RJ’s Cafe

My mom and i solely relied on Unilocal for a Dana Point breakfast/​brunch option and RJs was the first one to come up. It was wonderful. We both got the Feta Avacado scamble and it was delicious. But what made our experience the best was our wonderful waitress, Monica. She was so bright and bubbly and kind. Extremely hospitable. We loved her! We’ll definitely be back.

First time here, not impressed. I got the egg Benedict and it was very plan no flavor, my wife got Lobster Benedict which she said was «interesting» and my son said his Cinnamon French toast was good.
I will make a better choice next time.

Good was plentiful and good! We couldn’t decide between breakfast or lunch so we split eggs Benedict and a burger and they were both delicious. Service was excellent. I would come back here again for sure.

Great spot, get there early lines build quick. Prices are good and very good options for those of us who don’t want a huge breakfast. ex: 1 french toast/​pancake, 2 sausage meal. Helpful staff. Very dog friendly. Right across from harbour. Food better quality than Harbour House.

Don’t be intimidated by the wait! It is most definitely worth it! RJ’s is definitely a classic American diner joing with a Californian twist! You get a taste of paradiso with their mango jam stuffed french toast (french toast & its variations not to be overlooked) and their south of the border options including the classic Breakfast Burritos and the more traditional Chilaquiles and Huevos Ranheros.
RJs offers a cup of joe to make the waiting process a bit leas painful, and boy does it help. Granted the coffee is added to your bill but COFFEE HELPS!
Check it out! Great service, deelicious french toast and loads of options to please them all.
Walk off or breakfast with a stroll on the beach! Its right across the street!

My first and probably last visit here was quite a disappointment. After being seated at an outside table, we were completely ignored for over 20 minutes! Waitresses came and went and fawned over the numerous dogs practically sitting on the tables and eating out of their owners plates. I noticed two different waitresses playing with the dogs and allowing the dogs to lick their hands and then serve food without washing their hands.
Finally a young waitress took our order. The food… pancakes and salad… were mediocre at best.
The whole establishment reeks of sadness and desperation.
Two stars for the decent view from the outside seating area. Otherwise this place would only rate one star!

Best burgers in town.
Generous portion, excellent taste and great service. can’t ask for more.
Too early for a burger, never had a better breakfast.
5 stars all around.

Came in for breakfast and was able to sit right away. Was handed a menu and was asked if I was ready to order not even 30 seconds later. Luckily I already knew what I wanted and I went with the corned beef hash & eggs.
It didn’t take very long for my food to arrive, nice and timely food service. One thing that I noticed was my server prepared my toast by putting butter on it, which was a nice touch but she did touch my bread with her hands. I have no idea when the last time she washed her hands was. Not a huge deal.
It was delicious and it seems to me that they make the hash browns out of fresh potatoes. I will be back!

This is the place where your mom will take the grandkids. The only 30-​somethings in the building were my wife and I and one hostess.
The food was alright. I ordered «RJ’s Heavenly Potatoes» without mushrooms and two eggs, cooked medium, on the side. Honestly this could have been a 3, maybe 4, star review if the details were right.
If I order medium eggs, that means medium. The yolks have gelled but are not cooked through. They are not runny but just barely firm. This is not some culinary thing I have invented. This is a real doneness for eggs. I do not mean over easy. I do not mean runny yolks. I do not mean slimy whites. To me this is an automatic lost star. If your cook can’t figure out eggs then he probably can’t figure out anything else.
Sure enough, those heavenly potatoes aren’t so heavenly. Starting with what was good: basically everything except the potatoes. Bacon, onions, two kinds of cheese, and some spinach. All done properly, but all those things are even easier than eggs to do right. The potatoes are not so simple and so of course they were not good.
The potatoes were completely devoid of seasoning of any kind. No salt especially. They felt boiled; grainy and mushy with no browning on any except the very bottom layer, but the browning was so deep it clearly indicates the over-​boiled potatoes were put directly on a skillet or griddle and never moved until they were taken off. Boiled potatoes with no salt suck the flavor out of everything they touch! If you’re ever boiling something and you add too much salt to the water (pasta for example) it is a well-​known trick to add potatoes to the water to draw in the salt and save the pasta.
Every bite with potatoes in it had this strange seasoned-​but-​not-​seasoned taste where as you chewed the food the potatoes were actively pulling all the flavor out of everything else. By the time you swallow your bite it’s just lifeless and unpleasant. The dish had the potential to be quite good! The combination of flavored in the other ingredients was a classic breakfast combo. It’s too bad the potatoes ruined it.
After deciding to just accept the runny yolks and try the eggs anyway, I discovered they also had no seasoning at all. Amazing. A note to any potential chefs out there: salt added during cooking affects flavor quite differently than salt as garnish added at the end. You can not rely on your customers to season their own food after cooking. That is bananas.
Despite the lackluster food, though, our server was excellent. I tipped her quite well and she deserved every cent of it. For as busy as this place was she really kept on top of every table she had.
I would absolutely give this place a second chance one day, as I said with seasoning and proper cooking the dishes had potential; but I find the odds of me returning to Dana Point… ever, really, to be quite low. Unfortunately this visit will just have to serve as a reminder that if your chefs aren’t always on their game, they’re never on their game.

