Cafe Rae

Far & away one of the best breakfasts we have ever shared. Came here on Valentine’s Day and while busy the service was really really good. All staff are extremely friendly greeting you with a smile and warm conversation.
The food is phenomenal. My wife and I split a build your own omelette and added a single pancake. The omelette was fluffy cooked perfectly, not overdone and the ingredients were extremely fresh. Now I mention the pancake. Their idea of a pancake is literally plate sized, it is huge. We added fresh strawberries to ours, and that could’ve been a meal in itself.
Though we were only visiting, I would make it a point to eat here. It’s worth going out of your way to get to and the prices are very reasonable for the amount of delicious food that you get.

This place is so adorable & spunky.
Food was great!
Has a very hippie feeling to which is nice! Will be back again if I find my self in San Clemente.
Waiter just needs to talk more to there guest, but over all amazing!

Great little spot, would highly recommend coming in for breakfast, have not tried the lunch here yet.
The staff was very helpful and make some excellent suggestions. I ended up taking up one of them, the spinach spanakopita eggs benedict. They were so delicious. The spinach spanakopita is made in house and truly was delicious.
I am definitely coming back in the future for another helping from this beautiful San Clemente gem.

Everything was amazing! We ordered Huevos Rancheros, stuffed French Toast, Pineapple Coconut Pancakes, Brisket Omelet… Oh my gosh we were impressed! The service was quick, attentive and there was virtually no wait on a busy Sunday morning. We will be back!

Café Rae is like family to us. We’ve been coming here for at least ⁵⁄₆ years now. There was a time when I was pregnant and this is all I wanted to eat. Then I had my son and the craving continued. I’d have breakfast and lunch here almost everyday, it was all I wanted. Terry is the best and all his employees have been amazing. We are always greeted with a big smile and hug. My 4yr old son is the star of the show and is always welcomed which is nice as a Mom with a toddler to be so welcomed. I love everything on the menu but some of my favorites are the breakfast croissant sandwich with sausage and swiss, huevos rancheros, garden salad with chicken and lemon dijon dressing, chicken pesto sandwich on challah bread with tomato, and of course my son can’t walk out without a chocolate chip cookie or pancake. Terry has some amazing specials as well, can’t go wrong with anything you order. Typing this I think I’m gonna swing by and grab us some breakfast. Go give them a try, you’ll become a regular before you know it.

First time there we walked in and stood at the door for about 5 minutes without anyone acknowledging us. The waitresses do walk by without saying a word. So the other reviewers are correct about the awkward standing around part. A few other people walked in and sat down, so I’m not sure how the seating actually works. Finally A guy waved us over to sit in the corner. We sat down and 10 min later the waitress came up and said we needed to wait to be seated, it was not self seating. We said the guy behind the counter told us to sit and she walked away. A few minutes later a diff waitress came to take our order.
The food alone is good and deserves 3.5−4 stars. We both enjoyed our meals. Not just typical diner breakfast stuff. Some of it seemed very interesting and unique. The waitress even stopped by to refill our coffee and told us she didn’t want to seat people that’s why she was doing coffee refills. We sat, had breakfast, and watched a few more couples come in and stand awkwardly at the door like they didn’t know what was going on. The place is small inside so there is not much room to stand without being in someone’s way or blocking the door.
Overall food was good, décor is cute, price is not bad for what you get, service is definitely lacking and 1 star worthy. Seems like the kind of place that accommodates regulars well, but not overly welcoming for your first time.

I noticed the fabulous green exterior as I was leaving a local shop called reptropolis up the street. Got their 2 eggs anyway and a Brisket burrito to go. I’m so happy to have found this whole in the wall after living here for 3 years now. Plus they have a very earthy, robust, almost Colombian tasting coffee that’s amazing. Perfect with a little sugar black!
I love that I can get a good not greasy breakfast off pch up to 2−3pm :)
Staff was polite.

We checked out Café Rae today because we happened to be in the area and the Unilocal reviews seemed to rave about it. What a little charm. Don’t be put off by the strip mall it’s located in. The food is delicious and the service is outstanding. Patty was our server and she was so engaging with our family and very personable. The other server Brie was really sweet too and happily answered any questions we had.
We will definitely be back!

Small, brightly-​colored restaurant with a flair for the hippy /​free-​spirited culture. Food is a little pricey, and reflects some unique flavors and ingredients. Service was great, the hostess/​waitress was sweet and attentive, and immediately re-​made my order (no questions asked) when it arrived missing an ingredient. We came for lunch, but it was the breakfast that we both really wanted to try (I think it’s served all day and it looked amazing). The owner /​manager gave us a nice farewell and took care of our check while the waitress was tending to other customers. Nice place, just not my personal preference of food and price.

Went out with my family for a nice brunch, my mother ordered a Spinach, Mushroom, Swiss Omelet. She immediately knew the mushrooms and spinach were out of a can. The cheese was an artificial slice out of a package. We told the waitress of This and the chef/​owner came out of the kitchen to tell us it was fresh. Being as my mom is not afraid to speak her mind she told the owner as though she did not believe they were fresh and that set him off. The chef then proceeded to yell at us telling us to «get the hell out of his restaurant» and that «we are never welcome again». Mind you he did this all in front of the other costumers in the café. You can bet he will never see us again. It was over priced for how sub par the food was and let’s face the facts the chef is crazy.

