Pop’s Café

Great Chicken Fried Steak, great service! On weekends parking isn’t an issue. Huge servings, don’t be shy about sharing.

Wow, no really wow. These fried French toast are amazing. First time here with my wife and the hype didn’t fall short of the truth. POP’S CAFE is everything you want in a old school classic dinner with delicious food. Service is fast and attentive food is full of flavor and the environment makes you fell like you step back in time to the 50’s. Every time I’m in the Santa Ana area POP’S is my spot, thank you will be back soon.

Not impressed. The place has an old school look/​vibe butch the food is mediocre at best. I gave it 2 stars because of the old school feel.

Wow! Thank you fellow Unilocalers. We wouldn’t have found this place if it wasn’t for you!
Delicious food, amazing service. The fried French toast is a must have! Irish potatoes were so good! I added cheese on top, and it just set it off.
Coming back next week!

Really slow service. We waited for 20 minutes to get our order. For our coffee-​refill we had to walk over the counter. The food is ok. Definitely not worth the time waiting for your coffee and food. We ordered Denver omelette. It came cold, and it was not flavorful.

Small and adorable and a very laid back place to enjoy breakfast or lunch. I came for brunch and ordered their Deluxe Omelette. *amazing* It’s a large portion and comes with hash browns and toast/​pancake. Everything is large, but it all tastes homemade and very good! Come with friends, co-​workers or even on a brunch date, but COME HUNGRY! Great place with a nice service. I’ll be back for sure!

Classic old-​school diner in every way. And fantastic food, the onion rings are one-​of-​a-​kind and you will definitely come back for more.
Parking can be a hassle but there is a large parking lot just beside the restaurant where you might be able to steal a space for 20 to 30 minutes.

We were looking for a breakfast spot while visiting OC and ended up here. We thought it was going to be a little homier.
Pros: Food was decent. Just basic stuff, nothing original or even noteworthy.
Cons: Cramped and very little seating area inside and out. Service very slow, not overly friendly either.
If you want basic breakfast food, this place will do the trick. Will probably try to find something different next time though.

I’ve been here countless amount of times in the past 4 years, and wow. The quality hasn’t changed, and the portions are still huge. I highly recommend the fried zucchini (around $ 6.50), as that’s a staple product here. Dip it in either ketchup or ranch and wow… Just wow. Everything they make is so incredibly fresh and affordable.
My friend ordered the deep fried toast and loved it, but didn’t enjoy the «oiliness.» I think it’s strange when people complain about the oiliness of the food when they order things like DEEP FRIED toast?
My only complaint would be that they aren’t open later! They close at around 1:30 or 2:30 just depending on the day, which sucks. I would love to come here for dinner. Also, parking here is a bit rough when it’s busy. Bring change because it is meter parking!

I liked the food but the space and slow service really would make me rethink coming back. It’s a teeny tiny spot with seating outside. It was super windy outside so seating was even more limited. The service was super slow and we were even told that our waitress couldn’t take our order bc the kitchen was behind. ??. The food was good, I had an omelette with hash browns and everyone else got pancakes which were varied on doneness. One of my friends had a burnt pancake while the other was under done. Price is great so you can’t complain too much.

When I walked into this place i thought this is your typical hole in the wall café but, the surprise here is the food quality and the portions. When i ordered my sandwich my waiter asked if i want a half or full sandwich, now i know why. They give you enough food for two. The photo i posted shows what i had left over after i finished eating. I had to take the rest home. I am a tuna melt enthusiast and let me tell you I was not disappointed. It was perfect, I totally recommend coming here. I definitely will come here again. Another patron just told me to come for breakfast next time.

Very good place for brunch! We ordered the make ur own omelet .5 items for $ 10! Score! If ur looking for diner style place, with good comfort food, good service and reasonably priced for the portion size then stop by here! Hubby & I can’t wait to come back and try lunch or dinner.

I was looking for a diner/​café breakfast and that’s exactly what I got. Nothing more, nothing less.
I ordered the deep fried french toast based on the recommendations on Unilocal and I hated it. I received 4 slices and of the 4, 3 were not edible because the inside of the toast was basically just oil. The 1 slice I could eat was just okay. I enjoyed the crispy outside but there wasn’t enough bread inside to really make it feel like french toast.
However, the portions are huge and the rest of our order was as expected. Service is fast and friendly and my coffee cup was never empty. Aside from our awesome waitress, 2 other things stood out for me. The polish sausage was delicious and something different than the typical sausage or bacon. Also, my son ordered the kids animal pancakes and he received about 5 pancakes that were all shaped like different animals. Kudos to the cooks for bringing a smile to our table!

