When I’m in a city where I’m unsure of where to dine, I prefer to ask someone who knows. Common sense, right? Every once in a while, the earth moves out of orbit and for some reason, the person who knows where to eat comes to me. That happened when I was visiting my friend, Lauren, in San Diego. Lauren and I made plans to visit a particular restaurant, but by the time we got there, they turned off all the lights. We flirted with the idea of eating in the dark, but the doors were locked! Forget it. Thankfully, a homeless to not-so-homeless guy told us where to go the next morning. “Big Kitchen Café, down the street, best breakfast. Go there!” I mean, if a person is shouting about where to eat at 10 o’clock at night, it has to be good.

The next morning, Lauren and I sped (I mean drove at an appropriate speed) to Big Kitchen Café. The location sits just off the main street and has indoor and two outdoor seating sections. It’s full of charm and is one of those family owned restaurants that doesn’t put a ton of effort into becoming a modern-style eatery. This can be seen in the table and chairs that are really cute plastic patio furniture, the cartoon painting propped outside the front door, live jazz music, and the tons of old school photos and memorabilia lining the walls of the restaurant and bathroom. It’s different, unique, and it makes the restaurant feel cozy. What makes the place fun is the crowd is made up of older folks, tatted young adults, and the cool parents with their kids. It’s the perfect place for anyone who likes breakfast. The best part of the whole spot is Judy, or “Judy the Beauty” as she calls herself. She’s full of energy, extremely welcoming, and rocked a “well behaved women rarely make history” tee on the day we dined. I loved her! She’s the type of restaurant owner that you don’t see anymore. She greets everyone and she trusts her customers. So much so, that if you don’t have money to pay for your meal she’ll let you come back another day to pay it off. That’s unheard of nowadays! If you can’t tell, I dig her.

Now, on to the breakfast!

I ordered the One Big Buttermilk Pancake ($6.95), a side of strawberries ($2.50), a scrambled egg ($1.75), 2 strips of bacon ($2.95), and a lemonade ($2.95). The wait for the food wasn’t long nor was it boring. Sitting outside with the sunshine and birds chirping felt like a scene out of Mary Poppins, minus all the dancing and singing. Once our food arrived, there was almost no time in between grabbing my fork, slicing my pancake, and it falling into my stomach. It was possibly the best pancake I have ever had in my life. Seriously. It was the fluffiest and softest pancake that I have ever devoured. It disappeared so quickly and left me full. And if you were wondering, one pancake is more than enough! It was so good that Lauren regretted ordering anything other than my dish. What did she get again? Ah, it doesn’t matter. Let’s not forget, the eggs and bacon were delicious, but no comparison to the amazing pancakes.

I love this spot and I can’t wait to go back! It has the friendliest environment, amazing food, and is well priced. All of that combined makes the dining experience one that everyone should enjoy. I love it so much that I think you should go and fall in love with the restaurant too. Most of all I love that a guy on a bench told us about it. Now that I think about it, we probably should have got him something too. But we may have ate it before we got it to him.

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Address: Grape Street Square, 3003 Grape Street, San Diego, CA 92102
Phone: (619) 234-5789
Hours: Daily – 7:30am to 2:30pm
Social: Website and Facebook