Brunch is a respite, recovery, church, and nourishment, all at the same time. San Francisco has long been lined with brunch and breakfast treasures by the hundreds, whether dim sum feasts or classic American breakfasts. After this beloved weekend activity was stripped from San Franciscans for many months, it is now back in the form of patios, parklets, and other lovely outdoor seating arrangements.
We’ve taken a look at what’s available in the city, and these 10 restaurants top our list as the best reopened restaurants with outdoor dining or minimal indoor dining. Some have water views, some have rooftop settings — all have killer menus.
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1. True Laurel: Creative cocktails and stellar food
That True Laurel, located in the Mission, is one of the best cocktail bars with food in the U.S. is a fact widely acknowledged since its opening in 2017. Bar director Nicolas Torres and chef de cuisine Geoff Davis pivoted quickly when the pandemic hit to providing quality takeout and inviting sidewalk dining — especially when it comes to brunch on sunny Mission weekends. On the restaurant’s regularly rotating menus, the season’s bounty shines (think stone fruit salad with local peaches, apricots, and blistered summer peppers in smoked maple mustard vinaigrette), as they do in the cocktails, which are among the most creative in the world. Case in point: Ming My Bell (toasted brown rice-infused baijiu, pineapple, green bell pepper, white pepper) or the recent Pisco Kid (purple shiso-infused pisco, Tenbrink Farms apricots, lemon, maraschino, riesling wine).
753 Alabama Street
2. Palette Tea House: Dreamy dim sum and Chinese platters with Bay views
It may be located in Ghirardelli Square (which is actually not overrun with tourists right now), but don’t let that keep you from Palette Tea House, opened by owners of legendary dim sum destination Koi Palace and Outer Richmond’s Dragon Beaux. Palette’s team of Asian chefs master similarly artful dim sum, like pastry chef Lyn Manangan’s killer durian bao or chef Stephen Nguyen’s Insta-worthy black swan taro puffs. But they go well beyond dim sum with these factors:
- Expansive outdoor patio with Bay views from the Square
- Standout dishes beyond just their picture-perfect dim sum, including live crab (garlic butter or salted egg yolk versions), XO pan-seared rice crepe roll, and lobster yi-fu noodles
- Frozen takeout/delivery dim sum that’s so good it tastes freshly baked when you steam it at home. Ditto to their meal kits, which come with instructional videos that teach you to sling biang biang noodles or cook char siu bao sliders featuring their lush Iberico pork steak.
- The stellar sauces, including the most authentic Sichuan chili sauce in town, sold by the jar or served in their painters palette at the restaurant
900 North Point Street, Suite B201 (in Ghirardelli Square)
3. La Mar: Boats and bayside dining from a transporting back patio
When Peru’s most famous chef, Gastón Acurio, decided to open a restaurant outside of Lima, he chose San Francisco. Now over a decade old, La Mar is a waterside treasure on the Embarcadero with Bay views, ferries docked outside the back deck, and a huge, lofty dining room that allows for distanced dining (yes, they just reopened at 25% indoors). The back deck, ideal during brunch, feels like you’re on an island, downing mosto verde pisco sours or an El Volcan cocktail (aji amarillo-infused gin, lime, mezcal, Aperol, agave, and aji amarillo ice). Whether you veer toward Chifa (Chinese Peruvian) or Nikkei (Japanese Peruvian) dishes, both styles showcase the country’s incredible Asian-meets-South-American cuisine on the plate. Of course the ceviches rock, but the superb tiraditos are essentially sashimi accented with the likes of chiles, lime, and coconut. Causas (traditional cold, whipped potato dishes) are also tops, especially a classic Limeña topped with Dungeness crab, avocado, and tomato. Two more standouts: wild salmon with quinoa tamal or roquitas, a unique squid ink tempura rock shrimp appetizer.
Embarcadero Pier 1 ½
4. Chloe’s Cafe: Cozy neighborhood gem with some of the city’s best pancakes
Closet-sized Chloe’s Cafe has been one of SF’s best neighborhood breakfast spots since 1987 — just the kind of place we worry about in a pandemic. Thankfully, neighbors have responded warmly to the cafe’s Small Business Relief Fund, but we can also support this spot by dining outdoors on their corner sidewalk or doing takeout. Alongside Cole Valley’s Zazie (also open with extensive outdoor dining), Chloe’s has long been in the running for the city’s best pancakes. But theirs are a different style than Zazie’s. Fluffy, thick, and packed with pecans or banana-walnuts (our favorite), pancake specials often include blueberries or seasonal ingredients like cranberries. No matter what’s inside, they are dreamy. So are their egg scrambles, like an avocado and Jarlsberg cheese scramble with whole wheat bread laden with Chloe’s beloved house berry jam.
