Crepevine
216 Church St
(between 15th St & Market St)
San Francisco, CA 94114 (415) 431-4646
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Breakfast
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
212 reviews
Neighborhood: Cole Valley
"Sorry, Gil, but I love this place. It's got your San Francisco-crepery essentials: chalkboard menus, savory and sweet crepes, woodsy…" read more »
115 Reviews for Crepevine
I've eaten here so many times it hurts. It's convenient, and offers a wide selection, but all of it is second rate food. How can they consistently ruin home fries???!!! It's like they boil them first, throw them on the griddle, and never flip them. They should take a lesson from Cloe's on Church on making home fries taste good.
Typical castro food.
Crepevine makes a HELLA good burger!!! (Yes, I'm trying "hella" on for size...) Who would have thought that a crepe monster like me would order a burger at a crepe place?!? Well that's because I was hungry, and I just happen to be a burger monster, too.
Their burger comes in giant proportion to your head, smothered in melted cheese, mushrooms, and other deliciousness. I couldn't even finish mine after walking around the Castro and starving all day. I would even dare to say that the Crepevine burger was on the same level as the Chow and Zeitgeist burgers - the best in the city, from my point of view. Though the atmosphere at Crepevine is certainly different, and burgers aren't necessarily their specialty, that earns them a 5 from me. Plus they serve omelets all day and their crepes are fantabulous. I hope the location in Pacific Heights is just as good.
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It's not bad... I didn't try the crepes though, never really a fan of crepes.
I got the Classico salad. 'Twas pretty tasty. The leaves were a bit on the DRENCHED side, unfortunately.
Taste wise, my t-buds were happy. Next time, i'm going to get dressing on the side.
One big gripe.... the mimosas are nasty. I even asked one of the workers if it was good... and of course, she lied. The mimosa looked like yellow puke, kinda tasted like it too.
Had a filminess to it. The kind you get when you drop airborne into water.
blegh.
All in all, i'd probably go again for a salad, and MAYBE try a crepe... that's about it.
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I'm all about it. A lot of delicious food for not a lot of money.
I've been to this Crepevine and the one on Fillmore and the one in Berkeley.
For this review, unfortunately I'm just basing my score on the one time I've been to this one in the 'stro.
I came here late on a Friday night after helping my boyfriend move into his new flat near Duboce Park. It was around tenish and we were starving and not super happy after moving and a Uhaul debacle.
He got the scramble with the salmon in it and I got the penne pasta, thinking it would be an oil based pesto sauce since they didn't mention anything about a pesto CREAM sauce. Surprise, it was a cream sauce. It was okay, not super flavorful, but it did hit the spot. However, like I said we were starving and disgruntled so really hitting the spot was like shooting fish in a barrel.
So my mood is not the fault of the restaurant. Three stars for being an okay place that I will inevitably come back to. The staff is really nice and I really appreciate that.
I think crepevine is excellent, I've never been disappointed by my order. I've had brunch there, and loved that my egg white omelet wasn't greasy as they sometimes are at other restaurants. They have a large selection of omelets, crepes and other items as well, and they're very accommodating when it comes to substituting items, and omitting some ingredients. I also love their sandwiches, everything seems really fresh; both the vegetables, the meat, and the wheat bread is really good as well.The staff is always very friendly and helpful too!
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A solid spot especially if you are with a large group since it's easy to get a table- I've never had to wait. The menu options are vast and conveniently broken down into - Breakfast crepes- including eggs Benedict, Mexican and Californian (w/ avocado) and Tex-southwestern variations. The Savory crepe selections like the Smoked Salmon and the Tuscan are winners! Vegetarian options are also available and the ingredients are fresh. Even the dessert crepes are impressive- my favorite is the Jamaican with dark rum and vanilla bean ice-cream. The options for fresh carrot and orange juices as well as beer/wine, teas, coffee is nice. If there's two of you i recommend splitting a dessert crepe- they are pretty large and rich). So when you want a low-key satiating meal during the week or weekend Crepevine is a reasonable choice with moderate prices.
Ambiance: casual, chalkboard menu, wooden tables, big bright windows letting in lotsa natural light
Cost: approx $12-15 per person
Others: self-serve water dispenser, silverware, disposable napkins
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Crepevine is my default lunch place when I'm over near Church/Market, because they're quick, inexpensive, reliable and tasty. I feel at home here.
