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Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Food
2837 Castro Valley Blvd
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I can't explain why, but JD's reminds me of a diner at a beach town. Which, in my book, is a good thing. I love the booths, the kitschy quotes painted on the walls, the ginormous portions, waitresses that call you hon, and how random people at other tables will pipe in if you ask a question.
I also love that if you order Eggs Benedict (or a veggie version thereof), you will get three (3). That's just ridonkulously lavish. And I ate them all!
Their milkshake alone deserves 5 stars! At almost $7, you wonder what could be so special, until you see the massive beast that arrives at your table. We split a banana milkshake between four of us and there was still some leftover. It was amazing!
The reason the whole place doesn't get 5 stars was that some of the food was just ok. We were there for breakfast and half of our table loved theirs, the other half was just satisfied. Apparently the biscuits and gravy were fantastic. I'll be getting those the next time I go. This time I had an omlette. They do their omlette's a little differently - they place the 'fillings' on the top of the omlette. I had a salmon omlette and while there was some mixed in, it was essentially an egg omlette with salmon and a cream cheese/sour cream mixture on top. It was ok, but a little bland. That was the same comment that I heard from some others in our party. But I am looking forward to coming back and having another milkshake and some other items from their menu.
I have no idea how the food was because we walked out. My wife and I waited for almost 20 min after our drink order. When we finally got service (after complaining twice) they told us we couldn't order off the lunch menu, despite it being past noon. I was willing to grant them the lag in service, but they should definitely have taken down the "breakfast/lunch" sign out front. Fail.
Food looked good, though.
My first and only time here with my daughter and wife, we waited 20 minutes to order, while the waitress chatted. Two waitresses and 6 tables should have had prompt service. When our food came up for the waitress to serve us, we watched as it sat on the counter for 30 minutes.
we left. Terrible service, nasty looking grey chopped up food, and the place looks like a shanty town. Don't bother remodeling, just tear it down.
My second time having breakfast there in 2 weeks - Outstanding!!! Had the eggs benedict - they offer a sausage instead of candian bacon as an alternative which is a great idea. Not your normal eggs benedict - the sauce is home made I found out. It is only served on weekends because of demand. The portion is HUGE - 3 eggs and potatoes. Ordered a milk shake to share - this is a meal in itself. Had plenty of food to take home, the portions were so generous. We plan to go back and try the burgers. Great for family or just for one - they have a counter if you just want to sit back and read your paper while you eat. Definitely the place for breakfast in CV.
This is one of the two go to spots for breakfast in CV.
Their breakfast is OK. I wouldn't say anything there is really THAT great with exception for their milkshakes.
Their milkshakes are pretty expensive when you first see it on the menu, but when you order it you'll find it out exactly why they cost that much. They are absolutely HUMUNGOUS! Every time I order it, I have to share it with at least 2-3 people (providing I'm also going there to eat real food too). It's comparable to the size of the Black & Tan at Fentons, if not bigger. I recommend the Strawberry or Orange Juice. I know OJ flavor sounds weird, but imagine an orange creamsicle. Now do you want to try it?
If you want breakfast that'll blow your mind, go out to Berkeley. If you want breakfast that's good enough and happen to be around this area, go to JDs or Doug's.
We have been watching the construction for a while and decided to go check them out again. We heard there were new owners. I have been there for breakfast and once for lunch since the new owners took over. The prices are a little lower, which is nice. Breakfast was very very good. I would give it 4 stars, but lunch was just okay. The french dip was uneventful and small - 2 stars. So I averaged for the post.
I will be back for breakfast, but not so sure about lunch.
At JD's everything is big. Milkshake is a 5 person shake, during strawbeery season you can get a… Read more »
Roaming around the area with my hubby and felt kind of hungry. I kept an eye out to look for a "busy" looking place to eat and spotted this joint.
While walking it, the decor was very busy as with the place. "Nice restaurant buzz, hope the food is good", I thought to myself. It was a Sunday morning and after we sat down, we noticed that we can't order lunch items, only breakfast on Sundays. Which means we are stuck eating two breakfasts today.
Since it was our first time there we just ordered what sounded good. We had Ricotta stuffed French Toast with Chicken-Apple Sausage and fresh Strawberries and my hubby ordered Corn Beef Hash with Egg and side of 2 Pancakes.
Ricotta stuffed French Toast dish was below average. Tasteless, if I have to give it some kind of description, well...it was like soggy bread. I would preferred either more buttery or egg taste and a bit firmer texture. That would be what a good French Toast would be like. The only thing I like about the dish was the fresh Strawberries.
