Marie Callender’s Restaurant & Bakery

I failed to make a Father’s Day breakfast reservation and we ended up here. What a surprise! The food was what you would expect, but the service and staff were over the top. Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful! We would come back.

The food is only 4 stars… it only went up to 5 stars because of an amazing and excellent customer service of JEREMY. There’s so many people but he see to it that everyone is okay and satisfied. He’s very professional and hardworking. Thank you very much. You’re an asset to Marie Callendar’s restaurant and bakery. We will come back again with friends.

I get that this is San Diego and that there are much «better» restaurants (in other people’s opinion) but I love Marie Callender’s. Grew up going to the locations back home in Vegas. The food is so comforting and the pies are always delicious.
Unfortunately this one did not live up to expectation. I read the reviews beforehand and saw that people were having negative experiences but I didn’t let it deter me. I should have though.
Our waitress Antonia was very sweet and attentive. I ordered the pot pie combo which comes with a Caesar salad. The salad was brown. Not just wilted. It was brown. Antonia apologized and offered to bring me a new salad. I didn’t want to risk it so I said it was ok. The pot pie was disappointing. I’ve had Marie Callender’s pot pie at least 50+ times in my life and it’s never tasted like that. The chicken was so obviously canned chicken. There wasn’t much else to the filling. Maybe two carrots and a few chunks of celery.
Two stars because Antonia was a great waitress. Upon paying I let the manager know about the salad. She talked to the kitchen and they said that happened because it was under the heat lamps waiting to be served. Not buying it. If it was soggy and or wilted I would take that excuse but this stuff was brown. She had to swipe my card a few times because the register was freezing so I’ll have to keep my eye on my statement to make sure we weren’t double charged.
Also, there were fruit flys in their pie display.
Sadly, we won’t be returning to this location. Guess I’ll have to wait until I go back home.

I’ve had better food in jail.
When I was a kid, my mom used to take me to Marie Callender’s in the Antelope Valley after my orthodontist appointments (yep, I was a «metal mouth» in junior high). Other than that, I recall hitting the Valencia location (right outside of Magic Mountain) a few years ago during their Sunday brunch, before heading up to MM. I remember these as good times with good company & good food.
Now, as a grown man, seeing as how I was hungry & had some time to kill before my periodontist appointment (about a ½ mile from this location), I thought it would be nice & reminiscent to stop by for some breakfast.
Listen, I’m a big guy, and I like to eat food (when it tastes good), but I couldn’t even finish my meal!
I was SO grossed out, that it literally brought my spirit down; I didn’t even have the energy to complain or ask my server (or a manager) for recourse. Here’s how my experience at this establishment went:
After ordering my food, I went to use the facilities. The bottom of my shorts ended up getting soaked because the restroom floor was flooded (I’m hoping that it was mostly water).
As I return to my table, my blueberry muffin is on it. It’s cold and rather hard, and there’s nothing special or tasty about it. I asked the server if that is the restaurant’s USUAL PRACTICE (to serve muffins cold, off the shelf), and she responded that it IS indeed. She did offer to heat it up at this point, but I declined, letting her know that I was simply curious if that was their normal procedure, or if I was getting sub-​par service for some reason.
Then my «food» came.
No joke; I’ve had better food in jail. (Yeah, yeah, I’m sure that I’m the ONLY Unilocaler that’s ever been in trouble with the law.) It was supposed to be this egg with ‘taters and gravy thing. It looked and tasted like it was made in a microwave. The tater-​tots are literally the «Ore-​Ida-​style» frozen «potato» niblets that you pour out of a bag & fry in grease. The egg… gross. The gravy… just, no.
I was so over it that I didn’t even finish my food (and I NEVER do that). I paid, left a 15% tip, and walked out the door to my periodontist appointment, knowing that I’d probably end up writing this review at some point. Upon reviewing my bank statements right now, seeing the $ 15.16 that I wasted on this establishment (not including the tip; I usually tip with cash) reminded me of this unfortunate experience.
For good American breakfast in S.D., I’d recommend Richard Walkers or Broken Yolk. If it must be in the South Bay, I haven’t found any good American Breakfast yet (my 1-​year anniversary in S.D. is coming up next week), but Cotijas Taco Shop at Palm & Saturn has some bomb breakfast burritos.

