Sculpture Court Cafe By Giuseppe

I don’t give 5 stars very often. This place is totally underrated. The food was excellent. We got the Angus Burger and the half sandwich and soup special. The Angus burger was thick and juicy. The blackened chicken sandwich was delicious and fries were crispy. And the meatball and veggie soup was heartwarming.

This, is a solid 3 stars. It wins because it’s in the middle of balboa park. It looses due to the price of it’s very average food fare. It makes up for it in great service. The service and location… they make the difference.
The app/​sampler was OK, with very unimaginative cheese, very normal (close to store bought) pickles, and really average bri. The quiche was good, but I’m a big fan of quiche, so am easily impressed. Wine selection was good and served appropriately (call me silly, but pouring a TON of wine in a glass doesn’t make the wine good).
Where you win, is the view and service. The court is secluded, people are lounging on the grass and it’s just a big sigh of relax type of feeling.

This is one of my favorite places. It’s pretty much the whole place is outdoor, but really a great place to be especially when it’s nice out. I have been here only twice and both times I had appetizer stuff with wine, but it was satisfying both times.

I must agree that the service was lacking but this café hired only 2 people, so its not their fault when they get slammed.
I came with a large group, knowing full well that it could take ½ hour for our food. The waiter was actually pretty quick, and did his best. We arrived at 11:30, and the tapas was ½ off until noon. Stephen and I shared the Charcuterie board (meat and cheese plate) and the marconi almonds.
The waiter was exceptionally nice and split our checks. Nice café, and I’d go back for Happy Hour.

If my rating was based purely on the quality of food then I would give 5 stars.
The service was lacking a little bit. My waiter did not seem very knowledgeable about the menu and he seemed a bit timid as well. This wasn’t a big deal and we ordered and everything was fine.
We ordered this cheese and meat plate for an appetizer and it was delicious. By the way all appetizers are half off between 11 and 12.
The main courses began to come out and everyone is served except for me. I ordered a burger and we were just expecting for it to come out a minute later. However several minutes passed and the waiter came by to check on us and upon asking him about the burger he seemed a little bit confused. He went back to check on it and we are pretty sure he had just forgotten to punch my order in. So I was a little annoyed at this point and ready to give this place a 2 star rating maybe even a 1 if my burger didn’t taste good.
However I was delighted when my waiter immediately brought out a bowl of soup for me while I waited on my burger. As I said service is important to me and this really changed my attitude toward the place.
The burger came out and it was excellent and the waiter gave us a 10% discount for the wait.
The food was great and even though mistakes were made, the service was excellent too.

Just great food. That’s it. Very happy!

It seems like other Unilocalers had issues with service. I didn’t have a problem but I also did come on a weekday and was by myself, so that might explain it.
However, I do have to mention that the host seating me seemed a little unsure. Maybe he was new. He asked me where I wanted to sit and I asked if I could sit towards the back but as we were walking towards he stopped and said it was actually reserved for something (don’t remember what) so I couldn’t sit there and so I took a table in the middle. He sat me down and was then was like «Oh, let me grab you a menu, sorry about that» Hah, I didn’t even notice he didn’t grab a menu. Not really a big deal to me but did want to mention it as it was part of my experience.
My server was kind and friendly. The host also came back to check on me a couple times which was nice too.
Loved the area and feeling the breeze and warmth of the sun.
Food! Grilled Ahi Tuna Ciabatta with Fries
Overall a good sandwich. I thought the ahi tuna would be rare but it was fully cooked, but hey it was still moist and delicious. Ciabatta was a good bread choice as well. Nice crispy crust with a softer interior. I liked the olive-​artichoke tapenade, however, I don’t think it worked well with the tuna. I felt like it took away the flavor too much with some bites. Though it was a nice salty addition and added interesting flavor so it wasn’t just tomatoes, lettuce, and mayo. I think the balance just needs to be worked out a bit more. Fries were good, no complaints and they give you a pretty good amount, took some in a togo box.
I had a good experience and did enjoy my food!

This is a really pretty, breezy spot to have lunch at Balboa Park. It’s either full service or grab n go– if you use grab n go, you can still sit in the sculpture garden.
I got here right when they opened at 11. For some reason, the maintenance people chose that moment to begin mowing the sculpture garden lawn. They seated me far away as possible from the mower, but it’s open air, so it was still loud. Why not mow grass before the café opens? I hope the café manager speaks to the maintenance crew about it. Who wants to breathe in gas and grass?
They have a happy hour right now, 11 – 12, with 50% off beer & tapas. However, nobody told me about it, which I was kind of sorry about because I would have gotten a few tapas vs. a sandwich. This is how I knew: another party got seated nearby, and the waiter (who was also my waiter) told them. Wah. All they told me was the soup of the day.
I had the turkey sandwich with fingerling potato salad ($ 10). The salad was fingerling potatoes, steamed and cut up, in a mayo/​mustard/​dill dressing, and very good. The thing I didn’t like was how the woman brought it out to me. She left a greasy handprint on one side of the plate, near the food. Maybe your hands can be clean, or you can hold it another way. It’s a pristine white plate and the handprint was very apparent– I could see sworls in it like a fingerprint– kind of a turnoff– I tried not to use that side of the plate at all.
The sandwich was fine. It was nothing to write home about– deli turkey, lettuce, tomato, mayo on sourdough. Next time, I think I’ll try the tapas or the burger (which, at $ 12, seems like it might be a better bet than the sandwich).