Corn Beef Hash was deconstructed and done wrong. What they served was a lump of corn beef, lump home fries, and egg next to it.
Pancakes was a little crispy. Pancakes are suppose to be soft, fluffy, and good pancakes are light and fluffy. This was heavy and crispy, plus tasted kind of stale.
Our rant was mainly because we didn't want two breakfasts today, but since they claimed to be the best in breakfast and dedicated Sunday for breakfast menu only, it usually means that everything should be Top Notch. It was everything, but that. Big disappointment.
We gave it two stars because the service was wonderful and thumbs up for fresh yummy strawberries (which they did not cook).
*Update*
While I still love JD's for breakfast (and they do it all so well) the burgers here are an absolute FLOP. I don't know why and I'm surprised but they simply are not seasoning their meat well and the quality is a little suspect also. There's just nothing there when it comes to their burgers. Still, breakfast is the name of the game here. Eggs over easy with British Bangers....Awesome.
JD's has been in Castro Valley for decades and, according to a recent article in the local paper,… Read more »
Best Bay Area breakfast? quite possibly!
Big yummy breakfast eats, remarkable decor and details (love the doilies under the yellow mugs), and friendly staff that bustle with a care for the business.
A++ (but the syrup ain't real maple)
JD's use to be the best breakfast spot in the 1990's but it has went down hill severely over the years. I just got home from there. We had to find our own menus I guess them bringing you a menu is not part of the service offered.
The food took an hour to get to us and the owner did not address this very well.
When i got my brunch special - a breakfast sandwich the bread was hard as a rock and there was not much to it for the 8 dollars I paid I could have made it at home there was nothing special about it.
I WOULD NOT GO BACK OR RECOMMEND THIS PLACE TO ANYONE THAT I LIKE
Ever since they changed owners, the food has been flavorless. The service has gone way downhill. I went there once and had to seat myself, get up to ask for our menus, and get up to ask for coffee plus another time to ask for a refill on coffee. Some guy behind the counter, likely the owner, apologized for the waitress not getting the coffee to us the first time but that didn't change the service because we still had to get up to ask for the refill and the check!
This place was pretty decent I ate a bacon and cheese omelet with onions it came with potatoes and either toast or pancakes. i got pancakes... i thought that my stomach was gonna explode from all of the food... they give big big portions... I just happen to look over at this guy sitting at the table next to me and couldn't believe what i saw A BIG ASS MILKSHAKE... Who sells a milkshake that big ??? I guess they do...
Big Breakfasts!!!
I like breakfast, yes if I can go to a sit down breakfast, I will take you up on the offer!
pancakes are okay...they are just really big pancakes.
coffee is good
parking sucks
oh and its really small, so totally avoid on sat/ sun mornings....
perfect for those college years when breakfast was at 11am on the weekdays!
I came here solely to taste the milkshakes based on reviews. The couple next to us ensured us it would be the most amazing shake we ever had. What came out of the side door was the T-REX of milkshakes. I've never seen such a huge milkshake and reminded me of the huge sundae they served at Leatherby's in Fremont. What was disappointing was that rather than it being a milk/shake it was more of a Sundae as I indicated earlier. It was very hard to consume even after sloshing through it, and I had to eat most of it with my spoon (like a sundae). Frustrated and in a rush we took the sundae/milkshake hybrid to go in their to go cups. A couple hours later it was STILL too thick to consume. The milkshake cost somewhere around 8 bucks as well which is a record for a milkshake, which wasn't a big deal but you want a memorable experience right?
Food was o.k. , servers were super duper nice I was just a little disappointed cuz I was hoping for a life changing "milkshake" experience and it didn't come through.
JD's milkshakes are marvelous, really thick and ginormous. It's basically a gallon of ice cream mushed into a huge glass. Enough ice cream to feed an entire kindergarten, or a family of 6 for a summer, plus it comes with those little wafer cookies on the side, since you obviously need more sugar with your vat o' dairy.
As others have said, the decor is uber kitschy, with little sayings painted on the wall. It's a marvel of engineering that every single table in the restaurant is placed in what amounts to a hallway. Also, they apparently decided to build the booths to fit the windows, making each of them a couple inches too small, rather than taking into account that not all of us have had our ribs removed a la Cher when they chose the restaurant's color scheme. The little outdoor seating area really feels like it should have orange shag carpeting.
So, since their shakes are so awesome, what's with the three measly stars, you ask? Well, I'm glad you did.
