La Boulange de Hayes
Categories: Bakeries, Coffee & Tea, Sandwiches [Edit]
Neighborhood: Hayes Valley500 Hayes St
(between Laguna St & Octavia St)
San Francisco, CA 94102 (415) 863-3376
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Wi-Fi: None
- Good for: Breakfast, Lunch
- Alcohol: None
80 reviews
Neighborhood: SOMA
"GOD DAMN THAT'S SOME GOOD PASTRAMI! Another member of the stable of SOMA luncheries. Toasted sandwiches with fresh ingredients and generous…" read more »
142 Reviews for La Boulange de Hayes
Just about everything I've had here is tasty, but I wish it was all like $1 cheaper. Coffee is consistently good. Croissant I had once was mediocre. I like the open face sandwiches, and the breakfast pizza thing was a very satisfying breakfast. I like the atmosphere too--bustling, but not overcrowded. Even when busy, can always find a table without too much trouble.
I popped into the boulangerie this weekend after deciding I was feeling too cheap to eat a crepe and fries at Frjtz. I figured I could get a couple of little things to make up a tasty, filling lunch and spend a bit less than I could at the other place. As it turns out, while the items are less expensive at La Boulange, they all look so good that it's hard to keep from buying everything.
I wound up getting a vegetable croissant, a brie and apple mini sandwich, and a slice of chocolate ganache tart. The croissant was delicious--especially after being warmed up, as the cashier recommended--with lots of spinach, tomatoes, and cheese (gruyere?). The sandwich was on a walnut roll, which went very well with the mild brie and crisp apple. These two items were plenty filling for lunch, so I saved the chocolate for later. It made a perfect late-afternoon snack.
I'd give it five stars for the tasty food, efficient and friendly service, and location (lots of seating, both indoors and out), but I'm subtracting one star for the two little flies cavorting on one of the pastries in the case.
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Every time I pass by here I want to go in but for whatever reason I just keep on walkin'. On this particular day my friend didn't quite insist we go there but didn't give much of choice either. I'm thankful of this.
Inside I felt a transported to some French cafe where everything is lively and makes you feel good. The vast array of croissants, quiches, sandwiches etc. all made my mouth salivate. Choosing a croque monsieur and having it heated up on the chilly morning was such an awesome idea my dining partner followed suit.
So in true cafe culture we talked about transoms, people watched and enjoyed our cheese and ham deliciousness. The desire to order more food was alarming and guaranteed that I will be back.
A special shout out to the cute girl with glasses behind the counter who laughed at my jokes and still gave us correct change!
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Artisanal Walnut bread--- if you don't like it lump it. Stay home and eat your wonder bread and american cheese sandwich with extra mayo.
Damn good cup of coffee, darn good pastries and plenty of eye candy (both decor and clientele).
The People's Republic of Blue Bottle seems to be the toast of Hayes Valley and it is the best cup in the City on the best days. But Blue Bottle doesn't have the best day every day and Boulange is almost always a great cup. Plus, I dig drinking out of a bowl.
A nice tasty pastry is always welcome on my palette. Boulange's assortment is more impressive than it's quality, but that just says that they've got a display case about fifteen feet long. Sweet? Savory? You got it. And it's liable to be pretty good, too.
One of the best things about Boulange here is that it's so bright. A bunch of windows let the sunlight in--a good thing too, it's a nice place and there always seem to be a few other reasons to look up from your coffee.
I work in the vicinity, and thus in my search for good lunchy places on Hayes have had lunch here a few times. What a delight this place is! First of all, as you wait in line to order, you are greeted by a shelf of the most delectable -looking pastries in the city. WOW. And they usually have samples. YUM.
The salads (I recommend the prosciutto salad), the soups, and the sandwiches are all top-notch, although not in themselves orgasmic. What really makes this place great is the experience - the beautiful Hayes Valley crowd, the warm and inviting environment, and of course the curbside tables. I love eating outside on a warm day. It is a wonderful intersection, just across from the Octavia street park.
A far more fun experience - and slightly better food - than Arlequin, another neighborhood samich place.
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I love feeling French. This Bakery/Cafe wins my vote for best pastries in the neighboorhood. I love the chocolate hazelnut crossiant...however, I heard the vegetable crossiants are just as delicious for savory fans. The gentleman that served my husband and I this weekend even had a nice accent and was very friendly! This would be a fun spot to write early in the morning while sipping coffee and eating yummy pastries.
