Gustatory

This was our first time at Gustatory. We had brunch here and the food was awesome, as well as the service. I had the granola French toast the granola was crunchy and sweet — recommended if you’re looking for a sweet dish. My husband had the shrimp burrito which was very tasty and not has heavy as most burritos. The waitress was sweet to have us take out time. When we left, there was a long line waiting to get seated. We recommend that going there early is the way to go (we got there at 9am on a Sunday and there was seating available).

I had seen all the bad reviews given to this restaurant but saw that the owner/​management had written back to most and asked for a second opportunity to make a good impression, so I decided to give them a shot. This was our first time here. They have a great selection of both breakfast and lunch foods, perfect for brunch! We started off with coffee and my mother ordered a hot chocolate made with soy milk. The coffee was regular coffee, so nothing outstanding but it was served hot and the server kept it coming throughout our stay, and my mom really enjoyed her hot chocolate. When it came time to order, 3 out of 4 of the adults decided they had to have the same thing so we had the chipotle shrimp breakfast burrito and 2 out of those 3 loved it! It was filled with chipotle shrimp, egg, cheese, avocado and potato. My sister liked it but thought it could’ve used more salsa/​flavor. Both my mother and I thought it was perfectly seasoned for a breakfast burrito. It comes with a side of tater tots which were yummy, but I do wish you had other options, like fruit. My father ordered the blueberry pancakes which were 5 decent-​sized pancakes with tons of blueberries and sprinkled with powdered sugar. I was too into my burrito to try them but both my baby and dad devoured them and they looked amazing. Price-​wise, in my very humble opinion it’s more of a $$$ than a $$, but it is Coronado, so I understand.
The only reason they didn’t get five stars from us is because it did take a little long to get our food and when you have a toddler, that’s kind of an issue. Also, although they had high chairs, I wouldn’t call this place «child-​friendly» because there was no changing table in the women’s restroom. Huge bummer for a new mother but I hope management sees this and takes it into consideration. We hope to be back soon and wish this place success! All of you people who wrote bad reviews should really give this place another shot!

This place has potential but the food def needs some work. It’s very bland but could be good. I ordered the Spanglish omelette and it was ok. The slow cooked pork is very tender and not fatty– which is a huge plus, but was completely lacking any flavor. The salsa used for the omelette was definitely out of a jar, gross! It was also very bland and didn’t add anything to the boring omelette. I really wanted it to be so much more… my hubby ordered the chipotle shrimp burrito which was a bit tastier but still left him wanting more flavors. The location and place itself are great. It’s within walking distance from the ferry landing. We sat at a nice table outside and enjoyed people watching while we waited for our food. Service was good and food came out fast, but we probably won’t be back…

Took a long time to take our order. Food took too long. Toast cold. Meat was dry… not good service at all. We would not come back.

The owner was extremely rude. At least he said he was the owner to a party at another table.
He had been unpleasant with us when we entered The menu wax different than we expected from their online menu. Which was not a problem except we wanted an extra minute to review the menu. The owner was working as our waiter and acted insulted we asked for a few minutes longer to review the menu
An elderly couple entered after us and was seated (rudely) next to us. When their coffee arrived they were upset because the cups were dirty. They very nicely asked for new cups and the owner started berating them in an extremely loud voice that they were difficult and the coffee had splashed over the sides — the cups weren’t dirty.
I understand in the restaurant business owners waiters and waitresses are exposed to difficult customers. That was not the case in this instance. I hope the owner was having a bad day and isn’t always this way. But I won’t know because I choose to spend my money in an establishment where my business is appreciated and not a bother.
Food was mediocre at best.
One star is the lowest rating I can give without it looking like I forgot to rate this. One star is way too high a rating!

Decided to walk across the island from Coronado Beach for breakfast. Pleasant walk and great meal. I had the Chilaquiles Benedict (fried tortilla, salsa verde, roasted pork, poached eggs, cotija cheese, hollandaise sauce, avocado) and a cucumber mimosa, both delicious although I added hot sauce to my dish. Ali was my server and she was upbeat and spot on with her recommendations. Very reasonable prices. I would definitely return.

Stopped in Friday morning for a birthday brunch. Chaya-​Anna was our server and she was lovely, as was the rest of the staff. I had the chilaquiles Benedict. It was tortilla chips topped with pulled pork with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce — Deliciouses! My brother had the chipotle shrimp burrito, it was giant, and so good! Make sure you sit on the patio and enjoy the beautiful atmosphere.

