Café On Park

We got lost in the city and found this place. Decided to go into because we were hungry and saw a steady stream of foot traffic. Glad we did. It’s kinda loud but that’s because it’s the kind of place people go to connect. Food is delicious. Service is fast and courteous. Happy accident!

If your eyes are as big as your stomach, you won’t be disappointed. I don’t find their food to be very rich in flavor, but it’s consistent with daily specials. They also offer full service at the bar, which is my preference when I go out to eat solo.

I love this place, it was my birthday recently, tried to go to Brazilian Steakhouse on restaurant week at 11, they laughed… I left bummed, thought about a few places and ended up here having my FAVORITE breakfast in town! I love their menu, they Mexican Hash with Chorizo is AMAZING! I also got a side cornmeal pancake with blackberries and peanut butter… and as always, it was perfect!

DO NOT FEAR! Per their Facebook page, they are closed 1÷25−1÷29÷16 for minor renovations.

Visited here yesterday morning with my mom. Laura was our waitress. She seemed to have a good amount of tables, and was still really good at checking up on us, and genuinely caring about us. She had a great personality, and is the kind of waitress I’d like to have at all the places I go to eat at. Anyways, food was great as well. Lots of food for what you pay.
Will be back :)

I had a serious brunch craving this morning and decided to check this place out. Even though it’s near a busy interaction, it still feels like a cozy neighborhood café. The food is delicious, you get a lot for your money, and everyone who works here is wonderful. Definitely a new favorite spot :)

I’ve been here a couple of times. Each time the service was good, omelet was tasty. I switch out the potatoes, not a fan of soft chunks.
Take a chance, try someplace new. See you there

The portions here are ENORMOUS. They don’t look very big in the pictures, but they’re overwhelming in person. One pancake is a very filling meal and you could easily get two hearty meals out of most of their dishes. As a person who dearly loves leftovers, this is an excellent selling point. Unfortunately, it’s really the only one.
Everything I’ve had here was a boring and bland. Their pancake batter is not very flavorful and their special pancakes don’t have nearly enough fruit in them (more bites without than with). Their potatoes taste unseasoned and have no crispy bits, which are the best part of fried potatoes. In fact, they mostly just taste like boiled potatoes. The Mexican hash has lots of cheese, but not much spice or seasoning. Their beans are lacking in flavor. Apparently their turkey hash used to be phenomenal, but no longer is. Their salads are nothing special either.
Writing this out I’m wondering why I’m giving this place three stars. It isn’t very good! But it’s not horrible either. I can definitely make better at home, but everything here is perfectly edible.

I came here for Sunday brunch because I wanted to try something other than playing it safe at Ortega’s all the time. The last time I was in the neighborhood (to try Heat), this place was packed to the point that the people waiting had over-​spilled to fill up the sidewalk outside the storefront. This Sunday, perhaps due to holiday travels, when we came in, we were immediately seated inside, no huge groups waiting around. Service was super quick, friendly, and attentive. When my partner commented that the coffee tasted burned (sour aftertaste despite a lot of sugar and cream) they immediately apologized and said they would dump the current batch, brew a fresh pot, and replace his coffee ASAP. We ordered the crabcake benny and the chorizo hash. Both came with huge portions — the chorizo hash had generous portions of chorizo and a hint of a spicy kick to the dish which I associate with anything that has chorizo. The crabcakes were ginormous, fresh and flavorful. I loved that the hollandaise sauce was present but not too overpowering on the dish; it really let me savor the crab. Only downside was that the potatoes that came with my benny were a bit too bland and soggy. So many green bits of herb mixed in with the potatoes and I couldn’t find a bit of flavor in a single bite. That was a shame. But overall the place has solid service, location, and decently-​priced good food. It would have been nice to walk off the meal by heading over to the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market (which it is in convenient walking distance of), but alas I got out of bed too late and market was almost closed by the time we finished our meal.

This place is magic. It can turn the worst mornings into heaven with just one bite. The food is amazing, the portions are huge, and the customer service is great.
The Mexican Hash is a must have for anyone who likes spicy food.
I definitely recommend this place to everyone who asks.

I have a soft spot for this place. My boyfriend loves it and we have wonderful brunch dates here every now and then. I think their pancakes are very good and I’m not even a pancake person! They gigantic circles of pillowy goodness. Our favorite is their banana chocolate pancake! Why? It comes with maple caramel! I don’t normally care about portion sizes, but their portions are so big that I feel I have mention it in my review… so if you’re a hungry hungry hippo. this place is perfect

The food was amazing. The waiters were kind and polite. Really chill environment. Would highly recommend this place.

