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Categories: American (New), Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
Neighborhood: Mission
152 reviews
Neighborhood: Castro
"So I'm supposed to be getting ready for the day, and I promised my friend I would only write my review of the Castro Theatre, but…" read more »
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Wish I could give this 3.5. It was good. I had the flatbread pizza. He had some sandwich. They were both good. The service was good. The atmosphere was really cute. It just wasn't anything really special. I might feel differently if we got to sit outside. Or maybe we caught them on a "boring day"--I think they change the menu daily.
I'm just going to have to try it again.
Best bloody Mary. Ever.
I went there for brunch with a couple friends, and all three of us were tremendously pleased. The decision to split a scone to start was a good one. I can't wait to go back!
you're not going to get out of here for under $25/pp on brunch - that's a result of the many tasty dishes and prices on the high side. But if you're willing to brace the 15-30 weekend waits you can sample some excellent brunch fare with local ingredients.
Amazing cafe. Secluded far away from traffic and windowshoppers.
I met some friends here for brunch on Sunday morning. The parking was easy, the wait for four of us was less than 20 minutes (they only take reservations for dinner) and the food was delicious and high quality. It is a little pricey and I did not love the sole sandwich (was decent but nothing special) so that is why I am only giving four stars, but with the easy parking, outdoor seating, and the sunny neighborhood, it probably deserves at least 4 1/2 stars.
Went here on a weekend for a quick little brunch and was delightfully surprised by the quality of food. I was sort of expecting the usual diner fare but the menu was versatile and most of it was organic. I guess that explains my $6 orange juice eh?
The french toast was like any other diner french toast with the exception of the delicious fruit that topped it off. The girlfriend had the croque madam which I give my highest rating of 5 heart attacks.
An added bonus was being able to watch all the action from the bar stools which made me further realize that I would last a short 5 minutes in the food business. I have a hard enough time making my own french toast, much less a hungry morning crowd.
Expect a bit of a wait when you get there but in my opinion, its worth it.
An absolutely amazing meal. The braised pork chop was heaven!
With a cool Cape Cod sort of feel to this place nestled in the lower mission, this open layout exudes comfort. White wash walls, ceiling fans and an open floor-to-ceiling window entrance, this place is heaven to my eyes. On a nice day take advantage of their outdoor seating in front of the restaurant. If not, let the ceiling fan breeze over you as you enjoy yourself. Our server was excellent and was very helpful which is a plus of course.
The only gripe I had was the banging of dishes right behind me in the small kitchen/washing area at the back of the restaurant. If they were able to conceal that a little better to isolate the sound a 5 star rating they would receive.
A must-go-to restaurant!
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Wonderful food out on the patio - sunny day, good atmosphere and company too.Bonus that we didn't even have to wait for a table (!) Had the chicken on foccacia (although the menu changes, would totally order this again) with ice tea. Service was good so no complaints, apart from the health care "tax" or whatever which is a little weird since the food isn't terribly cheap. Will definitely go back though to try some of their other meals - heard it's consistently good food, which is what's important.
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I love finding great brunch spots and this is one of them! It was my birthday and I'm with my favorite girls!
Everyone had a different dish and we had a great time, the only thing was they kept forgetting our coffee, but since it was my birthday I didn't even care that much.
We had so much fun!
Top Brunch Spot!
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I had a great brunch experience here a few weekends ago. I wake up semi-early on the weekends and I've found that some places I go to open up at 10am. It's nice that universal opens up earlier than that. It was a sunny and warm morning and I enjoyed my brunch outside. I got to taste their fruit and yogurt plate as well as their beef brisket hash, both delicious. My coffee never got to empty. Service here is awesome. The restaurant is not in the middle of shops and other places to eat so there's not much people-watching to do, but parking is easier than other busy neighborhoods. Very nice brunch spot though there was a long-ish wait by the time I left.