Last time I went (as in, the most recent visit and the final one), the sandwich they gave me had green-tinged bread. Seeing as there was no avocado, nor pesto, nor anything greenish touching the bread, it didn't take Sherlock Holmes to deduce the bread was moldy. Eww! Still, not the end of the world. What grossed me out even more than the moldy food was the waitress's reaction when told about the moldy bread, inquiring whether I wanted a new slice, or wanted to stick with the spore-growing petri dish wrapped around my sandwich.
Here's a tip for the waitress: Act appalled. It will at least trick the customer into thinking that serving rancid food is a rarity rather than restaurant policy.
J D's used to be a favorite! A treat! It was special... though on my most recent visit, after coming here for more than 15 years, it was rather dissappointing.
The omlette is not an omlette - it is simply a greasy very flat egg with slices of slimey ham and the cheese is not even melted on top (on top?! I thought omlettes had stuff INSIDE!!!). It was subpar to the massive and delicious plates we used to get, full of the potatoes, ham, bountiful eggs and the waffles and pancakes with fruit on them used to be piled sky-high with strawberries and whipped cream and now it's merely a drizzle and dollup. I don't know if it was just an "Off Day" (though I believe that good restaruants don't have "Off Days") but it was saddening and rather lame.
Bring back the good times J D's!!!
WHo the heck doesn't love JD's? As long as they don't run out of Eggs Benedict, it's worth the wait. Crab Omlette...a winner...PB&J French TOast...My Fav...and the Eggs Benedict...MmMM!!!
My mom loves their sugar cream pie, but they sell out fast.
I really like this place. I always get the Country Choice. Over easy eggs are perfect. Coffee is always good enough to drink black. Yummy potatoes. Never have to wait too long for a table. I have no complaints, except there have been a time or two that we waited a long time for our food and then it arrived cold. Not sure what was going on those days. I wish the prices were a little lower, but then I'd probably eat here every morning.
Oh, and beware, for some reason when they make an omelet they don't mix the goods in, they just pile them on top - strange.
In these times of rising gas prices, changing climates, political turmoil, and a shitty economy, I find comfort that the JD's milkshake--a marvel of human achievement--stands strong.
When I was a young lad, I would gawk at these towering works of art in wide-eyed amazement and found myself lucky to even finish the top half.
In high school I would yearn for finals week when school didn't start until later. Rather than study, my friends and I would converge on JD's and go to work on a nice banana shake with a side of breakfast.
This past weekend, I had the pleasure to brunch here again and found the milkshakes to be as colossal as they ever were. The three of us made the fatal mistake of ordering two shakes (banana and orange juice-flavored) and couldn't get past the half-way point of either one.
The breakfast/lunch choices here are good--I had a nice plate of french toast and have also tried the excellent banana pancakes. However at the end of the day (or at least, the end of brunch) it's all about the shakes--it only takes one to keep a party of three very, very happy.
This is my favorite place for breakfast! Their menus are vast and full of endless possibilities. Their milkshakes also rank pretty high up there, along with Val's! The atmosphere is small town buffet style, perfect!
If you plan on going on a weekend morning though, I suggest getting there quite early for the wait is a lengthy one. But it's definitely worth it!
This is a great place to grab breakfast. There is a good atmosphere inside. Its a popular place, so it can be crowded, but good places are often times crowded.
Been comin' here for years. Usually stick to breakfast and get the Country Choice, Strawberry French Toast or the Brunch Special. Just your classic standard American food; nothing fancy for you vegetarians or eco-friendly hipsters. What, no chilaquiles, tofu scramble or Blue Bottle coffee? Que lastima :-( Portions are large: pancakes hang over the side of the plate, omelettes probably use 4-6 eggs, lots of potatoes, etc. The ladies that work here are great and some have been there as long as I can remember. Biggest and best milkshakes in the Bay! I like the banana or strawberry/banana. So funny to read posts complaining about having to eat the shakes with a spoon. Rookies . . .
Great cheeseburger and fries the way they used to be made.Very affordable and great service. Definitely a place to bring the whole family. The shakes are to die for !!!!!!
I once ate a pancake that had fallen off my spatula an landed on an ashy fire ring rock. The pancakes that I had here on Sunday were almost that bad. They were thin, tough, and not even formed into a circle. I don't know if JDs is trying to save money by not adding baking powder but I will be saving money by never ordering pancakes here again.
I enjoyed the rest of my meal and everything else was cooked to my liking. I had a couple of bites of my girlfriends biscuits and gravy and thought they were pretty tasty.
