Sammy’s Cafe, 131 W. Foothill Blvd. (at Euclid), Upland

Sammy’s is a locally owned American-style breakfast, lunch and dinner spot that took over a former Baja Fresh in 2012. I’ve been there for lunch a few times. Generally I’m among the youngest customers. It’s that kind of place.

But there’s nothing wrong with that. Oldsters love diners like this, and Sammy’s does a decent job, at least with the items I’ve had: a salmon caesar salad ($9, below), a tuna melt and, if memory serves, a chile colorado plate. The results seemed to me to match or better comparable restaurants. A friend in the restaurant business says the breakfasts are good.

The interior makes the best of an odd and almost teardrop shape, the seating is comfortable, the service friendly. One mistake is the counter, evidently unchanged from the days when you ordered there at Baja Fresh: The lip extends only inches beyond the base, so even though they have seats there, there’s nowhere to put your legs other than sideways.

But it wouldn’t be a mom-and-pop place if it wasn’t individual.

Eden Garden Fusion Grill, 392 E. A St. (at 5th Ave.), Upland

Eden Garden, the third in a small chain of family-owned Mediterranean restaurants in Pasadena and Glendora, opened in summer 2012 on the edge of downtown Upland. The building, once a headquarters for the Lemon Growers Exchange, dates to 1932, has an Art Deco style and was recently restored.

For broader appeal, it’s not full-on Lebanese; they also have breakfast, pasta, seafood, steaks, burgers and buffalo wings. That’s evidently why they call it fusion, because aside from falafel spring rolls, none of the items really mix and match cuisines. But they do have a range of Lebanese items.

A Turkish friend and I had lunch there recently. We had chicken shawarma ($8, pictured above middle), a sort of chicken salad in a pita pocket, with fries; soujok ($10, top left), pan-seared Armenian sausage sauteed with onions and tomatoes; mutabal ($7, top right), a hummus-like dip made with eggplant; and, for dessert, knafe ($5, pictured at right), a piece of baked cheese with shredded phyllo dough.

We weren’t knocked out, but we liked each item. To quibble, there was too much tahini sauce in the shawarma, making it a bit messy, and the rosemary on the fries was distracting. The dessert was a standout.

The interior is sparkling and clean, the tall arched windows letting in lots of natural light. The upscale-diner seating (metallic red vinyl booths, black-and-white tiled floor, lots of chrome) is purposely all-American, probably more inviting to an Upland crowd, but it doesn’t seem to match the thrust of the menu. That split personality could help or hurt; one can imagine the menu leaning one way or the other in the future to reflect whatever clientele develops.

There’s also an expansive patio, at least equal in size to the dining room, for smoking, including hookahs at night, and entertainment, including belly dancers and music on weekends. Eden Garden is open until midnight Sunday to Wednesday and until 2 a.m. the other days, making it one of the few places in town for late-night eats. The restaurant has a full bar.

The Metrolink station is just yards away, and from our seat inside we could easily see and hear trains passing by beyond a retaining wall, a picturesque touch. The Istanbul Express is not among them.

Limericks Tavern, 1234 W. Foothill Blvd. (at Mountain), Upland

An Irish pub in an Upland shopping center, Limericks opened in 2011 in a not especially promising storefront by a Stater Bros. and a thrift store on the southwest corner of Foothill and Mountain. Once inside the doors, things improve: a lot of dark wood, a long bar, semi-private three-sided booths and antique-like lights.

I’ve visited twice recently. The first time, after bowling with friends, I wasn’t hungry enough for an entree, but a friend shared his meaty popcorn shrimp. Others got fish and chips, fish bites (like popcorn shrimp) and a salmon burger, which was said to be “crumbly” and perhaps not successful but not bad.

They also have burgers (including a 50/50 with beef and pastrami), corned beef sandwiches, bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie, ribeyes, seafood and more. In other words, the menu is reasonably serious, not just bar food.

I was impressed enough to return a few days later for lunch, ordering the fish and chips ($10, pictured). My platter arrived with a substantial portion of both: three pieces of fish, pretty tasty, and skin-on fries that were delicious. My iced tea was $2.

A first-timer seated near me got Irish nachos, which use corned beef, and he not only cleaned his plate but declared that he might lick it next. He also joked about sending the empty platter back because the food “wasn’t right” so he could get another one.

As a nondrinker, I’m in no position to comment on the beer, but one discerning friend from the first visit said the selection was “pretty awesome” and about as extensive as you’ll find in the 909, especially for a non-chain. Also, the happy hour special Monday to Thursday, from 9 p.m. until closing (the period we went), was buy a beer for $5, get the second one for $1, which was deemed “ridiculous” (in a good way). At that hour the place was quiet and laidback, as it was during my lunch. The bartender was nice and let us stay past the 11 p.m. close.

I liked the atmosphere and the food and I think any of our group would go back.

Pine Haven Cafe, 1191 E. Foothill Blvd. (at 11th Avenue), Upland

Pine Haven opened in May as the restaurant in the Guest House Inn, which might make this eatery difficult to find if you didn’t realize Upland had a hotel on Foothill. (It’s across from Memorial Park.)

