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Thinkers Cafe
Category: Food Coffee & Tea Coffee & Tea [Edit]
1631 20th St(between Connecticut St & Arkansas St)
San Francisco, CA 94107
Neighborhood: Potrero Hill
(415) 285-8294
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 6:30 am - 4 pm
Sat-Sun 7:30 am - 4 pm
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
111 reviews for Thinkers Cafe
Review Highlights
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"Especially the Spicy Chicken Wrap." In 3 reviews -
"Can't really compare this one to Farley's." In 12 reviews -
"The hummus plate rocks." In 3 reviews
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111 reviews in English
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Review from Lauren P.
4/15/2012 4 Check-ins Here
they have this sandwich with salami, artichoke hearts, cheese and spicy mustard on a baguette that makes me extremely happy. it is seriously so good.
i got an iced coffee once and was less than satisfied. in fact, i threw it away after a few sips. maybe it was because it was the end of the day? i don't know but it wasn't good. their lattes on the other hand have been tasty. though i think they have some issues ringing people up which causes customers to be overcharged. it happened to me once. i didn't speak up. i wasn't in the mood to squabble over $0.25. just meant i wasn't going to toss my change in the tip jar as i normally would.
but that sando is really freakin' good. -
Review from Filip M.
Palo Alto, CA
4/28/2012
Great small cafe atmosphere in Potrero.
Americano(double) was decent.
Had the Lox and Egg Bagel. Taseteless. Would not recommend it. -
Review from Janet O.
Very cozy neighborhood cafe. Tasty coffee, decent menu on sandwiches and strong free wifi.
The best part? Iff you sit outside a view of the bay for you to enjoy. Proverbs and famous quotes randomly written on the walls. It's a bit quirky and that's makes this place adorable. -
Review from Ellen K.
San Francisco, CA
3/29/2012
Was pleasantly surprised by the delicious sandwich I picked up for lunch from Thinkers Cafe today. I believe I ordered the roasted turkey (or smoked?). Really solid and yummy. The people who work here are always friendly which makes spending money on lunch out an enjoyable experience. Pop over to the library across the street for one of the best views in SF! Minus one star for the mediocre latte which I ordered in addition to the sandwich.
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Review from Eric G.
San Francisco, CA
11/23/2011 3 Check-ins Here
Always delicious despite never getting order quite right. I think I've been there about 20 times and they always manage to mess up something in a minor but annoying way - toasted bagel when I always ask for untoasted; wrong kind of cream cheese; regular milk instead of soy, etc. It's almost entertaining to see how they'll screw up each time.
Pleasant atmosphere, nice views of the Bay from the tables out front, dog friendly, and otherwise a nice place to grab breakfast. -
Review from jazzy l.
San Francisco, CA
9/7/2011
Quick notes:
$3 for a single shot White Mocha
Free street parking. Only restriction is 8-10am on Wednesday for Street Cleaning but be on your own discretion.
Since the door of the cafe is open, there are flies however around inside the cafe area. A bit annoying at times.
Free Wifi but I did not use it.
About 16 seats indoors & a couple of small outdoor seating. -
Review from Chris G.
San Francisco, CA
6/22/2011
Great little neighborhood cafe with some excellent menu items, tasty coffee, fair prices, and friendly staff.
Small place, with around 15 seats or so including a few outdoor tables. The seating is pretty uncomfortable, with flat, hard wooden benches and little throw-pillow sized cushions. Great decor, with rotating local art and various proverbs and famous quotes painted randomly on the walls. The music is whatever they feel like playing, which I usually like but it can be loud sometimes, which may hurt their business in the long run.
Most of the times I go are off-peak hours like 11am or 2pm, so the service is quick and theres plenty of seating. However, when its busy it can be a completely different place. The line takes up most of the room and can quickly go outside, and the service suffers.
The Breakfast Croissant is my favorite in the morning. Plenty of scrambled egg, 2-3 slices of ham, ample cheddar cheese and green onions on a large, very tasty croissant. Along with excellent coffee it makes for a great breakfast. Close second is the breakfast burrito. For lunch I enjoy the spicy chicken wrap, which has a great ratio of fresh ingredients and a sauce thats quite spicy, but not too powerful or lingering.
