Think Cafe

Been here years ago for Mother’s Day breakfast and from what I recall it wasn’t great. So flash forward and my mom wants to bring us here for lunch… Bottom line, I’m not going to say no to my mom.
We started with a calamari appetizer which left a lot to be desired, like some seasoning, not to mention it wasn’t in the least bit crispy.
I order the prime rib beef dip… that’s the only thing they’re out of today… ok…I’ll have the steak sandwich medium rare with fries. The sandwich wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t cooked properly. My steak had so many hot and cold spots and was practically raw in the cold ones. I used to work in a restaurant so I don’t send things back, I ate what I could. The fries were crap, I was expecting steakhouse fries or something along those lines but they were just scrawny frozen fries from the market (ore-​Ida?). I wouldn’t expect to be served them at a restaurant.
All in all the service was good, and I was in good company. Plus I would feel bad for giving my moms favorite restaurant a less than 3 star review. Lol. She claims the clam chowder is fantastic but she complained about her salad… She said she could make a better salad at home! Lmao!

Great spot. Kinda hidden but kinda not. Been there a few times. Food is tasty. Good size portions. Very clean inside and out. Service has always been great. Prices are competitive. Never had a bad experience.

This was a random try and very unusual for funky fun San Pedro. Situated in the street level of an office building and most of the customers were office workers. I had a nice Gyro salad. Looking around at the other tables, the food and portions looked very good.

First of all, five stars to Kazka who provided great customer service on the phone when I called in with questions AND in person after I arrived.
There was ample parking available when I visited last Saturday afternoon. You can park in front of this eatery using the meters or behind it in the connected lot that services the many floors of this office-​looking building.
Nestled between an ILWU (union strong!) headquarter and the Port of LA Police Station (which is, actually, an attractive piece of architecture) across the street, upon entry, three people were eager to seat me. I wasn’t feeling too well during my visit, but it was nice to get this type of attention. After deciding to sit inside, as I was dressed too idiotically warm to enjoy the very private patio, I received the menu.
The inside is very Pedro-​style café intimate. Nothing fancy but enough attention to appear as if the owners put some thought into the aesthetics.
There is a nice selection of menu items, including breakfast plates, smoothies, salads, and pasta. I noticed the bar had wine and bubbly, though there was no list of prices for these beverages on my menu. Warm bread and plenty of butter came to the table — I wasn’t expecting that.
I asked Kazka an array of questions about several items — all of which she was able to answer right away, she knows her stuff! — before deciding on the avocado and brie sandwich, hold the chicken, add onion. My meal came out pretty fast when I noticed a slathering of white sauce on it. I asked if it was mayonnaise — Kazka confirmed that it was garlic mayonnaise before I recalled seeing it listed on the menu. My EXTRA bad for not catching that! She said she realized the «boys» were a little heavy handed with it and offered me a a paper napkin to wipe some if it off to see if it would help. It did not. She said she would get a fresh roll and she did exactly that. So there was still quite a bit of mayo left that I attempted to wipe off. This also meant that my fries were not piping hot as they were previously and my sandwich was no longer warm. Kind of a bummer, but I ate it because I overlooked what was clearly marked on the menu.
The meal was okay. I am NOT a condiment gal and there was SO much of it left even after new bread and several wipes. I ended up leaving part of it because the soft brie and the mayo were blending together — I didn’t like that.
I very much appreciated the fact that this place is very local attentive. Kazka and the rest of the staff knew many of the patrons who dined in and came in for pickup. I admire that type of service.
I would return. I’ll just be sure to pay special attention to what I’m ordering.

I have been here once for breakfast, once for dinner. For breakfast I highly recommend going to one of the many greasy spoon San Pedro diners. For dinner, it is okay. The reason to come here is the ambiance, which is well suited for people who want to discuss business. Very clean, open dining area where you can comfortably meet and dine.

