Antique Row Cafe — Restaurant in El Cajon

It is not deserving of more than 3 stars, very generic. The food was very basic. Pancakes tasted like standard store bought pancake mix, not buttermilk like IHOP or other restaurants. Scrambled eggs were most likely powdered or frozen eggs and tasted the same as military food. For those who don't know, military food does not taste good. The homestyle potatoes were the highlight of the meal but were cold on arrival. The shredded cheese on top didn't even melt. This also heavily reminded me of military food. The Denver omellete was also probably powdered or frozen eggs.

This was the definition of an average breakfast and at most 3 stars. The atmosphere was the best part with old lunch boxes and statues, but it was very cluttered with antiques all over the place.

Service was ok. The first waitress was very nice and attentive, but she went on break or something, and the next one wasn't paying attention and didn't notice us for over 10 minutes. The cook in the back noticed that we needed assistance before the waitress did and had to tell her.

They do have a military discount, seemed to be 10%. Because there wasn't an itemized receipt. Honestly, the food tastes like what is served in the military. It would not surprise me to know the cooks are military cooks that did one tour and returned to civilian life. Again, the food quality being compared to the military is not high praise. After 20 years of service, I thoroughly know the food comparison I'm talking about.

Overall, we aren't going to come back to this location again.

My recommendation: The Daily Grind Cafe is a much better breakfast restaurant, not far away, with espresso specialty drinks and comparable prices, with better food. The potatoes there are to die for!. No, I am not affiliated with either location, I am just providing my advice on a good breakfast restaurant. Antique Row Cafe needs to...

Okay, I used to love the atmosphere of the place with all of the 50s and 60s decor and time-vault paraphernalia. But two experiences this year have totally soured me on the place. In summer 2013, I had burnt food for breakfast which wasn't replaced for several minutes and then another item on the replacement was under-cooked. Then in December, the server immediately tried to upsell my wife when all she ordered was a simple "Antique Row Special" and needed to be told twice how my wife wanted her eggs cooked. The server also never came by to check on us after the meal was served for coffee refills or if we needed anything else. Ten minutes after we were finished eating, the server still hadn't come by with our bill. So one cup of coffee, a single water glass refill when more had been requested, and time spent sitting on our thumbs on an average Sunday morning. Complained to Tony the owner after wife and I got up to leave , placed the money for the food alone on his desk (no tax or tip), and though he tried to give it back and apologized, I said no thanks,the service is lousy, and not for the first time either. We are done with this place. The food usually wasn't bad, but if it's efficiency you want, go elsewhere. They appear to be overwhelmed and not ready for...

My husband and I recently moved to the area. We've been looking for a good breakfast place to go to and hadn't found one we really liked before coming here.

The staff here are nice and accommodating. It looks like a lot of patrons are older locals but it just adds to the comfortable atmosphere. The waitress we met is very sweet and she was very considerate of a couple who came in before us. The wife had difficulty walking, so the waitress seated them close to the door so the wife wouldn't have to walk so far.

The portions and quality of food are worth the price. We ordered a veggie omelet and a pancake combo with bacon. All of it was very good and there was so much, we had to take half of our meals home. The veggie omelet was filled with veggies. The pancakes are thick and fluffy. The bacon was crispy, just like I asked.

We really enjoyed our meal and the kind and friendly faces of the staff. I think this is my new favorite breakfast place.

They also have lunch, but I like...