Lighthouse Cafe

What an amazing find!!! Quick, affordable, and tasty.
My friend and I got the classic burgers and the Lighthouse fries (has tater tots too!!). I went with the classic because I wanted to see how the simple burger ones with the spice they use. Well I can say whatever it is, the burger was flavorful and juicy! I really enjoyed it.

Holy meatballs! I have no idea how their breakfast is because I can’t get past the Danish meatballs and simply can’t imagine getting anything else but their Danish menu when I come here.
I got the Danish meatball sandwich for $ 12.50. Soft bread, 2 giant meatballs split in half with lettuce, Danish remoulade (like tasty mayonnaise), sliced pickled cucumbers and sweet soft beets. The perfect Scandinavian combination! I got the potato salad on the side to round out the Scandi theme but I bet it would be perfect slathered on top of the meatballs too. Although then it would be rather unwieldy. As it was the meatballs didn’t really fit. I ate half of one and left the other half in a sandwich — otherwise they were sticking out in such a way that made it impossible to eat (probably not a problem for those with big mouths).
Meatballs plate is same sides but with 3 meatballs. Danish lunch plate is same sides but with 2 meatballs and slices of medium rare roast beef.
I was only able to finish half the sandwich. Now I’m torn whether to share this yummy goodness with Noggie hubby who will surely appreciate it or keeping it all to myself. Of course if I don’t share I guess that means I’ll have to bring hubby back for another visit. Win-​win.
BTW — during the week this place is mellow. No crazy crowds.

This place is worthy your walk. Please, ignore the the touristy and overpriced restaurants. Go to lighthouse.

I had an amazing breakfast here last weekend. It was Sunday morning 10AM. Yes, there was a wait. I was expecting a line out the door like the other reviews said but there wasn’t one. Until I got there. The restaurant is very small. But, there’s a lot of seating at the bar and booths all around. The service is fast so the wait wasn’t long (about 20 min). There was only one couple ahead of me. There was metered parking outside that you have to pay (Yes, even on Sundays). There wasn’t a lot of parking right out front but just up the street there were plenty of spots.
The food was delicious. We got coffee, a raspberry pancake, a plain one and a side of bacon. My plain pancake had a very light crisp on the top and a soft fluffy inside. The bacon was thick cut and lean. But, I have to say my favorite part of the meal was… The coffee. They said they get it from some ice cream parlor nearby. I dunno what that means, but I’ll definitely go back even just for that!
In most super busy breakfast joints like this one, the service tends to be fast but not so friendly. Which is understandable for the servers to be overworked and have to be pleasant with 10,000 things on their mind at once. The Lighthouse café nailed it. The servers checked on us often and were always friendly, smiling and pleasant. Maybe I just got lucky that there wasn’t a long ass line at that time of morning on a wknd, so I’d plan ahead for a longer wait, just in case. That was the only thing that discouraged me about it. I read about the line being long and decided I wouldn’t go there. Then we made a last minute decision because of the location. I’m so glad we did. Don’t miss out because of that. It’s totally worth the wait!

This was a great place to stop in for lunch today. We sat at the counter and a great view of the chefs making the food. While we saw my girlfriend’s veggie burger go on the grill, I kept looking for my Lighhouse burger to go on. To my surprise it was on. It was the at least 12 oz rectangle of ground beef that was cooking. It was wonderful with bacon and cheddar cheese on a 6 inch sandwich roll. What a meal! And the veggie burger was great too. Super service and a friendly staff. A great value because you get your money’s worth for sure. We will be back to try the omelettes and fruit pancakes!

This place is great. Not much seating, but worth the wait. The extra effort put into properly seasoning eggs, potatoes, and corned beef. The fresh sourdough was amazing, and the bagels and lochs were some of the freshest we’ve ever had. A definite find.

