Olive Cafe

A true hidden gem of the Mission Beach area of San Diego. This place is awesome! I come here every time I visit San Diego. It’s a great place to grab a quick bite to eat if you don’t feel like standing in line at one of the other more busy brunch places in the area. Every day that I’ve here, I was able to order almost immediately and find a place to sit without a wait. If we would have gone to any of the other restaurant in the area we would have waited at least an hour. The service is also exceptional. Go here now!

Came here for breakfast, everything is really good. Great portions, healthy options. I’ll definitely come back as a nice place to come and sit on the patio for breakfast

Cute brunch place where you order at the counter and they bring you the food to the table. If you’re driving here during the weekend, be aware that parking will be horrible. However, they have a good selection of food and of course coffee.

Decided to eat here before heading back to Phoenix. The food was great and the pancakes were huge. The place is a little small inside but we didn’t mind as we were looking for the small beach side café feel and got just that. The people were really nice and food arrived quickly.

By far my favorite breakfast spot in San Diego even when there’s a wait you’ll get breakfast faster here than anywhere else with an hour wait. The menu has plenty of variety which I love and all the food is made to perfection. The location isn’t bad but parking is sometimes an issue since its in mission bay but worth the effort!

Delicious breakfast and a nice atmosphere. You get everything quickly and its fresh made. The fruit bowl is a wonderful side or main dish. All are very friendly

The Olive Café is my favorite place for a casual breakfast or lunch in Mission Beach! I love sitting on the patio when the weather (usually) allows. The menu contains something for everyone. Last time, my mom and I shared a chocolate chip scone and it was heavenly! There was plenty of scone for two! I would absolutely recommend checking this place out for a bite to eat.

Great neighborhood spot in cuisine-​starved Pacific Beach. Baked goods are top notch. Warm granola with fruit was a great breakfast choice.
If you want a friendly place with good food and friendly staff, you found it. Skip the other lousy choices in the Mission Beach area.

Honestly my and I are not from the area but every time we come in to town we always eat here. We have eaten here twice and loved it both times! I got the farmer burrito and my husband got the bacon burrito. Honestly it was delicious, good portions, and cheep. The only thing that I don’t like about it is that it isn’t in my town! I told my husband we are eating here every single time we come to town.

This is by far my favorite breakfast /​brunch location in San Diego.
I discovered Olive Café years ago when I was a freshman at SDSU. I took surfing classes at the Mission Bay Aquatic Center and we would have to pass Olive Café every time we went to the ocean and back. My best friend and I made this a staple of our diets during our years at SDSU.
Breakfast of choice is the South Swell with a hot Mocha, which I found to be the best breakfast combination in any San Diego conditions.
A few years ago, Olive Café expanded into the building next door. It’s great to see this small hole-​in-​the-​wall become so popular. Even the birds are jumping on the bandwagon! (Seriously, if you sit outside, you’re more than likely going to encounter a small bird at some point).
I will be sure to stop by Olive Café every time I visit San Diego and will recommend it to anyone visiting.

I came here very early on a Saturday morning to try and grab a quick breakfast Togo.
They have you wait in line, to order then you go and sit down and wait for your food.
They were so slow and unprepared. The person taking the orders kept leaving the register. Then the person making drinks couldn’t read most of the orders. It was so slow and clustered. They need to get their act together. Saturday morning is a pretty normal occurrence. And they seemed so disorganized.
I had 4 groups in front of me. And it took 45 minutes just to order. It should not take 45 minutes to take 4 tables orders. Not to mention this is just to order not even counting how long it takes to get the food.
I got so frustrated by the time that I got to the front that I just got a coffee because I needed to go to my appointment.
Go here if you like waiting hours for breakfast when it’s not even that busy.