Only problem, I want to try a little bit of everything but the portions are enormous! we got two breakfast entrée’s and a french toast and it was ridiculous. we were embarrassed there was so much food on the table. I never let food go to waste.
Get the french toast.

Co– worker of BFs recommended RJ’s Café, we enjoyed it so much we bought two mugs, one to give to her as a thank you, and one to keep and recall the deliciousness of breakfast!
After breakfast here BF happily sighed and stated, after just this, no matter what happens today, the day is amazing hahaha.
Came a bit late on Sunday morning, parking was a bit tight but it is a big enough parking lot that someone is always coming out it seems. We were seated promptly and served okay coffee, while we are usually black coffee drinkers, I was in a cream and sugar mode, and BF liked the sweet flavored creamers available.
We ooooh and awed over the menu while the waitress attentively came by twice, but since it was our first time and soooo many good things from which to choose, we took a while– she told us to flag her down when we were ready, which I seriously like very much– it gives us the time we need and then we don’t feel like we are wasting her time also.
Finally decided, since we both enjoy mushrooms, ordered a Hole in the Fence omelet with side of biscuits and gravy instead of toast and then originally wanted cinnamon french toast but had to revert to Apple Stuffed French Toast as they just sold last cinnamon bun, however that means they make their own and incentive to arrive earlier. Waitress was fun and nice and knowledgeable and patient while we decided on substitute.
Plates arrived and wowzers! Omelet was huge and fluffy, and had an excellent blend of ingredients, one of the best ever. Biscuit was big and glistened in the think and flavorful gravy, both tasted from scratch home made like my mom makes, and my mom is a true educated pastry chef.
Then drum-​roll please… then the french toast… okay I am (now was) a french toast purest, I generally don’t use much syrup and like the pure slightly sweet cinnamon flavor of a good french toast lightly buttered sometimes with a bit of jam, however the BF who is even sweeter than his sweet tooth, likes a bit of desert for breakfast and once again I am blessed by him because whoa, this was the best french toast I have ever had! The cream cheese filling was true and not too sweet and still had the cream cheesyness not some pre-​made oozy nasty goop, the apples were fresh and tasted like my granny’s apple pie filling delightfully blanketing the french toast.
We cannot wait to go back, and try everything… though it will be hard to not order the exact same thing we had last time since it was so very good.
Come here for an amazing day on a plate!
Thanks RJ’s!

Great food, amazing service, everyone very friendly and nice comfortable place, this is by far one of the best little places in south Orange County. So if you are looking for amazing food and veg rest service, I recommend this place, you will not be disappointed by any mean, my son ad I went here for breakfast this morning and he didn’t want to stop eating, we usually take left overs to work after breakfast, but not from here, as we didn’t want to stop eating. Great place.

3.5
Stumbled upon RJ’s Café cause we were nearby and it was dog-​friendly. Place was booming, but a 30 minute wait for a party of 6 on a Saturday isn’t bad at all. They have coffee and water on the side for you to drink as you wait.
Our waitress was spread out all over the place, so it was hard to flag her down on occasions– but she was still a great waitress.
Food:
–Big Breakfast Burrito: the star of the meal. It is HUGE and packed to the brim. Unfortunately it wasn’t my order. If I got more than a bite– this review would have been rated a lot higher.
–Pesto Chicken Sandwich: good pesto, nice-​sized sandwich but was missing the oomph.
–Mushroom Swiss Burger: similar to the pesto sandwich. Everything individually was tasty, but it just didn’t mesh well and lacked something in flavor.

