Main Street Grill

We biked from the Ritz at Half Moon Bay. Perfect way to start the day. Breakfast was amazing. Charming diner.

Ok, glam this is not, but if you like old fashion grill atmosphere and basic breakfast all day food, this is a «how cool was that» kind of place. Too bad they were out of pie, I may have to come back. The cook has been cooking for 66 years (not a typo, he’s 84 years old. I love this place.

If you are dining alone, this place forces you to sit at the counter reminiscent of December 1^st 1955, when Rosa Parks was denied a seat on a bus. I arrived on Sunday June 5^th and the place was full, there were no available seats with exception of one seat at the counter. There was nobody else waiting for a table. I was approached by a male waiter whom I told I would gladly wait for a table. I prefer this as the counter seats are just not suitable for my bad lower back. He said I would have to sit at the counter stating they didnt allow single people to sit at a table. He quickly passed me off to the head waitress who told me the same. I asked her if this was a law and she said no, but the owner (who was cooking) would be very mad if she did. I asked her if there was a restaurant in town that did allow singles to eat at tables and she did offer a way for me to solve «my» dilemma. She said, «down the street there is the Half Moon Bay café its pretty good,» and walked away. Afer her sympathetic advice I felt truly relieved to know that discrimination was not alive and well in America and that good advice is there for the asking in Half Moon Bay. What a relief! Honestly, I know that high class restaurants sometimes have table limits or minimum party requirements, but this greasy spoon just doesnt make it into that category and would certainly fail the Gordon Ramsey inspection. I think If a traveller, or anyone else for that matter wants to patronize your business and is inclined to wait for a table, even a mere 2 top, you should probably accomodate, rather than sending them down the street to your competitior? My customer service tip to management — no charge! Unless of course your primary reason for being in business is to lace your pockets with silver, then, Im sure this establishment is laden with it.
Thanks for all your hospitality!

This place was excellent. My wife and I both ordered one of the specials. I had the Suzanne’s Benedict and she had the blackberry French toast. Everything was perfect. The place is small so I can tell that it probably gets busy and has wait times. We came early so all that was avoided.

Always enjoying coming over to HMB, and when we do we try and have breakfast at the Main St Grill. Small place, and always crowded on the weekends up to about 11:30am. You will probably wait at least 1-​hr to be seated and get your food.
The menu is simple but very tasty, and reasonable priced. The best part is the chef who has been there since I have been visiting this place (16+ years) singing and humming while he prepares the food.

Really great place that brought us back to the 50s. Good home cookin’, excellent potatoes, and great service. Would recommend for breakfast. without the frills, just great food all around.

Great French toast and friendly service. A little expensive but really nice breakfast.

They have the best home made breakfasts, with a variety of sausages: chicken apple, Italian, linguica, normal breakfast pork, etc… Of course, they have great bacon and pancakes. The home potatoes are delicious! Plus, the place has a lot of personality. The owner sings along with the juke box. The wait staff are super nice and fast.

Visited here before and once just recently (w/​GF). So, I owed it a review. While it doesn’t look like much from the street, it has been a pleasant surprise.
We both ordered the patty melt, which was just enough to fill you and very tasty (waitress asked us how we would like/​bonus — both med. rare). GF had the fries and I have the potatoe salad (both, excellent choices). Patty melt was on (real) rye bread too, so that was good as well. Fries weren’t overly greasy. They were fluffy with a nice crisp to them. Potatoe salad was creamy, with a soft texture (some salads are a bit too crunchy — potatoes didn’t cook long enough, so you’ve got some uncooked potatoes there).
Service was attentive but not overly so. Prices are very reasonable. Especially considering it is on the main street thru HMB. Food is very good. Had other items on other visits, very good too.
Iced tea is made freshly here (not fru-​fru tea, plain tea). And that was very good/​refreshing.
Would recommend as a very inexpensive choice to all the really pricey stops on Main St. HMB. Will return.