How this place doesn’t have 5 stars is beyond me! It’s divine! Amazing breakfast! I had the Chilaquiles Benny and loved it. It’s enough to share but I attempted to eat it all myself, it was just so good. My friend had the sausage gravy and it was delicious too. I highly recommend this place if you are in the area. And sit outside! It’s beautiful!

Really enjoyed this place. It was a quiet late morning and the staff was friendly. I really enjoyed my custom egg scramble and my husband loved his eggs as well. We wish the juices weren’t quite so expensive, we wanted to try them but couldn’t justify the price for a juice. Definitely a better breakfast than we’ve had elsewhere on Coronado.

I had the chicken fried steak which was awesomely tasty. Just know that it’s cooked a bit differently than at most places. Rather than battered and fried round steak, this one was a skirt steak with a panko crust which made it really tender and crispy. And the sausage gravy had a ton of flavor and nice sausage chunks. Yum.

Another pleasant surprise on Coronado. Came here for breakfast. Sat outside and it was so pleasant! The staff was so attentive and nice. The food was fresh and came out fast. And the complimentary biscuits and marmalade were amazing! I would go just for those alone. Definitely recommend going here for a Laidback breakfast or lunch! It’s not very big so if you can get here on a weekday you will have more choices for seating.

Hey, what happened! Paid a visit to one of my favorite local breakfast places today. I always enjoy the food here, and the eclectic menu always pleases anyone I bring along. The service is always top notch as well.
This morning however what I found was a rather confused jumble of tables and patrons lined up. Apparently the new system involves standing in line to place your order, picking up your own coffee and water, and returning to your table.
The wait in line was 10 to 15 minutes, and then an almost hour wait for our meal to arrive. The food was great and the servers very apologetic.
The reason my Family and I come here is to enjoy a great meal with very good service. This new situation doesn’t come close to that. I am going to wait until things get back to normal until I return. I really would like to.

I wish I could leave zero stars. After waiting 40 minutes for a sandwich I finally just got up and left. Hungry and time wasted. And everyone else that was there was clearly annoyed as well and all you heard the whole time was the poor server repeatedly apologizing to everyone. Go next door and get lunch at the brewery and grab a beer while your there.

My wife and I came here for brunch this morning and the food was ok. I had the fried chicken omelette and she had the steak sandwich. Both kinda left us feeling a bit let down with the flavors. The part that actually upset me the most was the fact that I got our check for $ 34.45 (not bad) but when I got my check back to sign it, it magically it change the total to $ 50.65. The hostest told me «oh we forgot to add some things to your original check.» This is completely unacceptable. All the places I have worked would have honored the original check that was handed to the customer!!! I worked as a waitress for 10 years and you don’t ever hand a customer a check for one amount and come back with another amount.

There aren’t a ton of options on Coronado Island for breakfast/​brunch. We were happy to find this one (and right next door to Coronado Brewing Company, too!). They allow dogs on their patio – a plus.
You order at the counter and then wait about 100 years for your food. The food is good, better than I expected, honestly. The potatoes were kind of soggy and needed salt, but I take potatoes more seriously than most people. Anyway, when you’re done, you then wait another 100 years for someone to bring the bill. The service is slow, is what I’m saying. But if you’re not in a hurry, it’s fine. On a warm day, it’s a nice little bistro to spend some time.

This is a fun breakfast place that really supports the troops. The service was second to none and they have the food to match. I went for breakfast and had an omelette, but I want to go back for other meals.

Service was unusual. Maybe could have used an extra service. But friendly gentleman and cook. Took a while to place and receive our order, but it was pretty good. We had a late breakfast but sandwiches and burgers passing by looked pretty impressive.

We came here for brunch and it was ok. The Acai bowl was really weird. It was like two scoops of Acai ice cream sprinkled with granola and fruit and honey. It tasted ok, but I wasn’t in the mood for ice cream. I’m used to it being like a smoothy or yogurt type bowl.
Most other meals I saw were quite large! My husband loved the potatoes and the English muffins were big and delicious.
The waitress we had was on a different planet, so that didn’t help.
I’d opt for 3 stars, but I was outvoted by others who liked their meals, so I’m giving it 4 stars.

This place was not good. The only star is for the great waitress… she was so nice so we couldn’t even express our upset-​feelings to her.
The food took FOREVER to come out… it’s no wonder because we saw the chef frolicking around. DO NOT waste your money on the roasted red potatoes. They suck. We had to add like the whole salt and pepper bottles to make it edible.
Waste of time and money.

