50 Best Cafes near Santee

“We go to Donutopolis a couple times a month and they are always so friendly and the donuts are delicious! ❤❤“

“Cozy little Cafe. Very clean. Friendly staff. Great coffee drinks. Delicious pastries. Love this place!❤“

“Their avocado toast is bomb!!!“

“The sandwich was good“

“Handsdown one of the best brunch spots I’ve been (and I go to A LOT) delicious food, amazing coffee and extremely efficient and friendly service. Highly highly recommend. (We had the French toast, the goat sandwich and the goat pancakes + waffle sticks. All amazing. The latte’s and ube matcha were amazing as well)“

“We’ve been going to Antique Row Cafe for 20+years. The food is great with ample portions. The service is excellent.“

“Highly recommend- tell them it's your first and you get the tour of the menu and art. Great prices, food, drinks and outstanding service. See you there.“

“Todo riquisimo muy amables y atentos“

“Loved Saturday, and Sunday breakfast at Gillespie Field. A great staff of folks, and a must visit if your only on vacation.“

“Great little coffee house in Normal Heights.“

“This is in the SDSU area but there were plenty of locals. I happened to be in the area. The staff is amazing, so friendly and fast. The food is pretty good, but nothing extraordinary. I enjoyed it very much but I wouldn't go out of my way to drive out there again like I do for other places. The place is clean and pretty cute. It's a little pricey but overall I enjoyed it. The coffee was pretty good.“

“The best! The food is always spectacular and monstrous portions. The nicest family you will ever meet run the place and the service is excellent. Don’t pass it up.❣️👍🏻👍🏻“

“Met Toran at our work event and he shared his story… What an amazing business! Everyone needs to go and try this pudding!!! I will always support a business that supports the community and will always show up when asked! Thanks for the amazing pudding, and for showing up!“

“Wow, such great food and awesome service! Had the lobster roll and it was quality lobster and overflowing with actual meat. Everything was delicious.“

“Hands down my favorite place for chilaquiles verdes! The tortillas are perfectly crispy, and the green salsa is full of flavor. The only downside was the service, which seemed a little slow due to limited staff. There appeared to be only two servers, so it took some time to place our order and get our food. Fortunately, the food was worth the wait, and we still had a great experience.“

“Me encanto el lugar que es muy familiar♥️“

“Absolutely LOVE Ultreya! Both locations are top notch. We love it so much that we get coffee beans sent to us in Illinois. Great staff, great coffee, great tea, delicious food and pastries, and amazing owners. If you haven’t been here, you will be in love after you go!“

“We were in the area during the weekday farmers market and found ourselves in this super cute cafe to take a break.

We got their Pool Party matcha and I loved how they infused mango into a refreshing matcha drink. Bonus points that it wasn't overly sweet!

The staff was very friendly and pointed me in the right direction with their recommendations.

We had our baby with us in a stroller and it was nice that this cafe was fairly stroller-friendly. We found a spot to sit and chill in their cool stadium-style seating area.

Would return!“

“Delicious breakfasts 😋 and good service“

“Quaint . Great service and food“

“1st time, won’t be the last....“

“Great customer service and delicious tea!! Love the custom drinks and adding coconut to anything is fantastic. Erica is a great barista and I"ll definitely be back and bring my friends! So friendly, knowledgeable, and professional.“

“It is really good and I definitely recommend. Its a great place when you're craving a good, fresh, no frills sandwich.

First time I went and it was tough to choose as they have a solid selection. Ended up going basic ham sandwich and it was great. French roll and ingredients were fresh and it had a fat slab of ham on it.

They also have soup, which I intend to try next time as its hard to find a good soup. If the sandwich was an indicator, should be good to go.

A bit tough to find as its on the 4th floor of a commercial building, but there are lots of signs.“

“Exelente servicio y todo de primera calidad súper recomendado“

“Customer service and knowledge/quality of their product is stellar! Oh, yeah...and the coffee is amazing, too! My first time experiencing horchata and I strongly recommend! If I lived in San Diego, this would be a regular!“

“Cozy and friendly best coffee ☕️“

“Great vibe and crowd! Kava is excellent!“

“I love La Mesa Bistro team working is very nice, friendly and efficient. It’s clean and you can eat indoor or outside The food is all very good and ready quickly! My favorites açaí be wil and grilled Cheese on sourdough with artichokes and avocado. It’s fabulous- sorry I can’t remember the benefits of it. ?“

“usually a restaurant in a shopping mall is suspect, but the food was Really good and menu was large“

“El mejor restaurante de comida casera ❤️❤️❤️❤️“

“One of the best cafes in San Diego (and that’s saying a lot!). Love the support of local fishermen and other local food options, and the food is absolutely divine. Great place to work, meet a friend, or hang out when they have DJ events. My fiancee and I had a few backgammon and coffee dates there and the vibes were excellent.“

“This place is truly a hidden gem. The sandwiches are tasty and combo is ridiculously affordable. The food is made with love and you can taste it..On top of all that the owner is super sweet. I only wish I had reasons to come out this way more often.“

“Best soup and sandwich in years! Homemade tomato soup on a cold day is just the thing, and this was outstanding. I added ham to the grilled cheese sandwich but don’t bother—you’ll be more than filled up. Mack is friendly and efficient; I didn’t meet the cook but he deserves a raise. This place is just a small deli in an industrial park but that means quick, quiet and with plenty of parking. Highly recommended!“

“I’ve been going to Green Leaf Cafe for a while now since it’s near the building where I work, and it’s consistently great. The staff is always friendly, efficient, and welcoming. Over time they’ve even learned my name, which makes the experience feel a lot more personal.

