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Categories: Bakeries, Breakfast & Brunch
Neighborhood: North ParkTue-Fri. 7:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
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I should begin by saying that I am a little biased in favor of Cardamom due to the proximity of this bakery/cafe to my house. Nothing is better than walking out your front door on a brisk morning and five minutes later, sitting down immediately at a table. There's another really good breakfast option in our neighborhood that I haven't eaten at in more than a year for this reason: I have to drive to it, and then there's always a 45 minute wait.
So back to Cardamom...the greatest strengths of this establishment all come down to the woman who runs it. I don't even know her name, but she is tall and has strawberry blonde hair, and she's incredibly hospitable. Gives treats to dogs, makes conversation with children, brings samples of new items she's trying out for customers to provide feedback. She is wonderful.
She's also very creative in the kitchen. The menu at Cardamom includes some pretty standard fare. French toast, pancakes, oatmeal, omelettes, etc. But when you order some of the items, you'll be surprised by the first bite, because it's not the same granola that you've had before and that you've come to expect. She made it with dried apricots and cardamom, a rather unusual and "grown up" spice that intrigues as it delights. Same thing with the coffee cake. There's something in it that you don't find in a standard coffee cake, some seasoning that she brilliantly thought to add to the dough, and voila.
And the croissants? The best I've ever had. Seriously. Her almond version of this pastry doesn't come with a thick log of the usual almond paste in the center, that pasty overly sweet stuff that you're used to getting (and maybe really like, tho it always makes me feel a little guilty when I eat it). No, hers comes sliced in half with more of an almondy syrup poured inside, and shaved almonds baked on the top. Much less sweet than the usual almond croissant, a subtler, better effect in my opinion.
And the showstopper...the one that I roll out of bed for every Saturday morning because I want to be one of the first in the door to grab it before they sell out...is the Black Forest Turkey and Asiago Croissant. It is perfect in every way.
Cardamom procures its coffee from a local roaster in La Jolla called Bird Rock. The proprietess told me that she worked there for a while before opening this business. It is also excellent. I've never been to Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, so I'm not really qualified to write a review for them, but through my second-hand experience of their coffee I would have to say that it is the best I've tried so far in San Diego. I'm partial to a good strong brew that has an almost food-like quality to it, a complex but not too bitter flavor, and the coffee at Cardamom (courtesy of Bird Rock) hits this mark perfectly.
In summary, what I love at Cardamom: the croissants, the granola, the pancakes, the coffee, any of the other pastries or breads (don't forget, she bakes fantastic holiday breads!)
What I'm okay with at Cardamom: the egg dishes. They're pretty standard.
What I didn't like at Cardamom: the bliss cakes, which were thin, pale, and overwhelmed by the added seasoning of Cardamom. But I'm sure there are others who just love them.
:-|
CardaWHO?
My sister in law was in town with her daughter.. We wanted to show them a good time around the neighborhood and San Diego. But where to go close by where we can bring kids (3 of them under 5yrs old.).
Why not Cardamom?
This quaint little Cafe Bakery is just a few blocks from my house, and seems packed every weekend when I drive by...
PROS:
* Outdoor seating where you can people watch
* Dog friendly outside
* Kid friendly (also have seating indoors)
* Very attentive and outgoing staff!
* Great service, very accomodating
* Vegetarian and Vegan dishes on menu
* Credit cards accepted
CONS:
* They only have 2 childrens high chairs.
* Their coffee tastes odd.. even when freshly brewed :-(
* Accoustics inside not conducive to quiet.. everything is loud.
* The food was only so so :-( how sad.
* Bland turkey and chicken versions of bacon and sausage.
I hope I just caught them on an off day. But how? All the adults in my group felt exactly the same as I did and we had different meals. We were expecting, and hoping for a much tastier meal... Especially from a vegetarian motivated place.. We thought the service, and people were great, and attentive.. but the meal all seemed a bit bland.
We ended up asking for a fresh cup of coffee cause we all thought the coffee tasted burnt and old (and we don't usually mind old coffee, but this brew tasted odd.) We're not that picky ourselves but I must say I was dissappointed in the flavors all around.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
I ordered the turkey bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich on their homemade rosemary bread. I asked them to add a couple fried eggs as well. Trust me, I wanted this place to have tasty food cause everything else seemed nicely done. I love Rosemary bread, I love vegetarian food, but their rosemary bread may as well have been wonder bread... since it was just as flavorless. As a side to my BLT, I got potato chips, peppered and salted. I think they just opened a bag of kettle chips and poured that on the side :-(
My kids split the chicken apple sausage and scrambled eggs.. They seemed to enjoy it. But after a taste, I found that too wasn't all that flavorful. The food is missing a certain punch.... and I don't mean add more pepper.. please NO.
