Patio is very nice. Great casual place for breakfast, brunch, or lunch. Food is very good price is fair portions are generous.

I've come a few times and every time has been worse than the other. Today was definitely the last time I'll be here. For starters, service is terrible. Rude crabby workers the instant we walked in the door. The restaurant was literally empty and they gave us a 15 minute wait time and were super rude and acted like we were an inconvenience. The server tried getting us to order the instant we walked in and was annoyed we wanted time to look at the menu. She came back literally 3 minutes later and was annoyed we still weren't ready. When we got our food she asked us if it was good the second we got it before even taking a bite. Then, she never came back to check on us at all. No refills, no nothing. Only gave us 2 napkins for four of us. The food like always, was bland and the portions were small. My order was wrong too, but since she never came back to check on us, I had a few bites but left hungry. I was hoping it would be better this time, but sadly it wasn't. I can make better food at home 100%. Terrible service, bland food, small portions. I highly recommend going elsewhere or cooking at home. read more

Very cute and homey environment. Workers are super nice and have admirable amount of patience. Food is great!

So happy they allowed a reservation on a busy Saturday for our party of 9 on the patio. Service was prompt. I ordered sausage links, 2eggs over medium, home fries and sourdough toast. Everything including portions was good, however I was disappointed with the "home fries which were from frozen cubes of seasoned potatoes. They used to have the best home fries from fresh potatoes. read more

I've been here a few times so I can't believe I haven't reviewed it! This place is great! The service is fast and professional and the food is pretty good. I like their strawberry waffles :) read more

Y'all, Janet's is a locals gem with a very loyal following - The neighborhood walks over and the parking lot is always full of folks ready for a homestyle bite. It's got all the noms you'd want from a breakfast cafe and a pastry case of pies to boot! It's busy so either get there early or be prepared to wait patiently. They turn over tables quickly but don't rush their patrons (which is nice!). A shout out to the runners and bussers, because breakfast service is no joke. Multiple plates, all things that need to be hot at varying degrees, sauces, condiments, it ain't easy and they get it all to the table and off again with a keen eye. And Syrup. Can you imagine having to deal with the stickiness that is syrup daily? Just sayin. For a less bustling experiences on a nice day, ask to be sat out on the back patio. It's a very different vibe from the long and narrow indoors and I find it to be the best option if you've got kiddos in tow and need a high chair. read more

love Janet's! Monica the server however horrible attitude! she is not welcoming and does not know her menu. She then argues when you are extremely nice about her mistakes and confused by what she is asking she gets extremely defensive! not to mention she's at the register saying "Jesus Christ" under her breathe far before any issues we had ! I am very understanding because I am in the industry. and complain very litle but this was just insane! she is not meant to be a server ! I am a GM I teach my team to be on stage regardless of how frustrated they are and vent in the back You guys probably do as well, this lady is not the jam! seems like her day started off crappy and she's not able to let it go! hope it turns around for ya lady....... I'll be heading to lakeside instead Moving forward girl at the front didn't get her name brunette kinda blondish was amazing read more

Haven't been here in years! I went on a Tuesday morning and there was no wait and wasn't too busy. I was able to pick my seat and chose outback! They definitely opened up the space. Last time I went, the dining area outback was so small..Anyways, Server was awesome, he immediately asked me what drink I'd like and he saw that I kept finishing my coffee so he gave me a larger mug haha, thanks. I made my own omelette which comes with 5 ingredients, I chose bacon, sausage Patty, asparagus, cheddar Jack cheese, and green bell peppers and came with 2 sides. For those sides I chose fruit and buttermilk pancakes which I couldn't even finish! My boyfriend had the country fried steak and chose blueberry muff which was so divine ( not pictured ) and they gave us homemade salsas. Love this place, great vibes, great food, and service was a 10 out of 10! Excuse my photo, I ate some already and forgot to take a picture before hand cos I was so hungry! read more

