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California Golden Cookies
Categories: Food Bakeries Restaurants Greek Restaurants Mediterranean Bakeries, Greek, Mediterranean [Edit]
255 Kearny St(between Bush St & Hardie Pl)
San Francisco, CA 94108
Neighborhood: Financial District
(415) 956-3070
- Hours:
Mon-Wed 10 am - 12:30 am
Thu-Sat 10 am - 2:30 am
Sun 11:30 am - 9:30 pm
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
103 reviews for California Golden Cookies
Review Highlights
"Mint chocolate chip cookie."
(in 15 reviews)
"Reza is a real nice guy, and will often give me free..."
(in 12 reviews)
"The humus and Falafel are really delicious."
(in 25 reviews)
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103 reviews in English
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Review from JD G.
San Francisco, CA
8/16/2011
I'm Picky with mediterranean food (can't stand the Yogurt flavored sauce) - but the person who took care of me was very patient, explained me the sauces and we totally worked out a killer wrap!
Definitely I'll make that one of my must eat places every week! -
Review from Dara K.
San Francisco, CA
1/30/2012
The gentleman who mans the late shift is incredibly kind and sweet, even when the bar crowds are sassin' him.
Their cookies are great. I think their actual meal type items like soups and gyro/shwarma wraps leave something to be desired, though. It's usually drunk food for me. But it's a nice little oasis when the situation arises. -
Review from Sunil R.
12/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
The name is misleading, this is more than just a cookie shop.
I was hanging out in the city and chanced upon this place a couple of weeks ago. Decided to give it a try and ended up with a very satisfactory middle eastern meal. I had the gyro plate which came with gyro meat, hummus, salad, tzatziki sauce and bread. It was pretty good and a good deal. Tried the chocolate halwa which I was not so hot on, maybe I should have had a cookie!
The owner seems like a really nice guy, very friendly and has a big smile. this place also reminds me of Manhattan for some reason. Must be the fact that it is a hole in the wall with good food and 1 TV on the financial news channel. -
Review from Angela S.
San Francisco, CA
12/16/2011
Extra stars for being open when nothing else in the financial district is! Their falafels are great for a quick lunch. They're not particularly cheap, but not horribly expensive, either. They're pretty delicious, too! Kind of typical Mediterranean food - to - go type of thing, but good, nonetheless.
Big fan of their cookies, too! I don't know what everyone else here is talking about, because every time I get a cookie here, I'm pretty sure I've never paid more than $1.75 for one. One thing I love about their cookies, is that, although they do not seem under - baked or anything, they still somehow still have that cookie dough taste to them. It's hard to explain, so you'll just have to try them for yourself. -
Review from Samir C.
San Francisco, CA
1/18/2012
I look forward to eating here anytime I plan on going out at Rickhouse. Reza (the owner) is a really cool guy and always makes a good falafel wrap. I've also tried the cookies and they are extremely good as well. Highly recommend this place! Especially for a late night meal.
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Review from Gabriel C.
San Francisco, CA
1/17/2012
White chocolate chip (no nuts) or mint chocolate chip cookie are the perfect afternoon snack. $1.75 of pure deliciousness!
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Review from Peter C.
10/17/2011
If you just want cookies, this place is a strong 5. However, if you're looking for lunch, I stick it in 3-land.
The cookies are amazing -- really, I'm not exaggerating. But if you're looking for lunch, the gyros/shawarma at CGC are good but probably not worthy of an epic poem (although Ulysses would definitely eat one of their semi-sweet chocolate chip cookies!). -
Review from Greg G.
12/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
I came here the first time a few days ago on our way to Rickhouse (across the street), I thought it was going to be a lame experience at first, but it was actually quite awesome. First off, they don't just sell cookies :) Went with the lamb and beef gyro plate and some hummus w/lavash. The hummus was pretty good. Not too thin and not cement. Service was fantastic. The person behind the counter was just like, order what you like pay me before you leave. Really nice. Even though I think he was trying to close up for the night he didn't seem to mind us taking our time. It's a small place so seating is a little cramped. Sitting by the door I think I was actually walked into a few times by people entering. I would come back.
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Review from sasha h.
10/9/2011
Mint chocolate chip cookie..try one..
i've never actually tried anything else here but i do love the cookies. they don't make them very often but if more people come in for them they will ;) -
Review from Rebecca M.
