Red’s Espresso Gallery

It’s the end of an era. Red’s is closed for business. I can’t wait to see what opens up in it’s place. We will miss you Deb and the gang!

I am usually here for the comedy shows or open mic nights on Thursdays either to watch or perform. It’s far less crowded than surrounding restaurants like The Living Room and has plenty of seating. The one time I was here to eat food, there was someone singing on the mini stage, which was cute. I love how supportive they are of the «arts.» They have a limited selection of food and beverage, so it’s hard to pick something… but the people who work there are pretty cool though. I would really only come here for the shows I’m invited too but would not wander in on my own. Great effort in its time of existence, and I look forward to see how it’s going to be rebranded!

No no no no no. The place means well, but the execution is embarrassing at best. We ordered two cups of coffee (bitter), one muffin (I thought I was biting into a whole macadamia nut, but it was a sugar clump) and two sandwiches. My boyfriend had the Thanksgiving sandwich and it was filled with just globs of canned cranberry jelly. How difficult would it be to mix it up in a bowl then spread it on? Also, your sandwich comes with an awkward side of really hard, thick croutons. Such an awful experience can be yours for $ 29. I urge you to spend your money elsewhere.

Came for breakfast & coffee, walked away disappointed. There was some sort of confusion with our (and everyone else in there) order. After 5min, my coffee was brought to our table but my husband then had to go up to the counter to ask for his. Our food took 20+ min to come out, and they somehow messed up the order numbers so they kept coming out with food & wouldn’t know who’s it was.
It’s a cute place, very eclectic décor. Coffee was mediocre. I had the Screamin’ Greens on an everything bagel. It was okay, but not worth $ 7 or the wait. I would not go back.

We were here last week, it was really good. We had the Green skillet (tasty), and ordered an Elvis with Bacon off their peanut butter and jelly menu. OMG, I have been thinking about that Elvis with Bacon sandwich every day since I had it. It was really good. It was so good, I forgot to take it’s picture before I devoured every single delicious morsel of this sandwich. It was so good, I was telling people on my flight home they should go here. It’s worth it. I love Elvis and Bacon. Love.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
This place is a carnival ride of lunacy. Met a buddy for supper in this «Salvador Dali» shanty.
First off, their dinner offerings are the same as lunch. Wraps, salads, teas, and coffees. I ate a turkey wrap and a large chocolate chip cookie. Both weren’t bad but would not be out of place in a college dining hall, and I aint on a meal plan anymore. One of the employees made the spontaneous statement that he enjoys a cookie or two after a cannabis sesh. During my evening I witnessed waitresses downing glasses of wine and conferring about bill prices on the fly. There didn’t appear to be any circus master.
The highlight of the evening was the no cover comedy night. Comedians received few laughs, only awkward moments of silence and belligerent heckling from the Manson Family audience. One comedian was so offended that he cut his set short, stormed outside and headed down the block, only to have to turn around and head back the other direction sheepishly after realizing where he parked. Afterwards a tip basket was tossed from table to table and I observed one sketchy looking patron drop 6 pennies inside. As I headed out into the crisp night air I overheard a rattled comedian label the night as a train wreck.
Much like the good Dr. Hunter S. Thompson it never got weird enough for me, so I almost feel l should give this crazy train 5 stars. 3 stars for passable lunch fare and free entertainment.
God help us all.

I have the California wrap… And it was pretty basic. Not the place to going you’re hungry!

I have a certain amount of restaurant autism and dislike places where there’s clearly a process but I don’t know what it is. This is one of those places.
Coffee and food were tasty but the counter folk were extremely disorganized and confusing to point where I felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave.

My husband and I are in town for our babymoon and out hotel didnt’t have free breakfast so we took advantage of the situation and Unilocaled a good breakfast joint. We went on a monday morning, parking is along the street but today we didn’t have trouble finding a spot.
Vibe is very indie/​chill.
We got almond joy and snickers coffee. Awesome. Whats more awesome is my open-​faced Screamin’ Green Bagel, even though they ran out of avocados, it is still incredibly amazing. I don’t know what special thing they put in it cause it just seems to be spinach, bacon, cheese, eggs, jalapenos (for a kick). But i am in love. If i can drive 6 hours everyday just to get here, i would.

