Written by: Kristal Docter and Nicole Fera Best Breakfast in San Diego
Good morning, San Diego! It’s time to wake up and smell the bacon and bennies with a trip to this city’s best breakfast spots. Whether you wish to awaken with hash and eggs or a mile-high pile of pancakes, San Diego is booming with fantastic breakfast eateries. We discovered that this morning meal may also be the most fun of all. Plates are larger, menus are more radical and the world seems just a little brighter at the start of the day. Our breakfast expedition stretched from Encinitas to Downtown San Diego and uncovered lively communities of people gathering together in the A.M. for fantastic sunrise food.
Duke’s La Jolla
Wake Up With: Duke’s Loco Moco
Grab your Hawaiian shirt and bring your ohana to Duke’s La Jolla for some of the best breakfast in the city. With the impeccable ocean view and serious island vibes, you’ll almost forget you’re on the Mainland. A local favorite is the Duke’s Loco Moco. With a half pound of chuck, brisket and hanger grind, fried egg, adobo gravy and steamed jasmine rice, you’ll be licking your plate clean. For a refreshing breakfast beverage, try their PPOG Mimosa, fully equipped with passion-pineapple-orange-guava juice and champagne. Native Hawaiian Duke Paoa Kahanamoku was an official ambassador of aloha, so come back to Duke’s for the Aloha Hour and sip on a Mai Tai.
Native Knowledge: After you finish that hearty breakfast, I bet you’ll want some dessert! Try Duke’s one-of-a-kind Hula Pie. Made with macadamia nut ice cream lined with a chocolate cookie crust and topped off with fudge, whipped cream and even more macadamia nuts. Trust me, you won’t want to share.
Wake Up With: Tri-Tip Benedict
Claiming that their food is larger than your appetite, Truckstop is guaranteed to have the heartiest breakfasts in Pacific Beach. And for those of you who can’t get enough of spicy sriracha, the Tri-Tip Benedict is the perfect dish to start your day—served with tomato and sriracha hollandaise. Choose between hashbrowns and rosemary potatoes, add one of their variations of mimosas or bloodies to sip on—and you have yourself a heavenly breakfast.
Native Knowledge: Truckstop is known for serving up a hearty helping of Southern hospitality.
4150 Mission Blvd
San Diego, CA 92109
858.273.8785
Brian’s 24
Wake Up With: The Waffle Cristo
Brian’s 24 breakfast menu served 24 hours a day, you can have breakfast for any meal. The Waffle Cristo is a must-try. Thick bacon waffles holds together ham and melted cheddar jack cheese to form a beautiful marriage of salty and sweet. Topped with powdered sugar and served with french fries and warm syrup on the side, this a salty-sweet paradise.
Native Knowledge: It’s hard to pick merely one dish from Brian’s 24 with all of the unique breakfast (and massive) items on the menu. The Krab Cake Benedict, Corned Beef Hash Benedict, and the Breakfast Burger are must-tries as well!
828 Sixth Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
619.702.8410
Cody’s La Jolla
Wake Up With: Veggie Hash
Breakfast enthusiasts rejoice! Cody’s La Jolla serves breakfast from open to close. Get your dose of veggies for breakfast with the Veggie Hash. This dish is made with griddled red peppers, yellow onion, mushrooms, asparagus, arugula, and potatoes, topped with poached eggs and hollandaise.
Native Knowledge: The AM/PM menu is served all day, whether you want dinner for breakfast or breakfast for dinner!
8030 Girard Ave
La Jolla, CA 92037
858.459.0040
Sandbar Sports Bar & Grill
Wake Up With: The S.O.B Scramble
Just steps from the surf and sand, Sandbar offers a lively atmosphere, ocean views, quality food and craft cocktails. There is not a “bad egg” over at Sandbar, this hen house is more than your average sports bar and grill. The S.O.B Scramble is made with carne asada, jack and cheddar cheese with cilantro and salsa fresca for a taste of freshness.
