Dining in Cardiff – Pipes Cafe

Cardiff by the Sea
We read about Pipe’s Cafe in a magazine a while ago and since we have be in Carlsbad two people have recommended it. Pipe’s Cafe is in Cardiff (the locals never say the ‘by the sea’ part) and since it was on our way to the USS Midway in San Diego we stopped in for breakfast on the way. 

Cheap, fast and friendly
If the styrofoam plates, plastic cutlery, plastic tables and chairs and vibrant colored exterior do not say ‘surf shack’ the friendly ‘surfer’ staff and the surf boards hanging from the ceiling certainly do. You place your order from a large hanging board and pay at the counter. Two cooks are visible frying eggs and meat in large frying pans nearby which is quickly delivered to your table. There is an outdoor coffee bar on the patio where you can order and pay for a cappuccino, espresso and more also whipped up by friendly laid-back staff. The restaurant is only open from 7am to 3pm daily so focuses on mainly breakfast with a small lunch menu. And did I mention that everything is very cheap.

This is the colorful exterior of the Cardiff location (there is also a location in San Clemente). There is a good size patio but no view, you are looking onto the road and a mall parking lot. 

 Jeff ordered the Combo – Pancakes, Bacon and Scrambled Eggs ($5.35). There must have been 4 eggs scambled on the plate and two large pancakes. A huge breakfast for the price and pretty good tasting. 

I ordered a Breakfast Burrito ($5.25). Again there was tons of filling – eggs, avocado, cheese pico sauce and sausage. I tried but did not finish the whole thing. Other breakfast items include french toast, combos and scrambles.

It was warm enough to eat outside (with a jacket) and we enjoyed watching the delivery trucks trying to get in and out of the mall parking lot across the street. 

There is a full coffee bar on the patio. Sadly, it was only coffee and no tea lattes so I did not get to give it a try. Again it was cheap with both small and large version for under $3. 

Nothing fancy but good, cheap food with fast and very friendly service. Laid back and fun. What more could you want for breakfast?

Jeff & Tara Ciecko of CK Golf Solutions write two blogs on their website, one is their 19th Hole Blog where they share personal experiences and the Biz Blog where they share business best practices and golf industry related opinions. They have owned CK Golf Solutions for 5 years and provide marketing, social media and business services to the golf and other industries.