When you want great diner food for brunch, no need to look further than Pops Café in downtown Santa Ana.
They offer classic breakfast items like omelettes and corned beef hash, etc. The magic comes from the simplicity of deep fried French toast. This offering is so decadent and heavenly all at once. It’s not the healthiest but it is worth a dabble into cholesterol danger levels every now and then.
Value prices and positive vibes from the always smiling waitresses. Check it out of when you are in DTSA, it’s worth every morsel

The food was great, it took a while because it was busy but that’s just the nature of the Saturday breakfast rush. Our server was polite, personable & attentive. He even recommended the fried & grilled French Toasts that my girlfriend loved. I had a delicious omelette with really tasty hashed Browns. Price was very reasonable & we had to take food with us. I have no complaints at all, I highly recommend!

Food was delicious and filling. I ordered the three pancakes with eggs and sausage. I didn’t finish the food because it was a lot. Great price and the staff was super friendly. Will have to return someday.

We were hear early in the morning so we were seated right away. Also since we were there on a Sunday, parking was free at the meters.
We sat at the counter but it was hard trying to flag someone down so we could place our order. Everyone just walked pass us, but we figured out that everyone has their own job at the restaurant. One guy just filling up water. One guy doing something else. There’s only one waitress for the whole place.
Once we finally got our order put in, the food came out quick. It’s your usual diner food so don’t expect too much from this place. It’s a good spot to go to if that is what you are looking for.
We would come back here.

I was hungry for breakfast this morning and I didn’t want the usual Mexican. I was craving some eggs and hash browns. I was about to go to Denny’s before I felt like being adventurous and finding a new spot. I’m sick of corporate-​owned food, I wanted a privately owned place with fresh food. Voila! Thanks to Unilocal I learned about Pops Café. A sweet, charming spot right off Main. It has this vintage sign that’s reminiscent of the cafes of yesteryear. Outside seating was ample and easy, the food came out quick and it was Amazing! Mounds of has browns and the eggs Benedict were served on this crispy toasty, muffin like thing. They also go easy on the salt, which is a nice nod to our health.
Great food. Great prices. Great portions. Denny’s who? :)

One featured menu item that surprised me was deep fried french toast. A friend of mine tried it and said that it was pretty good. Pop’s Café definitely is unique and has a homey feel to it. The outdoor seating is great for a nice brunch.
Their omelette options are pretty good. My friends and I all tried different ones and no one was disappointed with the main course. Where this restaurant could use some minor improvements would be on the toast, hash browns, and Irish potatoes. The toast came with a tiny spot of butter in just the middle of the bread, and the hash browns and Irish potatoes had very little flavor.
The service wasn’t the best although all staff members were friendly. For a quick breakfast stop, I would definitely drop by again. But if I have time to search around for something a little more exciting, I probably would.

Not the BEST breakfast spot, but they do have a simple, classic breakfast menu with great portions. We stopped in around 845am on a Sunday morning and there were already several parties eating breakfast. There is a small indoor seating, bar seating and outdoor patio seating (great for dogs!).
We parked out front (free on Sundays), and we were immediately told to pick a place to sit. There are 2 indoor seating areas and they won’t open the other side of the store unless the left side is full.
We were provided coffees and water (upon request). The coffees were really bland and not strong. Perhaps skip the coffee.
The fiancée and I decided to order custom omelets. When menus were provided to us, there was a handout inside the menu indicating the egg prices and how the menu prices have gone up. They also reiterate that anything with eggs is additional due to egg prices. (That’s interesting…)
I opted for a sausage, veggie (spinach, mushroom, tomato), avocado and cheese omelet. You are only allowed 5 selections for your omelet and extra for additional. I ordered my eggs soft and with egg whites, which they accommodated. Our entrees came with a side of hash browns (or Irish potatoes) and a bread side (English muffin, toast or sourdough).
Again portions were generous and topping were largely cut (not in small pieces). Needed salt to taste, but otherwise, not a bad deal for a nice sized breakfast. Our total for 2 breakfasts and coffee was $ 30.

A very solid three stars here. Pop’s is obviously a local hit and the busy nature of it can be seen pretty much any time you go. You’ll have to hit up street parking, and be sure to pay the meter, cause they give out tickets in this area pretty quickly.
The menu is a standard breakfast diner menu and they have everything from fried french toast to your regular egg /​meat combos. We enjoyed the food and nothing was disappointing, but nothing was out of this world, either. A good meal, filled us up, and a decent price.
Service is where this place really stands out for us. Service alone here is a solid 4.5 stars. They are obviously a busy place, which means that it could be easy to forget a customer or an order. That, however, wasn’t the case here. They pay attention to each table from start to finish and had a great vibe the whole time.
Overall: B+
A definite A-​OK place to get a good breakfast!