Swami’s Cafe

Lobster egg Benedict are my new favorite breakfast food. The lobster wasn’t over powering, and the service here was great. The place was super busy and they got out food out in no time. Everyone here is super helpful and inviting.

The food is great, but seriously overpriced for a restaurant where you order yourself, with no table service. I did enjoy the large patio seating, iced tea and plethora of coffee selection.

Their Lobster Benedict is heavenly! Had to return to have it a second time! I’ve been here several times and the service is quick and friendly. Their Bloody Marys are a must! They’re perfectly spicy. Can’t wait for their new location in Point Loma since parking will be much easier!

Great place to go for breakfast /​brunch /​lunch!
It is a very spacious restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating.
As well as tables upstairs as well.
You order and purchase your food, then basically seat yourself wherever you like.
I don’t like their chalk menu board over the cash register because its so hard to read with everything so crammed in together. So make sure you grab a menu book instead.
I also don’t like the workers here very much because they never greet you and they seem like they hate their job or hate dealing with customers.
Food:
Acai Bowl $ 10
Their acai bowl is very refreshing with lots of strawberries, bananas, black berries, granola, bee pollen and coconut. Not much of a fan of the bee pollen but everything in this bowl tastes so fresh and healthy.
The Green Omelette $ 10
(asparagus, spinach, avocado, green onions, bell peppers, zucchini, and feta cheese)
With every omelette, you can to choose a side of fruit or potatoes. The omelette is absolutely delicious! Very hearty a long with the potatoes.
Overall, food here is great! Everything is fresh and made to order.
They could just use some work on service though.

OMG, I absolutely love their gluten free and vegan options! I’m not on a super strict vegan/​vegetarian/​gluten-​free kind of diet. When I got their vegetarian waffle Benedict (I’m pretty sure that’s what the title/​dish was). Anyways, it came with bacon and I asked to have it swapped out for the mock bacon (vegan bacon) and they did with no problem.
When I asked about their fruit cup, I was a little skeptical at first because restaurants in general seem to have this nasty blend of bland, unripened fruit of watermelon, cantalope, honeydew, and gross mushy grapes. Not these guys! I’m so pleased with their fruit cup option instead of the country potato fries. Not only was it ripe and flavorful, but they had an amazing selection of blackberries, kiwi and I think pineapple (don’t quote me on the pineapple, it’s been a few days since I ate there last).
What’s so great about my dish was that I got way more than I thought I was going to get. Their food was flavorful, not bland.
Oh, and when I asked one of the servers for a water cup, he said I can get it by the counter. As I was blocked from being able to just get up and get one, I just sat there waiting for an opportunity for my friend to move (don’t ask me why I didn’t ask him to get up for me to get out).
To my suprise, that same waiter got me a water cup, and a straw! That absolutely deserves the whole 5 stars, not a 4. That extra bit went a long way for me, so Thank you Swammies :))

Good Location, Great people, Great Food.
Señor Jorge is amazing.
Great customer service

Swami’s always delivers perfection when I’m craving an acai bowl. Went in today and got myself a Pitaya bowl… dude it was amazing. But I wasn’t at all surprised since it usually is. Thanks swami’s for keeping it real… real delicious.

Yay!!! Finally had the chance To stop by this morning.. The Line wasn’t bad for a Tuesday. Service was quick.
I’ve heard so many good things about the food from friends and family. My BF tried out the Awesome Steak Benedict and I had the Strawberry French Toast. The food was superb! Can’t wait to come back and try out the rest on the menu… Loved the vibe inside. Always liked the North park atmosphere… Worth the time looking for parking! :0)

I love the gluten free acai pancakes. It was so fluffy and Delish. I feel awful because each time I go I end up ordering the little devil. Sooooo good. Boyfriend loves the pastrami sandwich and steak sandwich and could barely finish his food.
Nephew loves his chocolate pancake and this little man never finish anything. The food comes out beautifully and I think with their food you cannot go wrong.
I love the atmosphere and great service.
Con:
Bathroom needs better exhaust, it just doesn’t ever feel fresh. I am all for hand dryers but the counter needs some wiping down in the ladies bathroom.
I prefer to never see kitchen team eating Cheetos ever. We can see you.
Other than that, top spot for breakfast or lunch.

Great café. I almost always get the same thing when I come here, avocado toast, which is super yummy, and then every once in awhile I’ll try something new. I’ve tried a wrap, sweet potato fries and an eggs Benedict breakfast with avocado and they were all awesome! The employees are nice, the prices are good, and the food is quick. They also have patio seating which is great.

Nice, convenient place to grab breakfast. Order, pay, sit, food arrives. It was fairly quick. It’s located In a cute little area. Plenty of places to explore before or after grabbing a bite here.
I had an iced coffee and breakfast burrito. I wasn’t too impressed with burrito, as all I could taste was egg. Could have used some salt as well. I think some great salsa will fix this problem. I just don’t have much to say about the burrito. Just blah.
This was breakfast on a Wednesday morning so there wasn’t much foot traffic. Also the street was fairly clear. I think it’s 2 hours free parking.

