Cake De Partie — Restaurant in San Diego

Cake de Partie : A- or 4 stars, meaning “Very very good. Worth a 30 minute drive, and a little pain parking. May or may not be pricey.”

Executive summary for the attention deficit: A casual Asian-Italian fusion restaurant with wonderful souffle pancakes and Asian inspired pasta / rice dishes, for reasonable prices. I picked Cake de Partie for Friday lunch because I figured my 90 y/o mom wouldn't appreciate authentic Italian, and given she’s visiting from Hong Kong, didn't want to disappoint her with the traditional San Diego Chinese restaurants. More importantly, she loves desserts so CdP seemed like a good spot. Happy to say I was right! Let's start with a few areas for improvement, but no deal breakers: More AC needed on such hot days! Seating comfort. The counter height chairs are too high for the tables. And my specific table was quite wobbly. The menus seem scattered - would be easier if everything was in one menu.

Now for the positives. The decor is casual, comfortably spaced, with friendly and efficient service. Free parking beside the restaurant is a huge deal :) And the food certainly made up for any shortcomings.

Crab curry spaghetti (A- ) : This was very tasty. A generous serving of crab in a rich, aromatic Thai curry sauce that went extremely well with the al dente spaghetti. I kept thinking whether I preferred this pasta dish or the seafood pasta at Cesarina?! Ultimately, the one at Cesarina wins with refinement, but this is a very worthy second.

BBQ pork rice bowl (B+ ) : Pork was cooked very nicely, savory sweet with good char for texture. Some meat drippings for the rice would be a nice add. The rice bowl came with a salad and given it’s an Asian dish anyway, would have preferred cooked veggies.

Tiramisu pancake souffle (A ) : Warm, fluffy, light, sweet, simply a little bite of heaven! The best souffle pancake I’ve had since my trip to Tokyo! The little carafe of espresso to pour yourself was fun and truly added to the enjoyment. I can only fault it for not enough ice cream and fruit to go with the pancake, but that’s nitpicking. Morning Glory - you need to up your souffle pancake game!

Definitely made it to the “revisit worthy” list.

Food Grading Scale:

A+: Life changing. You remember these bites for the rest of your life. Occurs very infrequently and when it does, you’ll know it. You don’t even know how to further improve it with a magic wand. A: Wow! Excellent. You felt happy biting into it. You’re considering whether it’s life changing, but know it misses the mark. A-: Very very good. Whatever it is, it’s one of the best, but you can think of further improvements. B+: Very good. Very enjoyable, not to the point of “impressive,” but worth revisiting. B: Good. A solid example of whatever it is, offering enjoyment, but not enough for making an effort to get. B-: Not bad. If in a pinch to eat something, this offers some enjoyment and is a reasonable option. C+: Mediocre plus. Pretty average, but with one or two positive characteristics you can identify. C: Mediocre. “Meh”. Very average. Not bad enough to make you angry, but nothing good about it at all. C-: Bad. You recognize it for what it is, but a very bad rendition. Your foodie self is a little pissed, and feeling like a dummy you ordered it. D: Awful. Whoever cooked it should be ashamed of themself. Somehow, you still managed to swallow a bite. F: WTF is this? Inedible. One chew, you had to spit it out....

Cake De Partie is a delightful spot for sweets and desserts, particularly known for their Pancake Soufflés. These fluffy creations are incredibly delicious and worth the visit!

What We Tried

Crème Brûlée Soufflé Pancake: A standout with a caramelized crème brûlée topping, fresh strawberry slices on the side, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The combination of textures and flavors is divine.

Ube Soufflé Pancake: Topped with a creamy ube sauce, this one is less sweet and offers a subtle, earthy flavor. It also comes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, though it might be even better with a stronger ube-flavored ice cream for consistency.

Triple Chocolate Cornflake Soufflé Pancake: Perfect for chocolate lovers! Rich chocolate flavors cover the soufflé, topped with s’mores and a scoop of chocolate ice cream. The crunch of cornflakes adds a fun texture.

The Experience

The staff is friendly and welcoming, but the restaurant seems to be understaffed. We waited about 30 minutes for our soufflés to be ready, which might be a drawback for some. The dining area is small, and while the large street sign makes it easy to find, the limited seating might lead to waits during busy hours. Additionally, the tables are really unstable, which detracted our dining experience a lot as tables are shaking all the time if guys would have the meal together. It has some outside dining seats which might allow customers bringing the dogs together as a dog-friendly spot.

Final Thoughts

Despite the minor inconveniences, Cake De Partie is a good destination for dessert enthusiasts. The Pancake Soufflés are beautifully presented and taste amazing, making it worth the wait. A little improvement in seating and service efficiency would make this place...

I recently visited Cake De Partie on December 29th at around 3 PM, and my experience was extremely disappointing and frustrating. I believe I was unfairly treated and possibly racially profiled during what should have been a routine transaction. Here’s what happened:

I ordered a meal totaling around $35 and handed the cashier a $50 bill to pay. Instead of processing my payment, the cashier held my bill up in the air, inspected it thoroughly, and then brought it to her boss. Both of them proceeded to scrutinize the bill for what felt like 10 minutes. This excessive inspection was already uncomfortable, but it got worse.

After their lengthy review, the cashier looked me up and down in a way that felt judgmental and then refused to accept my $50 bill, asking if I had smaller bills. I didn’t receive any clear explanation, and the entire interaction left me feeling singled out and humiliated. A $50 bill isn’t an excessive or unusual amount of money to pay for a $35 meal, so this level of suspicion and scrutiny felt completely unwarranted.

This experience was especially disheartening because Cake De Partie used to be one of my favorite restaurants due to the quality of their food. However, I can no longer support or recommend a place that treats its customers this way. As a Black customer, I couldn’t help but feel this level of suspicion and treatment was racially motivated. This type of behavior makes customers feel unwelcome and judged, and it’s something I would not expect from a...