Janet's Cafe and Deli - New American Near Me - Santee, California

Loving Janets cafe breakfasts! My husband and I came here for a 9 AM weekday breakfast. We ate out in the back patio and it was just perfect. The social distancing was on point. The service was on point. The weather was on point. I ordered country fried steak with eggs and my husband ordered eggs Benedict country style. Both dishes were perfect salted, comforting, and I ate the whole thing. My country fried steak was beef and it was just tender and delicious crunchy. My eggs were ordered medium and they were perfect. Can't wait to come back and try lunch read more

The food was great! The service was great and we enjoyed our time here ! Lots of windows and feels very home-like. I recommend ! read more

On the way to San Diego we found this breakfast spot. We called to see if they were open and they said they actually had indoor seating. I was surprised because a lot of places did not have indoor or outdoor seating because of the state orders due to Covid-19. We ordered our food and I asked one of the waitresses if other places were open. To my surprise she said no, they were protesting their rights and are open and so was the tavern next door. They also own the place next door. Food: I ordered the chicken fried chicken with hash browns and eggs. It was delicious. It also came with a side of toast. The meal was fairly large and for a decent price. My bf ordered the French toast and that great as well. They also had pastries and cakes on display. Price: Our bill was under $30. It was pretty cheap for all the food that we ordered. There was plenty of leftovers. Location: The restaurant is inside a plaza right next to a park. The inside is small but has a few tables. They also have outdoor seating that had more seating. read more

Janet's Cafe and Deli - Country fried chicken - New American Near Me - Santee, California

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The waiter and waitress were very nice and we only waited a few mins for a table. We ordered an iced tea, grilled cheese, fries and a veggie sandwich. Unfortunately the food was basically flavorless, it seemed there were no sauces or spices used at all and the fries were baked (not fried) and pale. Even the iced tea tasted like water. It was also really expensive; $17 for a sandwich. read more

I would be at 2.5 stars if that was an option. The food was just mediocre at best and it arrived lukewarm to the table. The omelette says 5 eggs but they must be tiny. For a $17 omelette plate, it was just underwhelming. I created my own and it wasn't horrible, just forgot the Avocado, which the server comped out already inadequate low flavor coffee for. At first she was off putting and didn't seem to care about our table, but was apologetic with the Avocado issue and genuinely seemed to care. Our toast was barely toasted and less than appealing. I used it for an omelette sandwich anyway so it worked out. Don't know how this place got a 4.3 rating as that's why we went there but the seasoning lacks and just felt under satisfying. read more

Last afternoon in San Diego County before the Governor's "Kill the Economy" lockdown takes place and we by chance were in Santee on a business errand. We looked up Restaurant's close to us and Janet's came up. When we got there we realized we had eaten here years ago and remembered it very good. Well it was even better than our memory served us. Beautiful outdoor seating both front and rear patios. We were pleasantly seated with excellent distancing... and our waitress Kristie showed up with a big smile, welcome... and took our drink order. I ordered a 1/2 pound Angus Patty Melt, Frings, and a diet coke. Terri ordered a grilled Corned Beef, on Rye... with Swiss Cheese and fresh fruit side. Both were truly excellent. The Swirl Rye was a light Rye and grilled perfectly. Both the Fries and the Onion Rings were fried to perfection. Terri's fresh fruit was generous and FRESH! Our waitress was a joy and when we pressed her for her thoughts on the next lockdown... she was honest and not bitter. The temperature was perfect... the setting beautiful... the service fantastic. The entire experience was a joy and when we are in Santee we will look forward to another fine experience. read more

Janet's Cafe and Deli - 1/2 # Angus Patty melt grilled on swirl Rye. Outstanding. - New American Near Me - Santee, California

Very happy homestyle great cafe Food is scrumptious Fabulous place Wonderful large plates of food Check it out Take a friend Try all the homemade daily soups n sandwiches Breakfast is homestyle cooking All the people in the establishment are superb and happy Great atmosphere read more