Recently rediscovered this place... we used to go here a lot when we lived in the Castro. What I like here are the salads. The Bombay salad was huge and came with plenty of chicken.
The crepes are good but I love the potatoes that comes with the crepes even more! Nice cosy place and we didn't have any problem finding a table for our party of 5.
the granada salad is amazing, i love the combination of gorgonzola cheese, pears and caramelize walnuts, they also have fresh juices and good bagels, and nuttela crepes to treat yourself, also, try the apple cider on a cold day, it will warm you up. Friendly staff,
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5 stars, not because they blow me out of the water every time I eat here, but because they are a reliable, good, creative, cute place. I come here most Saturday mornings for a nice breakfast. I always order the same thing yet still stare at the menu in case I decide on something else.
My order:
Santa Rosa, with english muffin (you have to order the bread before telling them any changes to the item), no onions, add ham.
Coffee (I do wish they had whole milk available but oh well)
Water
I get my water, make my coffee, sit down, and whala! my food is ready. It's always so tasty. Mmmm spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and ham! I like to try to eat all the small burnt pieces of potato and leave the rest.
This place provides a nice quiet, yet still busy, place for me to think about my day and relax. If its nice out you can sit outside, otherwise the inside feels cozy.
ps- Every once in awhile I splurge and get a fresh squeezed orange juice or OJ and carrot mixed. YUM!
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Anyone who expects culinary excellence at a place where you stand in line to order should have their head checked. That said, I really like Crepevine and can always depend on it for a decent meal.
I've always been of the ilk who believes that crepes are for breakfast, but Crepevine (along with Noe Valley restaurant Savor), have broken me of that thought. So I can live with it now - the funny part is, I usually don't get crepes (at either place).
If you're out for brunch fare, the Petaluma scramble is very good and the New Orleans (read: crabcake) benedict is damn decent. For lunch or dinner (yes, dinner, crepes not just for breakfast), I'm a big big fan of the fish tacos with the tasty homemade mango salsa (which also has avocados in it - LOVE). They serve the tacos with a Caesar salad and their roasted potatoes, which sounds like an odd combo, but it works out surprisingly well. Now if they could just prepare and season those potatoes consistently...that'd earn them another star.
There seems to be a fair amount of turnover in food runner staff, so there is always the ambiguity/uncomfortableness that comes with that, but the manager is a very friendly guy who genuinely tries to look out for (and recognize) the customer.
One plus: Four (or five) outdoor tables at which to sup on a really nice day. Me likee.
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This place is so bad it's like an open declaration of war on the nation of France and all of its chefs. Could I garnish that war with some wilted lettuce and nasty dressing? Crepevine would be happy to.
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The Jamaican crepe (bananas in a caramel rum sauce) = SO SO GOOD.
I've only eaten a meal here once, so I can't really speak to the quality of the main courses (aside from to note that there is a lot of food, so arrive hungry)... but the sweet crepes are mighty tasty.
The location itself is a little weird, and I've had some good and some bad experiences with the staff. But overall, it's certainly worth trying out, if only for dessert.
The Irving Street location is always so crowded, so that's why I head over to this one on Church because nobody seems to know that it's there! Which is great for me, since I don't really like waiting in line.
I'm a fan of their potatoes, but sometimes they come out rough tasting: not really roasted and tasteless. But I'd still sell my right arm for them. Or maybe just my right shoe.
The thing that really ticked me off about the Crepevine is that they got rid of their North Beach sandwich. It wasn't really a sandwich, but an open faced bagel-wich, that had some pesto, feta cheese, and roasted red bell peppers and eggplant. It was really, really good, but the next time I visited, they replaced it with the "Mediterranean" ... yuck. I have never been able to forgive. But, I have been able to move on to such other delights like the Sonoma, with a side order of their tasty chicken soup.
The place gets four stars only because of the portions. If I'm a-hankerin for some big ass flapjacks, then this is the place I go. But sometimes, the portions can be *too big*, so it'd be good to take a couple of people with you if you decide to order something you probably can't finish.
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With 90+ reviews, I figure this place doesn't really need another opinion of the crepes. So I'll let you in on a little secret about this Crepevine..........
