venison, and Alligator. This is the Crazee Burger of sausages, or is Crazee Burger the Mad Dogs of hamburgers? However you want to look at it, they have some unique choices here.
Then to top it off you get to choose a bunch of unique dipping sauces. They of course have their normal offerings Mustard, mayo, ketchup, ranch, relish, but thats not what you’re there for, you want to try something unique. Wasabi mayo, Sweet chili, Raspberry Chipotle, Curry, salsa ranch, or their Mad sauce.
I got the Duck Sausage, which was spicy and delicious, i tried a bunch of sauces. My favs were the Salsa ranch and the Mad sauce, both Creamy and spicy.
Raspberry Chipotle and sweet chili were also good but im not really into that sweet and savory type of thing. Didn’t care for the Curry.
They have made to order potato chips which were good i liked them in the same two sauces as the dog. I did wish they had Sriracha Ketchup, which i make all the time at home and eat with kettle chips.
They also offer crumpets made in house! Got one with lemon curd, it was light, soft and pillowy.
The staff was polite and friendly. After a nice meal took a walk along the beach, watched some waves, took in some sun, people watched for a bit. Overall a great way to start off a morning.

I’m definitely not a fan of hot dogs, but when I heard it’s not just your plain, boring hot dog, I was a bit excited to try it. The dog combo comes with fresh made chips and you have your choice from a plethora of sauces! I got the andouille sausage with raspberry chipotle sauce and their mad dog sauce. Both were really good. The wasabi mayo was also tasty.
What’s pretty cool is that it’s not your typical hot dog bun. They cut a hole through the center of a roll and insert your «dog» of choice… wow that sounded a little dirty, didn’t it? hahaha. It’s too bad I didn’t like the sweetness of the bun.
Make sure you get some chips. The chips were a-​crispin, too! I’m going to have to go back and try some of the crumpets.
I love the gelato selection they have. I tried the chocolate coconut and pear. I absolutely loved the pear one! I wanted to get the panna cotta, too because it tasted good after a sample. I’m between 3 and 4 stars here, but I round up because I don’t have a good reason to knock this place down to a 3!

From the outside I thought it might be too small for a group of coworkers looking to meet at a coffee shop, but pleasantly surprised to walk in and see ten 2-​top tables inside. A few outdoor tables available as well.
Free WIFI. Comfortable atmosphere.
Did not expect a breakfast menu of Crumpets at a place called Mad Dogs. How fun! I’ve never had a Crumpet. About the size of an english muffin around but a lot thicker I just ordered one (the ricotta honey and almond — see picture); with a cup of coffee was plenty breakfast for me.
Crumpets range between $ 1.50 — $ 3.50 depending on the topping you chose.
Staff was super friendly.

I had a Groupon deal for Mad Dogs that I finally used the other day. We were there at lunch time on a weekday and it wasn’t too busy. There were a handful of tables that were full. Since we had our dog, I had to walk in and out of the restaurant to figure out what my husband wanted. Unfortunately, the menu that I brought outside only was a partial menu, so we just looked up the menu online. I ended up ordering the alligator sausage and my husband ordered the venison sausage. We got the Mad Dog Sauce and ketchup on the side to go. The sausages and bread were good, but I don’t think it was worth $ 7. (If we hadn’t ordered fries from Bare Back Grill, then we would have still been hungry.)
My Groupon was for $ 15 and my bill came out to $ 16.20, so I had to pay $ 1.20. After I paid, I calculated the cost in my head (okay, on my phone) while I was waiting and I think I was charged $ 1.14 extra. Each sausage costs 6.99 plus tax would actually be $ 15.06, not $ 16.20. At the time, I just shrugged it off since it was just a dollar. When calculating it now as I’m writing this review, it looks like Mad Dogs is still using the old sales tax of 8.75% and not 7.75%. So, I understand the sales tax mistake, however, why was I charged an extra dollar? It was only an extra dollar, however, I did put my change in the tip jar too.
The wait for two sausages was also really long. They had only 3 people working there (2 cooks and 1 taking orders), so I could see why I waited so long even though there were probably only 2 – 3 orders ahead of mine.
Maybe it was an off day, but based on this experience, I probably won’t be back to Mad Dogs.

