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Brunch Drunk Love - CLOSED
Category: Restaurants Breakfast & Brunch Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
Bruno's2389 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 648-6800
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Brunch
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Hipster
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
139 reviews for Brunch Drunk Love
Review Highlights
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"The mac and cheese spring rolls were delish." In 21 reviews -
"...a girlish squeal when Chef Ryan Scott came out and greeted..." In 5 reviews -
"I mean the maple bacon pancakes with bourbon glazed bananas." In 5 reviews
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139 reviews in English
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Review from Sue Y.
3/15/2012 1 Check-in Here
We came here on a rainy Sunday afternoon. The place was packed! Unbeknownst to us, there had been a Groupon for the place and so everyone was apparently using it that day. They were really nice to us and seated us in the back room while we waited. I also liked that they had a tv in the front bar with the game on.
Every dish was phenomenal. Hearty and rich, their food is a go-to for hangover cures, and their drinks are delicious if you're not! Between the four of us, we enjoyed the Apple Cider, Bloody Mary, Bees Knees.
I had the Salmon cakes with greens. Crispy cake paired well with the salmon. The dressing on salad was a little too rich for my taste, but very tasty nonetheless. -
Review from Sharifa R.
San Francisco, CA
5/12/2012
Ouch it hurts me to give out a 2 star review (really more like 2.5) based on one dish but it really bothers me I ended up with something I really dislike (poached eggs) for $15. Here's what happened: I ordered the huevos verdes and it was described as "stewed eggs". Note all other egg dishes are described as poached except for the one I ordered! With such a vague description stewed could have meant scrambled eggs cooked in tomatillo sauce. Sure you could say it's my fault for not clarifying but the menu should have been a little clearer. I also thought the tomatillo was too sour and overpowered the dish. I'm sure tomatillos are naturally tart so the dish should have had less of the sauce for balance. Another contributing factor to my rating is my friend's cold biscuits and gravy.
On the bright side at least the donuts and their dipping sauces were good and points for being able to order a homemade Twinkie, and our check being brought out in a Barbie book. -
Review from Mel T.
I really wanted to like BDL, and, no, not just because I may or may not have an elementary school crush on Chef Ryan Scott. Ahem.
So I had a Groupon. Yes, like half the other people who have written a review for BDL. Why not take advantage of a deal? Maybe when the food isn't really worth it to begin with. But of course I didn't know that then.
Here's what I ordered:
- OJ. It's just OJ, right? Yes, but if you're going to pour it from a plastic Safeway gallon jug, at least do so in the back. At least give the illusion that your juice *could* be fresh squeezed.
- mac & cheese spring rolls. Not quite cheesey enough or hot enough when served.
- warm spiced brioche donuts. Probably the best of the day, but pretty heavy. Eat more than a couple, and it's a one way ticket to food coma city.
- sweet potato waffle. Not memorable.
- little piggy with baked kale chips. I felt like a little piggy eating this sandwich, so I suppose the name was appropriate. This was fine, but the kale chips were salt overload times ten.
- snak pak. Whoopie pie and homemade twinkie? Nothing special. In fact, I'd just as well opt for a Hostess.
Despite Chef Ryan Scott's swoon worthy charisma (he introduced himself to me, "Hi, I'm Ryan," as if everyone in the room already didn't know who he was), the food wasn't very special, and definitely not food I'd pay full price for. I heard that BDL has closed, and it's just as well, since I wouldn't return. -
Review from Lucy B.
San Diego, CA
5/12/2012 1 Check-in Here
Cool Dj music, chill Sunday brunch vibe, food that is a little different but still tasty. Mac n cheese spring rolls are great!!!
-
Review from Rodney H.
I managed to finally drop by Brunch Drunk Love on two occasions during their last two weeks of operation. If you've read my two reviews on 3-Sum Eats (http://www.yelp.com/bi...), then you probably already know that I'm a big fan of Chef Ryan Scott's food. In basic terms, it's 3-SUM Eats in restaurant form and it translated very well with Bruno's as the host venue.
The Little Piggy - 4505 meats sausage, black forest ham, braised pork shoulder, fried egg, Gruyere, chorizo aioli, housemade English muffin.
(http://www.yelp.com/bi...)
This was basically a very glorified Egg McMuffin. It's loaded with every single breakfast protein you can have and the housemade English Muffin really made this sandwich shine.
Duck Hash Cakes - poached eggs, edamame succotash, horseradish salsa verde, pomegranate arils.
(http://www.yelp.com/bi...)
This was delicious and had a very nice presentation. Really now, how can you not like hash cakes with poached eggs running all over them? It was really heavenly!
Chicken n' Waffles - Sweet Potato Waffles with Bourbon Bacon Marmalade and Cornflake Crusted Fried Chicken.
(http://www.yelp.com/bi...)
My friend ordered this with my recommendation of the Chicken, since I've had it in sandwich form from 3-SUM. From what I witnessed, I know she liked it. I wish I had another chance to order this again for myself!
Mac N' Cheese Egg Rolls with Fondue Sauce.
(Sorry no pic but here's mine from 3-Sum Eats http://www.yelp.com/bi...).
This is my friend's favorite from 3-Sum Eats and she definitely wanted to try it here. And it was just as good!!
Brown Sugar, Rosemary & Black Pepper Crusted Bacon
(http://www.yelp.com/bi...)
Crispy, sweet, very fragrant......This is the BEST BACON EVER!!
I really wanted to give this joint 5-stars. But while the food was downright awesome, the service was pretty subpar. At certain times our server would totally disappear on us and we were left without any water refills.
I'm glad that I got to try Brunch Drunk Love. It's too bad they ceased operations because I really liked their food! But from what I've read around the interwebs, they may open it up again, hopefully at a permanent location. If or when that happens, I'll definitely be making a visit! In the meantime, I can always enjoy their Cornflake Crusted Chicken and Maple Rosemary Bacon at 3-SUM Eats!! -
Review from Arnold T.