Native Knowledge: If you’re in Pacific Beach, stop by Sandbar where you can eat and watch the waves right on the boardwalk—a SoCal paradise!
718 Ventura Place
Mission Beach, CA 92109
858.488.1274
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PB Shore Club
Wake Up With: The Mass Confusion
Steps away from the beach, PB Shore Club offers customers a beachy, breezy, and laid-back opportunity to enjoy perfect breakfast dining with a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean, especially from their patio area. Stop by and enjoy the views while devouring a breakfast favorite, the Mass Confusion. This mouthwatering plate consists of three biscuits, two scrambled eggs, mixed cheese, tater tots, bacon, sausage and smothered in house breakfast gravy.
Native Knowledge: Gotta have that breakfast burrito in your PJs on your couch? PB Shore Club delivers!
4343 Ocean Blvd
San Diego, CA 92109
858.272.7873
Breakfast Republic
Wake Up With: Shrimp & Grits Breakfast
Offering up unique creations and travel-inspired dishes, Breakfast Republic is now serving both North Park, Liberty Station, Encinitas, and East Village with their cluckin’ good breakfast! A favorite of both the Chef himself and guests is the Shrimp & Grits Breakfast—grits and shrimp cooked with BR cluckin’ good hot sauce, gouda cheese, fresh sweet corn, and chives, served with three eggs any style.
Native Knowledge: Breakfast Republic has a rotating list of 20 beers on tap and you can order beer flights with your meal.
2730 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
619.642.0299
Swami’s Cafe
Wake Up With: Veggie Egg Burrito
Get the healthiest version of your favorite wrapped up breakfast with the Swami’s Cafe Veggie Egg Burrito. With eggs, mixed cheeses, and sauteed mixed vegetables like zucchini, broccoli, avocados, and carrots—there’s no guilt associated with this dish.
Native Knowledge: Swami’s has a variety of tasty yogurt and ice cream smoothies that you can pair with your breakfast, or even have on its own!
Encinitas 101 (flagship)
1163 S. Coast Highway
Encinitas, 92024
760.944.0612
Fig Tree Café
Photo Sourced From: Fig Tree Yelp
The Fig Tree Café has multiple locations here in San Diego, but my favorite has to be the one located in Pacific Beach, a little farther down Cass Street & North of Garnet Avenue. Not only are they serving up some delicious breakfast, but the atmosphere is also really amazing there. Sitting outside on the patio will have you enjoying your breakfast surrounded by foliage and canopies of trees and different plants, which always brings a nice vibe to any kind of morning. While there make sure you order their Wally Burrito which contains their house made potatoes, which are ALWAYS the right choice. Pair this breakfast with one of their house-made antioxidant mimosa and you’ll be sue to have the perfect start to your day. Looking for something a little more adventurous? Try their breakfast sushi, something I can almost guarantee you won’t find anywhere else.
Native Knowledge: The Fig Tree now offers the option to sub out their house made potatoes for their new arugula, truffle oil and parmesan cheese potatoes and it’ll be the best $2 upgrade you’ve ever made in your life.
5119 Cass Street San Diego, CA 92109 858-274-2233
Urban Solace
Wake Up With: Kitchen Sink Biscuits and Gravy
Urban Solace is everything you would expect an ultra-hip North Park neighborhood eatery to be: charming, meticulously decorated and unique. It also possesses a charm and quietness of spirit that makes the name not only appropriate but self fulfilling. As you approach the restaurant by car you might pass it twice (as we did) if you are not extremely alert. The doors to this pale yellow, seemingly misplaced, New Orleans mansion open slowly on their massive hinges. Rich colors and wood dominate the interior just as sunlight and wrought iron do on the patio. We took a seat at the latter and awaited our order of beef cheek hash. The presentation, upon its arrival, was jaw dropping. The melt-in-your-mouth beef cheek hash was placed atop a clean white plate and then garnished with colorful carrots, potatoes and red peppers. Topping the toppings were two precariously positioned, perfectly poached (four p’s in a row, yes!) eggs. The restaurant is known for an amazing mac ‘n cheese, hand-made cocktails and a “classy” poster of Ron Burgundy. We believe that their brunch should be just as notorious, as it provided us comfort and solace, and we feel it will do the same for you.
