Royal Cafe

I’m always pleased with my meal at Royal. It’s super cute and off the beaten road. I typically forget that it’s here, but a definite go to place if you’re in the neighborhood and looking for quality food, service, and ambiance. A great treasure for the area that typically isn’t as busy as 5^th or 6^th.

Didn’t get to try out their food because they were already closed. Hours say they are open till 8 PM… Don’t be fooled, they are not open at this time. Would have been nice to know this before myself and the person I was having a meeting with drove all the way there.

This review is for the market, not the newly expanded restaurant (which I’m yet to try as it’s been closed the past 2x I’ve swung by). This place is your legit neighborhood market, with anything you will need on a whim. Their beer selection is damm solid and the sandwiches are impressive. The service is always accompanied with a smile and a thank you, which is always appreciated. I’m grateful to have Royal Mart in my hood…

My review is from the standpoint of someone who relates to this establishment only through espresso drinks and the like, not food.
Today I chose to come here over the new la marque on fifth only to find they look very similar now, serving craft beers and wine in a sleek interior. Honestly I miss the older, smaller, less polished spot.
The café latte I had was very milky. I know they use Bird Rock beans which are great but I didn’t taste it. I guess this would be a good place for brunch but am sad for the transition. Hillcrest is looking shinier than ever.

Well done remodel. It was worth the wait! Great drinks and food. Perfect neighborhood café that fits Bankers Hill. For those reviewers that are bit***ng about pricing and other things… go to McDonald’s or Starbucks! I’m sure them would love to have you.

I came on a Sat and ordered breakfast to go. I got the lox & bagel for $ 11 with side of bacon for $ 3. It took awhile for them to prepare. I also ordered a hammerhead which was nice & hot. I got my order & went home. I was all ready to indulge in my yummy breakfast. I opened the box & was confused for a split second. There was a bagel… cream cheese, tomato, onion & capers. But no lox! I know I didn’t just pay $ 11 for a plain bagel & cream cheese. I opened the box with the bacon. There staring at me were two of the saddest, flimsiest looking bacon I’ve ever laid eyes on. At $ 3 I thought they would at least be a nice fat apple smoked bacon. No, these looked sadder than Denny’s. I jumped back into my car & made my way back. I presented the sad sack to the gentleman at the counter. He apologized and took my order to the back. The folks in the back looked tired & peeved already & it was only 9am!
After a few minutes I got my corrected order. The lox was very good. It was thick & they gave me four nice slabs of it. So that kind of made up for the pain of going back. The bacon was still skinny & sad, but they tossed in 6 pieces instead of the original 2. They also tossed the bacon in the same box as the bagel & lox, instead of a separate box like they originally did. This made the bagel somewhat greasy. However, my coffee was getting cold back home & I didn’t want to waste anymore time there. I felt bad for the gentleman at the counter since he seemed to be trying hard. The cooks though just seemed surly & tired. I may give this place another try. Next time I’ll eat there and see if that makes a difference.
Like other reviewers, I must say the deli next door is always a good bet. Great soups, salads, sandwiches & groceries for a decent price & excellent service.

First, please notice that most of the good reviews under this restaurant are for the Royal Mart Deli next door. The café split off from the deli and is now a different business, and my review is for the café. Which finally reopened, sort of. The endless remodel was followed by and endless «soft» opening. Now they are doing their «grand opening». Drum roll…
We’ve eaten here a couple of times during the «soft» opening. The food is fine, but limited options and fairly expensive. But the vibe of the place is a huge loss for the neighborhood. A hostess stand out front like its in Gaslamp trying to rope tourists in!!! White shirts and ties on all the servers?! And a completely confused cross between a desire to be a fine dining experience and a neighborhood café (which is what it was and should be). And they still are sort of a to go coffee place, but sort of in a way that is confusing to both those getting coffee to go and others dining. And for the months and months of getting ready, the staff is disorganized and slow, and oddly unfriendly, as if they’re trained to be aloof. Weird. Sad really, this neighborhood needed a comfortable place to go hang out and get a bite to eat, not this.
Hopefully the now fully separated Royal Mart Deli next door can rise to the occasion and fill the void this place created by their changes.