The food was awesome... I had the chicken sandwich, others had the cod (fish), and beef brisket. I get a chance to tried out the items that we ordered.... All of them were delicious... It is a little bit expensive. Keep in mind that they added $1 per person for some kind of health care 'tax' plus 20% tips for party of 5 or more. Good service, good food. I definitely would come back for more.
Awesome food with an awesome atmosphere (minus the douchey-marina girls sitting next to us, getting their nasty hair all up in our faces... Yeah, you girls are so NOT hot).
Anyway, very lovely place, however, I cannot and will not pay $17 for another simple lunch (seriously, 1 appetizer + diet coke = $17).
I'll more than likely come back again because, like I said, it's a really cute place with some tasty foods... However, don't expect to see me here all the time... Only for a treat from time to time!
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my wife have and I have eaten brunch here before and loved it. dinner was a very different story. 30 bucks a person for pasta and one glass of wine. for these prices, you might as well go someplace special. the server was indifferent and had the "oh, so you're just having pasta and wine, well, gee, what a waste of my time." it made us feel like misers or something.
bottom line: I will return for brunch but never eat dinner here again. pricey and indifferent service.
i love this place for brunch, but sometimes i forget about it cause it's out in the middle of nowhere. surprisingly enough though, it's often crowded and there's a wait.
came here last weekend with some girlfriends and orginally planned on going to slow club, but i suggested universal cafe, partly cause the weather was so nice and slow club can be a bit dark and dim, but i also think the food is better! you can order drinks while you're waiting and drink them on the sidewalk.
we waited about half an hour and then were sat at a table near the door, so it was almost like sitting outside. we started with the seasonal fruit plate and toasted banana bread. yum and yum. not only is the seasonal fruit plate just fresh and yummy but it comes with toast that has some fromage blanc, honey and cinnamon on it (and i don't usually like honey or cheese, so you know it's gotta be good...). plus, toasted banana bread? nuff said. although we were tempted to get the chocolate cinnamon donuts with vanilla cream, why didn't we get them?!
i got the hearts of romaine salad with smoked trout. perfect for what i was feeling. it was so fresh and crisp, the dressing was nice and light with some yellow cherry tomatoes. and the smoked trout salad was so tasty and served on toasted baguette, i loved the salty crispiness of the crostini.
my friend got the poached eggs with polenta and piperade which as also quite tasty (again, not a fan of polenta, but still yummy), and croque madame, which i didn't try but looked delicious. and our fourth got the french toast which i heard was delicious, but i didn't try any myself.
my only small gripe, and it's not even a huge deal, although i guess prevents me from giving 5 stars is that the service is just ok. our server did seem really busy, so maybe that was part of it, but really just took our order and dropped the check. not that we needed much more, but it would've been nice if she checked on us at least once. just very efficient, which isn't necessarily a bad thing....
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Similar to Coffee Bar, Universal Cafe kind of defies a neighborhood- is it Mission, Potrero, SOMA? Hard to say, but does it really matter? No, just as long as you can find it, because this charming brunching locale is most definitely not a place to be missed, especially on a sunny weekend when you can dine al fresca. Much more upscale than competitors such as Boogaloo's Ella's, Mama's and your other standard brunch lineups, Universal Cafe serves up some tasty treats. While waiting for the food to arrive, I enjoyed a soy latte which was served in a tall glass. The coffee was good, and the milk frothed, sweet, and unburned (yes, this can be a problem at some places). We shared the french toast with poached pears and whipped cream (absolutely divine) which tasted more like a dessert than a breakfast food (not that I am complaining) as well as a ratatouille served with polenta, marscapone, and egg. Both dishes were rich and flavorful, I cannot pick a favorite, all I can say is that I will be back, on a mission to sample everything on their menu!
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I had read about Universal but what really made me resolve to go was an episode of that Bay Area public television show in which that full-of-crap faux-food-journalist woman chats with random jerk-faces and morons from San Francisco about their favorite restaurant in the city. On this particular episode, the least jerky-face and moronic guest spotlighted Universal as his favorite restaurant. It looked charming so we hiked over to Bryant one morning (2pm) for brunch after our cursory weekend morning walk down Valencia in pursuit of something interesting.
