When I was getting my hair done a couple of months ago, I told my braider about all the brunch spots I had been to and how I was running out of new places to try.
She recommended Fig Tree Cafe, and I vaguely remembered passing by their Mission Valley location a few times in the past. It didn’t look super exciting from the outside so I never had the desire to go in. She assured me the food was bomb, so I made it a point to go as soon as I could!
My friend and I decided to go there for brunch this week, and I was delighted to find out they had a much prettier location in Pacific Beach.
Walking onto the patio of the cafe feels like walking into a peaceful garden. There are plants growing freely on the walls and hanging across the ceiling. There’s a surfboard suspended up above. The sign for the cafe is even hanging from a large tree that covers the front part of the restaurant. It’s like a little forest in the middle of a beach town. They also have gorgeous indoor seating if you’re looking to avoid the cold air.
Fig Tree Cafe has 4 locations: Mission Valley, Pacific Beach, Liberty Station, and East Village. They are open daily from 7AM – 3PM, with the exception of the East Village location which closes at 2PM. Their menu is available online.
The food? Phenomenal.
Mimosa Flight
First things first — drinks! My friend and I both ordered a mimosa flight, which consisted of 4 different flavors (from left to right): cranberry, pineapple, grapefruit, and classic OJ. This is a pretty basic flight considering there aren’t any other special juices or flavors you can order. However, what they lack in variety they make up for in quality.
The mimosas tasted SO good and the champagne-to-juice proportion was perfect. Not to mention it only costs $15, which is one of the best deals I’ve seen for a flight of 4 drinks in reasonably-sized glasses.
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
These were like heaven in my mouth. The tangy lemon curd and sweet honey ricotta were a match made in heaven. Truly some of the best pancakes I’ve ever tasted, and I’ve had a LOT of sweet and fruity pancakes in my years of brunching.
The pancakes hit all the right notes: sweet, sour, creamy, fluffy, buttery, even crunchy. The pistachio brittle topping gave each bite a different texture and complemented the dish so well. I didn’t even need the syrup; the toppings did what they needed to do.
My friend ordered one of their signature items, the Fig Jam & Ricotta French Toast. I didn’t get a picture of it, but she said it was really good and she seemed to enjoy it!
I ordered my dish with a side of maple-sage breakfast sausage and scrambled eggs, and my friend ordered a side of arugula potatoes. Everything was super tasty and we left very, very satisfied.
I will be back ASAP to get another taste of those delicious lemon pancakes, and then I’ll be back again to try some of the other mouth-watering items on the menu. I’ll update this post once I try more food, but based on my initial visit this cafe has solidified itself as one of my new favorite brunch spots in San Diego. From the yummy food to the affordable drinks to the calming atmosphere, it’s a place you’ll want to return to again and again!
When my friend told me her aunt recommended this place for brunch, I was surprised. Judging by the name it seemed like a dessert bar that might have a few sandwiches. I was wrong!
Walking into Eclipse Chocolate in South Park feels like walking into a room in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. With its shimmery glass panels and whimsical candy displays, the aesthetic alone is enough to cure any sweet tooth.
Biscuits & Gravy (with Panko Crusted Chicken)
It may look like a regular brunch dish, but don’t let appearances fool you. Eclipse puts their chocolate-y twist on every dish, and this was no exception! The star of this dish was the sausage gravy, which was infused with toasted white chocolate. This gave it a hint of sweetness that paired perfectly with the hickory salted sausage and spicy chicken.
It was really cool experiencing white chocolate in a savory way like this. The garlic parmesan biscuits were fluffy and lightly flavored, setting the perfect stage for the sausage gravy to dance on the tastebuds.
I would definitely recommend ordering the Panko chicken on the side like I did to balance out the richness of the dish. It didn’t bother me at all, but I thought the chicken was a nice complement. The menu mentions towards the bottom that the side of Panko crusted chicken comes tossed in a vanilla honey sriracha sauce, which I think is important to note!
Salted Dulce de Leche Cacao
I asked the server which drink from their extensive sipping chocolate list he would recommend, and he first asked me what my favorite chocolate was. Upon hearing I prefer white chocolate, he recommended this. It was love at first sip.
It was so smooth, creamy, and just the right amount of sweet! I loved the hints of caramel and vanilla in every sip. I finished one and immediately wanted more. Lucky for me, they sell sipping chocolate to-go as well!
This bistro is an essential stop for chocolate enthusiasts in San Diego. The staff are super friendly and enthusiastic about discussing their menu and ingredients, and there are so many opportunities to learn more about cacao and all its uses. One wall in the restaurant is dedicated to showing the step-by-step process of creating chocolate, and they even sell real cacao beans! If you are in the South Park area and hoping to satisfy your sweet tooth, this is the place to go!
