Side Street Cafe - Costa Mesa

I would have read the reviews before I first came here because I looked at her handwritten menu, I had no idea what was good. I ordered the Cheapskate meal #2, not because it was “Kap” but it was the only thing in the menu, the coffee, pancakes and eggs (Salty Sweet combination). I'm sure the other food is good, but in the morning I usually have a little sweet and salty. First impressions: So I came here 11 to brunch with my old high school friends. The place (like the reviews below) is quite small, but wonderfully there was a table open to us. There are also outdoor seats for a good sunny day. It reminded me of an old diner, and there are some humorous characters and sayings from the 70s and 80s to read the wall. Food: Coffee: Taste like a generic mix. Add some dice sugar and creamer and it was good. Not great, not bad. Stirred egg bacon: Something I could have done myself! Pancake: Big ol’ pancakes I wolfed. I'm tired. However, this review must be taken with a salt grain, as I did not order its “speciality” elements, as suggested by the following reviewers. Next time, I will order something more specific than bacon, eggs and pancakes. Can’t expect much from a “Cheapskate Menu” tho, but still thought it was overpriced $8.00

First time here and we enjoyed everything from this place! The service was great since we felt very Welcoming! The food was Amazingly good and it came out very fast. Since we still dealing with this COVID-19 pandemic; they have tables and chairs outside and it was excellent due to it was a very nice weather in Newport beach today. They even adjust a few things in our order and we?re Very pleased with everything! Planning to return next time we?re in town. It?s a little bit pricey, but it?s worth every penny!

The perfect place for a small breakfast or lunch. You have a really nice menu, but what I ordered was less than ok (meat sandwich). The portions are really good. It's really cozy. Prices are reasonable.

I was told by a friend that her chicken fried steak was excellent. I was disappointed. The meat was too thin. The bread was ok, but quite tasteless and the Gravy was extremely Bland. Maybe her other breakfast is really good, but I wasn't impressed by the chicken roasted steak. The service was good.

We happened to find this small cafe while we were waiting for a table at another cafe. Glad that we tried this cafe instead. I had the popular menu called Stuffed French Toast with cream cheese and mixed berries topped, also came with two eggs and hash browns. The food was amazing and it?s only for $12.50?! The service was great. All the servers were very friendly and being proactive. I highly recommended this place. I would go back for the French toast that is my favorite.