Oakland, CA
11/3/2011
I really wanted to like this place because it looked like there were some great options and the server was friendly.
The grape leaves were good although the tzatziki sauce just tasted like sour cream with a few cucumber shreds in it (no garlic flavor, etc).
The chicken shawarma wrap was a disappointment - the tomatoes had a slightly rotten taste to them and I agree that the chicken tasted funny - there was hummus in the wrap but the flavor seemed to go everywhere but the chicken.
Wasn't this a chicken wrap after all?
Next time I'll try the Greek deli across the street (it was closed). -
Review from Rohit G.
San Francisco, CA
11/30/2011
Great place for falafels, open late. Their cookies are great as well (a tad too sweet and could use a bit more chocolate). Owner is extremely nice. Great place to go after Rickhouse (across the street).
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Review from Jason B.
Updated - 8/14/2011
California Golden Cinnamon Sugar Cookies.
Get one.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/2/2010
As the very friendly guy running the place was making up my grilled salmon wrap with plenty of… Read more »
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Review from Wez I.
San Francisco, CA
11/21/2011 24 photos
Mr. Reza's cookies and wraps hit the spot all hours of the day. Whether you're grabbing a quick lunch to go, or some late night fare, his dishes are fresh (as photographed) and taste even better. Reza and his staff always offer professional, personable service and his freshly baked cookies keep you coming back!
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Review from Krystal H.
Berkeley, CA
9/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
Stumbled in here after a night of drinks in the city.. my boyfriend had the drunken munchies and I had convinced him to avoid McDonald's thanks to Yelp. He had a falafel which was was devoured quickly, and I had an Americano and chocolate chip cookie. The cookie was incredible -- I can't even imagine what it would be like to eat one of these babies straight out of the oven. And how adorable is the owner? I'm not giving it five stars because I hate the amount of TV's in that tiny place, but I would definitely come back if I'm in the area.
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Review from Sara P.
San Francisco, CA
1/25/2011
As I was walking down Kearny St. around noon, I noticed lines out the doors of most lunch establishments. I am not known for my patience and feeling hungry does not help this. Since I have always wanted to try the food here and there was a minimal line, I stopped in.
Gyro wrap + diet 7 up (my favorite non-alcoholic carbonated beverage) = $9.50. Awesome. The gyro wrap was fresh, light and didn't fall apart. I'll be back to try their baklava. And choco chip cookies!Listed in: Sweets & Treats
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Review from Pippi L.
Sacramento, CA
3/9/2011
I got the gyro. It's really big and spicy, and I ended up with bad heartburn because I'm 7 months prego. Is this the best Gyro I've ever had? No, not even close. But it was fresh. I could only handle half before my stomach revolted.
However, I'm seriously intrigued by the cookies, and the gal who served me was just lovely. -
Review from Maria S.
San Bruno, CA
12/25/2010
This place is in the same proximity of many other Greek/Mediterranean restaurant around. From my experience, the other places are stealing this place's businesses because it is not anywhere as busy as other places. I ordered the gyro platter. The meat was really great. It also came with quite a bit of pita bread. I though that the lentil soup tasted better than the Balaldie's lentil soup. However, the price here comes out to be $15 when if I ordered the same thing at Baladies, I would get not only bigger portions, but only ended up paying $10 or $11 dollars. However, the interior and setting of this place is better when compared to Baladies. Lastly, I have to mention they have lots of cookies and sweets that smell so nice. However, when one cookie costs $2 or $3 it kinda wipes the smile off my face. So to conclude:
Pros: Better quality, better setting and cookies!
Cons: More pricey, smaller portions -
Review from James C.
San Francisco, CA
9/27/2011
They microwave their $8 gyros because they said they don't have enough traffic to make them fresh. This is normal for them. Friendly service, but won't return.
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Review from Vera W.
2/13/2011
What I had:
Chocolate Chip Cookie
German Chocolate Brownie
Cookie is alright. Not THAT great, but maybe because I got it at time when it was not fresh. Either that or people who review and love the cookies don't know what a good cookie is at all.
Brownie sucked! Weird, weird spice taste to it. -
Review from K G.
Orange County, CA
8/22/2011
Gyro plate was soooooooo delish. This is the only place in the vicinity serving food after midnight. The owner is adorable and so friendly. I love that they serve lavash instead of pita...more room for meat! The tzatziki was great. Lots of garlic in the meat which was tough on my tender tummy later but great going down. The desserts looked great and I wanted to try, but didn't have the room.