How could I not try out a restaurant that sounds eerily similar to my favorite movie, Punch Drunk Love? Besides the close name resemblance, there's nothing but sheer coincidence unless I'm missing something.
I wondered why they only opened on Saturday and Sunday's only to find out it's housed in an establishment called Bruno's. I walked right by it before realizing, this was the place. Upon entering, the most notable thing I see on my right was the DJ pushing some head bobbing music. At that moment I knew I wasn't in the Kansas of brunch locales anymore.
The setup is taken from the blueprint of a lounge. Go figure, since Bruno's is a lounge. The bar was on the left, regular table seating on the right, and a long elevated table with bar stool seating extending to the end of the restaurant leads down the middle. Bun and I sat face to face at that long elevated table. Next to the jar of eating utensils was a cup filled with crayons. With alcohol flowing in the air, these crayons weren't for kids. While waiting for our food, I reveled in the big kid in me and doodled away.
For starters we got the mac and cheese spring rolls and their variation of grilled biscuits and gravy. To credit the complexity of the gravy, this is exactly how they describe it: "leek + thyme gravy & Budweiser braised brisket". The spring rolls were crispy on the outside like a spring roll and the smooth gooeyness of the mac and cheese in the middle. Accompanying these spring rolls was a miniature cup of Cholula fondue for dipping or dressing. It was a nice accented exclamation to the rolls. As for our other appetizer, the biscuits and gravy, it can be summed up as very filling. The gravy was very chucky and flavorful. A bite of the grilled biscuits alone was a little dry, but had a nice cohesion when teamed with the gravy.
At this point, Bun and I were already getting full. Being the ultimate troopers, onward we pushed. Our selections were the waffle and the old school style confit pork hash. Sprinkled with pomegranate bits, the simplicity of the pumpkin waffle was a delight. The pork hash was my favorite of the two. The drippy poached eggs really gelled well with the saltiness of the meat, and the vegetables balanced the taste of the plate out. To top things off we also ordered a side of crispy hash cakes. I didn't really like them as they were plain, but I guess you can't hit a home run every time.
We were so full that that we couldn't finish our dessert, and packed it to go. The snak pak was worth the potential extra double chin. Consisting of a homemade twinkie and a whoopie pie, I don't even want to imagine how many calories were in those things.
Brunk Drunk Love serves up some exciting meals with an exuberant environment. Certainly no where near the best, but the food is really good. What sets itself apart is the unique approach. The upbeat music, twists of each entree, and the energetic crowd all contribute to a truly excellent and very different mix.Listed in: Long Live Breakfast and…
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Review from Stephanie T.
San Francisco, CA
3/5/2012
My two favorite items were the grilled biscuits served with a leek and thyme gravy and sausage. The other was the bacon banana bourbon pancake.
This place was amazing, I loved everything I had here. I am sad that it is closed now. I hope that they open up again soon in another location! -
Review from Mike L.
To be honest, I still think it's kind of weird that Brunch Drunk Love is inside Bruno's. Nothing against either of them mind you, just that it's funny to think how the night before, people were here having a great time, drinking the night away. And yet, ten hours later, my friends and I were sitting down for a birthday brunch at possibly the same table and seats as the people who were getting drunk. The city's just funny like that. Or, at least, the Mission I guess...
Our party of ten showed up promptly at 10:30 on a Saturday morning, and it's a good thing we weren't late. While we were able to get seated at our table immediately, the rest of the place filled up fast. No more than 15-20 minutes had passed before a sizable crowd had started to form outside. Crazy.
Since a lot of the starters sounded pretty interesting, some of my friends and I ended up ordering a few to share (hence the pictures of bite sized pieces):
- Mac N Cheese Spring Roll (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) - not bad. I liked the crisp outside and how it wasn't too heavy, but I have to admit they seemed more impressive coming off the 3Sum Eats truck at OTG.
- Sticky Buns (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) - tasted okay, but it was dry in the middle and the glaze on it was too sweet.
- Warm Spiced Brioche Donut (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) - the chocolate-cinnamon sauce was good, but the donut holes were too dense and thick.
- Deviled Eggs (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) - nothing special about it, but it was still pretty decent. Who doesn't love deviled eggs? Yum.
As for my own order, I went with the Little Piggy (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) based on reviews and Yelp buddy Jessica C. Now, don't let the name fool you - it might suggest something small, but it's pretty filling...and tasty. Then again, it's filled with a fried pork cutlet, black forest ham, braised pork shoulder, fried egg, gruyere, and chorizo aioli, so how could it not?
Obviously, the orgy of pork was what made the sandwich so good, but the egg and gruyere made it that much better (http://www.yelp.com/bi...). Honestly, not even sure how to describe how well it all worked together. The housemade English muffin it's served on was pretty good too, but it was a little on the thick side for me (felt more like a biscuit). Not bad, just that I would have preferred something a little lighter. The truffle potato chips, on the other hand, were a miss. Granted it's just a side, but it's not "truffle potato chips" when only a few on top few taste like truffles.
The best of our meal had to be the service though. Although I can't remember his name, our server was really friendly and talkative with us throughout the meal. It's too bad the food couldn't hold up on that end. While the Little Piggy is a great sandwich, the starters weren't that impressive. Ironically, had I only tried the Deviled Eggs, I might have felt a little better about the food.Listed in: Brunch!
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Review from Jessie N.
San Francisco, CA
1/14/2012
If i could give a ZERO star review, I would. This place has HORRIBLE customer service. Just because I have a groupon deal, I should still be treated as a normal customer.