Now a couple negatives. For some reason they have a really odd and nasty lemonade. I couldn't even drink past the first few sips. Also, the website apparently hasn't been updated in several years, it says they are open until 7pm which is way off. They closed at 3 and sometimes 2:30 during the winter, and for summer they are open until 4.
Prices are what you'd expect from an upscale cafe, but I believe its worth it, and overall Thinker's Cafe is a nice, cozy neighborhood cafe that has some great menu items and good service when they aren't really busy. -
Review from doms k.
San Francisco, CA
7/14/2011
Came in and ordered a COLD (said it 3 times) bagel with butter and the bagel they gave me was still warm! On a warmish bagel the butter will melt thereby defeating the whole point of a "bagel with butter." The butter is supposed to sit on top and not seep into the bread. I left the place defeated and just threw it away.
Oh, and they charged me more than on the menu, charging me extra for butter even though the menu prices already included a "bagel with butter." And when I told them the price on the menu said $1.50 and included butter, the response I got was, "Oh, I never looked at the prices on the menu" but no offer to charge me the appropriate price. I felt silly arguing for a quarter but I hate it when places charge you more than what's written. Left me feeling like I was being scammed. Yea it's only a quarter but if that's a thing they do that sure can add up quickly...
Totally helped ruin my morning the experience here. -
Review from Jason B.
Updated - 12/26/2010
"Be not afraid of going slowly. Be only afraid of standing"
-Chinese proverb
"There never has been a genius without a touch of madness."
-Seneca
These and other quotes adorn the walls of Thinkers. There should also be something about giving a place another chance. While my breakfast was not so good (see first yelp), and the hard benches are still not so good, my return for coffee and lunch was good.
Lots of sandwich options, but not a lot of them ideal for the Healthy Yelper. Fortunately the very nice lady working today was willing to do a custom one for me, and my turkey, lettuce, tomato and artichoke hearts with some of their house honey mustard dressing on the side hit the spot. As did my americano.
That she did all that and actually wanted to charge me less than a standard sandwich exceeded expectations. Enough so to push a strong three stars to four.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/3/2010
I wish I could remember my first experience better - coffee and lunch were a few years back. Another… Read more »
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Review from Lolia S.
San Francisco, CA
3/12/2009 1 photo
It's tiny for a coffee house - you can maybe squeeze in 16 people inside. The necessities are present: bathroom, free secure wi-fi (the signal is weak though), easy (and free) parking, and food. For inspiration, proverbs are painted on the walls from famous thinkers like Confucius.
For breakfast choose from bagels, muffins, scones, breakfast burritos, breakfast croissants, oatmeal, fruit bowl, granola, and smoothies. Breakfast is served all day (yay!). For lunch, they have salads and sandwiches (about $7) as well as a soup of the day, wraps and lasagna. Cakes, pies and cookies will tempt your sweet tooth.
I had 1/2 a "Potrero" sandwich: a thick pile of fresh spinach, sweet caramelized onions, roasted red peppers and creamy goat cheese on a toasted focaccia roll. The sandwich was quite small. I liked the combination of ingredients but the bread, though toasted, was already cold. The roasted red pepper soup was okay, a bit too sweet. The latte had generous amounts of foam but was just average in strength and flavor.
They close early - the website says 7 PM on weekdays but now they close at 5 PM on weekdays and 4 PM on weekends.Listed in: Confessions of a Coffeeaholic, Free wi-fi + Food in SF
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Review from jason l.
San Francisco, CA
11/18/2007
Totally whatever. But this isn't a review about the cafe's food, beverage, or service quality, all of which is safely middle of the road. No one will ever write home about this place. Unless their lives are staggeringly dull, but we won't think about that. it would make us sad.
No, this is a conversation about seriously poorly thought-out names. Bear with, because this has been bugging the crap out of me for going on four years and I'm just now venting spleen.
Let's look at the name of the business, shall we? I'll do all-caps, for emphasis.
THINKERS CAFE.
