Thanks for continuing to drop by to read mmm-yoso!!! Today, Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are taking breaks and Cathy is writing.
Over the past six months, whenever we'd stop at Carnitas Uruapan (which is far more often than I've posted), The Mister and I watched the progressing construction of this new La Mesa Gastropub, which opened about two weeks ago. (cc has been here recently; here is a link to her post)
The location of Craft Kitchen La Mesa used to be a 7-11. (Look into the distance of the above photo, you can see the new 7-11 location, directly on the other side of Spring Street).
Stepping into the front door, the menu board and ordering area are in front of you. There are also menus on the counter and some chairs if you need to peruse. The menu is short.
Order, pay, find a seat…
Perhaps decide on a beer or wine to accompany your meal… 
Then again, there are tasters ($2 each) when you can't decide. Julian Hard Cider and Karl Strauss Mosaic were our choices this day. 
Other difficult choices were deciding what we wanted to try on this visit (while planning what we want to try on future visits…did you notice there is breakfast…daily breakfast, not just a weekend Brunch…). So, the "Greens " flat bread ($10) was our mutual choice. Fresh made chewy (with a bit of bottom crunch) flatbread topped with Mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, fresh chopped garlic and basil…the flavors all melded wonderfully and went well with each beverage choice.
This quite large (despite the photo) "Strawberry Fields" salad ($11) with added chicken ($2) was also a mutually decided choice, primarily because of the cheese –Burrata– and our general tendency toward trying to have a 'balanced' meal. Spring mix greens, whole almonds and a very nice strawberry vinaigrette combined with the Burrata and good portion of warm/just cooked marinated chicken (the flavors of the chicken were good enough not to need any seasoning additions) made this salad an excellent meal…well, half the salad plus half the flatbread was a great meal.
La Mesa (and its border) is gradually becoming the East County version of 30th Street, with a few stumbles and successes, with established gastropub/regular pub type restaurants. The concept of breakfast at Craft Kitchen will be thoroughly investigated.
La Mesa Craft Kitchen 4253 Palm Avenue (at Spring Street) La Mesa, CA 91941 (619)461-4887 Open 7 days Mon-Fri 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sat 8a.m.-11 p.m. Sun 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Website
Great first look Cathy! Bert and I were there Friday night and it was so busy we ended up getting our food to go. That post is forthcoming.
Thanks, cc. I hope they can keep up the pace of being open from 7-11 daily. The food is excellent and the concept is needed in East County.
Thanks for the write up! Along with Urbn Street and the Hills, the food/beer scene out here is looking better. Now, if we can just break out of the pub grub mentality…..
Nice post.Good to read some of your stuff again. Sounds like you and the mister are doing well.
Looks great! Can’t wait to try it.
I’ve always said that people eat out close to home and close to work, Ken. The East County has had standbys for decades, but some are getting tired (along with their owners) and it is so good to see these new places stepping in to be established. Hills definitely is more pub-grub with menu items (pick a crazy spicy sauce and it’s on whatever you order) and urbn st has a proven menu to accompany the beer selections; Craft Kitchen is a nice middle ground, with quality food and excellent adult beverage selection.
Thanks, Ed. CK is a nice option to have out here. We’ve had gradual positive improvement over the past few months.
You’ll like it, James. As cc said, CK can get very crowded in the evening on Friday and Saturday.
Thank you so much for this post! Your review is so encouraging and we truly appreciate the feedback. We hope that we continue to improve and find a spot in La Mesa’s heart!
-owners
We really liked it, Randy & Dena. Our plans for trying the rest of the menu are panning out. We do avoid stopping in when it looks crowded though; you have some busy peak hours!
Food quality and service continue to improve. Really like the beer list, which is updated frequently. However, please note that they are now only serving breakfasts on weekends.
It is a great place, Ken, so nice to have fresh, local and selection so close to home. The last time we went, the breakfast signage was still up, but we had a feeling the change was going to happen. Randy and Dena are finding their optimal ways of operation. (I changed the hours in the post; thanks)