La Jolla’s The Cottage opens new breakfast destination in Encinitas

After 30 years in La Jolla, The Cottage has expanded into North County San Diego with a new Encinitas eatery. Open since June, The Cottage Encinitas made its debut in the renovated Encinitas Village center on El Camino Real and Encinitas Boulevard, serving up American-SoCal cuisine from breakfast to lunch.

The Cottage has been a La Jolla institution since 1992, when founders Laura and John Wolfe transformed a hole-in-the-wall pastry shop on Fay Avenue into a full-service restaurant. At the new breakfast-to-lunch café, the menu includes La Jolla’s classics and cult favorites such as the stuffed French toast, avocado smash and Capellini crab cakes. Fresh fare like crab and prosciutto benedict, charred octopus salad and leg of lamb sandwich will be exclusive to the Encinitas location, in addition to plant-based offerings such as tofu “huevos” ranchero and cauliflower and lentil curry.

The brunch spread at The Cottage.

(Courtesy of The Cottage)

Jason Peaslee, the current owner of The Cottage, scouted potential expansion locations for a long time, searching for La Jolla’s perfect counterpart with his business partner Bernardo Kanarek. For Peaslee, Encinitas’ key selling point was its similarity to La Jolla as well as being nearby to The Cottage’s existing clientele in neighborhoods such as La Costa, Carlsbad, Olivenhain and Rancho Santa Fe.

“We’ve been very selective and circumspect in our growth strategy,” said Peaslee in a news release. “Expanding into a second location after such a storied past and solidified legacy, we wanted to find a place with the same beach town appeal and community-driven culture that’s sustained The Cottage’s success all these years, and Encinitas checks all of those boxes.”

The Cottage Encinitas echoes the “coastal craftsman” aesthetic of the La Jolla original. The eatery features a large outdoor patio and an indoor dining area and bar with tufted upholstered booths and rustic café-style seating. Two locally-commissioned murals decorate the walls, along with artwork that will rotate out and be available for auction, with proceeds going to support a local nonprofit benefitting early education. A retail counter features prepackaged bags of The Cottage’s bestselling granola and coffee blends, which are batched and processed on-site at an in-house roastery.

Booths inside The Cottage.

(Courtesy of The Cottage)

The Cottage is located at 127 N. El Camino Real, suite H and is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information visit cottageencinitas.com