I’ve seen Snooze on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and have mentally kept it on my mind for when I’m in San Diego to give them a try. I’ve asked my friends many times to come with me — for months mind you — and finally convinced one to come along for breakfast one Saturday morning.
We weren’t late. In fact, it was around 9.15 when I put my name on the waiting list. I asked how long it would be and was told 25 minutes. Under normal circumstances, I might not have stayed, but I was here, and I had a dining companion so I waited.
The nice thing about the restaurant is that they have a little counter inside the restaurant on the right hand side where they have coffee and water you can help yourself to while you wait. It was a really hot morning and I was thankful for the icy cold water.
At exactly 25 minutes, we were called and seated at a really cute table. Our server Ariel was a delight as well.
I was starving by now and we quickly ordered. It was a no-brainer for me as eggs Benedict was on the menu and that’s what I always gauge a breakfast place with on a first (and perhaps subsequent) visit. The Ham Benny III ($12) was definitely calling my name. I liked the crispy muffin and the shaved ham was a nice touch, but it wasn’t a wow-me moment even with the perfectly poached eggs. It was just okay.
The true disappointment came in the form of the hash browns. I asked for them to be extra crispy, which they were, but a bit TOO much. They were on the verge of burnt and the middle was mealy and doughy like they had been sitting around too long covered in starchiness.
My friend ordered pancakes, but the hash brown side ($2) on that plate was just as dismal. The sausage links ($3.50) were flavorful and nicely seasoned, but overcooked and dry.
I’m glad I insisted we order the flight of pancakes instead of just one type. Pancake Flight ($9) allows for three different pancakes so you get a taste of what they have on the menu.
Pineapple Upside Down is a buttermilk pancake with caramelized pineapple chunks, housemade vanilla creme anglaise and cinnamon butter. The dollop of pineapple wasn’t enough to cover the entire pancake hence leaving us with many mouthfuls of pancake sans pineapple. In fact, the two mouthfuls I sampled were devoid of any pineapple all together.
The Peanut Butter Cup pancake (BIG MISTAKE my friend who ordered it) was just a disaster. I think this is something a kid would enjoy, but it was just a pancake mess. The pancake was dense and doughy. Not good!
Sweet Potato pancake was FANTASTIC! In fact, I wouldn’t mind a whole plate of this if I was in the pancake mood. This is the restaurant’s signature sweet potato buttermilk pancake topped with homemade caramel, pecans and ginger butter. The pancake was fluffy and the caramel not overly sweet.
All pancakes come three on a plate for $7.50.
Normally I wouldn’t even bother writing up a lackluster meal, but I was so looking forward to this and it really fell short of expectation. The place is really cute, hip and a joy to be in. The one hour wait from putting our name down to having my first bite of food is annoying, but at the end of the day, what was put in front of me was certainly not worth an hour’s wait, even if I didn’t have to pay for the meal.
Snooze
3950 Fifth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
Tel: 619-500-3344
Bummer! What an unfortunate choice of name, too, lol. Hopefully they’ll be able to make improvements!
the place is hopping! so busy, but the food was really boring
Thanks for the review. I actually hearing about the lackluster experiences. It brings a really balanced approach to your blog, after all everything can’t be amazing.