This is a great little spot to grab breakfast on a Sunday morning if you are in Dana Point. My wife and I decided to stop in for breakfast on a recent trip back home from visiting family and we found RJ’s Café through a search on our phone. We got there around 7:30am and it was already starting to fill up. Glad we got there when we did, as the inside dining area isn’t very big. Their breakfast menu is a good size and have everything from regular eggs, omelettes to stuffed french toast. On this adventure I had their «Hole in the Fence» omelette which was sausage, mushrooms and cheeses. Make sure you get their Homestyle potato’s as the side! The serving size is perfect and leaves you with energy for the day.
Service was attentive and the friendly staff makes stopping in for breakfast here a pleasent experience.

Found this little place after driving to Bonjour Café and realizing they had closed for a holiday. Restaurant décor and ambience leaves a bit to be desired BUT the food was pretty good and our sweet waitress was awesome. Love the über dog friendly patio and proximity to the harbor.
I’d go here again if Bonjour Café is closed.

What’s not to like about RJ’s?
OK, maybe the wait ;), but even that is getting better with the new larger patio open now.
RJ’s is awesome. We’ve been coming here for years on Sundays and I don’t think I’ve ever been there when RJ is not running around handling anything and everything that needs to be done. RJ’s a very nice guy and if you come in enough, he’s bound to get to know you. The servers all seem happy and they work their tails off due to the volume they handle.
¹²⁄₀₇ Visit. I’m updating my review today due to the last couple of visits that they have really done a great job on service and the entrees. We come here often and they are pretty consistently awesome.
LOCATION (Rating 5) RJs is located in a center with numerous other small businesses and a couple other restaurants. It’s not easy to find, but the center itself is located directly across from the bay. They’ve been going through growing pains and have opened a small room next to the main room in an attempt to accommodate more patrons (I think they should have taken the wall down however, as if you’re seated in there the service is not nearly as good) and they’ve been adding a ton of outdoor seating as well. Now, they’ve started work on what I think is an «official» patio area. Hope so. The wait is typically about 30 – 45 on Sundays prime time and sometimes up to an hour, so come prepared. The interior is «Casual Hawaiian Café» on to match RJ’s shirt selections I think. ;) It fits perfect and you’ll like the casual feel.
SERVICE (Rating 4.5) This place is hoppin! So the service can vary a bit, but overall they do a pretty good job. My suggestion, think about any extras you’ll need before the foods delivered as these gals don’t typically have the time to keep coming back to your table. It’s somewhat easy to flag them down however, as the place is small. If you’re in the extra room, my advice makes even more sense.
FOOD IN ORDER OF WHAT I LIKE
HCM HAM CHEESE & MUSHROOM Omelette (Rating 4.5) I add onions to mine. It hits the spot every time I have it. The ham used is large diced ham steaks which I think is the same ham used for the Eggs Benedict. It’s of great quality which really adds to the flavor. The mushrooms are of good quality again and typically cooked just right. Not mushy, but not crunchy. The egg itself is typically not overcooked but from time to time the chef’s will brown on the outside due to the pan being a little overheated when the cooks are working too quickly. Add to this a daub of sour cream and you’re stylin!
VEGGIE Omelette (Rating 4.5) This has got all the veggies I love on an omelette. The only thing missing is ham. So you guessed it, I fix the incomplete veggie omelette by adding ham. It comes with sauteed mushroom, spinach, green pepper, onion, tomato and cheese.
EGGS BENEDICT (Rating 4.25) Good old fashioned Eggs Benedict with a very good /​bordering great sauce. The ham steak is thick and of good quality and the eggs have always been cooked to perfection. They chef’s really do know what they’re doing and for the speed they are kicking out stuff it’s surprising to me how good the entrees are.
STRANDS OMELET (Rating 4) a generous size omelet with bacon, spinach, onions and cream cheese. The ingredients are a great idea and I’ve had this many times and it typically is a winner, but every once in a while there’s just a little too much moisture from the spinach or it’s cooked out and the spinach can be dry. But when they hit it right, it’s really good!