I live a block away so I’ve been anxiously anticipating the opening of the new café, having been a customer of both the coffee shop and royal food mart for years. Hubby and our 9 month old have been by twice so far and the food is excellent. Both times I’ve had the eggs benedict which is a special that I really hope they add to the regular menu. Hubby had the open faced sandwich and the make your own omelette and baby had the fruit cup. The fruit cup had yummy fresh fruit and not just your standard melon and strawberries, but plums, nectarines, etc. The food is rich and delicious but the portions are perfect and you don’t leave feeling like you need a nap afterwards. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a coma inducing brunch sometimes, but when I need to accomplish something the rest of the day, this is the perfect breakfast. This definitely fills a much needed void in the neighborhood.

SO EXCITED!!!
Marcus and his crew have done a fabulous job on the renovation, and are now in the «soft opening» stage of their newly opened Café.
Once my go-​to for coffee and tea, now my go-​to for weekend leisurely breakfast as well!
They still serve Bird Rock coffee which is consistently one of my favourite San Diego roasters. I am on a decaf kick right now, and theirs doesn’t make me miss the full throttle stuff so much :-)
Of course, they still carry T-​We teas, which are excellent. I typically have 2 or 3 at home (you can purchase a box of loose leaf), and they now offer a plethora of fun choices to enjoy in the café. How can you go wrong with teas like «Bad Bromance» or «Oolong Rouge»?!
Take a seat inside at the bar, and watch the kitchen and bar magic happen, or sit on the sunny wraparound patio with your pup and enjoy the outdoors.
Either way, Genie, Keegan, and the entire staff that I can’t remember the names of (sorry!) and, of course, the hard-​working and always-​enjoyable owner Marcus will take great care of you.
They are focused on healthy, local, real food. It shows in their care of the menu and how great you feel after eating here.
For now, they have an open-​faced breakfast sandwich that is absolute perfection to get things going in the MA: toasted french bread + fresh ham + sunny side eggs + sage cheddar = simple, delectable, and satisfying. Aka: perfect. I can’t seem to order anything else!
Love their choice of coffee carafes, cutlery, food presentation, and even the individual honey wand to go with your tea. Their attention to detail and excellent service is unique among the café culture, and is much appreciated.
Still to look forward to: beer and wine license (and wine tastings!), as well as potential expansion to a lunch menu and wine pairing dinners
Superb job, Marcus, and thank you for being one of the best places to eat, drink and be merry in Banker’s Hill.
(Note: this is the Café; not the mart/​sandwich Mart right next door, which is also a great neighborhood spot for your necessities).

Impressive menu and a fantastic presentation as well as environment. This restaurant will be a favorite of many. The reason it is four stars is because I thought the hamburger I ordered could have been prepared better. The meat itself was a bit dry so the dressings and toppings had to compensate.
The rest of the meal was yummy!

Sandwich was great. Only thing i didnt like was the lack of seating and that they didnt give me any napkins with my sandwich– I guess itd be okay if you wanted to get a sandwich to go.

Great eggs, and great service. A hidden gem in Mission Hills.
The ambiance is also incredibly welcoming with warm lighting and light walls. I could see myself «working from home» in this great little establishment.
I highly recommend if you are interested in getting a great breakfast or coffee. I definitely have to try to get back for lunch.
Also I hear that they will be getting their beer and wine license soon. Can’t wait!

The Royal Deli is now different from «The Royal» (the café’ next door). The Royal Deli is still great, friendly, and the food is reliably delicious.
In an era when restaurants are learning the value of customer care I was shocked at the treatment I got at The Royal and encourage people to give business to places that treat customers with respect and decency. Good food can be found anywhere; being good to others should be rewarded as well.
The old café’ next door to Royal Deli used to allow you to eat sandwiches from the Deli at the Café; I have been a customer for years. I asked the owner of Royal Deli if I could still do that in the new place. She said yes as long as I order a coffee.
I took my sandwich over and sat at the counter. There were MANY open tables. I ordered an Americano and asked for a menu so I could see what I might order in the future. (I won’t be going back). Instead someone condescendingly demanded that I leave. I explained that the owner had told me I could stay if I ordered a coffee and he said that was not the case and they expressed unprofessional frustration with her. They told me leave immediately and treated me like a vagrant. If it was a health issue, I wasn’t informed.
How much decency and wisdom does it take to be gracious and allow someone who THOUGHT it was okay to eat a sandwich there, eat it at the counter and leave, especially when a lot of tables AND counter space are available, simply adding: please in the future, eat outside on the other side of Royal Deli (where currently there is a lot of construction) because we are separate now? For their arrogance and insensitivity they lost a regular local customer and received this review.
BTW: The owner of Royal Deli felt so bad, she insisted on buying me a coffee. It may have been her fault I went over there, I got the bad treatment, but she had good intentions and it could have been handled much better by the staff at The Royal.

