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Cafe La Taza
Categories: Food Coffee & Tea Restaurants Latin American Restaurants Mexican Coffee & Tea, Latin American, Mexican [Edit]
2475 Mission St(between 20th St & 21st St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Neighborhood: Mission
(415) 824-7717
Announcement
New Location 4230 18th st. SF
Come check out our new location on 4230 18th st., cross street Diamond, only two blocks away!
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 6 am - 8 pm
Sat 7 am - 8 pm
Sun 7 am - 6 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Breakfast
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
148 reviews for Cafe La Taza
Review Highlights
"Friendly staff, affordable made-to-order sandwhiches."
(in 10 reviews)
"...drinks I usually get a hot chocolate or a Mexican mocha and..."
(in 4 reviews)
"The California Chicken Sandwich is HUGE."
(in 6 reviews)
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148 reviews in English
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Review from Brian D.
San Francisco, CA
1/26/2012
Stopped in on Thursday January 26th, 2012 - around 9:30 AM after walking down Mission looking for a fairly crowded restaurant and this was it.
Decided to go with the Greek Scramble for $9.50 - it was overflowing with potatoes, scrambled eggs with various greek items included feta cheese, and sourdough toast. I have quite filled when leaving.I also got a Red-Bull and Snapple Iced-Tea as well and it was $14.25 out the door including the Greek Scramble- which I felt was a good price.
Overall atmosphere was energetic for early in the morning - lots of people hanging around drinking coffee - seemed to be a fairly familiar group. -
Review from Valerie N.
San Francisco, CA
9/17/2011
my friend was raving about this place since she's been coming here everyday.
this place is quite big and staffs here are alright. came here with my friends for snack and coffee fix. ordered their fish taco that comes with a salad. chai tea with soy. their fish taco was alright, salad was pretty good. my chai tea was a little too water down. overall, food is alright, nothing too wow about it. -
Review from Noel C.
San Francisco, CA
9/5/2011
Castro - if you are going to open a restaurant in the Castro - please don't staff it with homophobic waiters.
On a recent visit, the waiter leaned over me to speak to my table mate (which was rude to begin with but necessitated by the incredibly cramped quarters upstairs) He asked him "would you prefer green or black tea" and both of us started laughing. Now it would be very difficult to explain why that was funny to us as it goes back to another incident from our past as friends.
While I understand that the waiter was probably confused by us laughing, his reaction was to turn to me and accuse of looking at his butt and having a lecherous laugh at his expense. I was pretty mortified as the people at the next table start looking over at me like I'm some sort of rapist.
If you are so paranoid about being around gay people that you are going to intrepret two people laughing as some kind of attempted rape, then really you do not belong as a waiter in the Castro.
Tired of people coming into out neighborhood to make money off the gays and then treating us like garbage. Not cool, not ok.
I still love La Taza in the Mission, but the one in the Castro is sub-standard and I won't be back. -
Review from Dominique R.
Berkeley, CA
1/20/2012
Cafe La Taza makes a great traditional Cappuccino. I sometimes appreciate decedent foam art at some of the more hipster establishments but when it comes to my Cappuccinos I like your standard foam, espresso and a splash of milk. Thanks for making this happen for me La Taza.
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Review from Dylan S.
San Francisco, CA
1/6/2012
High volume rushing envelopment, OK kinda place to grab quick lunch or coffee
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Review from Sonia M.
6/21/2011 2 photos
3.5 stars. The main dishes are fine, salad sides are better, the prices are good, the service is friendly and fast... And yep, that's about it.
Maybe as a cafe (strictly a coffee, tea, and pastries kind of cafe) the place is better, but we ordered sit-down food, and we weren't really won over.
Salmon sandwich (http://www.yelp.com/bi...): A "well-done" piece of salmon in between bread, with lettuce, onion, and tomato. Forgettable. The side salad was big and tasty, though.