OH EM GEE! This has to be one of my new favorite spots in San Diego I will visit again! I am so pleased I found this. First off, I was so overwhelmed with their endless choices of coffee lined up from me to choose from. That was quite inviting! Second, the long list of pancakes got me too! I had the blue corn pancakes just to try it since I’ve never tried such thing. I wish I picked the upside down pineapple instead, since that seems to be a popular one. Third, I’ve never heard of a pitaya bowl until Swami Café introduced it to me. We don’t have this kinda stuff in dirty Jersey! Come to find out it’s just dragonfruit! It was really tasty. Large proportion served in a ginormous bowl, it’s definitely a belly filling meal in itself.
The location in North Park is perfect. It’s right on University Ave. I love that they have outdoor seating so you can soak up the sun as you enjoy your coffee/​tea and meal. The people were very welcoming and friendly. I enjoyed the vibe in this cozy place!
I can’t wait for my next visit!

What can I say about Swamis except they probably take all of my money. I go to the La Mesa location near my work a LOT and seriously dont know why I haven’t been going to this location near my house more. Finally went after my last softball game of the fall season and had some brunch with my teammates. Everything I’ve ever ordered here has been totally worth the money and delicious.
The location is perfect, right on university and it’s pretty darn big inside. Lots of space for a couple people or for a bigger group to pull some tables together and take over. It gets pretty busy on the weekends but nothing that’s too crazy. You order at a walk-​up counter, get a number then grab a seat. Water/​coffee is self serve (water free, coffee not) but they have a ton of different roasts to choose from. So feel free to try one roast, drink it, and then try another.
I usually get egge benedict or a sandwich or some kind. Tried a burger once too. ALL WERE SO GOOD! The fries here are awesome. Come on in and try out Swamis… or if it’s too far, look for one close to you. They have a bunch all over SD county.

Visited this place twice and both experiences were great. Really enjoyed my brunch: Ham and Ham Omelet and OJ. Great portions and loved the interior.
Unlike the other hyped-​up brunch places in SD, the food here actually tastes really yummy. I’d pick this place over The Cottage. Yum.

Their acai bowl is gigantic and delicious. It’s probably enough for 2 people.
Also had the ahi salad and it was very good. Seems like the fruits and produce they use are high quality and very fresh.
Also enjoyed the ridiculous # of coffees that you have a choice of once you pick out your mug.

I’ve been here a couple times already for brunch and I love this place! The food is always great. Only thing is that they can get really busy especially on Sunday’s so seating may be hard to find. You pay at the register first, and then seat yourself. Since it does get busy, the staff kind of gets behind on cleaning the tables fast enough for other customers to sit. So that’s the bad part.
Food wise, they’re delicious. I had the lobster omelet which was great. I also had the El Paso Benedict, which is my favorite dish so far. I tried one of their fresh squeezed juices which had bee pollen in it, so that was a first. It was interesting.
Overall, great breakfast/​lunch spot. Just be prepared for a long line at the register, and possibly hard to find seating especially if you go during their busy hours.

Perfect place to meet for a casual, quick & delicious breakfast, brunch or lunch. Located conveniently on university ave in North park with plenty of seating both inside and out. The menu is extensive and they also feature a second «specials menu» on the chalkboard that has tons of great options. Most definitely something for everyone! You order at the counter, given a number and staff brings over your food. We ordered the Acai bowl, the lobster omelette and a turkey sandwich and split all between 3 ppl. There was an abundance of leftovers!
The Acai bowl was super fresh and refreshing. Filled with cold acai, granola, coconut and a variety of fresh berries and fruit. $ 8.95 and totally worth it! We were amazed by the huge portion.
The lobster omelette was quite possibly one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had. 3 egg omelette filled with lots of sweet lobster, asparagus, green onions and topped with homemade hollandaise. I highly recommend trying this if you are going the breakfast route.
The turkey sandwich was a basic cold cut sandwich and served on a soft cdoissant which was the highlight. We ordered it with a side ceasar salad which also wasn’t impressive. Nothing was wrong with either of these two options, just simply unimpressive… especially compared to the two other above average meals that were presented to us.
Can’t wait to come back and try more!

Super cute location in North Park… I love the décor and the place is huge! So much seating… you order at the register first then find a seat. I saw so many reviews on the acai bowl that I had to order it!
It was tasty! I didn’t realize it would be so cold… which was perfect for the hot San Diego day were were having. I liked everything about it… except for the bee pollen. The granola was yummy and I don’t always like eating things with nuts in it. The fruit was great and the acai was delish!
I’ll be back to try other items on the menu, since I’m usually a savory breakfast eater and there were some potentially tasty treats to try.

Been hearing good things about this place, so I had to check it out for myself. They have a lot of options and the breakfast and lunch menus are available all day. The dinner menu itself is limited and I assume might switch every so often, but their complete menu has something for everyone.
I finally decided on the Blue Burger with blue cheese and caramelized onions — great toppings mean no extra sauce or condiments needed. I was good and ordered the salad as my side. I will probably come back for an acai bowl because someone else at the table ordered that and it looked incredible and was huge.
If you’re passing by, it may look smaller than expected, at least it did for me. When I walked in, I was impressed with how spacious and how far back it goes. Looking forward to trying more off this menu.

I feel that when people found out that Swami’s is a small chain of restaurants, NP locals began to hold a grudge against this place. What is not to like about good food, proportionate sized meals not too big to accidentally gorge yourself if your eyes are bigger than your stomach, and a freakin LINE OF COFFEE. Must… try…them…ALL!!! I may have had too much caffeine prior to this review.
I had the soyrizo omlette which was decently plated and looked appetizing off the bat. The egg yolk was cooked about 1 minute longer than it would take to be runny and had gelatinous texture that enjoyed, though it may not be for everyone. All in all, this large place is a solid spot to get food and especially breakfast if you don’t want to wait in line for the Mission or are looking for something more appetizing than ready to heat foods at a nearby coffee shop.