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Cafe For All Seasons
Category: Restaurants Breakfast & Brunch Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
150 W Portal AveSan Francisco, CA 94127
Neighborhood: West Portal
(415) 665-0900
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Mon-Thu, Sun 5 pm - 9 pm
Fri-Sat 5 pm - 9:30 pm
Sat 10 am - 2:30 pm
Sun 9 am - 2:30 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Brunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Dogs Allowed:
- No
103 reviews for Cafe For All Seasons
Review Highlights
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"The free muffins and jam don't hurt either." In 7 reviews -
"Also a great place to go with your folks." In 3 reviews -
"...suggest to try their Mexican salad and Crab Salad which..." In 4 reviews
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103 reviews in English
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Review from Sarah L.
Daly City, CA
5/22/2012
Cute little brunch place. Dont expect anything too fancy. The complimentary muffins are good. I had the waffle with fresh fruit. It had a nice orange hint to it. The boyfriend had some breakfast scramble with chorizo. Tasty but again nothing special. They keep the coffee coming though.
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Review from Arielle K.
San Francisco, CA
5/6/2012
really peculiar experience. the two stars are because the muffins were pretty good as well as the toast. Yeah, I love me some baked/toasted goods. Anyway, get there 20 minutes before breakfast/lunch is done, and yes, I felt guilty we came right around closing but it was the only place open in west portal, so I had to. We get seated quickly and we are served these cinnamon muffins that are delicious. My boyfriend is *deathly* allergic to nuts so we always play it safe and ask if any products contain peanuts. The servers were pretty rude about it, had to ask two separate servers before I actually got an answer, then the chef says there's nutmeg. Me, not being the biggest cook, decides to see if nuts are actually in nutmeg. The Internet proves that nutmeg is only a spice and does not contain peanuts, and it's generally okay to consume if you have a tree nut allergy. Relieved that my boyfriend could eat the muffins, peeved because the chef wasn't aware that nutmeg is JUST a spice. Good one, yo!
We get our food and the eggs taste like dish washing soap, and my boyfriend said his cup of water tasted similar. Needless to say, we didn't leave happy. -
Review from Jack W.
El Sobrante, CA
3/25/2012
Had brunch here this morning, very interesting. Seated right away, good coffee. Wait staff was a little scattered but they were busy...I had an omelet that came with Capellini pasta in it of all things. The Muffins and jam were off the chain though.
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Review from Chung L.
San Francisco, CA
3/4/2012
This is my favorite place to have brunch :) it's in a nice area for Sunday brunch with muffins with jam and butter right when you walk through the door. It's homey and the food is great. I love getting the Eggs Benedict.
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Review from Tracey A.
San Anselmo, CA
8/23/2011
Years ago this was the go-to spot for those in the fog of West Portal and beyond. The owners produced sparklingly fresh food gems from a menu full of luscious salads, omelets, and more. The cooking, attention to detail, and high-quality ingredients made the place a destination for reliably delicious food at a reasonable price.
The restaurant, sold in 2006, now produces food that's reminiscent of the pre-2006 era: The interior looks similar, the menu looks similar, even the free, muffins provided pre-meal look similar, but something is amiss. The food quality and tastiness has significantly diminished. They're either beginning with less perfect ingredients, less talented chefs or, I suspect, a combination of the two.
My omelet lacked inspiration and distinct savory tastes. Ditto for the accompanying potatoes which were just uninteresting.
If nothing else in the neighborhood catches your eye, the food here is still okay. Sorry to report though, this is no longer a destination spot. -
Review from Owa S.
Portland, ME
10/24/2011
This a great place for brunch.
Real straight-up kind of food.
Had a delicious veggy omelet. -
Review from Alexander L.
San Francisco, CA
7/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
I went here for brunch. The cinnamon muffins with jam and butter were good. I ordered the special waffle. The waffle was topped with a bunch of sliced strawberries and bananas with whipped cream. I liked the waffle a lot. I though the service was good. They refilled my coffee often.
