lucky’s breakfast / north park | san diego, ca

I’ve read about Lucky’s Breakfast in various places (like Dennis’s blog A Radiused Corner) and had been wanting to stop by and check it out for quite awhile. It’s closed on Sundays and is only open from 7am-12pm the rest of the week, so we had to plan it out to get here early enough to enjoy breakfast here. One Saturday morning Jake and I were finally able to make it with the kids in tow.

Check out the prices on this menu! I have a feeling the prices have been the same here for many years.

Lucky’s Breakfast is unique in that the entire operation is run by one man. He takes the orders, busses the tables, cooks the food and delivers the meals to your table. You come inside, take a seat at one of the bars and look over a menu and wait. Depending on when you come in, he may get to you soon, or after he’s done cooking his current meals in the kitchen. We had to wait for a little bit but he came over and got us all orange juice and took our orders. He didn’t write anything down and went off to cook our food in the back.

Customers tended to refill their own coffee and while we were there a guy came in,  bussed a bunch of tables and then left. That’s some community spirit right there!

I got a simple plate of hash browns, scrambled eggs and sausage links with toast. I think I ordered 2 eggs, but I ended up with a lot! The hash browns were crispy and good (almost as good as Keith’s) with fluffy eggs. The sausages look overdone but they weren’t really – they were just sort of crispy on the outside. I liked them.


We all got about the same things. We also had some pancakes (I didn’t get to try them though since they weren’t mine).

The whole decor of the restaurant reminds me of someone’s house. Knick-knacks, Asian wallpaper, bonsai trees and a Chinese calendar. Awww yeah.

When other patrons were done with their meals, they would leave the money there and then leave. Jake got up to ask the owner how much our bill was and he just told him, “Oh, about $20”. This is for 4 full size meals and 4 large orange juices.We left $25.

It takes a bit longer to get served here, but the atmosphere is nice. It’s like dining in someone’s house and it’s fun to just watch the progression. If you’re not into waiting around, serving yourself, or not being served right away you might not want to go here. But if you dig that old school kind of vibe, don’t mind a little wait and enjoy really cheap prices, you should check out this place when it’s open!

Lucky’s Breakfast
3804 Grim Ave
(between North Park Way & University Ave)
San Diego, CA 92104
(619) 297-2760

Hours:
Mon-Sat 7am-12pm
Closed Sundays

Cash Only


9 thoughts on “lucky’s breakfast / north park | san diego, ca

  1. Interesting… I like that you can order just one pancake and then build up eggs, etc from there. A lot of times, I like to see how a place makes their pancakes, but don’t want to commit to a whole stack of them.

    Your pictures are making me hungry! I should stop reading food blogs during lunch.

  2. I can’t eat a stack of pancakes – it’s usually too much for me. I need something else to break up that one flavor. I just love the prices here and the food is good. It’s kind of weird when you go here the first time because you’re not quite sure what’s going on, but I dug it.

  3. Hi Mary great write up and thanks for the mention! I didn’t know they were closed on Sundays. Yeah basic stuff here but the atmosphere is really nice.

    1. Hi Dennis! You’re welcome – yes, I probably would have made it in sooner if Lucky’s was open on Sunday. Ah well. I guess he’s got to take a day off sometime. It’s definitely a different kind of dining experience.

  4. That is right by my apartment! I’ve always looked longingly into the window when I go to the post office, as it has been closed every single time I have passed it. Clearly I have to go check it out soon.

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