Swami's Cafe Serves up Fresh and Healthy Meals in Downtown Oceanside

“Honest to God – this is no exaggeration – I have people who come in three times a day,” says Donnette Corona, manager of in downtown Oceanside.

Corona said some customers will come in early for coffee, then have breakfast, then lunch and finally order a smoothie in the afternoon at the restaurant, open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week at 608 Mission Ave.

Sometimes, Corona said, she sees the same people day after day.

The atmosphere at Swami's hardly could be more different from that of its predecessor in the building, Vigilucci's, an upscale Italian dining establishment.

“We do not have anything over $9.95,” Corona said.

That's a lobster benedict, she said, but the menu also lists that price for salmon or shrimp Caesar or tropical salads.

However, most breakfasts, salads and sandwiches fall in the $7.95 range.

“Swami's tries to cater more to the health community - vegans and vegetarians, “ Corona said. It gets its citrus from a farmer in Valley Center and buys bee pollen locally as well.

And, she said, it has a large diabetic following..

Beautifully presented, a pitaya bowl is a speciality .  Pitaya (also called dragon fruit) is topped with bananas and berries, homemade granola, bee pollen and shredded coconut.

No refined sugar is used, Corona said, and salad dressings are home-made with honey.

Fruit juices are fresh-squeezed, she said, and the menu offers such as “Popeye's Punch,” ( carrot and spinach) and “Busy Bee,” (orange juice, bananas, papaya and bee pollen). 

“I'm not sure that any other restaurant offers this sort of thing,” she said of Swami's food in general, although the cafe does serve some meat – ham, bacon, chicken and turkey – in either real or mock form.

She's installed a “customers' corner” in the front of the restaurant where people can leave suggestions and, as a result, she has added wi fi, moved the menu board, changed the radio station providing background music to one that's a bit more mellow and is going to bring in magazines for people to read while waiting for a to-go order.

The restaurant will celebrate its second anniversary in October.

At first, Corona said, never a day went by that someone did not come in and say “I didn't know you were here.”

There's minimal signage, and Corona said the building owner doesn't want more.

But the word has gotten out, she said, and now there's a “huge following” of business people, government and transit office workers (the site is near both City Hall and the North County Transit District headquarters) on weekdays, supplemented by surfers.

Some say “thank God you're here because now we do not have to drive to Encinitas,” Corona said.

There are two Swami's Cafes in Encinitas and one in La Mesa.

Each Swami's location  Corona said, “captures the detail of the community” with a mural – in Oceanside's case, it's a painting by artist Kevin Anderson along the western wall.

In bright hues, it depicts Oceanside from mission to pier to harbor to Coaster train to amphitheater to Farmers Market, and , of course, includes a prominent Swami's Cafe.

Corona said the restaurant's name comes from the popular Swami's surfing beach in Encinitas, and is no way associated with the Self Realization Fellowship, whose nearby blufftop complex also is called “Swami's” by Encinitas locals.

The hermitage was founded in 1937 by the late Swami Paramahansa Yogananda, who taught yoga meditation. It remains a popular retreat today. 

608 Mission Avenue

Downtown Oceanside

Open 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Seven Days Week

Story and photos by Lola Sherman