Bino’s European Coffee & Crepes

I really, really, really wanted to like this place. Second trip to San Diego in a couple of months and wanted to try a local place. Right near the beach of Coronodo. I relied upon the Unilocal to decide where to go. I am sorry that I did. We had: nutella banana crepes, crêpe suzette, and mexican. My daughter had a muffin. Husband and I enjoyed ours, but we were not bouncing off the wall.
Not kid friendly, despite what others have said. The juice cups were glass. Made me very paranoid. The breakfast combo was $ 6, which is what I pointed to when I ordered my daughter’s juice and muffin. Yet, I was charged more money and didn’t get the tea/​coffee that came with it.
It just wasn’t worth $ 43 for the four of us to eat.

So I was in the mood for crepes this one gorgeous morning after returning from cold Canada and being obsessed with crepes. So I took it upon myself to look up a great crêpe place on Unilocal.
Well this place had really good reviews and it wasn’t far from home. We walked in and it’s very small but quaint. I think that only 2 people were working since it wasn’t very busy. I ordered the nutella crêpe with fresh strawberries and whip cream… why not a little overindulgence… and my friend ordered the ham and cheese crêpe. While waiting for the crepes, she took our beverage order and brought out these mini loaves with fresh butter and preserves. I cannot be anymore honest when I say… I could have eaten just this! The bread was warm and fresh and the preserves had that perfect balance of tart and sweet. My americano was made perfectly. It was not scorched to death like most coffee places (Starbucks…yuck)…
The crepes came out and I was almost sad to see the bread basket go. But I was in heaven at first bite. The crêpe was light and creamy and was not overwhelmed by the nutella, strawberries, and whip cream. It was an amazing symphony of flavors that complimented themselves. I really enjoyed eating here. in fact I have been here a few times… I really missed the fresh loaves with the fresh butter and preserves!

So I finally get the chance to write this review!!! :D
So I stopped here a while back for a bite to eat on morning. I had time to kill so I decided to go to Coronado. And even when this place is not on the beaten path, my eye caught a glimpse of it and decided to check it out. It is not a huge place, like the mexican restaurant next door, it is more lake a coffee house, not great in décor, but I don’t go to eat for the décor; I want good food even if it is from a cart!
I ordered the tuna sandwich with a salad and a latte. I can say they have good coffee and that can be a rare find in the US. The tuna sandwich, was good, not the best I ever had, but I would order it again. It is served on a baguette, so don’t expect a soft bread; one of the thing I liked a lot is that the tuna is not prepared with mayo!!! The salad had bits of nuts and the vinaigrette was delicious!
In the end, this was a good meal! If you can get a table outside, do it. You get to see a bit of the locals (Coronado’s) and not the tourists wondering where to go; and anyway inside in a warm day can be a bit stuffy…

This quaint little café with the best crepes is a locals favorite!
No A/​C, you have been warned! They fill up quickly, arrive early. A table outside is nice in Coronado. Yes, the service is slow but if you have the time sit and enjoy the company you came to dine with I recommend it. Try to relax, taste your food… It’s a European thing.
My kids don’t get it, but I will keep taking them to Bino’s until they do!
The Strawberries Martinique is my favorite. I like it better than the chocolate. I have learned to make crepes myself, but is it much more fun to have someone else do the cooking! Love Bino’s!

This place rocks the boat folks! It’s a tiny, unassuming spot that was directly across from our hotel and we stopped in for coffee. Next thing you know, we are chowing on the worlds greatest bowl of Tortilla Soup and a tasty Prosciutto and Mozzarella panini. The simple fact that they have a Mexican soup on a Euro crêpe menu made me think that there are some real Mexican folks cooking in the back. I mean, that’s the norm in Caly, I know, but this was something special. It’s like the owner hijacked the recipe from the dish washers great great great grandmother or something b. c this soup is Soup Nazi esque! I couldn’t put the damn spoon down!!!
The service is a bit slow, but that’s b/​c they only have one waiter/​waitress working at a time and the place gets busy. Sit back, relax, enjoy a Mexican Mocha (can you tell I’m Mexican and pushing the Mexican theme here?) or an espresso and be patient, b/​c the food is worth the wait.

