Swami's Cafe La Mesa

Came here on a Saturday morning for a late breakfast. Thankfully it wasn’t too busy and we immediately found a table. The way it works is you wait in line with a menu overhead. You order and pay and receive a number card. You find any open table to sit at (they have seating outside and inside) and they will bring you your food. We ordered the chorizo hash and an omelette with well done home fries Don’t let the picture fool you the home fries were perfectly crispy and paired well with ketchup and hot sauce. The omelette was also good as well as the chorizo hash. Both of us ended up needing a to go box because the portions are pretty large! Overall love coming here for a no frills yummy experience. Vegetarian options: Lots of different options you can substitute and customize to make vegetarian

It feels like such a local place (and you might get stared at by some, too). It is a little odd to navigate if it's your first time. You walk in and order your food from the counter. They have menus in the front or try to read the chalkboard. The counter help I encountered kept saying, "What else?" very quickly after I said my items. Honestly, I haven't ever felt nearly so rushed at a fast food place, and yet here, at a sit-down restaurant, it seems like they are rushing you off. They handed a fork and knife wrapped in a single napkin and off I went to go find a seat in the place. It is spacious, but I can see it getting busy on weekends. They do bring your food out to you but don't expect to be attended to after that. I had to go back to the counter to ask for more hot water. They have another counter with teas and coffee fixings, but it's a help yourself type of station. No extra cutlery or napkins in sight though. Food also did not come out at the same time. We ordered three things

Great brunch place! Serving size is huge, though. Almost everyone had to take food home. I recommend the Red Velvet Waffle with Nutella and Whipped Cream. My friends got veggie omelettes, but I was amazed by the large, grilled salmon salad. Would love to try it next time. Very good service.