I'm sorry to say that foodwise I'd have to give them 2 stars.... for their service 4 stars... But overall 3 stars or as I say on Yelp.......
3 Woofs. I'm underwhelmed and yet I wanna be nice :-\
I like this neighborhood cafe and yet I'm disappointed. I will definitely try their vegetarian menu to see if that would make a difference. But it won't happen in the very near future. Vegetarian cuisine has a tendency to over spice.. which I don't mind. But this place was oddly bland. My son's mom said she was underwhelmed as well when she brought her mom there for breakfast 3 months earlier.
http://www.cardamom.co...
One strange thing though.... All day we ran around from event to event. Our kids enjoyed an incredibly full day.... And all three of the adults were STILL WIDE AWAKE at 2am... (while the kids slept.) The kids ate everything we did, even the drinks at the inflatable slides.. the only difference was the 2 cups of coffee each of the adults had at breakfast... Yep.. no sleepy time for the adults.. not until 3am.... And that is ODD for us daily coffee drinkers.
You do the math or meth.. cause we don't wanna!
How ODD.. Even The Mission had better rosemary bread.... actually the Mission has EXCELLENT homemade rosemary bread so go there.
This is a really wonderful bakery - and an alright cafe. Many of the "local source" restaurants in the area get their bread from Caramom (like Sea Rocket Bistro). You can order specialty breads for the holidays, or custom order batches of the amazing croissants for parties, etc. Just ask. The head baker herself is such a sweet woman, and the service has always been extremely friendly, nice, and helpful - even though I fumbled a bit trying to buy a loaf of bread.
Some aspects are not perfect, but this is a wonderful hangout whenever you just need to sit and relax, or to spend time with friends. I'm not sure where the "loud" comes from - I've been there three times in the last week and the music was low or not on.
It's okay.
The service is always sort of spacey. Easy stuff is beyond them - keep the coffee cups full and replenish the supply of cream. Most diner waitresses know that when you pour a fresh cup of coffee, you look to see if the patron needs more cream. This basic concept always eludes the wait staff here.
The menu is small and there's never anything I really want to eat on it. The french toast is fine, but not better than you'd make at home. Generally, I get the oatmeal. Today I got some scrambled egg whites which where bathed in butter. I was actually able to pour a puddle of fat off the plate. That's too much butter.
I will say that the croissants are the best in town. Those are absolutely perfect. Between the small menu, LOUD dining room and ditsy service, I skip this place. Too bad since it's just a few steps from home.
Although the hours were spotty when Cardamom first opened, making it difficult to actually try, they seem to have gotten their act together and there is always a decent smattering of people on the patio and in the dining room during the morning hours now.
I'm currently working just up the street, and there are always those mornings when I'm just too tired to make my own coffee. Cardamom has serviced me well, so far. The coffee is decent, although a wee overpriced for serve-yourself, and they have soy milk available with the regular milk. Today I also splurged on a blue-cheese and spinach croissant, and it was great. Flaky, warm, gooey and fresh.
The most notable thing about this place is that the servers/coffee counter staff are always SO insanely nice. It just makes the morning that much easier when you're still uncaffeinated and crabby.
I can't believe people are complaining about this place. The coffee is infused w/ CARDAMOM (hence the name) that's why it has a different taste morons!! I swear I am so tired of inexperienced San Diegan diners - if you want regular coffee go to Starbucks.
Back to my review.....I loved this place - very cute and cozy and not too crowded. Great place if you have kids and dogs. The servers were super nice and the baked products were pretty good. I thought the cardamom sour cream cake was a little dry and not enough cardamom for me but my egg sandwich was delish!! They make their egg sandwiches on homemade english muffins that were so good that we ordered a dozen to take home w/ us. The menu was very reasonably priced - we all ate and drank for less than $10 each.
The specials sounded interesting, especially benedict and the croissant french toast, but I went with the gushy menu description of the Bliss Cakes, which were described as "crepelike."
They were thin pancakes, sure. Compared to many breakfast huts' enormous, platter-sized offerings, they were small and thin, but I'd not call them crepe-y. Closer in size and shape with how one makes pancakes in a home-sized skillet. The flavor was interesting, with an unusual but pleasant sweet-savory taste.