Went on a hike recently down to Salt Creek Beach, and wanted to try something new for breakfast.
We ended up here, and it was a Saturday or Sunday morning during peak breakfast time. We ended up waiting only about 10 minutes for a nice comfortable booth.
The service was fast, and friendly… The coffee was refilled always, and the food was delicious. I had the breakfast burrito, and I couldnt decide between ham or bacon, so I got both. It was huge, and it had so much flavor.
My friend got the eggs benedict and they looked perfect and so delicious as well!
I will definitely come back here for breakfast again!

My wife and I came here on a recommendation from some family that lives locally. We were not disappointed, so good!
We came here in the morning and sat outside. The weather was perfect. There was a little bit of a wait but we didn’t mind. Once we were seated we were promptly greeted with coffee and tea. I ordered the breakfast burrito with chorizo and avocado and a side of bacon. This was delicious! Highly recommended. When we’re back in the area we will definitely try this spot again!

The food here is delicious and they have a great selection so there’s bound to be something that looks appetizing for you & any people in your party. The wait staff is very friendly as well, always there to help you out with whatever you need.
The only downside is the wait. If you come here for brunch, especially on a holiday weekend, expect to wait a very very long time. Yes, it’s worth the wait, but I wouldn’t come here on a whim or when you’re already hungry. Plan on coming an waiting. Work around your stomach.
Also, in just my opinion, if you’re looking for breakfast, I’d skip the Machaca. It’s not very flavorful. I bit of a disappointment, but not horrible. Maybe I just have higher standards since that’s my usual go-​to when I see it on a menu.

Solid breakfast/​brunch located at the Dana Point Harbor. A favorite spot for locals and now a favorite spot of mine :)
Spacious patio dog friendly seating, a separate dining room with about 5 tables and a larger dining space. Tahitian style décor. No view of the ocean or the harbor but it IS walking distance… like ‘across the street from the harbor’ walking distance! Servers are accommodating, very friendly and the food is spot on!
Came on a Saturday around 11am and although the restaurant was packed, there was an open booth so my boyfriend and I were seated immediately! Score! After perusing the menu options, I saw that RJ’s offers a wide variety of breakfast options on their menu. Everything from your traditional breakfast choices such as eggs benedict, pancakes, scrambles to the more adventurous choices such as Stuffed French Toast and «Awesome Omelettes» named after landmark spots in Dana Point (Doheny, Hole in the Fence, Salt Creek, Strands, The Point) Loved that.
Now, I love me some Eggs Benedict but my boyfriend said we absolutely HAD to try the Feta Avocado Scramble (he frequents RJ’s). It comes with scrambled egg whites, spinach and tomatoes. Topped with a generous serving of feta cheese, half an avocado and served with home-​fried potatoes and toast. Sounds like a healthy and appetizing dish, amiright? It was! It was! The red salsa that comes on the side tasted wonderfully with the scramble but I felt that they went a little too heavy with the feta cheese. Not a big deal though, that could easily be scraped off to the side. There is the option to add protein (turkey or chicken) for just a wee bit more $.
We felt that we had to balance out our healthy egg white scramble with something sweet and naughty so we went ahead and ordered the Stuffed Banana French Toast. AWWWWW YEEEEAAAHHHH. It was so bomb and indulgent! It comes with two huge pieces of french toast and caramelized sweet bananas on top. Also on the side is two bacon or sausage and 1 egg. When we dug into our first bite, we were thoroughly surprised to find warm delectable cream cheese wedged in between the two slices of French Toast! Heaven in my MOUTHHHHH!!! Must get! They also offer other stuffed French toasts such as Apple, Mango, ala Orange and Cinnamon Roll French Toast.
One thing I will say is that the food took a little bit to come out. About 20 minutes. My boyfriend said the food doesn’t usually take this long so maybe the kitchen was a bit slow or understaffed on this day??? When our server brought our food, she asked us if we liked hot sauce. We nodded yes and I thought she’d at most bring the common hot sauces like Tapatio, Cholula, and Tabasco but she brought over 6 different types of hot sauces! HA! I was curious about two of the hot sauces she brought over called Ring of Fire. Sounded spicy so I had to try! Very good! Not too spicy and not too mild. Just perfect.
Our server asked us if we would like to try some of their freshly homemade cinnamon rolls. We kindly declined but now I totally regret it! All good though, just another reason to visit again. Thank goodness my boyfriend lives down the street from here. I’m a fan of you, RJ’s! See you soon!