Really a nice lunch with my friends. They are
Vegetarians and there are nice choices on the menu. I’m always a little apprehensive when o say a restaurant is good, but this really was. I had the croque Monsieur. Really good. We sat on the patio nice breeze and shit the breeze for a long time. Very good food and very comfortable and enjoyable lunch.

I just love this place. Food is always great. The service is great too. First I started with the Caesar salad with anchovies and the grilled sands dabs in caper butter sauce with veggies and it was yummy!

My family and I went to two other brunch places before coming here, but the waits were so ridiculous at the first two places we ended up here. I wish we just stayed and waited at the other places. The place was moderately crowded, but we got a seat in the back straight away. I got the half sandwich and soup, BLT and french onion soup. My uncle got a Bloody Mary that I tried and loved. I probably drank a quarter of it. All our food came near the same time in not too long of a wait. My BLT was wimpy to say the least. It had three small limp pieces of bacon in it, a big piece of lettuce, thick cut tomato, and barely any mayo. All sandwiched between a very thin slice of toasted sourdough bread. Very sad, there was more lettuce in the sandwich than anything else. Luckily my brother got an extra side of bacon that I could stuff my petty sandwich with. My French onion soup was no better. It was too sweet and the huge piece of hard bread made the soup difficult to eat because I could barely get around the bread.
I tried my Mom’s crab cakes to see if her meal was any better than mine. The crab cakes had a good amount of meat in it. It’s just I could tell it was frozen. The crab cake had a really strong and gross fishy, crabby taste, no good. Probably the worst brunch I’ve ever had. The only reason I’m giving it two stars is because the service wasn’t too bad and the Bloody Mary was great.

Excellent customer service, up and beyond most places (5 stars) beverage glasses were always kept filled, bread basket was graciously refilled with freshly baked bread. Portion sizes for the Benedict and potatoes were perfect. I asked for a side of jalapeño chili, and the waitress said ‚“no problem, would you like them grilled or sliced?” I said both. Again, no problem. She suggested the potatoes au gratin, which were disappointing because they lack flavor. I added a little salt and the potatoes magically jumped up a notch.

My husband and I found this place while looking for a place to eat breakfast. great food and service. Clean restrooms.

My husband and I went here for dinner about 8pm (they close at 9). The place has a cozy atmosphere and the staff is very pleasant and welcoming. Unfortunately, we felt a bit rushed towards the end. As soon as we finished something, they removed it. I get it – you want to go home – but let me finish chewing! Damn…
My husband ordered the french dip. He said the au jus was a little bland but the beef was tender and delicious.
I had the chicken piccata. The chicken is served on a bed of assorted sauteed veggies (now THAT I liked). But that was it. No starch. I felt it was missing something to sop the sauce up with. It was a different presentation than what I’m used to but it was fine. The lemon in the piccata was a bit overwhelming though.
I’m a little on the fence about this place. Didn’t dislike it but didn’t like it enough to say for sure I’m coming back. Some interesting items on the menu I’d like to try but kind of scared as to how they may serve it.

I still need to come for lunch and breakfast here. I wish I could take home a tub of their appetizer dip. They make really good fish dishes and desserts. The sand dabs and halibut dishes we tried this weekend were really good. The waiters here are all really nice as well (especially considering that we were a group of 10 with kids).

There are a lot of breakfast/​brunch places in San Pedro, but consider Think Café one of the best ones — they have a bit of a French style of cooking so things are a little more refined — the ingredients, way of cooking, and the portions. Instead of hash browns they have scalloped potatoes in light cheesy gratin sauce, have crepes as an option, and omelettes are light and fluffy — nothing is too greasy and their err lighter in terms of salt. All-​in-​all very delicious and a great option if you’re looking for a little classier atmosphere but with still very reasonable prices in San Pedro.

