Whenever my wife and I had a vacation in beautiful Montecito ( 2009 ) or even if we were just passing through ( diverted here on purpose in 2010 & 2011 ) . . we always enjoyed a fantastic lunch or breakfast at this iconic restaurant. Amazingly it had been 10 years since our last visit here . . what a crime ! After spending a 7 day vacation up in Pacific Grove in early October we pencilled in breakfast or lunch at Jeannine’s on the way home to Solana Beach on Friday, Oct 9th.
In fact we checked out of our hotel early in Santa Barbara so we could hit here for breakfast. A few days earlier I phoned Jeannine’s and spoke with lovely Mia to confirm we could dine-in . . at least on their outdoor patio ( due to varying covid restrictions ). We rolled up near the restaurant about 9am and could see a farmer’s market on the sidewalk doing brisk business. This end of Coast Village Road ( a lot of eateries here ) is always busy and we had a hard time getting a parking spot.
When we started to cross the street we could see ( to our delight ) that Jeannine’s had expanded their white picket fence encased outdoor patio to the sidewalk . . and they were packed out. Throw in a few brightly colored umbrellas plus large potted plants and it all looked perfectly natural. We ( with facial masks ) walked inside to order our breakfast and ran into Mia ( with facial mask ) behind the service counter who remembered me from our phone conversation a few days earlier ( I shared with Mia that we loved eating here and it had been 10 years since our last visit ). We ordered 2 x Lattes, 1 x American Breakfast ( scrambled eggs ), 1 x Classic Eggs Benedict ( hard poached ) and 1 x Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice.
We both opted for a side of Fresh Fruit included with our breakfast dishes. Mia was so sweet and handed us 2 x Scones ( blueberry, apple maple ) as a welcome back gift. We found a table on the patio . . ever so cute and waited for our breakfast order to come out. A friendly male server named Anthony was nearby and we asked him if he knew if Richard ( the wonderful restaurant manager we used to encounter here years ago ) was coming in. We best remembered Richard for his sharp attire !
Anthony ( probably the manager ) said that Richard now being the restaurant’s HR dude might come by ( Jeannine’s has 3 locations these days ). Our Lattes arrived ( in paper cups ) but tasted just as good as in porcelain . . hard to beat well made lattes early in the morning. Our breakfast meals came out courtesy of helpful Rianna and looked amazing . . my wife got her extra crispy bacon and my hard poached eggs were perfect. The sides of Fresh Fruit tasted exquisite and my Orange Juice was as fresh as can be ! There was sweet music wafting through the air via 2 talented young ladies singing on the traffic island to the breakfast throng at Jeannine’s. It’s all like magic isn’t it ?
When you are somewhere extremely special you don’t want to leave . . and enjoying breakfast at this amazing restaurant is truly special to us. But then it got harder to leave . . . Anthony the manager came out to our table and presented us with a beautiful slice of Strawberry White Chocolate Cake ( soft white cake, strawberry mousse, fresh strawberries, white chocolate whipped cream frosting, white chocolate shavings ) with an inscription on the plate . . WELCOME BACK.
I am not an openly emotional person but I nearly lost it. Of course even though we were quite full we had to try that lovely looking cake . . it was very decadent ! And then a few minutes later as we were about to leave…Anthony presented us with a box of fabulous fresh baked scones as a final thank you. My wife and I rate friendly service very high wherever we go . . it’s more important than the food, drinks or ambiance but every time we eat here our expectations are exceeded. You will never beat that !
