The Cottage

The Cottage La Jolla, CA exudes the upmarket serenity of old La Jolla. Sunlight streams in the windows for a pale yellow wall glow; jazz recordings waft through the dining room and into the palm-shaded patio. Kind waitstaff in shorts carry fruit-garnished dinners of salubrious California food.

What should I eat at The Cottage La Jolla, CA?

If you walk past around 7am, you’ll smell baked apple and oatmeal muffins.  The muffins are packed with blueberries or laced with carrots, muffins of cornmeal or bran. The aromas might also include yeasty cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, and the hefty, gnarled “health muffins”.  These are unsweet and genuinely healthy-tasting. The muffin we like best is a pale gold one made with peaches and poppy seeds. Behind the bakery case are all the machines for espresso and steaming milk to make cappuccino and Cottage Cafe mocha.  This is a blend of espresso, steamed milk, chocolate, and cinnamon.

In addition to the bakery goodies, there are omelets of all kinds.  You can order machaca (shredded beef) or a luxurious California combo of avocado, bacon, Monterey jack cheese, and sour cream. There are oatmeal pancakes, huevos rancheros, granola with yogurt. Best of all is the Irish oatmeal.  This comes with brown sugar, raisins, bananas, milk, and  caramelized walnuts.  These are a kind of crunchy, sticky, sweet, nutty condiment.  Also, they semi-melt when you sprinkle it atop the hot oatmeal. Sheer heaven!

Beyond breakfast, we love The Cottage La Jolla, CA for its fabulous version of the San Diego favorite, fish tacos. Built around grilled mahi-mahi, these extraordinary tacos.  A cilantro-avocado sauce on top and comes with a bowl of creamy black beans and chunky papaya relish.