Native Knowledge: Branch out from the scrumptious savory breakfast selections, and try their amazing hot, freshly baked buttermilk cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing and butter pecan sauce, which are served on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., but only while they last.
3823 30th St. San Diego, CA 92104
619.295.6464
Hash House A Go Go
Wake Up With: Griddled French Toast
Dipped in banana cinnamon cream with pecan maple syrup
Hash House A Go Go is the “Famous House of Twisted Farm Food.” That’s what their corn cob-flanked sign says, anyway. This perpetually packed house could be considered farm-chic. Its walls are covered with photos of John Deere tractors, and their tables are topped with wheat. Hash House has also been featured in several local and national publications as well as TV shows like “Man vs. Food” and “Rachel Ray” for its fantastic food. We were anxious to taste our way through one of the dishes that made them so famous. We were served the monstrous griddled French toast, which was profound in both appearance and taste. Hash House uses Amish milk bread (the thicker, the better) for their French toast. They grill whole bananas – with the peel still on – and serve those atop the toast. Trust us, it’s worth the wait. For lunch and dinner, Hash House uses this sacred bread for savory sandwiches. No matter what meal you make it through those doors for, you can’t miss this French toast.
Native Knowledge: Add their jam of the day to the fluffy French toast instead of syrup. We had the chunky mango/strawberry jam, and it elevated the griddled toast to an entirely new level for this classic.
3628 5th Ave. | San Diego, CA 92103
619.298.4646
Snooze, an A.M. Eatery
Wake Up With: Chilaquiles Benedict
Barbacoa Beef, ranchero sauced tortillas, cheese, poached Niman Ranch eggs, smoked cheddar hollandaise, pico de gallo and cotija cheese
Snooze is one of those cheerful eateries that inspire a smile simply by setting foot in the place. It reminded me of scenes from Scooby Doo with its green and orange color scheme (seen on pendant lights, walls and booths). Everywhere you look is embellished by prints of toy jacks! Its a nod to the ‘50s, and the brightly colored, retro-industrial design put us in our happy morning place. Established in 2006 in Colorado, this contemporary take on a coffee shop quickly spread west and now boasts six locations. Robert Butterfield, the Big Kahuna (his actual title on his business card), explained that Snooze has always been a pioneer in its presence and in its ability to help re-establish once-cool neighborhoods by making them hip again. They accomplished this in their first Colorado location and are cultivating that same vibe in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood. We think they’re also succeeding at being visionaries in the food department. Snooze offers their inventive morning menu, starting at 6:30 a.m. on the weekdays and 7 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. From eggs any-style and breakfast burritos to a full selection of benedicts and some crazy (but oh so yummy) ideas for pancakes, Snooze has put its twist on any breakfast item you could crave. Executive Chef Ryan Devereaux (aka Chefereaux) said there’s nothing he won’t create for his customers. If you want rice crispy treats in your pancakes, he’ll do it (and he has), even though it’s not on the menu. We were blown away by his version of a Benedict with Mexican flavors. Who would have thought of making a Benedict out of chilaquiles? So tasty! The ranchero-sauced tortillas (in place of the traditional Benedict bottom-layer, the English muffin) are a genius concept. All of the Benedicts are also served with a perfectly crisp hash brown cake. And don’t miss their Barista! espresso menu. Their mocha is presented like a work of art.
Native Knowledge: Snooze is progressive in its dishes, but it’s also progressive in its ambition to be environmentally friendly. With one of the area’s largest recycling and compostable programs, Snooze composts nearly 85 tons of garbage a year, keeping it out of our already full-to-the-brim landfills. They’re also working to inspire the rest of the Hillcrest neighborhood to join them.
