Marie Callender's image

Marie Callender's

Restaurant Bakery American restaurant

One of the Most Reviewed Bakeries in La Mesa


Address

6950 Alvarado Rd, San Diego, CA 92120

Website

www.mariecallenders.com

Contact

(619) 465-1910

Price rating

$$ $$

Rating on Google Maps

4.30 (2K reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Sunday: 9 AM to 9 PM
  • Monday: 10 AM to 9 PM
  • Tuesday: 10 AM to 9 PM
  • Wednesday: 10 AM to 9 PM
  • Thursday: 10 AM to 9 PM
  • Friday: 10 AM to 9 PM
  • Saturday: 9 AM to 9 PM

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: dinner (10) salad (9) great (9) good (9) soup (9) ordered (8) family (8) pies (8) service (7) delicious (7)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 License2Diva 2 years ago on Google
    For the new year we went to Marie Callender's for our lunch and I'm so glad we did; I forgot what a clean, nice, and yummy restaurant it is! I had the basic all American favorite; pot pie, salad and slice of pie and it was all I could eat all day. We also ordered the breakfast and my daughter couldn't even finish it, that's how big the portions were. The corn bread that they give while you're waiting for your entrée is out of this world especially with the spiced homemade butter! To top it all off, the bill was $26.00! I had to double check everything because I'm not used to getting such a small amount for all the food we ordered. A shout out to Andrea our waitress because she was exceptional! We'll be back soon!
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 BCM 2 years ago on Google
    Outstanding food, great service. Just downright amazing. Dude, the cornbread was outstanding, moist, and good flavor. Our server Spencer was very pleasant. Ordered the turkey club and cabanaro. Food tasted great.
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Nathalie L. 3 months ago on Google • 798 reviews New
    Surprinsingly good food! The chicken pot pie was great.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 Shondra J. 2 years ago on Google
    First and foremost we had terrific service. The hostess and the server were both friendly and efficient. The facility was clean and it is conveniently located off the 8 freeway. Marie Callender's has long been a family favorite. The comfort food selections made with fresh ingredients, have kept us returning over and over again. We had not been to this location since COVID closures and looked forward to the opportunity to visit. Long time customers, we were so disappointed in our recent visit. The quality of their food has declined so significantly that it will be a long time before we return. Sadly, our party of 8 were all equally disappointed by the food. A variety of menu items were ordered and not one thing was satisfying. The potato soup tasted as if boxed potatoes were used instead of real potatoes. The Frisco burgers were terribly greasy, lacking flavor and so little meat that nearly half of the bread didn't have meat. The fries were soggy and bland. The Cobb and Thai salads were filled with limp old lettuce and minimal amounts of other ingredients. The chicken was bland and rubbery. The French Dip roast beef tasted old. Each of us left more than half of our meal on the plate. Hopeful that their pies would be the high quality we have always had, unfortunately did not meet our expectations. The fresh strawberry pie had multiple berries that weren't even ripe, lots of green on them. The razzleberry pie was thrown out after just one bite. The amount of money we paid for a meal that was mostly discarded was frustrating. I hope their quality menu items return soon.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Carolina R. 2 years ago on Google
    In this place you find delicious brunch options. Their homemade blueberry banana bread is the best one and you should not skip it. Highly recommended for everyone
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Angel V. 1 year ago on Google
    This is the ole' American style diner. Pie is a staple, whichever you pick (banana cream and coconut are my favorites). The initial cornbread with butter is fantastic and fresh. Their burger is delicious! One of the best IMOO, mainly because the bread seems to be baked in house. The reason I give it 4/5 stars is something many restaurants are suffering from, lack of staff, which makes the service a bit slow but not bad. I recommend this place and definitely check out their specials; we got the 2 entrees, 2 mains and 2 slices of pie for $40, and it came in clutch.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Violette H. 4 months ago on Google • 118 reviews
    Visited Sunday morning. I wasn't in the mood for breakfast food, so I ordered the avocado shrimp stack. It was light and delicious! Afterward, I ordered a slice of lemon meringue pie. It was also delicious!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Kurt O. 6 months ago on Google • 621 reviews
    Good dinner food and the fresh pies are Great ! So sad that many of these places have closed. Whether you eat pie there or bring a whole pie to an occasion, you, well your pie will be the best dessert there.

