Bluestone Lane

If you have ever visited Melbourne (or to a slightly less extent, Sydney), you know what an incredible cafe and coffee culture they have.  High quality and well made coffee ~everywhere, great food to go with, and gasp, unlike San Francisco, not ridiculous waits on weekend mornings for brunch.  Spend even just a few days there, and you'll start to take great coffee for granted.  

"With 55+ cafés and coffee shops across the country, Bluestone Lane is bringing Aussie café culture (and better coffee) to the USA."

To say I was excited when I heard Bluestone Lane was coming to my neighborhood, literally, half a block from my house, is an understatement.  While I don't think the brand is actually based in Australia, they at least bring the intention of Aussie cafes to the whole experience.

Bluestone Lane I believe started in NY, where their roasting operations still are, and where they certainly have the most locations.  They've expanded quickly across the US, with locations in many major cities - I've seen them in Boston, Houston, and San Francisco, but I know they have locations in DC, Philly, and Southern California as well.

Setting

In the US, we tend to use the terms "café" and "coffee shop" fairly interchangeably.  But Bluestone Lane treats them as separate concepts, the former being full service sit down restaurants serving breakfast and lunch, the later, more grab and go style and primarily coffee focused.  In San Francisco, we now have a half dozen Bluestone Lane locations, a mix of both styles.  My visits have always been to the one closest to my house, which is a full service café.

The café is open fairly early, serves breakfast and lunch, and closes by 4pm.  While dine-in service is an option, they also seem to do a pretty significant takeout (and delivery) experience.  My visits have mostly been just for coffee to go, which I've always ordered through their app in advance as I'm leaving my house, and thus, it is ready as I get there, although they have a takeout only ordering counter for those who prefer the "old fashioned" way.  And of course, you can choose to dine in, with full waiter service.

Outside Seating.

"Our newest café is nestled in the bustling metropolis of Downtown San Francisco. Set against the fast-paced corporate cityscape, this Bluestone Lane is a creative and peaceful space that will allow locals to slow down between meetings or during busy days spent shopping. Just a short stroll from Sue Bierman Park, The Embarcadero Centre, The Ferry Building, SFMOMA, Oracle Park, and more, Bluestone Lane will become a regular for locals of all walks of life. Grab a sun-drenched seat and enjoy a premium Flat White and some healthy, Aussie-style café fare."

My nearest location is on Avery Lane, nestled amongst a number of tall residential towers, with a pedestrian lane along one side.  This gives them ample sidewalk space to create a dining area, a rare luxury in San Francisco.

The location opened in May 2021, when San Francisco was sloooowly starting to emerge from Covid lockdown.  We still were not back in offices for the most part, and a new place to gather, get coffee, and interact with other humans was most welcome, particularly given the outdoor seating focus.  While outdoor dining isn't really all that pleasant much of the year in San Francisco, this follows true Aussie style, and on a sunny day, really can be quite a treat (although many days when I walk by, such as this one, the space is vacant).  It did quickly become a neighborhood place, where I regularly ran into neighbors, just as they had hoped.  And once folks got back into offices, yup, business meetings quickly moved there as well.

Drinks

"Our expert coffee team, based at our state-of-the-art roasting facility in New York, produces the signature coffee blends used in all of our Bluestone Lane locations."

"Bringing Melbourne's renowned coffee culture where premium coffee is a way of life."

Coffee is an essential element of the Bluestone Lane brand.  In addition to espresso drinks (and YES they have a real flat white and piccolo on the menu), they also do serve teas and milo, along with other healthy lifestyle drinks like smoothies and cold pressed juices.  Oh, and beer and wine in some locations.

Cold Brew. Large. $4.95.
(May 2021)

"Our signature flagstaff coffee immersed in water for 12 hours to extract and form a rich concentrate."

The first drink I tried at Bluestone Lane was a cold brew, on a warm day.

It was very strong, very legit coffee.

I asked for light ice (the only option besides regular, no ice was not an option), and it still seemed like a lot of ice to me.  Either they missed the modification (which was easily done in the app), or they usually use a ton of ice normally.

Anyway, it was good enough, dark coffee.  It didn't blow me away, but was just a notch above average. ***.