1399 Church Street (at 26th Street)
5. Old Skool Cafe: Youth-run, jazz, and soul in a Bayview square
Few restaurants have as much purpose or do as much community good as Bayview/Hunters Point’s youth-run Old Skool Cafe, which trains and employs at-risk youth for careers in hospitality. Their 1920s- and ’30s-inspired supper club interior is dim and seductive — and hopefully will reopen when safe to do so. But their recently launched front patio is nearly as alluring, sitting under palm trees by a Muni light rail stop, with youth jazz trios and jazz tunes rolling over the square. September saw the restaurant’s launch of Sunday brunch, complete with martinis, proper shrimp and grits, and Abu’s peanut butter stew (a family recipe from one of their youth chefs with West African roots). Their new guest chef series showcases local Black chefs.
1429 Mendell Street (at Third Street)
6. 25 Lusk: All-day brunch
Open at noon Wednesday through Sunday, 25 Lusk already feels like an all-day party with its widely spaced out tables on a sunny rooftop centered between SoMa high-rises. Thankfully, longtime SF chef Matthew Dolan’s food makes it worth lingering with a glass of wine or mezcal paloma slushie while filling up on ginger barbecue spareribs or Alaskan king crab leg in chipotle bourbon butter. Brunch is particularly ideal, now available every day they’re open. Fill up on Dungeness crab eggs Benedict, rabbit tostadas, and bloody marys, but look out for Dolan’s locally sourced caviar and blini (Russian-style pancakes), which he crafts from a complex starter. Splurge on a bottle of sparkling wine or Champagne and you have yourself one decadent brunch.
25 Lusk Street (off Townsend Street)
7. Dottie’s True Blue Café: Rooftop dining at a nearly three-decades-old institution
An SF institution for nearly three decades, Dottie’s True Blue Café has survived major changes, including moving Tenderloin locations in 2012 and changing ownership in 2017. And they are working to survive the difficulties of 2020, too. Recently, the restaurant opened rooftop dining and kicked off takeout and delivery via DoorDash and Uber Eats. This means their insanely good pancakes, black bean cakes with eggs, and juicy smoked whiskey-fennel sausage are back. As ever, the chalkboard lists some of the best menu items: daily changing baked pastries and breads, including seasonal fruit coffee cakes with rum, cinnamon rolls, and scones. Historically long lines/waits to get in have been a deterrent to many of us locals in the past, but the pandemic has brought the helpful change of a waiting list on Yelp. (Sign up here.)
28 Sixth Street (at Stevenson)
8. Son’s Addition: Gourmet-yet-comforting Mission brunch and Dolores Park delivery
Son’s Addition remains an under-the-radar neighborhood great for dinner and brunch, thanks to chef Nick Cobarruvias’ inspired yet approachable food. The former Marlowe chef runs the restaurant with wife Anna Sager Cobarruvias — the familial welcome extends to a smart international wine list. Nick has had to tighten up the menu for takeout, delivery, and their popular Dolores Park picnic delivery menu. His outdoor dining brunch and weeknight menus include delights like yellowtail blue corn tostadas with tomatillo fish sauce salsa, sweet potato tacos doused in spicy almond cream and charred corn salsa, and the “startling pig,” which is spicy grilled pork laden with lemongrass, herbs, and fish sauce vinaigrette, accompanied by coconut sticky rice.
2990 24th Street (at Harrison)
9. Padrecito: Modern Mexican brunch feast with cocktails
There are chilaquiles and then there are Padrecito’s chilaquiles, laden with smoked bacon, Monterey Jack cheese, salsa amarilla, and scrambled eggs. Theirs are unlike any other version. We in the Bay are blessed with authentic taquerias and Mexican restaurants by the hundreds, spanning all types of regional Mexican cuisine. When it comes to more upscale modern Mexican greats, we’re led by treasures like Nopalito and Cala. Padrecito is among those greats normally — but is the best when it comes to brunch. Recently reopened with sidewalk seating, the restaurant has no reservations (max party of five) and blessedly long 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekend brunch hours. Whether you go with gourmet tacos (the duck marmalade taco rules), sopes, or polenta-platano pancakes with mango mascarpone and cajeta caramel, chef/owner Luis Contreras keeps it delicious. They also rock the agave spirits selection and cocktails, including brunch necessity “the Diablito,” a low-proof sipper of Aperol, lime, and beets.
901 Cole Street (at Carl Street)
10. Causwells: Quiche, burgers, and low-proof cocktails under an art deco theater
Sitting under the 1937 art deco gaze of the Presidio Theatre, Causwells’ sidewalk seating provides an easy drop-in for their beloved American burger or newer BBQ burger loaded with brisket and ground beef. They just kicked off brunch, an ideal time for their crushable-yet-finessed low-proof cocktails (try the Piña Causwells, their piña colada variation), all made with low-proof “spirits.” Then dig into chef/owner Adam Rosenblum’s menu delights like house ricotta, perfect with rosemary honey on lavash crackers, or melon salad bright with mint and lemon oil. Brunch standouts include flaky-fluffy-buttery quiche of the day, sausage-stuffed biscuits, or a breakfast sandwich layered with smoked brisket, egg, aioli, pickled red onions, and cheddar cheese.
2346 Chestnut Street (between Divisadero and Scott)
