I met up with my good friend Kirbie for brunch...
Royale was our destination that morning and we were excited to get caught up again while sharing a meal...
Royale opened late last year on the outer edges of OB; it replaced Sessions Public and is right next to The Catalina Lounge. Word of advice, there is a small lot behind the buildings which share parking. Had I known that, I would have parked there. Instead, I parked a block away on Catalina for this visit. Royale also used to be a pop up inside Park & Rec in University Heights (more info in articles linked at the end). Both Kirbie and I admired the amazing mural on the wall, by artist Niki Roehreke.
Details of the mural:
The restaurant is decorated like an old school diner with hipsterized. There is a seating area in the front (with great lighting) plus even more in the back. During subsequent visits, I noticed that couples with children chose that area to sit.
We chose two sandwiches, the Fried Chicken Biscuit plus the restaurant's namesake, Royale with Cheese.
A newfangled jukebox was near the bar, complete with artwork of Samuel L. Jackson chomping on a Big Kahuna burger (see video clip linked at the end).
You can flip the selections to see what songs you want to play. I did that for the second visit but I'm getting ahead of myself here.
"Mind if I wash this down with a tasty beverage?"....
Back to our brunch:
Here they were in all of their glory. Kirbie's fried chicken biscuit sandwich was a total beast. The biscuit was so tender and the addition of collards in the sandwich was a nice surprise. The chicken itself was also juicy underneath the crisp exterior. I only had a small bite but wow, I knew I would have to have it again, heh heh (plotting my next visit).
As for the Royale with Cheese...I chose a side order of tots which were fried quite crisp, which we both liked. Some places, the tots are still soft inside. Not these. Perfect they were fried this way.
The handformed patty was cooked medium. The pickles were housemade and added a bit of zing to the burger. Look at that bacon, cheese and caramelized onion just oozing out. I kind of wished the burger was served with a side salad already instead of having to pay extra for it.
Try picking this up without making a mess...
OMG...
Both Kirbie and I enjoyed our visit to Royale. Our server was so friendly as well as the rest of the staff. By this time, I already knew I would be returning, but this time for KD's upcoming birthday crawl which happened to be one week later.
My second visit included KD, the birthday girl, along with D and TORC. As for the jukebox, there were "credits" in there already, provided by Royale's staff, so we were told we would select what songs we wanted. Of course, TORC and I went to town on that...
One of the songs TORC chose was "The Waiting" by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers among others while I chose "The Rain Song" by Led Zeppelin and "It's Tricky" by Run DMC. I had to throw a curve ball.
Our brunch + D's fresh squeezed orange juice. Our server later brought us complimentary mimosas (orange + mandarin), which was a really nice and unexpected.
Salmon toast - Both D and KD really liked this even though it was TORC's main choice. As for me, I felt that for the price, it was a little skimpy ($11; unless this was some really high end salmon or something). KD really liked the pickled red onions. The fresh herbs were a nice touch but seemed like overkill with the amount on it.
We also wanted to try the trout with salad but they were out of trout and could only substitute it with salmon which we didn't want to do since salmon was already represented.
D ended up choosing the French toast with fruit compote (apple) + maple syrup. My gal pals enjoyed the French toast as well; as for me, not so much since sweet foods as a meal are not my thing.
And here it is once again, the fried chicken biscuit sandwich - This was ordered by KD and with four of us here, we laid waste to this. The fried egg was over easy in here and I didn't even mind the runny yolks afterwards. This was my favorite for this visit followed by what I ordered....
which was the Breakfast Royale brioche. This time, tots were included in the sandwich which has everything I like for breakfast, egg, cheese, meat and caramelized onions. The egg in here was fried over hard, which I really appreciated and I didn't even ask for this that way, so yay.
Them drinks...
Cheers to KD for another revolution around the sun!
TC and Bert wanted to come here after seeing my photos so the very next day, I returned. Drinks were in order here: housemade ginger ale, Modern Times amber ale + a tequila cocktail with fresh guava, lemon and mint.
TC drove afterwards since Bert and I imbibed, ha ha. Sadly, TC didn't really like the ginger ale because the ginger flavor was "too strong" for her.
Our brunch:
Since I have basic tastes, I got the Breakfast Royale - hash browns, housemade pork sausage patty, eggs and toast (sourdough). The toast was one measly slice that was kind of toasted (or grilled) super hard. The hash browns were on the soft side; next time I'll have to ask for them to make sure it's crisper.
TC chose the Caesar salad, and since we shared our entrees, we also helped her finish this and vice versa. Fresh and light!
Bert had to have the Royale with Cheese which he actually ate with his hands. Being neater than I am, he ate it without a problem. I'm pretty sure mine would have fallen apart so I stuck with a knife and fork, ha ha.
Like the salmon toast, I wished this came with a side salad or fries, but hey, it was pretty damn good both times. Both Bert and I were happy that TC was able to join us. She's been so busy this whole year (her senior year!), even on weekends.
I need to throw this video clip in here for those of you that may, on the off chance, be devoid of pop culture knowledge and therefore the "Royale with Cheese" reference would be meaningless...unless of course you watch this. You're welcome.
Who else went to Royale! San Diego?
Mary recently posted her visit last month with Jake during dinner time + Kirbie's post from our recent brunch visit.
Articles:
"Ocean Beach has a groovy new diner and cocktail bar" SD Eater, Dec. 20, 2017
"Royale replaces Sessions Public on Voltaire" SDNews, Dec.15, 2017
"Burger Pop-Up finds permanent home in Ocean Beach" SD Eater, Nov. 15, 2017
"Point Loma's Sessions Public to become Royale" SanDiegoVille, Nov. 12, 2017
Royale! San Diego
4204 Voltaire St.
San Diego, CA 92107
(619) 431-5653
www.royalesd.com + fb page
Now my sister wants to go here so it's just a matter of trying to figure out a free weekend for the both of us. Or maybe we can go for dinner so I can try the fried chicken sandwich that Mary had, heh heh. The folks working here are super nice, especially the owners whom I saw during the second visit. I hope they last at this location (I never went when they were a pop up).
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