This is a pretty awesome shop! I give additional kudos for being walking distance. But it is a deli with a nice selection (someone posted an accurate menu shot in the pics section) serving Boars Head fixins. Ordered a Texas Reuben which had cole slaw and a sweet tangy sauce on pastrami. It was average deli but satisfying, and I did really like the cole slaw and sauce. A bit small portion size but priced well for the size and quality ($ 7)
While I waited I milled around in the store. Storefront has a really intriguing selection of red wines, some white (and some in the fridge). This mini store has regular provisions like condiments (olives, sauces, anchovies) some dry pasta, some fruit. I would mainly come again for the wines and the deli.
More plus points: i was offered a small sample half-​cup of clam chowder which was tasty. The deli smelled really wonderful, noticeably just better than usual. And finally, when asked what wine she likes lately the cashier pointed me to a dry white: Dry Creek Vineyard Chenin Blanc. Happened to be $ 11, very low residual sugar and steel-​tanked (says the bottle) so it is dry and fruity smelling. FYI wine folk :3 make a pit stop, check out their wines and amazing fridge of beer/​soda/​wine, and get a sandwich! I will be coming back.

We walked over here on our lunch break today in search of a new place to try in the Banker’s Hill area and were pleasantly surprised. This will be added into our work lunch rotation, and i am excited to see what it is like once all of the construction is done!
The staff here is super friendly and helpful and seems to love to give recommendations if you need help deciding what to try. They even had multiple options for veggie lovers! I tried the standard vegetarian sandwich this time but there were also Veggie Burgers and cheese sandwhiches and since it is located in the little food mart there are great options for drinks and snacks to go along with your sammich.

Where do they hire their baristas from? Each and everyone of them is so friendly, professional and make some kick ~rear~ coffees!
This is a neat little place located off the beaten path in the Hillcrest area. Good ambiance, but the good seats always get taken up really fast if you plan to study/​work around here.
Their sandwiches, pastries and soups look amazing in terms of portion and presentation! I have not tried them yet, but I see regulars who keep on ordering them and enjoying their lunch.
Keep up the great work Royal! (i wish there were more cafes like you!)

great place to study, have a nice cup of coffee and socialize with friends, browse the web, read a book, etc. The coffe is delightful and sitting outside is even more pleasant. Theres a market connected to the coffee shop that sells delicious and filling sandwiches and soup. They deliver to your table which is great. I definately would recommend the pot pie soup on a cold day!
they also have seasonal special coffee. be adventurous and try those!
:)

Cool place, decoration is more «regular» then the other cafés I’ve been to in SD (I oppose regular to hipster, but since this word kinds of belong to slang I might not use it properly).
The cashier/​waiter (here again I need to figure out a word for that) is really friendly and helpful. As the music in the background is not that loud (I would even say it’s surprisingly low) you can easily talk here, so he’ll probably talk to you when he prepares you drink which is nice. From the other places I’ve tried, the prices are normal but I like the atmosphere.
Chairs are comfortable inside but you can also sit outside if you don’t really need to use a screen, there is some room here as well. It seems you can order food from the nearby shop if you want to eat something salty, which might be handy too.

What an adorable little spot in Bankers Hill. Grabbed a muffin and coffee on the way to work one day and definitely would make it part of my routine!
Service is quick, owner is friendly and there’s plenty of seating. Prices are also pretty standard for this area.

This place is a hidden gem in Banker’s Hill. It has it all: great service, super prices, and great coffee and eats.
I ordered a 16 oz Americano with a touch of room. The coffee was great and only cost $ 2.50. It was smooth and flavorful. (
) I also had a fruit and nut bar with my coffee. It was filled with tasty dried fruit and healthy flavorful nuts. The bar was 50 cents. (
)
The service was absolutely exceptional. Definitely one of the more friendlier coffee shops I have been to. You are well greeted when you arrive and engaged in pleasant conversation. You certainly feel welcomed at this place.
They have a nice selection of various coffees, pastries. and baked goods. There is some nice seating inside and on the outside. While I was there, I over heard a conversation that they are planning to expand and our in the process of adding a kitchen. Sounds like it is even going to get better.
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