CUSTOMER SERVICE in any industry should be FIRST. I walked into this place not knowing that you HAD to make a reservation if you had a Groupon deal. Once they told me that, I asked if I could make a reservation for another day, they said they we're all booked for people who had Groupon Deals.
YEAH FUCKEN RIGHT... There were plenty of seats by the bar and a couple of tables open, so I didn't understand why they couldn't take a walk-in for 2? They were not being accommodating at all when they clearly had space open to serve a few more parties. They then said I could use the $29 on my next meal or request a refund from Groupon. Mind you the $29 groupon is for a meal that is a $60 value. Basically your using ur $29 as a "gift card" the next time you come. I will be requesting a refund from Groupon, as this is no way you should treat your customers, or how you do business for that matter.
After this, I'd NEVER go here again, groupon or not. Bad customer service leaves an everlasting impression and they will never get a penny from me! -
Review from Adrian L.
Los Altos, CA
1/6/2012
My girlfriend and I came here on a groupon. I'd have to say, the experience was unsatisfying. We ordered tea, biscuits, fried donuts, a waffle, duck hash cakes, and the pumpkin bread pudding.
Tea: The teapot came half-full, and the water was barely warm. Asked for a second pot of tea, which came full and steaming. Not sure what happened the first time around.
Biscuits: I thought the biscuits were far below average. They came lukewarm and the gravy (to me) were pretty flavorless.
Donuts: The fried donuts were pretty tasty. No complaints here.
Waffle: The waffle was tasteless. I've eaten better waffles at my undergraduate dining hall. It didn't help that the maple syrup was some cheap, low quality watered down liquid.
Duck Hash Cakes: Unfortunately, the variety of ingredients which comprised this dish did not complement each other at all. And once again, it was barely warm. This seems to be a trend...
The bread pudding was acceptable. This dish came and tasted fresh. Personally, I feel bread pudding should have an overall moist consistency, but when baking it in a ramekin, the sides lose the desired texture.
Final Thoughts? Over-hyped and way overpriced. Keep on walking, nothing to see here... -
Review from Steffi L.
San Francisco, CA
4/10/2012
Nooo, Brunch Drunk Love closed?! Say it isn't so! I was in love with their mac n' cheese spring rolls. And their butterscotch pudding.
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Review from Carol L.
1/12/2012 1 Check-in Here
Interesting place! Its weird Bruno's is a brunch place during the day...but it works!
Servings are plentiful, service is not too bad. There's a DJ playing music in the corner, and several TVs at the bar. I sat in the middle aisle, so heard music with my ears, but watching NFL with my eyes.
The food here was pretty tasty. The biscuits and gravy was a bit bland, although HUGE. The mac n cheese egg rolls were just ok. I think it would've tasted awesome if they put some corn in it and caramelized onions. Yum! We also got the pumpkin pancakes with bacon. Oh this was my favorite! Also ordered The piggy dish...forgot the real name of it. This was pretty good as well, although it was missing something. Not sure what it was, but it was missing a certain oomph to the dish. The pot de creme dessert was heavenly..and was in a real pot. it was huge!
Fun place to come with friends. I'd consider coming back! -
Review from Emily J.
San Francisco, CA
4/1/2012
BDL packs a powerful wallop with great food, killer cocktails and a fun atmosphere. Getting seated is the only deterrent from making this a 5-star experience, but there's an amazing DJ pulling out throwback jams, so posting up at the bar with a lavender bee's knees isn't so bad. The duck hash cakes blew my mind, but the portions are massive so consider family style.
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Review from John R.
San Francisco, CA
1/15/2012 1 Check-in Here
Good experience, but not quite great.
We came here today to use the groupon before it expired; i've been meaning to try it for a while, glad that the deadline finally got me to come. Having read the instructions, I knew you needed a reservation to use the groupon, and figuring it would be busy with the impending expiration, I called a few days before and had no trouble getting a 1:15 reservation.
We were warmly greeted when we walked in a few minutes early (thanks to some good parking karma!), and were seated at a couple spots at the bar (close to the TV showing the football game!) in about 10 minutes. Servers were busy, but were friendly and efficient; the bartender even chatted with us about football and fiction while mxing!
The food was generally good to very good, but just missed being great. We felt most of the things were just missing a little something to kick them over the top. For example, the mac and cheese spring rolls were very good, but maybe a bit more sharp cheese flavor or a kick from some spice would have made them exceptional The other dishes were similar; nothing at all wrong with them, but just missing that something special. -
Review from Jeff R.
San Francisco, CA
1/21/2012
This place is so full of integrity, great real food, and good real people, that I took my Mom here for her birthday. They treated her right. They treat everyone right. I love this food and I love this place. Comfort food totally is the main course here and it delivers.
Yummy mcgee... hash, some sort of fancy eggs dish, and sticky buns as an appetizer.
Service was good too. My only non complaint is that It was a little distracting seeing Sean Connery being shown on the TV in his fur man bikini. This combined with the odd music, and purple haired hostess put it over the top. Honestly, my mother and I loved this part of it too. Don't change. Keep it going. xoxo -
Review from Alyssa G.
12/5/2011
This place has the kind of brunch that MAKES your day. It doesn't really matter what you're plans are later on, this is pretty much guaranteed to be the highlight.
I came here with some friends on a gorgeous Sunday in the City, we started off with some mimosas. These are not your standard bubbly OJs, these bad boys come fresh and pulpy and with four choices of juice! We had a round of grapefruit-orange and one of pineapple-orange, the former being basically to-die-for. Their ultra- smooth coffee in one hand and a mimosa in the other is not exactly a bad way to begin the day.
At this point we started ordering anything and everything that caught our fancy, and ended up with a FEAST of breakfasty goodness which may or may not have left us nearly comatose. The sticky bun was soft and doused with tasty bits of nuts and syrup, the donut bites were fun especially when dipped in chocolate, and the mac & cheese spring rolls were simply EPIC. Last-meal-on-Earth kind of epic. These were just our starters!
