It’s Saturday. You want breakfast. Unfortunately, you’re in or around Hayward. Where to go? There are a few choices. I’m not a personal fan of the chain restaurants, so rule out your Denny’s and IHOPs right away. The next steps up are your Emil Villa’s, JD’s, Main Street Diners and Doug’s. Unbeknownst to me, Dell Cafe is also around for your breakfast eating pleasure.
Dell Cafe can be found at 2637 Castro Valley Boulevard, just after the mini golf place but before Redwood Road. I don’t actually think I’ve noticed it before. We passed it trying to find it. But, Yelpers like the place and I wanted a waffle. And hence we arrived at Dell.
This place is a diner. Actually, it’s more like a Diner. Old school style, capital “D” Diner. It’s small with a dozen or more patent leather booths, cheap varnished wood-veneered tables and two rows of counter seating that meet at a corner right as you walk in.
Inside Dell Cafe.
A man behind the counter announced a minimal greeting upon our arrival and we found a booth of our choosing. He presented menus and brought water. The menu is simple. Eggs. Pancakes. Burgers. Sandwiches. They’re only open for breakfast and lunch, 6am-3pm, 7 days a week.
Menu at Dell Cafe.
We ordered. An avocado and cheese omelette for the Boyfriend and a blueberry waffle for me. They arrived shortly thereafter. Everything was actually quite good; the food was certainly the highlight of the trip, which I suppose I can’t really complain about.
Omelette view.
Hash brown view.
The omelette had a generous amount of cheese and we suspected that an entire avocado went into its creation. This is a change from the standard few slices typically perched on top of an omelette ordered anywhere else. The hash browns were well done (my favorite) and the Boyfriend was pleasantly surprised.
Blueberry waffle.
My blueberry waffle hit the spot like cold lemonade on a Summer day; it was really good. And cheap. It wasn’t one of those immense waffles that ruins your day to eat; it was instead reasonably proportioned and slathered in a ton of previously frozen blueberries in goopy, delicious sauce. I didn’t even need the additional maple syrup that I originally thought I might. It was wonderful.
Overall: if you’re ok with a run down type diner, don’t mind the bare minimum in service, and aren’t expecting to reunite with any friends from college during breakfast, head over for a good old fashioned omelette, pancake or sandwich. Cheap, simple, good food.
Omelet view and hashbrown view — you had me cracking. up.