There was plenty of street parking. -
Review from HeartBeat Radio F. M.
Berkeley, CA
7/28/2011
I can't really speak fully for the overall restaurant experience, as I am a vegetarian and there weren't many veg options on the menu. However, my date and I shared the community salad bowl and several small vegetarian side dishes which were all quite delicious and hit the spot on a summer evening.
The "community salad bowl" was supposed to serve four, but we polished it off easily between the two of us. Ingredients were fresh and flavorful--sweet baby lettuces, juicy, deep red tomatoes, olives so delicious they must have been imported from Europe, and a dressing that was perfectly light and elegant. We also nibbled on a couple of apps, including a small dish of seasoned cannellini beans with toast points and fresh tomatoes, olives, and onions drizzled with balsamic vinegar. For a seemingly light and uneventful vegetarian meal, I was surprised at how fresh and flavorful everything tasted.
I took two stars off for price (perhaps the meat and fish dishes are worth the extra buck, but one shouldn't charge quite so much for vegetables) and lack of vegetarian options. I almost took a point off for awkward and goofy wait staff, but then remembered that this only added to the entertainment of the evening. -
Review from Gabrielle G.
Daly City, CA
3/31/2012
The entire time I felt clausterphobic since all the tables are way to close together from other guests. Additionally, their "mimosas" are a quarter champagne and the rest is diluted by OJ (a rip off). Never going back.
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Review from Midge A.
San Francisco, CA
6/2/2011
UPDATE 6/30/11: The Cafe closed on 5/26/11, supposedly for kitchen remodeling, but reopened a month later. There is now a sign in the window saying "Help Wanted," so most likely some of the former staff has left.
This West Portal standby, which for several years was one of the Chronicle's Top 100 restaurants, has been struggling in recent years. Yet the Cafe still had a small but loyal following. We have been going there regularly for nearly 25 years, ever since we moved to the neighborhood, and we have enjoyed taking friends and family there, too.
It's true that the quality of the food declined a bit after the original owners, Frank and Donna Katzl, sold the Cafe. For example, their hamburgers, while still excellent, are no longer listed on the menu as coming from Niman Ranch. There have been some other small economies such as less grated cheese on the pasta and frozen fries instead of fresh. Even the wonderful Chocolate Bruno Espresso Tart hasn't been the same. It is now served minus the chocolate-covered espresso beans. Their salads are still first-rate. Despite the small economies here and there we have always been satisfied with the food and service at the Cafe and were sad when it suddenly closed with no notice. We're glad it's back. -
Review from Noemi P.
San Francisco, CA
3/15/2011
My boyfriend and I spend most of our time in West Portal. While we continue our "regular" status at Suki Sushi and Mozzarella di Bufala for dinner, we try to eat at different cafes and restaurants for breakfast. We decided on Cafe for all Seasons for breakfast.
We know most places are a hit or miss, and there are plenty of hits in West Portal, but Cafe for All Seasons was a definite miss.
Their selection was very limited. My boyfriend wanted a plain waffle, but they said, "only what's on the menu," and he had to settle for the orange waffle which he didn't enjoy too much. I asked for egg substitute for my spinach/mushroom omelette, but our waitress claimed, "we have no substitute." Even the smallest eatery has egg substitute. I craved an omelette, so I decided to forgo the substitution. BIG mistake. The omelette looked as bad as it smelled. Seriously, it had an odor. I could only stomach a small amount of it and just ate the potatoes instead. I ended up having stomach problems an hour later.
The coffee was so/so. It could have been better. And who serves hot chocolate sans whipped cream? In a water glass? It burned to the touch.
The service was terrible. Our waitress was just a bag of wet hair. No personality, and she had that "why am I working on a Sunday" attitude. She literally dropped the plates before us and walked away never asking if we were doing okay. We had to ask the busboy for a coffee refill and glasses of water.
