Caffe Greco

8/5/2018

• 2 check-ins

A well known spot in North Beach! They have some of the best tiramisu in town!! If tiramisu isn't what you're looking for they have coffee, gelato and other Italian desserts.

Huge tip - they only take cash!!

8/30/2018

Food (3 panini's) is excellent, simple and fresh, in case you are craving for a little something
Courses around $10-$12
Canolli's look good although I have not tried

3 stars because the service was not very friendly
You have to order at the counter which is not clearly displayed (or I missed something) and although the server sees you they won't tell

They also have only one bathroom for everyone (male and female) which takes a long time and they use a toilet door locker with the first door so one also has to wait only to wash their hands...not the best system

8/5/2018

• 1 check-in

The coffee drinks are great and there's lots of space to spread out, as this establishment spans what looks to be two previously separate venues merged into one. Moreover, this cafe is open fairly late, until 11pm most nights of the week and as late as midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

The cakes and pastries are rather ho-hum though; if you want really authentic and fresh old-school Italian baked goods, sift a bit more finely through Yelp and you'll find true gems like Stella Pastry nearby which serves a mean sacripantina. Still, this place isn't so touristy as to lose its authenticity and local appeal.

9/1/2018

It was not fancy coffee shop as I imagined , but the tiramisu and coffee were really great. It is easy to get a seat in  Coffee Greco, and it is CASH ONLY!

8/4/2018

• 1 check-in

This is the spot to get a great mocha and have a great piece of the finest tiramisu you can find in the Bay Area in the heart of North Beach. The atmosphere is like Europe in the middle of San Francisco. I ordered the cannoli and it was delicious. It is a great place to people watch and relax.

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  Nice decor

  Nice decor
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  Plenty of seating

  Plenty of seating
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  So illy

  So illy
• See all photos from Juan V. for Caffe Greco

4/29/2018

Came here and got the tiramisu and sacripantina.

I thought the tiramisu flavor was a bit weak. Not much rum flavor and I feel like it has a lot of whipped cream. The piece they give you looks really big, but I think it lacks substance.

The sacripantina was better. It was a cake with many layers and textures. Some crumbles, cream, cake layer, all very well put together. Had some subtle coffee flavor as well.

Those two cakes cost like 12 bucks tho and was cash only. Was surprised by that.

Pretty expensive for the quality imo

7/21/2018

• 1 check-in

This cafe is tucked away in Little Italy amongst many other mom and pop shops. I was visiting from out of town and my friend who is a local had heard good things about the tiramisu here. We ordered a slice (a decent size to be shared among two), and each had a cup of cappuccino. The tiramisu was mediocre, didn't have a wow factor, but wasn't bad either. I actually believe that it lacked the champagne spark. The cappuccino I would recommend. A size small filled me up just fine. I wouldn't go out of my way to come back here, personally Cheesecake Factory has better tiramisu, but I'm not against it either.

3/16/2018

A MUST DO! ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A LITTLE ITALIAN CAFE TO HAVE A BITE TO EAT, DESSERT & COFFEE; THEN YOU HAVE TO STOP BY CAFE GRECO. It's CASH ONLY here. It is located in the North Beach Area ( The Little Italy section of San Francisco). There are tables both inside & outside. They serve breakfast, lunch/ dinner sandwiches- Grilled Panini, Croissants, Bagels,salads desserts & coffee, wine & beer. We stopped in @ night & had the Tiramisu which was Excellent & Great Cappuccinos!  This is a great people watching spot!
It used to be, you had to have mega bucks & be really rich to have the Good Life, not anymore. The Game has changed. You've been Upgraded. Now You Can
Live Like a King on a Limited Budget!

4/24/2018

• 1 check-in

The last stop of our restaurant hopping. Wifey and I were in need of some pick-me-up and coffee. Their tiramisu looked pretty close to the ones I make, but decided to order the banana chocolate bread pudding.

Their latte was okay - nothing remarkable.

Bought a $4.25 huge chocolate chip cookie. Took a bite and I was immediately disappointed at the dryness. Costco's was tastier and cheaper.

My banana chocolate bread pudding was not that great either. I thought the cinnamon taste was overpowering, but it tasted more like clove to me. The saving grace was that it had big chunks of bananas and chocolate.

Was this experience an aberration? Maybe, but I don't like feel like going back anymore.

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  Lattes, chocolate-chip cookie, banana chocolate bread pudding

  Lattes, chocolate-chip cookie, banana chocolate bread pudding

2/19/2018

This place has a huge indoor and outdoor seating area. They are cash only, so remember to bring some!

I got the Braziliana cake (they told me they were out of tiramisu, then brought out a thing of tiramisu not even 10 minutes after i ordered!!) and a cannoli. The Braziliana was picture perfect, with ample cream (not too sweet!) sandwiched in moist sponge cake (yes it was moist enough for me). Not enough espresso flavor though. The chocolate curls on top of it were beautiful.

The cannoli was pretty standard, though less crunchy than the one across the street at Stella Pastry. Ricotta filling wasn't too sweet either. House was packed at 9pm on a Saturday.

I'm a 3.5 on the spot. I'll be back to get the tiramisu.

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  Braziliana!