Enjoyed the MZ Heart Scramble. It’s 3 eggs scrambled with mushrooms, onions, and peppers served with a side of tomatoes and a cup of fruit. The cup of fruit was overflowing! And they may have used egg whites only. It had me feeling like If I eat this every day I’ll live to 100!
It’s order at the counter service with both indoor and outdoor seating. We chose to sit outside in a shaded area from the umbrellas they have set up on the deck. The whole vibe from the restaurant reminds me of Nantucket islands in the summer!
There’s a big coffee selection with a whole board of different styles they brew and create. And the baristas and servers are all friendly. After you order at the counter, and they deliver your food, they come by to check and see how you’re doing and if you need anything. Creating a comfortable place to brunch!

Always on the outlook for better and more breakfast places to try, Olive Café has been on the radar for quite a while, I just haven’t come here before because I’m not usually out in this area. Also the lack of parking around Mission Blvd makes it hard to go through the task of searching for a spot. But luckily since it was so early in the morning, I found a spot relatively fast. Olive Café opens every day at 7:30 am on the dot, and when we came around opening time there were already people waiting in line. This place is the basic order your food and they bring it out to you deal, there is no waiter service here. They serve all kinds of coffee drinks, pastries (
), breakfast and lunch items. Next door to the café they have a takeaway sweets place that offers all of their pastries along with ice cream that opens a bit earlier and stays open later. They have a rather small quaint dining room inside and a larger outside seating so you can enjoy your breakfast in the beach air.
I just can’t help myself not ordering chocolate chip pancakes when I see them on a menu, so I went with their «Luke and Claire’s Kookacakes» special order of pancakes (
) which included two large hotcakes with chips inside along with some sliced bananas on top dressed with powdered sugar. The pancakes here are quite large which may make you not want to order any sides with them and they’re a good deal for only about $ 6.50. The cakes were very fluffy and had just the right amount of cooking time on each side. You couldn’t ask for a better cooked pancake. The batter they used was quite good and they didn’t bog down the order with lots of chips, so you had a perfect balance of cake and chocolate sweetness. The bananas on top were okay but they could have easily been just as good without them. I didn’t really try the syrup here because adding even more sugar to chocolate chip pancakes is a bit too sweet for me.
My friend had ordered a custom scramble of eggs (
) which included some veggies along with a side of fruit. She commented that the fruit wasn’t very fresh and had a lot of juice at the bottom of the bowl (
). The scramble was just okay, she said they cooked the eggs quite well but kind of lacked on how many veggies they added to it, she was a bit disappointed with it. Maybe they need to work on adding a bit more of stuff to their egg scrambles when people request them.
Even though my friend didn’t enjoy her breakfast as much, I really enjoyed my pancakes here and the coffee they served was rather good as well. Even though the Mission down the street is known for their exceptional pancakes, I’d give Olive Café a shot as well. The place was a bit on the cheaper side of things and while they don’t offer table service, the people here were quite friendly in making sure our orders were right. I’d definitely like to come back and try more of their menu out, perhaps give their pastries a try, lots of people have commented on how good they are. The only thing I found weird, is even though it’s called the Olive Café, I didn’t find any trace of olives on their menu anywhere.

Olive has been my home away from home for the last 4 years on Mission Beach. Started by a woman that went to USD the service here is always impeccable and kind. I love the peoe that serve and work here, you can get to know them too if you’re a regular!
The breakfast and lunch menu are impressive. My regular orders usually range from the breakfast burrito, pancakes, or veggie quesadilla. Although I think that I’ve tried probably everything and it’s all great. I am normally a fan of eggs so stick to these items. The smaller pastries and bagels are also great!
Large coffee and tea selection. Sometimes I mix it up with the green tea or acai smoothie, this is better than the bowl I believe!
Only downside to Olive is the long lines you can acquire, especially on nice weekend mornings. They have an awesome outdoor patio, so what can you expect. They expanded a few years ago which is much better than it used to be! Quieter ickier weather mornings parking and seating is always easier! Also, call ahead for Togo orders! Super fast:)
You seriously cannot go wrong at Olive!