Coffee tasted good, but had filtering issues.
From the whiteboard message, it's obvious the owner is very involved and cares about her customers. I would've given three stars for the food and the little-neighborhood-bakery charm, but my service was inconsistent. No coffee refill (or even a solicitation), and settling the check took much longer than it should have in a place that small and with empty seats. I'll give them a time out before returning.
Cardamom is the perfect place for a quick bite to eat.
We generally go for breakfast, but find it a great place to pop in for lunch. We have always found the food consistent, and haven't had anything that we didn't like.
My wife and I enjoy the coffee. It is as nice strong blend made by Bird Rock Coffee roasters. It is not for the timid, and if you enjoy a bold, strong cup of coffee, I can't imagine you wouldn't like theirs.
The pastries are wonderful. The chocolate and the almond croissants really hit the spot. They have always been fresh & often are still warm!
The french toast and bliss cakes are favorites of ours. Both are not overly heavy and filling.
Their croissant and egg sandwich topped with cheese and home fries is very good as well.
You do not get a huge volume of food, but we have always found that the breakfast carries us throughout the day, and we don't usually get hungry for a good 5 or 6 hours after eating.
The staff and owner have always been gracious, taking the time to stop and say hello to everyone. Service can be a bit of an issue, but it has improved since they opened. There are times that you may wait for a refill on your beverage, but nothing that would cause me not to return. Overall, a nice little place for a quick breakast or lunch.
NPCA members...don't forget to use your discount card for a free pastry when you eat here!
A nice little cafe and bakery in North Park, with a spacious patio and friendly service. They have a pretty creative menu with lots of options for breakfast and lunch. I had a great Omelette with soy chorizo, which is hard to find at a lot of breakfast joints. A delicious slice of their fresh baked bread comes with breakfast and they even make their own english muffins. Coffee was good and the place looks cool. I would definitely go back
As you see they finely cleaned this dump up and pass a health inspection. Too bad it was only after people got sick there. As we didn't eat any where else that day, clearly it was the Cardamom Cafe and Bakery that made us sick. You have been warned.
If you're looking to get food poisoning and ruin your day, this is the place to go. I was the… Read more »
After a rocky beginning to our relationship, I've given Cardamom another few tries and they've lived up to the buzz! Friendly, snappy service, good food, fantastic for breakfast on a sunny day.
This place has been all the buzz so when my friends asked me to join them for breakfast this… Read more »
There are a bunch of great things about Cardomom; yes, it does have a certain kind of bland mid-western feel to it, but the people are so nice every single time i am there i do feel like i am in Minnesota or Chicago, as opposed to SD where good service does not seem that important to people.
When you go to a busy cafe like Pete's or the italian-named one on 30th just above University, the kids who work there can sometimes act like they are just so full of ennui, or that you are interrupting their little clique, so i really appreciate the kind and sincere service here.
They say thank you when you put money in the tip jar.
Then, i am a stickler for a good cappucino, which means the coffee should be strong and taste good, the milk should be very hot, and it should be a cappucino, not a latte, or a milkshake. Every cap i have had here has been excellent, and quick, too.
The atmosphere is nice, its a beautiful sign which somehow makes me feel good, the inside is very pleasant, and god to compare it to Crest Cafe with its consistently miserable service from stressed out waiters who hate working for the owners, no thank you.
I like the food. It is not OMFG good, its not hip or gourmet, but its good for the money, and totally unpretentious.
I like the baked goods, they are definitely sweeter than they need to be, but, hey, that's typical in the USA. The almond crossiants are delish, as are the pecan rolls, really all the baked goods i have had.
The bread is nice, again, i prefer Bread and Cie or WFM for bread, but their bread is nice, if not too remarkable.
That's been my experience, and the owner seems to be a real nice lady, too.
I think the only reason people eat here is because of the location....That is the only way I can explain it.
The menu is so random.
Anyway, the last time I was there with my boyfriend, the lady that sat us only gave us one menu. HUH? So we are supposed to share?? Then, I asked the waiter if they had Coke or Pepsi and he said "sure, I'll get you a DIET Coke" COMMON, dude! I'm not THAT fat!