Came here for a late breakfast. There were diners scattered throughout the restaurant, but plenty of open seats…
Clean, city feel with concrete walls and art work. service was okay. Not super friendly, but pretty decent.
I wanted a bagel sandwich… When it came out, they only brought me a toasted bagel. Our server told me she’d bring out the the egg on a separate plate… I was expecting a small plate with some formed piece of egg. I wasn’t expecting a whole egg scramble! Came out hot and fresh. And yes, she said the whole thing is usually served IN the bagel. (See my pic) the onion bagel was perfectly toasted and had a great flavor. Egg was good.
The hubby got a crispy hash… Pieces of ham. Egg made over medium. And crispy potatoes… The sour cream definitely enhanced the flavor.
We also got a plain pancake for the little one. I would’ve LOVED to taste their captain crunch and blueberry pancake, but the child (my child, hehe) wanted a plain one. It was HUGE… Not super fluffy, it was actually a bit dense. But tasted awesome with a little butter and syrup…
Street parking. A decent breakfast spot to try out if you’re in the area…

Good stuff. Walked in in that slightly-hungover-I’ve-got-to-eat-this-thing-off kind of mood, left feeling like I needed a nap, justttt as I planned.
I had the Mexican hash with chorizo and over-​medium eggs — my favorite breakfast dish to order anywhere, I might add — and this one did not disappoint. The cheesiness was INSANE! The portion size was huge too, by the time I was full it looked like I had eaten less than half (though I may or may not have pressed on gluttonously).
It’s a little pricey (Is breakfast getting more expensive lately? It FEELS like it is.) and the open, sparsely decorated dining room was loud, as breakfast places tend to me (why IS that?) but overall a great spot. I’ll go back.

Boyfriend and I tried to go to Snooze but because it was such a clusterf*ck, we ended up coming here instead. Both of us didn’t regret it and we were glad that we didn’t go to Snooze, anyway!
If you go here around 8 – 9 am on a weekend, it’s not terribly crowded. Our servers were super nice and we got our food right away. He got a meatloaf scramble and I got a steak hash. Both of our dishes came with this brown bread on the side with some amazing peach/​apricot (?) jam on the side. Both dishes were really good, but mine was so much I had to take my food to go.
If you are into sweet foods, try out the capn crunch pancakes or frosted flakes pancakes. Just a heads up, it’s one huge pancake that may be hard to eat in its entirety unless you are a huge eater or super famished.
Overall, it’s a nice place to go to and I’d like to go again. FYI, it’s located between North Park and Hillcrest (I think it’s considered «North Park», though), so be prepared to either walk really far or brush up on your parallel parking skills.

Went for breakfast on a tuesday morning. We sat ourselves and immediately was offered water and coffee. Within a few minutes a waitress appeared and took our food order.
I love the colorful chairs and warehouse décor. The tall ceilings and artwork on the walls add character and provides a comfortable open feeling (Where as some breakfast spots make you feel like you’re eating elbow to elbow with your neighbor).
We ordered 3 different styles of Benedict. And they all looked AMAZING! I’m hesitant to order Benedict at a restaurant unless I know they’re moving units! Because the sauce can go bad really fast. I ordered the Bugs Beny and the whole plate was on point and delicious! The artichoke hearts were huge and most definitely NOT from a can. And the picture below should speak for the rest of the plate.

I’m home in San Diego for a few days so my family has given me full control over what restaurants we visit. Café on Park seemed to have good reviews so we decided to come here for Saturday brunch. It was packed at about noon, and with the exposed pipes/​cement walls and bare floors, it was also very loud. Despite this, I was actually really comfortable/​liked the atmosphere. Beverages are served in massive mason jars so it kind of felt like someone transported me into their Pinterest board. The staff were very friendly and the dining experience was great.
I ordered the smoked salmon scramble, which is eggs scrambled with smoked salmon, cream cheese, and onions. It was absolutely one of the best brunches I’ve ever had! I almost ordered the bagel and lox until I saw this scramble. It tasted like lox and bagel but was so much more filling! It comes with house potatoes and toast with homemade (delicious!) jam so I could barely eat half of this massive plate. I will definitely be back for this!
My mom ordered the Oriental salad with crab cakes. The crab cakes were rich, not too fishy, and large enough to make the salad feel substantial. Dressing was not overpowering, and there were enough cashews/​broccoli to add a nice crunch. Definitely a heavier salad if you have an appetite.
All in all, I’m really glad I trusted my fellow Unilocalers and decided to try this place out. For being a San Diego native, I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this place!

After battling crazy lines at many of the Hillcrest breakfast/​brunch places, we stumbled upon Café on Park.
Atmosphere:
— nice and open layout with little wait
Price:
— hearty portions for the hash and scramble entrees
Food:
— a lot of options on the menu
— buttered brown bread was amazing with homemade jam
— water was served in huge mason jars!