Next came a sweet potato waffle with persimmons and pomegranates on top, and it was incredible. I'll never look at a waffle the same again! We had a cornbeef hash with kale and eggs after that, and this is the kind of dish that really makes you put down your fork and say "Breakfast, where have you been all my life?' The yolks were runny, the bread was toasty, the hash was hot and perfectly cooked, and the whole thing will melt in your mouth as you throw yourself at it with reckless abandon. We followed that up with a fried chicken sandwich, and it was at this point that we realized we could not go on. So badly we wanted the array of breads, the benedict and dessert too, but we knew our limits and left with promises to return.
Oh, we will return. -
Review from Jennifer T.
San Francisco, CA
1/8/2012 1 photo
And on the seventh day... there was BRUNCH!
I love brunch, especially great egg dishes. Brunch Drunk Love hit the mark.
Rating 4 stars - the food and drinks earned a 5, but the uneven service caused me to retract a star.
The location is in a bar, but this is no dark and seedy bar but one with a hint of 60s retro. The atmosphere is enhanced with a DJ who today was mixing mostly 80s pop while she danced at her mixers in the front corner. Very cool.
We arrived at 1 pm without reservations and were seated by 1:45 pm at the long high top communal but uncrowded counter. The hostess appeared to be overworked and disconnected, but she gave the proper priority to those who made advance reservations (don't even attempt to get same day ressies). She didn't appear to be on top of things but I suspect she just approaches her job in a nonchalant manner. I think waiting 45 minutes for a delicious brunch in SF is totally reasonable. Come, get on her list, then chill out and enjoy the scene until your party is called to a table!
The server was charming and we took her excellent recommendations on what to order when we couldn't choose between two dishes. Where the service was uneven related to having to ask twice for my coffee, my friend not getting a water refill after I did, and our donuts arriving after our main dishes arrived (thus it grew cold before we got to it). But we did see our server frequently, plates were cleared timely, water refilled, prompt delivery of the bill.
The food - we ordered the warm spiced brioche donuts (rather the sticky icky bun) and enjoyed the brioche texture - its light crunchy exterior went great with the creamy cardamom cream and the choc-cinnamon dipping sauces. My main was the old school style confit pork hash - a soft-textured pork-potato-onion mash served with the most flavorful dino kale I've ever had plus roasted carrots topped by two perfectly poached eggs whose creamy yolks melted over the hash when pierced. Yum! My friend's tofu-egg scrambled had leeks, feta and a green olive tapenade served with mini potato pancakes (latkes) and a lightly dressed baby arugula salad. The tofu was lightly smoked and added a warm flavor to the egg dish. Both dishes were cooked to perfection with depth of flavors and fresh ingredients. Total bill - $50, and that included 1 starter, two mains, one cocktail and a coffee.
The drink - I had a rich, strong coffee (not sure where sourced) and the MIssion Mary (their bloody mary), which had unique yet spicy flavors of serrano pepper, old bay spices and bacon crumbles. Made me want to try other cocktails on my next visit.
Oh yes, there will be a next visit! So many other dishes to try, especially the seasonal dishes. I hope they quality remains, which may be why the service suffers somewhat and the wait is long. Fine with me when a great brunch is the reward for patience! -
Review from Doris W.
Hayward, CA
12/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
The name of this place sounded catch. However, it was the first that I had heard of it. We found out about this place through a Groupon advertisement. The deal was good for two people so Bunny and I decided to have bunch here.
Reservations had to be made ahead of time if you planned on using a groupon. This was a bit hard because I had called twice and there were multiple rings which led to the answer machine. I looked at the hours and realized that this restaurant was only open on the weekeneds from 9-3. I decide to call and leave a message and to my surprise, someone picks up the phone. I am able to make a reservation.
Driving towards Mission was a challege with all the stop and go traffic. Parking by Brunch Drunk Love was only meters. We had to dig through our wallets and look for loose change in order to feed the parking meters. We were a bit late for our 1:00 reservation, but the hostess let it slide and mentioned that reservations were held for 15 minutes.
Our groupon was good for two appetizers, two entrees and a dessert. After looking through the menu, we decided on Grilled Biscuits with Leek + Thyme Gravy & Budweiser Braised Brisket , Mac & Cheese Spring Rolls with Cholula Fondue, Pumpkin Pancakes with Black Pepper Pecans and Bourbon Bacon Marmalade, Old School Style Confit Pork Hash, and Snak Pak / Whoopie Pie + Housemade Twinkie. We also ordered a side of Hash Cakes.
Our server was nice and friendly. The Grilled Biscuits came out first. They were nice and fresh. The gravy and brisket was tasty. Being unable to take dairy, I only tried a small piece of the spring rolls, but that was enough fo me to enjoy it! Bunny and I split the waffle in half. All of the portions were large and at this point, I was getting full. It already had a sweet taste to the point that I forgot I didn't put syrup on it. The waffle was filling. Next came the pork hash and side of hash cakes. The pork hash was good and I enjoyed the meat. I would have liked it more if I hadn't been so full. We had the option of taking our dessert to go and decided to do that since we were stuffed.
I would come back here again. Probably the next time, Bunny and I will take public transportation to avoid constant trips back and forth to the car to feed the meter. -
Review from Sandy L.
12/5/2011 1 Check-in Here
We bought the Groupon for brunch for 2 and the place was not as great as the reviews describe. I'm really really shocked how many people come here for brunch on the weekend. Are they here because they bought the Groupon or is it REALLY that poppin??
We ordered 2 appetizers, the sticky bun and house made breads, the sweet potato waffle and the old school hash and the whoopie pie for dessert... all was just MEH/Ok. The prices are on the higher side so I was expecting food on the finer side and what we got was diner food. If you're going to pay $9 appetizers, and $12-15 entrees, please give quality! The food came out only luke warm, greasy and just not very appetizing. No extraordinary flavors.
