Brians’ American Eatery

NEW LOCTAION
Lil B’s Restaurant
2611 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, California 92 104

So when I heard this place was closing down temporarily I thought it would have re-​opened by now but that is clearly not the case.
I only had the chance to eat here once so I’m gauging my rating just off the one visit earlier this year.
Ordered the chicken and waffles and was impressed with how crispy and nicely battered their bird was. Waffles were thick and fluffy and tasted good. I like how they serve you half a chicken and for once I actually left a place with left overs to grub on later. Almost as good as Roscoe’s and that’s on some real ish.

I just heard that Brian’s will be reopening as «Lil B’s.» The location is the site of the defunct Johnny R’s on El Cajon Blvd next to the Chicken Pie Shop.
I’m not sure when they’re going to open, but I’ll be there.

CLOSED AS OF JUNE 20, 2012.
So sad when I saw they were closing… I had a draft saved that I hadn’t finished. :-(And I didn’t get a chance to have a last meal there.
Breakfast all day, HUGE menu. CA Benedict, San Francisco spinach salad. Sampler platter (only $ 13.99) has potato skins, toasted ravioli, onion rings, jalapeño poppers, onion rings, mozzarella sticks & chicken tenders. (see my pic:
)
I always got great service here and really enjoyed the food. Thanks Brians!

CLOSED!!! NOOOO!!!
I’ve been in San Diego for over 13 years… and now that I’ve finally eaten here a few weeks ago… I find out its CLOSED now! :(
$ 10.59 Chicken N Waffles here is/​was EPIC! An entire half fried chicken: wing, drumstick, thigh, and breast. Its even better than the Colonel Sander’s! With the giant Belgian waffle and butter and syrup combined, this was an awesome fatty meal!
Uuuugggghh, now its no more! Where else can I get Chicken N Waffles in San Diego?

Brian’s American Eatery, it’s not just drunk food anymore. With that being said it’s still really good drunk food.
I have been here dozens of times and I am really a bit shocked that Brian’s doesn’t have at least 4 stars! This place is a great choice for a weekend recovery breakfast but also has some pretty epic lunch and dinner creations. Yeah, I’ve had a few and they have all been pretty good. NBD.
The menu is HUGE just like the serving sizes! If you can’t find something that cures your sticky hunger pains then there must be something wrong especially with 100 plus items on the menu. I will jump around this bible sized selection a bit but I must admit that I come here 90% of the time specifically for the chicken and waffles. Crispy chicken and lots of it! The waffles are soft and serve as the perfect vehicle for the chicken once covered in butter, syrup and hot sauce. You will not regret it when you decide to try this and quickly realize why it is a Brian’s staple. They are not in the league of Roscoe’s but let’s face it, who is? Besides that… I don’t want to drive 100 miles in LA traffic anyway.
One thing I will recommend is to sit at the bar if it is just you and one or two other people. You will learn all the good gossip going on in Hillcrest and there is plenty of it. You will be laughing your a$$ off half the time not only by the stories that you will casually hear from the crazy couple next to you but also from the tales that the staff will tell you. You also get a close up look at the servers making the milkshakes and sundaes. I’m not really a desert person but after watching them craft one of those bad boys you can’t resist and it’s the perfect end to a meal that you probably couldn’t finish anyway.

Brian’s American Eatery is awesome. It’s in an old converted diner straight out of the 60s, and serves American comfort food with some Southern influences.
I came in very early on a Saturday morning, and ordered the biscuits and gravy. The portions were pretty huge. My poached eggs were cooked perfectly and the service was great. It came with grits as well; slightly soupy but no lumps.
They run specials every day of the week. I definitely have to come back and try a few other items on the menu.

