Matteo — Restaurant in San Diego

A BRAND NEW PLAN ! This 100% non-profit cafe / bakery was really great when we first came here early Feb 2020. The March covid shutdown and then covid restrictions really hit this place hard. I don't think they ever truly recovered so we gave up on them. A few weeks ago I saw on Instagram they were being closed for a RE-MODEL. I also heard they had a new menu. We decided to give them another go on Saturday. My wife and I walked inside before 8.30am and the place was dead empty. No one greeted us at the entrance so we walked up to the counter. A female employee named Allie told us they are NOW FULL TABLE SERVICE FOR DINE-IN.....still order at the counter for take out. OKAY ! The bread shelves were empty and the Italian retail goods had been shunted into a separate room making space for a few more tables inside. Other than that I couldn't see what else had changed since the re-model. We sat at a table while waited for someone to come take our order...and our server was Allie. The menus we were handed had been water damaged and were sadly rumpled....that is why there is no photo of the full menu. We ordered 2 x LATTES with 2% milk, 1 x EMILIANO ( bacon, mozzarella, 2 eggs any style..my wife asked for scrambled ), 1 x CRAB BENEDICT ( housemate english muffin, crab cake with lobster sauce....I asked Allie our server to make sure my egg were hard poached ) and 1 x ORANGE JUICE. I asked Allie if the orange juice was fresh squeezed..she checked and it was not ). Allie did explain to us that she was a fairly new hire since the re-model. At some point I ran into Joanne the GM who explained she had practically all new staff, their retail baked goods was being sourced from another ( their own ) location, they still baked stuff in-house for their menus and the retail bread delivery from their offsite bakery had not arrived yet. OKAY ! Our lattes arrived while I was away and my wife asked me to taste mine....usually that means she is not happy. NOT GOOD ! My latte tasted barely more than warm and very weak. My Orange juice came out..I had a taste and could tell it was full of preservative...quite a shift down from their original delicious fresh squeezed orange juice. Things were not looking good. Then a group of people walked inside with the world's biggest dog in tow and planted themselves at a table nearby. We usually avoid eateries that allow diners to bring their dogs inside. Our breakfast dishes arrived together courtesy of a smiling food runner named Victor. THEY LOOKED GREAT ! To be honest I am almost always a Classic Eggs Benedict guy but a someone I know suggested I should try the Crab Benedict. Both of our meals came with a side of what looked like crispy herbed potatoes...when in fact they were soggy some half cooked and barely warm. NOT GOOD ! My eggs were hard poached so that was great...I really didn't think much of the crab cake ( flavor or texture ) jammed in between my poached eggs and English muffin. I just didn't tasted fresh..maybe it was out of a can. My wife thought very little of her overcooked scrambled eggs and of course the soggy barely warm side of potatoes. The scrumptious Italian bread underneath her scrambled eggs was the highlight. I drank less than half of my yucky orange juice. We thought our server Allie did her best but overall we were extremely disappointed with our visit...a first ( for us ) at an eatery associated with the always reliable Buona Forchetta brand. I personally don't think Matteo has the pedigree to be a good full table service restaurant. It's a fast casual cafe at best...and it needs to execute...

Went for brunch on a Saturday. Busy, busy. Definitely plan ahead.

The food was excellent. Seriously excellent. My partner and shared the crab Benedict, the market veggie omelet, side of bacon, and the passion fruit coconut cheesecake. The crab Benedict was one of the best I’ve had in San Diego - no kidding; gorgeous rich flavor, subtle hollandaise, crispy crab on a nice, crunchy English muffin. The omelet was good, healthy, but kinda boring as expected. The cheesecake was a nice finish; not too sweet, just a great subtle flavor and crunchy crumble crust. Well done.

BUT LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE BREAKFAST POTATOES! These stole the show. Seriously. Heroes on every plate. Beautiful fresh herb flavors, buttery but not too greasy. Holy smoke were those good. Usually the potatoes are easily forgotten, just there to fill you up. NOT THESE. Matteo kills it. Eat them.

Ambience is as expected on such a busy corner in South Park. Expect the occasional loud car, motorcycle, or other annoyance. Good people watching, and doggie views.

The wait staff was pretty excellent given how busy they were, and super polite. Have a chat with them; they’re lovely. Thank...

It suspect there are now more excellent Italian dining options in North and South Park San Diego than most towns in Italy. As a gluten avoider I find my options pretty limited at these restaurants. Not here tho... This morning our family + dog, walked over from North Park and discovered that there is no outdoor dog seating. We got a few lovely things to go and walked home with them. Tried GF muffin - excellent, moist and delicious. GF savory scone - bit small for the price, but good flavor and better warmed with a bit of butter on it. The winner of the baked goods to go today was the the lemon cream bun my son got. Over the top treat. When my husband bit into it he asked "is it my birthday?" Watched loads of lovely breakfast dishes going by. Can't wait to go back without the dog and try a real meal there. Breads on the wall looked great and a wide array of focoaccia and pizza on dispay. They even have good looking gluten free bread! Italian dry goods for sale too. Very pretty ambiance, friendly staff, happy looking eaters. For an Italian bakery establishment there were lots of gluten...