Hill Street Cafe & Gallery

My husband and I were only in town for a night and we managed to eat here twice it was that good!!!
Dinner was excellent with him getting the potato burrito and I got the avocado burrito. They were filling but yet still light. The vegan cupcake and banana bread were the perfect texture and sweetness for dessert!
We came back for breakfast the next morning and it still didn’t disappoint. With the extremely friendly and efficient staff, excellent local and organic food, and the beautiful art décor this place is well worth the stop!

The surfers delight is a delicious coffee drink. Must get it. The vegan cupcakes are incredible, out of this world, fantastic. I am not a vegan, but boy, these are amazing. Their chipotle salsa is awesome as well. I ordered the Cajun chick sandwich and it was delicious as well. The atmosphere was very relaxed, a very beach cottage feels. Their whole menu is served all day, so you will have plenty of choices to find something you like, with vegan and vegetarian options as well. The only downside is that parking sucks. But it’s definitely a cute little shop– a must try in Oceanside.

I absolutely love this place! They always have farm fresh ingredients and tons of options to choose from for vegetarians and meat eaters alike!
If you get the guacamole, it comes with feta cheese on top which may sound bizarre but it is quite the combination!
This is the quintessential beach type restaurant so don’t try to rush because the servers are definitely on beach time.
They have smoothies and burritos, what more could you ask for? Outdoor seating? Yup they have that too though the view is of the street so nothing spectacular but they do have a breeze!!!

I live in east county San Diego and I try to make it up to the Hill Street café any chance I get! I’ve liked everything I’ve gotten from them. I’m not vegetarian, but I do try to cut meat and poultry from my diet. I highly recommend trying the vegetarian options here, you will be pleasantly surprised. People complain that there is a lack of flavor in the food, but I think it’s because they don’t over power the food with heavy ingredients so you really can taste the components. If you want food that is masked by strong flavors so you can’t taste the quality, you won’t find that here (better luck at Denny’s). This place is simple, transparent and wholesome and to me that is more important.

Overall a crushing disappointment. It was $ 12.50 for a tiny kale salad with added avocado which was just insulting. The Far East squash noodles lacked flavor (needed lime and salt) and came in a shallow bowl the width of a small cantaloupe. My partner had to order a side of home potatoes which came lukewarm and also required salt. We tried to add the house hot sauce but again bland bland bland. I never got a refill on my water and left a sad and still moderately hangry panda.

I love this place every time I come. Food is great and the service is good. However, I don’t understand why they don’t have omelette on the menu. It’s so simple to make and when I requested it I was told the chef was not trained to make an omelette.. really?

If I could give this place a negative star rating I would. Food was terrible, staff was indifferent, and management didn’t care. Thank goodness Mary’s and Don’s still rock the Oceanside breakfast scene!

The location is not very convenient with no clear parking area. We parked on the street across from the restaurant (a very busy street), forcing us to walk either a ways down to a crosswalk or just dash across, depending on how hungry you are (hint: the place looks like a house).
I arrived with the rest of my party already seated, but no one greeted me or asked if I wanted to be seated. I just called my party and had to find them. The waitress who helped us was extremely rushed. We were going through our drink orders, and when my dad hesitated on his order she right away insisted she would be back after taking more orders. But overall, she was pretty efficient given her work load.
The food was pretty good. I got the fruit platter with granola. Their fruit I was told was fresh, but several of the cherries did not taste great at all (I believe one was moldy).
The overall vibe was good, but I think showing up on a Sunday morning was our downfall because service was just okay. Willing to try it again, perhaps at a later time.

to say the least, a little gem! I love this place and come here when I’m in town.
Today, I ordered the fruit platter and it the selection was to die for:
— watermelon
— mango
— grapes
— strawberries
— bananas
— raisins
It also included an English toast and I got a side order egg.
The Mexican Hot Chocolate with almond milk was just heaven!

Excellent experience
Ordered the turkey soup bowl which was homemade and delicious. The Wayno cold compressed drink wasn’t strong in taste but very balanced with flavor. The expresso shot for 1.25 hit the spot
Short on staff today. I walked into a clean bathroom. I got greeted by the by the counter. It took some time to order but that only encouraged me to do work on my phone. Food came out quickly. It wasn’t a hard order. Expresso shot came late, so I encourage others to be patient and remind your server.
My order was worth the wait

Been coming here for three years and the quality of food and service has decreased over time.
Most recently I got the turkey burger which had a paddie about the size of small child’s hand and minimal toppings. Five stale chips and a few crumbs were tossed into the bag. This is not the first time it’s happened and each time it’s brought to their attention nothing changes. Save your money and give your business to someone who values it.

I love this place, a bit of San Fransico in Oceanside, great organic food, green certified and live music Thursday-​Saturday

Came to here to grab a cup of chili and two lattés and I was charged for a bowl and higher prices for the drinks. I don’t appreciate how the waiter or owner took the order without writing it down. Not really sure why you would charge significantly more than the price on the menu but I should not have paid twenty dollars for what I ordered. It wasn’t worth the price, the chili was luke warm.
My friend is vegan and ordered the vegan chilli and falafel burrito and it wasn’t good, it lacked flavor. Her chai latte tasted like anise without spice.
I’m not exactly sure how this place scored four stars. I encourage everyone to check their bill closely before they pay since they up charged two of our drinks, could have spent our money else where.

