For those of you that don’t like to read through my whole articles, here’s what you need to know: Casa Canela is good. Really good. Go there. Just don’t all go at the same time.
The newest restaurant in town has only been open a week, but I’ve already been there THREE TIMES. That’s saying a lot. And while I have ordered something different each time, there has been one constant: the waffle.
But before we get to the food, I want to start with some background. If you’ve heard of Los Tres Hermanos in the valley, which currently has 5 locations (!!!!) then you’ll be happy to know that this is an offshoot of that empire. Los Tres Hermanos literally started as a restaurant in Mexico, opened in the US, and is a real deal family run establishment and a great success story. It isn’t a chain or franchise, they are all about family.
One of the sons, Orlando, and his wife have opened up Casa Canela in Saugus, taking over the former Teapot Cafe location next to Albertsons. This is the first Casa Canela concept, which revolves around breakfast, although they do have some lunch items too.
I would say this is a Mexican breakfast restaurant, but they do have traditional American breakfast as well. As I mentioned earlier their waffles are fantastic! And the best part if that they are served with a small ramekin full of melted butter. If yours doesn’t come with melted butter (it has been hit or miss) make sure you ask for some.
I first tried Casa Canela on opening day with local food blogger Sean of The Blue Dish and his wife Nicole. We were all excited to try a new place, and we are all fans of breakfast so it was a perfect morning. Service was good, food was good, and the place is lovely. One of the many things I love about Casa Canela is that although they have a variety of options for breakfast, they know how to properly limit a menu so it doesn’t go on for pages and pages.
The fajita omelet is served with chicken breast, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and Monterey jack cheese and was a great choice. It doesn’t photograph well, but you can see the portion is very generous.
Here’s a life hack: if you order the omelet, you can choose a waffle as your side instead of toast!
These are the Sopitas con Huevo: corn tortilla chips scrambled with eggs topped with green salsa and sour cream. You get to choose your sides and the potatoes and refried beans are the perfect choice!
The sopes trio is fantastic, and has been my go to dish. However, the menu says they come with chicken, chorizo, and potatoes, but I think they mean that one is chicken, one is chorizo, and one is chorizo/potato. So you get three different sopes. I would double check when you order but both I’ve seen them, this has been the case and even though it doesn’t match up with the wording in the description, it hasn’t mattered to me because they are great!
Another favorite is the Mexican Benedict which comes with 2 poached eggs on a sope with refried beans and poblano sauce. As a fan of poblano sauce, and the fact that it isn’t overwhelmingly spicy, I knew this was a dish I wanted to try. It was fantastic! Something different for sure, but with the eggs perfectly cooked and the top layer of cheese over perfectly fried sopes, it was like a perfect combination of all my favorite things.
They also have regular benedicts which looked great, but I didn’t try it because it was mistakenly brought to my table on my second visit. And while my first visit was great, my second visit was different. Word had gotten out and people wanted to try it, so there were some mistakes, and in a town like Santa Clarita where people are eager for better food choices, it is easy for a new place to get overwhelmed. So as usual, please bring patience when trying any new place in town, especially a place as good as this one. Or go during off hours! My third visit was during a weekday after the lunch rush. Service was once again perfect like on day one.
The chilaquiles pictured below were good, but my friends felt they needed more sauce. If you like your chilaquiles drenched then I would just ask for extra sauce.
One of the best things I’ve tried at Casa Canela so far: the enchiladas poblanas. This dish is everything. Served with three enchiladas, these are topped with their house made poblano sauce. Perfectly mild yet flavorful, and topped with rajas (strips of poblano pepper) and corn.
I can’t say enough good things about Casa Canela. It has this classy authenticity to it. The space has been perfectly decorated, and they closed off a section for private events, but they did it with gorgeous dark brown doors. I predict that private room is going to be used quite a bit. They are open from 8-3 during the week and until 4 on the weekends, and their liquor license should be finalized any day now. Once word really gets out, this is going to be the hot new breakfast spot. And the thing about Santa Clarita is that people are always looking for a good place to eat in the morning, so I predict wait times and crowds.
The outside patio towards the back of the restaurant is gorgeous! And dog friendly. I can see the patio being used to host events too. It really is a nice setting.
It is clear that the owners know what they are doing (I mean they do come from a restaurant legacy). Their social media and branding is on point, their photos are gorgeous, the menu is perfectly curated, and this is just a classy place. I loved it, and I hope you do too.
Casa Canela is located at 27647 Bouquet Canyon Rd, Santa Clarita, CA 91350.
