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    Swami's Café La Mesa

    4.0 (1.2k reviews)
    Closed 7:00 am - 3:00 pm

    Order Swami's Café La Mesa Takeout or Delivery

    Swami's Café La Mesa Photos

    SWAMI'S CAFÉ LA MESA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Classy
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Swami's Café La Mesa

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    Pitaya Bowl
    Wendy S.

    Got a to go order of the Pitaya Bowl, and added PB!! If you've never had their açaí bowl or this one..... it's a MUST try!!! Portion is great, so well made. Our daily loves it!!

    Ham And Ham Omelette
    Cara H.

    Our family favorite breakfast spot in LaMesa. Great location in quaint La Mesa Village with an outside patio and large inside dining area. The menu is extensive with numerous vegetarian options for breakfast lunch and dinner. The staff is always so friendly, ordering is made easy at the counter and our food always comes out quickly. Portions sizes are huge so be ready!

    Crystal M.

    This is one of my go-to local spots for breakfast. I always order the same thing, Swami Combo, but my sister orders something different almost every time and it is consistently good no matter what she orders. It's a place you order, then sit & they bring the food to you. Everyone is always so nice and the food is ready quickly because everyone is working hard. There is seating inside and outside. If you do choose to sit outside, you might get hit with the sun, but I love the option. My only downside is the parking. This area is always busy, so it might be difficult to find parking, and they're all paid parking.

    Breakfast burrito
    Hannah N.

    We were meeting up with some family friends on a busy holiday weekend and decided to check out Swamis in La Mesa since we had been to other locations before. I am not sure if all locations are like this but I at this location you enter and order up at the counter and then pick your table and they bring out the food to you. The portions here are huge we honestly all should have shared a couple things compared to each ordering something. I went with the an omelette which came with their house potatoes and my fiancé got a breakfast burrito that also came with hashbrowns on the side. We ended up taking a ton of food home with us. Parking over there isn't too hard but it did take us a moment to find street parking.

    Jordan R.

    Solid spot for lunch! The staff is friendly and food is consistently good. Smoothies / Juices are also a go to for me.

    California breakfast burrito with side of potato's
    Sonia C.

    Swamis is a classic for quick service for breakfast / lunch in San Diego. There's multiple locations and prices are decent with large portions. It's cafe style food so nothing too fancy but a solid place for good prices We ordered: -California Breakfast Burrito with Ham and a side of roasted potato's: in a city of Mexican food the bar is very high, so although this was a good burrito it wasn't the best ever. It was clean ingredients but felt like something you can make at home. Cheese wasn't melted enough. -Banana Chocolate Chip Pancake: Good not great. A bit underwhelming -Swamis salad: comes with a piece of toasted bread with garlic and butter that was amazing. Very large portion -Açaí Bowl: my family like this, I felt it was underwhelming 3.5/ 5 for food taste alone. 4/5 rating overall considering cost/ kind of restaurant it is/ speed/ diversity on their menu

    Stuffed French Toast
    April H.

    Brought the family here for breakfast on the weekend. The chilaquiles were AMAZING. Good portions, quick service, and so many coffees to choose from. We were very happy overall. The building or decor isn't anything amazing but there's ample seating.

    Churro waffle
    Grace C.

    The have a wide selection of menu items! So many options to choose from, if you are an indecisive person then you will have a hard time choosing. Prices are reasonable, open seating , order and pay before seating, The ABC OMELTE , Cheese Burger was great! The churro waffle wasn't that great, the waffle itself lacked flavor. The Chai Latte was great! Over all I will be back!

    GUACAMOLE BACON BURGER
    alondra a.

    Today I visited Swami's in La Mesa and was greeted by Alan, who was incredibly friendly. He gave me his two favorite recommendations, and we ended up ordering both--great choices! I later saw him carrying five plates in his left hand and two in his right, which was seriously impressive. Yes, the sandwiches were delicious, but what truly makes this place stand out is the staff. The restaurant was spotless, the atmosphere relaxing, and every single person greeted us warmly. Honestly, everyone here deserves a $2 raise--and if they get it, I'll happily keep coming back!

    4. California Scrambler
    Lin J.

    Such a cute hidden gem. I was so surprised at how big it was once we got inside. They had a good coffee bar which was self serve but had a wide variety of options. Seating was open. Good was great. Pricing was totally reasonable.

    Chai latte
    Saliha M.

    Great service and good food. Glad to be coming here with my family for years and knowing we are in the best hands

    Garden SWAMIS SCRAMBLE THE LITE SCRAMBLE
    Lucia D.

