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Park Bench Cafe
Rating Details »
Category: Coffee & Tea [Edit]
Neighborhood: Bernal Heights3214 Folsom Street
(between Bessie St & Precita Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 821-9435
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
14 reviews for Park Bench Cafe
moving to 4 stars for the coffee update to Graffeo...
And now I get sandwiches here...Jimmy makes a mean sandwich
5 stars obtainable with an upgrade to real bagels....
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
1/3/2009
Ah my little Park Bench....oh how we love our little neighborhood places...
Right off the bat you… Read more »
Damn! Those salads are huuuuge! Seriously, who needs that much salad?? I'm not really the biggest fan of Graffeo, but it does the trick on a cold morning when you are on the run. Nice lighting, good seating. Etc. Nice place.
Pretty much a sure bet for lunch (next to Precita Park, the smaller park). Pastries, large, full sandwiches and cheap salads are inexpensive (not cheap, but not overpriced). Individually owned and friendly people working here makes me feel good about giving them my money.
Unfortunately, the line is consistently very, very slow. They really ought to hire some more people to prepare lunches. Be prepared to wait at least 15 minutes for your order around lunch time on a week day.
Per my new year tradition (at least the last two years), I wanted to spend a leisurely afternoon sipping coffee and browsing the net in a new coffee shop. I got out of my apartment a bit late, so vetoed my ambitious idea of a Richmond adventure and went here instead. What an awesome little coffee shop. The guy working the counter was super friendly, and made up one of the best BBQ chicken sandwiches I've ever had. Ever. And it was on a wheat roll. Bliss.
I devoured that while enjoying the free wifi (and conveniently placed outlets), which I got on only after a connection problem that in my experience required a router reset. The guy did it in no time flat. Thanks!
And as I was about to leave, I ordered a latte to go (nonfat milk and sugar free syrups abound - yay!). I was planning on tipping as I had totally dug the eats and service, when all of a sudden he tried to sell it to me for only $2, about half off. His reply to my inquiry as to why - because it was the end of the day. Awesome. I accepted, but just increased the tip in kind.
If the rest of 2009 is as good as the karma coming from this place, it's going to be a fantastic year.
I get cravings for their egg salad sandwiches-- the couple who runs this place is so sweet that I ACTUALLY think what I really get cravings for is a fabulous egg salad sandwich prepared by my grandparents when I've scraped my knee falling off my bike!
Great salads - which are HUGE (get the small size!), breakfast bagels, peasant pies and coffee. Can you tell I like to visit "the grandparents" a lot?
Park Bench now serves Graffeo coffee- the best coffee in San Francisco: smooth, strong, never sour or bitter. So much better than Peets! Now, if they get baked goods as good as the coffee, move the review to 5 stars.
Whenever I find myself in Bernal Heights before work (with cash in my pocket), I visit the Park Bench Cafe for my morning Soy White Chocolate Mocha (I really need to just settle for coffee) and am always very satisfied!
They use Vita-Soy which is a big difference from the Starbucks custom Silk blend. If you like your espresso with soy, be sure to try out the Vita-Soy, and if you live in Bernal you might as well stop here!
Warning: They don't accept VISA/Mastercard (I know the drink is only $4, but I'd rather not get raped on the ATM service charge). I'd be happy with a 50 cent markup for card transactions.
I can go to the post office and buy a .39 cent stamp with my VISA debit card. Its acceptable when a small business sets a minimum or extra charge for cards, but to not accept it at all is ridiculous.
Decent neighborhood haunt for a quick bagel and coffee. Nothing spectacular. No real sit down area and almost always covered with flies, makes me wonder about the cleanliness of the rest of the place.
UPDATE: Based on the Department of Health, they've received the symbol of excellence and currently have a rating of 100 (http://www.dph.sf.ca.u...). I take back my questioning of their cleanliness. 2 1/2 stars.
How can a coffee shop serve such bad coffee? and when stopped in late afternoon to buy a latte, the sever actually asked me if I was sure I wanted caffeine so late in the day. excuse me?
I secretly love Cheetos. I secretly love Cheetos, but never buy them for myself because somewhere along the line I learned that they were bad for me. Imagine my delight when I opened my to go order and found a little bag of Cheetos just for me. How could I say no?
This cafe is nicely located across the street from Bernal Park and on a nice day you can grab a inexpensive sandwich ($4-5, with aforementioned chips), a drink and head across the street to watch dogs and kids run around. I wouldn't go out of my way to come to this cafe, but it's a nice stop if you are already in the neighborhood.
The coffee is fine and the bagels/bagel sandwiches of the breakfast variety are good. The atmosphere is nothing to write home about, however, and the staff is always a little gruff.
The best thing to do is get your grub to go and then lounge in Precita Park while you enjoy it. Perfect for those sunny weekend mid-mornings before the rest of the city wakes up!!
What makes me look forward to coming here, however, is the walk from my apartment -- there are always friendly neighborhood cats out for me to visit along the way. (Biased and unhelpful for you, yes; but also true!!)
I still don't really know why or how there can be two cafes on the same block serving the same clientele and not to metion, open during the same hours. Yet, you'll find me here way more often than you'll see me at Charlie's right down the block. Why? Well, the folks running this place haven't tried to stalk my friends, unlike some of the staff at Charlies. They sell the New York Times and this makes my inner old man very happy. However, they have one very odd thing-- the bathroom is tiny and cramped and features a tile mosaic done by some sort of dimwit. Why a dimwit? Because there's a mirror at crotch level and no one wants to see their bits reflected back at them while they crap. This ain't the Eagle for gawd's sake!
I live above this little cafe and I love it. The smell of toast, coffee and bacon in the morning is always lingering right outside my door and the super nice, efficient family that runs this place is great. Our building is for sale and I seriously hope the new owners will keep Park Bench Cafe in place as is. They also have free Wi Fi and a beer and wine license.
Park Bench Cafe is a relaxing way to start my day. I like that it is a family owned business and an under paid, corporate retail zombie doesn't take my order. I have come to know the family with my visits and chat about neighborhood goings on. The variety of coffee is good and the quality has been excellent. The morning pasteries and bagels are the best size, taste and value around. They also serve lunch time sandwiches and soups but I haven't really checked them out.The inside seating is plentiful, large front window with views of Precita Park is quite nice. I usually take out but knowing there is a posting from SF that the restuarant is rated a 100 makes me feel pretty good about the place. Also, with Precita Park accross the street you can take orders to go and hang out watching kids, dogs and assorted neighborhood folks. The Cafe brings a great sense of community to the neighborhood and they make some damn good coffee.