This place is just perfect! We were looking for a local, hole in the wall breakfast joint with tasty food, and we got one. I ordered the cranberry pancakes, which had whole cranberries cooked into them. Probably my favorite pancakes I’ve had! The bacon was perfectly done. My husband loved his french toast with bananas, and the sausage was fantastic as well.
The restaurant is very open, so you can see the cooks doing their thing. They have an illustration of a mustachioed gentleman flipping a frying pan on the menu, and I spotted him at the range, singing beautifully along to the music in Italian. His singing was probably my favorite thing about the place.
Our server was so warm, with a great sense of humor, and she genuinely seemed to enjoy her job.
The music was very soothing. Old-​timey, traditional swing, jazz, and big band made our morning quite relaxing.
As an added bonus, the bathroom was clean and nicely decorated.
Would definitely come back!

What a great little place. We stopped here after a visit to Ana Nuevos Park for a late breakfast/​lunch. Eggs, bacon, potatoes and English muffin cooked to perfection! We’ll be back

Great place! Delicious home cooked breakfast, friendly staff ~ perfect little place! Jukebox is fabulous!

Very pleasant diner/​coffee shop. Friendly and responsive staff. I have only sampled their breakfast/​brunch food (pancakes and waffles) which were good. Real maple syrup is available for a little extra. Reasonable prices.

Friendly Staff. Pablo came over immediately to get our drinks going. He kept coming over to make sure they were always filled. Music plays in the background and when the mood strikes the owner belts out the song while cooking. Lots of locals fill this quaint spot. Breakfast served all day. Sandwiches and burgers. Your food is served hot and fast. I would definitely go back for the local charm.

Not sure what all the hatery is about. This place is priceless! Got our delicious eggs beney with avocado 10 minutes after ordering. Definitely top 5 beney of all time. And the atmosphere is straight outta the 50’s or earlier. The older gentleman at the griddle will serenade you in a lovely tenor. He knows all of the words of music from the 40’s and 50’s. Service is excellent. Sit at the counter. Do your self a favor. Eat here. It’s on Fleek.

I had the eggs Benedict with avocado, tomato, and spinach. My BF had the corn beef hash, and a side of the British Banger. All good. Oldies playing from the juke box and the owner singing in the background.

Saw this place on TV with Huell Howser about 10 years ago so when the chance arose, had to try breakfast. It’s been on Main Street since the ’40’s and is a throwback to the old diners. We were greeted and seated right away. Not too busy on a Wednesday at 10:00. Coffee was excellent, wife got ham and eggs and I got the Spanishtown scramble. Both were delicious, served with grilled cubed potatoes and toasted sourdough. Waitress was around several times and kept the coffee full and hot. The place got a few more tables of clients while we were there. Old time music playing, cook (owner, I think) sings while working the grill. Just a great experience!

Just don’t eat here. Don’t do it to yourself.
Overpriced: not worth the price
Terrible service: we had to initiate everything and ask for everything ourselves.
Portions are small. And by small I mean even a kid would be hungry for more if he ordered the short stack which is two measly pancakes with a 3 inch diameter.
Required by law to give a huge undeserved tip.
Vegetarians beware. Bacon bits lurking in every bite.
The restroom lacked the basic requirements such as toilet seat covers. Not to mention the horrifying cat collages that acted as wallpaper.
The plastic cups had been chewed on (probably by the disgusting cats displayed on the walls of the bathroom)
Since when does an apple cost $ 5?
Thanks for not giving us silver wear I guess cat food doesn’t require a fork now does it? I’ll just share with my friends oh wait that’s another $ 10? That’s right they charge you to share a plate.
My parents were so upset for dropping $ 70 on a meal for 5 people they had to walk it off. Let’s just say less than mediocre is the understatement of the century.

Retro experience.
An old school traditional coffee shop with everything, building, interior, food, locked in a time warp from the 1960’s. However, that’s not a bad thing, had a very good BLT with potato salad, nothing special just done well, tasty, had to have a Coke with it too.
Good service, everything was quick, food came out fast.

Expensive breakfast. Plate of breakfast with coffee set me back $ 20 (a little lacking on the eggs). Being serenaded by the cook (well, he was singing for the whole joint, not just for me), priceless. Cool laid back feel, a good place to rest your feet downtown.