Craft Café at Mingei

Cute little cafe inside Balboa Park! They have lots of pastries in their display (croissants, quiches, danishes), as well as a fridge with quick to-go items (sandwiches, salads, dips, etc.) There's also menus you can pick up by the cash register which has more food items as well. I was torn between the smoked salmon focaccia and the avocado one. I ended up getting the avocado focaccia with pistachio pesto and it was so delicious! The sauce itself is definitely on the salty side but it's perfect with the focaccia, which was nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Totally drooling just thinking about it! Plenty of tables outside to enjoy your food and take in the beautiful atmosphere.

Tried a cappuccino today with two pastries with my wife . We had a sweet pastry with fig and pistachios and a pumpkin flavored pastry. The coffee was delicious. I could tell they used a fresh roasted coffee.It had a smooth rich chocolate taste you would expect from a good expresso. I like how their menu states where they purchase their coffee from. It said Dark horse. I've heard nothing but good things from that roaster. The pastries were delicious and filling. We will definitely know where to get coffee when we come back to balboa. It's nice to sit and drink coffee with a pastry and take in the sites of balboa park.

B T

Tried a cappuccino today with two pastries with my wife . We had a sweet pastry with fig and pistachios and a pumpkin flavored pastry. The coffee was delicious. I could tell they used a fresh roasted coffee.It had a smooth rich chocolate taste you would expect from a good expresso. I like how their menu states where they purchase their coffee from. It said Dark horse. I've heard nothing but good things from that roaster. The pastries were delicious and filling. We will definitely know where to get coffee when we come back to balboa. It's nice to sit and drink coffee with a pastry and take in the sites of balboa park.

Julie Li

Cute little cafe inside Balboa Park! They have lots of pastries in their display (croissants, quiches, danishes), as well as a fridge with quick to-go items (sandwiches, salads, dips, etc.) There's also menus you can pick up by the cash register which has more food items as well. I was torn between the smoked salmon focaccia and the avocado one. I ended up getting the avocado focaccia with pistachio pesto and it was so delicious! The sauce itself is definitely on the salty side but it's perfect with the focaccia, which was nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Totally drooling just thinking about it! Plenty of tables outside to enjoy your food and take in the beautiful atmosphere.

Bernie

I watched a number of interactions of the staff with various persons during closing time. I asked one of the staff if working with the public made him weary. He responded with what I think was a genuine "No." For some reason, it was refreshing and remarkable to hear. Overall, the personnel seemed to be friendly. They also served wonderful chocolate pudding, that was not too sweet. It was a real treat, and the Mingei cafe was my favorite stop of the day in Balboa Park on what was surely for them a busy Labor Day weekend.

Amber M

I stopped in here for an afternoon snack while I was in the area. Not expecting much and just in need of something to tide me over while I was exploring the park. Prices are high but understandable given the location. Ham and cheese croissant was actually huge and amazingly delicious. 10/10 would recommend and would love to try their other pastries.

Leah Wilson

Stopped in for a midday light lunch and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and delicious offerings for someone who is gluten free. We had a beautiful fruit salad, amazing lemon hummus, some incredibly delicious salad from the case (snap peas, radishes, please tell me more it was so good!) and the best piece of GF carrot zucchini cake I’ve ever had! Thank you for the healthy and gluten free options! The staff were very sweet and helpful despite how busy they were. If I lived closer, I’d pop in regularly.

Dylan Polasko

Absolutely delicious. Pretty decent timing. We sat outside with ours and it was lovely. Our kids enjoyed the food. We enjoyed our sandwiches. We wanted to try so many more things! The iced tea was awesome and so was the smoothie. We would absolutely go back again.

Nice modern Little Cafe on the corner of the Mingei museum. Nice options, expensive. I tried the gluten-free carrot cake. It was really good! Great service, but takes a while

I stopped by here on Tuesday after going to some of the museums. I ordered an Americano with oatmeal and their feta and spinach croissant which was shaped in a waffle! I wasn't sure what to expect from this croissant since this Cafe is located in Balboa Park I figured it's fairly touristy in quality is not a type priority. But I was happily surprised my croissant was amazing! What a creative and tasty spin to a traditional croissant. Highly recommend this Cafe if you're in the area. They also have a variety of grab-and-go options and other food and drink items you can order.