No possessive apostrophe. I cannot begin to accurately describe how that crawls under my skin and chews on my muscles. Thinkers cafe. Had they allowed the cafe to belong to Rodin's The Thinker, then I would never, ever care about this place. But because of this horrible stupid grammatical error, I despise it. My mind starts working overtime trying to make sense of it. What could thinkers cafe possibly mean?
It's like the concept of squaring a cube- you constantly feel like you can almost get your brain around it, but then you sprain something important and give up.
Thinkers Cafe.
Thinkers Cafe.
You know, I'd even be kind of okay if it were Thinkers' Cafe. I mean fuck Rodin. I mean, he was just some guy, right? Maybe they meant for it to be a place where people can come and, you know, ponder stuff. Life. God. Death. Peak oil. Whatever heartwarming lesson we all learned from last week;s This American Life. Weighty matters with a side of coffee. But they didn't do that.
Thinkers Cafe.
The plural of "a person who thinks," and the singular for an informal restaurant with absolutely nothing that would signify a relationship between the two outside of a seemingly coincidental proximity. Many people thinking coffeeshop. Oh my god my head exploded.
I've literally been annoyed by this for multiple years, and sometimes, when I'm having a particularly sublime bout of paranoia, I think they left the apostrophe out on purpose, just to mess me up. -
Review from Jay W.
San Francisco, CA
5/11/2006 1 photo
Of Potrero Hill's three independent coffee houses Thinkers is far and away my favorite.
The drip coffee isn't the best, but they make excellent espresso drinks.
The space is a little small and often crowded....seats about 12 inside and 6 at the outside tables...and the milk/sweetener bar is poorly located...but the service with a smile more than makes up for any shortcomings.
In addition to the typical coffee/pastry offerings they have a full menu of breakfast and lunch offerings...a soup of the day, hummus plates, 8 different salads, a half dozen different sandwiches, wraps, breakfast croissants, oatmeal, etc.
They catered a neighborhood event for the Trust for Public Land and did a phenomenal job.
Each afternoon they have "Thinkin' Hour" from 3 til close: half price Fat Tire & Sangria and Scrabble boards set up. Fun way to spend a summer afternoon.
And they get a full star for being puppy-friendly. Saturday and Sunday mornings there are often up to 8-9 dogs crowding the sidewalk on 20th, and they provide ample tie-ups and water for the pups.
They hang the works of neighborhood artists and the walls are decorated with notable quotes from the likes of Descartes, Oscar Wilde, Seneca, Archimedes, such as:
The greatest minds, as they are capable of the highest excellences, are open likewise to the greatest aberrations - Rene Descartes
Plus, free WiFi.Listed in: The Essential Potrero Hill
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Review from Gretchen T.
San Francisco, CA
1/30/2007
Still smiling from a great night, but now the sun is up and the dance music has faded, replaced by a rumbling hunger and the recollection that you essentially had a piece of cheese and 455 vodka redbulls for dinner and you have to run 12 miles later that day. Suddenly, you are STAR-VING.
Enter a simple and delicious breakfast egg burrito in a whole wheat tortilla and a perfect cappuccino (I don't say that lightly, mind you), served by efficient staff in a cozy neighborhood joint surrounded by the work of local artists.... ahhhh, and all is right with the world. -
Review from Joui T.
San Francisco, CA
10/31/2010
It brings me great pain to write this review because I have loved Thinkers Cafe for many years living here on Potrero Hill. Sadly, today was the last day for me going there for a quick and easy weekend breakfast treat, primarily because the treats are no longer quick or easy.
Every time I've been there recently, the have messed up my order. It's always something trivial like veg vs. non-veg or decaf vs. caf, but it's always something. And then the offending employee offers a painfully fake conciliatory smile and fixes it.
So creepy employees, some wrong orders-- so what, she makes you another latte and you're off, right? Wrong. The problem is that by the time you get your wrong order, you've waited an obscene length of time, so the next period of waiting for the correct order gets ever more painful.
The problem here is that they have an incompetent staff working in a cramped space that can't accommodate wide swings in traffic that happen on weekend lunchtimes. Their menu is delightful, but if they can't produce the food fast enough, they'd do better cutting it back. Also, they're incredibly slow even making drinks.
