Bustamante Coffee Shop

Elite '08

89

252

Kristen M.

San Diego, CA

I'm glad I use yelp because I get to find great little gems like this, that I would have otherwise never even noticed.  

In a nutshell:  really yummy and damn cheap.  Traci L and I both got full breakfasts and the bill was $15.  I had a cheese and bacon omelette and I wish it was a weekend today so I could go back and get another.  

I love how there are a bunch of regulars, these jolly old men sitting at the counter shooting the shit and drinking coffee...and the server is a cute, little Asian lady with pink hair.  Love it.  Service was great, we were in and out in less than 1/2 hour, and we were totally taking our time.

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Elite '08

171

133

Lucas O.

San Diego, CA

When I first moved to San Diego, I ended up living in PB for some reason that is still unclear to me.  But it sure helped turn my drinking habit into a pretty awesome drinking "issue."  Which was fine and really a lot of fun to be honest, but it left me needing a lot of late-morning breakfasts when the Broken Yolk had 1,000 people out front and I didn't want a bagel.  So I found Bustamante's and never looked back.

The portions are ginormous and the prices are absurdly low.  Everytime one of my old east coast buddies comes out to visit, I challenge them to prove their manhood by eating a surfer's burrito here and they're all thoroughly devastated about halfway through and reconsider everything that they ever thought was important and true in life.  Oh, and you get a little fresh fruit cup that's generally a bit heavy on the watermelon, but fruit is for suckas.

The staff is total salt-of-the-earth, disinterested awesomeness.  The decor makes no sense and you'd think that with so much random stuff thrown onto walls and shelves, at least two things would match by accident but somehow nothing does.  Banners from geographically unrelated sports teams, pictures of patrons and random people and pseudo-celebrities, plastic cups that'll remind you of summer camp and a mug collection that HAS to just be drawn from somebody's grandmother.

AND! The guy with the parrot totally comes here all the time. The winner is you.

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Elite '08

124

127

Edwin R.

San Diego, CA

Like some other people who probably go here, I stumbled upon it.  There are a million choices and PB, and I don't think I have ever heard anyone go "Meet me at Busamante's"...it's just not that kind of place.

The food is marginal at best...but the people are really nice and the prices are fair.  That is a far cry from most of Pacific Beach.

Kono's -- where were intended on going -- was packed and my boy was hungry...at 18 months, his appetite can creep up on us at any point...

So we started walking...Zanzibar, meh...I don't think having the kid eat here to end his fast was the way to go...

So here we are sitting at a table at Bustamante's.

Cheese Omelet, Potatoes, Wheat Toast...$6!

Not bad...the people are really nice that work here.  And, after striking up a conversation with the people at the counter, I will go out on a limb and say that the people that eat here are nice too.

I am not running back to eat your food, but I ain't mad at you either.  Actually, I am pretty glad that we started our morning with you.

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7

53

suz k.

San Diego, CA

The standout aspect of this restaurant is that the people who work there are really nice.  =)   I love nice people.

I ventured into the place for the first time yesterday.  The line at Kono's was almost down to the end of the block - there was no way I was going to wait in that line for eggs and pancake!  

I'm glad I checked out Bustamante.  It's a hole in the wall place with patio seating in back.  There were umbrellas for shade, which was really nice.  No one was in the patio except for a guy with a green parrot.  It was unbelievably peaceful.  Later on, more people came through but for some reason it just stayed so wonderfully peaceful and mellow.  

The guy server came by with coffee, water, and some complimentary watermelon slices.  I thought that was so nice.  The asian lady server with blonde hair has the cutest little smiley eyes and was super nice too.  

The food was pretty good, fast, freshly prepared, and impressively large in quantity.  There were some chicks next to us who order the chilequiles and their huge plates were overflowing.  

I got the Denver omlette which is a Monday special.  It was slightly greasy but in a good way.  The potatoes were nicely cooked soft, not crispy.  It came with toast and grape jelly.  It cost about $6.  

Bf got the Californian + bacon, which was some sort of potato hash with g. bell peppers, onion, tomatoes, bacon.  He got tortillas and pico de gallo with it.  It was about $8.

All in all, we got a huge meal with tons of leftovers.  The guy gave us a little styrofoam box and we took the potato hash home.

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36

137

traci l.

Irvine, CA

This small little coffee shop has some great food for a great price.  My omelet was huge and it came with a side of potatoes (you can also get beans if you want) and tortillas.  Not only was the food great, but the service was fast.  I think out food came out like eight minutes after we ordered.  

It was very empty on a friday morning.  Looking at the pictures on the wall, it looks like it gets busier on the weekends.

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Elite '08

142

130

Aubrey O.

San Diego, CA

After unexpectedly finding a parking spot next to the Bank of America on Garnet, followed by depositing money, my bf and I decided to not waste a great parking and find some brunch.  We were going to do another Zanzibar sit-down but decided instead on Bustamante's, a little hole in the wall breakfast and lunch place on Garnet that really seems misplaced among all the clothing stores, bikini shops, and other loungey-types of restaurants.  It's name says "coffee shop" but it reminds me more of a diner-esque type of place.  

Walking in, we easily found a table to sit at and were warmly greeted by a nice Asian lady with blonde-bleached hair (I thought it was a wig at first, until I saw her roots) who brought us water upon sitting.  The reviewer before me (Noly T.) is pretty much dead on about how the menu seems to offer mostly Spanish-style breakfasts with some American.  I ordered the Vera Cruz omelette (which had bell peppers, tomato, onions, and shrimp) with a side of beans and salsa fresca, and my bf got a guacamole and bacon omelette with a side of beans.  

When our orders came I was seriously surprised by how much was on my plate!  In fact, the reason I deducted a star from my rating was because there was so much on my place it was nearly impossible not to make a mess (I actually decided to tuck a napkin into my shirt to prevent any splashing onto my white shirt---yea, I looked extra cool hehe).  The other reason was because my omelette was covered in cheese (and I despise cheese!).  The menu didn't say anything about the omelette being "topped with a mountain of cheese," so I was pretty unhappy about that.  My bf's omelette wasn't as messy as mine was so he was pretty satisfied with his choice.

Anyway, a good meal that definitely filled us up.  Pretty decent for $15 (that's w/o tip).   And they weren't stingy with the shrimp in my omelette---I found at least 6 or 7 and expected 3 or 4---big plus!  The waitress was very nice and left two hershey kisses for us with the check---chocolate's always a good way to end my meal :)

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10

56

Noly T.

San Diego, CA

Awesome food right after a good early morning surf session.  It's a little hole in the wall on Garnet that can easily be missed if you're not paying attention.  Their breakfasts range in price from $5-7 and you get a mountain of food.  Much of their menu is Mexican (i.e.-Huevos Rancheros, Machaca, etc.) however they do serve traditional American breakfasts (i.e.-sausage and eggs, etc.).  One of my favorite things there is the fresh juice they make everyday.  It's always something different...pineapple/orange, apple, etc.  They specialize in breakfast so they're closed by the afternoon.  Warning: only go if you're really hungry or expect to take some food home.

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