Harry's Coffee Shop: A Brooklyn Dodgers Batboy's Diner, Open in La Jolla Since 1960

Overview

Harry J. Rudolph Jr. was a batboy for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

When the Dodgers left Brooklyn for Los Angeles, he followed them west. He spent a couple of years looking for somewhere to put down roots, found La Jolla, and in 1960 opened a diner built to feel like the coffee shops on the street corners he'd grown up around in New York. He and his wife Catherine ran it. He was on his second cup of coffee by 5 a.m. He walked the floor and knew his customers by name, and he did that for nearly half a century.

He and Catherine raised nine children, and every one of them worked behind that counter at some point. Three siblings run it now — the third generation of Rudolphs, by the restaurant's own account — and it has become the thing La Jolla doesn't really have anymore: a place that stayed the same while everything around it changed.

The press has noticed. Their own wall of clippings includes Food & Wine naming it one of America's Best Diners, USA Today ranking it the #4 diner in America, San Diego Magazine's critics picking it as the city's best diner, and a Food Network "Top 5 Restaurants" segment built around one dish.

Here's the one thing to understand before you go, and it's two things.

First, that Food Network dish has a name nobody explains, so here it is: the B.W. Benny is a bacon waffle Benedict. A golden brown waffle with bacon cooked inside it and more bacon on top, then grilled ham, poached eggs, hollandaise and warm maple syrup. Their menu's footer doesn't say "Serving San Diego Since 1960" and stop — it says "Home of the BW Benny." That's the order.

Second, there is free parking in the rear. In La Jolla Village. If you have ever circled Girard Avenue at 9 a.m. on a Saturday looking for a spot, you understand why that sentence belongs this high up.

What to Order at Harry's

• The B.W. Benny. Waffle, bacon in it and on it, grilled ham, poached eggs, hollandaise, maple syrup. It's what the Food Network came for and what the menu is named after. Start here.
• Corned Beef Hash and Eggs. The menu notes it has been a favorite since 1960 — served with farm fresh eggs and hash browns. The oldest order in the building.
• The Superfecta, if you're hungry and indecisive: three pancakes, two eggs, two slices of bacon, Harry's hash browns, and a fountain soda, coffee or hot tea.
• Bacon Pancakes — bacon cooked inside, two more slices on top. A theme is emerging.
• Chicken Fried Steak on top of a Thin Waffle, covered in sausage gravy and warm syrup.
• The La Jolla Scramble — eggs with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and cheddar, served with fresh fruit — if you want something that isn't trying to end you.
• Chilaquiles with homemade tomatillo sauce, scrambled eggs, sour cream, red onion, cilantro and cotija, over those hash browns. Add carne asada.
• At lunch: Harry's Famous Grilled Tuna Melt on grilled sourdough, the "Classic" Reuben on grilled rye, or the Patty Melt. Every Club & Grill item and every burger comes with the hash browns.
• A milkshake, because they've been making them since 1960. The Silver Fox is vanilla ice cream, peanut butter, crushed Oreos and banana with half & half. There's also a Surfer (peanut butter and banana), an Espresso Shake and Harry's Original Energy Shake with orange juice, strawberries and banana.
• There's a real bar menu for a diner — a Bloody Mary they call award-winning, horchata with rum, Irish coffee, micheladas, mimosas and local craft beer.
• Breakfast is served all day, so none of the above is time-gated.

How to Visit Harry's in La Jolla

• Address: 7545 Girard Avenue, La Jolla, CA 92037
• Phone: (858) 454-7381
• Hours: Monday–Sunday, 6 a.m.–3 p.m. (See the note below — their homepage says something different.)
• Reservations: None. It's a diner; you walk in.
• Parking: Free, in the rear. This is the single most useful fact in this article.
• Pet-friendly patio, and takeout orders are available.
• Go early. They open at 6 a.m., and a no-reservations diner with this much press does not get quieter as the morning goes on.
• Gluten-free options exist — gluten-free bread on the Club & Grill sandwiches, and all French toasts can be made gluten free.
• Groups: An 18% gratuity may be added for parties of six or more.
• There's a second Harry's in Del Mar now, on the corner of 15th and Camino Del Mar — 1454 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar, CA 92014.

The Takeaway

Get there at 7 on a weekday, park free in the back, sit at the counter, and order a B.W. Benny and a coffee.

What makes Harry's worth writing about isn't that La Jolla has a good diner. It's that this one is the same diner it was in 1960, run by the same family, in a village where almost nothing else is. The man who opened it carried bats for the Brooklyn Dodgers and built a piece of Brooklyn on Girard Avenue because he missed it. Three generations later you can still sit in the booth and order the corned beef hash that's been on the menu the entire time.

For more San Diego spots worth knowing, browse our Local Picks — and if La Jolla is a place you're considering, not just visiting, our La Jolla neighborhood guide covers it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Harry's Coffee Shop? At 7545 Girard Avenue in La Jolla, CA 92037, with free parking behind the building. There's also a second location at 1454 Camino Del Mar in Del Mar.

What are Harry's Coffee Shop's hours? Monday through Sunday, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Breakfast is served all day.

What is the B.W. Benny? Harry's signature dish and the one the Food Network featured: a golden brown waffle with bacon cooked inside and on top, grilled ham, poached eggs, hollandaise sauce and warm maple syrup.

How old is Harry's Coffee Shop? It opened in 1960, founded by Harry J. Rudolph Jr. — a former Brooklyn Dodgers batboy who followed the team to California — and his wife Catherine. The family still runs it.

Does Harry's take reservations? No. It's walk-in only.

Is there parking at Harry's? Yes — free parking in the rear, which is unusual for La Jolla Village.

Is Harry's dog friendly? Yes, they have a pet-friendly patio.

What awards has Harry's won? By the restaurant's own press page: Food & Wine named it one of America's Best Diners, USA Today ranked it the #4 diner in America, San Diego Magazine's critics chose it as San Diego's best diner in 2018, and the Food Network featured it in a "Top 5 Restaurants" segment.