Looks like the majority of people are coming here for a mid-morning drink so perhaps you should go with the intention of having equally as many drinks as food? -
Review from Laura H.
12/23/2011
Sorry Ryan to be critical, but in SF you are facing some stiff drunk brunch competition. I'll start with the goods: I loved Ryan on Top Chef, Bruno's did a great job to make this place pleasant considering what goes down here at night and the menu sounds delicious.
We were a party of 7, and although I had reservations, we unfortunately weren't seated until 45 minutes later. I tried the bloody mary, and for me it didn't hit the spot. It was probably the heaviest bloody mary I have had. I love bacon in everything, but I don't know if bacon is incorporated in the best way to accentuate the drink.
Seven plates out, and my duck hash was super cold. I also got to try the BLT which was really good with the tomato jam, but again soggy/wet that it made it hard to eat like a sandwich.
The place is super loud, so it's hard to have any conversations than besides with the person right next to you. -
Review from Tasha D.
San Francisco, CA
3/13/2012 1 Check-in Here
So, the space is fun (converted bar into restaurant for the day), the waitresses were nice, and the food was tasty, but it was ridiculously heavy, to the point I probably won't go back. If you are looking for an amazing gut bomb of a brunch, you can do no better, but I usually want something a little lighter.
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Review from Miray V.
San Francisco, CA
3/17/2012
I was excited to go here with my friends but when we arrived today at 11:15am they were not open. Im I missing something? There was no notice on the website that they might be closed ect. WTF? We went to Luna Park...
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Review from Barbara M.
San Francisco, CA
1/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
The food was really good! Very fancy-fusion-overpriced-kind, but well done!
The service was nice but not very on-the-ball and the place is not cheap at all!
But if money isn't one of your concerns it is definitely worth a try. -
Review from Terry C.
12/18/2011 4 photos
I'm a fan of Ryan Scott's 3 SUM truck so I was excited to finally try Brunch Drunk Love.
We were told the wait would be 35-45 minutes at around 1pm on a Sunday, but the wait turned out to be closer to 60-90 minutes! There were empty tables but not enough staff to clean them.
Anyhow, i still give it 4 stars because i really liked the food.
My friend got the $29 groupon deal which includes 2 starters, a pancake or waffle dish, an entree and a dessert. It's definitely way too much food for 2 people.
We started with the deviled eggs and sticky bun and they were both delicious. The sticky bun is sweet but the nuts and salted caramel gave it a nice balance and the sticky bun also had a nice crisp on the outside. Onto the griddle...we got the sweet potato waffles. It was good, but a bit bland, it definitely needed the butter and/or the syrup. For our entree, we got the little piggy and it was delicious - sausage, ham, braised pork shoulder w/ a fried egg, cheese and aioli. it's perfect to split because of all the meat. We managed to stuffed our face with the butterscotch pudding and it definitely put us over the food coma. However, the butterscotch pudding was delicious. It was sweet but tasty. -
Review from Tim W.
San Francisco, CA
12/30/2011
The woman who was supposed to be keeping track of the seating list spent a *lot* of time cleaning tables and was rarely up in the front. Two possibly THREE couples who came in AFTER us got seated BEFORE us. This is absolutely infuriating after waiting 45 minutes for seating.
The people who run this place need to go to San Tung in the Sunset and watch their whiteboard process for an hour to see how much better it works than a paper list being carried around by an overworked hostess whose attention is further divided by a bitch waitress yelling at her and dirty tables that must be cleaned to make way for new customers.
Once seated, we got the sticky bun. WOW. That was worth the wait. Order it with coffee.
We ordered a carafe of pineapple mimosa. They were on the bland side.
The waffle was boring. The pumpkin pancakes were fabulous.
Piggy thing was very tasty. I wish I had ordered that instead of the pork hash, which came at the recommendation of the waitress. That pork hash had the delicious flavor of meat, but the unappealing consistency of something pulled out of the grease trap and then unevenly frapped in a blender. Yuck. (though, on a piece of toast the next morning with a poached egg on top? faaaaaaaabulous! best leftover EVER)
We were too full for dessert so we got the whoopie pie and homemade twinkie to go instead of the signature dishes that the waitress recommended. The twinkie was kinda boring - just a cake with cream filling. The whoopee pie was *very* good. The cream inside was substantial and flavorful.
Minus one whole whole star for the seating situation. I really despise being forced to sit in close proximity to other couples, in effect sharing the table. We lucked out by sharing the space across with a nice couple who were also there on a groupon ticket. Still, small-talk is awkward when you are trying to eat. It's also distracting from the food.
Two stars from me. Cavet Groupon. -
Review from Jessica C.
San Francisco, CA
Not exactly the most lovely place to eat brunch because it IS inside a darkened bar/lounge (Bruno's), but the name beckoned to me, as did the Top Chef essence. We ended up ordering lunch food, which was fine with me! I really wanted to order the Sticky Bun because it looked SO sweet and large and decadent...but we refrained...
Mmmm the Shroom Burger...a five-cheese stuffed portobello mushroom breaded and deep fried, with sprouts, thousand island and a brioche bun. The jack, swiss, cheddar, provolone, and mozzarella ooze out of the portobello and crisp breading when you bite into it, so yummy. The only thing I didn't like about it was the brioche bun - it was dry and firm.
The Little Piggy sandwich was pig upon pig upon pig, loosely piled in between the densest, most delicious homemade English Muffin. You be the judge, if you are ready for pork katsu + ham + shredded pork + a fried egg + cheese + aioli + amazing English Muffin.
