Crest used to be my go-to place. Everything I've had here was delicious until the day it wasn't. That one day allowed me to decide never to set foot in the place again. I always ordered the blueberry biscuit french toast and loved it. I ordered my regular french toast and it came to me burnt. I've had the dish several times and this was the first time it was burnt. Not just a little around the edges burnt, but turn to dust when chewed burnt. It's one of the few times I've sent a plate back. They were out of the bread and couldn't re-do the dish, but die-hard fan that I was I took that as an opportunity to order something else. I got the lemon ricotta pancakes. I had eaten about half of the pancakes when I bit into something DISGUSTING. I was almost afraid to find out what it was - a bug? a rancid piece of mold? I was relieved to find it was only a lemon pip. Optimistic me decided that was a good indicator they used only fresh lemon and considered it a one-off thing. A couple bites and two additional pips later I couldn't finish my dish. Something was horribly wrong in the kitchen and I decided to let the owner know. I prefaced my comment with, "I'm paying for my meal, but I just wanted to let you know..." Her response? The french toast was not burnt, but "caramelized." I'm no cordon bleu trained chef, but I know the difference between caramelized and burnt. Was she saying that all the other times I'd had the french toast it was undercooked? I went on to explain that I was just informing her because it seemed the morning's cook was a little lazy and didn't strain the lemon pips from the juice before making the pancakes and I'd bit into at least 3. She just looked at me like I was an idiot for not enjoying the addition. When my intent was only to warn her that something was not right and the cook had turned out 2 bad dishes in a row I was met with unkindness. I wasn't expecting a comp'd meal or anything grandiose. A simple, "thanks for letting me know" would have sufficed. Instead she chose to discount my comment and exhibit no concern that the pancakes could possibly be a choking hazard. I am not the kind of patron who expects special treatment but I was a fairly regular customer at Crest and the owner had definitely seen me there several times before. I'd never sent a plate back and never complained. I was not angry that I'd had 2 bad plates, but concerned for a business I had previously loved and brought friends to. If you're wanting good food with decidedly less chance of choking or carcinogens, I'd suggest the Cafe on Park near University. read more

This is my hangout in what's my hood. I eat here at least three times a week, breakfast, lunch or dinner. I've been eating at the Crest Cafe for as long as it's been the Crest Cafe. The food is fresh, the service excellent and I adore the way I am treated. Favorite breakfast: Salmon Scramble, Favorite lunch: Hot Chicken Salad and Favorite dinner: Pork Chops. I know how they cook things and if it's not right it is not a sin to send it back. Symphony read more

I have been here before, but today was disappointed. The food was not good and the place seemed dirty. Service was average. It just seemed like we paid a lot for bad food. I do not plan on returning. read more

The food is decent but the wait staff can be mean! The owner doesn't seem to care either. I used to live right next door but stopped going after the service became intolerable. To their credit, that was 2001/2002. read more

I have been here many a times and while the service is great, the food is ok, if that. What I don't like is the menu and what was printed in the fine print on the bottom. Seemed like there was a list of rules of what you can and can't do. Example, "No making own lemonade", split plate charge is way overpriced, etc. To me, that is such a turn off. I haven't been back. read more

Cecelia, don't try to blame anything on our part for our horrible experience. You simply didn't know what was inside what u were serving. So what difference would it have made if we had told u? And the fact remains that you didn't even once ask how he was doing? A normal human being would do that. You seem to take the time to respond to many Yelper's comments, many who have commented on your lousy attitude. While I was at your restaurant for almost an hour, you did not once Crack a smile. Perhaps you should spend your energy reevaluating how you conduct yourself on a daily basis instead of spending your energy doing damage control on Yelp? I think your business and customer satisfaction would see immediate positive results if you learn to project a positive and friendly attitude. read more