We came here for a very late lunch (3pm) on a Saturday
We sat at one of the many tables outside since it felt like there was no A/​C inside. We started off with a fruit plate and a Lungo iced coffee. As our main meal, I ordered the Nutella banana crêpe and my friend ordered the ham and cheese crêpe. They let you pick between cottage cheese or yogurt to come with your fruit plate. We got yogurt. The fruits were super super fresh and sweet. So good! The Nutella banana crêpe I had was super good and very large. The bananas were all sweet. My friend’s ham and cheese crêpe looked like it was smothered in cheese but looked delicious (photos included). He normally hates crepes but he ate the whole thing and said it was good.
Our total for one iced coffee, 2 crepes, and 1 fruit plate was $ 34. The service was excellent. Besides crepes, this place also offers sandwiches and salads. They also have a huge wine list. The downside of this place is that parking is terrible.

Wish I could give this place more stars than this but they didn’t even give me a chance to try their food.
My husband and I wanted to try this place because I had stopped by for a business meeting but didn’t want to order anything during the meeting. Well, the Saturday morning we decided to try it out was a huge mistake. We walk in and the place is completely full inside. We were looking for a spot to sit since the stupid sign in front of the door says to take a menu and seat yourself. The workers saw us walk in, look around the café to see if there was a place to sit which there wasn’t inside. However, there were 2 tables outside so we decided to take the menus from inside, which they saw us do so, and we seated ourselves outside.
Guess how long we waited before NO ONE bothered to come outside to take our order? 30 minutes of wasting our time when we could have already been eating breakfast at Clayton’s down the street! That’s right. Thanks for NOTHING Bino and your lazy snobby service.

Bino’s European Coffee $ Crepes is a horrible place! I am never coming back there.
A few of my friends and I went there for brunch. We were planning on having a good Sunday meal, but Bino’s really irritated and annoyed me.
The food is ok… but…
First, they didn’t have the restroom when I really needed it. There is one in the lobby of the hotel, and there is also a line that takes about 20 minutes waiting!
Second, the personal is really irresponsible, dirty, and indifferent. I had to walk to the stand to get a server a couple of times, and I never got my latte! Coffee drinkers know how important the coffee is…
Third, the place and utensils look filthy and really old.
At the end of it all… we didn’t even have enough food.

Slow service, cold food… we could have made better crepes at home. Cute atmosphere – We probably wouldn’t come back though.

It was this restaurant that spurned me to creating a Unilocal account. I’m a big foodie, dining out every week, just never personally reviewing my experiences, although I guess I will now. I had read the reviews — the food good but the service bad — and I thought to myself that the reviews were from a year ago and things must have changed since then. I was most assuredly wrong.
The food was decent, nothing to rave over but still a decent breakfast. We ordered the bananas and chocolate crêpe and the eggs with Mexican salsa (which is not your typical salsa, but roasted tomato and bell pepper slices instead). I was disappointed in the over-​microwaved bacon, but the glaring deficiencies in the operation of the establishment overshadowed the bacon tragedy. Let’s continue on with the service.
Firstly, we saw our waitress (I think the only one working) three times: to seat us, take our order, and deliver our food. There was one other table seated, otherwise we had the restaurant to ourselves. So obviously we should understand how busy she was (he says sarcastically). We were never once asked how our meal was, which would have been nice since I had no more coffee to wash it down, and apparently iced tea is at such a premium that refills are unheard of. Instead, my dining guest had to go up and refill it herself. Good for her because if she had been like me and waited, nothing would have come of it. In fact, we finally had to go up to the counter to ask to leave (and yes, just that, ask to leave). No bill was coming our way obviously, and it was up to the customer to keep the restaurant running.
I will NEVER be coming back here again, and I would encourage everyone heed the reviews of others and stay away as well. A crêpe is really not worth the crap they call service.

