We’re bringing you 13 of the best brunch in San Diego, CA. Our hometown knows how to do brunch right and every weekend you can find a ton of great places to have brunch in San Diego in every neighborhood. With so many unique neighborhoods and so much good food it can be hard to choose, but we’ve got you covered in this episode with insider San Diego brunch recommendations and what to order while you’re there! 

The Best Brunch in San Diego:

1. Third Corner
2. Snooze
3. Breakfast Republic 
4. The Mission 
5. Cafe 21
6. The Cottage
7. Fig Tree Cafe
8. Crushed 
9. Farmers Table 
10. The Crown Room at the Del
11. Aero Squadron
12. The Westgate Hotel 
13. 13. Humphrey’s by the Bay

The Very Best Brunch in San Diego – Episode Transcript

2 (58s):
Welcome to this week’s episode of the Travel Squad podcast. I hope you’re hungry and thirsty because today we are taking you to the 13 best brunch and most Instagrammable places in San Diego. So wear something cute for the pictures and stretchy for the food and let’s get into it.

1 (1m 15s):
He has so many unique brunch spots. You can go find a place that has ocean and bay views to quaint cottages. There’s just so many places in San Diego to get your brunch on. So I’m super excited to dive into this episode. I, myself, haven’t been to all of them, but I’ve been to quite a few of them. And this inspires me to go try some of the other spots we have on this list.

3 (1m 36s):
Yeah. And San Diego is not only known for the beautiful beaches and gorgeous weather. We’re a hotspot for brunches out here, San Diego ones take their brunch seriously. And so should you, when you come here and visit, you have to try at least one of these places that is for sure, very iconic brunch locations in San Diego.

2 (1m 55s):
Brunch is a San Diego pastime. You shouldn’t come here unless you plan on getting brunch, but there are things you need to know about brunch and San Diego. So let’s start with a tip.

1 (2m 6s):
The first tip is if you are able to make a reservation for a place, make it or else you’re going to have very, very long lines, maybe two plus hour weights. So it can be quite a long time. So that’s one tip

2 (2m 18s):
Long waits are pretty common. So if you can’t make a reservation, just know you’re going to have it. It’s really, really rare to just be sat right away at a hotspot for brunch. So if you’re going to go to one of these places, look around, see what else is there? Plan to get a mimosa, somewhere down the street or explore and go shopping or time it on a day when they’re doing a farmer’s market. So you give yourself something to do while you wait

1 (2m 41s):
And get there early. If you can’t make reservations, the later you wait in the day, the longer the weight’s going to be, unless you are going after like one, 2:00 PM. If you’re going to go like anytime between 10 and 12, you’re going to have a long wait and weekdays are obviously better than weekends. If you’re here for a short trip or you’re visiting during the week,

2 (2m 59s):
But don’t think that that’s going to save you from the weight. Some of these places, even during the week have really long waits. And then another tip that I want to share. That was surprising to me. When I first started brunching here in San Diego, coming from Sacramento bottomless, Moses was a huge thing. You can go anywhere and get like a 10 or $12. All you can drink for most of the deal came to San Diego and found a really hard time, finding bottomless mimosas. In fact, the places that you can find it are usually not the best caliber of restaurant to spend your time at. They do still exist. So you can find them. I think more like 20, $25 here and there, they mostly go by selling by the bottle or the class.

3 (3m 38s):
And I was going to say, maybe that’s why they actually have the bottomless mimosas deals is because they know their food game. Ain’t on par. So they got to intrigue you with the booze game, right?

2 (3m 47s):
Yes, that’s right. But the first one on our list, Third Corner in OB and an instant nitas is actually the rule breaker here because this place is fucking amazing. And it’s kind of sad because since COVID, they paused the brunch, but they’re definitely going to be bringing it back. So the deal was, and hopefully we’ll still be when it comes back $25 for the brunch menu. First of all, that’s cheap. And second of all, it gets you your meal off of this menu, plus bottomless, mimosas,

1 (4m 17s):
Whoa, that’s a double whammy.

2 (4m 20s):
The food is good. And it’s a really like classy, cute wine bar, kind of loungy vibe in there. So it’s a nice place to, they actually bring you out this like plate of fruit and cinnamon bread and that they have white napkins. It’s nice.

