Looking for your next favorite family brunch spot? Or a casual lunch convenient to the train station? Check out Neal’s Coffee Shop in Burlingame, a family-owned local favorite with a huge menu of homestyle comfort food that’s both affordable and delicious.
They’re known for their friendly service and are proud of their open kitchen – customers behind the counter can watch all the food being cooked up, with everything being made fresh from scratch.
“We make our own soups, dressings, biscuits, everything,” said owner Sunil “Neal” Prasad, who runs the place along with his daughter Jacklyn.
From omelets and egg plates to buttermilk pancakes and Swedish crepes to chicken and waffles and smoked Salmon Benedict, they serve up all the breakfast favorites you could want – all day. They also offer an extensive menu of fresh sandwiches and salads, burgers and entrees that range from diner favorites like Salisbury steak, pot roast and pork chops to fish tacos and a teriyaki chicken plate. There’s a healthy options menu, a menu for seniors and a kid’s menu.
“We have something for everybody’s taste,” said Prasad.
And did we mention they bake their own pies? Jacklyn says customers especially rave about the apple and lemon meringue.
The diner has a more than 60-year history in its corner of the Burlingame Plaza Shopping Center, and Prasad started working as a busboy and then cook at what was then Pat’s Coffee Shop in 1987. It changed to Ben’s Coffee Shop in 1990, and in 1996, Prasad and a partner were able to take over the restaurant. In 2001, he became sole proprietor and changed the name to Neal’s Coffee Shop. Business grew so well that in 2012 his family expanded and opened their second Neal’s in Crystal Springs Shopping Center in San Mateo. During the pandemic, his restaurant partnered with the state’s Great Plate meal delivery program for seniors and they provided 150 meals a day to customers, he said.
The atmosphere is casual and very local; as soon as you come through the door you’re greeted by a lineup of bobblehead Giants players and the walls are lined with warmly colored landscapes from Burlingame photographer Charles Mahnken – and a signed Buster Posey jersey. Their staff of veteran employees – some who’ve been working there for more than 20 years – know how to make you feel at home. So come check out this hidden gem in Burlingame and make this local favorite yours too.
Neal’s Coffee Shop is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day of the year except for Christmas Day. They also offer online ordering at nealscoffeeshop.net. For more information about Neal’s, go to nealscoffeeshop.net, call (650) 692-4281 or just drop by.
Neal’s Coffee Shop
1845 El Camino Real, Burlingame
(650) 692-4281 • nealscoffeeshop.com
I’ve eaten there any times this year after I first found it when the other restaurant was closed. Very good food. My friend thinks that where he worked in the 60s, it was called GAILS IS THAT POSSIBLE PLEASE ADVISE