    Friendly service. Easy parking on a Sunday morning. Clean spaces with plenty of seating options. Delicious food with generous portions. While everything was good, the highlight of the meal was the sweet potato pancakes. They were soft, moist yet crunchy, and flavorful. Definitely a must try!

    Steak Benedict t
    Louis F.

    We walked by and saw the pictures of the breakfast plates and decided to walk in! What a great surprise!!! The food was delicious! Found a better alternate to those IHOP, Dennys, broken yolks places! This is home style amazing taste.. loved the eggs Benedict. Regular style and Steak Benedict's. Hash browns were made perfectly... great breakfast spot in La Mesa

    OJ Orange Juice

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    2 months ago

    We got the breakfast sandwich, and it was so good! Would recommend and we will be back!

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    10 months ago

    Phenomenal food! Phenomenal service and it didn't take long for food to arrive . I will always come back when I go to San Diego.

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    Swami's Café La Mesa Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Swami's Café La Mesa

    Is there parking?

    Yes, there is. There's a bunch of street parking. I don't recall the rate.

    Do they sell breakfast all day?

    I want to say when I was there it is provided at anytime

    View All 3 Questions

    You might also consider

    Toasted La Mesa

    Toasted La Mesa

    4.0
    (616 reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$

    We have been to Toasted probably 5 or so times since moving to La Mesa and love it! We definitely…read morerecommend it. AMBIANCE: The ambiance is very nice. The restaurant is cute and not too noisy. There is an indoor and outdoor area. SERVICE: We have never had a bad service experience at Toasted. Our waitress today in particular was great. My niece wanted a mimosa without alcohol, and she happily accommodated and even suggested adding some soda water to make it more like a mimosa. FOOD & DRINKS: In the many times we have been there, we have had the following; DRINKS: -Mimosa Flight: Too be honest, I did not love the flight. The Prickly Pear was my favorite, but I tend to prefer sweeter drinks, and I would say overall, the cocktails are not super sweet there, which for many people is a plus (just not me). -Lavender Cocktail - Good but also not super sweet -Chai Latte - I have had it hot and iced and liked it both ways FOOD: -Santa Fe Scramble - My favorite dish I have tried to date. Our waitress compared it to tortilla soup in an egg dish, and I would say that's a new perfect description except I think this is way better than tortilla soup -Denver Scramble - Very good and would order again -Breakfast Sammy - Good. A typical breakfast sandwich, so if that's what you're in the mood for, get this. That being said, I wouldn't say there is anything that sets this breakfast sandwich apart from others. -Stuffed French Toast - Good but not my favorite. Would not order again. -Fried Chicken Benny - Good but not a standout that I would order again -Breakfast Quesadilla - Just okay. Nothing was wrong with it, but I would not get it again and would do the Santa Fe Scramble over this. -Sliders - My favorite lunch item. They are the same as the old Sammy's sliders (this location used to be a Sammy's) -Red Velvet Pancakes - Good but very rich -Chocolate Chip Pancakes - Great and very fluffy with excellent texture Overall, even though not every food item or drink is a hit for me personally, that's the case at pretty much any restaurant, and there are some great items and the food, service, and ambiance are great

    Great bottomless service, our waitress filled up my glass as I drank which was amazing lol. I…read moreordered the chicken and pancakes which all together I rate a 6.5/10. - Comes with 3 THICK pancakes and three southern fried chicken tender with "hot" syrup. - Syrup tasted like regular syrup mixed with hot sauce which I wasn't really feelin. I think it would've been better with hot honey and syrup on the side? - Again these pancakes are THICK and flavor was "meh" so you prolly won't even finish them all and you might need to ask for extra syrup (like myself) I honestly think the chicken and French toast would've been a better option and I might ask for that accommodation next time if I order the same thing (I prolly won't, I like to try new tings hehe). Overall pretty restaurant with great natural Lighting but it still needs to prove itself in the flavor department.

    Photos
    Toasted La Mesa
    Toasted La Mesa
    Toasted La Mesa

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    Sunshine Pancake House

    Sunshine Pancake House

    4.2
    (839 reviews)
    1.2 mi
    $$
    Casual dining
    Kid friendly

    For my family's last morning in El Cajon, I was given the task of finding a breakfast place for 9…read morepeople. And everyone had their own array of preferences when it came to grub. The staff and food at this cafe were WONDERFUL! They accommodated our larger-than -expected group without hesitation, and served up a super array of breakfasts to everyone's specific requests. The coffee, tea and juices kept flowing throughout the meal, and our waitress didn't miss a beat. And with a smile! They even treated our table with a serving of some incredibly delicious pear pancakes! They were quite memorable!! OMG! I had no idea pear pancakes would taste so great! When next in the area (we're from Arizona), we'll definitely be back!