3 (4m 33s):
Let me ask you a question since this is a place brilliant. I haven’t been yet, even though there’s two locations, we really need to, this one is high on our list. I know you put it on here cause you absolutely love it, but do they let your drink go low? A lot of places that have bottomless, it’s sometimes really hard for the servers to come and fill you up. I don’t know if it’s intentional or they’re just so busy, but usually I find that to be the case like they’re trying to have you have less,

2 (4m 58s):
Well, that’s not the case here, like the ratio of orange juice to champagne. The long you’ve been there may change. I suspect that it’s probably true, but no, they don’t let your cup go empty. And that’s dangerous because groups that I’ve gone with have been leaving in a lot worse shape than they went in. As, I mean, we have seen it all. I remember someone that worked there telling someone else it wasn’t necessarily with our group, but we knew them like neighbor, tape, table people, once most of us start flowing. You make friends. They were like, don’t ever come back here to this group of people and broken glass. Like it gets crazy for being such a classy, nice place. Like bottomless, mimosas it’ll happen. What

1 (5m 38s):
Part of Obi are they in?

2 (5m 39s):
It’s almost like right when you get into OB, it’s not down by the beach. It’s like cable or bacon or something. It’s on the corner. Third Corner. I’m imagining maybe third street.

1 (5m 49s):
Hence the name.

2 (5m 50s):
Yeah, but I definitely recommend this place. It’s really cute. Great place for big groups.

1 (5m 55s):
So number two on our list is of my personal favorites. It’s snooze an am eatery, and it’s a chain. So it’s not just in San Diego, but the first time I experienced it was in San Diego. They have multiple locations like in Hillcrest and in LA Hoya, I most often go to the Hillcrest location just due to its proximity, to where we live. And they have so many good brunch menu items. Like they have a OMG French toast and Jamal, why don’t you tell us about that?

3 (6m 25s):
Well, all you need to know really is in the name OMG. And when you take your bike, you’re going to really realize how they came up with that name. It’s amazing French toast. So light, so fluffy, yet thick at the same time, they have an amazing marscapone cream sauce that they put on top of it, just as well, caramel and caramel it’s so, so good there. And strawberries and coconut. Oh my gosh. Right? I mean, it’s already OMG, right? And then they’re also famous for their pancakes. They have pancake flights that you can do or specialty pancakes from like blueberry, Danish, pancakes, Pineapple, upside down pancakes, all this type of stuff. And they always have a pancake of the day.

3 (7m 6s):
But even if you’re not going just for the sweets, they have amazing savory. I love to get their eggs Benedict that they have there all the time, their ham Benny, so, so good.

1 (7m 15s):
And you can, if you don’t want to do an order of pancakes, you can do side pancakes. And it’s a one large pancake. My favorite side pancake is the blueberry Danish pancakes. They’re buttermilk pancakes. They’re top with blueberry Cooley sweet cream almonds truthful. And then in the center is the most delicious lemon cream cheese filling. Oh my God. It is by far my favorite pancake. They’re so amazing.

3 (7m 41s):
Let me tell you something unique about the pancakes here at snooze though, and why? I really, really like it. If I’m having pancakes like regular pancakes, I drench it in syrup. I probably shouldn’t put as much syrup as I’ve put on pancakes, but I really need it to be moist and, you know, have that sweetness and everything like that. They do not have syrup at snooze with their pancakes, their sauces and creams and everything that they put on top of it is enough to keep it from not being dry. Like I don’t go here and think to myself, man, I need syrup for this. And so that’s like a Testament to how good they are. Like they don’t need syrup. Could you imagine that a pancake that doesn’t need syrup? It’s wild.

2 (8m 19s):
My typical order when I go here is a half of a Benny and a half of an OMG French toast, which is another cool thing about this place. You can get half orders on most of the things on the menu. That

1 (8m 30s):
Is a great squad tip,

2 (8m 31s):
Savory and sweet.

1 (8m 34s):
And so we’ve dived far in on the sweet side, but they do have really good savory items. They have lots of Benedict’s, which are savory and they also have an amazing breakfast pot pie topped with an egg. And I love that is so,

3 (8m 49s):
And they have a good eclectic mix of stuff they could get from the bar. Really good bloody Mary’s. You could get yourself mimosas. Unfortunately they don’t have a bottomless deal or anything like that, but there is going to be a big wait at snooze. So that goes into one of the tips that we said earlier. Do get there early, get yourself on the reservation system there, if you can. I don’t know if they’re going to do this and bring it back. But before COVID to keep people appeased because of how long the wait was, they allowed you to have free coffee while you were waiting. Now it was black or they had like cream and sugar. We’re not talking like specialty coffee, but you can get as many cups as you wanted and just have it outside. And if you had your cup, as you were going in, you could sit down at the table with it and they didn’t charge you.

3 (9m 32s):
I love that. But once you’re sitting at the table and you fill up your coffee, they’re charging you. But that was a cool thing that they did. And I’m hoping after COVID they bring that back.

