Balboa Cafe

Balboa Cafe is relatively well known in San Francisco, although I'll admit I was only vaguely aware of it until recently.  

"Since 1913, Balboa Cafe has served as one of San Francisco's oldest restaurant where it all started as a working-man’s saloon. Now it’s a cherished neighborhood establishment where people from all corners of the Bay Area and beyond come for community and our beloved classics, like the Balboa Burger on a baguette, the Wednesday Chicken Paillard special, and the famed Espressotini. Despite our city's evolution, Balboa Cafe remains a timeless destination for those seeking a taste of San Francisco's nostalgia."

It has a firm place in SF history, as its been around since 1913, and has been in operation the entire time, lasting through all sorts of interesting eras of history (Prohibition, the Great Depression, the '89 earthquake, Covid pandemic, etc).  Ownership has changed, interior modified, menu evolved, but, at its roots, the same establishment. 

"The evolution of the espresso martini is steeped in the genius of marrying two favorite pastimes - coffee and cocktails. The popularity of the iconic Balboa Espressotini gained traction early on, and our bartenders were challenged to keep up with the demand. In 2017, we partnered with Shane from Top Hat Provisions, who blended a proprietary, single-origin cold brew coffee that we could mix with our signature blend of spirits in a nitro tank to create an ice-cold espressotini tha’s shaken to frothy perfection."

The recent-ish rise to fame for Balboa Cafe is their Espressotini, which they introduced in 2017, and they now have on tap.  They definitely take credit for introducing SF to this phenomenon.  The current popularity seems to be as a boozy brunch scene on weekends, and nighttime watering hole, with some focus on the food, and the overall hospitality, but the primary focus is definitely the bar program.  As I don't frequent the Marina, nor do I generally go for boozy brunch, it hasn't really been on my radar.

I also assumed that it was rather hype-y, and commercialized ... after all, um, they have a lot of merch for sale, banded canned Espressotinis, and the like.  I was pleased to see that wasn't the case when I visited for weekend brunch one day.  There really was a fair amount of charm to the place, the host was remarkably hospitable, and the place just felt nicely worn in, comfortable, and authentic.  The food?  Well, eh.  But I did have my first espressotini, and that alone was a novel win.

Setting

Balboa Cafe is located right on Fillmore Street in a busy area of the Marina.

Entrance

The entrance is fairly charming, with a slightly shabby look of elegant time's past.

Bar.

The look extends inside to the long bar that is a central point of the restaurant.  So much old wood, mirrors, and just old school vibes.  It feels remarkably comfortable, as it is so clearly comfortable with itself.

Sidewalk Seating.

There are tables inside as well, but the coveted spots, at least for weekend brunch on a sunny day, are the outdoor tables.  They aren't a fancy setup, but by mid-afternoon, this is where the crowds definitely wanted to be, and the entire place was packed.

Drinks

Every patron at Balboa Cafe had an alcoholic drink in front of them, at 1:30pm on Saturday.  Again, clearly, people are here to drink, even during the day. Most everyone had the exact same drink: the espressotini, although there was a stray glass of rose at one end of the bar, and I saw a few beers get poured from the tap.  But mostly, that cocktail list, and certainly the wines (besides rose/sparkling), didn't seem to be something anyone took notice of.  

Drink Menu.

The reason people are at Balboa Cafe is the vibe, and the drinks.  The brunch menu called out a few cocktails in particular (obviously, their signature espressotini, along with the default brunch drinks of mimosa, bellini, or bloody mary, and the cadillac), but a full drink list, including beer, wine, ciders, and many more cocktails was provided.

Balboa Espressotini (decaf). $19.

"Stoli vanilla, kahlua, top hat cold brew espresso."

Clearly, I had to order the espressotini, right?  I mean, if everyone else is doing it, AND it is what they are known for ... 

I'll admit this was my first espressotini.  The reason is pretty simple: I don't drink caffeine after about 10am, I limit even decaf coffee and chocolate until about 2pm, and never have anything with any caffeine later than that.  Although I drink a glass of wine with dinner nearly every night, and enjoy a cocktail when I go out, I rarely day drink.  So ... the espressotini really just doesn't have much place in my lifestyle.  But I see why they are so popular: they jazz you up, AND make you tipsy, AND taste like dessert?  Winner, winner, and danger, danger.

But anyway, yes, espressotinis are fairly popular these days, but why such a BIG THING at Balboa Cafe in particular?  I think because they were a bit ahead of the trend, and introduced them in 2017, and, well, for the younger Marina crowd, this was a very fitting drink for their lifestyles.  And so it took off, making Balboa a destination for folks.  They couldn't keep up with the demand of making so many of them (pulling shots, shaking, etc), so they worked with a coffee producer to make a super concentrated cold brew that they could put on tap to use for the base of the drink, eliminating much of the manual work.  The bartenders churn out a lot of these daily, and do so with incredible throughput. 