OK, so there are better places in the city, Tartine for example but you won't wait as long and I don't live near them. This place is great though. I haven't had anything bad there. Their pastries are great not too sweet just like in Paris. Their mochas are delicious and they are served in a nice large bowl the way my grandmother would serve me hot chocolate as a kid. It's a pretty busy little spot but what isn't around here?
Good local eatery!
I've been here twice and both times I've ordered the open face tuna sandwich...and it is so good!!! What more could you ask for? tuna made with chopped apples and sauteed onions and melted cheese!!!
And the service is always friendly!!
The name of the game is 'EAT'.
Does their menu look good? Yes? EAT.
Those cookies look good.. but I just ate. S'okay. EAT.
Is the line out the door? No? EAT.
Are the Mariners terrible? Yes. *tear* EAT.
Dim Sum? But I just had lunch. No probs. EAT, Lady.. I SAID EAT!
Do I have a problem that should probably be looked into? Maybe.. but in the meantime.. EAT.
So, whenever I'm out and about in a place I've never been, I have this serious problem. I just can't say no to cute little cafes.
As I walked down Hayes on a lovely Sunday and noticed this sweet little spot, it called to me from across the street. I HAD to go in.
As I stood in line, I noticed the vast array of buttery pastries, sandwiches, and tarts. I knew I should only get one thing b/c I was, after all, headed for brunch in like, Oh, 10 minutes (I told you I had problems).
I had the strawberry rhubarb tart, and ('my love is like') WHOA mama! Super- tasty-buttery-crusty-fall-apart-I-love-you-tart.. GOOD!
Now, if I could eat cheese, I would have TOTALLY gotten their Croque-Monsieur. That bad boy had cheese on the inside AND on the outside of the bread. Who does that?.. Oh right, they do.
Cute space- good for a quick grab or a sit down..
It was also good for satiating my hunger issues.. which, after writing this review, I'm not sure they have anything to do with hunger. I will have it looked into. I promise. :)
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I stopped by here a few weeks ago for a bowl of french onion soup and a bacon/cheese open-faced sandwich. Yum! It was very crowded, and finding a seat was a pain, but the service was efficient and surprisingly fast.
I plan to go back and try some of their pastries next time.
I went here on a weekday morning to do some work and oh my god it was a baby fest! The place was crawling with babies (no pun intended). I think there were 18 strollers in there. Unless you are lactating, this place is not for you!
That said, the pastries are really really good, just like the others in the chain, my favorite being Cafe Du Soieil.
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I don't know about this location specifically, but I just bought their garlic cheese bread at Whole Foods (in Palo Alto) and it is DELICIOUS! Just a few weeks ago, I ate the cheese bread at the Joel Robuchon bakery in Roppongi (Tokyo) and I have to say that they are pretty much the same in flavor. Woo hoo!
I dock one star because they close so early!! I'd really like to have a snack or even dinner there before the symphony.
Synopsis. Casual order at the front collect a number kind of pastery/sandwich/salad shop - ostensibly a neighborhood staple.
Vibe. I enjoyed the bustle of the crowd of La Boulange which seemed to be the busiest establishment in Hayes Valley at 12pm on a Monday. There was seating available inside the simple and cozy interior with a bit of outside seating all about the cor
Food. I was torn between the quiche and the savory tarts (ham and potato and the 'vegetarian' tarts). At last minute, I decided on the pea and bacon quiche ($4.50) with a green side salad (2.50). The quiche was light spongy and eggy - while the crust was light and buttery, the salad coated with a lemony vinaigrette. Pitty, I didn't have more room for dessert!
One Caveat. The only issue I have with the La Boulange was the fact that while sitting at a table nearby the case of pastries for lunch, I observed little gnats dinging happily around the croissants.
This place is ok. Nothing's so good that it'll jump to the top of your list. But at the same time it apparently beats the chain across the street...Plus you can see all the crazy shit that goes on in Hayes Valley these days.
I've been there a couple of times now, and always had the same "so-so" experience, so I finally decided to write a review about it. This place is always CROWDED, and there's nothing that special on the menu. Seriously.
Then, it is really noisy, not that clean, and always I had to fight with flying bugs while eating. Full of fly! Not that cool...