It took forever to get our drinks and even longer to get our food. To the point where I had to ask the waiter where the food was. Of course miraculously right after I asked, the food arrives. To an X server that means "I forgot about you but nice of you to remind me. Let me go pick it up after it has been ready for about 10 min"
When I received my Goat Cheese, Citrus Vinaigrette Salad, It was saturated in dressing and missing the cheese. I couldn't eat it. My boyfriend got the curried chicken salad sandwich which was just NASTY.
The waiter did not deserve a tip (but of course being an X server I still left one). In fact, what he did deserve, is to be fired on the spot. This place is a NO GO for me!
I forgot about the flies. I mean one dived and died in my yummy Aranciata and it was the last one! Buzzing all over my food and stuff. Once again no one offered to discount my bill, I didn't even get a free pastry this time, just a sad orange juice replacement and an "I'm sorry." In the three times we have been there the outdoor tables were full and the flies inside weren't.
Cardamom has the best croissants ever. Sometimes I just want a bag full! The coffee is so yummy and… Read more »
Bakery Review:
I have been meaning to update my review of Cardamom Cafe & Bakery for some time. Cardamom excels in the baking department and I would highly recommend their coffee cake. I have been told by friends that their croissants are great so I'll try them soon. I've given the coffee cake (which they now bake in muffin shapes rather than loaves) as gifts with positive results. I hope they continue offering those excellent treats - we needed that in the neighborhood!
Very few vegetarian and vegan options. Lots of potential with the food but misses the mark in the… Read more »
Cute boy served me mediocre coffee with relish.
I do want to try breakfast there. The owner works hard and the room looks nice.
Closed Monday, for inexplicable reasons.
UPDATE: star added, 8-23-09. I had a delicious omelette and my friend had their special that day of croissant french toast, which was rave worthy.
OPEN MONDAY NOW! I like to think I did my bit for them to wise up to not shaving 1/7 off their chance to be profitable.
Cardamom's owner JoAnne must do better about the SERVICE! If she is serious in retaining her current and future customer she must train her waiter(s) more efficiently. Because of the lack of serious training, the customers pay the consequences. The service drags and the wait for the coffee or the food is (very) long at time.
Suggestions:
1. Upon arrival of a customer, waiter should give the menu and ask for any drinks. Bring coffee, water and cream at the SAME TIME.
2. Silverware should already be on the tables to save time for the waiters.
3. Waiters should have carafe in hand for coffee refill.
4. Coffee pot should be closer to the waiter's station.
5. Bring butter & jam with the toast/muffin automatically or ask the customer upon placing the order whether or not they would like butter and jam...
6. Training of new employees should NOT be done while the customers are waiting to be served.
7. Waiters should stay on top of things and not assumed that a repetitive customer will be more patient.
8. Treat ALL customers as if they were coming for the first time.
9. BE CONSISTENT.
CUSTOMERS SHOULD ALWAYS BE #1. It may COST to treat them well in the short term but in the long run Cardamom will benefit and grow.
Feeling a little depressed this Friday morning and my roommate Cindy had a hankering for some coffee cake from Cardamon Cafe. So off we went. Been meaning to try this place for awhile now, and it was nice to mix things up on a late Friday morning. Cardamon is a great little spot in North Park off Upas, right next to the Jack in the Box and Zensei Sushi. Sweet little spot for patio dining, and open till around 3pm. I ordered the Grilled Cheese and Turkey on wheat with an Orangillo. My order came with CHIPS! Homemade chips no less. Was not expecting that. The bread was delicious, made in house. And the cheddar and turkey were fresh and delicious. I would definitely go back and order that again anytime I am having a bad case of the "mondays". Even if it was a Friday.
If I could give an extra half star, I would. Cardamom is definitely a 2.5. I could say something pithy or sarcastic, but I kinda like this place and want to see it do well.
Cardamom is a cute little cafe at the corner of Upas and 30th in North Park. Their baked goods look lovely, though I haven't tried them, the walls are eclectically multi-colored in greens, purples and blues with little objets de art hanging on them. Visually, the cafe is comfortable and welcoming. They have a great outdoor patio to enjoy on a hot morning.
I've been to Cardamom twice now, once after Astrid and I first moved here last summer and again just this past weekend. Unfortunately both meals that I've had here were pretty unmemorable. On Saturday, I had two eggs poached with home fries and toast. The eggs were perfectly poached, still runny in the middle and warm, the toast was semolina and rosemary, lightly grilled with butter- it was by far the highlight of this meal. Chewy and crunchy perfection. The potatoes on the other hand, though well-spiced were lukewarm and some of the potatoes were still al dente. Astrid mentioned in her review that her Green Goddess salad was overdressed. That's an understatement. It was SWIMMING in creamy salad dressing, making it difficult to eat. If you order it, ask for dressing on the side, you'll thank me, and so will your arteries.