Solid breakfast spot, but nothing to go out of your way for. Super small restaurant with a third of the seats being short bar seats. No written waitlist or reservations – you just stand there in line.
From my detailed Unilocal research prior to visiting Sausalito, this place seemed like the best non-​fancy brunch option. Food is more your typical diner food, with some Danish items on the menu.
Corned beef hash ($ 15) — definitely some of the better corned beef that we’ve had, with larger shreds of corned beef than your typical Hormel canned corned beef. Tasty with runny sunny side-​up eggs on top (but you choose how you want your eggs cooked), and comes with a side of home fries and your choice of toast. Home fries are under-​seasoned (so add salt, pepper, and hot sauces), but the hash is tasty without modification.
Danish Meatballs side ($ 5) — 2 huge, very tender meatballs, with pickled cucumbers, beets, and an orange-​colored mayo (with dill + tiny bit of horseradish?). Very tasty, and we’re glad we got this – highlight of our meal! Tip: do like I, and Remy from Ratatouille, do – partition each bite, and eat different mixtures of the meatball with each or all of the veggies/​sauce.
Mixed Fruit Pancakes ($ 10) — 2 huge, heavy pancakes full of berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries) and bananas. Batter seems like your typical pancake batter – it would have been better if it were lighter/​fluffier and had its own flavor (orange, cinnamon, etc.). Pictures look better than this tasted. Syrup is just your average thin diner syrup – maple syrup would have also made this a lot better. Good price for the huge portion-​size, but don’t expect anything special.

Too bad for the price
We had traditional breakfast
The hashed brown potato wasn’t really tasty

Stopped here for breakfast before continuing on to Napa & Sonoma. Small place with big flavor. The food was delicious and very filling. I ordered two fried eggs with chicken apple sausage and hash browns that came with rye toast. My mom ordered something similar but with pancakes. YUM! I was already feeling full after finishing my food but that didn’t stop me from helping her finish the pancakes. They were so thin, crispy on the edges and just delicious. I was happy we found this place. It was a great start to our day in wine country.

Lunch today hit the spot; after a short walk from the Saulsalito Ferry dock, we decided on a visit to The Lighthouse Café. Now this is an old school — diner style spot. Nothing fancy or glam. In fact its barely got room for some booths/​tables & counter. But the food rocks. Check out the «dance» the cook team do, as the three of them navigate the open grill/​prep area. With a casual and welcome feel, it’s bound to feel like you are a regular from day one. A best kept secrete worth the trip!

Yummy! Quaint little café with a hearty menu selection. It’s obvious this is a local favorite with a small line out the door and worth the wait. I had the Alex’s Corned Beef Hash that was some of the best I’ve ever had; the jalapeños were a nice touch and not too spicy.
Looking around you can see that their other menu selections look just as delicious; especially the banana, raspberry & blueberry pancake.

The good: The breakfast is solid in size and quality, and the wait staff are fabulous (5 stars for Deb and Sara!)
The bad: Cockroaches. We’ve seen them too many times, baby and adult, just walking across the counter. And on the walls. Second to the roaches, the Lighthouse lost a fantastic cook: Waldy is professional, quick, personable, skilled and consistent. He works in Fairfax now.

Just got back from breakfast at the
Lighthouse. The food as always was
wonderful, but most of all the service
was impeccable, thanks to Sarah and
Gabriel! My day is off to a good start.
Mark

Lighthouse has good food and friendly service. It’s a fun location with great views. I suggest sitting outside and enjoying lunch on the patio.

This restaurant has waiting but no system to manage it! We landed up first in line and then a couple sent their kids to cut the line and get a table before us. The fake-​polite restaurant hostess/​server tells us another customer felt the kids should get the table raise they saw them trying to decide whether to eat here! We had two seniors with walking issues but apparently the restaurant doesn’t care about fairness!
This simple issue can be solved by talking names as people walk in… that way people with low morals don’t get to misuse their kids.
The food was just ok! Not worth any of the wait.

Stuffed hash browns — ⁴⁄₅
Curry herring with apples — ⁴⁄₅
Nice little place, friendly staff.
Got the curry herring because I wanted something weird.
Yup, it was weird.
I definitely shouldn’t have eaten all of it — it was incredibly filling and I felt a bit sick afterwards. But novel and Yummy nonetheless. Plus, pumpernickel bread!