I usually abstain from highish-end brunches because I'd rather save my dollars for meals that don't consist of.... an omelette. But man was it worth it. I think I ate pork chops and some kind of corn fritter -- everything on my plate was exceptional.
Dinner last night was strong -- the menu was exciting and all dishes were tasty. Probably not on par with Range, but not far off. And the place is just so gosh darn charming. Call me a naive tourist yuppy if you must, but to me Universal legitimately feels more like a "neighborhood" place than it's like-minded competitors. My only gripe -- and this seems to be a theme with me -- is about the wine glasses. Our waiter was a generous pour but the glasses were so small there was no room left to sssswirl. Oh my, how gauche!
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I had to send back the lamb. I really tried, but I couldn't find one good bite on the whole plate.
This place has such a nice interior and a great bar to sit, order and eat at.
I gone back a couple times since my last visit and the food has gotten worse.
I'm going to give this place a few months before I brave the retry.
And even then, it'll just be baby steps.(a.k.a. No meat -- FYI- that blows cause I love meat).
01/23/2008
This would have been 4 stars were it not for a recent scorching of my steak.
I've only gone here for…
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Scene: Right now it's 7:16am on Monday morning, and I am on Day 2.5 of a Juice Fast. I just downed some tomato juice laced with gingeroot. Not Happy.
I armed myself with a calming Visualization/Basic Relaxation Sequence to temporarily relieve myself of this pain.
What is That I HEAR?! Oh yea! Our table is ready! Soon I SEE a big mess of French Toast....wait I SMELL the berries.....French Toast with Berry Coulis? and is that Maple Syrup? Of Course It Is! I FEEL the syrup oozing out of my mouth, deftly picked up by my napkin in my left hand. The TASTE of Absolute Sugar intermittantly flavored with sips of black as the night coffee.
Anyone care to join me when this jkfdj!!** juice fast is over?
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Easy parking. Food is overated. My $24.00 steak that comes pre-sliced in 6 little strips was COLD. The French Fries were good. A party of 4 came to over $300.00 and the food was just ehhhh.
After hearing many rave reviews, I finally made to the Universal Cafe, and I'm so glad I did! We arrived on a Saturday at about 12:30pm, and were pleasantly surprised to be seated immediately. The food was delicious (I had a refreshing ginger lemonade and the tasty scrambed eggs with pesto, and my friend had the amazing blueberry french toast), the atmosphere was pleasant, and the service was friendly. Universal definitely lived up to its reputation, and I will certainly be back!
Wow, the food here is great. I heard a lot of hype about the tasty-ness that is Universal Cafe before I came here and was still blown away.
I had the buttermilk biscuits with poached eggs and smothered in a white gravy with bits of sausage. The biscuits were also topped with roasted bell peppers and onion. Everything about this worked. The biscuits were fluffy and the gravy was to die for. I wasn't expecting the the bell peppers but even those went with the other ingredients.
The couple samples I had of my friends Indian breakfast was equally impressive.
The bloody marys aren't bad, either.
I'm not likely to haul myself to San Francisco for brunch very often, but I'm sure I can be talked into going back here in the future.
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I could tell right away I'd love the place. Maybe it was because I was wearing a sundress and sandals. Maybe because it was 80 degrees and sunny, and the sidewalk was filled with people laughing and brunching. Maybe it was all the light that made it look wonderful.
But the decor instead was nice, too. The large, sliding chalkboards. The white walls and black-painted piping. The benches and chairs. The open kitchen.
The menu was slightly limited for brunch, at least for what we've been used to. I think it seemed small to us because brunch in our vocabulary actually means late breakfast. Not actually lunch-type items. We still insist on breakfast-type foods and good cups of coffee. We can't begin to think of pork chops and pizzas.