In short, I love the food and the coffee, and I'm happy to go here on off hours, but never again on a weekend. -
Review from Lisa S.
Bay Area
8/2/2007
I needed a spot in Potrero to camp out before meeting a friend for dinner. Desperately trying to finish Harry Potter before some random 13 year-olds have a heated conversation about it in my vicinity and burst my bubble; I curled up in the corner of the cafe with a non-fat mocha and my completely conspicuous children's novel. As ridiculous a hold as Harry has on my simple mind I still found myself glancing up and around, out the window, at the photos on the wall... I just enjoyed the feel of this place. It was interesting. It was cozy. People walked by outside on their way to their important lives. It's not a heavily traveled area but it was quiet and cute all the same.
Perhaps 10 seats (~6 tables) are squeezed together inside and maybe another 16 seats (~5 tables) were arranged under the tree in front of the cafe. Times on yelp say the cafe closes at 7pm on weekdays but they closed at 6pm on Wednesday Aug. 1, 2007.
My mocha was good. Harry was better. Having a place to relax before dinner was the best. -
Review from Colleen B.
San Francisco, CA
1/9/2008
I have a need to keep this cafe on the dl because it's an awesome oasis away from the bustle of 18th Street. But, they deserve props for making the most homey food with fresh ingredients and downright smart cost! The soups are amazing, I am particularly fond of the corn chowder that puts a little kick in your pants. Also, the only place I have found to get a decent salad in the 'hood during the lunch hour.
Extra kudos for hiring sweet and sexy staff! -
Review from jim c.
San Francisco, CA
3/4/2008
I love this place... Especially the Spicy Chicken Wrap... mmmmmm
mouth watering ..great coffee and cheap ! .. There is a nice buzz in
Thinkers .. I really think you should try it -
Review from Art O.
San Francisco, CA
12/16/2007
More like 3.5 stars but I'll bump 'em up just because I have to give any establishment respect that gives props to the some of the world's greatest thinkers.
The breakfast sandwiches *can* be good but sometimes they'll be cold in the middle for some strange reason. With that many people behind the counter, the food should be a lot more consistent.
The drinks I've had hear have been fine but nothing to write home about.
I won't talk about the locals too much because it's hard for me to diss an establishment because of its patrons but I'll just say that I've heard some of the most vapid convserations at this place.
Visit but don't stay too long. -
Review from Dario B.
10/28/2008
Apart from seating outside and having a Parisienne feel, they serve Illy caffe' (I think, at least the cups were from Illy).
Espresso was definitely too long, diluted, but honestly priced at $1.25 and tasted great....
It's all about roasting, and SF worships over-roasted beans for espressos (see Ritual, Blue Bottle, Dynamo etc etc) which spoil the entire concept of an espresso....being delicate and bold at the same time and persistent.
This wasn't persistent (because too long) but definitely delicate and bold.
Big points also because it's close to home. -
Review from anne m.
Updated - 1/22/2009
This review is strictly for the artwork on the walls. Did you know that the barista Chris not only makes a damn good vanilla latte, but sketched the awesome artwork that decorates the walls? My favorite is the Bob Marley piece near the restroom, but Chris said that one is not for sale.
:-( He also takes commissions. I plan on commissioning a piece for my husband for his birthday to support this talented, aspiring artist.2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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8/12/2008
I just had a caesar salad here and it was yum-o! They put tomato, red onion, and SHAVED parmesan.… Read more »
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Review from Victor C.
4/15/2010
3.5 blocks away from my place... without the decline/incline that is required to access Farley's = Good destination away from home.
Tasty coffee, hot breakfast burrito. Only one currently sitting inside (weekday) -- 10 2-people tables inside. 10 seats outside.
Food Menu: bagels, sandwiches, salads, wraps, soups, and all-day breakfast.
Drinks: Hot (espresso-drinks, thinker fuel) Cold (Iced drinks, fresh juice, smoothies, and frappes)
Free wifi.
Morbidly obese dog being forced to walk by owner (Poor dog had to rest ever 20 yards).