Fish tacos (http://www.yelp.com/bi...): Better... The fish was more flavorful than the salmon and there was a generous dollop of guacamole on top of each taco. Also, the cabbage salad was very good. The tacos tasted more American-style than Mexican though, which is surprising, because you'd expect a place in the middle of the Mission, with a Spanish-speaking staff, to nail the tacos on the authenticity front. Oh well! -
Review from Jason B.
Updated - 8/6/2011
Tale of two Taza parfaits.
Castro: Already made in a cup. Guy at the register said it was made with regular plain yogurt. Didn't look appetizing.
Mission: Made fresh. Lady at the register checked the yogurt and said it was lowfat vanilla. Bowl was overflowing and only $4. Very appetizing.
Mission wins. I find myself saying that a lot.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/15/2010
I'm sure you remember Carl's Jr. $6 burger campaign. Something about a massively delicious burger… Read more »
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Review from Kealie G.
6/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
I ordered a carnival salad with chicken on my way the east bay because it was too hot for a burrito. Chicken was dry and chewy and hot when put on salad which made the lettuce wilty. Their other salad ingredients weren't that fresh and the salad had so much raw garlic in it, I had to buy a tin of mints to get rid of the taste!
They did have good iced tea, and it would be nice place to work. I'll go back, I just won't order a salad. -
Review from Alejandro S.
San Francisco, CA
3/30/2011
I came here at 2pm with a desire for breakfast and a place to eat in that wouldn't be overwhelming. I got the two-two-two:
-2 eggs over easy
-2 pieces of bacon
-2 pancakes (I chose blueberry)
Topped it with a large oj. Everything was done very well and staff was friendly and efficient. I'll be coming back here. -
Review from Meredith B.
San Francisco, CA
6/24/2011
I got a super-yummy mexican mocha on a cold day. It was the perfect thing to warm my frosty little hands. I didn't even drink it all on the way home because I wasn't hungry for it, but stuck it in the fridge and drank it the next day. Still just as tasty :)
The only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is because the girl who served me was not very kind. I couldn't hear what she said when she asked, "with cream or milk?" so I said no whipped cream, since that's what I through she asked. She then gave me this attitude like I was ruining her day or something by making her speak twice....
I'm sure with a little more love the mocha would have been even tastier, but for now I'm happy. Soon I want to try their breakfast! -
Review from R V.
Oakland, CA
5/5/2011 3 Check-ins Here
LOVE the soy mexican hot chocolates I get here!!!
Plus they have a wide variety of food to choose from, my favorite is their breakfast selection. Also their hot diced potatoes are really delicious, which usually come with your breakfast entree.
The weather is nice, the people are sweet, and the food is good. -
Review from Desire M.
Daly City, CA
2/18/2011
I love this place... I used to come every day but I have to agree with some yelpers that the service isn't always great so unfortunately I have had to find some other places who value my business a little more. My week isn't complete without a trip though!
The hot chocolate is good as long as they add enough milk but the real treat is the whip cream it is to die for!!!!!!! I love the croissants very buttery fluff with just the right amount of crumble. Breakfast is great... my fav the two egg breakfast is 5 bucks! I also vouch for the pancakes and french toast. The potatoes are amazing but be careful cause different chefs sometimes make them differently so be prepared....
This isn't Starbucks they cant get your order right every time and they don't have the bigbox money to keep chicken and steak fresh everyday so beware with those items... I do just fine ordering its a matter of understanding the cafe and trying to make things easier for the Spanish speaking staff and your visit with be good. As far as complaints go they don't handle them well but maybe instead of putting them on the defensive and wasting food take out the items you don't want and have them offer you something extra in return cause they will accommodate in some ways.
The salads are fresh and are usually full and amazing... sandwiches are good but like I said stay away from chicken and steak... I made the mistake once but that is my only complaint... sandwich meats are fine... fish is great and fresh.... fruit is fresh.... cheese has never had mold on it... they do pretty well for how busy they are and the staff having language barriers.