The bottom of the menu reads: Good quality takes time. I totally get that. It SHOULD take time, but there was only a span of 5 minutes between taking our order and getting our plates. Rate of quality for food and service should be ZERO. Unfortunately, I have to give at least one star.
A Cafe for All Seasons? A more appropriate name should be a Cafe for NO Seasons. Never again will we patronize this business.
Hopefully this thorough review answers those 5-star raters' question about, "Why the poor rating?I don't understand the one star ratings." -
Review from Kevin S.
Tacoma, WA
11/19/2011
Paid in cash and told the server to keep the change. Accidently left $10 out of the rest of the tip. Would have appreciated a kind comment on the servers return, like "Here's your $3 change". I always tip 20% and would have honestly appreciated knowing my error. But thIs server SLAMMED the plastic folder down on the table and yelled, "HERE'S YOUR CHANGE!" and created the biggest scene. Totally ruined a wonderful meal. Everything was perfect up to that point. Well, nobody I know will ever go there again.
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Review from KSL K.
San Francisco, CA
10/18/2011
Just goes from bad to worse. Walked in at 7pm with just one other table. Bland burger, told the waiter and he just muffled something and walked off.
Plenty of other places to have a $16 burger that is actually cooked to temperature. Medium rare does not mean burnt rubber.
I'm done. -
Review from Suzette Q.
San Francisco, CA
3/11/2012
I went here for brunch and it was very bad. The "homemade muffins" are not home made, or they are from a mix. They taste like they are from Costco. The jam did look home-made. The amount of butter served with the muffin was minuscule. I ordered the bacon, avocado and jack omelette. It was horrible. The eggs were overcooked and had no flavor. The potatoes were passable. It did not come with toast, so I ordered toast, which really seemed to annoy my server. I also ordered an orange juice, but only after I specifically asked if it really was fresh-squeezed right there. The server said it was, but it clearly wasn't. The vibe here is deadening. The older staff act as if they are serving time in jail. The younger staff were better. But the food is just junk.
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Review from Trevor H.
San Francisco, CA
7/13/2011
5 stars. I really can't believe all the negative reviews here. My family has been coming here for years and it is fantastic. I just had a fabulous dinner with my parents tonight. Excellent service, great food. I really couldn't believe the place wasn't full.
For those who are concerned by the negative reviews posted here, don't be. The family and staff that run the place are incredibly friendly and the food is fantastic. If you need a menu recommendation, I had the romaine and Gouda salad, and then grilled salmon with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Each was wonderful. -
Review from rob m.
San Francisco, CA
2/27/2011
After we watched a movie at the Empire we strolled in here for the first time to get some dinner. The place still had their Valentine decorations on with balloons and everything considering 2 weeks had already passed. The decor and layout heavily reminded me of Hobee's diner. The service was very attentive and my water was refilled nearly instantly every time it reached a quarter of the way down.
Regarding food, we ordered the two pastas, Pasta with Tomato and the Pasta with Vegetables. If i ever come back i'd go with the Pasta with Tomato - that sauce with basil...mmm.
Regarding the bathroom, it needs attention. Wash your hands and touch door knobs with napkins. Hopefully this doesn't reflect their kitchen's cleanliness. -
Review from Wendy F.
San Francisco, CA
12/28/2010
My husband and I ordered TOGO and we LOVED our food. It is difficult to see all the poor reviews on this place....
I ordered the portebello mushroom and corn/carrot sandwich on a french bagette and side salad. It was a delicious and surprisingly filling vegetarian lunch. I thought the mushroom was seasoned and cooked just right and balanced really well with the sweetness of the carrots and corn.
Ken ordered the shrimp and bacon sandwich with fries because he asked the host what was the best sandwich to get. I ended up eating most of his fries and took a bite of his sandwich. Who can go wrong with such a lovely combo? The shrimp had a nice spicy bite to it and went well with the saltiness of the bacon.
This place kept me wanting to eat more even after I was so stuffed! I couldn't get enough and cannot wait to come back for these two sandwiches, and hopefully to try more items on the menu! -
Review from Jill B.
