Sugar and Scribe
Sugar and Scribe — photo 2
Sugar and Scribe — photo 3
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Sugar and Scribe — photo 5

Sugar and Scribe

7660 Fay Ave UNIT I, La Jolla, CA

★★★★4.4(1,023 Google reviews)

Crema's Take

Tucked into charming La Jolla, this café-bakery hybrid strikes an enviable balance between Instagram-worthy aesthetics and genuinely excellent food, with a soft pink-and-green California palette that feels both iconic and inviting. Their kitchen shines brightest at brunch, where standouts like the Blueberry Love Pancakes and Wild Mushroom Truffle Toast deliver real culinary care, while the baristas craft a stellar chai that's worth ordering alongside your coffee. The no-reservation policy keeps it refreshingly casual despite its popularity, and the warm service—particularly from longtime staff who actually seem to enjoy being there—makes it feel less like a trendy spot and more like a beloved neighborhood gathering place.

What to expect

Family friendlyPastriesFull breakfastLight foodMeetingsSlow sitTraditional drinksMatcha & teaSpecialty drinks

Google Reviews

Nicholle Willis
★★★★★2 months ago

Instagram-worthy setting, tables, tableware, and food. The Blueberry Love Pancakes were some of the best pancakes we've ever had, and the Wild Mushroom Truffle Toast was well-loved at our table! (Not recommended if you don't love truffle! 🤣) We also enjoyed the Steak and Eggs (and wish there was more of it)! The SoCal Benedict missed the mark for us as a favorite, but we still managed to eat most of it (I was the only one who left any of it because I personally found it too salty). My friend who got the gingerbread latte loved it, and said it didn't make her jittery. My friend who got the butterfly pea flower tea also loved it. I liked the uniqueness of the unicorn hot chocolate, but personally dislike sprinkles; I enjoyed the lollipop and the hot chocolate itself. I would highly recommend this place for a girls' day out or a date! 💕

K C
★★★★★3 months ago

Hands down one of the best places I have eaten. I was a little hesitant to visit bc there were no reservations, but even at prime-time brunch hour (11am-ish), there was no wait for three people. I’m sure if you have a larger party, that might be different. The place was packed inside and out, but I think service is fast, so they get people in and out. The restaurant is SUPER cute and offers a nice ambiance; it’s great for families, friends or even couples. Food was SOOOOO good. My group shared the mushroom toast, a healthy skillet and their infamous S & S pancakes. You guys, this is ALL the hype and definitely lived up to our expectations. We had great service at the door and at the table, but I failed to get either people’s names. Anyhow, this place gets 10 stars from me.

caimiao liu
★★★★★4 months ago

Very cute and Californian color palette of pink and green. Iconic and pleasant. Our server Tim was very nice and we had a good conversation. We tried their latter and chai. I loved the chai! Tried their blueberry pancakes and their spicy sunrise skillet which came with sourdough bread. The pancake was very impressive because it was very fluffy with what I think home made blueberry jam. Didn’t get to wait when it was like 11:40 on a Sunday in the less busy season.

Melodie Henderson
★★★★4 months ago

I love this place and visit often. The servers are always wonderful; the indoor staff and baristas can be hit or miss. One thing that stood out this time was the indoor seating. I called earlier that week about seating for our company holiday brunch, I was told indoor seating isn’t available on weekdays and reservations aren’t taken on weekends at all, which I understood. We still came on a very cold Monday and were told seating was outside only, which was fine, but I noticed groups dining indoors when I went to pay. It may have been situational, but the inconsistency made the experience feel uncomfortable.

Zan Lee
★★★★★5 months ago

I grew up in La Jolla, so I’ve been coming to this shopping center for decades and remember growing up that my mom and all her friends would go to The Cottage across the street, it was always popular with the La Jolla moms. Sugar and Scribe being a new addition to the La Jolla landscape and I am really happy it is here because honestly it is really good and is always a consistently yummy and quick option. I would call it more of an upscale breakfast or brunch spot given that they don’t really specialize in dinner and have premium ingredients. Inside is very feminine in design, you will see lots of pink and flowers so it has a very Mother’s Day brunch look to it, which I really enjoyed. Reminds me of The Ivy in Los Angeles. We sat in covered seating outside, and the weather was perfect in late November, one of my favorite things about beautiful La Jolla. Our server was very polite and everything that we ordered came out very fast. Parking is fairly easy to find in this part of town, we were able to find a spot within the small shopping center the restaurant is located in, otherwise it would be a pay lot or street parking. I have been here a few times before, but this visit I decided to mix up my order. I started off with a Cinnamon Roll Latte and really enjoyed it. The cinnamon flavor was not too strong and overall it was really good. I also ordered their Black Iced Tea and you can tell it is homemade and was very good and refreshing. For my breakfast, I chose the Lobster Benedict and really liked it. I added avocado, which I would also suggest doing. There was a lot of lobster meat on it and the flavors were well balanced, and very good. Overall, this is a great brunch option and yet another reason to go to my favorite town in San Diego.

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