Park Bench Cafe — Restaurant in Huntington Beach

Surprising that a restaurant that serves at this capacity can't do to-go orders. The only solution is to shut that down and pretty much you know screw up a regular potential customer. The guy who manages the place doesn't seem to have a solution but the solution is a secondary outside grill that can keep up with the togo orders I worked in restaurants and we had two kitchens and the reason why we had 2 kitchen's was that we had an an influx of to-go orders specially on the weekends considering that the restaurant was on PCH . Kind of feell burned on that today. And I think that whoever the server would have been should feel burned as well because they're missing out on $10 tip just to get that to-go order handled. Won't bother to come here again won't bother refer either but it's not like they really need it. Quite a few customers today but also I'm sure quite a few unsatisfied people who could have been customers. Disappointing win an establishment has no vision from staff members who are tasked with handling the business. So if you want good food to go there's plenty of really good small kitchens smaller than this downtown Huntington that are more than happy to make sure that you get a to-go order while the rest their tables are full. I know this cuz I've been in the city for 50 years. So keep in mind trying to get something to go you're not. YOU DON'T MEASURE UP TO THEY'RE BUSINESS MODEL. YOU'RE AN ANNOYANCE. PRETTY MUCH WHAT I WAS TOLD. Skittle visionmark I'm thinking outdoor grill with a canopy for to-go orders and the deliveries. You could triple your sales on weekends and still continue to serve good food. But again I won't be back or any of my extended family or any of my clients or anyone else...

This is a quaint and cozy place to eat. You'll be seated outside at a picnic table under the large trees. The California air makes this experience even better as I was visiting from Arizona. This is a dog friendly cafe, so you will be surrounded by many dogs, but all of them were well behaved and resting. They have a dog menu and bowls available for water and food. My kids loved being outside and seeing all of the pets while we ate.

Once seated you'll be given a menu filled with amazing choices. The popular cinnamon roll did not disappoint, it was large enough for a family of 6 to each share as a morning appetizer prior to our meals.

The portion sizes are huge and can easily be shared. I ordered the Mexican omelette and as a side option I chose the Cinnamon Roll pancakes for an extra $4. My 6 year old daughter saw them on the menu and chose that for breakfast, but knowing how big the portions are, I chose to add it to my order instead of as a separate meal. This was perfect, it wasn't as large as ordering it on its own, but it was plenty and she ate it all.

My 3 sons chose the Cinnamon Roll pancakes and the French Toast, and none of them could finish their meal, which is unusual.

One thing to plan for is parking. The lot of small and you may have to park a few streets down and walk. We had a 30 minute wait, but it was not an issue. There's a walking path, a small pond, and a stream in the park that you can explore while waiting. My kids always have a football in hand so they played catch in the park to pass the time. The cafe will take your phone number and text you when your name is called.

Check this place out, you won't be...

Such a fun spot for some good food! Very nice area in the park with lots of shady spaces available. We came around 12 and were told it’d be a 40-45m wait for 2 of us, it old ended up being 20-30m or so and there’s a nice, short, paved path around the park you can walk around and lots of benches you can sit at while you wait if you want too 🙂

The Country Fried Steak was average I would say, nothing super special. The Chocolate Chip Pancakes and Cinnamon Roll pancakes were AMAZING however. I didn’t think they’d charge $13 for a “short stack” side of pancakes though. We really liked the Morning Cristo with the Raspberry Jam was really delicious too. The Cheesy Home Fries didn’t really taste great to me, kind of chemically.. but my husband liked them. The Fresh Fruit Bowl was also delightful! I thought $5.50 was a very fair price for the amount of fruit they give you!!

Our pup also loved his chicken and appreciated the ice water they provide for pups 🤗 Fun to have a nice place outside, with good food, good service, and loves our fur babes!

We did feel it was a little expensive for the quality -$82 for 2 of us and a dog ($13 for a Short Stack, $20 for Morning Cristo, $19 for a Country Fried Steak + $3-4 extra for the “specialty” pancakes, $5 for Dog’s Chicken, $6 for a Latte, and $5 for an Iced Tea).

I would also love to see them switch to more eco-friendly to-go products (condiment cups, silverware, plastic bags, straws, aluminum to-go containers, etc).

Parking was also a bit full, we had to wait for 5-10min to get a spot, but it was 1200 on a Sunday. Just...