Kaia S.

UPDATE: putting this before my review bc I think it’s very important, I was informed a while ago that the tips do NOT go to the baristas and the cashiers, I don’t know WHO they go to but that seems very nasty. Lovely food but seems the owners may be questionable.

Everything here is spot on! I’ve gone a couple times and have loved it every time, the salmon toast was a little lacking, can’t exactly put my finger on how. The chicken and waffles was mostly batter and little chicken, HOWEVER the one pancakes, breakfast burrito, and the yellowfin poke is Delicious. I go back about once a week to get the poke, I don’t have a picture because I eat it so fast.

Leah B.

We had a delicious and breezy Sunday brunch on the patio today and it felt so good!! We arrived at 9:30am - the line moved quick and we were able to find a table with no wait. The drinks were not overly sweet and we both loved our dishes.

I ordered the Morning Sando and it was perfectly crisp, with a soft buttery middle. The hash brown had no business being as good as it was - in hindsight I wish I had ordered an extra!!

If you arrive anytime after 10, the wait for a table starts to increase. There's no AC inside, but they keep the windows open to let the breeze though. The patio has ample umbrellas and we were seated in full shade which was nice. Blue Whale is quaint, but super cute and absolutely worth a visit!

Jing

The food here is good and fresh. However, be aware that you need to order at the counter and find your own seating, which can be a bit of a challenge as there are limited seats available. It's worth the effort for the quality of the meals.

Ryan R.

Went on sunday AM at 830am. No one in line. Alot of seats.

We had 4 people 1 newborn and 1 doggo. There was alot of room.

Had fresh coffee, chicken and waffles, salmon toast, breakfast burrito, breakfast sandwich.

All of them were great, clean, flavorful, and FRESH.

Teresa

I found this cute place on instagram and was so curious if this place is actually good. I would definitely come back to try more foods!
I highly recommend cali burrito. Tortillas were crispy and inside was flavorful. Ube pancakes were okay. It didn't have the strong ube taste and was sweeter than I thought. Matcha lattes were good. The line moved fast and the foods came quickly. Very fast paced restaurant.

Haylee J. M.

I had really high expectations of this place because it seemed to have a beautiful menu and very nice aesthetic as well but totally did not live up to the expectations.

Tres Leches Iced Latte was beautiful. No doubts about that at all. Really good blend of coconut milk, oat milk and almond milk I believe with a bit of cinnamon on top. The barista definitely did a good job here.

Food was very much lacking though.
Verde Bowl - It said there would be charred vegetables but that was actually deep fried broccoli rabe. It was actually proper crispy from having been deep, fried and so oily. It took away all the healthy aspects I was expecting from this bowl.
Ended up asking the server to just get some plain greens on the side and left that entire broccolini.
Really liked the dressing on here though but when added to the bok choy and kale which was kind of soggy since it was cooked together... That texture combination did not work out at all.
I'm not sure if the vegetables also were cooked in oil because the dressing didn't seem to stick on the vegetables as much as I was hoping.
Did not enjoy this dish at all to be honest.

Chicken teriyaki bowl had the same fried broccolini as the verde Bowl, so that was a little bit of a disappointment here as well.
We left out that broccolini and had the rest of the chicken, rice and a bit of shredded vegetables that seem to be there in there. There ended up being more of a chicken and rice dish with that broccolini removed.
Definitely appreciate the amount of chicken in here and the sauce was also quite nice, but would have rough to see more nutritious vegetable in here.

I was super excited about the Ube Pancakes, but they didn't live up either. Okay to be fair, the pancakes themselves were absolutely lovely with the perfect fluff factor and perfect flavor and all of it. The whip on top was also really nice but the main issue was the extreme amount of maple syrup that was on the plate.
The bottom pancake completely soaked up that syrup and it just made everything so so so sweet! It would have been great if the syrup was just served on the side instead of poured on the dish.

Overall thoughts are that the menu was really nice and they had so much potential but none of the items actually delivered 100%.

Jeanne Q.

I just moved to San Diego so I'm unfortunately taking recommendations based on social media and I probably should not do that anymore. I wanted to try the famous ube pancake but needed regular protein breakfast too so got a traditional egg/bacon and the pancake on the side. Was never asked how I liked my eggs. They defaulted to scramble which were overcooked and nothing was seasoned. The greens could have at least been kicked up with sea salt and a bit of pepper flake or something but it was like a sad side of grass with unseasoned overcooked egg and a small fried hashbrown rather than fresh potatoes, which was odd, considering they seem like they're trying to appear healthy. The pancake was okay but way too sweet, i only took a couple bites. As far as the customer service it was weird. Dining in, i expected they were going to bring my iced coffee in a glass and I was alone so I had to abandon my food for a minute to go fetch my coffee. The servers were unaware they had salt and pepper which was sincerely needed with the blandness and they didnt even have enough tapatio for all the tables. Did not feel worth what I paid, they really ought to get a different chef in back. I gave stars for atmosphere but that was just for plate presentation which was definitely gram worthy, too bad the flavor didn't match.

Jason D.

The Blue Whale Cafe is a gem with a cozy atmosphere and a menu that truly delights. Their coffee is rich and expertly brewed, and the raspberries are fresh and flavorful. The decor is charming, with soft blues and nautical touches that create a calm, inviting vibe.