The service was spotty, we went through four different servers on this visit. It would probably be better for a table to have a single server for continuity. Our tea water was only filled once and we had to ask for it to be refilled. When the second round of water was brought to the table, it was only enough for half a cup each. we were promised more water, but it never arrived.
I'm all for local businesses. I know it takes courage to drop everything and make your dream a reality. To pour blood, sweat and sometimes tears into something that you care deeply about. I can't knock a person for putting their head down and trying to make a go at the restaurant business. So I'm offering a little constructive criticism here; the service and food quality just need a little boost to keep customers coming back.
Fix that and you're golden!
I suppose this is a two-ish, *almost* three-ish stars place...this is only based on their food...not the baked goods which I have no expertise about. They seem really nice, and the bread I had was TDF.
I had the Garden Salad...waaayyyy over dressed and the eggs were hard-boiled, but the yolk had gone almost totally black because they had been boiled too long. Anthony had the standard eggs, toast and potatoes breakfast....he said some of his potatoes were still hard, but his poached eggs good and again, the toast TDF.
The service was spotty, never got the hot water we asked for and seemed to have 4 waitresses, but no one really paying attention. Strange.
We'd come here once before, when we first moved to SD and really liked it. I don't know what is different, perhaps just us? But the place is cute and good for the neighborhood. If I wanted some tea and bikkies, maybe I would try again. Hopefully, better this time.
Great service, I enjoyed the asiago cheese and herb omelette with rosemary bread which was not a big helping and I finished it off in two courses. The warst coffee on the planet other than the coffee that "Chief Kane" used to make when I was in the Navy. I swear that guy used to soak his "sack" in the water before applying the grinds.
I digress, a charming little bistro equipt to handled all the screaming kids they can manage.
My husband and I had a big quiet fight here, and the clientele acted like they smelled a wet fart in church and politely relocated.
It all ended well, except for the coffee.
Of course I will be back, don't be silly.
You know, I joined Yelp back in Feb of this year and started writing reviews of places that are… Read more »
Excellent coffee, a bakery in-house with a very tasty selection, and good service. What else can you ask for?
This is a small cafe, so if you see lots of people inside, you'll probably have to wait. I like to be the first customer in the morning when no one else is there, and get my coffee here.
They have organic, fair-trade coffee here - at least they did when I went.
5 stars for a hand-painted dining area. Wow! It really sets the scene.
Near 30th and Upas. It's also really close to Veg-N-Out and Lefty's Chicago Style Pizza, so you won't be bored. Balboa park is very close as well.
The best time to go is Weekday mornings. If you want to go on the weekend, good luck.
Oh and it's important to know that they close around 2pm, so it's just a breakfast / lunch place, not for late lunch or dinner.
I'd also give an extra half-star if I could. Cardamom is one of those places you really hope will firmly plant themselves on the map and survive in these hard economic times. To make this happen I think the solution is pretty plane and simple. The wonderful woman running the place just needs help.
Help in the form of someone just playing hostess greeting and seating customers. Someone just staffed on the floor filling coffees, pouring refills and getting water. Someone staffed in the kitchen to just run food when it comes up hot.
Our visit was first thing on a Sunday morning for breakfast. The staff is very pleasant and personable but they're all just scurrying all around the place with no direction doing 27 things at once and forgetting half of what some customers might ask for. We barely got one refill on our coffee and iced tea after asking multiple times.
The food was enjoyable for the most part (Herb Omelet) but could have been outstanding if served hot right when it was platted up. We could tell that it might have sat in the window waiting to be delivered. What is obvious is what I think the owner does have mastered very well--the baked goods. The fresh baked breads used in the french toast and breakfast toast, were really good.
The ambience is charming and inviting and the price is really great. I hope on a future visit the service flow is tightened up and this place could be put on my short list of favorites.
Nothing special. The food is OK in terms of quality, but the menu is uninspired. There's nothing here that can't be gotten better somewhere else such as Crest Cafe, Mystic Mocha and Farmhouse Cafe. Even the "signature" coffee cake was dry and ho-hum.
The location is prime so it's really too bad that the atmosphere of the cafe is so generic. It lacks real personality and therefore isn't memorable. I won't go back or take anyone there because there are too many other more unique, inspired places to go.