Do not leave without ordering the Blueberry French Toast!
We had a party of 18. When we got there, the tables were ready for us. We were given a warm welcome, very friendly service and some tips on how to spend a few hours in the city.
Cannot say enough to complement the staff that day. They were very patient and helpful as a party that large can get chaotic.
The food was excellent, brought out quickly and fresh.

Support Local food and be patient for it. You’ll be rewarded…

Couldn’t even tell you what the food tasted like because no one offered us any. A friend and I walked in on Saturday morning around 10 a.m. No one was greeting customers so we found a table and sat down. Three employees walked by us and not even a «Hello» was offered. The waitress delivered food to the table right next to us which was literally a foot away and still nothing. We sat there for about 10 minutes with no acknowledgment. Another party came to the door and they were greeted but apparently we were invisible. I had heard good things about this place but the only thing worse than bad service is NO SERVICE.
If you actually want to eat and drink something, go down the street to La Siesta. The food was great and the service was top notch compared to this place.

My family & I were driving to San Diego and needed a place to stop for some brunch. We just so happened to stumble into this place and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.
The wait was not long at all, 5 mins. for a table of 3 even though the place was full! I was actually surprised we got seated so quickly, but I am not complaining!
The food was delicious. I had the huevos rancheros and they might be the best huevos rancheros I’ve ever had. Don’t tell my mother-​in-​law! The guacamole was fresh and the salsa was just right. If I’m ever in SoCal again, I will NEED to come back & stop by for another meal. We left full & satisfied!
The place is right by the beach so you really get that local feeling. I really enjoyed it.

I love there cream cheese french toast stuffed with strawberries and bananas they are outrageous! This is a small Family Ran Local Business and i Love supporting San Clemente! Also Café Rae makes an awesome rack of ribs stop by this place today you will love it!!!

This is my favorite place in San Clemente. It is small and has great service. I like to try whatever is on the board as a special. Huevos rancheros are a sure thing and if they have them as a special with chili or chile verde on top they are a home run!
If you try this place once you will return.

Had a Family brunch over the weekend there. Should have called ahead, not a lot of seating if you have a big group.
But great spot for a couple or a few friends (3 – 4)
The soups are killer. They let us try them all before picking one. The salsa (chimichurri) was so good I ask for 2 extra sides.
The server knew everything bout the place and was really fun to talk to. He let me build my own burrito and let my picky grandmother-​in-​law design her own sandwich.
Very accommodating!
Didn’t know it was healthier choice until they told me how it was made, tasted great not like «health food»
They also sell trail mix or oat meal dry there that looked really good.
I would eat there again.

My friend and I came to Café Rae in search of a good breakfast to start off our Saturday morning in San Clemente. Right off the main strip of El Camino sits this small colorful little restaurant that serves up breakfast, lunch and dinner on Friday/​Saturday evenings. They don’t have a very large dining area inside that can really accommodate large groups and their tables set for two are very small (
). They are so small it makes it quite hard to stack your plates correctly and your drinks. The coffee is what started my meal off here, and it tasted freshly delicious. I asked the server whose coffee they use but she never got back to me about it.
Their menu is quite a good size, they offer all kinds of different breakfast options from omelettes, pancakes, french toast and egg combos. But for me, I’m always in the mood for some pancakes on the weekend. According to their menu, they make their pancakes from their own recipe from scratch every morning. They allow all kinds of add-​ins like fruit, nuts and chocolate chips but I decided for regular olé plain pancakes. A short stack is what I got and it runs you about 6 dollars, its two massive pancakes (
). They were so large I couldn’t expect many people are able to finish a full stack. I also received some eggs and pinto beans on the side (
). The scrambled eggs were cooked great but my favorite side was the homemade pinto beans, they are made on site and have lots of flavor to them. The pancakes served here are deliciously fluffy thick cakes (
) that can easily satisfy your hot cake craving. My friend ordered a custom omelette (
) with a side of fruit and beans. She enjoyed her dish as well and commented on how great the veggies tasted inside. The salsa () that they served us on the side was fantastic, very spicy salsa that complimented the eggs and omelette very well. I wish they had brought more of that stuff.
Café Rae served us a great breakfast with decent service. The only two things I would change about this place is being opened earlier on the weekends and perhaps maybe a little bit bigger tables to accommodate the condiments and the food plates. Prices were decent and breakfast here ran about $ 30 for two people with entrees and drinks. Rae was a great way to start off the weekend.

Super cute place for breakfast and brunch! Can’t believe I’ve been living here and I didn’t know about it sooner. Sad, I know!
They have all of the breakfast essentials on the menu: eggs, omelettes, toast, pancakes, waffles, and more. They’ve also got some lunch foods going on.
I decided to keep it simple and get scrambled eggs with the potatoes and pancake. Yes, it is just one pancake, and it is huge! I couldn’t finish, though it was good! I do wish their syrup was sweeter…
Service was great and friendly.
My friend and I got a quick brunch here and then walked to the MetroLink Station for a nice morning hike along the San Clemente beach trail! Awesome was to spend a nice, relaxing, and beautiful day!
Would do this all again :)

Wow! The whole package is the real deal — the service, the food and the laid back atmosphere.
I had the huevos rancheros, which comes with two eggs to order on top of homemade frijoles on two corn tortillas topped with mozzarella cheese. Sides include pan fried potatoes and small servings of guacamole, sour cream and homemade salsa. Oh my… the salsa. Top that with a hot cup o’ joe and it’s breakfast fit for a king.
Other dishes that brought smiles to the faces of those in our party include French toast, pancakes and a made-​to-​order omelet.