This isnt a corporation so any threats or yelling wont get you very far.... maybe a personal email to the owner/manager is required to handle complaints but when stuff happens to me its usually not catastrophic and I have been able to get something worked out with the staff. -
Review from gene x.
San Francisco, CA
Breakfast Burrito review only! So I was gonna try the breakfast burrito at La Oaxaqueña but they weren't open so I rode further down Mission and decided to try out Cafe La Taza's. The breakfast burritos here are really more of a breakfast wrap than burrito so for that reason I'm going to lower my rating since it wasn't quite the same thing. It tasted fine but if you are craving a breakfast burrito then this might not hit the spot. The place is pretty nice though with a lot of seating and polite staff as well.
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Review from Yeipi J.
Crawfordsville, IN
Not cheap but good stuff and good service!
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Review from Arthur Z.
San Ramon, CA
11/1/2010
Very Disappointed with the Food & Service after reading all the reviews and seeing the 4 star rating on yelp. This was one of the places outta the entertainment book I got as a gift so we went to check it out as today was the last day for the bogo coupon.
After ordering things from the menu which were way cheaper, a sandwich & a spinach salad we we're told that we had to order from the Entrees; totally stupid as the bogo value was much higher against the entrees than against a $4 spinach salad. Then we were told that it could be anything from the sandwiches and entrees, then later they said we could order the spinach salad if we added salmon to it. WTF??... of course at this point my girlfriend was like "Order 2 things you like, I don't care" then she
Finally decided to order the Chicken Quesidillas.
I ended up ordering the Tuna Melt only after being toolld the rye bread did not have rye seeds in it, which was completely false and I HATE rye seeds even though I like the taste of rye bread.
Well they brought us the chicken quesidillas after 10 minutes and completely forgot my Tuna Melt. After inquiring I was told they bring it to me in 5 minutes. So after 25 minutes I finally got my sandwich was mediocre at best. Same for the Quesidillas which my girlfriend only had a few bites of.
Very disappointing and I will surely be checking my credit card statement as they kept my credit card receipt and I wouldn't be surprised if they try to charge me for the full cost and/or add their own tip to the bill.
I will never return to this place nor any other of their other locations in the city. There are tons of places which are way better, so there's no need to get such poor food and poor service as my money is better spent elsewhere at one of the hundreds of places in the area.
If there was a 0 star rating I would give it to this place but I suppose I'll have to stick with a 1 along with this review. -
Review from Claire T.
Spring Valley, CA
6/11/2011
This place smells amazing as soon as you walk in the door. Everyone who works here is really friendly. The food and drinks are fairly priced. We ordered chilaquiles with green sauce and its amazing I haven't had a dish this fantastic since I was in Mexico. They are doing a fantastic job. Eat here!.
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Review from Melissa B.
Oakland, CA
6/21/2010 2 Check-ins Here
A friend of mine took me here and I'm so glad to have been introduced! A lunch place in the Mission that has nice hearty salads that's not a hipster cafe. I like those too, but this is a great, welcome change of pace. The employees are all really sweet.
It's Latin all the way, with a mix of clients you will find only in the Mission; little grandmas and babies, business men, and sassy Latina's on their lunch break from around the area. I guess in this case I would be a neighborhood office hack, eating lunch and reading a book by myself. Hey, I like to do that!
I am a creature of habit, so I pretty much always order the same thing! Besides my beloved salad, I also like their coffee drinks.
You order at the counter and take a number to your table. Usually plenty of seating, some by the window, some more in the rear of the Cafe. They will bring you a rolled up napkin with silverware, wipe off your table, and set down a little paper place mat. Since they usually have high turnover, sometimes they don't get a chance to do this before you grab a table. You can ask for water when you order.
I usually get a spinach salad with hard boiled egg, bacon, and blue cheese. The salad comes with bread an butter, too. I consider the prices very fair, even though I try not to fill up on bread and butter, it's a nice touch. Sometimes I will get chicken added, but the chicken can be pretty dry.