We came here solely for dessert because PIES.
Walked in and no one was there :|
Husband and I made our way over to the pie display thing and a couple seconds later someone came out from the back and greeted us. I can understand that it was late at night but everyone just seemed really out of it…
We were seated in a booth, husband got up to go to the bathroom, and a few seconds later an elderly man came by to take our drink order.
Two hot chocolates, no whip cream.
Husband came back right as our hot chocolates arrived. Old man river tells him, «she ordered both without whip cream. If you want some whip cream, just let me know and I’ll get that for you» and walks away without looking at me.
Excuse me??? I think I know how my husband likes his hot chocolate. RUDE.
He came back in a bit for our order. Husband gets New York Style Cheesecake.
I had asked what the difference was between a cream cheese pie and the cheesecake… His explanation didn’t help at all.
I got some Chocolate Satin cream pie thing.
A few moments later he comes back with a slice of each.
He had warned my husband that their cheesecake was «twice as rich» as the Cheesecake Factory’s cheesecake and he wasn’t kidding. It was ridiculous but that how I like it! It was so GOOD… My husband didn’t think so, though. He couldn’t finish it.
My Chocolate Satin pie was… Interesting. Really hard and sugary chocolate cookie crust with a sugary whipped like chocolate filling. It was aight. Nothing amazing. It was way too sweet for me so I mixed it with my husband’s cheesecake.
When old man river came back my husband joked that they should combine the chocolate pie thing with the cheesecake because they balance each other perfectly and old man river said, «well next time buy one of each, stack them, and eat it that way if that’s what you want». Uhhh… OK? Rude.
I don’t know man. This place was kinda weird. Plus old man river, er, our server, was… Not that pleasant. Idk if I’ll come back, I’m just super turned off by this place.

I was very DISAPPOINTED.
Undercooked pancakes, overcooked French toast, and bad service.

This place is shit. You’re better off eating at home. Under cooked pancakes and omelette. The waitress was not attentive. Took our order and never checked in with us again.

I love coming to Marie Calendar’s anytime of day. I used to come here a lot before I started to Unilocal.
The food here for breakfast is great. I especially love the buttermilk pancakes here. I came hungry so I ordered the hearty man’s breakfast. It comes with two eggs, your choice of how you want it. I went with over easy. Also comes with 3 sausages, 3 strips of bacon, hash browns, and 2 buttermilk pancakes. All so good. I just did not care for the grease in my bacon and sausage. I loved the pancakes. So warm and moist with the butter and syrup drenched in them. I washed down my food with an iced tea.
Customer service was good. The waitress refilled our drinks. She cleared our dishes right away as well. The feel was warm and cozy. I definitely will keep coming here because the food is good.
Plenty of parking behind the restaurant. We got here a little early as there was no crowds yet.

Marie mailed me a Toofer deal for breakfast, and my wife and I couldn’t resist. We arrived at 8 AM and were promptly seated in an almost empty restaurant. No converted warehouse or chemistry lab look here, just a quiet, relaxing place to enjoy a meal and conversation. The food is the star, not a demented interior designer who never met a hard surface he/​she didn’t love.
Our waitress, Rita, was bright and cheerful and brought our coffees right away. I noted that the breakfast menu at Marie Callender’s is reasonably extensive, with all sorts of delights and combinations, even a build-​your-​own type of breakfast.
Before ordering we were served a complimentary and deliciously fluffy and warm mini-​loaf of banana bread, just perfect with the coffee, which by the way, was pretty darned good. The refills were timely and welcomed.
I chose the ‘Oh My’ breakfast, which was aptly named. It consisted of an substantially sized omelet. a side of nicely prepared hash browns, and two large (and delicious) pancakes, abetted by a container of warm maple syrup. ($ 10.49). The omelet was stuffed with sausage, bacon, mushroom, bell peppers, cheese, onion and other goodies which rendered it super mouth-​watering. The pancakes were so light they almost floated out of reach. The operative word being «almost».
Surprisingly, my wife chose the Spanish Omelet ($ 9.79). She is currently having a Love/​Hate relationship with Mexican food, no doubt due to her status as a bonafide European. This morning it was Love, thanks to Marie C.
And thanks to Rita for the fine service and cheery personality. Yep, we’re fans.