My only second to Italian is breakfast foods. I eat breakfast burritos 4-5 times a week (usually not anywhere near breakfast time), and If it was possible for me to survive strictly on bacon, I WOULD.
On that note, this place is pretty dec. Cute setup, friendly service, good food, typical prices. The bakery attachment has some pretty tasty treats. Additionally, walking distance from my house (especially with a mind-frakking hangover) doesn't hurt a smidge. It's usually not crowded, and the outdoor patio area is nice to relax and check out the people around 30th street.
My one bad experience was the rosemary potatoes- GODDAMN YOU, ROSEMARY POTATOES! My college job was at a dining hall at UCSD, where I learned to hate Rosemary as the seasoning straight from Hell, as drowning things in rosemary was the "chef"'s way of turning any disgusting, dried-up bulk item into something resembling a food item with flavor.
So I order the regular breakfast plate with the rosemary potatoes, thinking Hey, it's been a few years, and that Cardamom, being a real-life food establishment, will not screw me in such a way. Needless to say, moving my rosemary-drowned potatoes around only led me to discover the 3oz BED OF ROSEMARY they were resting on.
Seriously? SERIOUSLY? No one else at the table had this problem.
I came in with a group of eight, pregnant woman and moms with their babies and we had a great time here. Before we all had arrived, some time had passed, but they did not hurry us at all to order. I had a very nice chicken salad sandwich.
Before we left we even got a sample of their world famous chocolate cookies, it was delicious!
I will absolutely come back here some time, with the group I was or with other friends.
Neat little breakfast and lunch place. The decor has a warm, clean, slightly playful feel that's contemporary. It's all purples, golds, and oranges. (Designers: You can tell they're on top of things, because the color scheme from the signage carries through the whole place.)
The food is simple and no-nonsense; dishes have one or two 'flavors' at most (i.e. 'andouille sausage' not 'double-baked gala apple with saffron reduction and peppermint glaze'.) The fresh-baked croissant was amazing. My omelette was very good, but the toast was perfect.
Nice touch: strawberry jam came in a small container with a spoon. No tearing off of tinfoil required.
Another nice touch: I guess a sweet little old man in a wheelchair is one of their regulars. He was the center of attention for several of the off-duty staff while things were fairly quiet. That says a lot about the place.
Third nice touch: plenty of space on the railing to lock your bike in plain view of the dining room without encroaching on a table.
They're extremely nice and attentive. I'll be back.
Lovely outdoor seating with NO SMOKING!!!! San Diego has nice weather for eating outside but too many places allow smoking in their outdoor areas (state law states no smoking w/in 20ft of an entryway). Sorry for the rant, but I've don't like tasting cigarettes with my food (doesn't help the asthma either)....
The food at Cardamon was good. Our omelet could actually be eaten by one person in one sitting and was flavorful but not greasy. The French toast was good simple French toast so you could enjoy the tasty jam.
Service was great especially for a busy weekend morning.
The almond croissants are to die for. The bliss cakes and omelets are equally yummy. Dont like the coffee, to bitter for my taste. Great neighborhood business.
I ate here for breakfast before heading out to the Pride Parade 2008 - it was mid morning on a Saturday and it was not that busy. I recall that the last two times I've driven by here during the weekends that the place was really packed. I thought that it was a bit of a curiosity factor since the place had been promising to open for months...so when they finally did...the natives were restless.
Less than one month after opening, I thought they would still have a grip outside, but that wasn't the case...curious, no?
Cardamom is a place that, given the proper attention in the next few months of business, can really be something special.
Pros:
Ample street parking.
Good location.
Good indoor and outdoor seating (we ate outside, but did peek inside)
Nice neighborhood vibe to the place -- we ran into three different groups of people we knew.
Good prices
Fair portions
Cons:
The service was kind of spotty
The iced coffee tasted nasty
The food was decent, but not very memorable (I do remember that I ordered the North Park Omelet)
I hope that this place has a future. But if I were given the choice, I would drive down a bit and go to the Big Kitchen...but Cardamom, you may be on the right path.
Do the neighborhood a favor and keep getting better!
(PS: As I was walking up, I saw Yelpers Mae C & Tanya S outside...so the community is curious!)