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Review from Grace K.
San Francisco, CA
5/13/2010
I was once having an instant message conversation w/ my friend. It went something like this:
I: Did you eat your food?
Me: Dude, I basically breathed it in, I was so hungry.
I: You're like Kirby.
Me: Kirby? You know Kirby vacuum? I used to have one!
I: No - you're like this Kirby: http://www.youtube.com...
I had the best laugh of the century that day. I could not stop laughing for about an hour. Damn funniest thing, especially if you actually know me. Hmm... I am Kirby - except I don't eat apples, whole or otherwise.
Well, I did it again at California Golden Cookies (CGC). I am indeed Kirby.
The business hours listed on Yelp are wrong. I know, because my friend and I ate here at 1 AM. (They were closing out at about 1:30 AM.)
Let me preface this review by saying I am not a big fan of sweets in general. So the sign, "California Golden Cookies" (CGC) would never have brought me into this place.
However, I am a sucker for shawarmas, falafel, and gyros; I love Mediterranean food in general. If you peer into the restaurant, you see that CGC has a separate menu for just this. After an evening at Lot46 for a birthday party, on our way back to the car, my friend spotted that menu board and said, "Wanna eat falafel?"
My head spun around. I looked at the sign. I looked at the cookies. I looked at the menu. I nodded.
Walking in, you see a large glass case full of sweet things, ranging from brownies, to baklava. Everything looked fresh and clean, not that it perked my interest. The owner greeted us cheerily, and asked what we'd like.
I picked shawarma; my friend ordered the same. We shared a drink and the total was about $18.
I consider the shawarmas available in Amsterdam, London, or even Dublin to be outstanding. In the US, with the exception of NYC, I haven't quite found the food to be comparable, but I still waited with bated breath.
Well, folks - this stuff is good. It could have been the hour, it could have been that I was hungry, it could have been the alcohol - or it simply could have been good stuff.
The meat was fresh, the vegetables were crunchy, and it packed substance and taste. I asked for additional yogurt and went to town.
What I did miss was some yummy Mediterranean style hot sauce. Perhaps they had some, but I didn't ask.
We both "Kirby'd" our meals while debating the complexities of male and female, and off we went for the drive home.
Good stuff. Good night, too. -
Review from Bailey Dogg Y.
Phoenix, AZ
8/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place was great. Awesome price, good shwaramas and falafels and the cookies are delicious!
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Review from Drue C.
San Francisco, CA
2/13/2008
It was completely unplanned but I ended up spending my lunch hour wandering around aimlessly, enjoying the sunshine and realized 45 minutes in I am screwed.
I have a 14 hour workday today, only one opportunity to eat and I have spent it daydreaming and strolling around Union Square. Well, time to get to business BUT every place I walk into has a line 12 people deep and I don't have time for that! Every place except this cookie place, and I am not much of a sweet tooth nor do I particularly think cookies are the lunch of champions or people who have a 14 hour workday.
Then I see it. The sign that says falafels. Now, a cookie place probably has falafels that taste like ass, but I am desperate so I enter. Oh. My. God. This thing is the size of a small child from a family of obesity. My arm got tired carrying it back to the office, and it is good, really good, and I can share it with anyone else who forgot to eat on their lunch break as well as any small impoverished country.
I haven't tried their cookies yet, but I will when the mood strikes. If they are half as good as the falafel I will give this place a solid 5 stars. -
Review from Pammy C.
San Francisco, CA
6/13/2006
Five stars, people, five stars! Nothing could be better about this place - the best damn cookies I've ever had, FREE SAMPLES (and the nice man doesn't even look at you like you're a cow if, for example, you take three samples at a time, then assure him you will come back later when you're not so full to get a full cookie, then you actually come back later), and the aforementioned nice man.
I also must second the other reviewer's love affair with the yogurt-cookie combo. Friends, it's a simple idea, but it's one that's time has come. And do you see other places mixing it up quite like this? No. Oh, you might see cookie places, and you might see yogurt places. But do you see the combo? I don't think so. For all of us snackmasters rollin in the FiDi (and I think you know who you are), it's Pure. Genius. -
Review from Alex B.