    Great family owned restaurant for locals to support. We went around 0830 on Sunday and by the time…read morewe left many more breakfast goers were arriving. We were greeted and quickly seated. We had our pick of indoor or covered patio. We chose the patio. We ordered the strawberry, Nutella waffle, 123 kids meal, eggs/ sausage breakfast and egg/bacon breakfast. Both egg meals came with choice of three large buttermilk pancakes, hashbrowns or toast. Food was good. I enjoyed my bacon and sausage. Prices are very similar to other breakfast restaurants but they give you a good amount of food here. I saw signs about paying with cash to avoid the fees to small businesses. We didn't have cash but they also accept zelle! We had a great Sunday morning start here- definitely recommend:) Oh you can check-in and get a hot chocolate. I didn't participate but I saw the yelp sign.

    Photos
    Sunshine Pancake House
    Sunshine Pancake House
    Sunshine omelet

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    Sunshine omelet
    Black Bear Diner

    Black Bear Diner

    3.8
    (1.4k reviews)
    3.9 mi
    $$

    Big bear Burgar & onion rings are great. Just fries was to salty…read more warm . Not Hot fresh I would go back. nice place for FAMILY

    Food: Well, okay... we came here once and my daughter got chicken and waffles. It was SO good…read morethat she begged us to come back. The rest of our food was okay, nothing amazing, but solid. So we got back a second time and sit down to order, "Chicken and waffles please" - they are out of chicken. Oof! Strike 1. That sucks. She was disappointed but she got something else and we shrugged it off. Then about 2 weeks back we came in again... this time I asked first, "Do you have chicken for the chicken and waffles?" They are out of waffles. Oof! Strike 2! And isn't it just batter? I don't get it. We didn't stay that time because my daughter was visibly sad this time. So I think we are done trying or else this just becomes a running gag we try to get out of, like Groundhogs Day or something... Atmosphere: It's cozy inside. I love all of the details, like the wood carvings and all of the bear stuff. It's like you're in a log cabin. And I like that they have paper menus and throw them away (because plastic reusable menus are germ magnets). The newspaper-esque theme is pretty cool too. Price: It's no more expensive than say, Dennys or Ihop. Middle of the road and they have lots of options. A decent meal for two - 50$. Service: Each time we have been, the servers have been great. Nice servers and even when the guy had to tell us they were out of chicken, he was super apologetic. No complaints on the service. Overall: It's a nice place... when they have the advertised food. So I honestly don't know if we will be back or not. Maybe we will give it a shot but I don't want my daughter to be disappointed again. I get it, if it was something they only made 50 of a day, I'd understand. But... chicken and waffles? Hmmm...

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    Black Bear Diner
    Black Bear Diner
    Black Bear Diner

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    Public Square

    Public Square

    4.5
    (1.2k reviews)
    0.0 mi
    $$

    My new favorite coffee spot! I'm currently in my pandan obsession era and this place does it RIGHT…read more I've already been back more times than I can count. So far, I've tried the pandan, the brown sugar, and the sesame latte all iced w/ oat milk and they've all been a hit. The pandan is easily my fave, but if you're trying the brown sugar and don't love super sweet drinks I'd recommend adding an extra shot to balance it out. The drinks are consistently good and you can tell they really care about the quality. It's one of those spots you keep thinking about and end up going back to without even planning it. Customer service was solid and there's plenty of seating, which makes it a nice place to hang out or get some work done. Parking was also easy, which is always a win. Highly recommend checking this place out especially if you're a pandan lover like me!

    Public Square has been closed since April after staff walked out and eventually quit due to unpaid…read morewages. Unfortunately, this place was on the decline leading up to these events. It would usually take a half hour to get a simple drink order. Food that was previously wow turned into meh (I'm looking at you, shashuka). I don't blame the baristas. I don't think the business owners ever properly streamlined their ordering process / menu to get items out effectively. I hope we get something nice to replace this space.

    Photos
    Their logo
    Their logo
    This wall
    This wall
    It's so beautiful inside!

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    It's so beautiful inside!

    Swami's Café La Mesa - cafes - Updated July 2026

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