This cafe is a wonderful addition to the area. Pleasant outside seating, and a larger-than-expected area inside as well. The food is yummy, and the service is great. Our waitress was friendly and efficient, and the owner popped over to ask us how we were and stayed to chat. For me a coffee house is as much about the ambiance as the menu, which is why I plan to go back (it's more than a coffee house, not quite a restaurant). I wish they stayed open a little later, because I am just as likely to want to go to a cafe in the late afternoon as in the morning, but maybe they just don't have enough business yet to extend their hours. Hopefully that will change once word gets out.
It is ridiculous that all of these people have reviewed this place before it opened. Maybe we should start making up names of restaurants that we WANT to open, and give them 5 stars because they would be so amazing if they existed.
I was just as excited as everyone else for this place to open -- I have been passing by for months, fantasizing about thick slices of chocolate cake, beautiful cupcakes, sweet danishes, fluffy muffins, fresh sandwiches, hot teas, the perfect cup of coffee....
I tried this place this weekend, and my dreams were shattered. I was turned off by the poor quality of everything, from the food to the service.
To drink, we ordered a soy latte and a coffee. The latte was luke warm. The coffee wasn't bad, but my server forgot to bring cream. I asked her for it, waited 5 minutes, and she never came. I went inside to get it, and after several confused servers asked what i needed, i finally got the cream. That wouldn't normally be a big deal -- I am not high maintenance or demanding...but when it is one of several negatives, it is noteworthy.
I forgave them for the latte and the cream, and thought that for sure the food would make up for it. After all, it is opening weekend, and they want everything to be perfect, right?
I ordered their grilled cheese on olive oil-toasted bread, and added tomato, and my bf ordered toast and potatoes. They were out of all bread except for rolls and sandwich bread, our server said. He said that's fine, and got the roll.
When the food came out, i thought it might be a sick joke. My sandwich was -- no exaggeration -- SLIGHTLY larger than my fist, on VERY thick bread. It tasted mediocre, and was mainly crust. The potatoes my bf had were either REALLY old, or...I don't know. They were hard.
This place, given the location and menu, has some real potential...I might be back in a month in hopes that some things have changed. But for now...bad, bad, bad.
This... place... was... AWESOME. I haven't been disappointed yet! I usually get their croissant sandwich and it is delicious! The atmosphere is cute too. I recommend trying out their patio seating. It's rather quaint to sit outside in the sunlight with your croissant and a cup of coffee, watching cars and people pass by. Get there early and be prepared to wait sometimes cause they can get packed on the weekends.
A solid idea. For those of us tired of waiting for hours in North Park and Hillcrest breakfast legends, Cardamom is the answer.
They are relatively new, so don't let the minor table service hiccups dissuade you. The food is of high quality, hot and to-order.
The menu is relatively basic. Don't go here expecting rosemary potatoes, poached eggs, and fancy pancakes. You will get a wonderful breakfast.
Highly recommend the egg croissant sandwich with Turkey and jack cheese.
I too went to Cardamom this past weekend during their first weekend open to the public to see what the hype was all about. We have driven by for months and wondered when they were going to open their doors. Once I saw online this past weekend they would be open- we decided to give it a try.
We got there around 130pm and the patio was packed with people so we decided to go inside where there were just a few tables occupied.
The inside decor was warm and inviting. The floor has multicolored tiles throughout along with a wall of artwork and cute customized chairs that has coffee cups designed on them. it seemed like a very expensive item to chose on a place just trying to open up. The owner told us that they were pricey but an investment she was willing to make to have a good chair for her customers to sit on.
The menu seemed limited with only 3 sandwiches to chose from. I got the prime rib sandwich while and my boyfriend got the grilled cheese. We also got served the smallest grilled cheese known to man, which he said was very bland. My sandwich did not have much flavor either- and the "prime rib" was more like deli meat. Luckily we also ordered a bulgur wheat salad that was the saving grace of our hunger- this was a fair sized portion and also was served with cucumbers, tomatoes, hummus, and toasted bread on the side.
We understand that they were just opening up-- but it seemed like the staff was very confused on what was going on. We sat near the coffee station and overheard 3-4 drinks brought back that were not made right, and we also had servers not assigned to us come and ask how our meal was and stare at us blankly as if they were trying to cover up them not really sure what they were supposed to be doing.
I wish them luck-- they are going to be closed on Monday and Tuesdays and have other varying hours the other days so make sure you check ahead. We will try again for breakfast in a few weeks- I am sure it will only get better.
The Service was great!
The people were we fun , the food was VERY GOOD.
The owner was very sweet , the coffee was VERY GOOD.