  Braziliana!
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  Cannoli

  Cannoli

5/29/2018

I was very disappointed with the chocolate cake I ordered. It had no chocolate flavor and just tasted like a costco birthday cake. If I ate this cake blind, I would not know it was a chocolate cake. It just tasted like a bunch of whipped cream. I guess there's nothing really wrong with that but I didn't just pay like 5-6 dollars for an emotional letdown.

Overall, nothing remarkable about this cafe aside from the nice outdoor seating and the extensive menu. This reminds me of the european cafes where you can sit outside and people watch, but the actual coffee and pastries leave much to be desired.

2/15/2018

• 1 check-in

We didn't get any drinks here but we wanted to have some dessert after walking around a bit.  

We got the sacripantina, a cannoli and a chocolate dipped macaroon.  I wasn't too impressed with the cannoli or the macaroon but I wasn't expecting much so close to midnight.  The cannoli was just blah.  I've had this cannoli everywhere and the macaroon was sooooo dry.  Luckily we had just gone to Walgreens and bought water because we were forced to drink it.

Now the sacripantina is another story.  This dessert was amazing.  Sweet but not too sweet, rich but not too rich, savory, creamy, luscious... just darn good.

I like the look of this cafe itself.  There are so many seats and it was fun to be at the window and watch all the late night people walk past.

8/17/2018

• 1 check-in

Tiramisu was off the hook! That's mainly what the stars are for. Tried another cake with coffee mousse but it was alright. Also got hot chocolate which was okay. Wish it came with whipped cream. Bummer it's cash only but oh well.

6/24/2018

One of the rare cafes that open until midnight!  They're also known for their cannolis and tirimisu cake.  Also there is wi-fi!  I never really adventure out this side so it was nice to adventure while studying at the same time.  

Ordered: white mocha latte ($5.25), Italian, provolone cheese grilled panini on focaccia bread with garden salad ($9.95)

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  White Mocha Latte

  White Mocha Latte
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  Italian, Provolone Cheese Grilled Panini on Focaccia Bread w/a Garden Salad

  Italian, Provolone Cheese Grilled Panini on Focaccia Bread w/a Garden Salad

8/4/2018

This place is highly overrated. I believe they are riding, coasting really, on their reputation and location. The cappuccinos are decent, but the customers queue up in a  long line and the barista treats them like cattle. If you love breakfast pastries that look and taste as if they are industrial products baked en masse at the Starbucks commissary, this place is for you.

9/3/2018

A must visit as a beginning of an SF day. Starting with a pleasant welcome to the Cafe and super quick service to really good treats. Latte perfectly done even though it was done in a minute, delightful "strawberry fresca" gelato and a nice light lime flavored "north beach" cheese cake.

4/8/2018

Went on a date here and was completely charmed. It's got the old school deco vibes going on with plenty of  inside and outside seating.

Ordered a slice of cake that was difficult to pronounce (sacripantina) and no regrets. The actual cake is fluffy and light while the cream is pure delicious sweetness. Plus love the nice crunchy coffee toppings. Perfect with a cup of coffee.

I like their late hours and the fact that it wasn't crazy packed even though their desserts are high quality.

Cash only.

3/18/2018

• 1 check-in

Such a cute dessert place near downtown SF. Come here and enjoy a cup of coffee if you want to escape the hustle bustle of the city for a while. Greco has multiple indoor and outdoor sittings, but I prefer to sit outside and contemplate the road. For an instant, I felt like I was sitting at a coffee shop in Italy!

I had a scoop of dark chocolate gelato, which the worker actually gave me 3 scoops (American portions, ugh). The gelato was SO delicious and I'm glad that I had this American-sized gelato hahaha. It was so smooth, and was kinda bitter. I didn't like my ice cream to be too sweet and Greco's gelato fit my appetite so well. My friends had tiramisu and cannoli, which were the two most popular pastries here. I had a bite of each and liked the cannoli more. I'd like the tiramisu to have more cocoa powder on top, and the taste of coffee to be more prominent. The cannoli, on the other hand, was perfect to my taste. The filing was so creamy and only mildy sweet!
I was happy with my time at Greco. I loved the ambience as well as the desserts offered here!

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  Tiramisu, dark chocolate gelato and cannoli

  Tiramisu, dark chocolate gelato and cannoli

2/23/2018

Great spot to go after dinner in North Beach! Legit Italian cafe with yummy desserts and different coffees! We got the tiramisu and cappuccinos. Cute cafe to chill at for a date spot or to come with bunch of friends.

3/18/2018

They have a home made banana-chocolate bread pudding that's to die for. They only make 1 or 2 pans a day and when it's gone it's gone. It doesn't matter if you're the Mayor or the Pope, gone is gone.

Also have a large selection of other pastries and gelato ice cream. Excellent capacino also.

They make pretty decent sandwiches also. I don't recall having a full meal here or ever seeing one, but it's possible that they do.

One of the nicest things though is their service. They have always been so kind to me. Through the years my legs have deteriorated and I've gone from using a cane and then a pair of trekking poles and now a walker and the counter boy's have always volunteered to bring my capacino over to a table usually without me ever asking for their help.

I used to be somewhat of an irregular regular and they always remembered that I was after the chocolate-banana bread pudding.

They are usually upbeat if you treat them like a local does and put a dollar in the tip jar and not like many tourists who leave nothing but ask more than their fair share of questions.

A lot of the San Francisco Police hang out here so you know it's got to be good.

Oh, I almost forgot about the outdoor tables which are great for people watching and are especially in demand since Cafe Puccini next door burnt down.