We we’re excited to go to Reds, because the photos on Unilocal looked right up our alley… However for the most part, it was a disappointment.
When we walked in, nobody greeted us, which is usually fine – but when we asked the girl behind the counter if we just sat ourselves, we got no reply. Not even acknowledgment. She just counted money. It took like 5 – 10 awkward seconds until somebody else told us to seat ourselves and then come to the window when we were ready to order.
Everything on the menu looked great, a lot of avocado dishes (my fav!)
When we went up to order, we found out they were out of avocado :(
He got the lox bagel – which was truthfully delicious. The nova salmon was fresh and delicious. big too.
I got some turkey wrap. sounded a lot better than it tasted. It was just not satisfying at all. The tortilla it was wrapped in tasted like play-​do.
Overall, confusion aside, the place was cute. I’d go back again, but this time sit inside (the patio out back is near many dumpsters so there were a lot of flies!!) I’d like to try the breakfast with avocado that I originally wanted. I will give them the benefit of the doubt because I worked in restaurants for so long… hopefully today was just an off day.
A star for the lox bagel, a star for the quaintness/​atmosphere, and another star just because I wanted to like them so much.

We had breakfast and coffee. We didn’t realize until after our meal that they roasted their own coffee in-house…and it is quite good.
The panini toasted wrap was great, service was quick and friendly. Definitely worth another visit.

Delicious food and good coffee.
We had to wait a little for the food but it’s a small kitchen and only one chef, so it understandably takes some time.
I had the red Buddha skillet, others had the screaming green bagel and skillet. Both were delicious and fresh.

Lately there has been a thread of not so positive reviews due to the service at REDS primarily. This is partially true, given that when I walked into the place, the response based on their facial expression was, «oh, can I help you?» Not too many smiles. Who knows why? My review is based primarily on the food and prices.
The screamin green skillet. Yes, had to get it based on all the hype. Now don’t expect your overly flavored, high sodium, possible sugar induced Dennys breakfast dishes. This one felt pretty organic, almost like a home cooked kind of dish which is pretty awesome. The subtlety in the potatoes helps to not overpower the eggs or the cheese. The combination of jack cheese and pepperoncinis creates a friendly balance of kick spice and flavor. Price was just right.
If I’m ever in the area again, I will definitely visit REDS again to measure their hospitality to see if it was just an off month for them or somehow things went a little publicly sour for them but regardless I’m happy to greet them again an update my review based outside of one visit to REDS.

Another super long work day in the point loma area, was craving some breakfast food. This place says it opens at 6am, I thought to myself perfect, because everything else opened so much later.
I pulled up around 6, however I didn’t see any open sign and it looked dead inside (lack of lighting). I figured maybe Unilocal had the times wrong, so I waited around out in my car. I then saw a woman walk into the place, so I got out to go in.
The woman working up front was busy doing lots of stuff, so much that it took away from her ability to help me with my order. I ordered the screaming green skillet without cheese and inquired about a muffin. She commented that the muffins weren’t cooked yet, why are you open if you don’t even have your product ready? I also ordered a coffee with the skillet. The price came out to $ 12, wowsers!
The drip coffee was serve yourself type of situation with the coffee sitting in the thermos containers on the opposite side of the place. They had three different roasts to choose from, I went with the Mad Red roast. Red’s prides its self on roasting its own beans on site, which is pretty cool. I really didn’t care for their coffee, didn’t really strike me as anything special. They have a sign above the coffee saying no refills.
The waitress/​cashier finally brought out the skillet quite a bit later. I was waiting a good deal of time. The screaming green skillet (
) was a very small dish with spinach on the bottom and pepperchinis mixed throughout the eggs. I ordered mine without the goat cheese, because I’m not a fan of cheese in omelets. The bacon was burnt, way overcooked unfortunately, too crispy. They weren’t skimpy with the avocado, quite a lot for this small dish. For me the skillet was underwhelming and overly expensive for what it was. It was compromised maybe of one large egg and three or four little warmed up potatoes. Not very appetizing for me really.
It’s sad that this little place didn’t really click with me. Coffee wasn’t the best and the food wasn’t too hot either. It’s also sad they have no pastries when they open. Seems like its better to come later in the morning I suppose, when they are really open for business and not just a coffee place.

