Breakfast at The Lazy Hippo

If you’re following me on Instagram you’ll know I was on vacation last week! And now I’m super behind on posts and I gotta catch up. First up before I start on some vacation posts, Jake and I recently were invited for some breakfast at a hip joint Downtown called The Lazy Hippo. It’s a couple of blocks from the main Gaslamp Area so it’s a tiny bit quieter than the rest of Downtown.

The interior of the Lazy Hippo is quite eclectic! It’s got a bit of a chic vibe with these hanging lights and chandeliers. 

It also kind of feels like they’re going for a Paris vibe… with a touch of farm house? 

I’m not really sure. It’s a bit kitschy-cute!

I dug these copper sinks by the bathrooms.

The Lazy Hippo logo is also darling! 

Initially we sat inside but it was just too dark to take any good photos in there, so we moved out into the little patio area. Much better light! We started off with some tea and were surprised to each get our own little tea pot.

We ordered the tea first and then it was recommended we try some of the Lazy Hippo’s fresh pressed juices – how could we say no to that? In the front is the Watermelon and Mint juice [$8] and just behind it is the Pineapple, Cucumber, and Ginger juice [$8]. Both were quite refreshing, I must say! I think I preferred the Pineapple, Cucumber, Ginger juice just a touch more since I love cucumber. Jake preferred the Watermelon since he’s not a cucumber fan. 

The first thing that Jake eyeballed on the Lazy Hippo’s menu was the Steak & Eggs [$21.95] which comes with three eggs, country potatoes, and toast. The third egg is hiding underneath the sourdough toast! We got the steak cooked to a perfect medium rare – it was very lovely and quite a juicy steak. I did not touch those eggs – too runny for me! The country potatoes had a nice crispness on the outside and were tender on the inside. 

Another dish chosen by Jake… the Chilaquiles with Roja sauce [$13.95]. You have the option of Roja or Verde sauce and Jake picked Roja. The sauce on this plate of chilaquiles was really lovely. I liked that the corn chips retained a bit of their crunchy texture despite being drenched in sauce and sour cream. 

Initially I was going to order an Eggs Benedict but I was told that they were nothing special and I asked what she recommended and this was it! This is the Enfrijoladas Loaded [$13.95] which is three rolled tortillas stuffed with scrambled eggs, tomatoes, onions and cilantro all topped with a black bean sauce, chorizo, sour cream, cheese, and jalapeños. Holy cow! When we ordered this we had no idea what it was really, and when it arrived it was stunning! 

Here’s a look at the inside under all of the black bean sauce. It’s…. kind of like breakfast enchiladas, but covered with bean sauce instead of enchilada sauce. I have to also mention that the black bean sauce was INCREDIBLE. This is coming from a person who is NOT very keen on beans in general and I really loved the black bean sauce! It was velvety smooth and had a great overall flavor. They make this special black bean sauce for just this dish and it was really wonderful with the egg stuffed corn tortillas. The chorizo was also fabulous and really rounded out the whole plate. This was one of my favorite dishes at the Lazy Hippo – you don’t want to miss this one! 

Next up (bare with me, we tried a lot of things at the Lazy Hippo – we were encouraged to!) is their Fried Chicken Waffle [$15.95] which came with Belgian style waffles and crispy fried chicken breast. I found this presentation to be interesting! The chicken pieces were like as big as the waffles. I was expecting it to be like one giant waffle with smaller pieces of chicken, but hey, this works, too. The chicken was very crispy which I enjoyed. The waffles were okay, I was expecting them to have the larger holes in them. The waffles are on the thinner side. Not my favorite version, but they’re not terrible. Just not quite what I was expecting. 

The Cinnamon Roll Pancake on the other hand was just as amazing as I had hoped it would be! It’s got a nice thickness to it which allows it to get a good exterior crunch, but also manage to stay fluffy and soft on the inside of the pancake. The cream cheese glaze on top is also AMAZEBALLS and tastes perfect with the touch of cinnamon in the pancake! I really found this pancake to be delightful and it was my other favorite thing at the Lazy Hippo! 

The last things we ordered were these Crepes on a Stick. We got a little crazy and ordered four of them. Above you can see the Nutella Bacon and the Lemon Ricotta. You get to choose two of these for $7.50.

I’m gonna be honest and say I don’t remember what was in these two. I know strawberry is involved and that’s about it. Ha!

While I adored the presentation these colorful Crepes on a Stick, Jake and I found them to be on the dry side. Also they seemed more like waffles on a stick then crepes. Crepes are usually thin and soft and these were thick, crunchy, and hard. The nutella bacon one had chunks of bacon in it with the nutella drizzle on top. The lemon ricotta one had the best flavor but it still suffered from being too dry on the inside. 

On the upside though, the crepes are great for taking fun photos. Heehee!

There were just a couple of misses at our breakfast at the Lazy Hippo but the hits were wonderful! I really loved that dish with the black bean sauce, the Enfrijoladas, and that Cinnamon Roll Pancake was to die for! If you come to the Lazy Hippo, make sure you at least get the pancake on the side (which would only cost you $5 for a side pancake)! 

Thanks to the folks at the Lazy Hippo for hosting us and for the PR folks (Christina!) at Alt Strategies for arranging this great meal! 

The Lazy Hippo
416 3rd Ave.
San Diego, CA 92101

Disclaimer: I was invited to dine at the Lazy Hippo and our meal was complimentary. I was not further compensated for this post and all opinions stated here are my own.