Was disappointed that they only had shoestring fries -- and by shoestring fries here, think WISPY little potato chip shreds. They were extremely hard to eat because I couldn't even get past the first step of picking them up, they kept breaking and shattering everywhere. And finally when I was able to get ahold of some and attempted to dip them in ketchup, they got sucked into the ketchup from being too tiny. So frustrating! I like mini things but these were just not cool. Real fries please!! -
Review from Erika C.
I used my Groupon (paid $29 for a deal that gets you two appetizers, one "From the Griddle" brunch entree, one breakfast or sandwich entree, one dessert, and two cups of coffee, tea, or juice) to check this place out. Slick deal for what we got.
All in all, an above average brunch place. After a while, all brunch places sort of taste the same. BDL holds its own with other similar brunch spots. This is more like 3.5 stars for taste...rounded up for not having to wait and for good service.
If you watched Top Chef, you probably weren't super excited to try Ryan Scott's food. I have to say though, while he didn't compete well on the show, at least he got himself on the show. The kind of food he's doing with 3-Sum Eats and Brunch Drunk Love seems to fit him well and SF loves places like this.
Here's the rundown:
1. deviled eggs with bacon, chives & paprika $5
Probably the best tasting dish of the meal. Nothing crazy, just a solid deviled egg. I would've preferred chopped chives instead a long one sticking out like a parasitic fungi. Note to self: stop watching BBC nature documentaries.
2. grilled biscuits with leek + thyme gravy & Budweiser braised brisket $9
Definitely wouldn't order this again. The biscuit was above average. The gravy didn't taste bad, it just tasted like a more refined condensed cream of mushroom. The brisket was also okay. Nothing wrong with this dish, just didn't have me reaching for seconds.
3. pumpkin pancakes with black pepper pecans and bourbon bacon marmalade $13
This is a dense pancake. I like mine fluffy. I really liked the pecans and the bacon was good. I was disappointed that they were no longer serving the banana bourbon pancakes. Oh well. You snooze, you lose. Also wouldn't order this again (or maybe in the first place if it wasn't part of the groupon deal...).
4. old school style confit pork hash $15.50
One poached egg was perfectly cooked (runny yolk when broken) and the other was cooked medium. Not very good QC. The chili braised kale was gross; it was sour in a weird, unpleasant way. We pushed this aside. Grilled bread and black garlic hollandaise were really good. I kept going back for this dish.
5. butterscotch pudding with thyme and pine nut shortbread cookie $7
I'm glad the meal ended on a good note! I don't normally like butterscotch OR pudding, but I didn't like the other menu options either so we went with this at the waiter's recommendation. It was really good, especially the cookies. Great with coffee. -
Review from Ali B.
San Francisco, CA
1/21/2012
My groupon for this place expired but they still let me use it, which was super great.
The atmosphere was ok, service was...ok...
Food was very good.
Three housemade breads appetizer: involved a cinnamon type muffin, savory cheese pepper bread, and a mashed sweet potatoe surrounded by phyllo type thing. First two were great and not sure why the last one counted as a "bread"...
Sweet potato waffle: too dry/hard. It tasted like it was made the day before, frozen and reheated...wouldn't get again.
Salmon "crab" cakes with crispy kale and poached eggs: Superb! Really great. The cakes were held together well, crispy and had great flavor especially combined with the egg.
OH and the coffee was good, too!
I will definitely go back again and try more of their savory dishes. -
Review from Jenny L.
12/13/2011
Using the groupon for $29, we got a ton of mediocre food for brunch. This bland meal started off with mac and cheese spring rolls and uncooked spiced cinnamon donuts with custard and chocolate sauces. The pumpkin pancakes with pomegranates were tasty and fluffy. Moreover, the little piggy sandwich was tasty with the aioli, but the bread was too thick and stale. Finally, the butterscotch bread pudding was sweet and nicely balanced by the whip cream and shortbread cookie.
Service was fast, friendly and helpful. The ambiance and decor is like that of a swanky bar with hooks below the tables to hang bags and jackets in order to maximize seating. Parking can be tough on the streets, but it's convenient for public transit. -
Review from Wendy S.
11/23/2011
My boyfriend, friend, and I were looking for a place to have brunch on Sunday. This place (with a "hipster" ambiance according to Yelp) showed up as a nearby brunch place, and so I put on my plaid shirt and skinny jeans and decided to give this place a try.
Transit: DEFINITELY take public transportation to the area if you can! I thought that parking might be okay since it was a rainy Sunday, and who wants to go out for brunch a rainy Sunday, right? Wrong. Circling around for parking took a good 20-30 minutes.
Location: Brunch Drunk Love is a pop-up restaurant that is located right on the corner of 19th street in a bar called Bruno's, which can be kind of confusing. Look for Bruno's NOT Brunch Drunk Love (side note: What is it with all of these pop ups popping up everywhere lately? It's so confusing trying to find a place that's housed in another venue!).
Seating and service: Seating is okay. We got seated in 20 minutes for Sunday brunch with no reservation. In the meantime, it's fun to hang out and listen to the DJ (who was playing some remixes of some awesomely 80s-tastic music) and sit in the lounge area in the back. After we got seated, we were promptly served by a server whom I can only describe as fabulous. He was awesome: warm, personable, and fun.
Drinks: I would not get the drinks again. They weren't really worth it in terms of flavor, but I will say that they are decently strong (I felt a little tipsy after one drink, which is saying something). We got the following:
-War Pig: It looked interesting on the menu (bacon-washed bourbon?), but it was overpowered by maple and bitters, and the only flavor the bacon imparted on the drink was smoke (rather than savory, salt, or pork).
-Grandpa's Lemonade: This was okay. I liked the tarragon taste in my lemonade.