2 (9m 39s):
They used to bring out samples to, to people that were just standing around waiting. And that was awesome. Number three, on our list is Breakfast Republic. This place is known for its portion sizes. They are huge and the food is really good. There, there are several locations around San Diego. There’s one in north park, downtown Liberty station. They’re popping up all over the place. And the food is amazing. Something I got there one year was a breakfast tostada, and it came with two because again, the portions are huge and black beans and it was so good. And they have like creative, cool things like that. Also really, really good pancakes. You can get a side pancake there too. And they’re really good flavors. I think I got a strawberry shortcake pancake there one year and it was so good

1 (10m 23s):
This summer. They had peanut a lot of French

2 (10m 25s):
Toast. Ooh.

1 (10m 26s):
Hm. That sounds so good. And Kim, they also had over the summer, a crispy mushroom, which is your favorite Hola and corn bread pancake.

2 (10m 37s):
That sounds

3 (10m 38s):
All of that. Sounds good. Except for the mushroom aspect for Kim, I guess. Right?

1 (10m 43s):
One of my favorite omelets that I get from Breakfast Republic is the chicken fennel sausage omelet, which has chicken, fennel, sausage, red onion, green bell, pepper, jalapenos, and Jack cheese. It’s so good.

2 (10m 57s):
That’s a good solid one. And the times that I have been there, there is a weight, but it hasn’t been these crazy like two, three hour long wait line. So it’s pretty, it’s a pretty solid choice.

1 (11m 6s):
Yeah. And they have a good mix of sweet items too. They have really good pancakes, Oreo bacon, Truro, lemon, coconut, strawberry cheesecake, and French toast wise. They have like strawberry and mascarpone smores banana split. So they have a lot of different options. Omelets, pancakes, French toast.

2 (11m 27s):
I like to go with a significant other and order a savory dish. The portions are huge and then get a side pancake and split all of that. And that’s enough for two people.

3 (11m 37s):
I love places that have really big portion sizes. I really, really love the big portion size of Breakfast Republic.

2 (11m 44s):
Very American of you. It

3 (11m 45s):
Is. It is.

1 (11m 47s):
And I really liked the Liberty station location. I love Liberty station in general. You can always go check out the shops in the area or beforehand while you’re waiting. So I really do like that location.

2 (11m 58s):
Number four is another local San Diego chain. It’s The Mission. And if you remember from our episode with Mandy and Garrett, Garrett had said that when he was in San Diego, went to The Mission, absolutely love their potatoes and was still thinking about it, you know, years since he’s been here. And that should say everything you need to know about The Mission potatoes are bomb.

1 (12m 19s):
Yeah. They’re Rosemary potatoes. So delicious. They’re also known for making their own bread and you can buy a loaf of bread too. And they have a really good like cinnamon bread and it’s pretty amazing.

2 (12m 31s):
Yeah. Last time I went there, I got this like hash kind of a thing with potatoes and black beans and eggs and I think it had soy and oh my God, it was just so good. And it’s right next to my house too. There’s one downtown. There’s one in mission beach. So if you want a little beach action, a little downtown action, maybe you’re here for a conference at the convention center. Really close. Good spot. It is small though. So you can expect about an hour wait typically.

1 (12m 59s):
And the menu items are geared towards like Mexican influenced foods. Like they have red Gero spare. They Papas Loco, which are like these amazing Rosemary potatoes with grilled jalapenos on top and black beans and cheese. So it’s really, really good.

2 (13m 16s):
Another thing about that is they have a lot of options for vegans. So you could get like bacon or say you get tofu and they make it really easy to have options there for, for the veggies.

3 (13m 26s):
Well, I knew they had it when you mentioned the soy Teresa, and it’s really funny, just kind of side track here away from San Diego brunch. I saw something recently that someone had posted online and it was a photo that said soy Cerrito. And if anybody knows Spanish, soy means I am. So somebody was like, oh Teresa. And it’s telling me like I’m Teresa and bought it. And didn’t realize it was really soy, like the soy products, soy Theresa. So just you saying that right now made me think about it. So thought that was kind of funny, but you are right. They do have a good vegan or vegetarian aspect to their menu. That’s really, really solid. If that’s your dietary way of life.

1 (14m 6s):
They also have a lot of gluten-free options as well.

2 (14m 9s):
Number five is cafe 21. This place is so cute to my knowledge. There’s two, there’s one downtown and there’s one in university Heights. I really liked the vibe here. It’s like lounge-y gardening really cute decor, really cute glasses. Really, really cute mimosas. You can get, wait for it. A mimosa flight.