It is home to one of the best brunch/lunch bargains in San Francisco - the black bean soup. Sometimes they refer to it as chili, sometimes as soup (???) but it is actually the same thing and they have it every day. If you order it you will get:
*a big bowl of decent chili/soup (choup, or sili if you prefer)
*sour cream and salsa
*a couple slices of French bread with
real butter, not weird margarine funkiness
for the low, low price of..........................................$3.25! !!!!
Woohoo.....cheapest lunch around. Plus nice staff, fast service, good people-watching and sidewalk tables for when you've got your dog with you. Woof!
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Came here for crepes last night and wasn't really expecting much (don't ask me why), so I was pleasantly surprised when they came through with a decent sized crepe and gave me both ice cream and whip cream to go with it (dessert crepe). Price was fair too.
Atmosphere wasn't really much to speak of and really nothing about this place jumps out and grabs you as special. But they do have decent crepes at good prices.
This is my favorite crepes place. I had the nutty dessert crepe. The neighborhood is nice.
When the only thing to rate is the food, this place deserves a solid 4 stars, not spectacular, but not bad by any means. Priced decently, won't break the bank. Toss in the atmosphere, and the place would be a 5 star lunch spot. Toss in the service, and you've got yourself a 3 star lunch spot. I swear the person behind the counter couldn't understand a darn thing I said. "I want a ham and cheese crepe and a glass of wine." "You want what? I don't think we can do that." "Even though it's on the giant chalkboard over your head?"
My Cheese and Ham Crepe was good, the wine was so-so, and the service... not the best.
Simple operation, cozy and low key atmosphere, can stay here for hours. I always order the same thing but it's always filling and good. Excerpt from my blog:
"had a big fat crepe with provolone cheese, pinenuts, roasted chicken, pesto . . . etc for dinner at crepevine with mandy man. she had some salad with a few pieces of chicken satay looking things. i think she ordered the chinese chicken salad and a catfish po boy to take home for peter. i didn't order anything for mike . . . hmmm . . . mike had frozen chicken pot pie for dinner HAHAHAHAHA
something about pesto+chicken/turkey+avocado that works magic for my tastebuds."
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On a recent vacation to San Francisco, during 2007 Christmas season. I found this restaurant , quite by accident. I consider Breakfast to be THE most important meal of the day. I was out early walking on upper Market street , when I saw the sign Squat and Gobble , I was sold . Went in was about the 3rd customer , got a great waiter , while he took my order for Ham and Eggs , (my favorite) the buss-man gave me a cup of Heavenly coffee and my cup never runneth low , until I hollered Uncle. The breakfast was plenty , good slice of ham and the eggs were done to perfection. As I waited for my meal the place started to become busy , and by the time I was thru it was packed , and this was in the middle of the week. I watched the locals and the staff interact with each other and you could tell the staff enjoyed what they did. And the customers were very happy. The price did not break me and I left a goodly amount of tip , as the waiter was really attentive. I would not hesitate to go back. I had lived in San Francisco in the 60's and really enjoyed the Metro and all the sidewalk cafes. I have to repeat the coffee was great ciao
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the salads here are gigantic and amazing. the black bean soup is delicious. the soup and salad combo? PERFECTION.
oh and the crepes are great, too. LOVE!
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3.5 stars. Went here on a late Sunday evening. My friends and I were walking down Church Street to look for a place to eat and found Crepevine, so we decided to try it out.
I splitted the San Francisco savory crepe, Siena dessert crepe, and a side jalapeno cornbread with a friend. It was delicious! I didn't know that it came with roasted potatoes and salad, so the portions were perfect. The jalapeno cornbread was interesting, it looked kinda like french toast....crispy on the outside, but soft and moist on the inside. There was something like jam that came with it. I couldn't really recognize what the flavor was, but it went well together.
I should have asked to have our dessert crepe made after we finished our meal because they both came out at the same time. So by the time we finished our San Francsico crepe, the ice cream and whipped cream had melted and the dessert crepe was a little cold. I don't really like nuts, but the finely crushed pistachio? nuts in the Siena gave it a unique taste.
Service was great and friendly. I deducted 1/2 a star for cleanliness. We pulled out two knives from the counter and they both had crusty leftover food stuck on it. But other than that, this place was a nice suprise for having randomly picked it.
