3550 San Pablo Dam Road, Space O, El Sobrante | (510) 758-6134 | Catering: (510) 205-3936 | cafe-soleil.com Two Café Soleil is known for their wonderful
homemade country gravy, which is made
with sausage, bacon and hamburger. The
gravy is wonderfully rich and smooth with
a hint of garlic and is a main ingredient
in the famous Country Special breakfast-
-biscuits and gravy smothered with
cheese, hash browns, scrambled eggs, and
sausage—an extremely large meal suitable
for sharing!
Within the last six months, Café
Soleil introduced a separate Vegan and
Plant-based menu, which is rapidly
growing popular with regular guests
and is also attracting new customers
who prefer meatless diets. The menu
selections currently vary on a weekly basis
as Jennifer and Todd assess the customer
popularity of various selections offered.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner options are
available, all of which are reasonably
priced and served in hearty Café Soleilsized
portions. The Beyond Meat Burger
is one of the most popular items from
the new menu, a completely plant-based
burger that tastes just like a real beef
burger! All condiments, cheeses, and
sauces used for these menu items are also
32 MARKETPLACECONTRACOSTA.COM JULY 2018
completely Vegan. If this type
of cuisine appeals to you,
please request this special
menu from your server when
you visit Café Soleil.
In the spirit of full
transparency, my family has
known Jennifer ‘s and Todd
for many years. My husband
knew Jennifer as a child when
they both lived in Nevada
but only discovered that she
was one of the owners of
Café Soleil until about twelve
years ago. Jennifer hired our
daughter as a server when
she turned 16, and she has
worked there part-time for
ten years. Not surprisingly,
we have eaten many meals
at Café Soleil over the
years, and I can attest that
there isn’t really anything
that we’ve tried from the
menu that we didn’t enjoy.
We particularly enjoy the
breakfasts, and my lunchtime
favorite is the BLAJT (Bacon
Lettuce, Avocado, Jack, and
Turkey) sandwich, served with a choice of
French fries, sweet potato fries, green salad
or potato salad. My husband’s “go to”
meal is the pork chop dinner, but he also
enjoys the spaghetti and meatballs.
On our recent evening visit to Café
Soleil, I ordered the dinner special--Top
Sirloin Steak (center cut), served with
garlic mashed potatoes, sautéed vegetables,
and choice of soup or salad, all for $12.98.
My husband ordered
the two-egg breakfast
with ham, home
fries, and sourdough
toast. The side salad
served with my meal
was generously sized,
and was made with
fresh romaine lettuce,
black olives, cherry
tomatoes, croutons,
fresh mushrooms, red
onions and parmesan
cheese. The dressing
was served on the side
(not by request) in small
portion cups. It was
definitely a cut above
the salads served in even the most upscale
restaurants! My entrée arrived complete
with sautéed French green beans and
baby carrots, a generous helping of garlic
mashed potatoes topped with brown
gravy, and the most tender, delicious
steak I’ve eaten in a very long time! It
was perfect and such a great deal for the
price. My husband’s eggs were cooked
sunny side up as he requested, and were
accompanied by a large, thick slice of
ham. He’d requested that his home fries
be deep fried (versus cooked on the
grill) and they were cooked to a crisp
perfection. The following weekend, we
visited Café Soleil again for breakfast.
My husband ordered the same entrée as
before, but this time, I ordered the Bacon,
Cheddar, and Avocado Omelet. I opted
for a bowl of fruit in lieu of potatoes
and ordered an English Muffin in lieu of
toast. The omelet was excellent, chock
full and overflowing with ingredients!
I’d never ordered this particular omelet
before but will definitely do so again. The
fruit bowl included a whole sliced banana
at the bottom, topped with chunks of
fresh pineapple, strawberry slices, berries,
and red and green grapes. All in all, our
dining experiences during both visits were
very satisfying and enjoyable.
Jennifer and Todd married in 2003
and their wedding reception was their
first catering experience! The couple
opted to prepare the food for their own
special event, and the restaurant staff
served the wedding guests. Following
that event, word began to spread and
they began to receive occasional requests
egg breakfast ham and country
fried potatoes with sourdough toast
Brittany serving Sonja’s works burger
with fries and BLAT with fries