We split the homemade cruellers, which were great. I had the soft egg scramble with avocado, heirloom tomatoes, etc, and my husband ordered the french toast.
The french toast comes with a peach compote, cream, and blackberries. But my husband can be a simple type of guy, so he typically asks for all the sweet stuff on the side. So, he did.
Only disappointing thing was that my avocado and tomatoes actually came on the side of my egg dish, and his french toast was dressed for a dessert party. The food runner seemed a little peeved / surprised that he actually wanted to send it back, but she obliged.
Our server never said anything. Not--sorry I goofed, not--sorry you had to wait so long the 2nd time around. Not even, sorry, I misheard you. Oh well. She actually never even came back except to drop off the bill.
Otherwise, it was good food and coffee. The support staff for servers are efficient with water, coffee, clearing plates--and friendly).
I'd definitely like to try it again, maybe this time for dinner.
I still think it's charming, and I still think while the menu lacks a ton of variety, perhaps it's to make sure the stuff they have on the menu is as tasty as they can make it.
A lot of people seem to be reluctant to order chicken at nice restaurants. They say it's a cop out, I could make that at home, there must something more interesting on the menu, etc.
Well, I can say with complete confidence that Universal Cafe's roast chicken is no cop out. And while I suppose there might be something more interesting on the menu, if you say you can make chicken like this at your house I am coming over to make you prove it. Unless you're annoying or your place smells like cat urine. Then I probably won't come over, but you still get my meaning.
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Perhaps the staff at Universal hasn't heard of the old adage; don't rest on your laurels.
Over the years I have been to Universal several times for brunch on the weekends. The food and service has always good...until today. The food was still great (can't beat that banana nut bread), but the service has gone way down hill.
The hostess and the two servers who waited on us were awful. It was as if they couldn't wait to get us out of there. Two extra chairs at our table were added, removed and adjust at least 6 times while we sat there (I suppose to accommodate other customers). The check was brought to us before we even asked for it. And no one ever came by after our food was brought out to see if we needed anything else (a coffee refill would have bee nice!).
I know it's always busy there, but come on, it's brunch. It's supposed to be relaxing.
There are plenty of other places in SF with good brunches and much better service. I suggest that you try somewhere else besides Universal. It's no longer worth the price.
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Oh. My. God.
This was seriously delicious brunch!
My sister was looking for a good brunch place for us to try out which she may not be able to get to easily on muni (to take advantage of my vehicle). First tip I can give you is to get there early. We were there at 10:30am and when we left, there were a ton of people hoping for a table to open up and hovering and drooling over the outside tables.
I liked the very industrial sort of look and feel of the restaurant inside and things were definitely moving! I took a little peek at my neighbor's dishes to get an idea of what I should order and the first thing that caught my eye was the buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy with (i think!) poached eggs. SO DELICIOUS! My friend also ordered the french toast with strawberries and ricotta cheese. She thought it was simply divine and wants to come back to this cafe all the time now!
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Ah, if only this place had all you can drink mimosas to make it a NY style brunch, then... it'd be perfect. The wait was quite long, but we put our name in then went to fetch a cup of coffee from Coffee Bar.
Brunch was sooo yummy, and service was great also. We started with the Banana Bread topped with whipped cream cheese, which suited us perfectly as a starter for three people. We then dived into our main dishes... I had a grilled flatbread pizza that had eggplant, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese on it. It was amazingly delicious and more than I could eat. I'd get it to share with someone next time, or get it as an appetizer. All in all, a fabulous place (don't forget to check out the bathroom, it had a sweet drawing in there)!
You will find amazing brunch food here and great service!! The menu changes daily. We ordered chicken and biscuits, scrambled eggs with avocado and salsa, eggplant soup, fresh banana bread, and a thin flatbread of sweet corn and risotto!! My taste buds were in heaven!! I will definitely have to come back soon.