Huge menu of sweet and savory crepes, sandwiches, salads and other stuff. So you'd think the only hard thing about picking something would be deciding what to choose, right?
Wrong. Lots of the things on the menu just don't mesh. Too many ingredients in what should be simple crepes in an effort to be fancy. The crepe itself I finally settled on was OK, but nothing special. The potatoes were the greasiest pile of starch I've seen in a long time - pretty disgusting. Good side salad though.
Would I go back? Not with 1.5 measly stars!
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Truly hard to find something you don't like on the menu. Great atmosphere and hefty portions. There might be crack in the roasted potatoes, they are irresistible.
Decent crepes but have to say this place was much better when it was "Crepes On Church"
I'm definitely of the sweet variety (go for the JAMAICAN or SANTORINI!) but will digress into the savory world every now & then
Potatoes served w/ the savory crepes taste strange to me for some reason - maybe it's the weird-tasting Rosemary or maybe it's the weird oily taste in an otherwise dry potato....haven't figured it out quite yet.....there's just something amiss
All that being said however, I can definitely attest the crepes are fresh - I see the crepe guy every morning as I ride the J to work......making the crepes
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holy crap! this place sucks!
i decided to get lunch here once a couple months ago because i was getting really tired of the cheap food fair at sixteenth and valencia. anyway, long story short. i dished out $ten for the most flavourless crepe ever. I mean, i wasn't expecting miracles but give me a break! i had the spinach and mushroom crepe and i swear they just cooked them together in some olive oil and threw them in a crepe, nothing else! i was so disappointed! and it's hard for me to get disappointed over anything with mushrooms! so sad!
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The menu looks similar to other breakfast/lunch places that are all over the city but it has something that no Blue Cafe, no Squat & Gobble has.
The Pacific Sandwich.
Salmon, arugula, and an ailoli that makes the sandwich perfect.
I love that their plates come with salad AND taters.
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Ok, if only considering the food, I would have given it 5 stars. I am not a fan of crepes and I ordered the chocolate/peanut butter one and also a side of potatoes (so I could eat at least something). I swear if we had been at home, I would have licked the plate clean! The crepe was cooked perfectly with not too much dough and was overflowing with chocolate/peanut butter. The potatoes.........oh the potatoes. NONE of them were burned even a touch and had so many spices on them I thought I would die. They were phenomenal. Also me and the hubby ate ourselves for $20 so the price is right.
Decor needed some help (the seat I sat on had a huge hole in it) but it was fairly cozy. Also, the staff is extremely attentive to cleanliness (trust me I notice these things). Yelp you need half stars cause I really didn't want to take off a whole star for this! Only thing bad about this place is the decor needs a facelift and it was a bit small. But I will be back!!!
safari cooler....1.60
single cappuccino....1.95
providing a clean bathroom for my homeboy that shits more than anyone i have ever met in my life and says it's just that i'm constipated and it shows in my personality...
priceless.
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It's rare for me to eat breakfast food for breakfast. I woke up at 5am this morning and needed to get some fresh air, and ended up here.
* I love how much natural light this place gets. 1 star straight up.
* The food was excellent, I ordered the "Petaluma" scramble with chicken apple sausage, spinach with melted provolone and salsa. It was a little salty, but hearty nonetheless.
* The service is minimalist. They bring the food to you, and that's it pretty much. Very European, get it yourself, simple. I prefer not having a waiter hovering around constantly, so this is perfection to me.
* Pan fried potatoes. Need I say more?
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This is where I ended up that morning I thought Ti Couz would be open, but they weren't. And I though that I might be settling for something. I wasn't. Crepevine was a great spot to grab breakfast. And, breakfast is my favorite meal to eat out!
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I've forgotten how much I like this convenient and casual breakfast/brunch place in the Castro.
The crepes are merely an addition to their great menu. Each sandwich comes with greens AND rosemary potatoes. Not fries, not a lot of grease, and the greens come in a generous portion.
The Pacific salmon sandwich always a success...a soft bun, some savory crispy salmon and arugula. One can never have enough arugula.
The club is just as tasty, though a task to eat. It's a fairly big sandwich, but done right and not skimping on flavor.