I’ve been here twice and the service is great!
The restaurant is really cozy and cute.
I’ve sampled quite a few things in the menu and some are just hit or miss for me.
I love the fresh baked bread in the green sauce so good…
Buffalo chicken bites are awesome.
The first time I came I had the steak and mash with veggies. It was really good.
The Cajun meatloaf that’s okay but I probably won’t order it again.
The only complaint I’ve had with this menu is the seafood. Everything I’ve sampled isn’t prepared properly or is overcooked.
The seared tuna salad just didn’t seem very fresh. Seared Tuna is supposed to be pink in the middle it was more of a brownish gray color? Over cooked maybe?
And the shrimp was overcooked very tough to eat.
I’ll just stick to steak and potatos from now on. Everything else seems like a gamble for me and if I’m starving that can put me in a bad mood if it isn’t good.
That is all… sorry.

I really wanted to give this place 3 ½ stars but I Rounded it to 4 stars. The music by Tom Ferjo, every Saturday evening is fantastic. That’s why I like to go to this restaurant on Saturday nights. our appetizer for the table was fried calamari the dinners were roasted duck and Porkchop and sand dab, The fried calamari was definitely too greasy for my taste. The roasted duck was good and the sand dab was excellent I think that’s their signature dish. Porkchop was okay little too salty for my taste. I’d like to try everybody’s food since I’m writing a review. our waitress was Michelle and she was very good. The prices are very reasonable. I always try to rate the restaurant based on quality of food and the prices. this selection of wine is also very good. I will go back.

I never trust a restaurant that is called «Think» but this place was not my choice. And I did not know that this was the name (Think Café) until we left so my disappointment with this place was not caused by the power of suggestion.
Actually, there are many good things about this place. The ambiance is nice and cozy like a café. The service was good. The appetizer and dessert we ordered were both good (Avocado and Brie Melt & the Chocolate Lava Cake, respectively). My only complaint and a big one is my entrée. I ordered this gyro dish called «Shy Guy». And, yes, it should be shy because it’s simply no good. It’s seasoning is neither here nor there. .. I’m sorry, I don’t know how to describe it. I just didn’t like it.

San Pedro has a lot of little hidden gems such as Think Café. Right upon walking in for the first time, I felt that this is locals-​only «hot spot» as customers were chit chatting with the staff as old friends. Although I can’t fully recall everything during my first visit, except that the food and service were great.
I want to take this time to highlight my most recent visit on Tuesday. My 5 other colleagues and I were quickly seated since we had a 12pm reservation. I believe the same waitress from my previous visit took our order. She went over the specials and really took good care of us. I had pineapple juice and the white fish in special sauce from the day’s special completed with the chocolate hot lava cake. Pineapple juice was good, not overly sweet. The small size is pretty small, but I wanted to save room so it was fine. The special sauce consisted of chopped up tomatoes, corn bits, and diced up bell peppers swirled in a tangy sauce with a hint of spice went well with the brown rice. The fish seemed to have been broiled and light, yet tasty when mixed in with everything. I felt really healthy with no guilt eating the main course.
The chocolate hot lava cake melted in my mouth. The hot chocolate «lava» was delicious! I could drink it alone if it were an option! The cake was moist, not too sweet, but definitely flavorful. I ate that up with no problem!
My key to not feeling yucky after a great meal here was the fact that I didn’t eat any complimentary bread. In the past I had a piece or two, the bread’s pretty standard. I rather make room in my stomach for the better stuff.

A nice sit-​down place for lunch, and close to my work. I come here with co-​workers about once per month. Service has always been good, and the food consistent.
On this visit I opted for the gyro sandwich ($ 8.95). You get a large gyro sammie made with grilled lamb gyro slices, red onions, tomatoes, cucumber slices, and tzaziki sauce on a warm pita. It comes with your choice of fries, fresh fruit, or their pea salad (fresh peas with onion and bacon in a creamy dressing). I got the fresh fruit — pineapple, cantaloupe, strawberries. The sandwich was great as was the fruit.
They also give you warm french bread with butter for the table — yes please! Other standout dishes I get here: french onion soup — really rich and satisfying, southern fried chicken pasta — crispy fried battered chicken breast pieces, corn and sun dried tomatoes mixed with creamy garlic pasta.
They also have a large back room for larger parties/​special events. I’ve been to two baby showers here and they were lovely.
Overall this is a nice lunch place with consistent good food and service.