1 (14m 30s):
Woo. Yeah,

3 (14m 31s):
I was going to say, is that why you like the vibes at this place? This is the mimosa flights.

2 (14m 35s):
That’s not the only reason, but they come out really cute in these little Mason jars and each one is a different color. Maybe they have like a twig of Rosemary and one, some flowers in the other. They’re super cute. A for effort on that front. And the last time I ate there at the downtown location, there was a live band.

1 (14m 52s):
Oh wow. That’s really cool.

2 (14m 53s):
Yeah. I highly recommend this place and the food is amazing. They have crepes, they have sweet dishes. They also have more healthy options, but it’s a, it’s a really good place. I definitely recommend this one.

1 (15m 4s):
So number six on our list is The Cottage, which is located in LA Jolla in San Diego and Kim and I actually recently went there and we ended up, they have really good portion sizes and we ended up splitting two items and we couldn’t finish our plate. We

2 (15m 19s):
Split three items. Oh. But this place did have a long way too. We both showed up hungry, which was a mistake and there was a two hour wait. And so we walked down to LA Jolla beach and just walked on the beach and saw the fields, saw the seals and hung out at the children’s pool area for a little bit, just seeing the crashing waves on the rocks. It was pretty nice. But if you’re going here on a weekend, don’t come starving, ready to eat.

1 (15m 47s):
Cause we did.

2 (15m 48s):
We were actually so hungry. We walked back about an hour later and he did happen to seat us sooner than two hours, which was nice. But we were so hungry. We didn’t even take a picture of the food.

1 (15m 60s):
Joe writing.

3 (16m 1s):
You guys forgot all about Instagramming. That didn’t you, you

2 (16m 4s):
Did.

3 (16m 4s):
But tell me a little bit of why the name is called The Cottage. It has nothing to do with the food. It’s the ambience of the restaurant itself, right? I mean, what does it have?

1 (16m 12s):
So it looks like a little cottage and it has a white picket fence on the outside and it has patio seating on the inside. It is really small area, but it’s very cutely designed like a little cottage feel.

2 (16m 24s):
Yeah. Kind of like an old, like Victorian kind of house cottage thing.

3 (16m 27s):
Yeah. And that’s why I like it a lot is because the name is represented in the vibe that it has out there. And I really liked the aspect that it’s majority outside patio dining also right by the water. Not that you have the view of it, but LA Jolla is in an area that’s close to the water. So it’s always nice temperate weather in that vicinity.

1 (16m 46s):
We ended up getting like a stuffed French toast, which was like a brioche bread with strawberry compo and mascarpone. That’s what we got on the sweet side and yeah, Kim you’re right. We did get three items.

2 (16m 58s):
We got Sheila Kelly’s I think

1 (17m 0s):
and then we also got a Mexicali Benedict.

2 (17m 3s):
Oh yeah. It was really good, but they don’t all have just like Southwest inspired foods. They have other types of cuisines as well. We were just gravitating towards that, that day.

3 (17m 12s):
Oh yeah. I mean the pork belly Benedict and other stuff that they have there. Yeah. It’s hard in California. Not to give yourself towards Spanish was in because it’s so prevalent and out here

2 (17m 22s):
I’m like craving Spanish cuisine right now.

3 (17m 24s):
I say Spanish, I should say Latin American. I apologize.

1 (17m 28s):
I hear their coffee cake is really good. I know in the past that used to have samples of the coffee cake while you waited. But with COVID, that’s kind of gone away, but like Jamal said, they don’t have just Latin American style food. They have like smoked salmon hashes, which I would have gravitated towards, but Kim is not a fish eater and we really wanted it. We were so hungry. We wanted to try everything. And so I was like, okay, the best way to do that is split it. So we didn’t, we didn’t get the fish one.

2 (17m 53s):
Yeah. And they not only just had cinnamon bread or coffee cake, that’s what it was. They would give you coffee too. And it was, it was freaking amazing. Like COVID has really killed the sample game.

1 (18m 3s):
I’m hoping they eventually bring it back

2 (18m 5s):
Me to number seven on our list though, they did not offer samples. This place is Fig Tree Cafe and it’s located in north PP. And I often get this place mixed up with cafe 21 because it’s very similar vibes. It’s like indoor outdoor type of setup, super gardening, a lot of flowers and trees that make this place up. Also have a really, really cute mimosa is really cute. Cocktails. The food is amazing. You can get a half order of French toast or pancakes as well. And I do recommend doing that because you’re going to want the sweet and savory combo.

