Downtown Cafe

182 E Main St, El Cajon - 92020
271 reviews
Bar & Grill American Pubs
(619) 440-5687

Great food! Had the crab and shrimp enchiladas!! Yum. My friend's got the Bacardi lemon chicken and they said it was awesome. The burgers were cooked perfectly for the other girls. And the service was great. Kept coming back to check on us with a very friendly attitude! Looking forward to trying some other items there or go when the music's going on!

Had eaten here a couple of times before and food was ok. The waitress complained about being short staffed but the visits were ok. Decided to try again on Tuesday. Waited as the sign said for the hostess. There were 2 parties of 2 seated in the patio, one was getting up to leave. We could see one couple inside at a booth. After no hostess came for a good 5 minutes we just went inside and sat down at a booth. Waitress had her back to us talking to another employee. My daughter went up to the bar to get us some menus. That is when the waitress noticed us, "Oh, you just snuck in!" My daughter laughed and said we waited but decided to just come in when no one came. That is when the waitress got very upset and sniped, "Well that's because I'm the only one here!" In a very rude tone. So I told her we would make it easy on her and leave. She replied, "Well, you have a fantastic night!" Again in a very rude and insulting tone. I understand the difficulty with dealing with short staffing, but with only 3 tables of 2 people I would think a waitress could handle that. And rude to the people that support your pay... no excuse.

My dad (71) ate here while at a car show on Wednesday - got a cheeseburger and fries and within three hours felt ill. He tries to sleep it off and is woken up by violently throwing up for nine hours and has been sick all day in bed. He is also self employed, so when he doesn't work, he loses money. This place does not cook their meat right and made my dad so sick he could barely talk. Again, he is 71 years old with Crohn's disease and this place's shoddy sanitation and disregard for food safety made him so sick he can barely stand. PLEASE do not go to this place. He is not the only one who was sick, and I cannot express enough how little regard they have for health if a cheeseburger is making you noticeably ill within a few hours. This place should honestly be shut down and I will be calling the health department tomorrow. It's absolutely ridiculous how someone could get that ill from a meal. Shame on this place's management and their kitchen staff. Disgusting.

We had a party of 50 I called 1 month ahead to make sure they had staff to cover our party. Our server name was Grady and he was extremely moody, I felt like I had to keep apologizing but I'm not sure why I felt the need to it was because his attitude was making me so uncomfortable. When I called I specifically asked if we could have separate checks I was told we could then he made us group up and he added 18% gratuity. It was for our coworkers retirement party and it felt like alot of anxiety surrounding the service that was being provided.

First visit for Taco Tuesday. My carnitas taco was scrumptious! For $3.75 it was a great deal.Servers must be new; no enthusiasm or personality. Could not answer menu questions or offer to find the answer.I will come back for tacos and hope the waiters are better experienced by then.

Food was good and the entertainment was awesome. Just was understaffed in some parts of the restaurant which made it a stressful and poor work environment for the person working in the patio. In their distress of trying to manage all the tasks given, their attitude got the best of them when it came to the customers.

We went there for dinner it was happy hour. The prices were amazing. Love the outdoor seating. The food was delicious. They have a live band on Saturday nights from 6-9 pm. The band last night was Night Shift. They were awesome. They rocked the whole restaurant. Everybody was dancing. I had a wonderful time.

Went there with my son to hear live music by Silvermine and had a blast. The nachos were really good! Nice family atmosphere with indoor and outdoor dining.

It's a beautiful place. The food was good too.A band was playing and it was nice.

We go there all the time. Good food, great outdoor seating, good music, and our regular waiter is Grady. He's been there for years. Go for a fun Saturday night of music and dancing.