Everybody raves about this place, but I don't get it. There's no clear point of entry to wait for a table. When I got there and it was obviously busy I was given dirty looks because apparently I didn't know you had to wait at the side door for a table, even though I saw the signs that's clearly said "please wait to be seated" and thought standing there was ok. I got on the wait list and 10 mins turned into 30. I continued to wait longer until I saw two parties who had arrived after me who did not get on the wait list with the same number in their party get seated. When I confronted the staff they claimed I was here after them and that I should get on the wait list. Yeah, nope. I left. read more

I hosted a bridal shower here and was SO happy about it. It was a pleasure working with David and their food is always great. Janet's cafe and Oaks tavern are connected. I had a brunch service via Janet's menu and hosted it on the tavern side. They are flexible, they are affordable, and the owners are generous people. Whether or not you are coming for food or to host an event, I would not hesitate to choose this place :) read more

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Janet's has a great variety of food for everyone! I haven't been during Covid season, but I've been many times over the years and it was the perfect place to eat with a friend after a walk at Santee Lakes. We could have breakfast or lunch, sit outdoors, no pressure to leave in a hurry. At this point I can't remember specifically what I've had but it's always been good and drawn me to go back again over the years. I used to go to the one in Rancho San Diego, too. Always good! read more

Unfortunately things are not what they used to be. Food is ok but the prices are absolutely unjustified now, even in these times. Literally paid $16 for a tortilla with eggs, (too much) cheese, what was supposed to be turkey sausage inside (maybe 1/2 a patty?) and some fruit on the side. $16 for that is outrageous. Service has also reduced to be impersonal, rushed, and at times borderline dismissive. read more

Great food and service. Their carrot muffins are THE BEST anywhere and worth the drive!

It's a time honored tradition for a Sunday after church lunch. Now Covid has certainly thrown a wrench in actually being able to eat at a restaurant. But there is always To Go - and I wanted to shop Local. When it was floated to the family in what we should get - my youngest blurted out "Pancakes!!!" After a quick search - found Janet's Cafe and Deli. I had previously heard rumblings of this place and wanted to give it a spin. I always find a good way to test a place is by ordering something that is tough to mess up. My go to test for most places is to order a French Dip. My wife and kids went with Strawberry Pancakes and Pecan Waffles. Now onto the surprising part - my French Dip was pretty average, or if I was to use the new lingo "Basic" would be the term. It wasn't horrible by any means but left a lot to be desired. The Meat was cut in very big slices - and was tough to chew. The Sauce also didn't help any. I had to actually force myself to finish it. That being said their helping of Fries was quite generous. The Strawberry Pancakes and Waffles both went over well, the family generally like it. Even finished the left overs the next day. The portions were quite large - especially the pancakes, they were a little over the size of a large paper plate. I can't really speak much of the service - I ordered via the phone and it kept disconnecting me. When I went to pick it up - they had already started the closing process. The place looked nice though - and apparently they sell pies.... Might have to come back for a slice. Overall - a pretty okay place. I wasn't terribly impressed - but hey it was Sunday right before closing. Hoping my next visit might be better - with a couple of slices of pie read more

Janet's offers a good selection of breakfast and lunch options. There are daily lunch specials that are served with an included dessert. The wraps are excellent and should not be overlooked. The biscuits and gravy may ell be the biggest and best around. There are several Mexican food options as well. Prices are very fair, especially considering the size of the portions. This place is on our list to repeat often. Janet's is open for outdoor dining and takeout. They are taking necessary steps to fully open as soon as they are permitted to fo so. The menu and the food are still as great as before, so don't hesitate to come to the patio or front tables for a wonderful breakfast or lunch. Krystin will assure that you get great service as will the rest of the staff. Janet's is ready for you! read more

Janet's setup was quite impressive. There were a variety of dining areas at the property. Very good quality food although timing was a bit of an issue. It is always nice when you receive your party's food around the same time. Not the case on my visit. I got my biscuit and gravy first but waited another 10 minutes for my sausage and eggs. On the same order, pancakes came first while the rest of the breakfast came later. Hopefully they will work on this. read more