I’m a bit of a diner diva. Although I work in the health field, I’ll be first to admit that I love to splurge every once in a while and enjoy home-​cooked American diner fare. After staffing a booth talking about health issues for about five hours at the Earth Day Festival in Balboa Park, my friend Lisa and I were dehydrated and famished. Everything on Park Blvd was inaccessible due to crazy Earth Day traffic and so we headed north to Brian’s.
Even though we arrived after 1:30 p.m. there was still a list going, but were seated in a booth in 10 minutes. We downed a couple of ice waters and then I asked for a cup of coffee. And oh the coffee! Brian’s has the perfect diner coffee that satisfies that middle-​ground between bold and mild, like that moment of complete comfort in a conversation with a good friend where you lose track of time and everything just gels. Lisa wasn’t going to order any but once that carafe was on the table she just had to get a cup. It’s that good.
Breakfast was on my mind so I had the buckwheat pancakes with blueberries and wheat germ, along with two eggs over medium and bacon. I carefully poured syrup over half of the giant stack of delicious pancakes and was able to bring half home, which served as a light breakfast for Chun P. and me the next morning. Lisa ordered the BLT, which all my Jewish friends love these for some reason, perhaps ELBD? (Early-​Life Bacon Deprivation) and a small salad. Veggies were crisp and she said her sandwich was good.
I was a little heartbroken coming home when Chun P. said, «Did you get the chicken and waffles?» I hadn’t even noticed that on the menu! Dang it! Good thing I’m taking a couple of days off from work for vacation next week so I can drop in and try them!
PS — Brian’s has fantastic music, Lisa and I even crooned along to a couple of 80s favorites. The staff is great too. Okay, I’ll admit it, I have a crush on Brian’s. xoxo

Chicken fried steak — bomb! Service was pretty good. We were forgotten a couple of times with drink refills but it was pretty busy so I forgive our server.
All in all, it’s a nice place to come with your family and feel comfortable. They have a really extensive menu that I can’t wait to explore again the next time I’m there. Everything sounds sooo good!
I can’t remember what my daughter got — probably a burger, but I know she liked it.

Brians is very much comparable to Studio Diner, but with a different menu. They have an extensive breakfast menu which is awesome cuz I LOVE places that are 24 hours! (:
We ordered the chicken and waffles, a stuffed croissant, and mini corn dogs. and the drum roll please.
— chicken and waffles: 2 thick waffles, 4 pieces of chicken (leg, thigh, breast, and wing). The waffles are yummy, and I thought the chicken was dry, but maybe it was the piece I had cuz the guys loved it!
— stuffed croissant: this thing is NO JOKE! I don’t remember the name of what I got, but it had asparagus in it, and what seemed like 3 – 4 scrambled eggs. The portion was HUGE. and it came with potatoes and fruit as well. I barely finished my croissant and never made it to finish anything else. haha.
— mini corn dogs are the PERFECT bite size portion, and are super yummy! I’d order them again, again, and again :)
The service is great here! The parking lot is small, so you might have to drive around the block a bit if you can’t find a spot. I’d definitely pick this place over a Denny’s if I’m nearby!

I’ve been to Brians probably 30 – 50 times, which should tell you something.
My favorites are things like Chicken Fried Steak, Meatloaf, the typical comfort foods. Brians seems to do a great job with those types of meals, tasty, served hot and friendly service.
It’s when I explore the menu and try something like an unusual sandwich is where things can go wrong, so I don’t do that anymore.
Breakfasts, dinner and Specials are the things to stick with. Ask the servers and they will usually steer you in the right direction. Brians is great to go to with a group of people and get a booth. The menu is big and varied enough that everyone will find something they like.