The service was pretty sucky. I didn't get my coffee or water refilled even once.I am not high maintenance but please check up on me once or twice.
I will go back and try other options but I will never have a pancake here again.
It was another family day and so the bf, little one and I trekked over the hill on Sunday in search of a late breakfast before we went to Golfland. Why do all breakfast places close so early? When we got to J.D.'s it was almost 2:00 p.m. (their closing time) and so I was kind of worried they wouldn't let us in, or the place would be overpacked or we would be rushed through our meal, but I was pleasantly surprised that we were seated promptly in their covered patio. We saw other patrons coming in around 2:00 p.m. who were seated also so I thought that was nice. The place is definitely under construction and it looks like it's getting a paint job and being expanded. That's a good thing because it's bursting at the seams with people! Breakfast was great! Nothing fancy-it's all your traditional, standard comfort foods at your fingertips. My ultra picky dates cleaned their plates and so we all left happy.
This place is great for breakfast. The menu is big, the food is good, and the decor is unique and homey.
If you want a blast of sugar, try the french toast with peanut butter, jelly, bananas, powdered sugar, and syrup. Yum.
This is the only place that I've seen someone order an omelette with a side order of pork chops. Omelette. Pork chops.
The eggs benedict on Sundays are also very good. I called them once to see if they were still serving on a Sunday and guy said they had enough hollandaise for about "90 more minutes." It's the only time I've ever heard hollandaise measured in units of time. Of course, my derelict associates and I hauled ass down there for our fix.
I've only eatin' the biscuit's and gravy here, yea it's that good!! parking sucks, although they have been doing construction and I haven't been back since the renovations. Be prepared to wait if you go on a Saturday or Sunday morning.
This is a great breakfast place. The grilled crab and cheese sandwich is super good. This place was totally old school diner like inside. I'm not sure what it's like now, but I hope they've kept it. I would give them 5 stars but their hours suck.
This new "write an update" feature on Yelp is great! I'm surprised to look back and see that I gave it 5 stars. It's definitely the nostalgia, the small town feel of this restaurant that makes it so great. So no, not so much the food.
The man & I went around 10 a.m. and it was jam packed. Even though it was just us two, there was only a small table and two seats at the counter available. I didn't want to sit at the table because I noticed a LOT of foot traffic by there. That would've annoyed me. We sat at the counter but that was also unfortunate because we were ignored for a good couple minutes. We had to flag down someone to finally take our order and get us water. And even then, she wasn't so friendly.
I got the Chili & Cheese Omelette which was definitely not more than 2 stars. The chili didn't have a bold or hearty flavor to it. The cheese was very melty which I liked. Now the way they make their omelettes is very different. It's very flat and rectangular; they only put a minimal amount of filling but most of it is on top of the eggs. I'm not too fond of this because the egg does not have the typical, fluffy consistency most omelettes have. The side of potatoes was not bad; good, salty flavor but I've had better. You can choose another side of 7 whole grain wheat bread or pancakes. I opted for the pancakes and they were normal. I tried some of the man's Saags Andouille Sausage & Cheese omelette. It's a boring omelette to eat and very bland. He had to salt it quite a bit.
Service was quite mediocre. We got more attention from the busboy than anyone else.
The top of the menu reads:
Bay Area's Best Breakfast
Available during all restaurant hours.
Pssst. You…
Read more »
Whoever heard of an omelet with cold, pickled zucchini in it? blech. I ordered a morning sandwich, and my friend got the dreaded omelet, which they graciously took back and brought her a sandwich like mine, and only charged for the sandwich, even though she had already eaten the pancakes (they were OK (a little tough)) that came with the omelet, and only charged us for the sandwich. Points. Whew. Exhausted from the run on sentence.
Fatties beware - this is not the place for anyone who is over 5'9" or weighs more than 200 pounds. Scary chairs and booths that rival the dining car on the coast starlight.
A-OK for the pecan pie alone. It was very good. The pie itself has a unique custardy texture you don't typically find in pecan pie. As for the foo, particularly breakfast, meh. I've definitely had better. I don't like my omelettes overcooked, but apparently many of JD's customers do. Service was also kinda spotty. They had a "wait to be seated sign" but no one even bothered to come up to me and my party. I finally sat myself down after a while. The booths are not fat friendly so my party and I had to move to another table. This for some reason confused the staff. They kinda stumbled in trying to help us and our actual waitress was apathetic to say the least. I left her a decent tip anyway. They were busy. I'll go back for the pie and I'll have to try a milkshake.