It's not always consistent, they have different chefs, of course, and sometimes its got too much dressing, or a random amount of grilled onions on top, no thanks! That's why I don't dispense 5 stars. It's good, but it's not 5 star good. -
Review from Stephanie W.
Arlington, VA
4/30/2010
I don't know what I was expecting from a long lunch at Cafe la Taza. I came to read a book and have a hot lunch while taking a break between in school tutoring at Mission High and after school tutoring at 826 Valencia.
The inside was full of dark wood and rectangular 4-top tables spread out around the restaurant. The service was helpful, though the lunch menu seemed a bit overpriced (all sandwiches were about 7.50 and up). I ordered a BLTA with fries and a hot coffee for $10.
I can say that I enjoyed the atmosphere of the cafe, but I was not impressed with the food. The BLTA was standard, on wheat bread with light mayo. The avocado was perfectly ripe and the tomatoes were just coming into season. The fries, however, were lukewarm.
I must way that the coffee and the service were both exceptional. The waitress even brought a placemat to my table and my coffee was steaming hot and really good for house coffee. I can't explain it, but it was perfectly roasted and just dark enough for light cream.
I did like that I could sit at my window table for 3 hours with a good book. I liked that there seemed to be a constant stream of regulars heading to the restaurant and I liked that the coffee was exceptional for reasonably priced house coffee. However, perhaps I made a poor choice and the breakfast is where I should set my sights in the future. -
Review from Megha S.
San Francisco, CA
8/18/2010
After walking through the hood and not so oddly encountering a lot of not so sane people (I am a psychotherapy magnet, what can I say), I arrived at this hella homey place that serves up the bombass Mexican hot chocolate along with a *lot* of love. The cashier man was really sweet and smiley, and this is one of the places where you feel really nourished, knowing that your food comes from and is made with a lot of love. He remembered my name, and hand delivered my really cheap veggie bagel (complete with sprouts, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cream cheese) sandwich along with the Mexican hot chocolate, which was divine (one of the best in the Mission - Cafe Que Tal has got the chocolate going on too).
As I settled into my laptop writing meeting minutes, I looked up and happened to randomly make eye contact with the peeps sitting next to me, who struck up an interesting conversation. I love that this place is non hipstery and more genuine in its welcome for the larger community and familia. This place is closer to Mission & 24th, so that makes sense - one feels a real difference and transition into what the Mission used to be before its gentrification took root and spread.
I didn't get any weird looks (but lots of curious questions) when I started to do my art journal writing, and busted out the pastels to draw in the journal (another requirement of grad school). I had so much fun, and the best part was that the man behind the counter shared a simple and very sweet smile saying adios y gracias as I left. This place is full of a lot of love. Go experience it. :) -
Review from f z.
San Francisco, CA
8/21/2011
Don't go here.
I just had the worst breakfast in my life. The bread smelled like fish - really weird. The potatoes were undercooked yet soggy. The cheese in the scramble doesn't taste like cheese.
It's too bad because the baked goods looked good.... -
Review from sarah d.
San Francisco, CA
3/16/2011
Utterly disappointed with food as well as service.
I came here for an early dinner last Sunday with a girlfriend. I had a gift certificate from http://Restaurant.com and decided to use it for dinner with my friend. It's a go up to the counter to order your food, pay and then sit down and wait for it place. So I gave the guy/cashier my gift cert and he looked at it like it was from outer space. I was like "okay, can we order?" He's like "woa whoa... wait a minute.." (looking at the gift cert and me with suspicion. are you freakin' serious? "let me read this carefully first" [so I make sure you pay me exactly or more than what this saids] grrr.. no only was I embarrassed to stand at the counter waiting for him to read the gift cert, my friend was looking at me like "did you counterfeit that gift cert?"