I need something to eat while waiting for a friend who was running late for over an hour. The ham quiche was delicious, the tea was hot, the service was quick as no other customers were there. But then my friend arrived, she said that the cappuccino was weak and she had to wait too long because there was a long queue. The mighty & green energy balls is lovely, but the sunny seed & chamomile isn't recommended at all. I was sitting in front of the Mingei entrance and entertained by feeding mices and a tiny bird who came under the bushes. Lovely.

We stopped by thinking it would be a faster service than Panama 66 and less expensive than the Prado and the restaurant in the Mingei. I tried the chicken and artichoke sandwich which was toasted and had a very strong pickle flavor. The small latte was great. One person tried the quiche, another a charcuterie from the fridge. I got a small kombucha that was about $5. The four of us sat outside at small, white metal tables and chairs on the sides of the hallway outside. Folks are walking through, but it was shaded and near an outdoor enclosed exhibit of Sew Loka's sewing machine and jacket. There was no bathroom there that I could see, maybe inside the Mingei Museum? Needs work: As you can see from the photo, the menu is posted as you enter on the wall on the right, another near the front, and there was one menu near the register. The lettering is so small and light colored it was hard for us to read them. I asked the cashier for a recommendation and I could not hear her. It was kind of a comedy of errors. They need to get a QR code for folks to look at it outside as well as a larger menu placed outside the place. A second thing they could improve was the amount requested for a tip. First of all, it's counter service and they do not bring the food to the table to serve you. Second, the tips start at 22% and go up! There was no enthusiastic welcome in or chatting with customers to help them decide on some delicious food items. You can of course decide to not tip, but what happened to starting at 15%? It's too much.

Stopped in on a Sunday afternoon for something refreshing after spending the day in Balboa Park. Ordered a divine smoothie which was tasty, but was pretty banana forward. Definitely pricey for the amount you receive, but good overall.

Erin Moore

Nice modern Little Cafe on the corner of the Mingei museum. Nice options, expensive. I tried the gluten-free carrot cake. It was really good! Great service, but takes a while

marjon farz

I stopped by here on Tuesday after going to some of the museums. I ordered an Americano with oatmeal and their feta and spinach croissant which was shaped in a waffle! I wasn't sure what to expect from this croissant since this Cafe is located in Balboa Park I figured it's fairly touristy in quality is not a type priority. But I was happily surprised my croissant was amazing! What a creative and tasty spin to a traditional croissant. Highly recommend this Cafe if you're in the area. They also have a variety of grab-and-go options and other food and drink items you can order.

Advantours

I need something to eat while waiting for a friend who was running late for over an hour. The ham quiche was delicious, the tea was hot, the service was quick as no other customers were there. But then my friend arrived, she said that the cappuccino was weak and she had to wait too long because there was a long queue. The mighty & green energy balls is lovely, but the sunny seed & chamomile isn't recommended at all. I was sitting in front of the Mingei entrance and entertained by feeding mices and a tiny bird who came under the bushes. Lovely.

Megan Hobratschk

Stopped in on a Sunday afternoon for something refreshing after spending the day in Balboa Park. Ordered a divine smoothie which was tasty, but was pretty banana forward. Definitely pricey for the amount you receive, but good overall.

Elka

We stopped by thinking it would be a faster service than Panama 66 and less expensive than the Prado and the restaurant in the Mingei. I tried the chicken and artichoke sandwich which was toasted and had a very strong pickle flavor. The small latte was great. One person tried the quiche, another a charcuterie from the fridge. I got a small kombucha that was about $5. The four of us sat outside at small, white metal tables and chairs on the sides of the hallway outside. Folks are walking through, but it was shaded and near an outdoor enclosed exhibit of Sew Loka's sewing machine and jacket. There was no bathroom there that I could see, maybe inside the Mingei Museum? Needs work: As you can see from the photo, the menu is posted as you enter on the wall on the right, another near the front, and there was one menu near the register. The lettering is so small and light colored it was hard for us to read them. I asked the cashier for a recommendation and I could not hear her. It was kind of a comedy of errors. They need to get a QR code for folks to look at it outside as well as a larger menu placed outside the place. A second thing they could improve was the amount requested for a tip. First of all, it's counter service and they do not bring the food to the table to serve you. Second, the tips start at 22% and go up! There was no enthusiastic welcome in or chatting with customers to help them decide on some delicious food items. You can of course decide to not tip, but what happened to starting at 15%? It's too much.