1 (18m 38s):
Yeah. Fig Tree. I’ve heard about it. Haven’t been there. It’s definitely on my list. I really want to go. And how can you go wrong with the most a flight?

2 (18m 45s):
You can’t go wrong with it. So the only time I’ve been there actually I’ve been there a couple of times, but this one time I remember we went for girls breakfast, brunch, and there, I think there was like five of us. We all got a savory dish and we all got a half order of French toast. The savory dish I got was super unique. It was breakfast. Sushi interests did not have fish on it, but they essentially made like sushi rolls out of fried rice with bacon and egg and they rolled it up and then had like this delicious little plum sauce on top. Oh my God. I could eat that right now. It sounds so good.

3 (19m 19s):
Agree.

1 (19m 20s):
This whole episode is making, I know

2 (19m 21s):
I’m suddenly starving.

3 (19m 24s):
I mean, I know what I’m supposed to be eating for dinner tonight, but I want breakfast and brunch

2 (19m 28s):
Thinking about having pancakes for dinner. There you

3 (19m 30s):
Go.

1 (19m 31s):
So number eight on our list, it is a restaurant called crushed. It’s located in Pacific beach in San Diego and they also have different types of flights. They have mimosa flights, beer flights, margarita flights, lots of flights. And they are also known for their brazer certs, which are breakfast desserts. So they have like French toast sticks, Nutella and banana pancakes, lemon, poppy, seed, pancakes, all of these really good, like desserty pancakes on their menu. And they also have a good mix of Benedict’s and brunch bites as well. So they have like flatbreads, if you go there later in the day too, and you wanted to continue your drinking game.

2 (20m 11s):
So brunch is a combination of breakfast and lunch and a lot of menus we’ll have burgers or more lunchy salads and stuff like that. Crushed has really, really good sliders. If you go for brunch or otherwise, definitely get the sliders. And yeah, the flatbreads are really good too.

3 (20m 27s):
Number nine on the list is Farmers Table. This one is a San Diego stapled. There’s multiple locations. We have some in bay park, little Italy Lamesa there are more, however, this place is known specifically for their crazy bloody Mary’s the food game. There is good too, but I’ll tell you what they are known for their bloody Mary’s here at Farmers Table.

2 (20m 49s):
They actually have a bloody Mary that comes with a whole chicken on it.

1 (20m 53s):
Yeah. I saw this on social media and I was like, I have to go to Farmers Table to check this out. And it’s called the barnyard bloody Mary it’s made for four people to split. It’s like 55 ounces. And it has all of the garnishes that has corn jalapenos, cheese tomatoes, and then they top it with an entire roast chicken.

2 (21m 12s):
That’s so great.

3 (21m 13s):
I mean, if you’re going here and splitting it for four people, like literally the garnishes are your meal with your drink. You don’t need to get anything else you can. If you’re feeling adventurous and hungry or really trying to cure the previous days, hang over. That’s why you’re getting a bloody Mary and some food at the same time, but there’s lots of good stuff here. Even if you don’t want to get the barnyard bloody Mary for four, with a whole chicken, they have an eclectic mix of other bloody Marys that are really, really good. They’re garnished game on that as still super, super solid also, but it’s not just as big and grant as the barnyard.

2 (21m 44s):
We were there not too long ago as a squad. And I got a bloody Mary that had sausage and cheese and a pepper and a bunch of other different garnishes. And as a meal only got an because I was full from all of the garnishes on the bloody Mary.

1 (21m 59s):
Yeah. You had the butcher’s block, bloody Mary.

2 (22m 1s):
I do recommend it was delicious.

1 (22m 3s):
And Jamal and I got the rage in Cajun bloody Mary, which had bacon wrapped shrimp, jalapenos, unduly, sausage, bacon, and pickled veggies also really good.

3 (22m 13s):
I love it. And you know, we’re hyping on the bloody Mary’s cause that’s what they’re known for, but they have a really good food game. Also super good omelets for Tatas pancakes, Brittany and I shared a Benedict that we really, really liked. And we went with the share game. Cause like I said, the garnish is on those bloody Mary’s sometimes are a meal in and of itself.

1 (22m 32s):
You know what was also really good there, we got the house potatoes, but we upgraded them to get them with truffle a rugala and Parmesan on top. And that was really, really good.

3 (22m 43s):
Britney loves her truffle.

2 (22m 45s):
Yeah, she does

1 (22m 46s):
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2 (22m 59s):
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2 (23m 33s):
So the last four on our list here, we’re going to take you to a classier place. We’re going to go more of the luxury with these next four because San Diego is a vacation destination and brunches big here. So these four places do brunch big.