I have only been here twice. The first time I left with such a full belly. I just wanted someone to roll me out. I shared the chicken n waffles. Good thing my mom wanted to share cause holy crap they give you a ton of food. I can’t complain on bit about the chicken n waffles. The chicken was fried to perfection. I am not a huge fan of chicken on the bones but the pieces were big so it had plenty of white chicken on it to pull off. The waffle had a little crunch to it. The combo was oh so good! I have never tried chicken n waffles. I was missing out. I highly recommend. We dared to get dessert after our meal. I’m not a huge fan of apple pie but the apple a la mode sounded good. It reminded me of the hot apple pies from Mc Donald’s but with ice cream, whip cream and some caramel sauce. So delish! Try it.
The second time around I wanted to try one of their egg dishes. So I went with a veggie style omelet. It was freaking huge with lots of swiss cheese melted on it. It came with some red potatoes, and a biscuit. The omelet was a little bland. Good thing I ordered a side of bacon. (extra $) But the biscuit and potatoes were good. So was the bacon. I probably won’t ordered that omelet again.
I did try some of my moms chili that was good. They give you a huge bowl of it. With lots of cheese melted on top.
The place is open till late during the week and 24hr on the weekends. They serve breakfast all day so that’s great. They actually have a huge menu of stuff to pick from. Both times I have gone service was good and quick. You can tell they regulars come in. You can just about order any kind of food there. They keep the place clean and the customers happy and full :)

One of the first things I noticed upon walking into Brian’s was sign that says «during busy times, please limit seating to only an hour.» Now I understand this sign; Brian’s seems to be a pretty busy place, and they have limited all of their indoor seating to booths. I was not a huge fan of this sign, though – it made me feel sort of unwelcome.
My food was good. I ordered an omelet with bacon, avocado and cheese. I was really impressed with the amount of avocado in this – it almost made it worth the $ 11 or so price.
The services was meh. I feel like the service kind of goes along with the aforementioned sign.
I would go back (actually, I have been back) – they’re open late, and the food is good. But, the food isn’t fantastic, and I think the prices are a bit high for what it is. It does have an impressive Christmas light display up for the holidays, though.

I love Brians’! GIANT portions, friendly and very fast service, and a super cute vibe.
Their stuffed croissants are to die for, as is their flakey, buttery biscuit. I love that they leave the pot of coffee at your table so that you never run out. Their banana split and ice cream sundaes are the biggest you’ll see anywhere, and very tasty.
Whenever I’m in the area, I always have to stop and get breakfast at Brians’!

Love at first waffle.
Brians knows how to cook up some good olé American comfort food.
Come hungry (portions are huge), your belly will thank you!
My friend had The mushroom caps with cheese. They served up in a 70’s mini crock pot thing, Kind of what you would expect french onion soup served in. Points for nostalgia!
My belgium waffle was perfectly cooked, slightly crispy, but fluffy and delicious on the inside. I’m not sure whats different about the syrup here, but it almost has a vanilla aroma and taste to it. I used entirely too much for my waffle, but I was in heaven.

Came here for breakfast with a friend and we even used a
coupon, but I still thought it was rather pricey.
The dining room is your typical diner – style but with turquoise booths. They had patio seating so we opted for that instead — a great choice, until someone decided to light up a cigarette and ruin my breakfast.
I got the Californian Benedict — pretty much an eggs benedict but with avocado slices while friend had the typical pancake, sausage, scrambled eggs breakfast.
My benedict was huge, and I mean huge, but I was starving and I managed to polish it off. The hollandaise wasn’t the best I’d ever had, it was at a point where it wasn’t all smooth and I could see the oils were on the verge of separating but not quite. It tasted fine though.
The poached eggs were also pretty well done. The huge piece of ham on top was overkill but hey, at least they’re not stingy on it.
My friend’s pancakes were the buckwheat kind with cinnamon and apples. I liked how they incorporated the cinnamon and apples INTO the pancake batter and then cooked them rather than just toss the cinnamon and apples in as an afterthought.
Our breakfasts, plus an OJ — oh they will tell you it is freshly squeezed but I think they meant freshly squeezed a la Tropicana not freshly squeezed a mano by someone there — and an iced tea, after a $ 10 coupon from
and it was still about $ 26, tax and tip included… which meant originally it would’ve been close to $ 40.
Not sure I’d return again but I mean the food was okay. Nothing to shout about but it wasn’t bad, not in the least. But it definitely was expensive for diner food.