Wow after my experience there, I'm not the least bit shocked at their 2.5 star rating and poor reviews. We won't ever return. Saw this place on a Triple D re-run last night, so we decided that we'd try it this morning for brunch. We walked in right before several large groups behind us, so we wrote our name down, as the TWO signs say to do, and we headed outside to wait for our name to be called. We waited inside for about 5 minutes before heading outside, thinking someone would acknowledge or at least look at us. Oh, they glanced, but that's about it. It was crowded inside with all the groups waiting, so we headed outside. I recognized the owner right away from the show. She was acting as hostess, and a crappy one at that, because after watching from outside all the other groups behind us get seated, we walked back in kind of like WTF? I said to the owner "We wrote our---" she immediately cut me off and repeatedly snapped, "HOW MANY IN YOUR PARTY?!" I replied back "Names down on the---" and again interrupted and snapped "HOW MANY IN YOUR PARTY?" I could tell she wanted to play THAT game, so I replied "Can you not count? 3" Once seated, the waiter took TWO of our beverage orders and ran away because the third member of our party couldn't get the word "lemonade" off in time. Uh, rude? But not surprised because of the owner's own rudeness. Clearly she sets the example she wants her staff to follow... We waited FOREVER and a day before the waiter came back to take our order, despite staring everyone down, looking bored, and staring at the walls/ceiling. The food also took a while, but that's OK. Maybe I was just hungry at this point. He dropped the food off and we never saw him again until after waiting another forever and deciding to just estimate our bill, leave cash, and leave. Only THEN did he magically appear with the check. We needed jelly for the toast (hello?), water refills, coffee refills and got none of that because he literally couldn't be bothered until he saw that we were leaving (clearly he wanted to make sure we knew the EXACT amount, so he could get his tip...). The omelets are good (Denver and Hangover) but the french toast is totally lacking. It was basically cinnamon-dusted bread. No ooey, gooey custard-y center that is quintessential for french toast! TOTALLY over rated. Look, Owner Lady, if you don't LOVE what you do, then DON'T own a restaurant! You're lucky you got on DDD--good luck getting repeat business. read more

crest cafe is great place for sandwiches and burgers...but i most often crave the chopped salad, served in a deep bowl with lots of blue cheese and candied walnuts. a favorite dish for one of my friends is the turkey spears sandwich, and again, the burgers are terrific here. like most businesses in hillcrest, parking is a problem. crest cafe is fairly small, so you may have to wait if you come during busy hours; but they're open fairly late, so adjust your schedule just a bit, and you'll be fine. the owner can be a pain in the @ss if your entire party has not yet arrived when you attempt to be seated...the good thing, though, is that he's hardly ever there. very casual, the prices are right in the middle; service is a bit rushed, but they try to make you feel welcome just the same. read more

This place is pathetic even for San Diego. Throw jalapenos on anything and call it comfort food...NOT! My dinner salad with the basil vinaigrette dressing tasted like the front lawn. I would compare it to back lawn but that's full of dog shit and well...I guess I can't be that mean...or can I? I had the Chicken Italiano and my husband had the fried chicken without jalapenos. Who puts jalapenos on fried chicken anyway? Both were boneless chicken breasts right out of the freezer bag from Costco. They were covered in the same breading only mine was then buried in melted cheese, salsa (yeah, that's Italiano) and artichoke hearts. I'm reaching for the tums as we speak. Comfort food? The waiters, especially Wade and Jason, are the sweetest guys but unfortunately they will lie and tell you that what ever you ask about on the menu is the "best." I've eaten there many times simply because this place is the closest restaurant to my house if you don't count the 7/11 as restaurant. Watch out Crest! 7/11 just might be better. Stay away! Consider yourself warned. read more

Having been here a handful of times over the years, I've noticed a steady decline in the quality of service I've received at Crest. I've had the same problem described by others of standing for an uncomfortably long period of time just inside the door waiting to be seated after making eye contact with the female owner several times and after she curtly said hello. The wait staff is a bit stuck up and/or burned out at well, being a bit dismissive and unfriendly when they occasionally decide to check on their customers. Having worked in restaurants for years, I can tell you service makes all the difference no matter how good the food might be. While the fare at Crest is pretty decent (if a bit on the expensive side for what you get) the service leaves much to be desired. read more