Gorgeous place to relax around sculptures or people watch, but ultimately it comes down to the food, and the food was just okay.
With the focus being on Italian, we opted for a margherita pizza and an insalata mista. The salad was good (not sure it’s listed on the menu?), but the pizza was just meh. If they could fix the crust recipe then it would be good, but the crust was just hard as a rock and was a little difficult to eat. The rest of the pizza was fine, just major crust issues going on!
We sat in the lounge area which has a view of the outside sculpture garden. There’s no denying this is a beautiful place to grab lunch and just relax.

Came here for a quick lunch before a play. I’ve never expected much from a café in a touristy place but this one caught me by surprise. I ordered the ahi tuna sandwich and it was light but yet fulfilling. Choose the refillable lemonade instead of iced lemon tea, refreshing for a hot summer afternoon.

Service, or the absence thereof, is the main reason I give the Sculpture Court Café by Guiseppe only three stars. The food was fine, reasonably priced, and the outdoor café setting attractive. Nor was the service that bad, really. Just inexplicably slow.
Finding the Café was an accident. We followed signs in Balboa Park directing us to a «Sculpture Garden,» thinking that might be a point of interest to see before we had lunch somewhere, meaning to visit the nearby Museum of Art after. Instead, we found a lawn, not a garden, with a single sculpture. We decided this could not be it, and went further. At that point, the actual sculpture court (not a garden, a piazza) and the café that contained it was behind our right shoulders.
We found no Sculpture Garden; despite the signs, there is none. Retreating toward the art museum, we decided to lunch at «that place we saw before, the courtyard.» Here, we solved the mystery: the sculptures, such as they are, decorate the courtyard, the site of the café. The sculptures themselves are shrugworthy. That adjacent to our table resembled a chess pawn cut in half. This is art? Yeah okay. If you say so. (I am not considering any of this in rating the actual restaurant. I include it only because others may likely endure the same.)
Anyway…having discovered the café, we went to the host stand («Please Wait to be Seated») and did as requested. And did. And did. There was a party of five ahead of us, and they had already been doing so for who knows how long. Eventually some host appeared and led them away. We continued waiting as instructed. And continued. And continued. Mind you, we had walked through the place en route to the host stand; it was less than half-​full. Why were we waiting, and waiting, and waiting? Because we are genteel folk, I suppose. Not because there was some justification for making us just stand there.
Finally the same host reappeared and led us some five feet forward. Then he gestured for us to wait some more while he ran off to look at the tables. We watched him do this as we stood there another three minutes. What was he up to? I have no idea. More than half the tables were empty.
Eventually we found ourselves in the shadow of that mystifying chess pawn. We waited some more. At last, our server, Nick, appeared. Nick was okay, once we finally met. My bro began with an iced tea ($ 2.25) and his lovely wife a lemonade ($ 2.50), while I had a glass of cabernet ($ 7.50). Nick brought all these quickly. We lunched: a Bistro Burger ($ 12) for my bro, with avocado and cheddar added (both $ 1), the Candied Pecan & Strawberry salad ($ 10) with gorgonzola cheese and balsamic vinaigrette for his lovely wife, who added chicken to her salad for $ 4, while I opted for the San Daniele Prosciutto pizza ($ 14), topped with wild arugula and truffle oil.
Having ordered, we then waited. And waited. I felt like I was taking Nick’s place. I was the waiter.
My bro & his lovely wife both enjoyed their dishes. He, particularly, complimented his burger. I meanwhile liked the pizza well, but found it scarcely sliced. Moreover, the prosciutto was draped atop it after the ersatz slicing. Basically, I had to eat my pizza with knife and fork.
To sum up, we had some pretty good lunch food in an attractive setting. But for no reason I can fathom, it took us over an hour and a half to do so, when it should’ve taken no more than an hour. Other than the host, who seemed incompetent, what was the delay? I can’t guess. They were not full, nor even busy, and our server Nick seemed on the ball. Why was everything… so…slow? Perhaps they were pondering their knight’s next move, to block that pawn.