HORRIBLE customer service. We ate here today (12−26−15) for a late breakfast. There were a few customers on the patio and a few table inside. We called in advanced and were surprised that they actually took our name down and said they would have a table ready for us when we arrived. Most places won’t do that and at first we appreciated it, but that should’ve been the first red flag. When we arrived 10 mins later they did not have a table ready as they said it would be, so we had to wait 10 mins to be seated. No biggie, since we thought it was odd that they took our name over the phone anyway. So then we were seated by a friendly host and then everything went to crap from there.
We sat down and the waitress (a white lady mid-​late 20’s with long blonde dreadlocks) came over to take our drink order. We had a group of five that included my grandmother in-​law who speaks in a very low voice. When the waitress asked what she wanted to drink she was rushing her and rudely repeated herself asking, «Maàm, WHAT do you want to drink?!» This is after my gma had already said to get everyone else’s order first. But her attitude was just the beginning.
Our food took 45 mins to finally come out, and the only reason it was finally brought out is because we asked the manager what was taking so long. When it did come out it was cold and tasted awful. The waitress NEVER came back to ask us if we needed any refills (we did) or give us any updates on our food.
This was an awful experience and I will NOT go back to this place. If you’re in the area and looking for somewhere to eat try any of the restaurants in the Ferry Landing area.

Unbelievable the woman working there has no sense of decency or customer service. Threw a stink about Unilocal checkin offer and asked me to return my food to go as I was walking out I’m still in shock. Never coming back the guys working there had a much better attitude and were attentive. Too bad my horrendous experience with the woman with dreads won’t let me recommend this place or return. She had long blonde hideous dreads.
On the food: very bland banh mih sandwich and over cooked tots but those were replaced thank god

On a recent trip to San Diego, I had a chance to eat at this restaurant and I was glad I did. We sat outside and I started with a healthy green drink that was very good and ordered the chilaquiles, and my mother ordered the pancakes.
The chilaquiles where the best I have ever had in my life. The were made the usual way with the exception that the eggs were poached and a lemony spicy type of chili sauce was spread over the top. It melted in my mouth and my tastebuds squealed with delight. I wish I lived closer so I could have them every day! The pancakes were also delicious and the portion size huge, definitely enough for 2 people.
Best breakfast ever!

Decided to try out the new brunch spot in Coronado– located a block from the ferry landing. Beautiful views of Coronado & downtown.
Coffee was good and they were generous about refills.
Unfortunately, the cons outweigh the pros. They have a severe problem with FLIES. I don’t know about other people, but I DO NOT like flies landing on my food. The place is infested with them. Maybe light some citronella or lavender candles? Hopefully they can fix this problem. Completely lost my appetite and we decided to take our food to-​go. Also, the heavy metal/​rock music was a little too aggressive for an 8AM breakfast in Coronado…
Ordered the chilaquilles & acai bowl. The acai bowl lacked granola they only sprinkled a few flakes on it and it only came with strawberries. Would have been nice with some sliced banana, coconut & honey.

It may be more like a four star spot, but deserves the fifth star for the excellent value. The menu is reasonably priced, the atmosphere is light and friendly, and the food tasted fresh (took a while to prepare… which makes me feel it was made to order). The wait was comfortable though, and we were brought all you can eat cornbread (crisp and tasty), free mimosas (thanks, Unilocal), and coffee that you can watch the staff prepare.
We were going to visit a different breakfast spot, but it closed at 9, which didn’t jive with our vacation sleep schedule. Gustatory serves it through the lunch hour… thank goodness!
This spot is also convenient for those visiting via the ferry… No long bike or Über ride away.

Ehh! The food was bland, the coffee was really weak, there were flies Everywhere and the service was struggling.
I will not be coming back. I’ve got so many other yummy places I like to go to read my book, drink good coffee and eat great food. I also have so many more to try.

I came here because our family recommended it. First there was flies everywhere. We only saw our waitress maybe once for our orders. When we got it it was burned even the toast was black. My husband ordered chicken fried steak and was given something different he realized after he already cut the egg and mixed it up on the plate and they took it and served it like that to the table it was for.
My sausage was raw and pink his chicken fried steak was totally burned when he finally got it all the eggs were drenched In grease. The waitress never came to apologize or anything. And keep in mind all the flies even while we ate. I’ve never wrote a negative Unilocal review but for Coronado not what I expected. I have to say the one person who checked on us and was the only enjoyable part of being there was Oscar. Thanks to him for saving that place with his welcoming service and he wasn’t even a waiter. Honestly it was gross and I’ve never said that