We went 3 days in a row just because it was so damn good.
YES WE WILL BE BACK!!!
Thanks for coming to north park we needed you !
Love the pain au chocolates, pecan sticky buns, and turkey/asiago croissants for takeaway breakfast. Lovely comfortable ambience, with good breakfasts (though not a fan of the dense french toast...it never tastes quite right to me).
Adore Joanne and her staff...just wish they'd get that coffee to me quicker!
I have to echo the sentiments of others on this: mediocre. I think if this were another place in a different location, I would give them 4 stars, but since they have SUCH a great location and neighbors like Sea Rocket Bistro I had very high hopes. San Diego is SCREAMING for another bakery. Bread and Cie is wonderful, but this is a big city and it's absurd that we don't have more bakery choices.
Their bread philosophy is a bit different here. As another reviewer said, you'll probably be surprised by the size of the slices that come from their loaves. They are short, squat. That being said, they are good. Not great, but above average, for sure.
This is their 5th week being open, so perhaps they'll get better with time, but, like everyone else on here, I had problems with the service (and I'm generally very forgiving when it comes to service). We had asked for rosemary toast but got whole wheat, she didn't check on us after food was delivered until we were nearly done and no water refills.
The food was good, and the portions were reasonable. We ordered an omelet and french toast. The french toast was quite good. It wasn't huge (some places make huge french toast, but that's not necessarily a win in my book) but it was filling. The bread was very evenly soaked with egg and was filling but not heavy. The eggs came with really yummy rosemary potatoes (which I think someone else said they didn't do, so I think they're still tweaking their menu) and a slice of orange...which was really more garnish than the "fresh fruit" advertised on the menu. Now the total came to about $14.00. That's a tad higher than I would have hoped (we only had water to drink).
So here's what I want to see for a 5-star rating:
1. Better service (I'm sure this will come in time)
2. Either slightly lower prices, or a few extra fixings (like real fresh fruit more than garnish, a little more whipped cream and fruit with the french toast.)
3. More bread! Their display case was mostly pastries, which is fine, but there's TOO MANY pastry places and not enough bread at most "bakeries" around town. They had a mere 3 loaves in the display case, and as stated before, the loaves are small.
Their menus are very small, which is fine, but would be nice to see a bit more selection (again something that will come in time, I'm sure). They also need better lists of what breads are available and prices for each. Didn't see any paper "take one with you" menus available.
Random side note: the bathroom is very cute and very clean.
I really love that this place has become one of the newest additions to North/South Park! It is within walking distance and they are very neighborhood oriented people. One of the owners serves you too and she loves telling you about the business and seeing how you like things.
I went last weekend and got the homemade granola, which was awesome! It is on top of plain yogurt which is on top of fresh fruit. I am not a fan of watermelon or cantaloupe, so those were a little strange with the granola. It came with grapes, strawberries, honeydew melon, watermelon and cantaloupe. It was a good sized portion and their iced coffee is good too!
My husband got an omelet and it came with sausage and a side of oven-roasted potatoes. They were good, but just a tad on the greasy side. I love my potatoes, but just a little less oil/butter please!
All in all, this place is comfy (outside, when it's hot) and the service is friendly. The baked goods look delicious and they have lots of ideas to try out too!
I had breakfast the other day, and it was straight edge b-fast. Meaning, breakfast was the way you'd expect it, like in a cafe in Lake Tahoe. Hooray!
The rosemary bread was very very good. I did in fact enjoy the rosemary potatoes, but it would be nice if there was an option to go plain or maybe a hash brown choice, just because sometimes potatoes sans rosemary is what you're looking for. Anyway, I went all out on the rosemary. I will say the word rosemary one more time, although there was nothing else rosemary in my meal.
Their coffee cake reminds me of Christmas, and was certainly bueno. I think I will order it again when the season changes. Moving on.
The coffee is bangin as I previously stated, and the staff is sincere and positive. It's the kind of breakfast spot I like, and I haven't quite come across that kind of good breakfast joint with no outrageous prices, until now.
Totally cool.
By the way..this new yelp spell check is sickkkk
I've only had the coffee. But it's my favorite coffee in San Diego.
Happy Hour!
Neighborhood: Coronado
Café Bleu to open soon!
Neighborhood: Hillcrest
San Diego, CA
Category: Grocery
Neighborhood: North Park
Neighborhood: North Park
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: North Park
Category: Middle Eastern
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Bakeries
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