Love this place. We had 2 Mochas, omelette (with Bacon, swiss), crêpe, (with strawberries, chocolate). Outside table was a bit tippy, but we managed to thoroughly enjoy our bfast anyway. Food is awesome, never had a bad meal in the past 3 years coming to Coronado 2x year.
Service can be a bit inattentive, but very courteous once you get their attention. Hours for this place are sketchy. We have been told 7:30 — 4:30, but we tried at 4:10 & not a soul in site, all locked up. Good Luck!

I’m lucky that I found this spot because I was just driving around and spotted it. Felt a little courageous and wanted to try something different while I was in Coronado at the beach.
The spinach salad was what I ordered and it was delicious. I didn’t want to eat anything heavy because it was still early in the evening. The staff was pretty slow because their weren’t enough workers on shift. I still liked it since the food tasted good.

We came here right when they closed! Yup we were THAT group… Despite our tardiness, the waitress still sat us and served us just as any other group! We didn’t want to take long so all we ordered was a nutella/​banana crêpe and a berry medley crêpe. The nutella/​banana one was definitely the winner.
The setting is nice, service was great, and the crêpe’s were awesome… definitely a cool little café to stop by while at coronado.

we got here 10 mins before they closed and the lady said we could still be seated, although, she was very reluctant. We got two crepes, the berry medley and the banana nutella one. they came out pretty quickly and were both sooo good! its right across the street from hotel del and was a nice little pick up after walking around all day! if its a nice day, you should try and sit out side!

Came here on a rainy Sunday with the family… we all ordered different crepes, bannana nutella, berries and cream, strawberries with Kaluha, all were delish!
There were a lot of flies in the area we were sitting in, so that was a lil’ bothersome, but the café itself is very cozy, feels very European and the service was very friendly and nice.
Good place to take out-​of-​towners.

Breakfast in an 85-​degree aviary, anyone?
It felt like it was at least 85 degrees inside on a cool Sunday morning. The climate control system? Front and back doors, which open to allow a cross-​breeze. Guess what… they also let birds in!
I understand the risk, bird-​wise, when dining outside, but the birds entering the indoor dining area, landing on adjacent, recently-​vacated tables and pecking at scraps was gross. The staff barely noticed.
Now, the service… Friendly at the beginning, and from there it went from sparse to passive-​aggressive. I received no visits from the time my food arrived at the table until it was gone and my coffee cup was less than half full and room temperature.
I was visibly annoyed when one of the employees came to my table and asked if I was finished… I had been waiting for more coffee for close to forever, and there were only about five occupied tables. I forced a smile and acknowledged that I was finished, but I am sure that a little irritation came through. My barely-​disguised smile was met with the same in return. I left $ 1 on the table for a $ 12.00 check, and regret leaving that much. I am usually a heavy tipper…
OK, I’ll relent and talk about the good part: the food. The ham and cheese three-​egg omelette was tasty, with plenty of savory, delicious ham; and I don’t mean deli cuts… this was the real deal. The roasted potatoes were excellent as well, if a tad over-​buttered and not very hot, and the crusty bread was good.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend not going here, but if you do, sit at one of the sidewalk tables with high expectations for food, but low ones for service. Oh, and just accept the birds; you’re kind of in their habitat at that point, not vice-​versa.

