With the explosion of growth in southeastern Chula Vista, there are many new dining and shopping opportunities in the new Millenia complex south of the Otay Ranch mall. One of those new restaurants is Grater Grilled Cheese.

The restaurant is on the south side of Birch Road, situated almost in the middle between the Southbay Expressway (CA 125) and Eastlake Parkway. There’s adequate off-street parking around the shop.

The restaurant is quite small, with seating inside for 12-15 people, tops. There were additional seats for another 6-8 people outside. The decor had a bit of a diner vibe to it, with witty sayings about cheese painted on the walls, and the hanging light fixtures using stainless steel graters as shades.

The menu includes their gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers, salads, and sides. The Cordon Bleu Grilled Cheese sandwich ($10.99) was sinfully good with its five cheeses, chicken tenders, French ham, and some creamy, piquant gorgonzola and a roasted garlic aioli. (If you’re not a fan of strong, pungent blue cheeses, this may not be the sandwich for you.) They also serve some amazing looking bowls of Mac N Cheese. Go with an appetite, because the sandwiches are quite large and will fill you with cheesy bliss fairly quickly. Canned drinks and sides were sold separately, so my total bill with gratuity was about $20.

There were burgers and salads on the menu, but everyone seemed to skip those for the grilled cheese sandwiches. Given the quality of the sandwiches, those should be just as good.

What You Need To Know

Location: 2030 Birch Rd #102, Chula Vista, CA 91915

Hours:

Monday- Saturday | 11am – 8pm

Sunday | 11am – 7pm

Cost: $8-$12 per sandwich, plus more for sides and drink

Phone: (619) 816-5001

Website: https://gratergrilledcheese.com/

Tips: Seating is very limited in the restaurant, so if it looks as though you’re there at a busy time, it may be best to ask for your order to go. You place your order at the counter and wait for your name to be called when your order is ready. Staff were welcoming and friendly on my visit.

Gallery

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Visited: 11 July 2021