I however wanted decaf, knowing that super concentrated coffee at 2pm was not an ok idea for me.  Luckily, Balboa Cafe *does* offer a decaf version, but it definitely isn't the same recipe as the regular.  My bartender needed to actually brew a decaf shot and mix the old fashioned way in a shaker to produce the decaf version.  When it was sat down in front of me, it didn't look nearly as good as the ones everyone else had (I didn't see anyone else get decaf, just me, the lame old person ...). It was all mixed up and foggy, as you can see here.

Balboa Espressotino: once settled.

But then it settled, and looked much like everyone else's.  It really is an attractive drink once it settles, frothy on top, deep and rich below.  

And, sigh, it really is remarkably delicious.  Sweet from the vanilla Stoli and Kahlua.  Super frothy.  Nice bitterness from espresso.  Amps you up, gets you drunk, AND is like a dessert all in one.  I instantly understood why everyone loves these.  Yes, yes, this was totally delicious (but such a bad idea! Did I get old somewhere along the way?).

****.

Side note: You can now even buy a nitro canned version of the espressotini from Balboa Cafe directly to take home, if you must.

House Sparkling Water (complimentary).

I asked for sparkling water, and was originally given tap ice water.  I asked again, and this time was given sparkling water from the soda dispenser in the bar.  It came attractively served, with a lime wedge, but, I hated the taste.  Not filtered, and just not good.  In the future I'd remember to ask for bottled sparkling.

Food

As I mentioned, Balboa Cafe is very popular.  It is very well known.  But it is not because of the food.  That was clear to me from my research before visiting, but extremely clear once I actually had my first bite.  The food was highly mediocre, mostly below average for even a generic boring restaurant.  You do not go there for the food.

Brunch Menu.

The brunch menu has a combination of items from their weekday lunch menu, their dinner menu classics, and some more breakfast appropriate dishes.

I was interested in most of the seafood options (ahi tuna cones, fried calamari, mussels mariniere), but also was a bit skeptical that a place known for the espressotini and not really for the food would do a decent job with seafood.  Most people around me seemed to be getting burgers and fries (if anything, plenty were there just for drinks).  I opted for one starter, one salad, one entree, and of course desserts, intending to take whatever was leftover home.

Buttermilk Fried Calamari. $19.

"Spicy marinara, house tartar sauce."

Well, my meal didn't start off very well.  The calamari was highly, highly mediocre.

On the plus side, it had a good distribution of rings and tentacles, and was served warm.  I appreciated the lemon wedges.  

But, the rings in particular were quite chewy, some pieces tasted fishy, and the coating wasn't particularly flavorful nor crisp.  The "spicy" marinara was not spicy at all and tasted like a jar tomato sauce, the tartar was average, mostly mayo.  It is nice that they offered both sauces, I'm definitely one for the tartar (or really, cocktail), but I know many people like the Italian style marinara sauce with theirs.

**.  I would not get this again, and did not even come close to finishing it (even the leftovers air fried at home to make crispy just weren't tasty as they were far too chewy and just ... not good tasting).

Grilled Veggie Salad. $22.
No goat cheese, "dressing on the side", add shrimp (+$8)

"Grilled asparagus, summer squash & red onion, romaine, raddicchio, carrots, radish, basil, sunflower seeds, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, herbed champagne vinaigrette."

I moved on to a salad. I asked for no goat cheese, dressing on the side, and added shrimp.  My order was initially taken by a server who was just memorizing it all, but as soon as I made modifications, he pulled out a napkin and wrote it down.  Unfortunately, that napkin didn't seem to serve him, or me, well.

When my salad was placed in front of me, I thought I had gotten someone else's order.  Clearly this wasn't mine, right?  Because ...  I asked for dressing on the side, to start. But also, when this was brought out, I really thought it was another salad, not the grilled veggie salad.  The server assured me it was the grilled veggie salad.  And I guess it was, but, it WAS dressed when I asked for it not to be, and, well, I certainly expected it to have more grilled vegetables.

The base was fine - torn romaine and radicchio, very fresh and crisp.  Matchstick carrots were fine too, and I liked the big slices of radish.  Cherry tomatoes were flavorful and not mealy.  So actually, a pretty decent base.  ***+.

But where were those grilled vegetables?  I had exactly four very small pieces of zucchini that seemed raw, zero red onion that was listed in the description, and a few small shaved pieces of asparagus.  I was looking forward to big juicy asparagus spears, chunks of summer squash, and some lovely grilled onions.  The components that were there were good, but, just not what I was expecting, and really quite minimal for a "grilled veggie" named salad.  ***+.

The real issue was the dressing.  I wanted it on the side as I don't like vinaigrettes, and this was really, really, really dressed in it.  Very tangy, and just not what I like at all.  Booo.  I didn't bother correcting the situation though.  I truly disliked the dressing.

The salad lacked any seasoning, but luckily pepper and salt were on the table, and the pepper in particular really helped.