I seriously just wanted to eat next store now, at the taqueria. So after about 5 mins of waiting for him to read my gift cert, he's like "okay, so it saids here that you have to buy $20 worth of food and get $10 off.." I'm like "yea, I know that, I've read it before I came." Then he chuckles and said, "this also saids you have to tip for our services,... hahahah..so you have to tip!" I then looked at my friend and I looked back and him and consider grabbing the gift cert from his hands, crumbling it and throwing it in his four-eyed face (I have a vivid imagination), but I don't. So I said "haha.. that's really funny." After we ordered, he got jittery, like he didn't know how much to charge so he said "okay so the total is $22.. oh wait, so you have to pay this much minus $10... oh wait, let me make sure" and looks at the gift cert again. Jesus f*ckin' Christ! Are you serious? I've had it. Finally he charged the correct amount and it was uncomfortable from there on.
We ended up eating there but my food was not good. I had the carne asada with veggies and potatoes and my gf had the grilled chicken salad. Her salad looks good except the grill chicken looks like the scrapes of someone else's full breast, it was not much chicken. My meat was cooked only partly rare, which is how I ordered it, but since it was cut unevenly it was cooked unevenly. My veggies were totally from a frozen bag, the carrots were chewy and typical of bagged veggies. The only good part about my plate was the potatoes.
While we waited for our food, the guy who took our order kept staring and watching us. It was the most uncomfortable I've ever felt at a low end "restaurant"/cafe. I'll never come here again. And I'd say if you're thinking about it, just go next door to the taqueria! my other gf ate there and her $3.50 taco looked soooo much more delicious and comfortable than my $13 plate of disaster.
Oh, here's to the owner: if you don't want to take gift certs, don't sign up for them with http://restaurant.com. It obviously didn't do you any good. -
Review from Hassan I.
San Francisco, CA
8/13/2010
One of the best cafe's in the city. I can't start my day without having my White mocha there. the people work there are very nice and friendly. Believe me, if you try this place once, you won't be going to Starbucks again.
They also serve very good quality sandwiches and salads. -
Review from Ben S.
San Francisco, CA
7/27/2010
Plunging a hand into the light lunch, value-eats bin I pull out Cafe La Taza. Greeted with smiles by the counter ladies, I peer up at the salads. I've had the Southwestern Chicken Salad before but I recall how it's too large for a light lunch. So I peel off a $5 bill, order the small Carnival Salad. Why not? Sounds festive. No meat. Maybe I'll regret that. The counter girl's painted lips slip into a smile as if I uttered some secret password and she hands me a number. My food arrives in about 5 minutes. It's teasing my eyeballs, looking like confetti and the stringy stuff they glue to pinatas.
I take my time, creating the perfect forkful. The citrus dressing brightens the greens. The carmelized walnut adds crunch and before my body does it's reflexive shiver at the tart lettuce, a hunk of sweet date rescues my taste buds. The satisfying fat from shredded cheese folds in with the other flavors and I let my molars work the bite a little longer than my throat wants.
"Hey. HEY. This is pretty good", I think to myself, surprised at my reaction to dates and raisins in a salad. It didn't need chicken to make it satisfying after all.
La Taza is a good place for lunch under $10. Mostly free of scenesters, I have no trouble finding a table. The only trouble here is looking away from the deserts. I'll be back to try the Thai Chicken Salad when I'm more hungry. -
Review from Jo H.
San Francisco, CA
7/25/2011
This is the friendliest coffee/cafe place in the mission if you have a baby - being a new Mon and shoving a massive stroller round the streets is work and these guys are so friendly - even the customers help out by moving to help me sit and relax - even if it's only for a few minutes! I have only ever had coffee - made with milk and it's lovely.
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Review from carlos a.
8/25/2008
I could have another $10 salad in the FiDi, but while my office is amongst the suits I am a quick BART ride away from the Mission.
My omnivore dilemma is quickly solved by a sub-$10 carne asada plate at La Taza. La Taza's decor is quite nice and is frequented by both latinos and other folks.