  • 3/5 Colton B. 1 year ago on Google
    I've enjoyed food here in the past, but it shouldn't take three tries to get an order correct. My sister ordered a MEDIUM steak, but received a WELL DONE steak. We sent it back and they gave us a RARE steak. The rest of my family had already finished eating at this point, but we had to sit there waiting for a third steak before they finally gave us the right one!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Tarina G. 7 months ago on Google • 35 reviews
    Went here for lunch for the first time and it was very good! We took our 11 month old and the high chair buckle was sticky. The man who showed us to our table said, "let me go hunt for a high chair" which to me, was a sign that they don't get used or cleaned very often. Most of the patrons seem to be older. They are also very wheelchair accessible. The servers were very polite and considerate. Our server, Kari, was extremely considerate when giving us our water while we were looking at our menus, to mention that she could serve our table before giving her attention to a much larger party. I ordered a Lunch combo and chose half sandwich of Marie's Meatloaf and Potato Cheese Soup. My husband ordered the French Dip and Caesars salad. The meatloaf was scrumptious and so was the creamy soup. My daughter loved the soup, too. The French dip and Caesars was okay - kind of bland and just salty. The complimentary cornbread was fluffy and almost dessert-like. The value was also good. Prices were surprisingly appropriate. Marie Callender's is a quality family restaurant with a welcoming atmosphere. Good American food for decent value. The pies are their specialty....make sure you take a whole one home with you! Also, keep an eye out for pie of the month deals.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 2/5 That G. 2 months ago on Google • 192 reviews New
    Just wow! When you pay for a extra side of stuffing & get half filled. No cranberry with turkey dinner. Save that food cost management. See pics, Thanks guys 👎

  • 5/5 Benjamin L. 7 months ago on Google • 158 reviews
    Nice place to enjoy a meal with a friend. Our server Andrea was very helpful and check on us often. The shepherd's pie is delicious.

  • 5/5 lea s. 5 months ago on Google • 92 reviews
    It was a great visit , haf a great server hr was attentive and made our visit very pleasant. Food was hot and fresh everyone had a smile and greeted us.

  • 5/5 Lady S. 4 months ago on Google • 48 reviews
    This place is really nice to go to, especially if you're craving comfort foods like turkey dinners, beef stroganoff, meatloaf, and more. They have a really nice dinner special for two where you can select soup or an appetizer for two, you can have your dinner your main course so your partner could eat like turkey dinner while you could get say the beef stroganoff, which we had and that's in the picture. And I know nobody wants to see leftover food, but I didn't get one at the restaurant. And for the dessert, you each also get a slice of pie, of your choice either or for $49. Which is a pretty good deal, especially for delicious comfort food.

  • 5/5 Karen R. 2 years ago on Google
    I met two MVHS friends (all 70 yrs old) at Marie Callender's for a long-awaited girls' reunion lunch on a week day. We like the quiet ambiance & leisure feel, and the "homemade" meals are so delicious!! The waitress was very patient, attentive, & understanding of our needs (hearing loss, nonstop storytelling, separate checks) and delightful in her service. The meals were fantastic & not skimpy. I had the albacore tuna melt on sourdough bread w/ french fries & a glass of Dark Horse Chardonnay (the stallion...waitress didn't get the joke). It was an absolutely FUN time!!!

  • 5/5 Dane D. 1 year ago on Google
    Took my family here today. I’ve been a couple times on lunch dates with my wife. Today was nice as well. We had an AWESOME server named Spencer. He was polite, professional, and helpful. If you’re ever in the area, I recommend Spencer if you’re going for dinner. Besides the great service, the food was good, delivered in timely, and it came hot.

  • 5/5 Kristi Stowell C. 3 months ago on Google New
    We picked up a Christmas Feast (again) and were not disappointed. Such an easy, and very tasty way, to have a great Christmas dinner. They also make the ordering and picking up a breeze as they are so organized.

  • 3/5 Laura C. 1 year ago on Google
    ***EDIT: MY ROOMMATE AND I BOTH GOT FOOD POISONING THAT CARRIED ON UNTIL THE NEXT DAY. WE WON'T BE RETURNING.*** Very strange how dead quiet it was tonight, Friday night, for dinner! I have no real problems with Marie Callender's but I also don't really see anything all that special about it, either. I got the Cobb salad and it was enormous!! It was also $13.99 from what I recall so it was worth the cost. Fresh and tasty and packed with toppings and lots of grilled chicken. The cornbread used to be something I'd get pretty excited about but it's too rich for me nowadays. Service was just so-so, nothing on the menu was really all that unique, and it was clean but just like I said, nothing all that special. If you need food and they're close, it does the trick. Otherwise I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here.

