Located in Norco, CA in a small plaza near the 15 freeway, Scramblers Cafe is a Hawaiian-inspired breakfast and brunch spot, perfect for both the early and late breakfast-loving risers. It is open from 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM and serve a variety of breakfast, brunch, and lunch options including scramblers/omelette, benedicts, pancakes/waffles, lunch plates, and burgers/sandwiches.
The tl;dr Review about Scramblers Cafe
Good food, good vibes, and a convenient Starbucks location nearby.
More words (and details) below if you continue scrolling.
The Atmosphere & How to Order
Scramblers Cafe has a casual vibe, making it very family-friendly. Its small kid’s menu has items that are under $10. All the staff members are friendly, helpful, and extremely efficient. They get things done fast and they all do a great job at it.
Ordering at Scramblers Cafe is quick and easy. It is the type of place where you order and pay before you sit. So if you plan to tip, the best time to do it is when you pay. If you plan on eating at the cafe, they will tell you the table number you will be seated at. Each table has a stand with the number on it. Their servers will then bring your food to your assigned table when it is ready.
Unlike many food places with an open-table policy, you or a member of your party cannot reserve your own seats before ordering.
This is one of the things that I like about Scramblers Cafe. By being assigned a table after you order, it takes the stress away from having to find a table during peak hours, and making sure that you won’t lose an open table to someone else behind you.
While the place does seem small, there are plenty of tables available for both small and medium-sized groups. They have both indoor and outdoor seating, so even when the cafe seems packed, the staff members will do their best to help you find a table.
The best Weekend Time to show up (Maybe)
I’ll admit, I’ve been to Scramblers Cafe a few times over the years, so it’s not a place that’s completely new to me. However, this is the first time I’m finally writing about it (because it’s so good).
Every time I’ve been to Scramblers Cafe, it has always been on a weekend. I would assume that the best times on the weekday are the opposite of those on the weekend. I can see Scramblers being busy during lunch hours on a normal weekday (around 11 AM – 2 PM) since many people might be on their way to work by the time Scramblers open in the morning. On the weekends, I’ve realized that one of the best times to go is around 11 AM – 12:30 PM, when the lines are the shortest.
I have shown up between the late 9 AM and early 10 AM weekend timeframe before, and the line would always stretch out the door. While the wait time to order for Scramblers is never long despite the line, the less people there are, the easier it is to get a seat by the time your food comes out. Again, you cannot secure a seat before ordering.
Exploring (some of) the menu
As much as I would love to try every single dish in one sitting at Scramblers Cafe, my stomach (and wallet!) would not be able to handle it.
Death by Nom Nom
…is not a bad way to go, but I’d like to live a bit longer.
Below are some of the menu items I’ve tried so far, the pricing, and my review of each dish I ordered.
The Florentine – $15
A 3-eggs scrambler or omelette-style dish (your choice) served with their special home fried potatoes. The Florentine comes with bacon, onions, spinach, and Swiss cheese.
You can never go wrong with ordering a simple egg-type dish for brunch. I opted for the scrambler style over the omelette to try something new. The scrambler was very tasteful. The egg wasn’t dry and each bite melted in my mouth. The onion and spinach were spread evenly throughout the scrambler. Most of the bacon pieces were clumped together in chunks, but I would’ve preferred it to be more evenly spread out. The Swiss cheese was also good, but not all of it was fully melted in the scrambler and all of the cheese were melted together.
The home fried potatoes were split in taste. Half of them tasted oily to me while the other half was a bit on the dry side, but that’s why you always eat multiple potato pieces at once so you can balance out the flavors.
ಠ‿↼
Overall, the plate was filling, and I enjoyed it. I may try this dish again, but only after I’ve tried the other scrambler dishes first.
Clubhouse Benedict – $15
With 2 giant poached eggs, the Clubhouse Benedict comes with sliced turkey and applewood smoked bacon, served with their home fried potatoes.
In today’s economy, a $15 benedict is quite a steal, especially when made well. The taste of the crispy bacon, soft turkey, subtle flavor of the sauce, and the runny yolk of the poached egg all combined together makes the dish so, so good.
((っ˘ڡ˘ς)
My fried potatoes for this plate were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I used any extra sauce or runny yolk I had left from the benedict as a dip for my potatoes.
I was very pleased with this dish. It was a delicious and filling meal.
Oreo Cookies N’ Cream Waffle w/ Whipped cream – $13.50
Scramblers Cafe only has 3 waffle options on its menu: Buttermilk, Ube, and Oreo Cookies N’ Cream. It was a difficult choice picking between Ube and Oreo, but I ultimately went with Oreo because my love for Oreo > Ube. In the end, I didn’t regret that choice at all.
To preface, I’ve never really had a flavored waffle outside of coconut or pandan so I wasn’t sure what to expect except that my waffle should taste like Oreo (LOL). It might not mean much from a flavored-waffle noob like me, but that was arguably one of the best waffles I’ve tasted. When the waffle was brought out, it was soft, easy to cut, and almost melted in my mouth.
I inhaled that waffle. (Ｔ▽Ｔ)
I’m really happy that there wasn’t a lot of chocolate drizzle on my waffle. The added whipped cream gave it a nice sweet taste, but it wasn’t a necessary add-on. Next time, I will pass on the whipped cream and have it as-is.
As an extra note, I didn’t actually finish the waffle in one sitting. I took it to-go just to see how well it would taste if you reheated it in the microwave (and also to pace my food intake). The result was that it was still good!
Hawaiian Iced Coffee – $6
The Hawaiian iced coffee seems to be one of their more popular drinks, and as a daily coffee drinker, it was only right that I try the Hawaiian coffee.
Since I’ve never had Hawaiian iced coffee before, I didn’t know what to expect but I was excited. The first few sips were good. The coffee had a nice, light scent and the taste reflected that. Unfortunately, it tasted way too sweet for me even after mixing the drink every time I took a sip. Before I got halfway done, it was difficult for me to finish.
While I still finished my coffee because it would be a waste to throw it away, overall, I will pass on it next time.
Final Thoughts
If you are willing to make the drive and navigate around a small parking lot, Scramblers Cafe is definitely a worthwhile brunch place for the late risers.
I also plan to return to Scramblers Cafe in the future to try out some of their other dishes. When that happens, I will be updating this post with more food pictures, new dish reviews, and (potentially) updating any price changes.
Happy Eating!
Let me know in the comments if you have tried out Scramblers Cafe and what your opinion of it is. I’d love to hear it.
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