Their carne asad plate is accompanied by rice and salad an is quite tasty. It isn't the best I have ever had in my life but is quite good and a great substitute for the usual burrito or taco. -
Review from R M.
San Francisco, CA
5/23/2007
Cafe La Taza: The Restaurant
Cafe La Taza is a colorful Mission respite from the packed hipster brunch choices, the taqueria breakfasts or the dirty windowed diners on mission street. Its a place where one in search of pancakes with extra syrup or a cafe au lait will find them.
Cafe La Taza: The Coffee Section
You would actually be surprised at how few coffee shops there are in the heart of the mission. If pressed, my closest options for coffee are on Valencia and 16th- which is ok but, like I've said in a previous review the clientele is Squiffy; another option is Ritual coffee roasters ---not a welcoming crowd, of course I'm no activist or pro-bono lawyer. Of the three I prefer La Taza--- Its eclectic in clientele and offers stuff I like. Lets face it when having coffee 'on site' the clientele plays as big a role as the quality of coffee. -
Review from Randy F.
San Francisco, CA
4/12/2008
Knock knock, all you places that serve lunch and breakfast......it's Cafe La Taza, here to kick your ass.
I had the salmon sandwich on my first visit. For $7 and some change, my salmon sandwich was too much food, and I was given choice of salad or fries to go alongside the scrumptious sandwich. I was feeling healthy that day....I took the salad.
I haven't tried the coffee, but the food service is pretty damn good...and the place was packed, which is always a good sign.Listed in: Mission and Bernal Faves, My Favorite Diners
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Review from G K.
San Francisco, CA
12/9/2008
Decent place, more of a local Hispanic crowd, with some hipsters and yuppies sprinkled in
Fairly broad menu, with Mexican influences but not 1 sided
I got the chicken sandwich special with avocado and tasty salad
$11 for sit down lunch with a foofy / "honest" $2 bottled mango beverage
You order and pay upfront and they bring it to ur table, need to ask for water
Cleaner that other establishments in the area -
Review from Wes M.
San Francisco, CA
12/21/2008
Love it or hate it, the Mission is certainly a land of extremes, from the uber-dive taquerias to the uber-trendy brunch spots. Which is why it's surprising to find a place as utterly ordinary as Cafe La Taza, hidden in plain sight on Mission at 21st (but then, this is also an unusual spot for a Union Square spin-off). It's just a no-frills, counter-ordering place where the folks go to get their grub on. But it's definitely no dive either, despite the fact that we were probably the yuppiest/hipsterest people there.
So how's the food? Pancakes didn't wow me (although maybe I was still recovering from my homemade sugar-bomb french toast the day before). The Mexican-tinged "Special Scramble" with potatoes, on the other hand, was the perfect protein/grease/carb delivery vehicle (especially thanks to the liberal use of cheese). And the lattes are scalding, as they should be.
Slap a back patio on this place and a lot more gentrification and you might have Cole Valley's Cafe Reverie. But in the meantime, it makes a great hideout from the hipsters.Listed in: 24th & Mission
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Review from Michelle G.
Mission, San Francisco, CA
2/21/2010
The staff is wonderful, friendly, and try their best to accommodate your needs.
They serve bomb-ass breakfast, Mexican mochas, smoothies, fresh squeezed orange juice, tasty sandwiches & entrees. Favorite dish so far: Huevos rancheros. Sooooo effin' good!
Stop by for breakfast on the weekends and you'll see why this is a favorite neighborhood joint: Big Mexican families coming in for brunch after service. Cops stopping in for the favorite grub. Hipster slowly making it in for their hangover cures. Students posting up to get some studying/homework done.
Great mix of company, awesome atmosphere, kick-ass food, and excellent service. You have clearly earned 5 stars! -
Review from David H.
San Jose, CA
7/5/2008
Friendly staffs, fast service (too fast they forgot to add the cream cheese and capers... etc on our lox bagle).
