Harbor House Cafe

This place is cool. It’s clean, it’s friendly, and most importantly it’s close to the water. I’m not sure why it’s not as busy as it use to be a few years back, but its still good too me.

Good food. But had to wait almost 5 minutes to get service. I found that to be extremely rude because some folks walked in after us and they got serviced before they even say down.

I love this place. My boyfriend and I ordered an omelet each. He’s been coming here for years… I think he said 10? Basically this is his place to go with his best friend, and I’m so glad he shared it with me. The price for the portions and taste is great! The staff also seems really nice. I was so in love with the interior as well. I’d definitely recommend this place. If you’re ever on an all night drive of fun, you have to stop by here and eat. It’s fantastic!

went last night with a couple of friends around 10:30pm, it was pretty busy. Got a table in the back, waiter was polite and helpful. Food portions were big, I got the avocado burger with a coke and bill came to $ 16.75. Decent prices, good food. They do take a while to get your food out so don’t expect to be eating right away. Bathroom is like port-​o-​potty size haha.

I am sad to say, but I agree that this place has gone down hill. I was so excited last week to bring my kids to the place where I spent many late nights enjoying the best milkshakes during high school.
The shakes were terrible, with a chemical aftertaste. The kids wouldn’t even eat then. My old favorite, chicken veggie soup, was awful and tasted like it was days old. Needless to say, it was a heartbreaking experience. Sad to see such longstanding part of our community going in such a bad direction.
We will not be back.

Beware, beware. The owners new wife has changed the food from tasty large quantity to small, bland, burnt grossness.
I was an extremely regular, happy customer for years. After not busting for a coupe years I was excited to get back to Harbor House. Oh the disappointment I endured when my omelette came out less than half the size it used to be (for the same cost, mind you, and it was extremely over cooked and burned with an over ripe browning avocado on top.
When I inquired with the server what happens to the food quality and portions she immediately explained that the owner had a new wife that is meddling with the food and that numerous customers have complained in the same way.
I’m very disappointed that the owner would allow his relationship to tarnish what used to be a proud, respected Southern California landmark.

Standout item: steak fries… so cheesy. So steak-​y. So delicious-​y.

05−29−16. I was the duke with hundreds of check in’s. The owner’s new wife has gotten involved in the place. She is the one that drastically raised the prices. I used to eat here every Friday. No more. I am here now, the first time in several months. The bus boy that I have known for years told me business has dropped off quite a bit, many people mad about the huge price increases, 20 to 30%!
Example bacon and eggs was $ 7.65, now it’s $ 10.25. Egg whites were a free substitution before, now $ 1.50 extra. So what cost me 7.65 before is now 11.75, a 54% increase! Crazy!
It’s a bummer for the servers who have fewer customers. By the way, I don’t recognize a single server, just the bus boy. Very, very sad.

For a breakfast at 3:30 AM, this is my favorite. Diverse menu, large portions (to go boxes are readily available), and great people watching opportunities. Excellent basic food at a fair price: always open for a 4AM omelette or 5AM wings. Great servers, also. Beats the heck out of Denny’s (with their crappy food and beg-​us-​for-​refills coffee) which often seems to be their only competition pre-​sunrise. There is no comparison between the two, trust me.

Have been here a couple of times because they are open all night and they have been ok, just ok.
The restaurant itself is decorated in a cool fashion with movie posters everywhere including the ceiling!
There is very limited seated so sometimes you might have to wait a while for a seat… Parking is also terrible, there are more spots on the street that runs across the backside of the restaurant but they fill up rather quickly as well.
Service here the last time I came was not that great. Physically had to flag down a waitress to take our order and had to practically jump up and down to get her attention for drink refills… Getting the check when we were done was another mission in itself. She did apologize and went on to say it was because they were short staffed however it still wasn’t a very busy evening.
The food was mediocre as far as flavor, not bad but not great. You do however get a really good amount of food that will certainly fill you up and as another poster here said it is better then a Denny’s after a long night.
Overall if you need a late night meal I would give it a shot…

I don’t get all the rave about this place lol…
Pros: It’s an all night diner that tastes better than Denny’s and Norms. It’s got nice ambiance. Food is decent. Serving sizes are good. Service is pretty quick and attentive. The décor is pretty neat and has a nice olde feel to it.
Cons: Parking can be a pain. Prices are okay… The food is alright… it can get packed and very cramped. The restroom is tiny lol. Like a small RV restroom. A lot of drunk people and ghetto kids show up later at night.
Bottom line: Everything is pretty average about this place. it’s just a normal average diner with kind of unique décor. Typical white people food which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I was the only Asian from the beginning until the end lolol. Wasn’t my choice to go here, but it filled me up. Probably won’t be going here again anytime soon unless some of my friends drag me there.