  • 3/5 Mike W. 3 months ago on Google New
    They need to bring back the salad bar. We went in there and wanted soup and salad so,had to order Ala carte the soup was good but but when we got to the bottom of our salad the plate was full of a liquid that looked like water and the croutons were soggy. We couldn’t finish our salads because that was really nasty. Never had soggy salads when they had the salad bar. We need a place in the area where they have a good soup and salad bar

  • 2/5 Summers V. 2 years ago on Google
    In all fairness service was good, no complaints there. The food however leaves a lot to be desired. More sugar than flavor, or no flavor. We tried two different types of pie and a chicken pot pie. All highly disappointing, I didn't even bother to finish. Had I known it was some kinda frozen food chain restaurant I never would have stopped. You can very literally get the same pie/meals in the frozen food section at Walmart. No thanks.

  • 5/5 Cynthia D. 1 year ago on Google
    Amazing afternoon here! Lots of different dining spaces. Our large group was seated right away on a busy day. Host was great! Waiter was extremely patient and efficient. I had a salad, soup, quiche plate. Potato cheese soup was rich and cheesy. Quiche was like a baconly cheesy, creamy pie. Yum. Choice of hearty dinner items or lighter sandwich and salads and of course pot pie ... basic but flavorful wine choices

  • 1/5 Alissa Cignarella C. 1 year ago on Google
    I went tonight to pick up an apple pie I had been craving, I'm 5 months pregnant. walked in at 8 they close at 9. While I was walking in an employee was sitting at the front table by the door just staring at me walk up. I smiled and walked over to the pick up counter by the pie case. He sat behind me for about 5 minutes until he came around and asked what he cud do for me. I asked for an apple pie please. Got my pie went home and was extremely disappointed for a 20 dollar pie it was small and tasted like tart applesauce filled on a frozen pie crust probably same crust used for the pot pies had zero flavor. So gross. Worst apple pie I've had. Ever. Big waste of money

  • 5/5 Mayumi D. 1 year ago on Google
    Thanksgiving 2022 My family decided at the last minute to go ahead and celebrate this holiday with any traditional food I could find. I came to Marie Callender’s to order pie if they had any and to see if there were any Turkey meals left to order. I was lucky with the pies walking out with the last lemon meringue and one of the many pumpkin pies still remaining. My family loved the pies. The lemon meringue did not look like your normal type and had more of the lemon filling than I had ever seen. The topping wasn’t a huge mountain but instead it was little flowers of white on the lemon. All in all my favorite. The pumpkin pie was the rest of the family’s first choice. (Everyone ate the lemon meringue as well🤭) Purchased the Turkey dinner fixings at a different restaurant but will definitely come here for pies once more. PS- I have purchased their Turkey Dinners before and they are top notch.🥰

  • 4/5 Sheryl K. 1 year ago on Google
    Great service. Pot pie looked great, but was half filled with liquid. Cheaping out on us customers? Had the pot pie been properly filled with meat and vegetables it would have been a 5 star experience. The waitress was 5 stars! Very sweet and helpful

  • 5/5 Alex H. 1 year ago on Google
    First off, when you walk in the door, it feels like the old fashioned family diner. The decor makes me feel so nostalgic and who doesn't like that? Second, the staff is extremely friendly. Our waitress, Kari, was an absolute sweetheart. Such a pleasant woman and very efficient but felt warm, like a mama or an auntie. Then the food comes out. 🤤🤤🤤 It tastes real and homemade with love. I will definitely be back!!!


Call (619) 465-1910 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Parking
    • ✓️ Free parking lot
    • ✓️ Plenty of parking
  • Payments
    • ✓️ Debit cards
    • ✓️ Credit cards
    • ✓️ NFC mobile payments
  • Offerings
    • ✓️ Beer
    • ✓️ Wine
    • ✓️ Coffee
    • ✓️ Alcohol
    • ✓️ Cocktails
    • ✓️ Quick bite
    • ✓️ Hard liquor
    • ✓️ Comfort food
    • ✓️ Small plates
    • ✓️ Happy hour food
    • ✓️ Healthy options
    • ✓️ Happy hour drinks
  • Popular for
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Breakfast
    • ✓️ Solo dining
  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible seating
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible entrance
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible restroom
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible parking lot
  • Dining options
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Brunch
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Dessert
    • ✓️ Seating
    • ✓️ Catering
    • ✓️ Breakfast
  • Service options
    • ✓️ Dine-in
    • ✓️ Takeout
    • ✓️ Delivery
    • ✓️ Curbside pickup

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