We order a bagle with lox, cream cheese, capers, and stuffs, but the bagle came only with the salmon, and nothing else. It was unfortunate that we had our orders to go, buythe time we chowed through our other food orders and realized this, we were miles away from this place.
We also had a reuben sandwich and Thai Chicken salad. Both were very disapointing. The meat was decent, but the sandwich was way too soggy when it came out. BTW, we didn't let the sandwich sit for long, and pretty much started to eat the sandwich soon as we got into our double parked car. The frys resembles more as mashed potato rather then frys.
After finising the Reuben, we worked on the Thai Chicken salad. Our mistake, we should have never order this dish. The chicken, dressing/sauce was flavorless. They also include some "raw" rice sticks along with the fried up/cooked ones. Come on, I almost broke my tooth trying to chew on those uncooked dry rice sticks/noodles.
We didn't enjoy the salad, and ended up tossing the majority of it.
Finally, the bagle with lox. The bagle was good, the lox was decent.... but as stated before, it's missing the cream cheese and caper. -
Review from Ian M.
San Francisco, CA
6/29/2008 2 Check-ins Here
Hello Taza my old friend,
I've come to eat from you again.
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the scramble that was planted in my brain
Still remained
Within the cafe's ambiance
Hungry for food I walked along
Down Mission from my Bernal home
Whether chorizo and eggs or burger-turkey
Were destined soon to my next breakfast be
When my eyes were pulled by the flash of a tuna melt
That'd keep me svelte
Down at Cafe la Taza
And at 21st St I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People eating without speaking
People satisfied without listening
People downing meals that hipsters never share
And no one dared
one-star Cafe La Taza.
"Fools", said I, "You do not know
Bugaloo's too far to go
Hear my words that I might teach you
VPP can be good, too
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the Taza's food - well made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the menu that it was forming
And the sign said, "The food is good, and the prices always fair,
this I do swear"
Down at Cafe, La Taza.Listed in: 9411whoa
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Review from Christine G.
San Francisco, CA
2/1/2008
Came in for a quick bite expecting average tasting food. I was soooo wrong. My grilled tuna sandwich and Carnival salad were really good (yes I know, I eat a lot). I can't believe I hadn't stopped in here sooner. Service was friendly, and the line moved pretty quickly.
I'm bringing Steven here for breakfast tomorrow.
I think I've also found a new spot to do schoolwork.
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UPDATE 02/02/2008
Yup, breakfast was impressive. We had one of the board specials. Be sure to try the Mexican mocha, too. This place is definitely going into our regular rotation. -
Review from Susan L.
New York, NY
8/9/2008
A brief history: I first went to Cafe La Taza by myself during an eye doctor appointment across the street at Dr. Stamper (my eyes had to dilate so I figured I'd get some food). I got a delicious toasted turkey croissant sandwich. I made a mental note to return for breakfast sometime because there is nothing more frustrating than waking up hungry on the weekend and having no where to go without a wait. Am I right?
First breakfast venture with the roommates, Nate C. gets the daily special - some bizarre crab cake thing. Sorry Nate, but we're in the Mission at a coffee shop. What makes you think they'll have gourmet crab cakes? Nate swore to never come back. Many months later, I twisted his arm to take another stab at it, and success! Nate C. and Jon K. ordered the french toast and I had the pear walnut pancakes. O-M-G! I don't think any of us came up for air during that meal. Moral of the story, I found my go-to weekend brunch spot, and my roommates will be joining me.
Note: They have amazing fresh squeeze orange juice but they don't keep it cold. Is it worth it? You decide. -
Review from Lila R.
Hercules, CA
2/9/2011
PEOPLE... let me say that their customer service and attitude to any complaint of a mistake they might make on your order is HORRIBLE.
I work a few blocks from the Cafe in the Mission. In our office we used to go to this place almost everyday because of the selection of dishes they have. However, 3 times out of 5 they would make mistakes in our order. From adding an ingredient we clearly asked not to me in the dish (because of allergies to said ingredients) to selling us something that was CLEARLY SPOILED for a few days.