I don’t really visit Coronado that often but when a new place with a good breakfast menu opens in town sometimes you got to make the trip out there. A recent addition to San Diego’s eateries, gust-​ta-​tory just opened a bit back towards the North end of Orange. I came here on an early Sunday morning with a friend to grab some breakfast before heading up the path on the shore. The parking options here are going to suck pretty much any time later in the day, so if you come here closer to noon you might be struggling. They have plenty of inside seating (
) as well as outside tables so you can enjoy San Diego’s awesome weather. Gustatory serves up some diverse breakfast items with things like eggs cooked in pig fat, a bowl of phở and sunrise lasagna. They also have a great selection of drinks, juices and serve local roasted Café Calabria coffee.
They have a pastry case located up front with lots of different baked goods such as brownies, cookies, muffins and cinnamon rolls. I went with one of their cinnamon rolls (
) which they prompted to heat up before serving it. I’m not really a big fan of cream cheese but since it was already added on top, I went with it. The cream cheese on top was made in house and was some of the best I’ve tasted. What I really enjoyed about this roll was that it wasn’t overly sweetened with sugar and allowed for you to actually taste the cinnamon. The texture on the outside was a bit crispy but gooey in the inside, very delicious.
Even though the menu offered a lot of new and different breakfast options, I went with a build your own scramble option with grilled chicken, cheddar, tomato, caramelized onions and salsa on the side (
). The order came with hash browns and toast along with some of their house made marmalade jam. I absolutely hate jam so I avoided it but my friend said it tasted great. The scramble was a bit on the smaller side but had plenty of chicken and cheese. The eggs were cooked perfect and even though it didn’t seem like much, it filled me up. The hash browns were not very good at all, very soggy and undercooked. They were even on the colder side of things only being about luke warm. I didn’t mind too much since the cinnamon roll was large enough, but I really did not care for the hash browns. The whole wheat toast was alright, it really didn’t taste like anything special though. Salsa (
) that on the side was flavorful which went well with the eggs, it wasn’t spicy though. The fresh green juice (
) my friend ordered was very strong and potent. That stuff will definitely wake you up in the morning if the coffee doesn’t.
Even though the hash browns on my plate weren’t too good, we both enjoyed our breakfast here. The service from our waitress Alishia was great; she was very friendly and explained the menu pretty well. She came around several times to ask us how our meal went and to refill my coffee. Gust-​ta-​tory is a nice restaurant with overall some quality food and an interesting menu for breakfast. It’s in a great spot if you wish to grab some food for the morning and enjoy the ocean air next to the shore.

The place lives up to it’s name. Gustatory offers very fine food and a large menu of carefully selected drinks with excellent service at good prices.
My friend and I visited for lunch (they also do breakfast) and ordered Mini Corn Dogs with Jalapeño Cornbread Batter and House Made Ketchup and Mustard as well as the Grilled Chicken Bahn Mi Fries with Sriracha Mayo. I also tried a locally brewed hard root beer.
I know what you’re thinking. A place called Gustatory (definition: concerned with tasting, or the sense of taste) with the motto «eat like a genius» serves corn dogs, fries and beer?
But believe me: these are comfort foods brought to the level of gourmet food.
The corn dogs used hand-​made German sausage that was savory, moist, and tender with a lovely mild, subtle flavor. The breading was light, crispy, and flakey — almost transparent in parts. The mustard (stone ground right in the kitchen) was divine.
The fries were fantastic. Crisp but not dry, with a variety of fresh herbs, Sriracha mayo, and grilled chicken that was spectacularly good.
Usually in a dish like this, I find places skimp on the quality of the meats used. You often get second rate chicken or beef when it’s tossed in with a pile of fries, or topping your nachos.
Not here at Gustatory.
The chicken was perfectly cooked, moist, and *so* flavorful, it could have stood on it’s own as an entrée.
The only thing better than the food was the service. The owner and waiter were delightful and very helpful. We actually ended up developing a running joke between ourselves about his cutlery. It’s a long story, but the point is, the people here are charming, and clearly take pride in this restaurant.
Our meal and two drinks came out to about $ 25.

The hostess was nice, but seemed hesitant to acknowledge me and even more so to put my name on the list. I felt like I had to tell her to write my name down. Maybe it was too busy and because they were slammed… but they were off to a rocky start. It felt as if she was hoping I’d leave… but I didn’t.
Waited for an hour to get seated, even though there were empty tables. We were told that the kitchen had to catch up, but we would get seated… but have to wait to order. I’m not really sure how waiting to order solves that problem. Anyhow —
Waitress came by after awhile and asked us if we would like to order food??? Um, yeah. She was nice and all, but waiting for an hour to sit down… what a silly question to ask.
My food was good, but I was also waiting for about an hour and a half so my judgment could be biased. I got the Bob Denver with a side of bacon.
My friend got her order wrong, so she had to wait to get it fixed. I couldn’t wait so I had to eat without her.
I had to ask for butter, jam and ketchup and it wasn’t a quick turnaround. In my hungry state I inhaled half the omelet before I got ketchup and butter for the bread.
I hope they get the service down, because it’s not a bad breakfast place… But the wait was pretty ridiculous.
If/​when I come back I hope for a better experience.