As I was sitting in Mad Dogs Café last Friday, the lights went out and it went dark — a power outage had struck PB!
Luckily, I had arrived just after 5:30 p.m. (half an hour before they closed) and had already ordered and had just finished up eating because I would’ve hated to have to have to bail on my original goal: to satisfy my curiosity for the HOUSEMADE DUCK SAUSAGE that had intrigued me from an online menu and which was the prime reason for my trip to this little Pacific Beach joint.
The duck sausage was wrapped in a soft, freshly made baguette (also made in-​house). It was plump, juicy and seasoned very nicely with a unique combo of spices (was there curry powder in there?) that really makes it a boldly delicious wiener.
The duck sausage is from Mad Dogs Café’s small lineup of «Extreme Mad Dogs,» which also features VENISON, ALLIGATOR, OSTRICH, and BUFFALO sausage. I tried the buffalo, which wasn’t as exciting as the duck since it was on the leaner side and didn’t have as unique a blend of flavors in it. Still though, where else can you can sausage made of buffalo?
You can pick as many sauces as you like to accompany your dog. The Raspberry chipotle was uniquely delicious and sweet/​tangy, and it was great to see the English staple, HP sauce, among the selections. Other sauce choices include wasabi mayo, salsa ranch, bbq, German mustard, and «Mad Sauce» (which tasted like a milder form of Thousand Island).
The SERVICE was great here, as the workers were friendly and informative and passionate about the menu and helpful in making recommendations. Even after the lights went out, a server came over with a FLASHLIGHT, shined it down on the table and asked if there was anything else that was needed. Thanks Mad Dogs Café, and see you soon!
EXTRA PLUS: As if the idea of duck sausage wasn’t enough to draw you in, this place also makes its own fresh crumpets. I told my Kiwi friend who was excited because she’s sick of the dry, prepackaged ones from Trader Joe’s that taste like they are three weeks old. Mine at Mad Dogs Café was soft and doughy and at $ 1.95 much cheaper than a plane ticket to New Zealand. There were many choices for toppings such as peanut butter with chocolate chips, nutella, lemon curd, or just plain butter.

Mad Dogs, I’m intrigued! I love places that are unique, and this totally fits the bill. Don’t let the name fool you; this is no hot dog joint. We’ve got gourmet sausages, we’ve got wi-​fi, and we’ve got gelato and crumpets! And all wrapped up in a little café within footsteps of the beach.
I chose the chicken habanero sausage and my husband chose the spicy Italian sausage. We each ordered a combo, so we got housemade potato chips and sodas as well. Our food came out within about ten minutes, and we dug in. The meats were delicious, but surprisingly it was the fresh baguette that actually blew me away. WOW. And it’s a good thing that the guy at the register recommended the Mad Sauce after we both picked other sauces (wasabi mayo and raspberry chipotle)…that Mad Sauce was something else. Sweet, spicy, creamy, and unbelievable.
The sausage, baguette, and unhealthy quantities of sauce were filling on their own, so we weren’t able to finish our chips, despite their deliciousness. I’m not normally big on potato chips, but I totally appreciate places that make them fresh. And these, dipped in Mad Sauce, were amazing. Though I’m pretty sure I could dip tree bark in that sauce and still enjoy it.
I couldn’t help but grab a little cup of caramel gelato on the way out, just because of the Unilocal love. Amazing, and such a nice variation after salty sausage and chips. And the guy was awesome and adjusted the price as if I’d ordered the Mad Meal with the gelato (I think it was $ 2 with the meal, $ 3 if you order it separately without purchasing a combo).
Can’t wait to come back and try breakfast or a different sausage! I may test this place out as a study spot in the near future…

Breakfast sandwiches are just as good as before! Love the soft, delicious bread and it really hits the spot after a good workout.
And… I got to oogle at surfers today. But it was ruined by random people talking about AA meetings and their old days of doing coke… and then an old dude on skates was doing some arabesques around the sidewalk.
Oh Mad Dogs, you make the people around you madly cuckoo for your delicious sandwiches.

Walked by, saw a sign for gelato, got an instant craving, walked in, asked for kiwi gelato, savored it, had a mini orgasm.
They didn’t have the kiwi gelato in the display case since it’s not as popular, but they went to the back to get it for me. Then we proceeded to have a conversation about how kiwi is the best gelato flavor and can’t believe more people aren’t crazy about it. Seriously, you should try it if you haven’t already.

Went for lunch again (Wednesday this time) and had a fantastic experience again! I can now heartily recommend the banger sausage =D Also, their made-​to-​order potato chips are AWESOME. Fresh, crisp, just the right amount of seasoning, and feel so much better than that crap in a bag. I’ve had much worse fries from more expensive restaurants. By the way, I must mention that they guy threw in the chips FOR FREE just because, after I paid, I said «oh man I want to try those chips!» What a nice guy :) Incredible when dipped in ranch dressing.
The only complaint I have is that it took us while to get our food, despite the fact that there were only a few other people in the restaurant… hmm. I haven’t actually gone in on a Saturday/​Sunday to check it out yet, but I will eventually go see if the wait time gets even longer.
We ended the wonderful meal with a special treat — another worker there asked us how we’d heard of them, and I mentioned Unilocal + the fact that I’ve already written them a nice review… and they gave all 3 of us free gelato!!! =D (Pear gelato = mind-​blowing. Tastes just like a pear, seriously.) Ahhhhh thank you Unilocal,you have done so much for me in my quest for free/​cheap food!

After a long day of bodysurfing and almost drowning, Mad Dog’s ice cold fraps was a cooling pick me up for the long walk back to the car.
My oreo frap ($ 4.25) (
) quenched my thirst and tasted way better than the seawater I had earlier. Other flavors they offer — Cookies & cream, chai, mocha, vanilla, caramel, white, and European chocolate.
They have a nice selection of gelatos as well. I had a sample of their pear which was smooth, rich, and had a fresh peary taste. (
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The super friendly service and free wi-​fi would make me want to come back to try one of their crumpets or sausage rolls and to just kick it on their sunny patio.