3940 Fifth Ave. | San Diego, CA 92103
619.500.3344
The Mission
Wake Up With: Strawberry Granola Pancakes
Three pancakes with fresh strawberries and grain cereal
Maintaining long lines of passionate fans is difficult for even the most popular of rock bands. Maybe they should be serving pancakes. The original Mission location (situated in both the city and on the street’s namesake) has been churning out beautifully decorated plates of thick wonderfulness since 1997. Known locally for their piles of French toast and stacks of super thick pancakes, it was difficult for us to pick our sampling. We decided as a group on their strawberry and granola cakes. All of the Mission pancakes start out identical. Thickly poured batter steaming on a griddle with the patron’s chosen ingredients meticulously hand placed. Our pancakes are served piping hot on a plate garnished with swirls of blackberry sauce. The decoration is applied with a cake maker’s precision. The strawberries are visible on each layer of the cake and the granola is protruding generously and visibly through the batter. The pancakes are sweet and only made tastier when generous amounts of a true maple syrup are applied in swaths. Get up early or wait in a line. You will not be disappointed.
Native Knowledge: Get there early on any Monday through Friday and order a 2+2+2 (2 eggs, 2 bacon and 2 cakes) for only $6.
3795 Mission Blvd
San Diego, CA 92109
858.488.9060
Cafe 222
Wake Up With: Blueberry Cornbread Waffle
Cafe 222 is located right in downtown San Diego, just a few streets up from the Harbor. The café is small and cozy with a unique menu and extremely friendly and attentive staff. If it’s your first time dining at Cafe 222, make sure you order the Blueberry Cornbread Waffle since it is one of the best I have ever eaten. They offer a large portion, made fresh every morning, which will leave you full and ready to take on the day. If you happen to have a dog, the café has a patio that you and your furry friend can sit outside at after a morning walk, which is always a bonus in my book. The whole restaurant has a very charming feel due to it’s size and all of the people that work there and give the café it’s sweet vibes.
Native Knowledge: The Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast was featured on Food Network as Bobby Flay’s pick for “the best thing he ever ate, ” so it wouldn’t hurt to get an order of that as a sweet treat for the table. Also, Cafe 222 is celebrating 25 years this year!
222 Island Avenue San Diego, CA 92101 619.236.9902
Green Dragon Tavern & Museum
Wake Up With: Dragon Brioche French Toast
The charming Green Dragon Tavern & Museum is a popular spot with locals and visitors. In addition to the free Colonial-era history museum, this place has a restaurant and tavern, coffeehouse and bookstore. Brunch is offered 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays, and happy hour lasts until 8 p.m. on Sundays. Green Dragon Tavern is great for a morning with family, and just as perfect for meeting with friends—$10 bottomless mimosas are offered all day Sundays with the purchase of a regular priced entree. There’s also $4 select craft beers off tap, wine specials and a soon-to-open full bar. The crowd favorite is the Bloody Mary, which pairs well with the California omelet for a perfect brunch. The hearty omelet includes bacon, cheddar cheese, onions, flavorful house salsa and avocado. If you’re craving a sweeter dish, the brioche French toast comes with chocolate hazelnut sauce, candied pecans, banana, whipped cream and maple syrup or maple bourbon burre blanc syrup. This dish is deep fried and tastes like a donut, said John Lek of the Green Dragon Tavern & Museum. If sugar isn’t your thing, the Green Dragon Tavern has three types of eggs benedict: traditional, Maryland blue crab and Maine lobster; all three come with a housemade hollandaise sauce that’s to die for. If you’re feeling healthier, order the berry parfait, made with Greek yogurt, housemade granola, clover honey and fresh berries. It’ll be the best parfait you’ve ever tasted. So, place your order and get cozy by one of the Green Dragon Tavern’s two stone fireplaces.
Native Knowledge: The Green Dragon Tavern has an all-day happy hour on Sundays, so you can celebrate Sunday Funday like the locals—order a craft cocktail or one of the 20 craft beers on tap, and watch your favorite sports teams on one of seven large screen TVs.
6115 Paseo del Norte
Carlsbad, CA 92011
760.918.2421
