Caroline's Seaside Cafe by Giuseppe

This is a seaside cafe that refuses to be sentimental about its view. Plates arrive with sun glare on the rim and the smell of ocean salt baked into every bite. Sit on the eco-chic patio and watch surfers thread the inside line while servers ferry beef short rib and eggs and steaming flat whites to sunburnt elbows. Traffic of students, tourists and locals keeps the place noisy and alive. You will wait. The ordering system forces efficiency: order, take a numbered stick, then hunt a table. Food leans refined California, honest and seasonal, with a carrot cake dense enough to share. Service is brisk, sometimes brusque, competent when it counts. Expect beach breeze, seagull cries and the occasional lecture about parking rules from someone who knows the campus lots. Grab your number and claim a spot before the next tide brings more people in.