I must say the pies here are absolutely delicious and the quality is definitely worth the price. The customer service is also very lenient and better than expected!

The Thanksgiving Dinner to go, ordered online ahead of time, was excellent! To feed 4 – 6, it comes with a large turkey breast, mashed potatoes, stuffing, yams with streusel, cranberries, gravy, cornbread with whipped honey butter, and a carrot & green bean veggie medley. The veggies weren’t super exciting, but everything else was delicious! Plenty for everyone, with leftovers, too! Comes with clear directions on how to heat things up in both conventional and microwave ovens, takes 2 – 3 hours. Great job, Marie Callendar’s, we’ll be ordering again next year!

I go here all the time because I live right behind it but today had to have been the funniest experience. Or maybe just the strangest. This guy was screaming about where he wanted to be served and who he wanted his server to be. I have to say the staff was the best in handling the a** and that alone was impressive. I really do feel sorry for the wait staff having to deal with such fussy people. The food is usually pretty good and of course I come here for the pies. Who doesn’t?

Had our baby shower yesterday morning, a nice breakfast buffet with about 30 guests. Our planning was easy, and our waitress Maria was very courteous, and even a guy from the back came out to assist, but i dont remember his name. When the quiche ran out, i told the waitress and she came out with more, same with the breads and muffins, which everyone enjoyed. The sausages were very good and we also had potatoes, fruits and scrambled eggs. The venue was lovely.
The only thing im really surprised is the manager never came to greet us or ask us how everything was, even when i arrived with a cake in my arms and my mom was also carrying alot of stuff, i came into the restaurant and the guy up front said party of two? and i said no we have a baby shower planned, and he stared at me blankly, and i said look im carrying alot of stuff do you mind if we put it down and walked into the venue, he didnt bother to look in on us nor were we greeted. Maria then introduced herself after we had been setting up for ten minutes. Upon leaving only the server Maria thanked us and started cleaning up right away. I had a baby shower a few years ago and the manager greeted us warmly and made sure to check in on us several times during the shower, which I felt showed he wanted to make sure everything was going well.
Kudos to Maria and the guy from the back for hosting a lovely event.

Went out to dinner with my husband and my mother in law I want to try something did different it was good I have the all you can eat salad and soup, my husband had the meat loaf dinner my mother in law had chicken caraberry sandwich

How sorely disappointed I am over the service a couple of nights ago! I have already spoken to the manager on the phone about this but wanted to leave a comment here too.
My wife and I were telling her parents how great the food and pies are at this place so we stopped in a few nights ago for dinner and dessert. My wife and I saw the waiter that helped us the previous week with the great sense of humor (older gentleman with white hair and white beard and no, not Santa Claus!) so I walked over to say hi to him. He was behind the counter and replied, «I’m busy right now. You are going to have to wait like everyone else!». I replied «All I was doing was saying hello to you. Sorry to bother you!». This guy was definitely having a bad night or isn’t getting any at home! When it came time to be seated, the hostess said «Take a seat over there and I will bring your menus in a little bit.». WTF??? You aren’t doing anything besides standing behind the counter and the menus are right next to you! My in laws were more than uncomfortable so we all left and vowed to never come back to this place again.
Sorry Marie Callender’s. All it took were these two people to ruin it for my wife and I. We will not be returning and we really liked your food too!

George our server was very accomodating, very polite and relaxing and has a caring voice. I didn’t know which one to order and I asked him which one is better the meatloaf or the potroast and he said the potroast and he was right. Their pot roast was really good. So tasty!
And they have happy hour. That’s a good thing!