I never been to other "La Boulange", I'll give it a try, but I'll never go back to this one in Hayes Valley, for sure.
this is, hands down, the best place to cry publicly in the city.
people here have non-intrusive sympathy. it's precision. it's flair. it's downright artful. i bring a book and sip my kick-ass americano while pretending to be engrossed in the story. and don't bring a book by stephen king or dean koontz. the shit has got to be maudlin, like kundera, winterson, or lahiri. tuesdays with morrie is a good one. passersby love to see the reason why you're crying. it would be rude to cry in public otherwise.
ooh, and get a pizzeta here. or a scone or something. aside from it being sooooooooo good, it also stays true to the experience. you can't have an incomplete experience when you're trying a new place, you know. another important detail is that people will definitely not think you're crying out of emotional duress because you ordered a croissant. sad, on-the-outs people don't need such a luxury. you've then, quite easily, managed to fall out of the freak category. it's like, "oh, i woke up today wanting some quiet reading time at this fine establishment and, oops, this sad ass book just HAPPENED TO ME." like, you didn't plan on crying. it just happened to you. you're the victim.
don't get me wrong, it's not like i like crying in public. i hate it. but sometimes you gotta.
like if you broke up with someone and his/her stuff is strewn about your apartment and the pillow next to you still smells like him/her. every square inch of your apartment reminds you of him/her. you bought your bedside lamp on a street on your way to brunch with him/her. you picked up your couch with him/her thanks to craigslist and this person even helped you shampoo the upholstery. and the many times you made love in the shower before going out is why you've acquired the title of the "late couple" among mutual friends...
... or, you know, something like that.
the desperation of just... going somewhere else to keep you from puking uncontrollably.
anyway, americano and pizzetas are the thing for me here. and then afterwards i can buy expensive things at the nearby boutique and possibly buy cute luggage next door so i can break up and move away in style. loves it.
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I have gone to both the one in Hayes Valley and the one in Cow Hollow. I have never been disappointed. I usually get the croque monsieur and the tropizienne tart. This last time I had their French onion soup. The atmosphere changes every time I go in and have seen everything from the uptight business people to the carefree college students. I highly recommend this place to friends.
I've walked in about three times and only actually bought something once. But of those three times, the service has been consistently horrible.
They don't acknowledge you, even if they're just standing around at the counter doing nothing. No, "Can I help you with something," or "Do you have any questions?" when you're looking around or staring at the menu. Its only when you make your presence known by looking them straight in the eye do they look at you.
So, the only I ever bought was their mini sandwich with goat cheese, tomato, and basil because it was fast, easy, and the cheapest thing I could find that looked somewhat appealing. It was really good, but tiny at $2 a pop. But I guess that's what you expect for supposedly high quality ingredients. MMM, the bread had these olives in it...so goooooooood.
I DEFINITELY will not be back. They're assholes.
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hair in my breakfast pizza :[
they replaced it but forgot the cheese. by that time i was too miffed to even say anything. and kind of didn't feel like walking up to the counter a third time to complain. i know when to cut my losses.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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05/30/2008
i first heard about this La boulange through a friend who had gotten hired. unfortunately, that… Read more »
Any place that has Nutella as a condiment gets a big thumbs-up from me! Man, I wish I was the kind of person who could keep a jar of Nutella in her house and not devour it all immediately. Alas.
I like that their large coffee comes in a huge bowl. The first time I went here, I was thinking, wow, it's weird everyone is having soup for breakfast. I actually haven't indulged in many of their pastries, sadly, but I did have a good croissant, once when I was feeling decadent. My roommate and I had granola with yogurt and fruit there on her birthday - yum! Going out for breakfast during the week was such a treat! I'm usually an eggs girl for breakfast (no pancakes or waffles or pastries for me generally, although they always look great), and the shirred (sheared?) eggs I had here once were just ok - but everything else made up for it. Pretty good sandwiches, too. Cute place, love the location.
Only their decaf (all I drink anyway) is fair trade, by the way.
Sunday afternoon, slightly tired... slightly poor, slightly bored...
Honduran friend visiting from out of town, slightly tired... slightly hungover... slightly hungry.
-Want to get some coffee? I am falling asleep.
+Sure, where?
-The Boulange?
+WTF is that?
-Let's just go.
2 X $2.00 pot of coffee (in a bowl) and 1 X NY Cheesecake later...
Sunday evening, energetic, slightly poorer, enthusiastic
Honduran friend from out of town, neurotic, totally recovered and satiated.
I heart Boulange.
I really like this spot, even though it's a chain. I had the mini sandwich with cream cheese and lox. Just the right size (I was going to work out not long after breakfast). Also, the french onion soup is excellent. I love that they have nutella out so you can spread some on your bread. Also, love the mini pickles (gerkins?) they have out as well.
