When I rolled in to the Hill Street Café & Gallery with a friend, it was at the tail-end of our San Diego speedy weekend road trip, and we were tired. After all, this was the same trip we went to Julian to visit Julian Pie Company‘s famous apple pie, among other classic SD landmarks.
What cheered me right up was Hill Street Café ’s vegan chili ($2.95/bowl), a scrumptious hybrid of minestrone and the traditional meaty spicy stew that is chili. But it was chunky and fresh, not greasy, and laden with fresh squash, carrots, beans, and other seasonal vegetables, topped with fresh cilantro and coarsely-chopped red onions. A big hunk of starchy cornbread comes served on the side, to sop up all the vegan chili goodness at the end.
It was a very filling start to the meal, an avocado burrito loaded with fresh avocado, pinto beans, brown rice, the perfect amount of salty cheese, and fresh, cool salsa on the side. There was a cute little slice of watermelon and orange on the side to wash it all down.
My friend ordered the minestrone soup ($2.95/bowl), a lighter tomato-based soup, veggie-laden like mine, and a tuna salad sandwich, which was fresh, and very hearty and filling as well. They also have non-vegetarian foods, but the vegetarian ones look very delicious.
Most of the Yelp reviews relate pretty positive experiences, though it seems customers’ biggest complaint is the service. The service is very laid back, and I kept running from our table in the front patio back in to the counter to check if they were coming with our drinks, our order, our check because it was unusually slow.
Come to Hill Street Cafe when you can take your time eating – the weather is usually beautiful and it’s fun to watch the people bustling in and out of the sushi place next door. We kept seeing the busboys from our restaurant running across the patio with oranges, or a plate or some food item in bulk and then disappearing behind the
sushi restaurant’s door curtain – they would reappear without their wares and holding a plate of sushi instead. Perhaps the owners are the same for both restaurants?This was one of the best meals we had all weekend. Next time you’re in Oceanside, I recommend you grab a table on the patio and hunker down with your food for people-watching.
524 S. Coast Hwy (between Minnesota Ave & Sportfisher Dr)
Oceanside, CA 92054
760-966-0985
yelp.com/biz/hill-street-cafe-and-gallery-oceanside