Crest Cafe has always been a great spot but I've mostly stuck to breakfast or one of the burgers when I've visited. I ordered the the a orange achiote pulled pork sandwich tonight and it was so damn good. It was a beast of a sandwich and the pork was super tender and all the perfect toppings for a great torta, that bread is perfect. Super impressed, one of the better sandwiches I've had in a while. read more

Since I wrote my review last April about our horrible experience at this restaurant, we have never gone back. I faithfully check out the reviews on Yelp, hoping I'll read some positive vibes that service has improved. Obviously, our waiter Wade never returned. We could count on him for good, fast, efficient service. The other servers were (barely) adequate. We definitely miss our Cabo Quesadillas, one of the best breakfasts in San Diego, but I will not give my hard-earned money to that witch of a manager unless I read that she's not there and service is better. It's too bad, in these tough economic times that they're not being more patronizing towards their paying customers. We do have other places to eat that are actually happy to see you! read more

The food was just okay. We ordered the creme brûlée French toast which was very disappointing.... Soggy and not flavorful. The service was not great either. It was obvious that neither of us liked our meals and they did not even ask if everything was alright. The food took awhile to come out as well. It was busy but after I ate there I cannot see how. Overall it was disappointing, slow, and there are too many other good breakfast places in the area to make this a regular spot. read more

i don't even know where to begin with how bad the whole experience was.... i think their food order never came because the "side veggie of the day" my hubby got was all cut up bell peppers. My HIGHLY Recommended by the staff pot pie was all bell peppers and 2 chunks of chicken. the crust was so tough and flat and gross, you could make boots out of it. the "grilled chicken" dish was actually a precooked and poached chicken breast that was smothered in cheese and there so much oil that it covered half the chicken breast. the chicken was all gristle and chewy. when i told the waiter we were very unhappy and that we wanted the entrees removed from the bill, but we would pay for the salads, he said no. his boss wasn't there to authorize it. he refused to call her and then had the balls to tell me that he would have to just pay for our entrees himself out of his tips. DO NOT EAT HERE. regardless of what any magazine says. this is not a top 50 san diego place to eat. read more

I feel bad giving this place 2 stars because it has great potential, but I was disappointed. This joint is a true diner in the heart of Hillcrest, so the recipe for success is there. However, the greasiness of the food is just unappealing. Now, I do know that food in diners is greasy (hence good), but I also think this should be somewhat related to the type of food you are ordering. Burger=greasy=good. Omelette+hash brown+greasy=good. Turkey and avocado sandwich=greasy=not good. Here they slathered the bread for sandwiches with spray oil for the griddle, and everything had an unpleasing coating of grease and oil that killed 4 sandwiches that would have been perfect had they been just grilled on a panini press. Maybe I should come back and try some more traditional diner food so that the greasiness is actually enjoyable ? read more

What Happened Here? This place use to be on top of my list. I've been coming here for over 10 years and have always enjoyed their food. Granted, if you have children like I do, its not the best place to dine at. Thats fine with me and I bring my kids anyway so that they can discover what good comfort food taste like. But on our last visit (we haven't been here for 8 months) we noticed this place slipping quickly. First we were seated by the exit door for which a homeless person entered and vomited on the floor right next to us. Not their fault and they did seat us somewhere else. But then came the food and it was just not that great. Greasy, overcooked and lacking good flavor. Also, the place was very dirty. I'm not a clean freak and eat at many dives but there was definately a un-hygenic vibe that both my wife and I picked up on. I am really disappointed because I've loved this place for so long but will not be able come back after this experience. Adios Crest Cafe! read more

