Home Plate Cafe

tired of walking? stop in this place. take a breather and get the burger. pretty juicy and recharges you for the rest of your trip in balboa park.

Beware! They put tips on your credit card when you don’t. I stopped in to get a caramel macchiato drink that costs $ 4 and charged it. When I checked my bank statement it said $ 7.I called and asked to speak to manager and asked how much a caramel macchiato is and she said $ 4.I told her I was charged $ 7.She looked through the receipts and found mine and tried to say that the guy must have accidentally added someone else’s tip to my receipt. She apologized and asked if I wanted a free item or the money returned on my statement, I wanted it returned since it’s not likely I’d be in that area anytime soon. It’s been over 2 weeks and the money has not returned. Maybe I shouldn’t have been nice about the whole thing and maybe they would have cared a little more about doing the right thing. I was a server for many years and you don’t just add a tip to the wrong receipt. Check your accounts if you dine here, they steal your money!!!

This café is delicious! The food is very well priced and the location has beer on tap. I also always receive great service.

Not so many affordable dining options that are really good in this area in my opinion, but this café is easily accessed and offered a great selection. We were all pleasantly surprised. We got grilled cheese and a veggie sandwich — everything was good, fair prices and a fun, relaxing atmosphere :)

This place is a lifesaver! I work in Balboa Park, and I am so thrilled I found the Home Plate Café. Convenient, super friendly staff, and delicious food. A wide variety of fresh deli sandwiches, paninis, salads, burgers, soup, chili, and great meals for kids.
The food is affordable and cooked to order, but prepared to be patient on busy days in the Park. There can be a long line at lunch time on free museum days, holidays and during the summer, but the comfortable seating, sports memorabilia cabinets, and televisions make the wait bearable. Or shift your lunch time to a bit before or a bit after the lunch rush, and the wait is no problem.
Everything is grilled, so their sides consist of deli salads (potato, macaroni, cole slaw) and occasionally fresh fruit (my favorite). The Felman Sandwich is a grilled cheese you won’t soon forget… The addition of the cream cheese makes it so gooey and delicious, and the pepper jack gives it a little kick!
There are also treats to grab and go — Ice cream, gelato, chips, cookies, candy… And treats to stay and enjoy with your meal — Wine, bottled beer, and beer on tap.

The food is good but not good enough to wait over an hour for. If you have lots of time, need to be nowhere, and don’t mind the staff telling you there is a 30 min wait for food AFTER you have ordered and paid only to have it actually take 65 minutes, this place is for you! I blame the manager. Hire more people, teach them how to cook more than 1 order at a time and properly train your staff. Oh and here is the best part: there are only 4 tables of people in here.

Tucked away just to the right of the museum entrance, have some of the better prices in balboa park, which is what caught my eye. Small, but ample seating area, tv’s showing local sports games, and some sports memorabilia surround the seating area.
Sandwiches, burgers, all made to order in about 5 – 10 minutes.
Would have been a five star but they were picky about which items you could use as a «side», even after making a mistake on my order. Mostly young kids working here, could be more organized.

We went here based on recommendation of a lady in visitor center of Balboa Park. Upon walking in we were a little sketchy how good the food would be but were pleasantly surprised. Kids had basics of hot dog and quesadilla but they were good. Hubby ordered chili and I had Chicken Pesto Panini with potato salad. Both were very good. Potato salad was slightly sweet and very good. It was not fancy but was plentiful and not expensive, which was welcomed as everything costs so much here.

This place is pretty darn good! If you’re in Balboa Park and running low on energy and need a recharge… This is a great place to stop.
The kids and I stopped in here by chance on a Saturday afternoon. We were in the park today to witness a baby Christening at the House of Sweden! We had no idea where to find some food and we were starving! We saw the sign on the sidewalk and a hop skip and a jump later… We were standing in line ordering our sandwiches.
We ordered the Ultimate, a basic roast beef sandwich, and a blue cheese bacon burger. All sandwiches came with sides of chips, fresh fruit, soup, or chili. The chili was very good and my littlest (age 7) enjoyed it very much. The roast beef sandwich had only one slice of meat on it, but my 9 yr old didn’t complain. My Ultimate was a Scooby sandwich! I’d order that again. My daughter had the blue cheese bacon burger and she ate the whole thing! She said it lacked blue cheese flavor.
We did notice this place is pretty popular, and had a constant flow of traffic.
Pro’s:
–Great location
–Clean
–Good service
–Great selection of sandwiches, burgers, ice cream, candy
–Clean restrooms
–Good for kids
–Good prices $ 5.80-$ 6.50 for a sandwich
–Open even when the museum is closed!
Con’s:
–The roast beef sandwich needed more than one slice of of meat

After spending a couple hours in the San Diego Hall of Champions, my dad and I couldn’t resist the delicious smells any more. We had to stop in and have a bite.
We both got chicken paninis, him the chicken bacon ranch and me the chicken pesto. They were both delicious. The chicken pesto had phenomenal seasoning and was very thick and juicy. Both came with 3 options for sides: macaroni salad, coleslaw, and fruit salad. I went with the macaroni salad, which was very liquidy but sweet and spectacular.
It is a Coke account, with a few soft drinks on the fountain including Barqs, Coke, Fanta Orange, Sprite, Gold Peaks Unsweet Tea, ad Raspberry Tea.
There were other treats that we didn’t indulge in, including ice cream: beer, candy, and other sweet drinks.
There are various tables, both talk and short with some elevated booths as well which were very comfy. With sports on the tv and memorabilia along the back wall it’s a very laid back atmosphere that I will enjoy indulging in each time I’m in the park.