I am terrible at updating reviews and felt like I at least owed it The Café on Park because it really is one of my favorite places to eat in all of San Diego. I couldn’t tell you how many times I have been here since my first visit over a year ago. This is the place I’ll bring out of towners and family visitors, mostly because its just another accuse for me to go. I really just love it and as I type this review I think I am do for another visit this weekend!
I’ve pretty much had a variety of the breakfast and lunch menu so I’ll go ahead a give a review on a variety of the delicious things I have tasted here at the Café on Park.
I really enjoy their scrambles, two of my favorites have to be the chorizo or the meatloaf scramble, they are both really tasty and full of flavor (be warned the chorizo has a bit of heat to it). I’ve also had the Mexican hash which is similar to the chorizo scramble but just in hash form with a little bit more thrown into the mix. If you are craving an egg dish, I highly recommend the crab cake benny which is their take on the benedict. Honestly might be the best benedict I’ve ever had.
Little known secret, Café on Park can cook up a mean burger! I mean these things are amazing! So much flavor sandwiched between a soft bun! If you’re feeling like lunch, the burgers and sandwiches here are delish!
Sooo if you read my previous review, you’ll see that I’m a pancake fan and Café on Park serves up some tasty flapjacks! They are among my top three favorite pancakes in SD. If you ask me what one of my favorite pancakes from here is, I would have to give a spotlight to the under appreciated Savory corn pancake batter with fresh jalapeños, onions &cheddar cheese. It is life changing in my opinion! Order it with two medium cooked eggs on top and throw some pico de gallo on there and you’ll be in savory pancake heaven.
This isn’t a review about parking in Hillcrest, this is a review about an amazing restaurant with great an friendly service, fun and artsy atmosphere, and some the best food in all the land.

Do you like pancakes? Do you like pancakes so large they can easily feed three people? Well then this is your place!
I made the mistake of ordering the pancake combo thinking I could eat a pancake and some bacon and eggs. Yeah, I ate maybe ¹⁄₃ (and that’s being generous) of the pancake, a few bites of eggs and, well, I won’t like I totally ate the bacon. Whatever, it was my birthday, calories don’t count on your birthday (and neither does sodium.) Anyway, I felt terrible wasting all that food but we were heading out straight from breakfast and couldn’t really take it with us.
Service was prompt, and efficient although not overly friendly. He got the job done, engaged in pleasant banter but wasn’t over the top.
Café on Park is a great place to stop in for a basic breakfast or bowl of Cap’n Crunch on your way to the zoo or Balboa Park, or just if you’re in the mood for some gigantic pancakes.

Love their ginormous pancakes! I think everyone should try their pancake at least once. I thought their captain crunch pancakes was going to be weird, but it was delicious! I could never finish even half of the pancake when I go, so I suggest sharing it with someone.
Some other really good items are their steak hash and salmon hash. Both are loaded with good for you veggies and are very flavorful. They also come with amazing wheat bread and jam.

Colorful restaurant, art for sale, friendly staff! I have eaten here before &, unfortunately, their food is a hit or miss…
Bugs Benny (one of their versions of an Eggs Benedict) — There is not enough hollandaise sauce & what is available is soaked up in the grilled French bread which then becomes soggy. Fortunately, the basil hollandaise is tasty. The eggs are cooked over-​medium rather than poached. Everything is warmed except for the tomatoes.
Captain Crunch & Blackberry Pancakes — Huge portion! It is definitely big enough to share amongst 2 – 4 people & unless you are hungry, I highly recommend only ordering it if you are planning to split. It was good & a cool concept. However, some areas of the pancake were burnt & it was a little too sweet for my taste.
Street/​metered parking!

An unsuspecting corner hides this trendy brunch spot. My friends dubbed this place a popular spot but with a lesser line. Indeed there was no wait, but tables almost maxed out at 90% occupancy. Specials on the board were namely pancakes, but they have a good choice of scrambled eggs as well. Service was quick and speedy. Interior ambiance was a bit noisy with echoes all over the place.
-=-Meatloaf Scramble-​=- Wasn’t eating potatoes this day, so I opted for a salad instead of hash browns. Salad Vinaigrette was fresh and balanced with sauce on the side. When it came to the meatloaf scramble, it was probably about 3 eggs in there. With all the contents added it still looked a bit small, but satisfying nonetheless. The subtle meatloaf chunks in the scramble also weren’t overly apparent, but I was able to isolate maybe 3 or 4 nice chunks. Nothing too flavorful in there, then then again eggs can always be fixed with ketchup and tabasco.