Santa Rosa, CA
3/4/2011
After reading several of these reviews, I am so sad about all of the negativity, I am offering an extra star, simply for the injustice that is occurring around here.
I have spent many-a-meal in this joint solely because my previous employer took me out to LUNCH daily, so my review is based on that meal-time.
Located in West Portal we were happy to have this place in the neighborhood. Oddly enough, despite their ever-changing daily menu, my go-to was their deliciously filling and fresh, and giant hamburger. Their fries were made fresh, from potatoes not from the freezer! Everything here is fresh, which is why they get 2 of these stars. The burger comes packed with veggies and served on a delicious, toasted french roll. They always have a selection if beautiful sandwiches. And, a fourth star goes to their garlic mayo, which is accompanied with any order of fries. This stuff is AMAZING. If they bottled it, it would be a pantry item in my house.
Let me reiterate,everything is fresh!! This is no simple feat in San Francisco, where cheap and affordable trumps fresh in many restaurants. Their salads and pasta dishes are giant! They come loaded with everything on top of fresh romaine. Their Cesar is delicious, and if you have the extra bucks, add the chicken! Their soups are ever-changing from cream of mushroom to potato leek to clam chowder. They also have delicious polenta paired with fresh vegetables. Add a fresh iced-tea to any of their meals, and you have a happy belly, lemme assure you.
My last star goes to the service. They are mostly Spanish speaking, but that does not mean ANYTHING different than if they were Russian or Tagalog speaking. They are prompt and courteous and look very presentable. Now, I just need to get over there for more breakfast...... I miss living in SF! -
Review from Drue C.
San Francisco, CA
2/11/2007
I wanted to give this place the benefit of the doubt. After several visits which were, essentially, the same exact experience, I can't.
The breakfast is fine. Standard breakfast foods, tasty enough. Really yummy free muffins and homemade jam. The coffee is pretty bad, the bacon is very good.
The service is god awful!! I mean, really really bad. And not just this once.....it has been horrific the last three times I have gone. I had to ask 3 people for a refill for my soda, two people for a straw, they gave us grief for asking for an extra muffin and the person who took our money, finally, actually had the nerve to ask if we needed change (as if they were going to get a 30% tip).
Not going back...three strikes and you are out. -
Review from Austin L.
San Francisco, CA
11/17/2008
Living in Forest Hill it's great to have the cafe nearby. I only come here for weekend brunch so that's all I can speak to. The brunch, however, is fantastic. Eggs benedict on French bread with a lemony hollandaise is magical. The special waffle is great. Polenta - great. Overall, very few disappointments on the menu. I was definitely not a fan of the gouda salad - although everyone else seemed to be ordering the hell out of it.
Oh, and the crowd tends to be a bit on the senior side - so long as you don't mind this is a great place for weekend brunch! The free muffins and jam don't hurt either! -
Review from Peter M.
San Francisco, CA
10/4/2008
West Portal has that reputation as a sleepy neighborhood full of little old lady businesses and the end of the tunnel for the M train. There are some hidden gems in this foggy hollow in San Francisco. One of our favorites is Cafe for All Seasons. It has been around for 30 years and has great, consistent comfort food with a San Franciscan/Italian fare. Great food, reasonable prices, pleasant, eclectic atmosphere and "real" instead of the "flash" you get at edgy-trendy-open-for-fifteen-minutes-gone-forever places.
We had one of the best bistro burgers in all of San Francisco! Wonderful grilled french bread sandwiches a generous half pound Niman-Schell burger you can crown with Irish Bacon, numerous cheeses, pickles you'd swear are house cured, secret sauce and get a generous haystack of steak fries and shoestring fries. We could barely finish it, and in fact half of it came home 'cause its too good to leave behind!