It’s a catering business, begun in 2005, that now has gone public, in a sense, with a restaurant that does breakfast, lunch and, on Fridays only, dinner. Everything is made from scratch.

I’ve been in twice. For lunch, I had the “gourmet grilled cheese” (oooh la la) on parmesan bread ($5.50 as the Wednesday lunch special). My two sides were sweet potato fries and tropical slaw, both good; some won’t like the limp fries, but I did. I wasn’t knocked out overall, but I suppose if I’d wanted something exciting, I shouldn’t have ordered grilled cheese.

I tried breakfast on my next visit, ordering the chorizo huevos ($8), which was three eggs scrambled with Mexican sausage, goat cheese and roasted red peppers. Unexpectedly, this came served atop my choice of potato (home fries) in a bowl. This was really good. I’d asked for wheat toast and the result was large, oval slices of house-baked bread. An impressive breakfast.

The regular menu isn’t online but you can find the cafe’s website here.

A couple of female friends coo over the decor; personally, with its tiled floor and stucco walls and ceiling, the space looked a bit bare and institutional to me, like a hospital cafe. But the food’s good and service is friendly, so I’m pulling for them. As one friend said of the food: “It’s like eating at the house of someone who’s a really good cook.”

H. Salt Fish & Chips, 67 E. Foothill Blvd. (at 2nd), Upland

With the demise of Long John Silver’s in Montclair, the only corporate venue for fried fish locally is H. Salt in Upland. (One non-corporate venue is Pomona Fish Market.) I dropped in for dinner this week before a city council meeting.

H. Salt is in a strip center by a bike shop and barbershop, near a laser tag center, a 99 Cents Only store and a lot of vacancies. The center is in desperate need of redevelopment. H. Salt is a tiny place, the door only a few paces from the counter. It’s run by an older Taiwanese couple who, like the decor, look to have been there for years. I’d guess the shop has been in place since the 1970s and some of the decor is probably original: English family crests, pink and aqua booths, a faux Tube map with icons for Westminster, Charing Cross and other stops.

They have fish, shrimp, scallops, clams, oysters, and chicken strips and wings. I got the London Special, two pieces of fish with chips ($5.30). They cook to order and the result is about what you’d expect. Actually, it might be a little better: not too greasy, not too fishy. The setting is a bit dumpy, though, and in the shop’s small confines, the near-constant sound of bubbling cooking oil was as loud as a fountain.

There was a steady stream of customers, and people on Yelp generally like the place. According to Wikipedia, the chain was launched in 1965 by an English expatriate man named Haddon Salt. There are 27 locations in California.

Taqueria Los Magueyes, 185 S. Euclid Ave. (at 8th), Upland

This walkup taco stand lies on a quiet stretch of Euclid, a few blocks south of the Civic Center. The 1962-vintage building looks like a classic SoCal burger shack: angled roof, crushed rock facade, an order window and outdoor-only seating.

Actually, though, the building began as Taco Aqui, there from 1962 to 1974, followed by Gus’ Burgers for the next 30 years, according to research by the Upland Public Library. Classic Burger operated from 2003 until Los Magueyes took over in 2010.

As Charles Phoenix put it in “Cruising the Pomona Valley”: “With wings wide spread, this jet age taco and burger stand is ready for takeoff.”

Los Magueyes, presumably an offshoot of the sitdown restaurant in Upland on 16th Street, has tacos, burritos, tortas, sopes, menudo, breakfast items and burgers.

On one of our recent warm evenings I went there for dinner, getting two fish tacos ($1.50 each), a shrimp taco ($2) and a horchata and eating on the patio. The tacos were pretty good, if not on the level of Senor Baja, and the walk-up concept is unusual. It’s like Upland now has its own Juanita’s. Way to go, Upland.

Molly’s Souper, 388 N. 1st Ave. (at D Street), Upland

Is there a more charming restaurant in Upland? Molly’s, located cater-corner from the library, is in a 1912 house with dining inside in one of several first-floor rooms, one of which has a fireplace and all of which look like grandma’s house, or outside on an L-shaped patio surrounded by a white picket fence.

They serve breakfast and lunch daily. Breakfasts include all the staples, plus relatively rare items including apple pancakes and mimosa. You can also get green eggs and ham, but I’ve never dared. Pictured is bacon, eggs and country potatoes.

Lunch is salads, sandwiches and, of course, soup (it’s Molly’s Souper, after all). A half sandwich and cup of soup is $8.50 and comes with a tiny cup of apple crisp. Awww. Pictured is egg salad and tortellini soup, both fine.

On a warm or hot day, the patio is recommended. The wooden tables and chairs are quaint, the umbrellas big enough to shade everyone and keep you reasonably cool.

The house was converted to a restaurant in 1972 named the Souper and has been owned by Molly Brouse since 1990. I’ve been an occasional customer for years. The food is good, the ambience is better and the service is always friendly.