Perry’s Cafe

I’ve been coming to this place since I was a teenager, currently in my late 20’s. Their service is exceptional and fast even when they are swamped, which is basically everyday. I always have the machaca with French fries and tortillas. It’s very juicy, loaded with flavor. The fries are always golden crispy and the tortillas are so fluffy they taste like if they had just made them from scratch. Stop by you won’t be disappointed. Yummy food and good friendly service.

Love this place. Been here several Times and. Have left full and satisfied. Highly recommended

Slow… tasteless food… My last name is Perry and I was excited to come here… But my experience sucked… Hella sad bro

So glad we found this place! Spinach frittata, hash browns & blueberry muffin (huge) were spot on!!!

Excellent food with a basic, old school menu. Down the road there was a half hearted buffet that charged double what I received here, and half the service. The minute I sat down in the already packed place, coffee was poured and recommendations on the menu where had. Thank you for making a visitor feel like home.

Taste– ***
Service– ****
Parking– *****
Ambiance– **
A-​OK place for breakfast. There was a wait, not too long, about 30 minutes before we got seated. The food is really affordable, but can’t say that it was the most delicious meal I’ve had. It’s a standard breakfast, nothing super special about it. My food came out cold, and the meat over cooked. When I brought this up to my server she corrected it right away with an extremely positive attitude. (Thanks Debbie!) She definitely earned an extra star for Perry’s in my book. Overall was not wowed by my meal, but maybe I’m a bit of a food snob? If you are looking for a hearty meal in an old school diner without the extras, it’s a good place to hit up.

After totally enjoying my breakfast this morning, I decided to update my review and give this place another… star! Perry’s IS your typical dinner yes, but that’s okay and it is all good! I especially liked the Chicken Fried Steak, it was full of flavor and the sausage gravy topping was delicious. Portions are enough to split plates. Our waitress was friendly and very attentive.

EFFICIENCY PERFECTED.
Walk in, and server immediately serves coffee. Makes sense, you usually know right when you walk in if you want coffee or not. The waiters and waitresses are always on hand to take your order when needed, and refilling coffee and water along the way. Food comes out fast. Pay at the register on the way out, no time wasted in the process. The owner must have an MBA or something, it’s so efficiently run.
The food is really good too, and it’s not too salty. I got corned beef hash and my wife got Italian sausage breakfast– both foods that a lot of places try to make flavorful but adding salt, but they did very well. In and out with good breakfast food, and excellent, friendly service.

The food never fails to impress me. It’s straight up good old fashion diner cooking. The portions are huge and they have good old fashion waffles not Belgium waffles which seems to be the norm now.
If you are looking for classic diner food this is your spot!

This is a great diner. I went there twice this week for breakfast. The first time I got pancakes and hash browns. The pancakes were large, so even though I only got a short stack, I couldn’t finish. The hash browns were cooked perfectly. I usually have to send them back or tell servers beforehand that I like them crispy. This place just does them the right way.
I got the french toast the second time. The portion was good. I finished, but wasn’t bloated. One thing I’d mention is that the french toast is cooked how I remember as a kid. It probably has egg in it, which is proper. At other places, the egg is either nonexistent or so minimal that you can’t notice.
I like the atmosphere, and the coffee cup never seems to empty. I love that.

Perry’s is a breakfast place where you will get a good breakfast. Whether you want a spinach omelet (which I usually order), cod (which my husband usually orders), pancakes or biscuits & gravy, you’ll find your desired choice.
It looks like a huge coffee shop both indoors & out but the food is better than that. The service is good and the food comes quickly. They have more than ample parking. I don’t go to coffee shops without kicking & screaming but often suggest we go to Perry’s.

Service and food was good BUT dirty as heck. Would not go back. It was packed on a Monday morning so it’s a popular place.

Solid diner food for breakfast and lunch. The waitresses are seriously hard working and there’s a family vibe about the place. This was my first time here and we will be back.
We sat at the counter to avoid the long wait for a table and it was interesting to watch the working dynamic. The employees almost have a dance behind the counter.
It’s very loud but it’s a happy noise.

I have not been to Perry’s in about 20 years. The place was always packed and now I know why. Great food, fast service, waitress; amazing, prices so fair. I had the Machaca con Huevos and that is what I got. No slices of bell peppers, onions, potatoes to make the order look bigger. The real deal, large pieces of well prepared flap meat and eggs. The beans were fine with that touch of chorizo in the beans.
The price was a dollar or two lower than in other places and my cup of coffee was always full.
Come hungry, you will not be disappointed

I’ve always wanted to try this place, finally I had family over and decided to try this place. Got seated quickly and coffee right away. Our food came out very fast. One thing i noticed was that they use microwaves a lot, I’ve worked in this business and I know this is something that is not acceptable.
We ordered a lot of food! Waffles, omelettes, pancakes, hash browns and eggs.
Overall food was not that good, could have gone elsewhere like ihop and Denny’s and gotten tastier food. Not sure why this place has 4 stars

Great place
The service was friendly and the diner was a cool retro type atmosphere. French toast was amazing but YOU
CANT BEAT THEIR KIDS MEAL!!! Pancakes or French toast, with egg along with bacon or sausage for, get this, FOR $ 3!!! Best value on earth, for AMAZING food!