It was midnight and I needed substance to soak up my cranberry vodkas. My head was splitting in two, so I thought some breakfast food may cure the pre-​hangover…
For midnight, this place was busy. We were led to a booth and was assisted by Charlie. Sweetest server and gave great customer service.
We ended up splitting the Christine’s Favorite (Stuffed Croissant) with eggs, sausage, and Swiss cheese ($ 10.50). Portion was generous and it also came with Fruit and and Potatoes O’Brian.
I didn’t care for the potatoes nor some of the fruit, but munched on the stuffed croissant. Average, and I was satisfied.
Although I passed out once I got back in the car, the food did relieve SOME of the hangover the following morning…

I did something extraordinary last night: I ate at Brian’s without a lick of alcohol in my bloodstream. Crazy, huh? And you know what’s even crazier? The food was pretty darn good, and I was stone sober. Color me surprised!
Monday is all-​you-​can-​eat fried chicken night. As much artery clogging, cholesterol rising, pain-​shooting-​down-​your-​left-​arm comfort goodness you can handle for the low price of $ 14.95. Throw in a Belgium waffle, some syrup, Louisiana hot sauce… and you have yourself one hell of a tasty food coma!

I got the «Egg”-ceptional dish with potatoes on the bottom, amazing veggie works on top such as asparagus, broccoli, and such, with a bit of feta, topped with 2 over easy eggs, and a buttermilk biscuit. It was full of flavor so I didn’t have to add any hot sauce. That’s usually the case with feta though.
Our waiter was a sweetheart. I made 2 substitutions for the dish above, switching out the cheeses and adding more veggies and he gladly changed it to my liking.
Great diner environment with outdoor seating. The parking lot is so small though.
They seem to have more healthier and more special items compared to the other common breakfast places.

There is nothing better than a night out on the town in the company of fun peoples. Well, there may be a couple of funner things, but they’re not relevant to this thread. Keepin’ it focused… and PG, y’all.
After dropping off a couple of sauced, exhausted, friends, Batman and I parked in the last space in the diner lot and strolled through the glass doors. Brians’ was bustling at the wee hours of the morning. We were greeted by one of the friendly servers who offered their countertop seating because all of the inside tables/​booths were occupied and we didn’t want to sit outside.
The menu is impressive, massive even, like a Cheesecake Factory menu book. Batman’s selection: steak [well done] and eggs [sunny side up], with wheat toast and a side of potatoes
. My choice… oh yeah! the Hungry Bear: Three eggs [over medium], a slice of ham, sausage patty, two strips of bacon, with potatoes, and two biscuits & gravy
. On the bear scale, I’m a little Brown cub in comparison to the towering Grizzlies and Kodiaks I’ve seen, but tonight, this cub’s appetite is unrivaled. My tummyRAWR would not be denied.
Everything on my plate was all diner good, and filled the belly rather nicely. Unfortunately, if this were a food challenge, I would have failed. I didn’t sample any of Batman’s food, but the steak looked tasty and he said it was delicious.
Brians’ is a cool eatery, with an extensive list of menu offerings and friendly diner service. If you’re starving, to load up on breakfast, or want to sample different items on the plate with a friend or two, then give the Hungry Bear a try.
Now I must hibernate because it’s 4am… no wait, daylight savings time… it’s 3am. That was fun. let’s do that again :)

come here for lunch the other day and got a burger, medium rare and my friend got the Reuben.
the first problem was this was the first time i’ve ever been here SOBER! and i ain’t ever gonna do that again. my burger was gray, the fries had that horrible orange colored seasoning on them — swear to god i never noticed before — thank god for alcohol! pretty much the only good thing about the lunch was our waitress — she was great.
so i guess i’ll be back when i’m so bombed the food tastes good and all the patrons are hot!!! (not that they’re not already!)