I got sick from a piece of steak they tried to not throw out (which was very low quality to begin with) and which was sold to me cold and raw on one side, and mildly burned on the other. When i went back to return it, the manager was a douche bag. He was not at all apologetic about the quality -or lack thereof- of what they sold me. Instead, he acted very dismissive and said that i should expect that to happen once in a while because they have "too many things on their menu and they cant always get it right". He further stated that "they don't like to be wasteful and they make full use of their ingredients"... REALLY??? Im sorry, im not wasteful either but rotten food MUST BE THROWN OUT. In conclusion to this, he said he could reheat the my dish or give me a gift card, there were no refunds. WOW... thats all i could say. I left without the gift card or the same dish that because of one bite made me sick that night and the following day.
Lastly, my co-worker decided to give them a last chance and went to purchase a simple sandwich. The one i got had mold cheese- yes, i literally saw the white-green mold on the edges of the cheddar cheese! And the turkey mead was slimy and yellow! My co-worker's sandwich was all together the wrong order. He went back to La Taza to ask for the right order and a replacement sandwich -for me- and he was told that they were tired of complaints; that if we weren't happy with their food, we would take our business elsewhere. The manager was the one who said this.... he who KNOWS we'd go there every day for lunch (for the past year and a half!)
I would not go to this place if it was the last cafe in San Francisco!!!! -
Review from Juicy S.
San Francisco, CA
12/9/2008
On mornings when I'm feeling like a treat, I go here for my favorite breakfast: an Egg-a-Mooby-Muffin. OK, they will look at you crazy if you order that, and it doesn't even actually involve any sort of muffin, English or otherwise, but it's my breakfast and I'll call it what I want to call it! If you care, it's a hot croissant sandwich with bacon, egg & cheddar cheese. Mmmmm...
The employees are super-sweet and they make a point to learn the the names of regulars like me, even when those regulars have weird names like Juicy that are apparently really hard to pronounce if you are a native Spanish speaker. They really try hard, and I appreciate it!
They always make my breakfast perfectly. Well, there was one time when there was a mis-communication when I ordered for my husband and they tried to tell me I was wrong.... Huh? You must be mistaken. I am the customer, therefore I am right. We cleared that one up pretty quickly and I haven't had trouble there since.
Great coffee, too. I just get the regular drip coffee. If I want a cappuccino, then I'll walk the extra block to Ritual.Listed in: Places I Chow Down..., My Neighborhood
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Review from Maryanne R.
San Francisco, CA
6/5/2010
Almost perfect. They should have a compost bin for food that doesn't get eaten!
Delicious, clean, friendly staff. -
Review from Deanna T.
San Francisco, CA
1/26/2009
The Inner Mission (15-24th Sts. respectively) isn't the kind of area you'd find a Peet's, or a Starbuck's for that matter, so in the event that you find yourself sleepy in the Mission, as I did the other day, and skeptical of the sanitation of neighboring shops, I strongly suggest La Taza for a strong, tastly cup of joe.
La Taza is a cute, seemingly clean cafe in the midst of boarded up theaters and 99cent discount stores, with a window displaying locals chowing down on hearty eggs and mean looking sandwiches. A place I wouldn't hesitate to wind down in, or to perk up! -
Review from Paul S.
San Francisco, CA
6/7/2011
This place is right next to my office, love it... delish iced lattes and simple but good sandwiches etc. The staff here is super friendly and nice, makes such a difference and is nicely refreshing!
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Review from Bleep s.
San Francisco, CA
6/4/2009
Friendly vibe and the line goes quickly. Not too noisy considering it was packed. House coffee was wonderful,strong and smooth without a trace of bitterness or sourness. The music was good. I did not have a meal but everyone around me was eating breakfast and it looked delicious.
They serve "beagles"!.....see menu
http://cafelataza.com/...
