Daybreak Cafe - Penn Valley, California

frank S.

I am a retired professor and live 15 minutes from the Daybreak Cafe. I have seen it change from an everyday bacon & eggs, boring cafe, to an innovative, favorite of mine. This is all due to the creative mind of it's new owner, Cindy and Cookie, the chef. Not only are the omelets creative, try the Chile Pavo for lunch. A delicious sandwich of turkey, cheese and Ortega chile on sourdough. Even the fries are uniquely fried in beer batter.

Judy G.

Great Good food, excellent friendly service, happy place, small about 50 + people. They made me a special omelet (they named off veggie they had in stock. So i got all my favorites plus cheese. Real good great. Loved it. Very tasty.

I A. R.

12/14/2024 UPDATE:
A sign in the window said it was under new ownership so I thought I’d give them another shot. Any positive reviews of this place have to be from friends and family as they screwed up my orders so many times I stopped going. I thought things might improve with the new owners, sadly not the case.
I ordered my usual: chicken fried steak, two scrambled eggs, hash browns, and toast. I came home to find I got chicken fried steak, two over easy eggs, AND NO HASH BROWNS.
Like I said, all good reviews must be by friends or family because I have never had anything go right at this establishment. The new ownership didn’t change a thing. I mean, you make these meals every day. How hard is it to follow a ticket (and yes, I have actually been a short order cook)? And to forget an entire part of the meal, dude? Give the restaurant back to the other owners. My order was always screwed up but at least I got all the parts to the meal.
I only kept going here because it was the only breakfast place in Penn Valley. Now that the Northridge (right next door and a dollar cheaper for the same meal) started doing breakfast, I’ll be giving them all my business from now on. I suggest the reader of this review to do the same as it is apparently literally impossible for the Day Break to get anything right.

DO NOT ORDER ONLINE/DOORDASH!
I called a few times attempting to place an order to go. No one answered. I saw an option to order online. I made my selection, paid for my order and got an email from DoorDash that my order was placed. About five minutes later I got another email stating Day Break confirmed my order and it would be ready at 11:05am. I arrived at 11:05am and told them I hear for a DoorDash order. They told me they never confirmed the order because they didn’t have it in stock. I showed them the email stating they did confirm the order. They looked at their DoorDash screen and said, “Well, we’re too busy to text or call when stuff isn’t in stock.” I asked for my money back. They looked at their screen again and told me they couldn’t find my order now and they’re too busy to investigate further and told me to take it up with DoorDash. The app and chatbot just tell you it’s the restaurant’s responsibility and give you their contact info. I tried calling again but it just rang. If they can’t handle DoorDash orders, they shouldn’t offer the service.

On another note, the quality of the food has severely gone downhill since the new owners bought it. The only thing I order is the country fried steak and eggs. I have to order a side of gravy as it now only comes with about two tablespoons on the steak. When I bring it home I have to finish cooking the hash browns as they are raw in the middle and put the warm bread they call toast back in the toaster. The gravy tastes like it’s probably a powder mix and the steaks are preformed from Sysco or something, definitely not made in house.
Why did I order if it’s so crappy?
I love country fried steak and was really craving it but didn’t feel like going all the way up to Lumberjacks.
I won’t make that mistake again.

Kameryn S.

Really cute and cozy diner vibes! I got biscuits and gravy, they were delicious. Coffee was hot & fresh. My partner got an iced tea and said it was perfect. Eggs cooked just how I wanted and the sausage was the best part. Would stop by again!

Trevor K.

Food was not good very bland! I also ordered a larg orange juice lady said it cost 12 bucks thought she was joking by the way she said it. She wasn't joking I paid 12 bucks for a 12oz cup of OJ never going back

Ian S.

Massive changes at Day Break Cafe in the past few weeks (late 2024). The updated appearance and decor is a huge improvement but most importantly the new chef is serving really good food at pre inflation prices. I had the most delicious eggs Benedict on the weekend special menu and the table next to me we're raving about their omlettes. They're dog-friendly so it's my goto diner for breakfast and lunch.

Alicia W.

We brought a group in to try things out as the sign said new owners. We were hopeful we would have a decent local place to go. The first clue should have been the old menus with scratched out prices, additions, and notes. We should have left then. We felt committed when coffee came. It was lukewarm but at least it was coffee. It wasn't until later one person noticed the lipstick on the cup. They only had one water glass that looked like it was a thrift store find so the rest of the waters were brought in Styrofoam. We tried a few breakfast options (one party member wisely opted out of ordering after the initial signs) and unfortunately none of the meals was really enjoyable. In addition to the abundance of butter slathered on the bread, the crunchy "over easy" egg, and charred hash browns.... there were many odd flavors, likely from burning and cooking items on a shared griddle. The bacon didn't even taste like bacon... just the odd flavor from the grill. Almost an hour later we all still have an odd taste in our mouth. All in all...4 meals with coffee for about $70. The waitress was sweet.

Donovan C.

Amazing country diner! The staff are awesome very talkative down to Earth. This place makes you feal like your sitting in grandmas kitchen on Saturday morning . telling stories of the past and making up new ones for the future. Food is very country style just how grampa loves it!!, The young lady that brings the waters fills coffes etc .is so awesome and on top of it..neved went without!! Go give this place a try.take your family and friends! Its a must try in Penn valley. And also you can call in to go orders!! Wich is awesome if in a hurry