Herb & Eatery

Herb & Eatery is a cafe and chef’s market connected to Herb & Wood. The casual eatery is the latest concept by Chef Brian Malarkey and opened just a few months ago. It’s also the home of my favorite croissants in San Diego.

I loved my experience at Herb & Wood last year and I also really enjoy the new Herb & Eatery. I first got to check out the cafe’s offerings through a blogger group lunch. I left so impressed that I promptly returned the next morning to pick up some more items.

The cafe and market is open from 8 AM to 8 PM everyday. They offer a variety of coffees (with unique syrup flavors), smoothies, beverages on top (including kombucha), fresh baked pastries and cookies made in-house, salads, sandwiches, and entrees.

The market section is filled with gourmet goods like foie gras, venison sausage, duck fat, premium ice cream, jams, sauces and more. I wanted to buy nearly everything.

It’s very spacious inside, with a lot of natural light streaming in. They also have a small upstairs section.

During the blogger luncheon, we got to try some items from the breakfast and lunch menu.

Prior to this visit, I’d heard really good things about their croissants, so I was excited to see some set aside for us. They usually sell out of the croissants in the morning.

The croissants did not disappoint. These are the crispiest croissants I’ve ever eaten. When you bite in, there is an audible crackling sound coming from the flaky outermost layer as it breaks apart. The croissants themselves are also very rich and buttery.  These are now my favorite croissants in San Diego.

At the end of lunch I wanted to buy about a dozen croissants, but unfortunately they were sold out for the day. I came back the next day and ended up buying two boxes of pastries.

I really enjoyed the cookies as well. They are soft and chewy and each of them have a little twist on the traditional flavors. For instance, peanut butter and fennel or lime sugar.

Another favorite was the cinnamon twist. It uses a similar dough to the croissants, so it’s made up of flaky, crispy layers coated in cinnamon and sugar.

Baked Egg

mushrooms, humboldt goat cheese, herbs, kale & crème fraiche

heirloom tomatoes, olives, capers, basil pesto & lemon zest

avocado, breakfast radish, dukkah & citrus

The Baked Eggs were all so beautifully plated. They all tasted good, but did pale in comparison to the croissant sandwiches and some of the other entrees we had.

Maple Croissant Sandwich

h&e bahn mi

sugar cane thai chicken skewers

These bite-sized appetizers were packed with flavors. They were savory, sweet, spicy all at once.

olive oil poached tuna melt

The olive oil and lemon gave such a lightness to this sandwich.

root fries

marin triple cream

I know it’s just cheese and toasted bread, but the creamy triple cream brie was just so good, especially paired with the jam and mustard.

smoked curry chicken & cashews salad

I didn’t think much of this when I first saw it because it’s a salad and I don’t usually care for salads when I’m at a restaurant. But after biting into the chicken, I was pleasantly surprised and this ended up being one of my favorites.

I was so excited when I found out that the smoked curry chicken salad is available to-go. The next day I bought a small container of it. The key to this dish is the shredded pieces of smoked chicken, which add such a great flavor and texture.

Cold Brew with Tarragon Anise Syrup

They offer a full array of coffee drinks and serve James Coffee Co. I really like the unique syrups that you can add to the coffee drinks, like the tarragon anise syrup.

Overall, I had a delicious lunch and returned the next day for pastries and smoked chicken to-go. I would have brought Mr. K here for lunch but we already had plans. I’ll definitely be bringing him here to eat soon and I also plan on spending some money in the market section.

You can check out my visit to their more formal restaurant Herb & Wood here.

Herb & Eatery
2210 Kettner Blvd, San Diego, CA 92101

As noted above, my initial visit was through a group blogger lunch invite and that meal was complimentary.