Update: This restaurant has moved to Encinitas.
Stone Flats is a new restaurant nestled into Scripps Ranch right next to Trader Joe’s. This little spot off the 15 has been a pretty unpopulated spot for many years. Back in the day, there used to be a KMart and an 99 Ranch Asian Market of some kind where all of the condo’s now reside, but those were taken out and not much was in this strip mall – except for the Chuck E. Cheese. Putting in a Trader Joe’s in this spot has ramped it up and I think with the addition of Stone Flats this is getting to be a nice little spot.
I originally read about Stone Flats on Yelp. I think I never noticed it whenever I would go over to Trader Joe’s and when I read about the concept – Flat Breads (very pizza-like) that are made on the spot – I was interested and decided to head in and check it out.
When you walk in there’s a simple menu. It reminds me of a Subway back there – a person greets you, asks what you’d like, and starts prepping your food for you. All of the sauces, meats, toppings, cheeses, etc. are all laid out before you and you and pick and choose what you’d like on your flat. Or, you can order a “Signature Flat” that’s got a bunch of ingredients all laid out for you already as a good starting point (or if you find choosing toppings to be too overwhelming).
On my first visit I kept things light and simple – I got the Chicken Flat ($5.50). You can choose to have a White or Wheat flatbread. I went with wheat. Then a layer of garlic olive oil was brushed onto my flatbread and topped off with chicken, goat cheese, and scallions. I think a little sprinkle of mozzarella was also added on and I also asked to have mushrooms and onions added (no extra charge). A little pile of basil was put onto the end of my tray to be sprinkled onto my flat after it came out of the oven. I gave my approval, paid for my meal, got a number and found a place to sit while I waited for my food to arrive.
It took a few minutes for the flat to come out (not too long) and I began consuming my meal.
This is a side-profile view of my flat bread – you see see how thin it in and all of my toppings crowed on top. It’s best not too go too crazy with the toppings since it might not hold up to the weight of it, but I seemed to strike a nice balance. This chicken flat was perfect – a nice, good crunch with a hint of garlic in the background (I wouldn’t have minded it if there was actual garlic spread on this, too, but I’m a garlic lover). The sweetness of the goat cheese was melted in certain places and made for a sweet-tangy flavor that I really enjoyed.
I went back for a 2nd visit and thought I would try something different, though the Chicken-Goat Cheese combination was really superb to me. This time I got the Sausage Flat ($5.50). This one gets marinara sauce, mozzarella, scallions, and mushrooms (and of course I added onions again). This one didn’t quite do it for me as much as the chicken flat did. I wasn’t a big fan of the marinara sauce. In addition to marinara and the garlic olive sauce, they also have a White Bean sauce – haven’t tried it, so don’t really know anything about it.
They also have salads and soups (you can get these in combo meals) but I wasn’t feeling like having those on any of my three visits. I’m a bad blogger.
I did try their only dessert, the Cinnaflat ($3.50). This name made me think there would be more … cinnamon. In fact it appears to be a flatbread with some thinly sliced apples and a dash of cinnamon.
You also get some vanilla ice cream on the side. I could not for the life of me figure out why there was a big hole in the middle.
I wasn’t really sure how to eat this, so I decided to spoon some ice cream onto the flatbread. I think it would have been better if they had done this for me, so the ice cream could melt a bit on top of the flatbread. Instead, it was hard to eat, the flatbread was much too chewy, and my ice cream kept falling off. I ended up mostly just eating the ice cream since the Cinnaflat really lacked flavor and sweetness and wasn’t really enjoyable to eat. Oh well. Kudos for the effort.
On my third visit, I ordered the Chicken Flat again with the same toppings, but much to my chagrin my flat was burned in various places. Since it hasn’t been open for too long, I’m chalking it up to them still working out the kinks and since my first visit was so good I’ll still give it another try. But I’m still going to pass on that Cinnaflat.
Stone Flats
9844 Hibert St., Suite G-1
San Diego, CA 92131
858-444-2280 | 11am – 9pm Daily
Thanks for the review – I haven’t gotten around to trying this place, and I hope they do well.
There never was a 99 Ranch Market at this location – it was an Asian grocery store (the name escapes me) that closed when they tore down the strip mall, then eventually reopened as Lucky Seafood as we know it. We used to come have their two for one pho. Prior to the Asian grocery store, it was a Big Bear Supermarket.
Hi Sandy – I could have sworn it was a 99 Ranch, but it’s been way too many years for me to remember! Thanks for the tip, I updated my article.
hi Mary, those flat breads look excellent. I will have to try them…yummy and nice pics!