Last week I was up quite early to take my folks to the airport. 4:30AM to be exact. By the time I got back home I felt pretty awake and decided to get ready and then take myself out for breakfast. I hadn’t visited Claire’s on Cedros since 2011 and I had a strong urge for their pancakes again.
[coffee / $3]
It was quite early and I decided to get coffee for some reason, which was kind of a dumb idea since I only drank 1/4 of it. Hot coffee and my stomach don’t get along so I don’t know what compelled me to get this. The lure of coffee, I guess. Too bad I couldn’t just get a shot of it, like I did when we visited Florida (oh Cuban coffee, how I miss you).
This is what it looks like when you’re sitting in a restaurant before the sun rises. Still dark outside but dawn is starting to approach.
On the upside, you get your choice of table and it’s not crowded. At all. There was actually a party in the corner celebrating a birthday (early risers) and one dude sitting two tables away from me. It’s quiet and uncrowded and unhurried. It almost makes me wish I got up earlier for more early breakfasts.
Claire’s on Cedros covers a great deal with for breakfast and they have a little bit of everything. Eggy dishes, pancakes (or as they call them “Clairecakes”), and more.
[pumpkin pancake clairecake / $5 plus $1 for pumpkin]
I wanted a pancake… but I also wanted something else. My friendly and surprising chipper waitress told me I could order one of any pancake so I did just that. Their pumpkin pancakes are back in season (was there a pumpkin storage? I doubt it.) so I decided to try that. The pancake was light and fluffy and spiced nicely. It’s just plain pumpkin – not like a pumpkin pie pancake or anything. Just plain pumpkin flavor mixed with their lightly cinnamon style pancakes, er, clairecakes.
The winner to me is their crazy good cinnamon butter which melts all over the pancake giving it another hint of cinnamon buttery goodness. I could just eat this on toast, it’s so good.
And since I don’t like just eating sweet for breakfast, I also indulged in this: Eggs Benedict! I’ve ordered eggs benedict like twice in my whole life so I have no idea what compelled me to order this but I am SO GLAD I DID.
I wish I had taken more shots of this. But first on the bottom is this perfectly crisp English muffin topped with some really amazingly good Canadian bacon.
I’m normally not even a fan of Canadian bacon but this one was perfect. It was cut thick and it had those juicy, yummy little fatty bits that aren’t good for you but taste incredibly in your mouth. It tasted like the perfect mixture of ham and bacon and I think I might have fallen in love with it.
The egg was nice and soft but not really runny (woo) and the Hollandaise sauce was smooth, creamy, and perfectly yummy. I’ve actually been craving this dish again all week! Might have to pop back in for another visit.
The dish also came with your choice of side and for some reason I got breakfast potatoes. Wrong move. The potatoes were still on the hard side and I ended up not really liking them. I usually don’t like breakfast potatoes though so who knows what the heck was up with me that morning.
When you’re done with your meal at Claire’s on Cedros they give you a little heart shaped shortbread cookie which is completely darling. It’s almost too cute to eat until you realize it’s a cookie and of course you’re going to devour it immediately. It was delicious. I wish I had 2 more.
Claire’s on Cedros even has a ton of baked goods that you can order at their bakery counter or while you’re there for a meal. I was too stuffed to get anything else but no doubt the next time I come back I’ll order something else to savor for later.
Claire’s on Cedros
246 North Cedros
Solana Beach, CA 92075
Phone: 858-259-8597
Oh that musta been a long drive for you from airport to Solana Beach! I’ve seen this place but it’s always been crowded so we always opted for another breakfast place on the same street.
Was that $5 + $1 for just ONE pumpkin pancake?
Hi Faye – I stopped back home first so drop the dog off and get ready, so Solana Beach isn’t too far from Mira Mesa! Luckily work is right off the 805 so it was an easy drive into work. I’ve only been here earlier in the day but I have seen it get crowded. If you can, try it out! It is pricey but it’s really yummy. Two pumpkin pancakes would set me back $8.99. It is a tiny bit of a ripoff to charge $5 for one pancake… but man… they are so good!
Hello, Miss Mary, I look forward to your blog every day! I have read for several years now. This is my first comment. I just wanted to tell you that the hollandaise sauce at Claire’s is house made and one of the few places I can have it, love it. I first went to Claire’s because they were one of the original restaurants with gluten free options, not to mention their green rating and garden. As Faye pointed out it is pretty expensive but the quality is worth it to me. By the way, the “hard” potatoes are not my favorite either so I don’t think it was your taste. I wish they would do something about those potatoes because they have such potential. Thank you for your great food reviews, Barbara
Hi Barbara – Thanks so much for your kind words! It always means so much to me to hear that someone looks forward to reading my posts 🙂 I’m glad it’s not just me about those potatoes! If they were cooked to be a little softer on the inside I think they could be good since I loved the herbs and seasonings, but it’s tough to get past the too hard potatoes. I hope to come back here and try more items and venture out of my comfort zone. Thanks for your comment!
Solana Beach, as well as the other coastal North County cities are places I have yet to explore…Good to know of a place I can put on my list of “must visit”!
Hi CC – I don’t get up that way often either, but I do really like this place! Hope you can check it out sometime!
Hi Mary! I so want to try that Eggs Benedict. It is one of my fav breakfast items. Glad you are beginning to appreciate. I’m not as into the carby waffles or pancakes though (but will cave if its worth the splurge). Will pin this to my “to try” list (or whatever I decide to name it).
Hi Lynn – I’m really glad I tried it, too, it was so good! I like sharing pancakes because it can get to be too much by itself. Hope you get to try it sometime!