Denica’s Real Food Kitchen, a breakfast and lunch spot known for its Hawaiian/Mexican-inflected menu and deep-purple ube pancakes, has opened a new location in Pleasanton.
The eatery takes the place of a former Red Robin at the corners of Owens and Rosewood drives, near the Rosewood Commons business center. It is the fourth Denica’s in the East Bay chain’s small empire, with other locations in Castro Valley, Dublin and Livermore.
Owners James and Denica Freitas are husband-and-wife bakers who in 2000 merged their businesses into Denica’s Pastry Cafe in Dublin. They later expanded to full-service breakfast and lunch spots offering dishes with south-of-the-border and Hawaiian flair, with plates like Onolicious Shrimp with sticky rice and lemon and the Molokai Special with Upcountry Fried Rice, fried chicken, eggs and shoyu-cream gravy. There are variations of scrambles and eggs benedict (including one with “100 Chile Hollandaise”), salads and sandwiches like the Big Kahuna with kalua pork, egg and Wailuku sauce.
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French toast and waffles are served in various hearty ways, from the Mochiko Chicken and Waffle with Hawaiian fried chicken, mochi-pandan waffle and spicy syrup, to the Cookie Dough Waffle with chocolate-chip cookie dough baked inside and served with Nutella and whipped cream. The Instagram crowd seems fascinated with the La Souffle Pancakes as well as the Ube Pancakes with purple yam, ube-coconut sauce and fresh mixed berries.
You’ll find croissants in flavors such as guava-custard and passionfruit-strawberry in the pastry case, plus artfully foamed coffee drinks, juices and milkshakes. This new Denica’s also handles catering orders.
The website Cheapism in 2022 touted Denica’s location in Livermore as an under-the-radar restaurant in California, noting that “Mexican specialties are a standout, as the kitchen roasts fresh tomatoes for the salsas. Only real whipped cream is served on massive pancakes, and the bakery churns out huge cookies and muffins, too.”
Details: Open 7 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays, until 3 p.m. weekends at 4503 Rosewood Drive, Pleasanton; denicascafe.com.
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