I have been here twice and I will definitely keep coming. New business (used to be some French place I think that never looked too appealing to go into because it looked too fancy) but now it’s a breakfast and lunch place that hasn’t disappointed me yet.
Prices are a little higher than other places but I get it, their rent is premium but the service and food is worth it.
They have cucumber/​mint or the first visit was cucumber/​basil water or a citrus water which is nice.
First visit I got eggs Benedict with extra side of bacon, and coffee. Bill was $ 19 and change. Waiter probably checked on me 6 – 7 times during my visit which wasn’t long, took maybe 5 min for my food to come out (but I came on a weekday), so this place is definitely striving for great service. The muffin was nice and doughy. Ham was thick and had this roasty flavor and eggs were poached perfectly. My bacon (which is what I was craving that day) was delish, almost like they deep fried it without overcooking it. Came with a roasted tomato and my coffee had this nice aftertaste (maybe a hint of cinnamon? Not sure).
Second visit I had the BarBeCuban sandwich with a side salad. Bill was $ 12 and change. It was a baguette with slow roasted ham and pork with house made BBQ sauce. I like how they didn’t overdo it with the sauce and overwhelm the sandwich with BBQ, it was actually the opposite with just a slight touch that was enough to compliment the meat. I personally liked the meat because it wasn’t fatty and dripping in grease, it was lean meat but flavorful. I didn’t care for the side salad, although it was fresh greens it was like the dressing was just oil. When they realized I wasn’t a fan though they brought me a side of fruit salad (even though I didn’t ask for it), which was nice. I think if I order I side salad again I will request for vinaigrette dressing.
Since this place is new I think it’s off to a great start and think it’ll thrive as long as they maintain the quality of food and service. I do have some tips for the business they might want to consider though, because during peak hours, little things to make ur business more efficient will matter!
–The water station– although great location with a sign for please enjoy is a great idea, you may want to consider two more water dispensers behind the counter where the ice and additional cups are located. Right now I notice the servers having to go behind the counter to get the cup of ice and then go in front of the counter to get the water.
–Togo boxes– when I asked for a Togo box the waiter had to go in the back to get the box. Might want to consider a second location in front for Togo boxes and bags for faster response times.
–Spoons– when I ordered coffee I got cream and sugar on the table but opened up the silverware napkin there was no spoon. Of course waiter brought one over real fast but you may want to consider putting a spoon in with the rest of the silverware in the napkin too, that way the wait staff doesn’t have to keep remembering when people order coffee.
I can’t wait to come back and try out other menu items. They seem to have some Vietnamese influence in the menu because there is phở and banh mi on the menu! Such a nice addition to Coronado options in dining! Good luck!

I see this place is off to a nice start. I stopped in for Sunday brunch, and although there were a few minor set backs, I became a fan of this place very quickly. I ordered the Spanglish omelet which consisted three eggs, slow roasted pork, fresh cilantro, cotija and pepper jack cheeses and topped with fresh salsa verde. It served with hash browns, but I asked for a salad instead, and they happily obliged. The omelet was $ 12 and some change.
The omelet was suppose to come with a sprinkling of Cotija cheese but they forgot to put it on, which was to bad because I really like that strong cheese and it would of went very well with the salsa verde and pork. The egg portion of the omelet was very well prepared and lightly seasoned. It was fluffy and soft. The pork was good and mild in flavor. It was a little toothy, but tender for the most part. It tasted quite good, but a little more seasoning during braising would be good.
The Pepper Jack cheese, I suspect was not Pepper Jack. It was simply white cheese because I could not detect any peppers nor taste it, which is signature with this cheese. It was still good nevertheless. The omelet as a who was very good, but it needed something inside and that was texture. I think the omelet, if they so dare, would benefit from some chopped fresh scallions inside the omelet with the cheese and pork. It would not only add texture, but another level of flavored, and we know green onions go so well with pork, that is to say, «Carnitas.»
The side salad very good. All the ingredients were fresh, and I really liked the house olive oil and herb dressing that came on the side. The omelet also came for a halved roasted tomato which was good, and for my toast, I had the English muffin which was very good with it light toasting.
Service was very attentive and quite good. The manager was very helpful and well verse on the new eatery’s operation and menu. They carry baked good from Bread & Cie and coffee from Café Calabria. The eatery has a very nice outside front patio.