Simply Comfort Food: Shoreline Coffee Shop

March 5, 2021

Just in front of Wholly Bowl, and sitting between Grocery Outlet and the Dollar Tree in Lakeport stands Shoreline Coffee Shop. It’s an unassuming spot, sandwiched next to a wireless store and discount shop.  Usually, diners sit inside, but since COVID, tables stretch out in the open-air hallway where customers sit, sipping on drip coffee and forking into plates piled with food.  If you’re looking for comfort food, Shoreline is a great place to begin.

The place has a homey feel, as though it looked just like this when your grandmother used to eat here.  The Formica-topped blue marble tables sit two perfectly, or three if someone pulls up a chair to make a triangle.  It’s a place where friends meet up for breakfast chats and lunchtime conversations.  If you’re not in a hurry, get a cup of joe and enjoy the cool morning air.  The service is attentive, and your cup will never lack for a refill.

The menu’s simple, with one page devoted to breakfast and one devoted to lunch.  Don’t let its simplicity fool you, though. They have lots of options, from hotcakes and sausage, to Denver omelets, to pigs in a blanket.  And the portions aren’t small, either. It’s a great place to visit when you want a quality, American-style breakfast.  Each breakfast comes with choices of sides from toast, biscuits and gravy, or your choice of hashbrowns—regular or homestyle. And the homestyle are tasty; chunks of potatoes mixed with onion and green peppers, then cooked golden brown.

If you like corned beef, Shoreline makes it just like I remember from my favorite diner as a kid.  The hash isn’t stirred into a pile, but let to sit on one side a few minutes, then flipped in one piece until both sides have a crisp, chewy texture.  Next to the corned beef sits a pile of hash browns, topped with two eggs cooked perfectly, a skill in itself.  As the round, striped plate arrives at the table, it’s filled. Salty and savory flavors combine with the crunchy and chewy textures that make traditional breakfasts so enjoyable.

You may also think about trying the eggs benedict.  When you think of traditional eggs benedict, you’re thinking of exactly how Shoreline does it.  There’s no smoked salmon or garlic aioli or shredded spinach and blanched kale.  It’s the way a good diner should make it; toasted English muffins topped with juicy-crisp ham, an egg poached precisely right, and slathered in a mild hollandaise sauce.  Each bite blends the egg yolk with the gentle tang of the hollandaise, rounded out with the salt of the ham and the crunchy chew of the English muffin.  And don’t forget, it’s not just one plate of food you get; you also get sides.

After filling up and pushing the plate away, it’s always nice to get another top off of coffee, then sit back and digest a little. Soak in the homey atmosphere, catch up with an old friend, and walk away satisfied. If you’re looking for quality American-style breakfast food, Shoreline Coffee Shop is a great place.  It’s a step back in time, to large portions, rich food, and homey, friendly service.

Shoreline Coffee Shop is located at: 1235 S Main St, Lakeport, CA.

Hours of operation: 6:30 – 3:00 Monday through Friday, 7:00 – 2:00 Saturday and Sunday

(707)-263-3170