South San Francisco, CA
6/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
All the pastries are handmade :) sooo good, Reza even let me try a few stuff on the house. I'm on a diet but damn everything taste awesome free so my sweet tooth wins this fight. Bakalava for the win. I can also vouche for what everyone else says, falafel! And also gotta love the chicken breast wrap nomnomnom
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Review from Angela H.
Daly City, CA
11/11/2007
So I was wandering the area looking for a quick meal for lunch when I stumbled upon this place. I saw the sign for Mediterranean food out front and thought, well, a gyro sandwich sounds about right for lunch. And I saw "cookies" on the sign, so I think, "Score! I can get dessert with my lunch!"
I walked in and the first thing I notice is that there are no cookies in the display case. There are brownies, which look more like fudge, and some different baklava. Not quite the dessert I was looking for, so I figure I'll just get the gyro sandwich and run on back to work. I'm pretty pressed for time and unfortunately, it took a while before the chef/owner came out. I give him my order and wait ... and wait ... and wait. It takes almost 20 minutes for my gyro to come out. The owner was making one sandwich at a time- I assume that it took 5 minutes per sandwich since he made exactly 4 sandwiches before mine came out. I also heard the microwave going off, so I assume that my gyro meat wasn't fresh off the rotating spit. The gyro was really tasty- large chunks of gyro meat and fresh tomatoes and lettuce with tzatiki sauce.
Overall, good gyro, but it was just an insane amount of time to wait. I'd love to continue supporting this small hole-in-the-wall, so I'd be back to try some of the coookies, since that's what the yelpers are talking about. If I had the time and was in the area, I would go back to get another gyro sandwich.Listed in: Best Sandwiches
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Review from Laura H.
San Francisco, CA
1/27/2006
I love this place. Why?
1) They put out cookie samples everyday
2) Coconut cookie. Amazing
3) Its close to my work
The brownies look amazing too but I haven't been able to get past the coconut cookie yet to try them...let me know how they are if you go and get one
mmmmm, cookies......................
***update*** went back today. i didn't think afternoon snacks got much better in the fidi than scrumptious, fresh from the oven cookies. boy was i wrong. california cookies now has frozen yogurt that you can get with warm cookies on top! the combos are endless, the pairing of warm cookies and cold fro yo is genius, and the man behind the counter couldn't be sweeter. go get one. you will thank me later.
***update #2***if i could review Reza, the owner, he would get 5 stars too. Hands down. -
Review from Jon K.
San Francisco, CA
10/10/2007
So I am not much of a cookie guy but when I was working a little later tonight I needed a pick me up. My two associates and I decided to go together and one of them suggested this place. She said that she knew the owner from stopping in so frequently and that he was a great guy and loved giving samples.
Heres the catch though, once I got there I saw that he also had a small menu which included gyros. I decided to try and it was absolutely amazing. One of the best I have ever had. And because I bought the gyro, he gave me a free cookie. It was a win win situation.
My suggestion is that if you work in the financial district or just love a good gyro, you must get here. I might go back tomorrow. -
Review from Tam G.
Somerville, MA
9/28/2009
Probably my favorite Middle Eastern joint in the city and I have very high standards!
Their falafel is superb. Too often am I served bland dried out crunchy falafel with wilted lettuce leaves and no hot sauce! Their falafel wraps are well priced and stuffed with moist yummy falafel and all kinds of delicious veggies. I'm also a fan of their lamb gyro! Delicious and seasoned just as well as the falafel wrap. Bonus points that the guys working there remember that I like my wraps without tomatoes!
Never had their cookies but I guess I should probably try one next time I come in!
Also sidenote: To the yelpers remarking on the dry bland chicken wraps...as a Middle Eastern cuisine enthusiast I generally find that 99% of the Middle Eastern places I order chicken wraps from are gonna be bland and dry. I just stopped ordering them after awhile! You should try the lamb...at a place like this it's amazing! -
Review from Asuka N.
3/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
After finishing up a business meeting downtown, I decided to find a local shop to grab a few cookies from to satisfy a sweet tooth craving. There appears to be a fairly limited amount of cookies available, but they are worth it if you can get some. They're only $1.75 a pop (very reasonable for a tasty cookie), and they have a good doughy flavor. I couldn't tell much of a difference between the cookies, although I did prefer the slightly creamier milk chocolate chips. The cookies aren't as warm and gooey as others that I've had elsewhere, but for a pretty standard cookie, these are definitely above average, and they're very solid for a place that seems to be more into the business of selling falafels and gyros.
