Hester’s Cafe
offers fresh and
flavorful entrees
A hop, skip and a jump away from the Del Mar College East Campus is Hester’s Cafe, a locally owned restaurant. Located at 1714 S. Alameda St. in Six Points, this quaint, family-run cafe specializes in soups, salads and hot and cold sandwiches. The lunchtime staple also offers a wide variety of beverages and desserts. The 15-minute breezy walk from campus was a simple and safe stroll with little traffic.
PRINCESS OF PESTO
As we walked up to Hester’s, I felt a little worried about how long our wait was going to be because the entire parking lot and surrounding streets were packed with cars. When we walked in, I realized that ordering our food quickly wasn’t going to be a problem. Hester’s is set up to where you walk in, order your food at the counter, then grab a table.
I ordered the special of the day: half of a roasted turkey Panini with Swiss cheese, pesto mayo, spinach and roasted basil-garlic tomatoes on focaccia bread and a cup of Italian vegetable soup. Let me just say, even though it took roughly 25 minutes for our food to come out, it did not disappoint. The Panini was warm and extremely flavorful and the soup was perfect for the chilly weather we had that day.
The restaurant was well staffed and they were all very courteous, constantly checking on us to make sure our stop at their establishment was going well. Even though it can get a little crowded, the staff, atmosphere and especially the food made the entire experience a great one. I highly recommend this restaurant and will definitely go back.
Overall rating: 4/5
Price of meal: $9.02
MADAM TOMATO
As we approached the front door after our walk from campus, we noticed how full the parking lot was and grew nervous about a long wait, but Hester’s didn’t seem to hold a line for very long. Walking through the front door, which is actually in the back of the building, we found ourselves debating our menu choice and if we were going to cough up the money for dessert since they looked so yummy. I was surprised to see what a big selection they had to choose from and their selection of coffees. The line moved at a rather decent pace, which I thought was great since I was so hungry!
The ladies at the front counter were very polite and full of smiles. I ended up ordering the TX Wave Panini and the Cafe Mocha, which ran me $13.83. This is a bit steep for me. When I go to restaurants l love trying everything out so I was disappointed that I had already racked up so much money and didn’t want to pay for anything more, so unfortunately I was unable to try the dessert.
Finding a table was not hard, nor did we have to wait for one to be cleaned. The setup, though, was very tight and made it inconvenient to walk to the complimentary water station.
My coffee came first in this adorable-looking mug and tasted delicious! I couldn’t wait for our food to arrive.
Some 25 minutes after ordering, our food was delivered to our table and besides being a tad cold, it was worth the wait. I found myself realizing it was not such a bad idea that I didn’t order dessert because I already had to take my leftovers home.
I was overall satisfied with the meal and the restaurant itself. The entire look of the restaurant was cute and cozy and I am sure it has a great number of regulars circulating there on a weekly business.
They will for sure see me again, but maybe not in between classes since because experience took us over 30 minutes. It was a different scenery from the Harvin Center and nice to venture out, and I could see myself recommending this place on the weekends.
Overall rating: 4/5
Price of meal: $13.83