4÷1÷16 @ 11:00am
I used to love this place. It was a nice mellow restaurant to get a killer breakfast burrito at a really competitive price with good service.
Something must have changed because a bunch of the prices went up by about $ 2. The service we had today was pretty horrible.
When we walked in, all the tables in the main area had not been bussed. We didn’t want to sit on the plastic furniture in the «patio» so we sat down at a messy table hoping it would be bussed shortly. The server waited a solid 10 minutes to pick up the dirty table. He even picked up the empty table next to us before ours. 2 other servers walked by while we were waiting and mentioned how long we was making us wait.
When my girlfriend asked for a box, he made inappropriate comments like, «You aren’t even going to finish that? He already scarfed down the whole thing! Your loss!» I don’t think I’ve ever not given a tip before today.
The only redeeming quality was how good the food was.
Oh! And when I asked the host if the prices had gone up, she said that it was because minimum wage increased. What kind of bullshit answer is that? Don’t take out your frustration about minimum wage on your customers.

Two bad experiences in a row. I came in today and ordered pork chops. The server was ok, but not all that attentive (customer service wasn’t a priority).
When I got my plate, one pork chop was OK, the other two were overcooked to the point that it was hard to chew and swallow them. I asked for them to be seasoned (salt and pepper), and the seasoning was barely noticeable. It’s really not hard to make their food and service better. Very disappointing.

Pros: Open 24 hours, extremely friendly staff, and close to the beach.
Cons: Very overpriced, food is NOT good. I’ve gotten French toast twice and both times it tasted like metal and was hard and not fresh. Breakfast burritos have soggy bell peppers in them and they drip with grease.
Although it’s a cute little diner, I won’t be going back. Meals range from 12 – 16 on average. Are you kidding me? You’re paying for the location obviously because the food just isn’t good.

I am from Minnesota, visiting California, so my review will reflect that, especially when it comes to $.
This place was recommended that we check out when visiting, so we did. We liked it enough to return the next night. The atmosphere is fun and interesting. The food is a little hit or miss. It’s either really good, or a little meh. But we didn’t have any negative experiences.
When it comes to $, I don’t think I’ve ever spent more on a meal than I did here. It’s a little crazy, but that might be because it’s California and I’m from Minnesota. Our diners just don’t cost that much.
Would visit again, skip the drinks and desserts to make it reasonably priced. The fish & chips is awesome!

Harbor House Café is a cool old style dinner cause it’s a real old dinner! The place is pretty good and worth a visit. You walk in and it’s like stepping back in time. Old movie posters on all the walls and the ceilings too. Probably the original counter and stools as well as the booths too. Just a nice old dinner that always does a good business.
The food isn’t always great but it is always good and I’ve never had bad service. The bacon is always great!!!
Give em a shot and take the family. Be prepared to wait if you go on the weekend.

The 2016 Unilocal 500, Review #003:
Don’t let the outside fool you. For breakfast food this is a fun place. With a full-​powered admirable menu most should be able to find something tasty. Me? I got on a flight in PDX at 1600 hrs flew to LGB via SLC. So it is about 2200 hrs and I am starving for a hearty meal. Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, side of fresh veggies. Steamed tilapia, quinoa and a side salad. Unfortunately, their menu wasn’t touting my desires, so…
I ordered the chicken quesadilla.
Defining it flat out: It sucked.
It tasted like boiled chicken meat… you know when meat starts to take on a bad smell and flavor because it has been boiled too long.
When I think of a quesadilla I think of being in the home of some Mexican friends. The wonderful aroma of herbs and spices simmering with a variety of meats and vegetables… I often make the mistake of recalling that memory as I order a quesadilla at a restaurant.
This mistake was made today. The waitress did take the Q failure off my bill, which was awesome. It was because of her call in that situation that I will return to breakfast one day. It is also why I gave 3 stars and not two.