The only bummer is that my food and my sister's came out quickly, but our other friend's did not. She waited for a while, then had to go up to the counter to ask about her meal.
If you love pastries, this place will rock your world.
La Boulange came so highly recommended, it felt like a blind date set up.
I first heard of its existence when I lived in the East. Upon my return to SF, people were still raving. When I finally went, it didn't live up to the hype. I left disappointed and a little... disgusted. The condiment bar was filthy... Take a look at the picture!
I was not impressed.
When I reported back to my friends, they pushed for another go with the convincing "First impressions aren't everything!" and the "It was having a bad day!" reasonings. The other day (Monday), since Citizen Cake was closed, I ended up around the corner at the Hayes La Boulange, as if it were a last resort. As I hesitated to enter it felt as though I was force starting a lil somethin' something. So I cleared my mind of the terrible first experience and walked in with no expectations.
The verdict?
Well I feel kiiiiiinda bad for giving it only three stars, especially since the third star is solely for the condiment bar. But how can I NOT give an additional star for the fabulous extras? Seriously. Who else has all that to offer with no strings? Olives, Nutella, jam, and honey.... for free? Since I was utterly disgusted by the nastiness the first time around, I overlooked the great bar!
La Boulange almost woo'd me. Keyword here being almost, as I was reminded once again, that perfect appearances, unique extras, and all the buzz in teh world will not compensate for substance. And from two dine in trips and two to-go orders, I think I got to know La Boulange pretty well. Plain and almond croissants, lemon turnover, strawberry tart, raisin something (it was a pastry), assorted macarons, madeleines (chocolate and regular), the take away Camembert Prosciutto baguette, and flan tart all tried and tested well.
Aside from the lemon turnover, the others were... hmmm... off? I don't mean to be picky but something about their 'goods' don't sit right with me. It could be the croissants' flakes that squish instead of melting together with a slight bite. Or possibly the dense custards in the tarts and pastries that reminded me of refrigerated mashed potatoes. Or maybe it's the overly sweet mousse in the fruit tarts that seemed to be slopped on for textural variation purposes. And as much as I enjoyed the lemon turnover, it was too darn big. Even for my big ass mouth. Hence, bigger is not always better!
So I'm sorry, from the bottom of my heart La Boulange, to put you on blast via Yelp. I truly wanted to tell the world how fabulous you were. How you swept me off my feet and I secretly scribbled our combined names a million, trillion, bajillion times on the cover of my Trapper Keeper, dreaming of perfectly baked babies.... but you just don't do it for me. You deserve someone who will appreciate you the way you are.
It's not you, it's me. Really.
I hope there are no hard feelings..... ;)
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In the Valley de Hayes, Pepe LePew seeks amor with the kitty with the painted white stripe down her back..."How eez eet that she can sleep when I am so near? We must stoke the furnace of love, must we not? ....Theez leettle love bundle. Now she eez seeking for us a trysting place. Touching, eez eet not? Come, my leettle peanut of brittle. I will help you. Wait for me. Wait, ma cherie!"
Au-haw-haw...perhaps you talk like a Parisian when you mange here, mon ami? Non? Then go to Stacks, and don't let the brioche hit you on the way out. It is indeed a bustling place just like that cafe where Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell order the deux cafes as they moan "When Love Goes Wrong, Nothing Goes Right" swinging their hips. You know..."Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"..."A kiss on the hand may be quite...". Oh, never mind....go back to your MP3 player, you indifferent Gen Z laptopper!
They have a small but sturdy menu of edible brunch items here. I tried the $6 Breakfast Pizza with Smoked Salmon (see my photo). It was quite tasty with that unmistakable Boulangerie dough. And the generous portion of salmon made a nice contrast to the soft eggs and melted Gruyere on top of the thin crust. Tres bon. And of course, when you get a grande cafe, you get a small mixing bowlful like in France. Apparently, the French do not believe in handles or recycled paper cozies.
I was able to sit at the window and watch the world go by. OK, maybe not the world. Just rude people staring at me as I ate. Go to Stacks and stop bothering me. Gee, I had no idea this place is connected to my favorite French bakery off Fillmore. And Cafe du Soleil in the Lower Haight. And Le Petit Robert on Polk. And Americano across from the Ferry Building. Jeez, this Pascal Rigo must be filthy reech...perhaps I should use Pepe LePew's methods of seduction to get unlimited carbs, mais oui?