A few months after moving to Coronado in ’07, I happened by this place tucked away on a side street and got totally excited… it looked like the perfect neighborhood bistro and wine bar. I immediately envisioned achieving «regular» status and being greeted by a big jovial guy (Bino) who would bear hug me when I came in and order up my favorites, which he had memorized. Expectations suck.
A few days later, I went there for lunch… and I left totally deflated. No Bino! A server who tolerated me. So-​so food.
We recently stayed at the El Cordova Hotel while our house was rented to tourists. You can enter Bino’s from the hotel courtyard, so we ate several meals there over several days. One word sums up how I feel about this place…“frustrated”. This place has the potential to be great… but it misses the mark.
The Food — Very good to great, but not consistent. The balsamic house salad dressing, strawberry crepes & caprese sandwich were outstanding. I had a cinnamon crêpe one morning that had clearly been sitting around… they popped it in the micro to make it like leather for me. Good tea & coffee.
The Service — Not bad, but totally lacking in personality. I still felt tolerated, rather than welcomed.
The Ambiance — So close, yet so far. I just shook my head when I looked around… on one side you have a quaint wooden bar with wine bottles lining the wall (yes!) while on the other you have late 20^th century thrift store décor (a plastic owl used to scare away birds… really???). Here’s some advice for all restaurant owners: 1) Less is better and avoid buying décor at Home Depot or Salvation Army); 2) If you’re going to have plants, water them. It’s a little unsettling to see shriveled up vegetation struggling to survive while I’m eating. 3) If you’re going to have floors, sweep them occasionally, preferably a few times a day. It’s not very appetizing to see dried up spills and remnants of God knows how many other meals beneath my feet. (It is kind of charming to watch the neighborhood birds come in and feed their entire families from the floor of Bino’s.)
It’s because this place has such incredible potential and has some things right that I’m frustrated. I will probably go back every so often just to see if they’ve figured it out yet… and for that caprese sandwich or strawberry crêpe.

Went here for breakfast, place seemed cute. I liked that it was an out of the way place of most of the military/​contractors/​base people, even though I am one of them. Whazeva! Its not crowded which is a good thing. Not sure how crazy it can get on weekends though.
Anyway, I got this cinnamon egg crêpe, friends of mine got some gelato, and another got a Chicken brie sandwich. All in all, its pretty good. I wasn’t a big fan of what I got, I will just have to get something else next time I go. I love crêpe places, so finding out about this place was a win.
Parking is meter, it was easy to find, but it was a Monday morning after all. Also, they don’t accept cards unless you spend more that $ 15, most crêpe or sandwich dishes average about $ 9. I took a star off for that because I really hate those little stupid payment caps and what not.

I think I just might not like savory crepes.
Which means this place was doomed before I even ate there.
Let me first tell you 3 things about my eating experience here today that annoyed me, but were not really the fault of the restaurant:
1) There was 1 toilet available for the entire complex — this includes Bino, a hotel, a big Mexican restaurant, and I think a few other restaurants. ONE WOMEN’S TOILET. I just wanted to go and wash my hands since I rode my bike there. There was a big line for the bathroom. It was so retarded. I didn’t wash my hands. Look, I’m from New York, I don’t have patience to wait in a big line. Especially not when I’m hungry. But this isn’t Bino’s fault, of course. Just don’t go there if you have to pee. Pee somewhere else first. There’s my helpful tip of the day.
2) There were lots of flies trying to land on our food outside. Again, not their fault.
3) It was very hot inside the restaurant (ok, they COULD have done something about that one). Fortunately a table opened up outside and we were able to move.
We got the crêpe florentine (w/​chicken, mornay sauce and spinach) and the beef ratatouille crêpe. Both were, in a word, bland. It tasted better when I put a bunch of pepper on it. I don’t really «get» savory crepes. They don’t taste like anything and don’t really have a texture. Why even eat them? Pasta and bread have some flavor and more importantly, a texture or some mouthfeel (I hate that word). So I guess my problem is fundamentally with savory crepes, but the blandness of the stuff on top of them didn’t help either.
Service was ok and prices were reasonable.
I wish I’d tried a sweet crêpe — they looked and smelled good!

Just went back to Bino’s for Sunday lunch… and BINO-​the owner was there, greeting the customers and all.
Bino is such a nice man, very kind, upbeat. He made us feel so welcomed.
Thanks Bino!
Mimosas are absolutely outstanding! You must try their gelatto as well. Strawberry and Raspberry mmmmm