Super disappointed with my visit an hour ago. I always say I'm going to Yelp this place or that place and often forget to but the first thing I did when I got back home from was to Yelp Crest. Two years ago I came in to Crest several times during the last few weeks of my pregnancy. I had to have the butter burger because it was SO DELICIOUS!! I don't live in the area so I hadn't been back before today. I happened to be in the area with my boys around lunch time and remembered how great the burger was and how good the rest of the food around me looked so in we went. 1. (CON) My younger son, who is on the autism spectrum, will order the entire menu, literally, if I let him order on his own so I was doing my best to reign him in. Because he looks like a typical kid, I get the impression that servers are annoyed with what appears to be an overbearing mom ordering for her child. Not that our server was all that friendly to begin with but I could tell we weren't winning any popularity contests. But you know what? Not great for your customers to get that vibe from you if you want repeat business. 2. (PRO) We didn't see chicken tenders on the menu but our server said he could make them which was nice. 3. (CON) My older son's chicken picatta was SO LEMONY! Yikes! It was so overpowering my son ate only half of the chicken and he had to pile his mashed potatoes on top of it to get that part down. 4. (CON/PRO) I didn't have the burger. I saw someone with a nice bowl of soup at the next table and asked what kind of soup it was. I was trying to be low-key about it and kind of nodded to the table next to us. The server acted like he was over it and said he wasn't sure what soup I was talking about. There was only one group near us and only one bowl of soup on the table. I did end up getting the soup - shrimp bisque. And it was good. 5. (CON) I felt kind of rushed at the end by our server and when he asked if I wanted a salad with the soup I assumed (dummy me) that it came with the soup. My soup was just under $7 and the salad was over $7. Overall a pretty pricey meal for lunch. 6. (CON) I saw my soup and my son's fries/chicken ready in the pickup window for the longest time. I'm guessing our server was waiting for our super lemon chicken picatta to be ready in order to serve us all at the same time. The nice thing was that the fries that came with the chicken was a nice, big portion. The not so nice thing was that there were so many fries on the plate that they kept falling off and I watched our server chuck them back up on the plate from the service window, in between cleaning up other tables. If I didn't have my autistic son with me who would have flipped out if we had left without eating, I would have left. In reading some of the other comments about Crest I notice that the owner/manager responds to many of the posts while many other restaurants and businesses don't so you get a star for that. My main feedback would be to work on better customer service - eye contact. A smile wouldn't have killed anyone. Maybe some table touches by the manager/owner (who I saw walking around) to see how everything is going. read more

Excellent food. Huge salad and fries. No A/C but Pablo was a great wait person. Will have lunch again soon.

When I tell you if I could give this place a negative -10. I got sat by the door..matter of fact let me start over. I came into the Crest Cafe, trying to introduce a friend to some good food. We waited for 4 minutes without getting noticed. I had to grab the waiter who was standing right at the other bar..so I had a little sympathy b/c he was working by himself and anybody who has worked customer service knows the struggle. So he seated us away from everyone, then 8 minutes later he asked us if we wanted anything to drink. I asked for a hot cocoa b/c I was freezing. Then 10 min later he asked what would we like to order I asked him where is the cocoa I ordered he replied (the waiter)that he thought it would be best if I got that after my meal. I said excuse me? He apologized and quickly made thee most powdery hot chocolate I every had. Did I mention we were seated after people who came after us were seated? My friend pulled out her phone to show me a instagram video and this waiter had thee..yes thee nerve to tell her to put it away, or turn it off b/c the manager has something against cell phones. When I tell you I was close to getting ethnic..pssh I can see if it wasn't loud, but there were so many people on their phone and loud. I received 3 dirty forks so the waiter gave me a spoon, the waiter along with the other who arrived late was so distracted with conversation he forgot to bring me what I asked for m.the lost goes on. Summary of it all- I felt somewhat segragated. I'm a usual down to earth guy and a major foody. But when it comes to business and service I don't play. I will never return here again. The food is good -but the people make the place. Hopefully your experience may not be as bad as mine...this is just a warning for you. read more

Decided to visit this restaurant after we saw it on FoodNetwork. We were anxious to try the famous Butter Burger.... Since it was featured on the show and it looked delicious !!! To our surprise it ended up just being an average burger. We asked for the burger to be cooked medium and it came out well done and not as juicy as it was supposed to be. We also ordered the Texas chicken which was really good (juicy and crispy) but it fell short with the sides... Bland and seriously lacking seasoning. Lastly service was awful and missing the connection with the staff towards the guest.... As a food service manager and culinary graduate this restaurant left us in disappointment. Server never asked if we needed anything else or if food tasted good nor thanked us for coming in. Didn't feel like our business was appreciated at all. read more