Yay! I'm a fan. -
Review from Ryan W.
San Francisco, CA
9/24/2009
Word:
Food (sandos)
Service (nice staff)
Free WiFi
Play Good Music
Ehh:
Seating, Indoor - a couple hard benches and chairs, and not enough cushions to go around)
Seating, Outdoor - heavily-shaded (no sun) & no view of the city
Whatchotalkin'bout Willis?:
They close at...4PM???Listed in: Coffee & Tea Shops (& Other…
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Review from Andy S.
6/20/2011
Great little food spot in the hood. The coffee is pretty good. It's basically my default for a quick breakfast near my house. Allow me to recommend the breakfast burrito. I love that they add hot sauce!
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Review from Jay M.
San Francisco, CA
3/31/2007
Thinkers is the closest cafe to my apartment, and they never disappoint me. The latte comes out in what can only be described as a bucket with a handle like a coffee cup. It's probably the size of your face, and needless to say well made.
I've tried two sandwiches: the potrero and the caprese. They were both good, if you like veggie sandwiches. I'm usually more of a carnivore, but for some reason these two appeal to me in particular.
The free wifi, friendly service, outdoor seating with heat lamps, and neighborhood character all add to the goodness of coffee and a tasty quick bite to eat.Listed in: Potrero Spots. The old…
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Review from Laurence H.
San Francisco, CA
7/6/2007
Cafe's are a funny thing....it is a very personal like or dislike and one which become a defacto hang out for many of us. I am not a heavy coffee drinker nor am I a big sandwich eater but I can see how Thinker's Cafe can be that kind of hang out.
The place is run by a friendly bunch of guys in cozy Potrero Hill. The salads and sandwiches are good portion and the price very reasonable. They have board games as well as philosophical quotes on the wall. There is also plentiful of outside seating. Best of all, the place was clean. Lots of charm in this place makes Thinker's Cafe a quintessential neighborhood hang-out. -
Review from Glamourbomb S.
Los Angeles, CA
12/7/2009
I'm a native Angeleno with ties to the Bay Area so whenever I'm in town you can bet I'll be at Thinkers. They have food here. I remember it being delicious. But it's the coffee. The COFFEE dammit, that keeps me coming back.
Thinkers is to me the quintessential local coffee joint. Friendly, tasty, art and wifi. You can't beat it. I really, really wish there was an awesome cafe like this in my town instead of having to drive 382 miles to get a cuppajoe. I'm a coffee snob, as stated in a previous review, so I'd really like to know if they brew their own beans or what. It's mighty delicious and kicks my day off right.
They used to have a big black notebook of discount cards. You know the kind: buy 10 and get the 11th one free kinda deal. For whatever reason they've discontinued hosting these notebooks on the counter but I carry a card in my wallet and get it stamped every time I visit. Since I do it so infrequently it would be convenient if they still held my card but meh, whatever. I'm not that cheap that if I don't get my free coffee I'm all huffy about it. It's just a nice tool for customer interactivity and loyalty. It's also a neat way to visually see how much I come up to this fair city and how often I visit this awesome spot. -
Review from Gina C.
11/19/2007
I like this place because it's in my neighborhood - right up the street from me. Plus I like to support the local businesses.
They offer coffee cards which I think is a nice touch. After 10 purchases of coffee you a get a free cuppa. You can even leave your card there in a binder so you don't have to keep it in your wallet.
But, what I don't like is that it takes a long time to get a cup of coffee - expect a wait, and that the coffee is not always hot. You need to make sure you ask for it to be super hot. -
Review from Shawn S.
San Francisco, CA
1/10/2007
These guys gots some java skillz.
If their latte is a street ball slam dunk, then the little leaf pattern they put in the foam is the victory dance. In yo face Farleys!
Actually, I like Farley's too, but - like the other Yelpers said - mostly for people watching, magazines and general lounging.
Thinkers' espresso drinks rival any you can find in this city, and unlike other joints that serve up jitter juice most worthy (Ritual?), Thinkers is almost hipsterless and entirely attitude free. I'm not a hipster hater, I just don't dig on high concentrations of any single subculture in any one place.
