Beginners Diner — Restaurant in San Diego

Want a fun 50s diner experience? BD has the vibe and looks like it's open 24 hours. Wait at the front to be seated. The booth nearest the door on the right pulled out from the table to give a bit more room and the other side of the booth has a narrow fit. They have paper straws in the old timey dispensers.

It would have been great to be cheerfully greeted and welcomed with a run down of some of the house favorites. Friendly small talk, enthusiasm, and a smile are free, soft skills that can be cultivated. We tried the chili (has pork in it), which was good but it was a small portion in a flat plate-bowl. For the price it should be in an actual bowl. We tried the pickled veggies (a mini carrot, some tiny mushrooms, a couple tiny slices of yellow bell pepper, garlic, a lot of onions) and they had a very strong, distinct taste. There were some left on the plate, so apparently they weren't the best hit.

One person tried the Greek salad with the added $8 of chicken. It would have been great to have an option of salmon, but that was about $20 more. A second friend had the French dip. She wasn't sure that it was Waygu beef. How do you know nowadays? I ordered what everyone said was the favorite, the Patty Melt. It was two patties and was good, not too greasy. It came with a pickle similar to the pickled veggies and sorry, I usually love dill pickles, but not this recipe. In addition, it came with a tiny container of runny ranch dip for the fries which could have been bigger and thicker. Another friend had the Schnitzel Chicken with gravy which was great. The gravy has pork in it. She ordered the baked potato and the fixings for an additional fee.

For dessert, we tried the chess pie. One friend said it tasted like custard and tres leches had a baby. It was different and I wouldn't order it again. The cinnamon roll was warm and had a white icing on it. I wouldn't go out of my way to order it again. The boozy chocolate hazelnut shake was in a small container. At every other diner I've gone to, the shakes have been generous with the silver cup with extra shake in it. This seemed pretty small for the price. The big striped straws were fun. But all the shots and ice cream

We had a handsome, patient waiter help us. The water glasses were a bit small so we had to ask for water refills a couple of times. My friend got a diet coke and it comes in a small bottle with no refills.

Around the time we got the desserts, four fruit flies or nats were buzzing around our table which was concerning. Where did they come from and why were they there?

The bathroom is outside the restaurant, across the bar and down the hallway.

The music was not too loud, thankfully. Would I come again? It was pricy, could be more generous...

As someone that doesn’t leave reviews, I was pleasantly surprised at how great this place is and felt compelled to share my experience.

Being nestled into the Lafayette Hotel, I enjoyed a delicious apple pie a la mode at Beginners Diner after a night of craft cocktails and dinner at Quijote. The apple pie with a cup of coffee was the perfect way to punctuate our night before crawling up to our room.

We came downstairs for breakfast the next morning and I reluctantly ordered the $35 steak and eggs. Reluctant only due to the usual disappointment of greasy eggs and thin steak that is impossible to cook to a desired temp. I was happily surprised with a thick cut wagyu sirloin that was a perfectly cooked AND RESTED medium-rare. The hash browns were crisp on the outside and succulent within, coupled with two over-easy eggs that were runny and not aggressively cooked. All of this was delivered with a smile and excellent service by Taylor M. As a chef and restaurant lover, I had an overall excellent experience at this hidden gem and would come back here again for the food and service alone. The diner aside, the Lafayette is a whole vibe and adults playground in and of itself and hope to frequent this place over and over again. Reader, I hope this entices you to treat yourself and a companion to a...

Waited 40min under reservation, went back to check, waited another 20min, then checked every other 15min. We waited a TOTAL of 1hr45min just to get seated. We were always told that we were next, but we saw so many groups cycle in and out of the diner. When we got seated, we ordered right away. It took 20min for the first sandwich to come out. We had 9 separate sandwiches come out intermittently within a span of 1hr15min (1st one, 20min, 2nd one, 10min, next one, 8min, 9min, etc.) with the last three after we had paid our bills and requested it to-go. Everyone's sandwiches were over salted, fries the same with too much salt, and so we paid our bills, got the to-go containers, and got out. It was not very good. For a sandwich that's 20$+ each?? Heck no, never again. I don't go out to bars and clubs much but this experience definitely deters me from going out to places like this again.

The Lafayette hotel was beautiful, but extremely over crowded, full of wannabe influencers, paying for overpriced drinks and food, and hanging out in extremely loud environments, just taking pictures and blocking walkways.... What fun is that? Everyone seemed so angry too, the guests were just not having it, the staff seemed overworked, idk it might just not...