And of course, most importantly, the Food. We got the following:
From "Munchies + Bites":
-Mac and cheese spring rolls: Mreh. Sometimes I love mac and cheese and sometimes I don't. This dish didn't do it for me. The mac and cheese was kind of lumpy and didn't really taste like anything, and I thought the spring roll wrapper was thick and masked the taste of the fondue dipping sauce. The sauce itself was good, but you couldn't really taste it when you dipped the spring roll in it. I think maybe some bacon or more spice could have helped this dish.
-Warm spiced brioche donuts with cardamom custard and cinnamon chocolate dipping sauces: GET THIS. These were so heavenly!! Sweet, but not overly so -- I think the spices in the donuts and in the dipping sauces helped add a different flavor other than "sweet." The donuts were PERFECT warm fluffy balls of deliciousness, and both of the dipping sauces were so tasty.
From "Legs + Eggs + Fins":
-Duck hash cakes: I tasted a bite of this dish. It was really good! I loved the flavor of the duck with the hash and the succotash.
-Salmon cakes: Very tasty. My only complaint is that it was a little mushy and had way too much kale. I don't like kale very much since it's extremely bitter, and honestly, I obviously don't care about the health properties of kale if I'm eating salmon cakes with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce on top. The egg was wonderfully poached, and the salmon was delicious.
From "Between the Bun":
-The little piggy: Also very yummy. Full of delicious pork flavor. Also, you can get a side of truffle oil potato chips, which were thin, lightly crispy, and topped with chopped parsley (I think?), crumbled cheese (parmesan? pecorino?) and truffle oil. Yum.
From "On the Sweet Side":
-Snak pak with a whoopie pie and housemade twinkie: Cute idea, kind of failed on execution. Both cakes were too dense. The fillings were interesting though. I think the whoopie pie filling had cinnamon or cardamom in it. I wouldn't get this again.
The check: One more note I have to make about this place is that they give you your checks in these awesomely terrible books (mainly romance novels although I also saw a Hannah Montana book floating around). As I mentioned before, I was a little tipsy after my drink and so I started reading random passages out loud from the steamy romance novel that our check came in. I was extremely amused by the story of DEA agent Cage Murdock (and his irresistible, icy blue eyes and his dark secrets) and Hayley Stewart. A pretty awesome way to end a good brunch, I would say! -
Review from Missy B.
San Francisco, CA
10/15/2011
I am so saddened and embarrassed that it has taken me this long to big up Brunch Drunk Love.
For what it's worth, BDL, all of my narrow friend base and half my coworkers in this town have all heard about how rad you are, but I haven't professed my undying love to all these strangers since I fell in love with you and for that I am so ashamed..
SO..
I decided to do a little surprise party there for my boyfriend. Had about a week to get ready.. A call to them to see if I could reserve a table for 20 for brunch and the next thing I know, we are in a private (really gorgeous) room before a spread of food so fantastic that I'm still hearing about it a month later... Pastries on every table, Cocktails ("punch") by the carafe.. THE most amazing spread of fruit and roasted pepper-goat-cheese scrambled eggs.. Drippy mountain of sticky buns.. The rosemary bacon.. good lord.. thoughtful, thorough and unobtrusive service.. So worth every dime.. Which reminds me..
For me, the planner and my poor moth-ridden wallet, maybe the best part was the shockingly reasonable flat rate. Everyone knows in advance what the bill comes to after tip and tax before they arrive. All of the good parts of a birthday dinner with all of your best friends without any of the weird bill business.
I am so stoked to have found these guys. Best surprise ever. (Word to the wicked.. NOBODY expects surprise brunch. :) -
Review from Adolfo L.
10/16/2011
The name is not representative of the experience. Brunch was a good concept but just not that good, Drunk was a definite focus and did deliver, Love was not so evident as service was slow and during one visit we had a 30 minute gap between our starters and entrees.
Brunch. The concept of all the dishes ere exiting and interesting. From the Old School Style Duck Confit Hash to the Little Piggy Sandwich which combines a fried pork cutlet, black forest ham, braised pork shoulder, fried egg, and Gruyere all in one sando was all intriguing. Sadly both dishes were too salty and the pork cutlet in the Piggy was more like a hockey puck. All the other dishes lacked balance with dishes being overly salty, too bland and dry, or just too heavy. I must say the Deviled Eggs were a hit with a nice profile of paprika, truffle oil, topped off with a nibble of bacon.
Drunk. Mission Mary was a winner with the spicy bite of Serrano pepper and then topped with crumbled bacon (do you see the trend yet?). Pork and alcohol? Genius!!! The other drinks were great too. So BDL did deliver on the "D."
Love. Service was fair, but it seemed a bit under-staffed and scattered. 30 minutes between our Deviled Eggs and our entrees was a bummer, so no "Love."
All in all, I'd say you have to try this place at least once. And maybe twice just to have the Mission Mary again. But there are much better brunch options in the city such as Mission Beach Cafe, Zazie, Eats, Park Chow, and even the buffet at Park Chalet. -
Review from Andy W.
Went earlier today with a Groupon and was turned away since we didn't have a reservation. The place was almost empty and clearly can accommodate the 2 of us. Especially when they told us "you are welcome to join us for brunch if you don't use your Groupon."
I can't believe we were treated like second class citizens just because we had a Groupon. I totally loss respect for them and Ryan Scott.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/31/2011
The food and service at BDL was great. I just wish they were not as expensive, had bottomless… Read more »
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Review from Fancypants X.
San Francisco, CA
9/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
Brunch Drunk Love--it's the only reason to be at Bruno's in broad daylight. I was predisposed to love this all day (10am-4pm) weekend brunch. It's the brainchild of the 3Sum Eats chef & given my 5-star rating of his mobile eats, I knew I'd get Brunch Drunk Love on his midmorning menu.