I like this place a lot. The food is simple and tasty. They have a ton of different choices and variety is the spice of life so I’m all about that. I love the juices they serve as well as the extensive vegan options. I will say that the menu is not limited to vegetarian options so meat-​lovers don’t be afraid. I usually get this burrito that’s filled with garlic mashed potatoes, spinach, feta, tomatoes, hummus, and onions. I ask them to add sriracha sauce. It’s the bomb :)

This review is based off the customer service and quality of food. I was disappointed when I arrived to pay for my food, as I had called in an order, when I approached the desk in a very annoyed tone of voice the cashier asked me «what I wanted». I told him I was there to pay for an order I called in earlier and he was immediately perturbed at that response as if he did not want to be bothered. Fix your attitude please. If you don’t want to deal with people you should have never got into the restaurant business to begin with. The wait was very long too for an order that I called in ahead of time.
Now the food was very little and poorly put together. Expensive too! I paid $ 21 for two items! Taste was mediocre. I do not recommend.

Stoked that this place has so many vegetarian options and even some vegan options. Friendly staff. Nice view of highway 101 facing towards the Ocean. Can’t go wrong for breakfast/​lunch. They serve some local beers also.

It was very average. I loved the atmosphere. Very cute. But the food was just okay. I got steak and eggs. The steak was EXTREMELY overcooked. The toast was very good though, and the pressed juice is awesome. Over all cute place but not so great food.

I have eaten here many times now, and I have come to one inescapable conclusion: they don’t prepare a dish the same way twice. Each time, the finished product is different. No cheese this time, carrot cake instead of cornbread, this fish instead of that fish, etc. It’s just one of those quirky little things about Hill Street that you come to know and appreciate.
A few of my favorites: turkey chili, vegan chili, seafood bowl, avocado burrito, sweet chili tofu and more.
Their menu is huge, including a comprehensive breakfast menu.
On Thursday nights, there is open mic, so you can go and sit outdoors under the stars and listen to live music while you eat/​drink. No cover charge .
Enjoy!

Man where do I start? To put it simply, the service was by far the worst I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure if it’s because we were outside and had to wait for the last person to show up but man…
We got there on a Saturday around 8. We wanted to sit inside but it was SO HOT in there. We went outside but had to wait for the last person in our party to show up. The guy came out twice asking if we were ready and I think he got frustrated and decided to just stop coming out. When our friend finally showed up we had to go inside to ask to order. We didn’t order until 845… and they closed at 9. Luckily they were nice to let us eat there still. But our friend who showed up late asked for a water and table set, both of which she never got. Our water cups weren’t even refilled once. I had ordered a beer and I never got it… we didn’t even end up leaving until almost 10. Every time we needed something we actually had to go inside and ask someone for help. One time I went in to ask for the check and I walked in and all the servers just stared at me and kept talking.
The food couldn’t even make up for it, we all thought it was just ok.
At the end of the night the guy came and apologized and said they had a party of 30 come in and were short staffed. I’m sorry, but if you don’t have the staff for that then don’t take the party in.

Pros:
* an amazing Mexican mocha
* lots of great food
* fun casual atmosphere
* friendly staff
* clean well maintained restrooms
* great local art to view and for sale
* an organic Green Certified restaurant
* great location
* weekly free open mic events featuring local talent
* easy to navigate website
Cons:
* parking can be a challenge when they are busy
* their website menu is outdated (the menu states, «…we have the best sushi bar…» and they did! But the sushi bar has been closed for more than a year.
Overview:
I have been coming to the Hill Street Café and Gallery for at least a decade. It is located in Oceanside right along HWY 101 in an amazing old Victorian house built in 1888. The house is a historic landmark known as the Weitzel house and it is simply gorgeous. In fact, the first reason that I stopped at the café was because I wanted a chance to see the inside of it.
The food and the people at Hill Street are fantastic. I try to stop in at the café as often as I can, just to relax and enjoy a cup of their Mexican mocha — which has become my favorite coffee drink. For a long time there was a sushi shop across the garden patio from the main café which had some of the best sushi creations in North County. However, it closed and in its place is a Chinese cuisine restaurant that I’m anxious to try.
As to their menu? I have been working my way through menu on a culinary sojourn, trying a new dish every time I get a chance to stop in. The problem that I’m running into is that with each new item that I try, I fall in love with it ~ and kind fell like I’m cheating on the other menu items.
Besides the Mexican mocha (which is made with Ibarra chocolate and cinnamon syrup) my all time favorite dish at the café is the Super Fish Sandwich. Grilled just right, never over cooked, it is topped with avocado, your choice of fish, cheese and seasoning all put together on a foccacia roll — I always get mine with salmon and the Cajun seasoning.
Not to be overlooked, the café also has a great kid’s menu — filled with great food with fun names that are sure to please the youngest visitor.