What a lovely place to get a breakfast by the beautiful Sausalito waterfront! Like a homely kitchen, Lighthouse Café is a small restaurant that serves a home-​style American breakfast with a smile. Unlike the many restaurants in the area, the vibe is definitely a lot less touristy than local, and it opens earlier than anywhere in the area so it’s a good early bird starting point for people like me!
The menu selection includes classic choices like an American breakfast platter but also interesting creative choices like lobster melts. With a wide price range, you can go cheap or splurge on your breakfast here. For me, I chose the «cheap eat» bay clam chowder, which came at a hearty portion for well less than $ 10 — the hot creamy goodness was certainly a great start in the breakfast and I was glad to have the baguette slices to wipe the bowl clean so I can get the most out of that delicious soup!
Anyway, this is a highly recommended restaurant for me in the Sausalito area! With only six or seven booths though, this may not be suitable for a large group and the restaurant may be packed later in the day so have a plan B. If you are planning to go to Sausalito, definitely make Lighthouse Café your first stop for breakfast or lunch!
—
tl;dr version:
1) Cute homestyle café by the waterfront
2) Classic and interesting menu choices at various price ranges
3) Small interior may be unsuitable for groups and can be crowded

Great little brunch place that we have been trying to check out! Every time we would pass by, the line was always out the door. Finally, this past Sunday morning, we were able to grab a table upon walking in.
Small restaurant! There’s about. 6 booths I want to say, and they have a bar seating type thing behind the grill. That holds about 7 – 8 people I want to say. The hostess there was super friendly! She made sure everyone had their coffee refilled often. One negative thing, is the door! There are two booths right by the door, so whenever someone walks in and out, there’s a gust of wind that lingers for a little while, and it’s been pretty chilly in Sausalito. The place isn’t as warm and cozy as I had pictured it to be.
Anyways, the food! So once you walk in, on the wall by the grill, there is a «specials menu» I’m assuming. It all sounds delish! I ended up ordering the crab and lobster melt. It was amazing! The perfect amount of crab and lobster. There’s some cut up onions and green/​red peppers as well. They didn’t ask me what kind of bread I wanted, but I safely assumed that it was going to be served with sour dough, and I was right. I’d recommend this sandwich. It comes with a side and half a pickle! For my side, I chose the potato salad. And I think I can say that they have the best potato salad that I have ever had! It’s light and so flavorful! Definitely will come back to this little place :)

I found this to be your average American diner with nothing too special or outstanding. We stopped by here on our way up north and it was pretty crowded at 9 in the morning on a Saturday. Luckily there was a booth open and we were seated immediately.
The boyfriend ordered their special with blueberry pancakes, and while it says hash browns or home fries, they didn’t give him a choice and he has to request hash browns. I had the two eggs and chicken apple sausage. I may be wrong but it seems like they use liquid eggs rather than fresh. The home fries and hash browns were meh. The chicken apple sausages were salty, and that’s coming from someone who prefers saltier foods.
Unfortunately, this was an underwhelming breakfast experience.

Comfy brunch food after biking across the bridge. Can’t get any better!
FOOD: Between the 6 of us, we ordered 1) mango sausage scrambled with potatoes, vegetables ($ 13), 2) chicken and avocado quesadilla ($ 12), 3) mixed fruits pancake with scrambled egg and sausage ($ 12), and stuffed hash brown ($ 13). Everything tasted pretty good. My favorite was probably the quesadilla and stuffed hash brown. Lots of carbs but that’s what you need after a entire day of biking.
PRICE: With tips and tax, we paid $ 60 total ($ 10/​person). Not bad!
SETTING: The shop is located a little further down the road from «downtown» Sausolito, which I thought was nice because we got more room to walk around. The restaurant is pretty small; there were 5 – 6 tables max and a few tall chairs in front of the grill bar. But this made everything more cozy.
SERVICE: We had to wait 20 – 25 minutes since we got there around lunch time on a Saturday. Food was served within 10 – 15 minutes of ordering.
OVERALL IMPRESSION: Good! Comfort food after an entire day of biking.