The food was tasty, I got the red Buddha for breakfast, not a fan of their coffees, but I decided to have a beer instead. The servers were really working hard but, on Sunday it seemed a bit understaffed for the crowd. Overall this place is good but, needs some deep cleaning. I was a put off by the overall cleanliness, there wasn’t a mess but really you need to have a cleaning crew do some scrubbing and freshen up the pain.

Excellent cappuccinos!
The sirens brew the beans in house and you can taste the quality of their coffee. I enjoyed a fabulous cappuccino for under $ 4.
Also ordered a screaming green skillet. The skillet consisted of eggs, potatoes, cheese, peppered bacon, spinach, and peperocinis.
The peperocinis added a nice bite and the skillet was fine overall, but the potatoes could have been crispier. We also had a jalapeño bagel with cream cheese which was standard.
Reds coffee is the shining star. Come for delicious fresh roasted coffee.

The highlight of screaming greens is definitely worth a try. I got it in the bagel form and found the combo of avocado with bagel delightful. The spinach makes me feel like the meal was reasonably healthy despite the cheese and bacon :)
However, I was quite irked by the filthiness of the café. I sat in the area with the skylight and behind a haphazardly placed screen, coffee making materials were junked in the corner and dusty. Perhaps it was my choice of seat, but I had to eat faster and get out of there due to the environment.
Please clean up the place and I’d give it a solid 4 stars.

For you, Reds, I broke my vacation rule. I usually never eat at the same place twice when I’m out of town (or EVER, for that matter), but for you I broke my rule.
It was walking distance from the hotel, and on the first morning we ventured out and gave it a try. I hit that Screaming Green as a plate (as opposed to a bagel) and struck gold. The following day I had a bagel breakfast sandwich, and while it was good, it was no Screaming Green.
You’ll have to ask someone else about the coffee. As a non-​caffeinator, I can only say that yes, they do serve coffee. I was good with the water (set out in a dispenser in the dining area) and offer zero bean guidance.
The place is a little divey, a little kitschy, and totally perfect. Nothing sparkly. Lots of coloring books for kids. Diverse seating options. And I’m pretty sure there’s a small place to sit out back, though we opted for indoors on both mornings.
Love it for what it is. Nice, simple, neighborhood joint for a jolt of java and some simple and quick dining options.

Very eclectic and hip coffee spot. You won’t put your face in a Starbucks unless you absolutely have to after a visit to Reds.
It’s always quiet in here, and never packed with college students or Birkenstock wearing tree huggers.
The girls working here could use a happy pill, as they seem like they’re just biding their time until they get off. That’s not a reason not to go, however.
You’ll love this place, I promise. My new favorite San Diego coffee house.

I came here with a friend for brunch and ordered the Cochon Quesadilla, that came with pickled watermelon rind and strawberry salsa. It was a very delicious breakfast, filled with mouthwatering flavor! But the salsa and pickled rinds were so minimal, I had to strictly ration these toppings to make them last throughout the meal. I would double or triple these portions… maybe they fear too many diners would be intimidated by the unique flavors and would be wasteful with the product, but for serious foodies, we need to increase these portionings by so much more!
The interior was cute, very «coffee lounge», with mismatched furniture and dishes. There was a small inner patio that we sat at– plenty of natural sunlight there and protection from the «harsh San Diego conditions,» but ohmygooooodnesssss—
— — — — — WAY TOO MANY FLIES — — — — — –
I definitely take away one star for the amount of flies that were annoying and unrelenting! I am tempted to take away even more stars because of this, but its a problem so easily solved! Not worth damaging Reds potential business but they need to do something quick to ensure the flies are gone for good. Sanitary bug zappers exist, a fan would even keep the flies out of our face and food.
So that was gross… but the food was still good.
The problem with having so many flies around, is that one starts to think what other bugs could be found in the mornings when the restaurant opens. Naturally that’s what we think! I have worked in restaurants throughout my life and flies are an obnoxious reality, especially with any kind of out door space… but there are very easy ways to fix it before customers make their way to dine-​in and are faced with using one hand to shoo away the pests while eating with the other.