UYE: Beach & Bay Breakfast Club @ Patio on Lamont St

I am remiss in providing a timely review especially when it was such a fun, engaging event.
This was my first time attending one of Omar’s UYEs and thankfully someone dropped out last minute and Omar was gracious enough to reach out to me and clear me on his waitlist. It was also my first time at The Patio on Lamont Street.
I was nervous about heading down to PB for brunch. Not that I feared I’d get jumped after all we’re not in the Heights, but because of the parking. Parking is at a premium in this neighborhood and I don’t mean price, I mean actual spots.
The Patio offers valet parking for $ 3 which is reasonable. But I didn’t see the lot so wasn’t sure if $ 3 merely bought me someone else driving my car and parking it on the street, which I could do myself for $ 0. So I cheaped out and walked a couple of blocks. Besides saving $ 3 meant I had more beer money for later.
Omar had name tags and fun Unilocal swag: chapstick (always a plus in San Diego) and a nail file. And to top it off he held a check-​in contest. The goal: have the most likes with your check-​in.
Isabella rocked the contest! She had the forethought to mention the contest on her check-​in and encourage likes. She’s one smart lady. :)
The venue: It’s cute and casual. And much larger than it looks from the outside. But it’s a maze: take a left at the plant, take a right up the steps, etc. Almost Escherish.
During the day it was easy to navigate. But after a few drinks and at night, I can see a lot of party fouls happening.
One of the best features: they are dog friendly. And you get $ off your cocktail if you bring your pooch.
Prior to our order, Lesley had ordered a cinnamon roll and shared it with the entire group. Incredibly generous especially because she had her preteen son with her, who didn’t utter a word when the coveted cinnamon roll returned significantly smaller.
The food: Surprisingly there was not a lot of choices for the brunch menu. There was, however, a corn flake crusted french toast. French toast and waffles are my breakfast weaknesses. So of course, I had to order the french toast.
The french toast was good. Notice, I say «good» vs «outstanding» or «delicious.» I’m still not sure if good is the right adjective because I was starved. More like famished. And when I’m at that point, just about anything could taste good.
What would have made the french toast better: replace the fresh frozen seasonal berries with fresh fruit. It was obvious the strawberries were frozen because they were limp, soggy, and had that thawed taste. Skip the whipped cream cheese. It tasted like yogurt and was warm. Swap the stale corn flakes with fresh corn flakes. The corn flakes lacked the crunch expected so I’m assuming they were stale.
When your dish is called Corn Flake Crusted French Toast, the corn flakes are a starring feature and need to be crispy. Unfortunately, they weren’t.
All in all, the french toast wasn’t bad. It was good in terms of being edible and for maybe someone else, it would probably be just fine. But for me, it was short of the mark.
Service: Our waiter Manny was personable, funny, and even wore a Unilocal name tag. It was a busy Saturday, there were 13 of us?, and he was working out table solo, so I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Would have been great if after our food was delivered he checked back to see how it was (Omar’s dish was inedible) and refill our water glasses.
Would I give The Patio on Lamont another try? Yes. But I’d come back at a less busy time and perhaps in the spring when strawberries are in season.
Always enjoyable was making new friends and finally getting to meet and hang out with Omar IRL. Delightful conversation that was easy and unforced with Cathleen and Courtney at my end of the table.
Omar’s UYE was fun. Great way to get together, and enjoy brunch and great company. Looking forward to the next one. :)

So nice to meet new Unilocal friends at such a convenient spot (for me)!
After receiving my official name badge and a bit of Unilocal swag (thanks!), introductions were made. Should we all meet up again, I hope to get to know those at the opposite end of the table a little bit better, though I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Courtney, Debbie, Steve, Vicki, and Omar, the Grand Poo-​bah!

My Bloody Mary was so weak, I wondered if there was a mistake made and if the vodka ever made it into my glass. It was spicy initially and quickly became watered down and I am not a sipper either. I even thought there was something wrong with my straw, lol. Eh, that’s okay.
I have a confession: It wasn’t until after everyone ordered the Pork Belly Benedict that I realized I’d eaten it before. And to echo some of the prior comments, I, too, remember it being rather bland. Not inedible, just not delicious. Sorry, friends!
I ate the soyrizo egg scramble, served in a ceramic skillet and it was quite tasty. Scrambled eggs, spicy soyrizo, and sautéed peppers, onions, and potatoes. Big portion with a kick.

Lesley was kind enough to share her cinnamon roll, oh boy, that item is a keeper.
Our server, Manny was delightful. Service wasn’t stellar, but he tried his best on a busy Saturday.
Parking can be tough, though Valet is available for $ 3.00.
A big thank you to Omar, who’s been very busy planning several events at one time! A lot of thought and effort is put into these events and it shows!

I will give this event a 5 star because I ALWAYS enjoy getting together with fellow Unilocalers. Although I am sad to say I am unsure if I will visit this restaurant again due to service and food issues. I will say while discussing this event on an online thread most people said dinner is great here and brunch not at much their thing so I’ll take that into consideration in the future if I do visit again.
Food: bland, dry, cold, greyish in nature. All descriptors I and many other’s at the table used to describe the food. As well is way overpriced for the small portions they gave.
Pork Belly Benedict– I felt this overall was a disappointment. I love Benedicts and I love pork belly! But, this pork belly was grey and not attractive, limp and flavorless over a dry biscuit and over cooked poached egg. As well as they brought it COLD in a huge skillet. I know oxymoron… cold IN a skillet! It also looked like they had lightly sprinkled the side with potatoes. It was such a scrimp amount of cold flavorless potatoes I finished the portion easily which NEVER happens. Even my BF was shocked I had eaten all of my plate because I NEVER do. It seemed they were going cheap on the potatoes and that was a bummer.
Cinnamon Roll: this on the other hand was delicious. Stuffed with nuts, frosting and cinnamon it was very well priced and tasted awesome!
Razz Champagne: really really great! Tart and yummy! I just had one and left feeling lighter and a little tingly which I like! Successful end to brunch when the champagne was the perfect touch!
Veggie Wrap: Not that great… way over priced for what you got. Another instance where they scrimp on the side. Almost no fries. The fries were ok and the tobasco ketchup was good and nice and spicy but, overall you can get a million better veggie wraps for half the price elsewhere. Not impressive.
Décor: the décor was cool. Kinda like a contemporary Victorian style. I did like the hidden vibe and décor of this spot.
Service: Sorry to say Manny could of been better at the service. He was rarely ever there. I would of liked a side of spicy ketchup for my few cold flavorless potatoes but, instead never had a chance to ask for that and instead split it with my BF who had gotten it with his fries. Our waters sat empty most of the breakfast and when I’m drinking alcohol I also drink a lot of water. Hate when it sits empty all meal. You would of thought that knowing we were Unilocalers and we were there to meet they would of went out of their way to make sure our service was top notch and excellent. Really really sad they didn’t even seem to care.
Overall I have heard great stuff about this spot, as well as since been told Dinner is where it is at. This experience with them was so sub par I worry I will never make it back to give them a second chance just due to none of my dinner mates being able to be talked into a second try themselves. One thing I will say is I appreciate getting together with everyone and all that Omar does to get these special events together so we can all commune outside of the normal event venues and to get to know Unilocalers in more intimate situations.