FOOD - 4 stars...eet eez Boulangerie, eez eet not?...tres delicieux
AMBIANCE - 4 stars...a bit crowded too much of the time, eez eet not?...but so eez Paree, mon ami
SERVICE - 3.5 stars...eet eez how you Americains say..."O-K"
TOTAL - 4 stars...go to Arlequin, too, and you will feel a bit of the Champs-Elysees right in Hayes Valley
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The people who work here have no idea what's in the food they're serving. If you don't mind eating food of mysterious and possibly questionable origins, by all means come by here to buy their overpriced food.
I ate here tonight and was assured by their staff that their Tomato Basil soup had no cheese or meat in it. To my surprise I found a glob of chicken in it. Horrified, i brought the bowl back to them. They told me it was a glob of parmesan cheese (although it had muscle tenders like chicken). They seemed completely dumfounded when i questioned why there was chicken looking cheese in my allegedly cheese-less and meatless soup. Beavis and Butthead would have provided me a more intelligent answer.
Even if you aren't a vegetarian, you probably care about the knowledge the servers have about the food they're serving to you. To that end, i strongly recommend avoiding eating here. The people who work here are painfully ignorant of the contents of the food they're serving you. I encountered this complete ignorance with 4 different employees here. It isn't an isolated employee. It's an example of a management that just doesn't care about customer service.
Update: Can't believe how bad the service is here. Both my friend and I ordered food and both our orders came wrong. We ordered at different times, so it wasn't even that their was a rush, or the person was confused. We had different people helping us each time. . . ..
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Excellent location, across the street from a tiny park and at the end of a block with great shopping.
Not so excellent service. Everyone's pretty polite except for the *itchy cashiers who whisper about customers/co-workers, roll their eyes, ignore you, and then don't give you a receipt. They don't ask you if you'd like one, they just say, "okay, you're all set." mmmkay. . ..
Also, it's super packed, and the lines are nearly out the door, which I'm sure gives credit to the food/location, but not a pleasant place to have lunch because of that cafeteria/Panera vibe. If you walk five minutes down, you can have a delicious lunch at Cafe du Soleil. And it doesn't have wireless which means I'll probably never go back.
Also, I'm not quite sure about their sizes. I asked for a small coffee and got the world's smallest tea cup with less than six ounces of coffee in it. My friend saw that and asked for a large. She got a huge (soup) bowl full of coffee, probably more than sixteen ounces!
They did have a few options for pastries and tarts and my friend thoroughly enjoyed her lemon tart. I think.
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My first option for coffee and breakfast was closed, fortunately Boulange was right around the corner. And I think it's fate, because their oat + fruit + honey goodness was just what I needed to kick this nagging post-vacation bug and put me in better spirits. A tad expensive, but quality and portion seemed worth it. Coffee was pretty good too.
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Go for the French toast!!! it's really a custard disguised as bread. i must learn how to make such a thing!
I think the stars aligned for me as far as food goes this last weekend. everything i sank my teeth into was heavenly. this spot in Hayes was sun-dappled and seemingly blessed by all things lovely in the universe.
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Since having had the Bouchon croissants in Yountville, I've been on a semi-mission to find croissants of similar quality in San Francisco. I thought I'd give La Boulange a try, since I was in the neighborhood.
La Boulange does offer many different types of croissants- from almond, to chocolate and chocolate hazelnut, but they were all out of the plain croissant I was on the lookout for. I decided to try the chocolate hazelnut instead, which looked appetizing enough. Unfortunately, it just didn't hold a candle to Bouchon. Bouchon's croissant was crisp on top and delicious flaky on inside- La Boulange's was not. The chocolate hazelnut was a good flavor, but the croissant itself just didn't have the lovely, light flaky layers I've come to expect in a good croissant. Instead, the croissant was a little too dense.
3 stars because the croissant wasn't awful, just not at the same level as Bouchon's. I may be back because I did spot some other interesting pastries that I'd like to try.
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I have to say the open sandwich with Bacon, Roasted chicken was so gd, the quich was yummy and rich, the cappuccino and the onion soup was average, service was great, and the decor+environment were great, good for a lunch - must try. The pastry was really great. I love it. it's cozy!!
We stopped here for breakfast last week; just a quick run in to grab some food for a road trip. So impressed were we that we ended up coming back the next day for more!
The wait was a little long, but I am not sure how that could be fixed. The food was quite good.