Been to this place 3 times and the food is ok but the service is horrible. I've had two different servers and they were both rude and condescending read more

IF you are looking for something a little unique with home cooking Crest Cafe is for you. I recently visited the cafe on a trip from Orange County and there is nothing quite like this in OC. The selection of burgers is the best I have seen. I chose the Kit Burger because it is not often that you find Canadian Bacon and Gounda on a burger. I would recommend that you have it with grilled onions. The service was very good and I was surprised how quicly they were in able to get me in and out. Places like this put the chain restaurants to shame! "I'll be back!" read more

Delicious food! Our first stop in San Diego!' Faustino is awesome!! Cool staff and prompt service

I hadn't eaten there in a while and couldn't remember why. Now I remember--because the food is mediocre and the service sucks! My sandwich was so greasy I felt like washing my face after I ate half of it. Limp, lukewarm French fries on the side. The worst was the "deep dish apple pie." PIES HAVE CRUSTS! A bunch of sliced apples mixed with cinnamon and topped with a slab of ice cream is not a pie. I'm still pissed that we wasted money there with so many other good restaurants within walking distance. And I remember now from last time that there is no use complaining, because the servers always use the excuse, "If I do that, it will come out of my pay." Ugh, I need to go out again soon to erase this meal from my memory! read more

Worst breakfast ever! Had the mexican omelette and it came with "canned tomatoes" and a little green chile and very little jack cheese. The water from the canned tomatoes made the sourdough toast soggy. Could not even eat it. My companions also had very lackluster breakfast and lunch entrees. Save yourself the time and money and forget this place. You can tell by the waitstaff and management that they could not care less if you were pleased or not. read more

this is another one of those places that everyone seems to love, and i have no idea why. the service isn't even good if you sit at the bar, and the eggs benedict tastes like mayo instead of hollandaise. a side of fruit should always be the saving grace, but not at crest cafe...nope...even their fruit tastes like complete ass. the worst fruit ever. it was slimy, and tasted like mildew. the coffee would have been okay, except that it was like pulling teeth to get her to refill my cup. a lot of the people who have reviewed this praised the lunch food, so maybe it is better than the breakfast... but honestly, i'll be just fine if i never go there again. read more

No more pesto veggie sandwich :(. Then the server completely misled my friend about the pulled pork sandwich. Never been back. Trust is a must - sell it to someone else! read more

There erased. This still doesn't change the fact that your chef purposely left a hair under my croissant. It still doesn't change the fact that your waitress practically snatched the menu off my hands when I wasn't done ordering. I think you should hire more staff to better serve your busy restaurant. You also mam have a very bad attitude. I like how you directed the attention to my name calling and not to your shitty staff and chef I should have took a picture of the hair on my food and posted that instead. read more

Visited a couple of weeks ago with out-of-town friends that I introduced to Crest Cafe and love(d) it as much as I do. Food was great as usual, but the dark haired hostess was flat out RUDE. She's been a bit snippy in the past, but she out did herself this time. Unfortunately, I fear that she might be part owner, since she's there everytime I visit (always weekend mornings)...I hope that's not the case. She needs to drop the attitude, 'cause she's pissed off some former fans. read more

The woman who answers the phone is so incredibly RUDE! The food is not worth the horrible customer service. Breakfast is the only part of that menu that is any good and this morning when we tried to call for a delivery order the woman curtly informed us that they wont start deliveries until later because its Mother's Day and hung up. I can assure you that I will never again be calling Crest Cafe since this was not the first time that they have proven to me that they do not care about their customers. (Last time they told my husband to stop mumbling and speak clearly if he wants to order) My money will be spent at an establishment who acts like they want it. Goodbye Crest Cafe you will NOT be missed read more

Always good, but we haven't been back since we found a short black curly hair in the fruit that came with our breakfast.