First of all, I forgot all about Marie Callendar’s! Came here on a late Sunday morning for breakfast with a friend. I’m not crazy about buffets, but they do I have a lovely (so I hear) brunch that is pretty popular on Sundays.
If you’re coming for breakfast and would like more options, pass on coming on Sunday. They have more options on a separate breakfast menu, but this menu is only offered Monday thru Saturday… bummer. I couldn’t even get a pancake!
I ended up just ordering a blueberry muffin and an omelet. My blueberry muffin was a bit buttery but moist, fluffy and memorable. Definitely unhealthy lol. The blueberries were a nice plump size. Good choice. Unfortunately they didn’t have any meats alternative to pork so my omelet was just veggilicious. Not really bad, I’m just not vegetarian and I was already low-​key bummed about the pancake. I’m about that balanced life naaah mean.
There seemed to be only one waitress for a while (understaffed) who wasn’t very friendly. My friend and I said a prayer, God sent help, and her frown was no more. I know how it feels to be understaffed, but it was a bummer to see her stressed and it reflect in her service.
I would say Marie Callendar’s is probably a better place to come for coffee and dessert rather than meals. Hard to mess that up. Actually, dinner is probably ok. They have pies galore which I think are all pretty good. I would come back for that, but that’s about it.

First time here today and we waited 5 minutes standing around like idiots trying to figure out if we seat ourselves or wait to be seated. Someone finally came to the podium and seated us.
They are definitely not understaffed, which was what we originally thought. They have all these people just hanging out and not doing anything!
We had to wait another 4 minutes before anyone even approached our table, we where going to leave at the 5 min mark and go elsewhere. But they finally came and asked what we wanted to drink.
The food was alright, expected a lot more out of the Sunday brunch.
Horrible customer service, they don’t care about their customers at all. Will not be coming back here.

Who knew that Marie Callender’s served Sunday brunch?! $ 16.00 for a brunch buffet which includes all you can drink mimosas and PIE!!! Yeah, they had me at pie. If you don’t mind a booth there isn’t usually a wait. But arrive before the church crowds!
The buffet selection is small but for $ 16.00 I was happily impressed. Biscuits and gravy, a soup section that included menudo, an omelet bar. My favorite was the Belgian waffle stand with fresh berries and chocolate syrup and whipped cream that was prepared fresh in house.
The hubby enjoyed the bbq chicken and ribs as well as the ham and carnitas.
I stuck mostly to pie tasting. Slices of pie were available and I took full advantage of sampling pies that I would have normally not tried. Someone else wrote in a review that if there was a pie that you wanted to try all you had to do was ask and that it would be cut for you. I didn’t find this to be the case. There was a gentleman who requested a slice and there was grumbling from the staff over his request when he walked away.
Overall you get what you pay for and we were just looking to grab a quick brunch. $ 16.00 is a killer deal for bottomless mimosas and a buffet that includes some pretty awesome pie.

Has it really been almost 4 years since my first review here?! It’s time for an UPDATE! :D
Do I still love this Chula Vista gem? YES! Breakfast and lunch are my favorite times to visit this place. My favorite is their mouthwatering Shepard’s Pie for lunch! Sooooooooooo good! And I’ve had almost everything on the breakfast menu :) it’s not at all like Dennys or IHOP — it’s totally a step (lots more steps) up than those chains. However, another difference is that this particular Marie Callender’s (I can never spell that! :P) has been here for more than a decade serving local Chula Vista folk for years! The service is always friendly and I don’t know but I feel like I’m a special guest at my grandma’s house whenever I’m here. And who says you can’t have pie for breakfast?! Haha pie is served all-​day here and I almost always take a pie to-​go whenever I eat here. My favorites are French Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream! Pecan pie! Pumpkin pie! Cherry Pie! :D
So, if you’re looking for a homey, clean, delicious breakfast, brunch, lunch place… And you wanna steer clear from the norm and the fancy? COME HERE! :D