We started with a San Francisco classic, a romaine salad with homemade green goddess dressing, walnuts and piled high with shredded roomkaas gouda, big enough to split, a classic petrale sole came next, my dining partner had the awsome burger, and then we ordered a butterscotch banana pudding with caramel sauce and whipped cream. I hate banana stuff because of the phony banana flavor 2nd graders prize, but I almost stole my friend's entire dessert! I didn't because I finally found a French Bavarois in a pool of raspberry sauce like the ones I had in Paris.
The restaurant has a decent wine list, no surprises, but solid offerings, and enough beer to satisfy all but the most esoteric trappist monk sandal wearing I'd-brew-this-at-home-if-it-wouldn't-explode beermeisters. A great place to go after a movie, or want a quite place on a rainy day.
There are few comfort food restaurants that are comfortable or have decent food and when you get the bill at these places, you feel like you could have better spent the money at Safeway for a month of groceries. At Cafe For All Seasons, two people can overeat happily for under a hundred dollars including tip and wine, and that's just fine for us!
This place is a gem! Don't Miss! -
Review from Mark W.
San Francisco, CA
4/14/2010
I'm really surprised at all the bad reviews but I'll be unbiased and give my own opinion. This is actually one of my favorite brunch spots. Many people have complained about the service but I really have not experienced it. They've been efficient and come around for coffee refills and no complaints whatsoever.
The way I can tell this place is good for me is that I will actually want to come here once in a while and I'm not really a big breakfast person.
The things I really like are their coffee. I really, really like their coffee and this is actually probably the biggest draw for me. I think the brand they use is something called Mokarabia Coffee. Can't say 100% but I think it is. I really hate breakfast places with bad coffee. A total turnoff. Then, they always come out with muffins and jam to start your brunch and then the breakfast potatoes are also very good. Those are the 3 big draws but the main food is also very good too. They use peppered bacon that is pretty meaty and their omelettes and eggs are very tasty.
All in all, it is a bit more expensive then your normal mom and pop breakfast place but this place is more your "upscale" brunch spot. But then again, most nicer brunch spots will cost about the same as what you would pay here. Many even more expensive than here. I'd say their breakfast plates range from $11 to $13, the coffee is about $2.50.
Haven't been here for dinner before so I can't give an opinion on that but definitely give it a try for brunch if you can. You may get addicted to their coffee, muffins and breakfast potatoes too and make it one of your regular brunch jaunts as well....Listed in: Parkside - Sunset | SF.CA, Top Restaurants = 5 STARS
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Review from L. Renee D.
San Francisco, CA
8/9/2008
One of the RUDEST restaurant staffs I've ever encountered....
My friend and I stopped in there just to get some dessert after having dinner at a different place on west portal. First off, when we walked in, nobody greeted us for a few minutes and we know they noticed us because they were all looking at us. Finally, when the old haggard-looking host approached us, he had such a sour look on his face that I was tempted to just say Forget it, we're outta here. What an ASSHOLE! But I really wanted some dessert so I just went with it, asshole host and all.....
First of all, this place looks really lame inside. It looks like it should be called Grandma's Country Kitchen. And the dessert we ordered was pretty bad. We both got the apple cake which was so dried out, I had to force myself to finish it all. Usually when it comes to dessert I never have this problem. Oh, and our waitress was super unfriendly. At least the bus boy had a smile on his face. You know a restaurant's customer service is pretty bad when the bus boy is the friendliest person there.
I'll never go back to this place. I'm also going to talk mad shit about it to whomever will listen. Yup, I'm pretty much determined to ruin their business. ;-) -
Review from Jennifer N.
Walnut Creek, CA
11/21/2010
I had never been in the West Portal area before and wound up wandering around here yesterday. It was around 1 and I was really craving brunch. My boyfriend and I passed some other places but they didn't seem too crowded. Cafe for All Seasons was pretty jumping, which was a good sign...soooo we stopped in.
I thought it was very friendly service. The homemade jam was amazing-not sure if they bottle it up and sell, but they should! The accompanying muffins were just alright- but smothered in the jam, they were just fine.