By chance I thought I would order my Sunday Cheat Meal from here. Glad. I. Did. The vegetarian chili was incredibly comforting and rich. Looking forward to having the leftovers tomorrow. Isabella's Patties were outstanding. Nice proportion of zucchini to potato and held together by some cheesy magic. My willpower didn't kick in and I finished them, so no leftovers to go with the chili, sad panda. In order to keep any guilt and nightmares of high fat food chasing me down away, I also ordered the veggie dinner salad. Nice portion of avocado and tomatoes. This place is gonna wreck my diet. read more

Looked good. Smelled good. Place seemed awesome. Unfortunately, the sandwich I had gave me food poisoning. No bueno!!!

My cousin was out for her usual summer vacay...thought it would be cool to bring her here seeing as she had never been. The tuna melt was so freakin' good but the service was soooo bad. There were only 3 other parties, 7 people, and it still took 15 minutes for the server to take our order and another 15 after the food came to get salad dressing. Definitely will not be going back. read more

So I'm new in town, but been to San Diego a few times, and generally I would say that SD is full of nice people. I have to say, my server, Wade was AWESOME! He was friendly, kind, thoughtful, anticipated my needs (I got water-which I didn't ask for but surely would have, had I not been given it) I had Cecilia's salad (sp?) only with Tuna instead of turkey. SOOOO Good!! I love love it! I can't wait to order delivery and come visit more. The menu is interesting, and I'm impressed by what they offer. However... I see that sooooo soooooo many people have bad service here... So I hope that some people turn their attitudes around, and focus on customer service, considering they are working in a restaurant (or own it) I had a wonderful time with Wade, and another male server was pleasant, but had a scary, not so enjoyable moment to hear the notorious 'dark-haired hostess' snap at a couple that came in behind me. They simply asked if they needed to wait to be seated, and got their heads bitten off: "I'll seat you as soon as I clean that table up right there." Like they know!! sheesh. A nice 'Please wait to be seated' sign (where one may see it) and a friendly face might not scare people off. If that were me she said that to, I would have informed her of her superb ability to lose a customer who is more than eager to fully support and promote a great little cafe within walking distance to my house. I simply hope that the crabby pants people cheer the heck up. Or find a new position (in the back...?) I will be back, thanks to the good food, Wade, and the positive thinking that my next experience will be better! read more

I tried this place a year ago and I remembered having a great experience.... Today however, I was a bit disappointed by Crest Café. I ordered the Cabo Quesadilla which comes with flour tortilla stuffed with scrambled eggs, bacon, cilantro, hash browns and monterey jack. It is served with tomatillo salsa verde and sour cream. When the food came out, there was no sign of bacon in my meal. Where's my bacon people? That's the best part!! My party started their meal, and I had to watch them eat while I waited for them to fix my food. When they remade my dish and brought it out, it was cold and plain. You can imagine what a cold flout tortilla tastes like... Also, the green salsa portion is so tiny that I was only able to pour it on half of the quesadilla. I could have done a better job myself for less than 10 bucks! However the service was friendly and the food came out pretty fast, for my friends at least. There are also very few parking spaces in the area which can be a little frustrating. I think they used to offer breakfast chilaquiles but I could not find them on the menu (now those were delicious a year ago). You let me down this time Crest Café. read more

My wife and I were Christmas shopping a couple of weeks ago when suddenly she needed a bathroom. We went into Crest where we've eaten many times over the last few years but the host didn't let her use the john even on a slow weekday. I won't be eating at Crest too soon; that was pretty unfriendly! read more

Stick to what you know.. I decided to try the spinach ravioli :/ Hard, chewy, undercooked, no flavor and covered in grease :x read more

Crest Cafe - Stick to what you know.. I decided to try the spinach ravioli :/ Hard, chewy, undercooked, no flavor and covered in grease :x - Cafes Near Me - San Diego, California

Ordered from this place online. I ordered a Belgium waffle and they delivered a plain soggy waffle! No whipped cream, no toppings, not even syrup! What the hell is that?! read more

We were very disappointed on their customer service. Not family friendly at all!! Dogs are better welcomed. Our kids are little but very well behaved. We learned the onur was the worst almost upset. Not ever worth going back for us :( read more