At 10:30 am, the front area was already 99% full. The front door 'gal' asked if we'd called ahead & since we hadn't, we were banished to the back room, which was not well lit (I'm confused, are we at the club or brunch?!) We squeezed tightly next to other parties & the minicsule tables barely held our glasses & plates. Pee-Wee's Playhouse played on the TV (on mute) while a mix of rap & rock provided the soundtrack to our meal.
We ordered:
- deviled eggs ($5): topped with chives & a little bacon. Very tasty. I highly recommend, especially since the food truck runs out of this item quickly.
- bdlt for me ($14): housemade bacon, tomato jam, aioli, cheese (which I didn't eat), & lettuce on sourdough. Too big to eat comfortably in the space provided; use your fork & knife!
- pork hash for BFF ($15) which he liked
Food was brought out right away once we ordered but our waitresses were so obviously flustered & weren't sure which table ordered what. Didn't negatively affect our meal, but you've been warned--it may be a while before your order is taken. Fortunately, the flavors are worth the wait. -
Review from Dan M.
San Francisco, CA
10/16/2011
Focus seems to be more on "drunk" than Brunch or Love cause the service sucked as bad as the food and atmosphere. I won't get in to the details... It's not worth it.
::overall::
Perhaps a better "hipster kids" bar than restaurant... Or was that just the Groupon hoard result??? -
Review from B. Y.
San Francisco, CA
12/19/2011
Really a 3.5 - 4 stars for food/service and 3 stars for ambience.
We went with a Groupon, and based on the other Yelp reviews, we made sure to make a reservation and to say we were going to use the Groupon.
The place was packed when we got there, and it's super loud. It also looks on the inside the way you may expect from the outside - kind of kitschy and old.
We had the deviled eggs (good but a tad salty), doughnut holes (amazing), sweet potato waffles (just the right amount of sweet/salt with good combo of crunch and chew), and the duck hash cakes (also tasty but a bit over salty). We were too full to get dessert so we took home the snak pak (red velvet moon pie and pumpkin twinkie - they were delicious later). -
Review from Rachel G.
Located in a not so great area. From the street this is Bruno's Lounge. During the day it's Brunch Drunk Love and at night it's a lounge. The place is small, in the center is a long bar table with stools and on the right is a few booth tables and on the left is the bar with seating. They direct you to the lounge area in the back until they are ready to seat you. It's cool...black comfy couches and a little mood lighting. They sat us at the bar, which was ok not like there was a better seat in the house. Service was good.
Here's what we ordered....
DRINKS
Mission Mary $9 (HIGHLY RECOMMEND)
MUNCHIES+BITES
Sticky icky bun $5.5 (HIGHLY RECOMMEND)
ENTRÉE
Benedict $14 (RECOMMEND...MEAT WAS AWESOME)
Shroom Burger $13 (DO NOT RECOMMEND...YUCKY!!) -
Review from Mayra L.
11/20/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I fell head over heels for Brunch Drunk Love this Saturday.
Last time I tried to get in for 6 people, they told me it was going to be 1 1/2 hr so we decided to skip it. But I finally got to try it this weekend and it. was. AMAZING!!!
First of all the set up. BDL is posted up in Brunos (which I had never been to before). They had quirky murals on the ceilings and a ton of comfy cushioned seats. There was a DJ playing a cool mix of oldies and 50s music and the waiters were all super friendly and helpful.
We started off with the mac and cheese egg rolls which were freakin delicious. seriously. I'm a gal who loves deep fried things as well as cheese and pasta soooo this was basically the best thing i've ever tasted in my life.
After getting over the amazingness of the mac and cheese egg rolls, I went for the pumpkin pancakes while my friend got the market scramble. The pancakes were magnificent. They came with bourbon maple syrup and a bacon marmalade spread. The Market Scramble was really good as well. The green olive tapenade added an extra zing too the scramble.
Overall, the whole experience (setting, music, waiters, food, drinks) was basically the best Brunch I've ever had. Def. coming back and bringing friends as well! -
Review from Samuel F.
San Francisco, CA
1/8/2012
Went to BDL with the folks after purchasing a coupon on groupon.
Our relationship with BDL started out on the wrong foot. We had made reservations at 1 PM and arrived promptly on time, but the understaffed service had us standing for about a half-hour. A vacant table was 10 feet away from us during the entire wait.
I am glad we were patient because after we were seated our experience improved tremendously. The food was fantastic! We shared the donuts, and sticky bun as an appetizer. I enjoyed their take on the BLT (called BDLT), which was plenty of food for an entree (I was stuffed afterwards). The Butterscotch pudding we shared for dessert was also very good, but not as good as the rest of the meal.
Our entrees arrived at different points during our meal, and the waitress was hard to get a hold of. She was very busy.
What normally would be a 4 1/2 - 5 star experience, was unfortunately effected by really spotty and inconsistent (but cheery, they were cheery) service. Seems like a problem that could be fixed by adding a few more waiters. Until they make that adjustment I'd say the experience was too expensive to repeat. -
Review from Lu E.
11/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
me like.
I had a Groupon which definitely led to food overload. But it was a great day...of course maybe the company had something to do with it, but I was in hog heaven.
We had a carafe of pineapple mimosas...which were really quite lovely.
For our starters we had the sticky bun and the mac and cheese spring rolls. I really liked the sticky bun--the mac and cheese spring roll was good, but I felt so over indulgent.
for our mains we had he bacon, banana pancake and the huevos verdes--both were tasty.
our dessert was a cereal panna cotta. Unfortunately I was so stuffed that I didn't get to enjoy this--i tried to bring it home and it didn't survive the journey... I had one bite before i packed it up, and i was a little disappointed.
If we didn't have the Groupon, we wouldn't have eaten as much, but I am glad I did. I thought the food was good but I like to keep places where I get hammered and places where I eat breakfast as separate entities. If i can get past that, I would return.