The food is always solid, the coffee is excellent, and they’re super quick getting everything ready even during busy times. It’s one of those spots that just makes your day a little better. Definitely recommend checking it out if you’re in the area.“

“I recently visited this restaurant under its new ownership, and I couldn't be more impressed! The new female owner has done a fantastic job creating a welcoming atmosphere while maintaining great quality and service.

One thing that really stands out is the extensive menu. There are so many delicious options to choose from that everyone in our group found something they loved. The chilaquiles were especially memorable—packed with flavor, perfectly seasoned, and clearly made with care. They were easily some of the best I've had in a long time.

We also ordered the pancakes, and they were absolutely amazing. Light, fluffy, and delicious, they practically melted in your mouth. They struck the perfect balance between soft and satisfying.

Between the friendly service, wide variety of food choices, and the quality of every dish we tried, We'll definitely be back!“

“The Live Music and Veteran Owners“

“Great tasting food wonderful service“

“Swami's has the perfect local vibe with great food and great service! We recommend them to visitors and locals who don't know yet. It is a great La Mesa dining option!“

“Coffee is really good !! Owners are incredibly nice !“

“I was looking for a breakfast spot with soufflé pancakes and Tappi’s Cafe popped up, so we made the 20-minute drive and it was totally worth it! The menu was super unique, and the Dubai Chocolate waffles were definitely the standout for me. It’s more of a no-frills spot but the food was absolutely delicious and the service was great too. Shoutout to Mia for taking such good care of us. I’ll definitely be coming back to try more of their savory dishes!“

“Meg up with some WFH Coworkers I haven’t seen in a while. Great place to grab a sandwich, sit in the patio and reconnect on a beautiful San Diego “Fall” day!“

“I’ve been going to lestats since I was just a child really. I haven’t been since 2018 maybe when we moved. But I can tell you I’ve known horrible humans in my life not by choice. But fate led me to John a sweet gay man who ran a 24/7 coffee house. And I’ve loved coffee since age 5. When times were hard a lonely girl could get a hot cup of coffee and use the wifi even and hang out. John took in many of us. I was one of the pre 98-2006 post crew that practically lived here. Idk why John never charged us rent he truly should’ve! Hell he probably could’ve for our cars even. I was pregnant here. They fed me when I was hungry. They kept us warm in the cold months. Lestats was always a shelter in the storm we call life. I was but a passenger for a while. John let me park my Honda accord out back for some time when an alternator wasn’t the only problem even. When I think of angels and I think of gods I think of folks like John. They gave us life without even knowing it. My daughters 20 this year and we’re both alive because of John’s goodness and kindness he has a huge heart most have no clue. He’s just the sweetest man. He was a woven interact part of my life. He’s one of those people who is why I am here today. Because when I needed a safe place in the storm we call life. I could lean on Lestats and John. Whom I knew well. To think my neighbor would lead me here he worked there eventually and was a lady’s man 😂 Travis was his name and I laugh cuz I knew that boy from just a little boy. To see him become a man and even a dad around when I was a mom. Seemed then something was surely in the water 😂 or so we’d all joked. Maybe it was just knowing we had a safe place to land for awhile that truly helped us all survive. But a huge part of that was John! So thank you John. Idk if you remember me or not. But I was that blonde girl with short hair and a damaged heart. 90s-2006 was my life there then I’d come when I was in town very rare then. But I always loved your veggie chili and your sandwiches. And the coffee ☕️ gosh if I miss anything from San Diego it’s Lestats and their amazing teas and coffee and food. Because when I had no home even I always had a safe place to go when the storm of life was crushing me. I met a boy in 2006 and disappeared really. But John was always like family for me. So I wanna thank him for being the light in the dark for a young street kid. Who didn’t have much but I always had enough for a cup of coffee and some safe space to enjoy it. I know it’s been 20 yrs because my baby is 20 now. But we wouldn’t be here without John. Thank you for being a safe place for us in life’s storms.“

“strawberry matcha is the best try one for sure“

“Best coffee in San Diego!!!! ☕️✨“

“My favorite place to go ... great tasting & friendly stafff :)“

“Nicest friendly staff Great old style breakfast at great prices A real old school cafe A++++“

“Best bagels in San Diego county.“

“Hit up the New Nutmeg on Danielson Street in Poway. I heard their Scripps location closed because the landlord raised the rent so high it was unaffordable for them to stay there. We were a large group so we were able to order a bunch of menu items. There was a line but its a very popular place so we were not surprised. We started with some espresso drinks, and agua frescas. We had the Hearty Bowl, Avocado Toast, and Amazing Burrito. Some in our group had the new Grandpa's Breakfast Bun with the egg and spam, and the Porky. They are very flexible with special orders including one in our group who is gluten sensitive. We finished, sharing their in-house baked pastries (they have gluten-free pastries); the warmed espresso scones and cinnamon buns (don't ever leave without having the "buns"). I work in the area so Nutmeg is now my go-to for breakfast before work, or lunch. Its also located nearby Costco and Home Depot, convenient for a weekend meal before or after my weekly Costco runs.“