I’ve been coming here for a little over a year now with my handsome BF because he LOVES this place after he surfs. I have had mixed taste in their food but service is usually always good. It’s a cute little diner open all sorts of hours with posters and old school memorabilia all over. They even make their own t shirts!
Back to the food:
I have so far tried their breakfast burrito, their crab melt, and their Harbor House wrap with red onion. This 3 items were not a hit but a miss for me. We will begin with the bad and end with the good dishes I have tried!
Breakfast burrito although large in size was lacking something, flavor. I was surprised since I’m usually easy to please when it comes to food and especially breakfast. They did give a heaping spoon of guac and other condiments. I would rate the breakfast burrito ³⁄₅.
Crab Melt sounded so good since I love seafood, unfortunately it was overly salty when I had it. No acidity to cut the heavily salty sandwich. No other flavor, I took multiple bites to try and find something in there that could possible taste good and nothing. I rate their crab melt ²⁄₅. I wish it was better somehow since I love seafood!
The Harbor House wrap was the worst out of these three. The heavy amount of red onion really overpowered was could have been a really decent wrap. Everything else sounded yummy but I couldn’t take they overload of raw red onion flavor. ¹⁄₅ rating on this.
On to the Good News!!!
Their bacon is probably the best bacon I’ve ever had at a dining spot. I can say just about as good if I made it myself at home. It’s thick and crispy just how I love bacon. I live that you can also sub turkey bacon for a healthier option.
I enjoy the bacon with two over medium eggs and some of their house coffee, I love coffee in general but wish they offered a flavored creamer. Anyway if I were to choose a favorite plate I would choose a simple order of eggs and bacon as my favorite… SO FAR! I will still be back to try other plates until I find something to really enjoy here. Bacon & over medium eggs get a ⁵⁄₅.
Yes, I will return because the man I love enjoys eating here so we will be coming here until we are 80 yrs old unless this place closes before then but let’s hope not. I have yet to try their handmade shakes which I have been eyeballing for some time now.
My BF always order French toast and he loves eating it here, he had their waffle the most recent time and I admit it looked like a perfect waffle though I did not taste it I may order it next time. It looked crisp and delish!
Well Harbor House, I have faith in you and that I will eventually find my go to dish here one of these days. Don’t worry as soon as I do I will update with more stars because I don’t want to dislike this place but I’m honest so here we are with 3 stars for now.

Not my first time here:
On the later menu:
French toast n eggs (sharing is caring)
Trying to find 24hr places in long beach may be difficult. This place is ok but is always open and friendly, in the wee hours of the morning. My friend had teriyaki turkey burger (yummy).

I’m really bummed to give this place a bad review, but it just isn’t what it used to be.
The food is overpriced and it’s not worth it. It’s pretty plain and almost thrown together. The service can be pretty slow, but they are always so nice and so welcoming.
I got the ice tea, which didn’t have much flavor other than the lemon, and the table didn’t have sugar. Meh. The food: I decided to go easy and get the cheese quesadilla which came with a side of guac, sour cream, and salsa while my boyfriend got the harbour house club with a side of fries. (Of course, we share). The club kinda tasted like generic deli meat that you’d get in the fridge section of a grocery store rather than the actual deli meat, and the fries were barely cooked. No crunch and were extremely soggy. The salad was good however the croutons were very, very stale. More soft than crunchy. The quesadilla was good, hard to mess up, however it was only cut in half leaving me with two massive halves. Took forever to get our check and boxes.
Pretty disappointed. Only time I can see myself coming back is for some milk shakes.

Started with white skin Tom Select Moustache Older Latin brought water. I asked him for coffee may be he did not hear me. Catered to others white except me. I think he is mute.
French Toast the worst I have ever had. COLD & HARD.
HOBO TATOES… under cook onions and green peppers not cooked at all.
If you’re looking for cold breakfast on a Sunday morning this is the place to go.
First time visit and last. No returning.