Food was ok even though I wish they served French fries. I didn’t like the fact that it was located in a museum but there wasn’t many options on our way to the zoo. The sports aspect of it was pretty cool. There was much to look at while we ate
I would def eat there again. It wasn’t expensive and it wasn’t uncomfortably busy. I was able to watch part of a baseball game without listening to a huge crowd of people.

Very interesting place. The prices are really great for a pretty tasty sandwich. The sides that come with sandwiches are not much… so don’t get too excited. Plan on a long wait for food if you are time crunched.
THE PICTURES ARE OUT OF DATE. MENU HAS BEEN REMADE.

I’ve been working in the park for 10 years now. Lunch options are slightly limited unless you wish to spend a fortune. Which I don’t. And time is an issue when you have to get back to work!
I’ve been around for 3 iterations of the café in the Hall of Champions in the last 10 years. I can say confidently that this current café is the best so far!
The food is excellent, the prices are super reasonable and the staff are always so pleasant and cheerful.
I probably go there about 3 – 4 days a week as a result. They know me well and treat me even better.
On vacation? haven’t you spent enough money? Give your wallet a rest and your belly a treat and make your lunch spot the Home Plate Café!

I have become a regular here for the month I’ve been in the park.
I love the feeling in here and I especially love the food and the people who work here. Always affordable for a poor intern like me.
Keep it up!

This has got to be one of the best kept secrets in Balboa Park! The food was excellent, service very good and portions were very generous. Diana and her staff went out of their way to provide incredible customer service. Thank you very much and I will be back! I had the tuna melt and it was out of this world!

I work in the park and this has become our regular go to lunch spot.
Great prices and good food. Burgers and Panini’s are my fav but they also have frozen yogurt! Great on a hot day.
Adequate seating and air conditioned!
Also large and clean restrooms.

Love this place! They have delicious, affordable food for a relaxing day at Balboa park. All of their sandwiches and burgers come with a side of potato salad, macaroni salad or fruit, and sometimes they also have a side of chili of soup of the day, perfect combination :). I love that they have free WiFi, you don’t even need a password! You can watch your favorite sports team as they always have games playing on TV. It’s a great place to eat, I love their paninis especially the baja chicken panini so go try it it’s amazing!

Want a tasty, affordable, and no-​fuss way to grab lunch during a visit to Balboa Park? Stop by Home Plate Café, located inside the Hall of Champions Museum!
Awesome selection of paninis, sandwiches, salads, burgers, hot-​dogs, quesadillas, chili, soup, and more! All paninis and sandwiches come with a small side (options vary). All meals are only $ 5-​$ 9, which is a total steal! Available also: hand-​scooped gelato from The Gelato Bus Stop, ice-​cream bars, candy, chips, coffee drinks, beer (bottles and draft), wine, fountain drinks, and an assortment of bottled beverages.
Place your order at the counter, then sit down and relax while you wait for your order to be called. Enjoy the free wifi (no password required), watch the game on the wall of flat screens, and check out the interesting sports memorabilia while you’re there!
Tip: Want some spice in your life? Order The Fillippo (not listed on regular menu), an evolved version of the the Baja Chicken Panini. Ask for a side of buffalo sauce if you want extra kick. It might change your life. ;)

This review is for the Home Plate Café in the Hall of Champions at Balboa Park.
The burgers here are delicious, the sandwiches are artisan, and the service is amazing!
This is also a great place to stop in for a casual beer and to catch a sporting event. The café is lined with flatscreen tvs and the beer refrigerator stocks most of the local brews from the breweries around town.
I have had the pleasure of stopping into the café a couple times and the staff are extremely friendly and it is obvious that customer satisfaction is a high priority.
It also doesn’t hurt that the ladies working behind the counter are super cute!

Parking is a bit ridiculous on a weekend. Free parking in Balboa Park, but there are so many families around battling for any and all available parking spaces.
When you go into the Sports Museum, the café is on the right side.
You look at the menu, you order what you want, you give them your name, and they’ll call it out when ready.
I ordered the sandwich with the roast beef, ham, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, mustard, while the bf had a chicken panini. My sandwich was HUGE, when I got it, and I could only finish half of it. It wasn’t too bad, but it did feel like it was missing something. It’s not a gourmet sandwich shop, so I feel it’s a café that is intended to feel you up and give you some energy. The bf liked the panini; no real complaints. But, overall, had a feeling of «eh» while eating the sandwiches.
Price-​wise, WELL worth the prices. It was $ 6.50 for each of the sandwich, which included the sandwich and a choice of the pasta or potato salad. We both chose the pasta salad, which wasn’t too bad, but it also had the «eh» feeling to it.
Overall, if you’re hungry and you need to fill yourself up, come here. It wasn’t too crowded when we got there, and service was friendly. If you’re looking for something reasonably priced, come here. If you want real gourmet stuff, don’t come here.
Would come back if we were in the area.