Thinkers has good food too, which is more important than ever with Klein's Deli on hiatus.
Docking one star because the place is so small you can't wait in line without being hit repeatedly by the door (assuming my post-holiday ass has nothing to do with it). -
Review from ross O.
Oakland, CA
8/7/2011
I love the breakfast burritos and their coffee is always great. I work on ambulances and slowly am getting to try the offerings of the small cafes in the city and have to say this is one the best. Food is always fresh
The staff is always super friendly , polite . Their Wifi is strong and not one of those advertising internet providers that seem to populate every cheap cafe in the city . Seating inside and outside on the curb which is what i prefer. Ample street parking on the main street with meters , or for free if you go around the corner. -
Review from Cx C.
San Francisco, CA
8/5/2011
A nice little coffee shop in the heart of Potrero Hill. Why this place? I think it's because of their apple pie. Not sure if it's homemade or Costco. They warm it up and add whip cream. A fine addition to my morning coffee and a book from the library across the street.
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Review from Erin H.
San Francisco, CA
2/19/2007
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this place. If they improve upon these two things, I will change my grade to five stars, no problem:
1. Fly-proof their baked goods display case. It borders on disgusting. No, actually, it IS disgusting. There are bugs all over their scones and in the hummus.
2. They really need to write down drink orders, or get started on them right away. On more than one occasion, my order has been forgotten and I've had to pipe up and remind them what I am waiting for.
If those two problems go away, I'll be back. But not until then. -
Review from Peter E.
San Francisco, CA
9/10/2010
Worst latte I've ever had and the cookie my wife and I shared was dry and not good.
Boo. -
Review from David D.
San Francisco, CA
11/15/2007
I had quite possibly the worst cup of coffee I have ever had at thinkers. Sure, the place is cute/cozy/local/whatever, and comes complete with people sucking down american spirits outside.
But when a coffee joint (keyword: coffee) has bad coffee, it's just a failure. especially when you are friends with someone who works there and they admit the coffee is bad. -
Review from Allyson S.
San Francisco, CA
9/27/2008
If it wasn't the nearest coffee to my old house, I probably wouldn't have come back so often, but be that as it may, they did have very good coffee.
The staff has changed a bit since I went here often, but every time I went it in was the same story, no wait at the reg, but no staffer behind it. So I stand there looking around, a few "Excuse me's?" and when that still didn't attract the staff, I'd just leave $1.25 on the counter and get my own coffee. Granted, this would be when I woke up on the weekends at, on average 1PM. Still that's no excuse.
I'd always just bought the coffee here, but one day I brought a friend and we sat down and ate lunch and I was very pleasantly surprised how good it was. I never bought food again, save a danish here or there, it was just always a little awkward inside, very unwelcoming.
Overall, good coffee, bad service, odd atmosphere. -
Review from Clayton P.
San Francisco, CA
8/29/2008
Another spot I was excited to get to know in my neighborhood.
I prepped myself by looking over the menu the previous evening, and the coffee drinker I am not, I decided a smoothie sounded rather fantastic.
As I headed out of the house and bounded down the street with my dog in tow I was so ready for a banana smoothie.
I showed up made my order with a nice morning smile only to find out someone dropped the blender and it broke...and yes I asked....they only had one blender in the place!
I was down but not out, so I ordered the the breakfast croissant sandwich. For $7+ I got an egg from McDonald's slid between two of the most thinly sliced pieces of ham I have ever seen, sprinkled with graded cheese out of a bag you can pick up at Safeway. Croissant wasn't too hot either.
That sando + a bottle water ran we $8.75 and not one bite tasted good.
I had a decent time as they had outside seating and were dog friendly (water bowl included outside) while I caught up and read the onion - readily supplied copies available inside.
The blender thing really threw me off and negatively impacted my experience.
They did have breakfast burritto and bagel & lox on the menu as well.
Will come back and review once I have a fulfilled experience...but really only 1 blender...come on!!! -
Review from Joe K.