3 (23m 50s):
Yeah. And you know, when people think brunch, they may think exactly what we’re going to talk about here with drinks kind of buffet style more. So the other ones that we mentioned are restaurants not buffet-style, but their food game is very brunch. Worthy ant is brunch. They have a good bloody Mary game or mimosa game to them. But these ones here listed are maybe what some people would define really as a brunch in the sense that buffet and your drinks.

2 (24m 15s):
So going into number 10, The Crown Room at the,

3 (24m 18s):
And that is the hotel Del Coronado. If you do not know.

1 (24m 22s):
So they’re only open on Sundays from nine 30 to one. So that’s the only time you can go. And I think you have to have reservations to be able to go, but they’re mostly known for their chilled seafood bar that they have because they’re right on the water.

2 (24m 36s):
This place is super fancy. So as you can imagine, the brunch is also going to be super fancy. They don’t just have the seafood bar. They have whole omelet station that’s standard in a brunch buffet, but they have tons of other different egg dishes. Sharkutery

1 (24m 51s):
Carved meat station. You can do customizable mimosas,

2 (24m 55s):
Endlessly,

3 (24m 56s):
Endless customizable. Mimosa is gourmet bloody Mary bar. I mean, that’s what we’re talking about. The food game and the drink game is unreal here at The Crown Room at the hotel Del Coronado, the hotel Del is a very fancy well-known hotel here in San Diego. So it has that prestigious aspect to it. And here comes the prestigious brunch that they offer.

1 (25m 18s):
They also have made the order cinnamon roll waffles. That’s making

2 (25m 23s):
Them sound so good

1 (25m 25s):
And a candy and dessert bar, Jamal and I actually fun fact, we got married right outside the hotel Del Coronado on Coronado beach and we haven’t eaten here yet, but it’s definitely on my list. I think though, it’s like over a hundred dollars per person, as we said, these are like luxury brunch places.

2 (25m 42s):
The next one is Aero Squadron. It’s similar in its fanciness and its style, but it’s a lot more affordable than the hotel Del this. One’s about 50 bucks per person and which is still a lot for a brunch. But again, it comes with all the alcohol, this delicious, amazing buffet. It is typically on the hours of around 10 to two or two 30 kind of depending on the day, but just check the website to make sure and definitely make reservations here. You know, a lot of places in San Diego don’t take reservations, which is why you have that long way. But these fancier places definitely do.

3 (26m 14s):
And they have all the fixings too. At the chef station, they have omelets, pastas, fajitas, waffles, a carving station with your roast beef and ham seafood station. The like, but what I really do like about Aero Squadron is the ambience of the place. It is nestled right along a, I don’t want to say private airport, but an airport for small personal planes, right? It’s not for commercial aspects or anything like that. So the theming of the restaurant and on the outside, it looks like an old style like English building made of like bricks and stones and its walls are covered in Ivy that had growing up to the top. So it has almost a really European book vibe to the building itself, right along the airport.

3 (26m 55s):
You could see the planes coming and going, but again, not commercial aircraft, private aviation, but adds to the whole experience

1 (27m 1s):
And fun fact. This place turns into a nightclub at night.

2 (27m 4s):
They get down at night,

1 (27m 6s):
Down at night.

3 (27m 7s):
It’s all those people don’t fly in at the airport. They come in and pardon. Now

2 (27m 11s):
There are a tons of stations here. They have your chef’s station with omelets and pastas, but heaters, waffles. They literally take the breakfast and the lunch very seriously here. Carving station seafood station, everything else you’d imagine between eggs and potatoes. And I am so hungry thinking about this place. We were like this close to actually going here a couple of weeks ago, we went to Farmers Table. Instead,

1 (27m 35s):
We’re going to have to put this on our list to go.

2 (27m 37s):
I’m deciding this right now. If I don’t go on a trip for my birthday, I’m doing Sunday brunch. Ooh. And you were invited. Oh,

3 (27m 46s):
Thank you.

1 (27m 47s):
Thanks for the invite. Kim. Number 12 on our list is The Westgate Hotel. And this place is a great place for brunch. It’s inside a hotel.

2 (27m 59s):
The hotel is very nice to extremely nice hotel.

3 (28m 3s):
It’s a AAA four diamond rated hotel in downtown San Diego.

2 (28m 7s):
Like the inside looks like you’re in a palace. It has this gorgeous staircase that goes up. Everything looks like European old style, just over the top luxury,

3 (28m 17s):
But don’t worry. You do not need to be a hotel guest here to enjoy the brunch.