Another restaurant I ended up trying completely by chance!
A friend was staying in Little Italy for the weekend and wanted to meet up with a few of us for brunch. We had spent a few days looking into restaurants near the plaza and settled on one right in the middle.
When the day came, the restaurant we originally chose told us there would be a 3 hour wait, and they didn’t take reservations. (What is it with breakfast/brunch places not taking reservations on the weekends??) Luckily, our friend had a second choice in mind — a New Zealand-inspired restaurant called Queenstown Public House that she had walked by during her stay in the district.
Queenstown Public House serves brunch until 2pm, but they also have lunch and dinner items on their menu in case you’d rather pop in later. If you’re like me and prefer to check the menu online before you get there, keep in mind that they have two brunch menus: one for weekdays and one for weekends. They will also provide a physical menu for you once seated.
They were able to seat us immediately and the customer service was top notch from start to finish. The restaurant aesthetic was super homey and calming. It had an old-time cottage feel, like we were sitting in someone’s living room waiting on their grandma to bring us a home-cooked New Zealand breakfast.
After doing a little research on the history of Queenstown Public House, I found out that the building is a Craftsman house built in 1905 and previously used to house apartments and offices!
We had to wait a little while for our food, but compared to the three hour wait we were facing at the other restaurant, we didn’t mind. In the meantime, the staff was really chill about us putting our tripod in the aisle to snap a few quick flicks, and our server even took a few photos for us.
We ordered a couple rounds of mimosas to sip on before getting to the good stuff: the food!
Fresh Juice Mimosa
Queenstown’s house mimosa comes with three juice options: blood orange, orange pineapple, or classic OJ. I was in the mood for something simple and traditional, so I went with the classic. The regular price is $13.50, however if you catch the brunch special they are half off. Still a little pricey for a mimosa, but it tasted good and they give you a generous amount of drink (not to mention, a generous OJ to champagne ratio).
Churro Waffle
Every time I go to brunch I’m faced with a difficult decision: sweet or savory?
Although there were hearty, delicious-looking items on the menu, my heart was yearning for sugar this morning. I was torn between the Churro Waffle and the French Toast for a while, but decided on the waffle because it looked a lot more exciting.
It’s described as a churro waffle drizzled in caramel and topped with fresh fruit and dulce de leche whipped cream. They had me at caramel.
As you can see, the presentation of the dish was absolutely gorgeous. It was carefully sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar, the berries were evenly spaced, there was a perfect dollop of whip smack dab in the middle — overall it was just very aesthetically pleasing, and I live for a good aesthetic.
It tasted just as good as it looked; it was sweet but not in an overbearing way. The slight bitterness from the blueberries and raspberries cancelled out the whip and drizzle, so you get nice balanced mouthful of flavors. The waffle was fluffy and melted in my mouth. Needless to say I was very sad when I finished it, but I’ll definitely be back for more!
My friends also enjoyed their food; one of them said you know it’s a good meal when no one is talking. We were dead silent and focused on the grub down!
I would give the restaurant a 9/10. It’s not the most cost-friendly place to do brunch if you’re looking for drink specials, but the food and vibe were on point. I didn’t get individual pictures of everyone’s food this time, but I did scan all of our plates in the TikTok below!
Brunch at @Queenstown Public House was delish 😋 Click the link in my Insta bio to read my full review of the restaurant and food! #brunchtok#foodtok#foodblogger#foodie#food
I had come across this restaurant in Hillcrest two times prior to my first time actually dining there. The first time was earlier this year when my boyfriend attempted to take me there for breakfast, but the wait was too long. The second time, a friend was in town and I recommended we try it out. However, when we called we found that the wait was too long once again.
That being said, you can imagine my delight when the hostess told me about the 15 minute wait time this past Sunday. I was meeting with a couple of content creators; one of them had heard about the restaurant and wanted to have brunch there. We were sat pretty quickly, and I was excited to finally get to try their food!
Breakfast and Bubbles only takes reservations Monday-Friday. Weekend seating is first come, first served. Breakfast & Bubbles does offer their menu online, however we were given physical menus upon seating.
The illustrated items on the first page caught our eye, and we ultimately ended up with two of them on our table: the Tower of Sweetness and the All That Glitter Is Gold burger.
One of the ladies ordered the Chicken Wings Waffles, and I ended up ordering the Open Faced Sandwich. I originally wanted to play it safe and order their Salmon Lox Bagel, but they were out of salmon. Our waitress recommended the Open Faced Sandwich as a replacement, and I took her advice.