My number one breakfast/brunch spot in Castro Valley. I love their omelettes and milkshakes. Pretty much everything they have to offer tastes great. Their shakes are gigantic and enough to share between three people! They're made with fresh ice cream and fruit, I recommend the strawberry shake. The diner is a tad small but family run and friendly.
JDs is an old favorite, and we visit at least once a month or so -- this is the perfect place for the perfect Sunday breakfast -- old fashioned, with all the trimmings. The pancakes are incredible -- giant, plate sized, perfectly cooked. I know it's weird to have a milkshake with breakfast, but we do anyway. These milkshakes are gigantic, overflowing the large glass, so you have to eat it fast. It's so big and thick, we recommend sharing it. The chocolate is the best, but I have friends who swear by the fresh orange juice shake -- they say it's like a Dreamsickle. Everything on the menu is fresh, with authentic, great flavors.
Yes, it's a bit pricier than say Carrows, but about the same as Baker's Square. It's independently owned, and ownership recently changed after about 30 years with the same owner (the original JD). The new owners are staying true to the beloved menu and interior decor, and are adding new restrooms that can be accessed around the back (not though the tiny kitchen, as in the past). There is parking the back, and usually plenty of street parking as well. Plus, they do take credit cards (Visa/MC) now.
They are open for dinner on Friday nights. Great burgers, etc. Perfect before a show at the Chabot, which happens to be the largest single screen theater in the area -- with great surround-sound. Convenient because it's right next door!
I like it. I feel like I would give more stars if service was more consistent; even though most of the servers here are really nice, sometimes it can be a little slow, as though not enough employees are working? Anyway, you can always count on the food being great, which is the real reason one should be dining out, no? Favorites including the andouille sausage omelet, the strawberry waffles, anything with those damn potatoes (so good!), and even the pb&j french toast is awesome, though I feel a little G-rated ordering it...if you're in the area, it's a great breakfast place, certainly better than anything you're gonna get at IHOP, ew :/
JD's is part 1970s diner, part backyard deck, with a dash of pirate ship. The walls and beams of this funky, oddly cheery diner are covered in bad jokes and pearls of wisdom.
People come for the all-day breakfast and stay for the burgers and Reubens at lunch. As the name attests, few leave without a slice of house-baked pie, pecan is the house specialty.
ABSOLUTELY THE GREATEST SHAKES IN THE WORLD - Fresh Strawberry or REAL Chocolate - ONE IS A MEAL
Hours 645AM-3PM Weds-Mon. 5PM-9PM Fri
My wife and I went there for breakfast on a Sunday morning. That was probably a big mistake-the restaurant was packed full of people eating all kinds of things. After waiting 45 minutes from the order time, we got our food-my wife had a "Cajun" omelet and I had strawberries with french toast. The food taste was *unexceptional*, and for what you pay, it seemed a bit much. Our bill was just shy of $30 for the two of us. Maybe we didn't have what J.D.'s is good at, but if what we had is a sample of everything they make, just because a lot of locals go to a restaurant, does not guarantee exceptional tasting food. We have no idea why there was a line out the door, apropos. We could have had the same quality food for a better price at a Denny's. We are in no hurry to return.
Castro Valley may not be the garden spot of the universe, but it has some great places to let my estrogen pack more fat in the strategic places about my anatomy (still shooting for that 49-D). JD's Restaurant and Pies definately fills the bill on this. Open for breakfast and lunch, and cash only. This is a dinky place with slogans painted all over the inside of the joint, the food is almost to die for. Generous portions with a wide selection of breakfasts and sanwiches. It's the only place in my neighborhood where I can get Andouville sausage and eggs, although they do have things like strawberry and pecan waffles. A bit pricy, at least for my budget (I'm still saving up for those Gilda boots to wear while riding my Harley), but again worth the price. Good ingredients and generous portions. Not much of a parking lot, but plenty of parking along CV Blvd.
Our friend Gut has tried the entire menu and hasn't found anything there that he doesn't like. Higher praise I can not give.
Great Breakfast ... Great hamburgers
You can't miss with the food
I did not give 5 stars due to the smallness of the place
The booths and chairs are pretty uncomfortable.
They are remodeling hopefully it will improve
Castro Valley, CA
Category: Diners
Castro Valley, CA
Category: Restaurants
Castro Valley, CA
Category: Coffee & Tea
Castro Valley, CA
Category: Restaurants
Castro Valley, CA
Category: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
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