I found this place on Yelp after hiking North Fortuna. If you've ever hiked to the summit, you KNOW a good big breakfast is in need. It was a good choice! It's a little restaurant next to the Santee Library, but they have an outdoor patio which was so nice to sit at this afternoon. Their menu has the basics and specialty pancakes which were tempting. Instead, I went with an omelette- the asparagus omelet. It came with asparagus, mushroom, tomato, and spinach with cheese. I chose hashbrowns and a biscuit. The omelet was the perfect size after a 2 1/2 hour hike, the hashbrowns were cooked the way I like them, and the biscuit was served warm and was really good! My friend ordered a breakfast sandwich on an onion bagel. She special ordered for the bagel to be toasted on the grill. She enjoyed it with a side of fruit. I really liked that the side options could be hashbrowns or fruit with no extra charge. Their coffee and service was great. We were seated right away and they continued to ask if we wanted more coffee. I think this was a good find for breakfast after a crazy hilly hike. read more

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The service was superb, and the food is phenomenal, with very unique flavors that you, will not find anywhere else, I will definitely be going back! read more

Good food, good service, great ambiance and very nice people. A little pricey tho, but I would eat there again!

Still hit n miss on most items but when you find something you love, like their lemon cake or beet salad, keep coming back.

Tried this location today, Janets is notoriously good but the amounts of food they give you is ridiculous. Today I was charged almost 5.00 for a SIDE of toast and was given a fruit platter in a huge salad bowl which a normal person could not possibly consume, my sons pancakes from the kids menu were bigger than the large plate they were served on, it's just such a terrible waste of food! read more

Janet's Cafe and Deli - This is a large to go box, this is what was left after I ate more than my fill. Way too much food - New American Near Me - Santee, California

Came for lunch because it was one of my favorite places in Santee. Yup! Was. It has expanded and that is good and so so. Love to sit outdoors and this place had a cozy back sit area. Still okay now but not so cozy at least for me. My food was still great but my companion's granola French toast was not so hot! Well one out of two dishes is really not so bad. Then we went to pay and at the cash register, it is encourage to pay "cash" hmmm I guess the part that was not so great was the fact that they have a big sign stating they receive everyone regardless of if they use mask or not. Needless to say, no staff member wore masks. I am not too crazy about this kind of statements. They don't make me feel cozy and safe inside. You can go ahead and try them out. I am sure you will get something good. As of for me... we'll it was an awesome place but for now, will find places with great food and awesome ambiance. Happy meals! read more

I first started going to Janet's Cafe over 2 weeks ago My first encounter was with the waitress "Tami" (Tami with an "i") She was very warm friendly and professional She had outstanding customer service She made me feel welcomed BUT the food wasn't very tasty especially for the price and the waitresses OTHER than Tami were terrible NOT going back again!!!! read more

Delicious!!! Good COVID precautions (outside dining, social distancing, masking faces, etc.). Somethings fell short (individually not a big deal, but collectively reduced a star): an umbrella fell on my nephew (point just missed him), had to ask several times for straws, no place settings (had to ask after food came) - which should have been caught after I asked for napkins). The waitress (Charlie) was very attentive. She forgot straws when we asked, but everything else was on point. Will come back. I'm sure I'll be updating to 5-stars after my next visit. read more

Janet's Cafe and Deli - Taking the niece & Nephews out for brunch - New American Near Me - Santee, California