You can’t go to a place called Breakfast & Bubbles without the bubbles, so we ordered mimosas while we waited for our food. Two of us ordered their popular Taste The Rainbow mimosa, while the other ordered the Pineapple-Blood Orange mimosa.
So, how did everything taste, you ask?
Taste The Rainbow | Pineapple-Blood Orange
Our waitress recommended their most popular drink, the Taste The Rainbow mimosa — a fruity drink that glitters from all angles. I was a little surprised when it came; I was expecting to see a drink with layers of varying colors. However, the glitter effect was cool and I quickly learned that the name was more in line with the taste rather than the aesthetic.
This mimosa was tropical and sweet like liquid candy. To top it off it was garnished with two little gummy bears and dried fruit. It was so good I ended up ordering a second one, which came in a different color surprisingly!
As for our friend who ordered the Pineapple-Blood Orange, she seemed to enjoy it. I imagine it tastes how it’s named, it definitely looks the part.
Tower of Sweetness
We ordered a Tower of Sweetness for the table after seeing it pictured on the menu and looking at pictures of it on the restaurant’s Instagram page. The menu depicts a three-tiered display with what appears to be cupcakes, churros, doughnuts, whoopie pies, and more.
Our actual tower did not have these things, but it did have the items pictured on the Instagram page and the items our waitress listed: pancakes, waffles, French toast, a couple doughnuts, and fruit with whipped cream and sweet dips.
The presentation on the Instagram page is much prettier than the tower you get when you order — the food and toppings are arranged more carefully and there are decorations. Earlier photos show the three-tiered set up from the menu, but we did not get any of this. When asked about the misrepresentation, the waitress told us the pictures had been taken a year ago and don’t exactly match what you will get.
Aside from the false advertising, the food on the tower was pretty tasty and very sweet indeed. The items are on the softer, soggier side due to absorbing the whipped cream, but I didn’t have a problem with it. My favorite part of it was the French toast; I ended up taking a few home. Most of the items are bready, so if you order this remember to save room for your main dish!
Open-Faced Sandwich
My main dish was the restaurant’s redeeming grace for me: Two toasted bagel halves topped with scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese, green onion and chipotle aioli. It also came with a small side of chopped house potatoes. I wasn’t super impressed with them until I had this, but this dish alone made me consider coming back and giving them a second try.
This was my first time trying an open-faced sandwich, let alone breakfast style. Pairing spicy chipotle with a bagel had never really crossed my mind, but pairs so well with all the other breakfast items. I would have preferred the bacon be chopped into smaller pieces so it doesn’t fall off every time you try to take a bite, but that’s a super small grievance.
All That Glitter Is Gold
This beautiful burger includes two Angus beef patties with bacon, caramelized onions, and bleu cheese crumbles with a side of mustard aioli and truffle fries. As you can see, it’s unique due to the thin sheet of gold included on the top bun.
I hate to disappoint, but I don’t have a personal opinion on what this tasted like since I didn’t try the burger. However, I did try the truffle fries and those were delicious. I imagine it tasted exquisite, you can’t really go wrong with a burger! Also, you’re getting two pictures of this because the presentation was absolutely gorgeous.
Side note: If you decide to order Breakfast & Bubbles’ golden item, prepare to get a LOT of food.
The brunch buddy who ordered this was not impressed, so I didn’t try to get a picture of her plate. However, it consisted of 3 chicken wings, waffles, and a dipping sauce.
The menu specifies “crispy chicken wings” come with this plate, so we were all a little surprised when the wings were wet and saucy. Typically a chicken and waffles plate comes with regular fried chicken, and we think they were trying to be different by switching it up. She wasn’t in the mood for dinner-style wings at 11 in the morning, so it didn’t really live up to expectations. The waffles were pretty good though.
Overall, I would give the restaurant a 7/10.
The way they advertise their food on the menu and on Instagram is a little misleading; the information should at least be up to date on the menus so customers are getting what they think they are ordering. If you are going to promote an aesthetic online to get people to come, then the experience dining in should match what people are seeing advertised.
The food itself was pretty good, a lot of it just wasn’t what was expected. I think having mimosas available all day and being centered around pink and sweetness is a total vibe, and it’s a small personable space to meet with people and snap a few pictures.
Although I’m on the fence, I would probably go back there for more mimosas and another Open-Faced Sandwich!
Have you been to Breakfast & Bubbles? Let me know your favorite menu items in the comments so I can try them next time!
Jade's Food Journey 