I ordered the spinach mushroom omelette which was very good-everything seemed fresh. The potatoes were awesome too-they were crispy on the outside and seasoned just right. My boyfriend got an omelette too-something with ham in it but he requested to substitute it for chicken, which they were happy to do.
Our server was efficient and friendly. We really enjoyed our brunch. The interior is plain but clean and cozy. We heard some others around us tell the server they'd see him next week-so it seems like a place that is favorite neighborhood spot.
I have to admit, though, it was a little pricey. Our total bill came to $30 with tax and tip-a bit more than i had planned on spending for lunch/brunch, but it was a good experience, -
Review from umeboshi l.
San Francisco, CA
12/25/2007
I agree with many of yelpers here about Cafe for All Season. The food is decent...BUT...the host... HE NEEDS TO GO!!!
I reserved a table for 5 people yesterday and unfortunately 3 people had to cancel at the last minute due to work schedule or colds.
THE HOST gave my a snotty remark saying "You should have called us ahead of time to let us know. The seating gets very tight" Well dude if I had known ahead of time I would have called. Plus, the hour and a half that we were there the restaurant DID NOT fill up.
Jeez. Please hire a new host. -
Review from Ani C.
3/30/2010
Wow, 2.5 stars only??!!! I'm very surprised. These are some hard-to-please yelpers. We've eaten here for years, and the food is good!!! It's not 5 star, but its not terrible! Service varies, but the food is definitely very good!!
Breakfasts are great and they give you a basket of fresh baked bread and muffins with divine homemade jams! RReeeeeally delicious! And they have great fresh-squeezed OJ too. I've had dinner here many times too. It's a bit pricey for where it is, but the food is good. NOT a 2 star place! Although some of the wait staff reallly do suck... (for lack of a better word)
Food- 4stars
Service- 2 stars
Price/Value -2 stars
Overall 3 stars.... and trust me, I'm an ELITE :)) -
Review from Gina T.
San Francisco, CA
12/19/2010
A bad hangover and a bad brunch: insult to injury.
We dipped into Cafe for All Seasons when in search of nothing more than a standard issue diner; our expectations were low and were still not met. The fresh squeezed orange juice was excellent but not enough to mitigate an otherwise underwhelming meal.
The fried potatoes + spinach omelet were marginal at best. My sister ordered a country omelet which had ham, sour cream + spaghetti (WTF). I was hysterically laughing when I saw the spaghetti- like worms crawling out of what would have been typical ham + eggs. I called over the waitress and asked if it was supposed to be that way and indifferently she said, "oh yes that's not a good omelet, you shouldn't have ordered that." Well thanks for the forewarning ma'am. She offered no apology or replacement dish so I gulped my watery coffee and left a miserly tip on our $40+ meal for two. Next time you're miserably hungover and hungry opt for the crappy food at Denny's for a fraction of the price. -
Review from Christine C.
San Francisco, CA
11/23/2008
The 3 stars are for the complimentary muffins and jam which are melt-in-your-mouth-yummy. The lack of 2 stars is for the high pricing and lack of flavor in food.
We ordered a vegetarian pasta once and it was more like angel hair pasta in vegetable broth with a couple of steamed veggies. ugh.
We also ordered a Bay Shrimp salad with house vinagrette. It was only mediocre. I had to order extra avocado just to make this salad taste good. I basically had avocado with house vinagrette.
Had a seafood chowder once which was decent.
The prices are just kinda high for "decent". -
Review from Greg M.
San Francisco, CA
4/3/2008
My wife and I have been eating at Cafe for All Seasons for 20+ years. A fe w years ago I would have given it 5-stars. But with the ownership change the overall quality has gone down. Yes, some of the "old" staff is still there, but the new staff doesn't seem to really understand what made the cafe such a good place to go.
Only a long-time customer would recognize the changes they have made in food preparation and service. Still a good place to go, but it used to be better. -
Review from chris l.
San Francisco, CA
12/28/2010
I really don't understand at all the horrible reviews. The service was fast and very friendly. Now this place my favorite place is actually one of the best restaurant.
