SAN DIEGO — A hole-in-the-wall restaurant is making a big impression in Escondido. CBS 8 is showing you why Sunny Side Kitchen ranks No. 3 in the nation on Yelp’s Top 100 list for 2024.
“The food is amazing,” said customer Charlotte Mishler.
“I just like the food, the creative things they do with different ingredients,” added Chris Detrich.
At Sunny Side, they’re all about their delicious panini sandwiches, but that’s not all they do well.
“We’ve got salads going,” said Kathy Carpenter, who owns the restaurant with husband, Bob. “Our Tuscan Chicken Salad is one of our most popular, as is the Cobb.”
And their fresh lemonades are made-to-order and hand shaken.
“I love it,” said Sherrie Ness. “I come here for their crustless quiche that’s amazing.”
The quaint, mom-and-pop style atmosphere is what customers love about the place.
“It’s small, it’s homey, the people are so wonderful,” said Mishler.
If you didn’t yet know, well now you do. It’s one of Escondido’s best kept secrets.
“It’s very Escondido, just tucked in here, you have to kind of know about it, so I like that,” said Detrich.
Kathy and Bob Carpenter opened the place in 2015, and they wanted it to feel like a home away from home.
“Our customers are basically the heart of Sunny Side, and without them, we wouldn’t have any of these accolades,” said Kathy while standing behind the register. “They wouldn’t know about us on Yelp, so our customers are everything to us.”
If you haven’t tried it, you might want to because rain or shine, they always keep it on the sunny side.
“How would you rate the place?” asked CBS 8’s Brian White.
“A+, it should be No. 1, not No. 3 on that list,” replied customer Toni McCarver.
Sunny Side Kitchen is located at 155 S. Orange Streety, and open Monday thru Saturday, from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
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