Almost the entire menu seemed extremely overpriced. Despite that, I ordered the Mac and Cheese and a Spinach and Cheese pastry. After tax, my total was over $18. The Mac and Cheese serving was miniscule for the price. The container was small enough to completely fit on my hand. It was good, but not worth $12. The Spinach and Cheese pastry was cold, but decent. There was seating outdoors. They have a wide range of overpriced items, including nine-dollar smoothies and fifteen-dollar sandwiches. Restrooms are available inside the museum. I'd only consider buying a coffee if I came here again, because the coffee prices are reasonable.

Popular café. Take out only but some tables were available outside. I had the Vegan Chickpea Salad Sandwich which was good but had very crispy-dry toast. My MiL had their Cobb Salad which was singularly unique but not a recognized Cobb Salad. Some romaine leaves had browning on the ends. The best item was their huge Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie! Rather expensive here, though.

Neal

Almost the entire menu seemed extremely overpriced. Despite that, I ordered the Mac and Cheese and a Spinach and Cheese pastry. After tax, my total was over $18. The Mac and Cheese serving was miniscule for the price. The container was small enough to completely fit on my hand. It was good, but not worth $12. The Spinach and Cheese pastry was cold, but decent. There was seating outdoors. They have a wide range of overpriced items, including nine-dollar smoothies and fifteen-dollar sandwiches. Restrooms are available inside the museum. I'd only consider buying a coffee if I came here again, because the coffee prices are reasonable.

James Bray

Popular café. Take out only but some tables were available outside. I had the Vegan Chickpea Salad Sandwich which was good but had very crispy-dry toast. My MiL had their Cobb Salad which was singularly unique but not a recognized Cobb Salad. Some romaine leaves had browning on the ends. The best item was their huge Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie! Rather expensive here, though.

Food quality is often judged against what is available. For instance on a deserted island McDonalds is the best tasting food in the world. This is the only café in the park so when you are hungry the food is amazing! On my first visit, we showed up at 8:30 the time of opening. When we opened the door, we were rudely told they were not open yet. The attitude of the ladies helping us this morning overshadowed the experience. They seemed genuinely annoyed that we were there. When we were finally allowed in all they had was yesterdays pastries and nothing fresh from the menu. They didn’t offer to heat anything up or get us close to what we ordered. For a tourist spot I would hope this place could represent San Diego better than our experience.

Carlos Ramirez

Food quality is often judged against what is available. For instance on a deserted island McDonalds is the best tasting food in the world. This is the only café in the park so when you are hungry the food is amazing! On my first visit, we showed up at 8:30 the time of opening. When we opened the door, we were rudely told they were not open yet. The attitude of the ladies helping us this morning overshadowed the experience. They seemed genuinely annoyed that we were there. When we were finally allowed in all they had was yesterdays pastries and nothing fresh from the menu. They didn’t offer to heat anything up or get us close to what we ordered. For a tourist spot I would hope this place could represent San Diego better than our experience.

Someone took my girlfriends coffee and the store said not our problem. Great way to treat your customers.. with suspicion vs faith that we are not here to steal $5 of coffee plus tip. And the rude way of speaking even when she came back to address the issue when she found thief and brought back the cup.

Specifically ask person putting out pastries if they are fresh and if the cinnamon roll is soft. They say YES. This is not a soft pastry nor does it taste fresh. It’s just big. More like store bought quality than cafe quality. Very disappointed.

When we were buying the drinks, the cashier selected the tip by herself and we did not notice it and signed the receipt. As well, the cashier did not ask if we need the receipt and choose to not print one. Please be careful when you are buying, check before you sign for your order for any chosen tips.

The food was borderline inedible. I got the grilled chicken bowl, but the chicken was flavorless and had the texture of rubber. I had to spit some out. I could've gotten a tasty chipotle bowl for how much I paid for the rubber, rice, and chickpeas.

The servers were nice. There is no indoor seating, but there is a lot of shaded outdoor seating. The lattes are beyond disgusting; one sip and you'll swear off coffee.

Coryvators!

The food was borderline inedible. I got the grilled chicken bowl, but the chicken was flavorless and had the texture of rubber. I had to spit some out. I could've gotten a tasty chipotle bowl for how much I paid for the rubber, rice, and chickpeas.