Wondering at the diner, i ve read some few articles from SF Chronicles that the restaurant is voted to be one of the top 100 restaurants in Bay Area and even lieutenant governor sent them a personal letter.
I was amazed how tasty their salad and i really really suggest to try their Mexican salad and Crab Salad which were fantastic.
Price was really reasonable for one of the top 100 restaurants in bay area and the food was just great.
I will go there again... and i really really don't understand about the bad reviews here..... -
Review from Denise Q.
7/6/2008
I am told that since ownership changed hands, the quality of the food changed. While I won't say the food is the best I have ever had, it was definitely above average.
The three of us ordered the following: a cheese and bacon burger, egg white omelette with bacon, avocado, and cheese (me), and the breakfast sandwich (sausage, bacon, eggs, potatos and toast).......all the two orders that the other two placed were definitely better than mine, I guess that shows me for trying to go healthy with the egg white substitution. The burger was pretty good,and the fries were average. My BF loved the breakfast special he had, and said it was the best he'd had in a long time. Me, while the avocado and bacon and cheese go well together, with the egg whites, it was not the most flavorful. My bad for not getting normal eggs.
Anyway, it took awhile for the food to come out, but they make up for it with poppyseed muffins, jam and butter while you wait. That does the job. -
Review from Bella B.
4/29/2009
Went there today and had the mushroom soup (meh) and the shrimp salad. The service is decent but the food is just ok. I probably won't go there again but it was good for a 1 time run. The bread is fresh and was really tasty. My main complaint was that not even 2hrs later I was hungry!
Blah -
Review from Thia T.
San Francisco, CA
10/24/2010
It was pouring rain and we wanted to try a new brunch. I did not understand why this place was almost empty while the place next door had a line out the door. I mean, from the outside, it looks quite pleasant and inviting.
Again, the rain helped us render our decision, go where we can get dry and warm. It was a nice start, we were greeted inside by the hostess who was also our waitress. Menus and a plate of muffins with jam was served. From our menus, we found out that it was homemade. It tasted homemade, but we found the muffins bland and raspberry jam not sweet at all.
My friends and I oall ordered something different. I got the fresh fish with a baby greens and red potatoes. The fish was grilled to a burnt taste on the skin, so of course, it did not help in the flavor. I found some that pieces of the salad was old, and discolored but I found out later because the fish was on top of it. Warm fish on a salad? No thanks. It was messy plating and it was a goods thing I got my dressing on the side because I do not want to add that to my fish. My friend ordered a waffle with fresh strawberries and bananas. Again, messy plating. Nothing special. Prices a little high for the taste of the food.
The waitress rushed us a bit. I mean, we have half our food left and she kept coming around to ask if she could take our plates. What she should have done was see how the food was and if we needed anything else. It was not like it was a busy crowded restaurant and they needed to clear tables for the nextgroup of diners.
So definitely not returning. Not with places in the area where prices and flavor are more satisfying. -
Review from Sophia C.
San Francisco, CA
4/6/2008
The only memorable thing at this place is the apple cake and they changed it. It is no longer a decadent amazing piece of heaven.
It is a boring dried up piece of crap. ehh. Seasons change , people change...=( -
Review from Kris Q.
Washington, DC
7/26/2009
It's a bit pricey for what it is. The atmosphere is really casual but not cozy at all.
I had the daily special: a jambalaya over orzo. (Whoever invented orzo was a total a-hole. Taking noodles from the Orient wasn't enough, they had to make rice-shaped pasta too?) It was just shrimp with bacon bits and such, but decent.
Desserts: we had the daily special of I think it was an apple cake and the coffee tart. Both were better than expected, as was the coffee.
We only came here because we had a gift certificate - probably won't be back until another one comes along. -
Review from Jay B.
San Francisco, CA
11/26/2008
Pros: Fresh ingredients, fair portions, good basics, adequate wait staff(though a bit slow) Its better than most breakfast places I've been to.