Such a gem of a café! Really glad I came here for breakfast.
Olive serves breakfast and lunch all day and it’s open till 5 PM. You can tell it is the perfect place for brunch. There is a line where you order food, then you sit down and wait for your food to come to you. There are water stations located across the cash registers.
I ordered the Aegean Scramble, which comes with hashbrowns and toast. I would absolutely recommend the scramble– great consistency and a good cheese to veggie ratio. The hashbrowns are great– not too crispy, but still has a nice crunch. I did not need to further season my eggs or hashbrowns today.
It gets pretty crowded but the line moves fairly quickly and the prices are fair. Have one person find a table while the rest of you wait in line and you’re set for the day. Really close to the beach but out of the way from the hustle and bustle– essentially, a prime location for a beach café.

YUMMY! We stopped here on a trip to the beach based off of Unilocal reviews. We will for sure be back. I just hope its not so crowded next time.
The food was very reasonably priced, and delicious. They brought it out very quickly. I will be back to try a few things I saw that cought my eye.

This is not a review for the food at this, it is solely based on the chai latte I had here. I am a little bit of a chai snob. Yes, I am not afraid to admit it. I must have chai each morning. It cannot be too sweet, it cannot be over spiced (just because it is Indian doesn’t mean it needs to be added with so much spice that the only thing I taste is the bitterness of the nutmeg — yes, Peet’s Tea & Coffee I am looking at you).
I have had tea everywhere the one made at home, the one with dry spices, the one with fresh ginger, the one without fresh ginger but with cardamom and clove instead. The one made with stevia, one with sugar, one without either but instead with honey.
I kid you not this is one of the best chai I have ever had. Yes, I know it is not the authentic way tea is made back in India, but doesn’t mean it can’t be delicious. It is better than the one I make at home and better than the one my mum makes back home.
If you find yourself in the mission bay area with a chai craving — come here! Seriously.

Olive Café has been a wonderful breakfast spot with consistently great breakfast and lunch food for the past several years in Mission Beach. I have so many favorites that I always have trouble deciding between each time I go to Olive. You honestly cannot go wrong with the Aegean Scramble and Acai Smoothie, though. Other favorites include the Popeye Scramble, Breakfast Bagel, Breakfast Quesadilla and Burrito, and Green Tea Smoothie. I definitely prefer the Acai Smoothie to the Acai Bowl, because the Acai Bowl just isn’t as good as many other local restaurants’ acai bowls, but the smoothie definitely is on point.
The only downside is how long the line can be on the weekends, and it is normally pretty slow-​moving. This causes me to be tempted as I stand in the line and stare at all of the scrumptious pastries by the checkout counter… it’s hard to resist getting one after your mouth has been watering for over 15 minutes! All of the employees are so sweet there, though, and many of them have been working there for years and will go out of their way to make your experience at Olive more enjoyable.
The menu items are all very reasonably priced, so if I’m in the mood for a leisurely breakfast or lunch on the weekend and not in a rush, I’m always in the mood for some tasty Olive food. Olive has an adorable patio to sit on and get some sun if you so desire. Their inside is also nice and feels very much like you are enjoying breakfast or lunch in the comfort of your own home. Parking can sometimes be an issue, especially on the weekends where it can be hard to find street parking and the parking lot is normally packed… on busy days, I like to bike to Olive because there is a convenient bike rack that you can see from the tables to make sure your bikes don’t get taken. Olive is an adorable place to check out that serves very delicious, affordable, and satisfying dishes with a smile :)
PSA: Olive takes USD Campus Cash… there is a god.

(+) Breakfast & lunch served all day
(+) Burritos, the full monte is legit. 2 eggs, chicken, hash brown, green pepper, mushrooms, onion & cheese.
(+) Orange juice is served with a splash of pomegranate. oh you fancy huh?
(+) Basically you seat yourself but have to order at the counter. Good for groups so one person can find a table while the others order. Most everyone prefers to eat outside (as long as the weather permits), but there’s actually quite a bit of seating inside.

Classic beach town café.
Super cute & awesome staff!
I am new to the area and drove by this place a few times over my previous visits before I became a permeant resident– and this was one of my first stops!
Awesome patio (no late afternoon sun)
Healthy, satisfying, fresh food and drinks!
Great acai bowls and they serve breakfast ALL day (my fav meal!)
The vibe is perfect– go check it out!