1 (28m 21s):
The brush is about $65 per person, and that includes champagne. But most of bloody Mary’s margarita has. And at your seating area, you have these fancy China platings to put your food on. So you just feel like you’re eating and luxury.

3 (28m 33s):
I feel like royalty when you’re in there with that type of China, that’s brought to your plate. You’re like, Ooh, what is this? I’m fancy. Now

2 (28m 39s):
It looks like royalty in just to give you an idea of the massive size of this buffet. There is an entire room dedicated to desserts and they will make you whatever crepes you want me to order and mini donuts,

1 (28m 55s):
Mini donuts,

2 (28m 56s):
Mini donut station.

3 (28m 58s):
They have a lot of good stuff here, Brittany and I really enjoyed our brunch experience. That’s the, The Westgate. If you’ve been to the brunch at west gate to

2 (29m 4s):
So fun fact, I am a member of a gym called that is connected to The Westgate Hotel. So the pool is the same. I walked through the lobby every single day. When I go to the gym, I see the brunch. I drill at the brunch, but I’ve never had the brunch,

1 (29m 21s):
Oh, you need to have

3 (29m 22s):
This. One’s a really good one. This may be a good place for that potential on your birthday. If you don’t do something, Kim it’s really, really good. And they have a good mix of all types of cuisine ranging from, you know, seafood carving stations like Kim was saying to the made to order crepes and many donuts when you’re ready for that sweet aspect after savory and again, traditional brunch, champagne, mimosas, bloody Marys. Margie’s you got it. All right.

2 (29m 48s):
No. And the most recent price that we’ve seen is about 65 bucks, which is, sounds pretty reasonable for how much you get. And then just like the luxurious status of the place. They also do afternoon tea here, which is really cute. Oh wow. And this is a contender for me to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. You guys, aren’t going to be here to have your normal Thanksgiving dinner and my mom’s in town and wants to do a restaurant. So this may be where I actually spend Thanksgiving, not a brunch buffet, but Thanksgiving buffet.

1 (30m 16s):
What’s funny is when we went, we went for Easter. We spent a holiday at The Westgate herself.

2 (30m 22s):
Nice, nice

3 (30m 23s):
Last, but certainly not least on our list here of the top 13 places to get brunch and San Diego is Humphreys by the bay. This one is another San Diego classic. You talk to any local. They know of Humphreys by the bay. If you can’t tell by the name it’s by the bay, it’s on the water. So it gives you that environment and aspect going forward. Also, you’re sitting there, you’re looking across the bay. You can see downtown. It just adds to the whole ambience. But being that it’s on the bay Humphreys is more centered around the seafood. Not to say that there’s not other non seafood options here, but the fresh seafood game at Humphreys is on point.

2 (31m 0s):
Zayna used to always talk about this place. And I think there’s an empty promise of her taking you on your birthday, dinner, birthday, Brooklyn.

3 (31m 9s):
It was an empty promise. We just ended up doing something else, Brittany and I ourselves. And so why never got taken by

2 (31m 16s):
Her

3 (31m 17s):
For my

2 (31m 17s):
Birthday yet?

3 (31m 19s):
I finish unfulfilled at this point, but it wasn’t a broken promise.

2 (31m 22s):
Okay. Yes, yes. That’s exactly right. But Dana would hype this place up. She said there was usually someone playing piano there that she recommends you take an Uber or Lyft because the mimosas are free flowing. And you’re going to get a little fucked up.

3 (31m 35s):
I mean, if the mimosas are free flowing out of brunch place or any drink, why should you not? I mean, that’s the extreme, I’m not saying go there, get wasted. That shouldn’t be necessarily. Yeah. You don’t want to be like those people that got kicked out at a Third Corner, right? Yeah. But you do want to enjoy yourself, but you want to enjoy yourself responsibly. Of course.

2 (31m 52s):
Yes, absolutely. And that was 13, but there was two others I wanted to give an honorable mention to. We did not put morning glory on our list. And the reason is because it’s on every single list. You’re going to see out there on San Diego brunches and it’s worth it. Extremely cute inside. The food is amazing. The way is extremely long. There are no reservations. You will definitely see this one on your list. If you can make it, go ahead and go. And the other one is called Breakfast and bubbles. It just opened. It’s so cute inside. There’s like flowers all over every single section of the wall that you can see. They have a champagne vending machine. It looks really cute. I’m dying to go, but I haven’t made it there yet.