When i get there they were very busy, but it didn’t affect their service quality. The portion was large and the food was delicious. We got different kinds of ferritatas and all of them were good and delicious. Nicely cooked and prepared. I got something from Mexican breakfast section of menu, although nothing was wrong with the food itself, i personally didn’t enjoy the taste.
Staff were very nice and fast. The atmosphere is like normal dinner’s, so don’t expect that much.

My wife and I stopped in on one of our weekly dates, and we are so glad we did!
From the number of people waiting, to be seated, you’d expect that the wait time would exceed 30 or more minutes, but we were seated in about 15 minutes. There were parties of 6 to 10 people being called one after the other.
We were seated in a specifically designed two-​person booth, which was awesome.
Margaret had the 2 eggs w/​chicken sausage, home fries, biscuit and iced tea. Her review, «The chicken sausages were very flavorful; the biscuit was perfection, buttery and flaky; eggs were cooked as ordered; portions were quite plentiful and the food came out very quickly.»
I had Frittata #11: Eggplant Frittata with eggplant, onion, bacon sans the cheese, with home fries and blueberry bread, which I gave to my wife, and coffee. The frittata was frickin delicious and so large that they had to bring the home fries out on a separate plate. No complaints from me.
The noise level was high, but all of the other astounding elements of the dining experience made it less of an issue.
The service was STELLAR! The waitstaff were able to simultaneously be friendly and efficient, not to mention extremely accurate, which usually suffers in fast-​paced diners. For example, Margaret’s iced tea was quickly and quietly replenished with a smile, before the glass was empty or she needed to request it.
This is a great go-​to place when family and/​or friends are visiting San Diego, as it’s located directly across the street from the Old Town Trolley Station, which takes passengers to downtown, the US/​Mexico Border, Fashion Valley and Mission Valley malls, Little Italy, Seaport Village and many other prime destinations. It’s also very near the airport, so it’s good for a last meal stop. And don’t forget about Old Town State Park and the famous Old Town Trolley Tour, which takes off from the park

In San Diego für ein paar Tage? Lust auf ein typisches «american breakfast» in einem «american diner»?
Dann ist Perry‘s Café «the place to go» :)
Wir wollten unbedingt amerikanisch frühstücken gehen und ich bin über Unilocal auf Perry‘s aufmerksam geworden. Beim ersten Versuch (Wochenende) war der Parkplatz überfüllt und es gab eine extrem lange Warteschlange… Daraufhin sind wir nochmals unter der Woche vorbei gegangen. Mussten zwar auch ein wenig warten, aber hatten dann doch recht schnell einen Tisch.
Zum Frühstück gibt es eine Riesenauswahl an verschiedenen Gerichten — amerikanisch, mexikanisch, sonstiges… Ich konnte mich erst gar nicht entscheiden… Man würde am liebsten von allem etwas probieren. Das geht wiederum leider nicht, weil die Portionen extrem groß sind. Also am besten am späteren vormittag zu Perry‘s und Frühstück und Mittagessen in einem zu sich nehmen :))
Mehr kann ich auch nicht wirklich sagen… Es war lecker, viel, preislich okay und daher definitiv empfehlenswert.

If you’re like me, you might drive by Perry’s hundreds of times before summoning the courage to go in. Don’t delay like I did. Trust me. You’ll be rewarded.
What’s so off putting? The location, next to an underpass near Old Town. Always some homeless folks nearby. Also, you’re seeing the back side of the restaurant as you drive through the underpass, which doesn’t leave a great impression either. Once you enter, however, you’ll find a restaurant that is quite nice inside, complete with friendly servers and great food.
If possible, sit in the area with the booths and the counter. It has a lot more character than the back room full of tables. The décor is old by design. A bit dated, but well maintained. The booths, for example, have been recovered but still have their original feel. It’s clean and bright with a wonderful 1960’s vibe. Or is it the 1970’s? Or the 1950’s? Matters not. Don’t critique it, embrace it.
The food falls solidly in my comfort zone. Eggs, pancakes, waffles, omelets… They also have extensive Mexican breakfast offerings. Very reasonably priced. Generous, but not insane, helpings. The coffee is served hot in oversized mugs. I tried to capture the steam rising off the coffee in a photo, but a talented photographer I am not. Service is prompt. On this visit we dropped in at 8:00 a.m., were served and were on our way by 8:30. Loved the hash browns. The Western Omelet had huge chunks of veggies. The pancakes were fluffy with a classic taste. Two syrups were delivered with pancakes, so I didn’t have to beg for more. Sensing we liked pretty much everything? You’d be right.
Oh there was one thing. I cannot tell you by first hand experience, but a female accompanying me tells me the stall in the women’s restroom is the smallest she has ever seen in the U.S. Just more character for the café!

Perry’s is an institution. I’ve been going there for breakfast for over a decade, my folks and family friends the better of two decades. Before and after the 2009 fire.
Perry’s is one of those Social Media success stories — but that success is somewhat reflected in the customer experience. Before Unilocal etc. the place was busy, but not even close to how busy it is these days. This particular Sunday morning visit was a 35 minute wait. But the kind staff work diligently to get you in and out as quickly as possible.
Some of my favorites: huevos rancheros, burger steak and eggs. Number one with a bullet: biscuits and gravy — that says a lot since I’m originally from the South. I suggest visiting with the right attitude: on the scale of truck stop diner to posh brunch, this is closer to the former.
The portions are huge, so bring your appetite and patience to persevere the line. If you can manage, waits are shorter on weekdays.