The Ramos House Cafe
For my birthday brunch, two of my friends brought me to THE CUTEST restaurant in San Juan Capistrano, The Ramos House Café. It’s located on the oldest remaining residential street in California, Los Rios, which dates back to 1794. Los Rios was once several miles long; however, the quaint street is now only 600ft long. This particular house was built in 1881 and was converted to a restaurant in 1995. You can feel the history here, and it’s amazing.
A journey back in time
The idea behind the Café is simple. As in the old days, the owner lives and works at the house. They keep the wine in the cellar, grow the herbs in the garden, and turn ice cream out back. The tables on the front porch and large covered patio were built around a centuries-old Mulberry tree. The menu is seasonal and changes frequently based upon what type of produce is locally available. Currently, the café specializes in contemporary American cuisine, leaning towards traditional southern flair.
Badass brunch
There's a set price for the brunch menu. For $35, you choose a small plate and a large plate. Alternatively, you can substitute the small plate for an alcoholic beverage. It was my birthday, so we all ordered the standard brunch AND bloody Mary’s.
A bloody to die for
The bloodies are incredible. They serve them in a jar with pickled green beans, a shrimp, and a scotch egg (+$4). I highly recommend the bloody. It was super fresh tasting – not too sharp or spicy and had the perfect amount of tartness (added from the pickled beans). I’d never had a pickled green bean before, but I would happily eat them anytime – they’re incredible (as long as you like pickles). The scotch egg you cannot miss. It’s totally worth the add-on. While I prefer a runny yolk in my scotch egg, I didn’t mind that this one was cooked through. The sausage had a nice flavor – but whatever sauce was on top of it absolutely made the scotch egg. It was slightly sweet and sticky – whatever it was made me want to eat five more.
A balance of sweet and savory
We all shared several small plates. We started with the cinnamon apple beignets, the roasted beets, greens with goat cheese and hazelnuts, and the black truffle and fava bean crostini. Everything was delicious. Here’s what I loved about each one:
The beignets were light and fluffy. They’re crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, and topped with powdered sugar surrounded by caramel sauce.
The roasted beets were my favorite. They were super tender, and the goat cheese was to die for. It was made into a light, creamy sauce on the bottom of the skillet. The flavors of the dish all melded together perfectly. It was rich yet light and refreshing.
The black truffle and fava bean crostini were good, but my least favorite of the three. It just felt basic, like I could easily make it at home. While I would 100% re-order the beignets and the beets again, I’d probably try something else over the fava beans next time.
Large plates
The large plates all looked good. I was torn between ordering two dishes, so I told the waitress to surprise me – and the surprise certainly did not let me down.
I ended up with the Duck Mac N' Cheese with Turnips & Orange Gremolata, and it was some of the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had. It was served in a piping hot cast-iron skillet. The pasta is tender yet not overcooked. It’s VERY creamy, but with incredible flavor. They definitely fill it with multiple gourmet cheeses, like taleggio. Mixed throughout was A TON of duck meat. Some of it was shredded, while there were also some nice, succulent chunks.
My friends both ordered the Crab Hash with Smoked Bacon Scrambled Eggs & Citrus Cream. This dish is tasty, but I found the bacon to overpower the delicate flavor of the stone crab (in typical southern fashion, it was very heavy on the bacon). Knowing how much bacon there was, I personally would’ve chosen the Bubble & Squeak over the crab hash – it’s exactly the same dish but uses a potato cake instead of the crab hash.
Next time: fried chicken
The one dish I wish we tried but didn’t order was the fried chicken salad. I was looking on yelp and this thing looked insane. It was a skillet of cornbread topped with a salad, and then covered in chopped buttermilk fried chicken. I’m glad we didn’t decide to order this a la carte though – the food was all so rich and filling that we all went home with leftovers.
All in all, everything was delicious. The food, coupled with the ambiance, makes this place an absolute MUST VISIT when in SoCal.