I always thought this was a more grab-​and-​go kind of place, but I was proven wrong! We sat in the gorgeous courtyard and had a really nice lunch. Chef (who informed us that nothing stays at the restaurant for longer than 2 days!!) brought out an amazing meat & cheese plate with freshly baked bread. I had the Nicoise salad and I swear it was the best one I’ve had! The salad itself was HUGE! There wasn’t skimping on any of the trimmings (chickpeas, capers, tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, boiled egg, artichoke hearts) in it, including the tuna. So fresh and delicious! My bf had the chopped salad, equally as huge and delicious! My girlfriend tried the Albacore Tuna ciabatta and loved it.
I much prefer this lunch to Prado. Better quality food, much tastier and less expensive!

Three of us ate here after going to the Mingei.
The food was very good. The service was miserable. Not insulting or rude, just inattentive and unprofessional. The hostess was surprised by the idea that we had made a reservation. The soup part of my guest’s soup and salad never arrived. The dressing for my salad arrived when I was done with the salad. Then there was the time spent trying to get the bill.
And this was on a slow day. I can’t imagine what it’s like when they’re busy. But then maybe they’re never busy.
Next time I’ll stick with the Prado.

It should be 3.5 stars
Ate al fresco here on Friday. I ordered a chicken Cesar salad, and my daughter ordered a cheeseburger from the kids menu. We both ordered iced tea with our meals. The iced tea did not taste good, and so I asked the waiter to bring me water instead. The chicken in my salad was a little overcooked. Service was good, though. I paid about $ 24 total for our order. It’s a nice place to sit down and have lunch, but don’t expect to have the best meal of your life here. Members of the Museum of Art receive a 10% discount, which is pretty cool. There aren’t many restaurants to choose from to eat at in Balboa Park. I’ll probably eat here again, since I visit Balboa Park frequently.

Amazing food, especially the soups and burgers, and service is the best. The whole staff is very helpful, kind and friendly.
This place has the best tomato-​basil soup I’ve ever had! I’ll definitely return for another sunday brunch there. Plus, they have great cocktails. :)

Thank goodness we stumbled upon this place because I was raging hungry for some lunch and didn’t feel like eating a hot dog or some other quick food in the park.
The location is really nice, you are right in Balboa Park and the weather was great so sitting outside was quite relaxing. However the service was definitely lacking here. It took awhile for us to be seated and our waitress would disappear for long periods of time which was annoying. She took forever to bring our water and then we couldn’t find her to bring us our bill. My turkey sandwich was really good, stuffed with lots of turkey but too much cheese for my taste. The side salad and dressing was delicious! My boyfriend thought the grilled chicken on the baguette was okay, but the pesto pasta salad was a lot better. Very yummy with pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes. Kind of overpriced but that’s to be expected since it’s a museum café.

Whie the service isn’t always the greatest, the food makes up for it. The service both times has been lack-​luster at best but they do their job… My boyfriend got the burger and while expensive, was totally worth it. Comes with a side on top of the GIANT patty! Myself, however, opted twice in a row for the turkey sandiwch. The fig spread really just makes the meal! I Loooove that they do not charge extra for getting a side salad instead of fries also.
Lovely way to spend a weekend afternoon next to the SD art museum with a glass of wine and great food. I’m hoping some of the proceeds go to the museum as well… but recommend it :)

The best museum café I’ve ever been to!
I ordered the burger, which actually took a little bit to come out. The service was pretty slow, but I had time.
The patty was really thick and juicy, and the bun was really pretty awesome. I was surprised by how good the burger was, really. The fries were also excellent and warm. One of the best burgers I’ve had in a while!

This place is the coolest! Me and my bestie wandered into the cute grassy space by chance and both fell in love with it. We were just walking by and wanted to see what there was. Along the grassy area’s borders, there are snazzy art sculptures for the admiring. Someone was relaxing and laying down on the grass. We sat on a bench and just soaked up the sun for awhile.
The café looks pretty cool too! There was a good amount of people seated at the tables inside, so you can tell this place is popular. Definitely worth stopping by to rest your feet and enjoy the super relaxing environment.

A really beautiful location in the courtyard and open air (almost — there is a sunshield.) — it was chilly enough that they had standing torch heaters throughout the restaurant. We got as far from them as possible and enjoyed the cool breezes. «June Gloom» in San Diego may be cold and gray for the locals, but compared to dry and dusty West Texas, it was heaven!
My sandwich of excellent (yummy bread) and my husband’s was evidently just as good. I also had a serving of their black beans which they called a soup even though it had hardly any broth in it. I’d just call that a bowl of beans. Either way, they were delicious. Their coffee is particularly good.
But it really is the location and atmosphere you’re buying and enjoying, here. A really cute touch was the bundle of crayons on each table. I’m sure kids enjoy this, but the truth is, every table I saw — had adults drawing and playing with them and the paper table covers. It is a museum café, after all. I’m guessing there are no shy artists who eat here, lol.
Our waiter was not only an excellent server, he helped us parse out the many sites and museums of Balboa Park so we could plan our visit better.
Excellent experience.