Cons: Gariatric/childrens hospital cafeteria decor and/or patrons, music or lack of. a.k.a. in need of an ambiance adjustment. -
Review from Herb C.
San Francisco, CA
12/11/2008
This place used to be perfect, I swear. Damn economy! Maybe the ownership change is to blame, but I still pop in bc I want to believe the magic is not entirely gone. The dishes are still great, but as the other reviews indicate, they often miss a step or two. Geesh, they used to churn their own butter, fuggetaboutit!
They serve lunch and or dinner, but I only come here for b-fast/brunch.
Lemon Waffle with Mixed Fruit (lite, fruit used to be better)
Lemon Butter Trout (crispy delite)
Country Omelet (capellini, ham, tomato, sour cream + taters)
Shrimp/Crab Louie
Niman Ranch Burger
Sadly, I did have a Minority-On-Minority Racist Moment: a bedraggled hostess tried to seat me *and*my*mOMs* all the way in the back, right next to the kitchen prep bar / silverware caddies / smells - iN an EmPty rEstAurant!!!
Not being (tolerant of or) accustomed to such treatment, i just laughed and pointed out that if we needed silverware, why we could just reach over and get it ourselves. and then i politely made her get us a "party of 2 with full civil rights" table with my broadest, smuggest, smile :)) lol thanks, hermana!
Moral of the story: go ahead and charge me $12 for a salad, even $14, fine, but a bad economy is not an excuse to slip on the non-economic things like service and etiquette. it's baffling, restaurants are cutting back, worried about $$ yet still scaring away paying customers with unchecked employee badditude. wtf, i can't act like that at *my* job ...
News Flash: this ain't the tech boom, that was the 90's. folks who like to eat things like herbed creme fraiche and capered salmon croquettes can ALWAYS go some where else, and will. those are the fundamentals, guys. Please give me back my restaurant! -
Review from nathan r.
7/18/2008
It's an average cafe in a rather average location. I tried the crab salad sandwich- nothing to write home about. They overpopulated our table with fries- which were par for the course. I tried my F-i-L's trout- not bad actually. The service is- whatever. The place is good for kids though...
I'm not stoked on the decor- the funky "country decor" (things you'd find in a country knick-knack store) doesn't mix well with the black and white checkered tile- kind of like putting a little pe el in your paris...not a great mix.
Good wine selection though- had a tasty Pinot Noir. -
Review from Nanette L.
San Francisco, CA
6/21/2007
This is my favorite neighborhood brunch place. It is pleasant, casual, clean, and non-threatening. If you get here after 11:30am on Sunday, there's usually a line of customers waiting. My other utterly sinful vice is an affliction for crisp, wood-smoked bacon, which is totally an artery choke-up. The muffins are fresh, flavorful, hot, out-of-the-oven good and the bacon is crispy and not greasy or under-cooked.
There is meter and residential parking near this restaurant. -
Review from Hugh B.
San Francisco, CA
2/27/2007
There may still be a reason or two to dine at Cafe For All Seasons, but I'm done with the place. The old West Portal warhorse is known mostly as a Sunday brunch spot, but my experiences lately have been exclusively dinners.
The menu is old and tired, with little imagination being used towards either ingredients or preparation. Worse, somebody in the backroom with a spreadsheet got the brilliant idea that to offset lower revenues from declining patronage the restaurant could simply raise prices without improving the food. The results of this are such offerings a mediocre side caesar salad, which looks and tastes like something you'd put together yourself at an all-you-can-eat salad bar, but goes for $9, a basic chicken and vegetable pasta combo for $16, and a dollop of crab salad on a Costco-style bun for $17.
Service started out OK, as there was hardly anyone in the place to serve. Unfortunately, our server got so caught up in a personal conversation that she forgot all about us, leaving the bus boy to handle our check.
Farewell Cafe For All Seasons. Thanks for the memories, and we'll try to forget the bad times of our final days.