Cold Brew Float (ice cream on the side). Small. $5.50.
(May 2021).

"Our signature flagstaff coffee immersed in water for 12 hours to extract and form a rich concentrate, served with vanilla ice cream."

The next time I visited, I realized they had floats on the menu.  Coffee floats!  I asked for my ice cream on the side, so it wouldn't melt in before I was ready.

The cold brew was the same as before.  The ice cream, a large scoop of vanilla, was quite good.  Above average ice cream, it seemed almost like Häagen-Dazs, but, had no visible specs like their vanilla bean does so I don't think it was.  Anyway, above average ice cream.

*** coffee, ***+ ice cream.

Affogato. Decaf. (Shot on the side).
(May 2021).

My next visit, in the afternoon, again drawn in by the ice cream, I opted for an affagato, again, ice cream on the side so it wouldn't melt in.  Decaf because I avoid caffeine in the afternoon.

Again, quality vanilla ice cream, a generous scoop at that.

The decaf shot was INTENSE. Great aroma, great crema.  Further above average, and better than the regular.

A+ will do again. ****.

Iced Milo (ice cream on the side). Skim. Small. $4.80.
(May 2021).

I got adventurous.

I haven't had Milo since I was in Australia, and I never really cared for it there, but, curiosity got the better of me.  I like chocolate milk, so why not malted chocolate milk?  And a bonus double scoop of ice cream to go with?  Seemed hard to go wrong ...

But, yeah.  I don't really care for the taste of milo.  Oh well.  Not Bluestone Lane's fault at all.  Just not a taste I ever acquired.

Just like the affogato and float, I liked the ice cream, and used the milo milk with cereal the next day, which I liked more than drinking it.

**** ice cream, ** milo.

Iced Long Black (small).  $4.10.
(April 2022).

"Rotating Single-Origin espresso poured over ice and water."

And then I was back in my office, and didn't visit Bluestone Lane again for quite a while.  It was nearly a year later that I went back, even though I walk by literally every day.  Doh.  My office has decent (free) coffee, so I just didn't stop by.

I tried an iced long black for the first time, rather than cold brew.  Well ... this wasn't great.

It had a slight chemical taste to it, and was fairly acidic.  And rather watered down.

**.

Iced Cold Brew (small). $4.85.
(April 2022).

"Our signature flagstaff coffee immersed in water for 12 hours to extract and form a rich concentrate."

After the lackluster iced long black, I went back to the cold brew a week later, as I had enjoyed it back during their opening month.

It was little better than the iced long black, but still has acid/chemical aftertaste.  Definitely not as good as the year before.  Not sure what changed ... I don't think it is me?

**+.

Food

"Enjoy an all-day menu that is health-focused and progressive. Join us for a radiant breakfast, lunch, or an indulgent snack throughout the day. Some of our notable dishes include Gluten Free Banana Bread topped with whipped ricotta, toasted pecans, fresh banana & berries, Avocado Smash paired with heirloom tomatoes, feta and a delicately poached egg, and our house made granola w/ fresh berries and citrus curd." 

Baked Goods

I'm not sure if Bluestone Lane makes their own pastries in-house.  I think they don't?  I say this as they don't seem particularly fresh.  They have the standard lineup of croissants (plain or almond), a turnover, trendy kouign amann, and a basic brownie and chocolate chip cookie.

As a baked goods lover, I was still drawn in, even though they never looked very good, even in their display case.  Spoiler: they weren't.

Apple Turnover. $5.25.

"Fresh apples and cinnamon baked in folded buttery pastry."

I was seriously in the mood for apple pie, and an apple turnover sounded perfect.  So even though it looked dry and kinda soft, I still went for it.

Meh.

It was actually fairly flaky pastry, but it was not very buttery.  It flaked yes ... it just wasn't good pastry.

And then the part I was craving, the filling.  The apple filling was more like applesauce than apple pie, except it was a thick, very sweet applesauce.  There were no chunks of apple.  Even canned apple pie filling is better than this.

I still ate the filling, warmed up, and served on top of a scoop of ice cream, but threw out rest.  At $5.25 it was pricey as well.

**.

Almond Croissant. $5.25.