With all the bites of food I had from everyone else, I tried the ham sandwich, the yogurt and granola, chai latte, strawberry/rhubarb tart, chocolate tart, the chocolate bar and the mocha. Every single bite was simply amazing.
For quick French pastry style breakfast, this place was amazing.
I don't understand the hype about this place.
First time I went, I had the smoked salmon and capers open face sandwich. I am deeply disturbed when I get warm smoked salmon. It wasn't tasty at all. The French Onion soup tasted like they watered that shit down.
Second time I went, the turnovers were okay. Nothing terrible, but I needed a snack.
Cute interior though. Every time I stroll by, this place is packed. Maybe because there is wifi because it certainly isn't about the food.
Serivce is ok - there are some snotty employees, but also some really friendly ones! A tip to the snotties: SMILE! Don't serve me looking like someone shoved a croissant up your ass :) It scares me.
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The almond croissant is stuffed with the richest, ooziest almond paste imaginable. My face is currently covered in it and I don't care! The croissant is buttery, flaky (not bready) with a lovely, crispy brown crust topped with a generous amount of sliced almonds and powdered sugar.
Bliss for $2.50.
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I'm hella spoiled. Why?
1.) Living in San Francisco not only has coerced me into thinking that it's completely OK to say hella sometimes, but my palette is down-right bitchy.
2.) I think it's OK to go to La Boulange - one of the best damn french bakeries and cafes in the city, order a Croque Monsieur and take it to go and eat it on the way to muni like it was a hot dog from 7-11.
3.) Hector
After getting my hair did at Oxenrose, by none other than Hector the GREAT, I bounced over (literally bounced, get your hair done by him and you will have a new bounce in your step) to the kind of new La Boulange. I ordered the Croque Monsieur and for a second, considered putting on a French accent to order. For a second, I didn't have one sour taste in my mouth for the French. I loved France today and wanted to teleport to Paris for tonight. That is how good this fucking cheese and ham (basically) sandwich was.
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The decor is fun, the food is so-so. My issue is with the customer service. I don't mind waiting in a line that goes out the door - if I'm gonna get a badass latte within 2.5 mins after ordering it.... (and I think that time allotment is generous. I've made my share of lattes, it doesn't take that long!)
But La Boulange has yet to provide. My last two visits, I have to wait at least twice that long to be handed a luke warm cup of coffee - which I wind up tossing 5 sips later. Boo!
The best thing this place has going for it is the decor, totally cute.
But dammit, I want my coffee hot and I want it relatively quickly!
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Fantastic addition to the neighborhood! Love their savory tarts - just had a zucchini, tomato, and goat cheese tart - gobbled in the car so good! The chocolate croissant was nice, and I'm a freak for the canneles....
The macarons are very good - although I think Miette may have an edge on the texture, but flavors are very very good. More research needed!
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With such a lovely French vibe, I thought the French onion soup was destined to be fantastic. But what arrived at my table was not an oozy, delectable bowl covered in melty cheese. It was a cup of lukewarm, bland soup topped with a dried up cheese toast. I don't know if it was premade, or what, but that soup certainly did not see the light of a broiler before it came to me. Sad day in Hayes Valley. I do love the interior here - it's brighter and more spacious than the one I usually go to in Cole Valley - but the food wasn't up to snuff this time.
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I hope this place doesn't become so ultra hip that I want to scream/throttle/contemplate leaving while listening to the other patrons in line. I gave up on waiting in line on my first visit, but did feel like It was pretty close quarters when i went back again and actually got a seat.
Had the pear tart and a bite of a sad cupcake looking cookie. It was fine. I want to be in love. I'll keep trying.
They did forget my friend's coffee and we had to remind them after we watched several others get served.
This is a great Hayes Valley addition. Just makes me wonder where all of these folks were hanging out at lunch time before? I tried to go for lunch one day, but the crowd and line were formidable. Maybe they could add a take out window on the side?
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I ordered an open-faced sandwich here with a side of greens. The service is very similar to service you'd get at a fast food joint; very impersonal and careless.After you've ordered, you pour your own water and find a seat if you're lucky. The open-faced sandwich was what I expected it to be. Wasn't bad. It's what a sandwich is supposed to be. Toasted bread, melted cheese, and what not. What I really liked about this place was the location in the midst of unique, different shops. I probably won't go back unless I'm in the neighborhood to roam around or go shopping. I wouldn't come back just to eat here.