Fresh apple juice? Fresh squeeze OJ? Everything is so fresh you want to smack your lips and save a tree.
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I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU!
How much do I love the Crepevine? If it was a date between Roseanne Barr http://l.yimg.com/img.tv.yahoo.com/tv/us... at Crepevine or a date with Paris Hilton http://www.free-celebr... at the Power Exchange, I'd totally pick Roseanne!
Before you call B.S. on me let me explain. There's nothing better in the world when people care. Seriously, I know jobs suck and there's about 10,000 other things we'd like to do especially on a Sunday morning but when i roll into the Crepevine on the busiest time they are always soooo nice and helpful! They'll make sure you have seating as soon as you walk in so there's no fighting over for seats when you're looking at the menu or waiting in line. If there's something wrong with anything they'll come right over. You'll be checked over by 3 different servers to make sure everything is just right though you order from a counter and they are probably sharing the tips.
And the food is fun-freaking-fan-tabulous. I never had anything bad there. The crepes are freaking awesome. I love their potatoes. The pancakes are like no other (try the pumpkin spice!). Their cobblers are a meal itself and amazing. Even the cookies are soft, fresh and perfect. I can't imagine how to improve on it.
The only negative things are that the drinks aren't too special. Parking is hell in the area (I usually just park on Lincoln). But for the food it's worth it!
It's a perfect mix of a great meal in a casual setting! They have made my Sundays so many times.
And oh yeah.. I wouldn't go out with Paris because I'm afraid of STDs... http://www.thesuperfic...
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are crepes supposed to be crunchy and DROWNED with Nutella?
very friendly service and semi tasty food...but nothing to write home to your French relatives about.
I like crepes.
They're pretty good.
So are sandwiches.
Mmm, sandwiches.
and Omlettes.
Awesome.
I just don't want to pay $10.
When I just want a sandwich.
Or an omlette.
Or just the crepe.
Maybe with just the salad.
Or just the rosemary potatoes.
That would be a good option.
Someone should suggest that.
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Is it wrong that everytime I go to Crepevine I order Eggs Benedict?
I mean, since the name of the restaurant has "crepe" in the title, one might think it a little strange that I had never, ever, ever tried a crepe of any variety at this establishment... yet, I go frequently for weekend brunchs when I am able to haul my booty out of bed before it becomes "linner" time...
One might consider it odd unless they were (like me) completely addicted to Eggs Benedict; and, had tasted the superior EB which Crepevine serves to it's customers.
Le AND Yum.
Be forewarned, this restaurant is ALWAYS crowded (even at 3 p.m.) so be prepared to have wait or play "paper-rock-scissors" in order to get a table... the service is pretty much always friendly, I've never noticed them either in a good or bad context, which tells me they are doing their jobs well.
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Yummmmmy Pancakes! I love their pumpkin spice pancakes to death. But seriously, they're good. I don't care that it's a "chain", the pancakes are yummy and that's more than enough for me to come back. They have that whole, nutty, hearty taste that only good pancakes have. An excellent alternative to your the usual favorites, buttermilk and blueberry.
Today I had brunch here with some friends and tried one of their egg benedicts (Costa Del Sol). The eggs were perfectly poached and had the right amount of spinach, onions and smoked ham. Hollandaise was perfect, although I must say the muffin was a little too soft for me. But it's well made up by the taste of the entire thing. Simply wonderful.
Extra star for the convenient location! :-)
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I've never seen so many crepe restaurants before I moved to SF. I don't get the big draw either. They're crepes with normal food on them. If they're dessert crepes they'll have bananas, strawberries, or nutella on them (pretty lame in my opinion). So I wasn't crazy about the idea of going to yet another crepe place.
But...
Crepevine was really good. I've been twice now and have left fully satiated. Crepevine had a ton of delicious combinations and not all of them are smashed into a silly crepe. They have gourmet sandwiches, omelets, pasta, salads, scrambles, and more. Being a vegetarian, it's usually pretty easy to choose a meal because there are so few options but Crepevine does a great job making us VegHeads feel loved. Their special juice - some combination of orange and carrot and something else - is pretty good. Their house potatoes (served with most everything) leave a bit to be desired - they're pretty dry and burnt. Likewise they're raspberry cheesecake was only so so but they have several other yummy looking desserts that I'm looking forward to.
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