1 (32m 30s):
Yeah. I’ve seen both of those on Instagram. I haven’t been to either of them, but they both look really cute. The ambiance at both of them looks amazing. And I think breakfast and bubbles, what a cute name to their restaurant

2 (32m 42s):
And brunch is not just about the food or the drinks. It is also about the vibe. Like, are they playing music? How has it decorated? What are the servers like? Like I just don’t want to go somewhere and eat food. I can go to McDonald’s and do that. I want a whole brunch experience. And San Diego really does brunch. Well,

3 (32m 59s):
Any final thoughts or last little tidbits that you ladies want to throw in here about our list? Are those honorable mentions?

2 (33m 5s):
I mean, that covers it all. I’m starving. I can’t say another word about brunch.

3 (33m 10s):
All right. Well with that, I think it’s time for a questions of the week.

2 (33m 20s):
Question number one, coming in is asking, would you rather do brunch or dinner while on a trip?

3 (33m 26s):
That is a very, very tough question. If you’re coming to someplace like San Diego that is known for its brunch locations and food, then I would say brunch, but quite honestly, my personal preference, I would say is going to be dinner as much as I enjoy and love a brunch. And the reason for that is sometimes in the morning, if you’re going to do a brunch, it takes a lot of time and depending on where you’re going and what you’re doing, that could be a whole block of your morning and early afternoon gone already. So I would say dinner and as much as I love breakfast, food love me some dinner, food. I’ll get seafood later. Then if I can’t do it for breakfast at brunch, right,

1 (34m 1s):
True. I would have to agree with Jamal on that. Like I do love brunch and I do experience it mostly here in San Diego. When we’re out on trips, usually our trips are pretty packed. And so we’re on the go. And brunch does take a long time, especially if you don’t have reservation somewhere. So personally, I do like to splurge a little bit more on dinner when I’m traveling, but in San Diego, brunch game is strong.

2 (34m 24s):
I think in San Diego, if you’re taking a trip here, I would choose brunch over dinner. But on other places, I think it depends on if you can incorporate the brunch into experiencing the destination. So say in Austin, we had brunch in a restaurant that looked over the river. The river’s beautiful. You want to see the river? It’s, it’s part of the attraction of being there. So spending brunch, there was amazing. You know, you want to take pictures and food was good. So if it makes sense to get the vibe of where you’re going, then hell yeah, brunch,

3 (34m 56s):
Right? And for that San Diego list here, Humphreys by the bay gives you great views on the water. San Diego is known for the water. You have used the downtown, the hotel Del Coronado famous attraction here in San Diego, let alone the United States. It’s a historical building and registered as such. So brunch in a classic hotel that has so much history. I mean, I agree with you if it makes the experience because it’s part of that location then absolutely.

2 (35m 23s):
A lot of these places we’ve listed are in neighborhoods that you want to explore. So downtown where The Westgate is or morning glories and little Italy. So the thing to do in that neighborhood is go to restaurants and drink. So brunch makes perfect. So

1 (35m 37s):
Question number two is what is the most unique brunch experience you’ve had while traveling, If you like, this is a really hard question. I don’t know if I’ve had a crazy or most unique brunch experience per se. But what we have had is we have done high tea kind of in the brunch hours. And I feel like that kind of counts as a unique experience. We’ve done it in Victoria, Canada at the emperor’s hotel. Amazing. And we also did it in London

3 (36m 8s):
At Claridges, which is a very famous place to have high tea. Winston Churchill himself used to have his high tea at Claridges hotel. Yes, yes. And so like we were saying brunch, I mean, we talked about a lot of sweet food and stuff and eggs and scrambles, but brunch has always savory. And if you do the high tea, I would have to agree with Brittany. I’m trying to think of places while traveling. And I can’t accept for that. The height he always has, like the sandwiches, the scones, all those little orders and snacks. So I would say, yeah, that is the closest experience that we’ve done while traveling that’s been really grand. Otherwise it’s been localized.

2 (36m 43s):
Yeah. I also agree. My most unique brunch in quotes experience would be ordering room servers and having breakfast in bed in a robe, in a hotel. Ooh, that is some travel luxury right there. I love that. All right, everybody, if you’re coming to San Diego and you need even more brunch recommendations than this, just message us on Instagram at Travel Squad Podcast. And we will get back to you with our recommendations, but thank you so much for tuning into this episode this week, keep the adventures going with us and send us in your questions. We can answer them next week for you.

3 (37m 18s):
If you found the information in this episode to be useful, or if you thought we were just playing funny, please be sure to share it with a friend that you know, would enjoy it too. And as always, please subscribe, rate and review our podcast and tune in every travel Tuesday for new episodes,

1 (37m 32s):
Stay tuned for next week’s episode, we have some more amazing adventures and tips in store for you.