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My friend chose this place because she raves about the food. We went yesterday (Saturday) and ordered breakfast and sat outside. It wasn't too busy as I got a table immediately while waiting for my friend to arrive. Our waitress came up to get our order but my friend had just sat down and we hadn't open the menus yet. we just asked for a minute to look it over. Everything seemed fine. When it was time to order, she was in a mood. I ordered first (the country Benedict), then my friend (who is a mother to me) ordered the pork chop and eggs. The waitress said It comes with either a muffin, English muffin, pancakes, etc. When my friend asked if I'd take the extra side for her I said sure, but kindly asked the waitress to repeat the 6+ choices. She rolled her eyes, repeated like a robot. I obliged and asked for the cranberry citrus muffin. Then...when we got our food, my friend was on a business call for work, and the waitress told her "Hey, Hey! I have your food!" I said, "Oh, she's on a call." She slammed her plate on the table next to ours. She came back and threw my muffin bag (muffin was in a bag to go) on the table. I had coffee. My friend ordered orange juice. It never came. When our waitress refilled my coffee, my friend said "Oh I think I ordered..." and our waitress walked away very quickly WHILE MY FRIEND WAS SPEAKING TO HER. She also never checked on us. And when it was time to pay, she said "just leave your cards on the table so I can grab them." There was a small wait of about three groups of people. She was trying to rush us to leave - while we were still eating -- and took one of the tables adjacent to ours so other people could sit. That was fine, and if she had not already acted the way she had been--And consequently, nobody wanted to sit at that table outside and another waitress ended up putting that table back next to ours. One would say oh maybe she was just really busy. However, I noticed she checked in several times with the other table on the other side of the door. Long story short, she let us know we weren't welcomed. She didn't have time to really wait on us and this was the first time in a long time I never wanted to tip someone, I usually tip 20%, but I tipped her 15% anyway because that's just the right thing to do and we all need to think about that in every situation. I'm sure she's a hard worker, I saw her treating another table of customers very well, and this is just very sad because I've worked in customer service for over 25 years. I don't think I'll ever eat there again because I didn't feel welcomed. read more

Came here during the week with the kids for a late breakfast. It wasn't that busy, but they have a lot of seating within the restaurant. The food was really good, and our server was nice. The restaurant itself is located in a shopping mall so there is a lot of parking. read more

Great place for breakfast or lunch. Super friendly and great food. The menu has a very big variety, something for everyone.

The food here is always delicious. I had the chicken salad sandwich -a favorite! We got to sit on the back patio, which is such a nice, roomy place. The staff was excellent and the service was almost immediate. The portions are huge so you could share and still have plenty to eat. read more

Janets cafe is a cute and the food was Delicious. I ordered the breakfast burrito and my son had the pancakes......Delicious Honestly I wasn't expecting the food to be so delicious because of the reviews but I gave a try and I was so happy that the reviews were so wrong. The service was fast and our waitress was so nice. I will be coming back. read more

My first impression a year ago was 5 starts. But the food quality and the service has changed. What happened? Last yr I had the nicest servers, they were super polite and courteous. They all made a great impression and got a great tip... They deserved! Today It was the second time I brought someone new and they mentioned that the servers were not very welcoming. First impressions are everything! It was a very disappointing expirience for the second time. The vibe is way off compared to last year. The back patio smells like dog wich was never a problem before. Some of the servers looked so miserable and non aproachable. It's so sad to see this place take such a bad turn. I hope they fix it. read more

Janet's is not just a great breakfast spot. Wowza!!! They can do pies. These were pre-ordered for Thanksgiving. I highly recommend Janet's pies for any occasion. read more

Janet's Cafe and Deli - Janet's Apple Pie - New American Near Me - Santee, California

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I've been here for breakfast several times. The portions are huge. They must have changed the hash browns recently as they are just awful compared to what they used to be. The worst thing about this place is the waitress Krysten. She defines the word miserable. So rude and very unpleasant. She doesn't know how to smile and her lack of any manners is very apparent. Update. I had a message from said angry miserable waitress! I've obviously poked the bear. The truth hurts.. read more

Janet's Cafe and Deli - New American Near Me - Santee, California

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Been a regular for years and the quality of food is always amazing! The food is always delicious. My kids who are picky eaters love this place. I can always count on this place for breakfast and lunch. Dinner at Taverns. read more