San Francisco, CA
11/9/2008
Thinker's is one of those unique and amazing establishments that adds flavor to Potrero Hill that often feels missing - tasty, healthy, reasonably cheap cafe food served in an establishment with a strong neighborhood vibe. I'm a huge fan of the breakfast burrito myself, but I've also had most of their sandwiches. They make a really good salad that is always fresh and tasty.
They do get really busy on the weekends, but even when they're not, I feel like it takes an extraordinarily long time to get my food. And that wouldn't be a big deal, except that due to the way the tables are laid out there is never enough space for even the mid-morning, off-peak rush, so I hate to wait around for a second longer than I have to because people are often standing around peering for an open table. I feel like there has to be some way that they can reorganize the tables to take a bit of space out of the middle area and add one or two additional tables along the sides (maybe by rotating the two-top tables 90 degrees...)
But it's still a five star establishment, and one that I hope remains around forever, and I'm glad that rumors of it being sold (that were leaked on EaterSF) were false. I would love to be able to grab a light dinner here, but like every other cafe on the PH they're breakfast/lunch only. -
Review from Johan E.
San Francisco, CA
7/14/2011
They can't multitask and are extremely slow! Bring back the Filipino couple!
I come here regularly, and it is pretty cheap compared to Starbucks, double latte is $3. There is also usually parking and it is close to the freeway. That being said, the employees are extremely slow and can not multitask. I've waited 20 mins for a latte with only a few people in line...because the idiot hipsters behind the counter get confused and can only do one thing at a time. This never happened when the Filipino couple worked in the mornings...they multitasked and understood teamwork and service with a smile. -
Review from Frankie D.
New York, NY
2/12/2007
This is quickly becoming my secret little study spot, even though it's not too close to my house. The place is quiet and relatively low key and the service is great. Pretty standard cafe food. I can't comment on their coffee because I'm a tea drinker, but I'm sure it's dandy. You can start a Frequent Thinker card, good for free drinks and stuff, but the best part is, you can leave it there!
The only downside that I've seen is the overabundance of bints with screaming children. Shut those fucking things up, yo. -
Review from Katie V.
San Francisco, CA
3/11/2007
My boyfriend and I ate lunch at Thinker's Cafe yesterday and were pleasantly surprised. Their chicken sandwich was one of the best we had tasted and the humus plate was delicious. I had an iced coffee which was the greatest but the food more than made up for it. Its in a pleasant neighborhood across from the Potrero hill branch of the public library and also close to several gorgeous parks.
Overall I think this was a delightful spot to lunch! -
Review from melissa t.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 8/12/2008
Oddly enough, I was going to up this to a 4 star. The key word here is was. I'll give it to the baristas, after years of going here (since I staunchly will not compromise my coffee morals and step foot in Farley's again) they finally have baristas that care to remember my name and my favorite summertime drink.
So, why have I suddenly downgraded you ask? Well, I thought their hours were bad already. They have left me in the lurch for years when I am craving a nighttime coffee, but it has gotten worse. Now I can no longer appease my afternoon cravings. There is now a new sign on the door indicating their "Fall" hours.
First, when did August 1st become Fall? Please do not take my summer away from me any earlier than need be!
Secondly, how on earth can a coffee house survive when they only serve food until 2:30 and close by 3:30, or is it that they only serve food until 1:30 and close by 2:30? Either way, what the hell? Perhaps this is why they raised their prices.
Oh and I have one other beef. Why do "regulars" still get to pay $1 for their coffee? Why aren't they subject to that extra quarter they now charge? Really, what is the extra quarter to these "regulars" what on earth will a single quarter get you? So, why do the baristas turn their head when they are only handed a dollar? Why not speak up and say "I'm sorry, coffee is now $1.25." It doesn't take a lot to be a little assertive.
So there is my rant and my rationale for the downgrade. I admit, I am a coffee addict, but how hard is it to have some decent hours. Is it that they can't pay for the extra help? Maybe if they actually charged all those "regulars" that extra quarter they could stay open past mid-afternoon.
But, it is still the only decent coffee house in my neighborhood. So, what's a girl to do?1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/21/2007
Ok, I'll admit it I'm a coffee house snob, so shoot me. Shoot me if I want a cafe where everybody… Read more »
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