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Review from Adrienne g.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 7/29/2008
Finally got around to trying their falafel & OMG is it YUMMY!! Definitely a fan & it might even tie w/ California View Cafe for bestest falafel
Thick & chewy Flatbread holds not 3 but FOUR delish & nice-size falafels (yay!)
made right there, on the spot so it's nice, fresh & hot - paired w/ the cool veggies....perfection!
Hummus, & all the fixins are there but it's the Flatbread that makes this super-yummo
Could use a tad more Tahini but I'm a saucy kind of girlListed in: Dip Me In Chocolate & Call Me…, C = is for Cookie, F-A-LAF-ELS Rock!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/9/2008
I can only speak to the Macadamia Brownie since it's the only thing I get when I come to California… Read more »
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Review from Jonas T.
San Francisco, CA
1/30/2007 7 photos
Just like the way the shop owner treats his customers, you can tell each cookie is made with love. And you can taste it too. The store closes at odd hours - as long as someone is working and you want to get a cookie, they'll stay open for you.
JONASAPPROVED! -
Review from Zain D.
San Francisco, CA
5/11/2011
I got the felafel hummus wrap. The tortilla wasn't cooked properly and tasted bland. Most felafel-hummus dishes are served on thick pita bread, which is what I expected. The taste is average and the size is big but the tortilla was very undercooked and that ruins the entire wrap. It was the one of the few places open at 7pm in FiDi so I gave it a try, but will not be going back.
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Review from Rennie L.
San Francisco, CA
1/10/2009
The guy who works here is super super nice. He talks to you, makes suggestions, just a nice, helpful guy.
I ordered the chicken shawerma. It's huge! The others are right; it's not as juicy as it could be, but it's still tasty. Nom nom nom.
He also gave us a couple of Turkish delights at the end of the meal because my friend had never tried them! -
Review from Sara D.
San Francisco, CA
1/24/2011
Omg the baklava.
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Review from Ed L.
3/22/2011
Was very hungry after work one night and found this place to be the only restaurant serving food on Kearny. Pretty sure they were closed already but I guess the owner didn't mind making a few extra bucks. I got one of their Mediterranean plates with lamb, Greek salad, babaganoush and pita. It was suppose to come with hummus too but they left it out for some reason. I could see him cooking / reheating all the food in the microwave so my expectations were not high. Food end up decent, maybe because I was hungry. I left here just regretting not trying a cookie! I love cookies and wish I saw the name of the place before I came in. Shameful.
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Review from wendy h.
Updated - 6/19/2008
I finally bought my lunch here. I got the chicken wrap. Yes there's a lot of meat and veggies in this wrap (bigger than Ayola's, I think) but the chicken was really dry (DH thinks it's because they didn't slather the sauce on but I don't think that's the reason)!
It's ok but I'm not a fan of the wraps. I can only imagine what the gyros taste like.Listed in: Got Dessert?
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/2/2007
Ok I always passed by this place while I'm strolling by restaurant row in Kearny. I wasn't… Read more »
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Review from Abel L.
San Francisco, CA
7/1/2010 1 Check-in Here
DAMNIT, I ONLY GOT THEIR GYRO BUT NO COOKIE. Stupid diet.
Take-Aways:
- There was only one person there, but he was personable, did the cashiering AND the making of the Gyro. This may concern me when it gets busy around noon time (it's downtown obviously).
- The cookies looked yummy...sad face. -
Review from Diana M.
Oakland, CA
8/2/2006 1 photo
How could I forget to review my favorite cookie place in the city?!?! The cookies, the muffins, the brownies - um um umh! I've been a customer since they first opened and Reza, the owner, is a great guy! I've ordered several dozen for parties and they are always a huge hit. He'll make them fresh for you at the time you need them if you call ahead of time.
Of note - The low sugar milk chocolate chip cookie is mmm mmm good, but he doesn't make them everyday.Listed in: I'll drive a country mile or…
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Review from John P.
Tempe, AZ
5/23/2011
Its good. Its cheap. Always some Yelp-hole ripping on every restaurant.
Its $7 for a Gyro in SF, not Ruth's Chris.
The cookies looked great, but I did not indulge.