For $8 I added shrimp, which was a portion of 6.  The shrimp were large, juicy, properly deveined and cleaned.  Great bounce to them, not rubbery.  Better than average / expected.  Definitely worth the $8. ***+.

Overall, if the dressing had been left off as I wanted, I would have liked it, and just been sad it wasn't more grilled veggie forward, but as served, it was a miss for me entirely.  *** besides the dressing, but ** with.  Also, really, a $30 salad?  (add also 4% SF tax, 8.625% state tax, and at least 20% tip, and this becomes a $40.50 salad.  Um, craziness).

Pulled Pork Sandwich.  $22.

"Remoulade, onion ring, fresno chilies, pickled onion slaw, brioche bun."

I tried to order the mussels as my main dish, but I was told I couldn't take home any leftovers because it was shellfish.  I've never been told you can't take shellfish home before, but, that was their policy.  They said the mussels were the only dish that couldn't be taken as leftovers.  Um, ok.

So I went with my third choice, the pulled pork.  The menu did not say that it came with fries, but it did.  The fries were very mediocre, thin, crispy, but not very well seasoned, and not very actually flavorful.  I would have preferred another side choice, and I saw others asked if they wanted fries or salad with their sandwiches, so not sure why I wasn't asked, nor why the menu didn't specify the side (it only lists the fries as coming with the burger). ** fries.  The ketchup tasted odd.

The pulled pork sandwich was decent though.  Glossy brioche bun that was lightly toasted inside.  The top bun was smothered with remoulade which seemed unnecessary with the already sauced pork.  I'm all for mayo sauces, but this seemed a bit overkill.  Under that was a big juicy onion ring.  I liked how hefty it was.  It made me wish onion rings were actually on the menu - if they can make one here, couldn't they make a basket of rings as an appetizer or side?  They have a nice lineup other sides, including fried items, so it doesn't seem like a fryer space problem ... I'd love to order onion rings with remoulade to dip them in! 

The pulled pork was a good portion, and all well shredded.  Well sauced in a fairly sweet sauce, slight bbq notes.  Moist.  Under that was the slaw, a vinegar style, very tart.  Nice for a bit of freshness, but a touch too high on the acid for me.  I never found any fresno chiles.

So overall, a decent enough pulled pork sandwich, ***.  Not something I'd go back for, but, it was decent enough.

Dessert Menu.

After a fairly lackluster meal, I still asked to see the dessert menu, as my sweet tooth always needs satisfying (although, to be honest, the espressotini really did serve as a pretty decent dessert item!).

The options all sounded decent - none that were totally amazing, but all ones I'd be happy to try: an ice cream sundae, chocolate lava cake, sticky toffee pudding, creme brûlée.  Nothing earth shattering, but standard crowd pleasing desserts, and ones I have dedicated labels for on my blog.

I asked my server how the desserts were, and he said they were good.  I asked his favorite, and he told me he doesn't actually like sweets.  Well, ok ... I tried to ask what other people seem to like, and he simply told me that the ice cream sundae was really large and would be too much for me.  He quasi suggested the sticky toffee pudding, but not in a convincing way at all.

Sticky Toffee Pudding.  $15.

"Medjool dates, toffee sauce, vanilla gelato." 

So, I went for the semi-recommended sticky toffee pudding.  I do love a good sticky toffee pudding, and went on an epic quest last time I was in London to try it essentially everywhere (including an average version at Heddon Street Kitchen, an awful version at Hawksmoor Seven Dials, and my favorite, amusingly from the buffet restaurant, Tibits).

This though .... wow, what a letdown.  Where to start.

It was:

1. Cold, not warm. Who serves sticky toffee pudding not warmed up?
2. Hard.  What is sticky toffee pudding without gooey, moist, softness?
3. Dry.  Entirely, um, not sticky?  There was literally no signature sticky toffee sauce at all, only a little drizzle of caramel on top of the gelato.  None on the cake.  Um, what?

The cake was basically just dry, hard, and tasted like dates.  Not sticky toffee pudding, and not enjoyable. *.

The gelato was fine.  The caramel drizzle was fine, but seemed likely not house made, just the kind from a squirt bottle.  *** gelato and sauce.

* star overall, sorry, this was just not sticky toffee pudding.

Vanilla Creme Brûlée. $12.

"Anis biscotti."

I hedged my bets though and also got another favorite of mine: creme brûlée.  As you know, I love all puddings, and have a label on my blog just for creme brûlée, so I was excited for this.

Sigh.  Another letdown.

It *did* pass the tap test.  Lovely caramelization on top.  But the body of the creme brûlée was not well set; it was remarkably runny.  Flavor trended too high in the egginess too.  It basically was like a creme anglaise sauce, just with a caramelized top.

Overall, good top, but meh overall.  I also wanted a few fresh berries or something.  **.

Biscotti: this was fine, crispy, good anise flavor.  ***.