You had me with your delicious french onion soup then you lost me with all the octopus in your seafood pasta :(
So backtrack, we ended up here because we were in the area to go see the giant rubber duck. We thought it was still docked at the port of Los Angeles so we looked for nearby restaurants. Todd M. suggested this one.
I came in just in time to snag the last table. Another party entered from the back and was about to seat at our table when the server kindly informed them that we got there first.
After we were seated, we were quickly served with some complementary bread and dip. Pretty good! We were informed of their specials and how Thursdays are half off wine bottles. Too bad my companions weren’t really wine drinkers. They did order alcohol though and I had a sip of my roomie’s soju cocktail. Not bad!
When I saw the french onion soup on the menu, I knew I had to order it then my roomie and I decided to split an order of Seafood Pasta. According to the menu, it had shrimp, calamari, and fish. Sounds good right? Well, I hope they stuck to those because what came out was some pasta topped with two shrimp, a couple of calamari, two small pieces of fish, and about 10 or so little octopi. Uhm, that wasn’t on the menu! My roomie and I both didn’t eat it so thankfully we had Todd with us haha, not sure how well octopus paired with his meal.
Overall, I’d come back for the french onion soup and maybe bring someone to share some wine with on a Thursday :)

I’ve enjoyed dining at Think Bistro a number of times before it sold, I’ve also been to Think Prime once. So when fellow Unilocaler Ruth A asked if I wanted to join her for an early dinner at Think Café, the answer was of course yes!
When I walked in it reminded me a lot of Think Bistro, dark colors, black table cloths and napkins, a rather elegant look.
SERVICE: Honestly our server was great! Very friendly, professional and checked back with us regularly. Granted it was early and we were the only people in the place when we arrived, but still.
FOOD: We started with the Ahi Poke: tomato, red onion, avocado, soy sauce, sambal & sesame seeds ($ 9.95). It was light, refreshing and had a slight spicy kick, very tasty.
We must have liked it because…
We both also ordered the French Onion Soup ($ 5.95). This soup while rather tasty, but didn’t make me stand up and shout «THIS SOUP IS INCREDIBLE»! Come to think of it, I don’t know of any other time I’ve done that, LOL.
For an entrée I chose the Southern Fried Chicken Pasta w/​corn, sun dried tomatoes and a creamy garlic sauce over linguini ($ 13.95). It sounded and looked really good, but… The chicken was nicely cooked, but the breading was very, VERY bland and soggy too due to the sauce. Speaking of that «creamy garlic sauce»… yes it was creamy, but there was nothing «garlic» about it. It was more like a «creamy corn sauce» because, except for the occasional sun dried tomato that stood up and shouted «I’m in here too!»… corn is all I could taste. Don’t get me wrong I do like corn, but when I read «garlic sauce», I expect there to be enough garlic to actually tell there is garlic in there, even a subtle amount would suffice. A Garlic Festival winner this is not. I was quite disappointed and sent it back.
On the plus side, they do have beautiful shaved Parmesan! Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to rescue this dish.
Ruth ordered the Grilled Sand Dabs w/​sautéed veggies and a lemon butter caper sauce ($ 15.95). As she was eating she commented the flavor was off somehow and she didn’t really like it. She spoke to our server about it, who then offered to take it back and replace it with something else.
The replacement was sautéed veggies (only) from another dish on the menu and she enjoyed this one much more than the first.
OVERALL: Based on my previous experiences at Think Bistro, right or wrong, I walked in here with a certain level of expectation. Unfortunately this experience failed to meet that expectation. Fortunately, our server surprised us by deducting both of our (1^st) entrées from the bill, so 3 stars because of this. Personally I think «Think Café» deserves another chance, because if the food was always this bad, they would have closed a loooong time ago.