"Freshly baked almond croissants. Light and airy layers of flaky buttery pastry with toasted slivered almonds."

The almond croissant looked significantly better, but, sadly, was no better than the apple turnover.  

The pastry did taste like butter, unlike the turnover, but it wasn't flaky.  There were a few scattered bits of almond on top, a tiny dusting of powdered sugar.  It was mediocre as a grocery store bakery item.  Inside was very very little almond filling.

It *was* considerably better once I heated it up, which made the top crispy.  And then I also filled it with ice cream and fresh fruit.  I finished it, but wouldn't get another, obviously.

$5.25 price seems crazy for such a lackluster item. **+.

[ No Photo]

Chocolate Chip Cookie. $4.50.

"This thin American style cookie is the best of both worlds. Crispy edged with a lightly chewy center. Perfectly indulgent and decadent, lightly salted and full of the finest Belgium milk chocolate! Only the purest ingredients."

A friend got this while we were having coffee outside at Bluestone Lane one day, and of course offered me a bite.  It was memorable only in that I didn't find myself wanting another bite, even as it sat there unfinished.

**.

BREKKIE ALL DAY

"Enjoy a health-focused and progressive all-day brunch menu, featuring the Bluestone Lane signature dishes you love."

Bluestone Lane offers a lunch menu with sandwiches and grain bowls, but it is the "Brekkie All Day" part of the menu that gets the most attention.  And yes, "brekkie" is short for "breakfast", and yes, they really do serve it all day.  The brekkie menu features several types of burritos, fancy toasts, scrambled eggs, egg sandwiches, bowls, granola, and big spreads featuring the whole lineup: poached eggs, bacon, toast, halloumi, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. 

There are also sides available, like, yes, wedges with sweet chili and sour cream.  I give Bluestone Lane credit for really bringing in the Aussie vibes.

Avocado Toast. $8.95.

"Our classic avocado smash seasoned w/ fresh lemon juice, sea salt & black pepper, chili flakes & olive oil on Multigrain Toast."

Ah, fancy toast.  Avocado toast.  The trendy brunch darling.  Of course it is a signature item at Bluestone Lane.  They also offer a salmon and cream cheese and a peanut butter and berries version.

Since I'm allergic to avocado this wasn't for me, but, it really was plated beautifully with the avocado puree all around, generous sprinkling of chili flakes, and micro greens as garnish.  It was temping enough looking that I nearly tried a bite ... 

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. $15.25.

"Lemon ricotta pancakes with whipped ricotta, fresh berries, citrus curd, petals, freeze dried raspberries, and maple syrup."

When I think of Australian cafes, one sticks solidly in my mind: Bills.  It was the first place I had ricotta hotcakes, and, well, they were fairly mind blowing.  The fluffy light pancakes, the HONEYCOMB BUTTER on top ... stunning, really.  So when I saw Lemon Ricotta Pancakes on the menu of an Australian cafe ... I *had* to get them.

If I thought the plating of the avocado toast was lovely, this was a level beyond that even.  A stack of pancakes (3) served in a skillet (cute, but, they weren't actually cooked in it right?), topped with dollops of whipped ricotta, a generous amount of citrus curd, fresh strawberries and blueberries, bits of freeze dried raspberries, and flower petals ... with an individual little jug of syrup on the side, all presented on a wooden board?  I mean, really.

I wish it tasted as good as it looked!  The pancakes weren't bad, but the cakes themselves were fairly average.  Dense, regular pancakes, not light and fluffy like ricotta pancakes usually are.  Isn't that what makes them special?  I'm not sure if they had ricotta in them, or just on top?  

The ricotta on top was very savory, making this actually eat fairly healthy, but, uh, you know me, I'd much prefer whipped cream or something sweet.  And the citrus curd, plenty of it, which ... again, you know me, I don't actually care for citrus curd generally.  It was thick, sweet, tangy, and probably quite enjoyable if you like citrus curd.  I did like the fresh fruit, and the textural element from the freeze dried berries.  The syrup I used generously to add the sweetness I was looking for.

So, overall, stunning to look at, but fairly average pancakes, with a bit too healthy toppings for me.  If you want a slightly indulgent healthier brunch, and like citrus curd though, probably great.

***.