Went here for brunch and was impressed. We shared the apple doughnuts with new-crop (cutesy term) gravenstein apples and caramel cream. Then I had the grilled flatbread with tomato sauce, sweet corn, summer squash, oregano and mozzarella. Delicious but could have used more tomato sauce, but that may be me. Daughter had the fruit plate with local heirloom melons (heirloom is the buzzword everywhere these days, isn't it?), figs and berries; toast with fromage blanc, cinnamon and honey. What is "white cheese" anyway? This too got a thumbs-up rating, but it is hard to screw up fruit. I'd love to try it for dinner & see what they have up their sleeve since the brunch menu was very enticing and delicious.
My one visit here was not terribly inspiring, as is oft said, I wanted to love it but...
We popped in for brunch, it was on the early side so as busy as they were there was not too much of a wait. I mellowed out with the 9 dollar mimosa* and listened to the cacophony of voices bouncing off the walls. I tried not to eavesdrop (nothing juicy to hear anyway ;) but I was sitting virtually shoulder to shoulder with the people on either side of me along the wall so it was difficult; I could tell they were trying to block us out as well.
The old man had ordered the french toast and I some special with eggs polenta and mushrooms. Long story short I found his french toast dry with virtually no egg penetration into the bread and my special was honestly too soupy and bland. Overall I was disappointed after reading so many good things about the french toast and brunch, in our case nothing really stood out to encourage me to make it a brunch destination again. I like to be fair though, so perhaps I'll try something else next time or return for dinner.
Until the time I can reevaluate I'll say that my estimation of this popular spot is that it is universally okay.
*What is with the cost of mimosas nowadays, you'd think a little glass of juice with some sparkling wine would actually cost less then a giant tumbler of the hand squoze stuff..
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Hmm . . . clearly dinner at Universal Cafe is not the preferred time to be there. I'll have to trust everyone on how great it is for brunch, but the dinner there is somewhat pedestrian.
Let's put it this way: I love fresh pasta, but it also has to be made well. It needs to dry straight. It needs to not be chow mein sized. It needs to not be quite so doughy. And as far as fresh tomato sauce is concerned, a simply tomato basil is great if you can actually render them into a sauce and not a half-formed cluster of cheese and tomato innards.
My friend clearly got the better dish. He ordered the roast chicken with whole corn polenta, and that both looked and tasted amazing.
The frites we had for a starter were incredibly delicious, though. It was tough to not simply eat them and pretend its a meal.
I'd give it a second chance, but only for brunch.
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We had a really lovely meal at Universal Cafe. Loved the space, the atmosphere and the neighborhood (would definitely want to go back for brunch on a sunny day!), but not all dishes were great. The lobster risotto was the star of the meal no doubt as well as the peach crisp from the desserts. The other dishes were not bad but not outstanding - the steak was lackluster, the calamari appetizer tiny, the flatbread good and the fresh veggie pasta not that tasty in the beginning but evolved into an amazing dish the more you had.
A little bit pricey also.
Perhaps 3.5 would be a more fair rating.
I adore Universal Cafe. I love that it's off the beaten path in a pretty random location and that it's laid back, but it delivers high quality, inventive, absolutely delicious brunches and dinners that are tough to beat for the price. The scrambles are simple yet flavorful and filling, my BF wouldn't shut up about the french toast for DAYS after he first had it and they have the best flank steak I've ever had.
They also have an excellent drink menu and wine list, and update their menu daily. There's not a lot of options, but surely something to please everyone and everything sounds so good, I'm kind of glad it's so short or else I'd never be able to make up my mind! The outdoor seating is nice on a non-windy day and you can actually park nearby fairly easily. Highly, highly recommended.
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Went here for Sunday brunch. At about 10:30AM, they were just about out of space and we may have gotten the last table. By around noon, when we left, there was a line out the door, so plan accordingly.
Logistics aside, to the important bit!
The french toast is freakin' phenomenal. The bread and peaches really made this an awesome dish. I was at the risk of exploding when I finished it all. And I HAD to finish it all.
Everyone else seemed to like their dishes as well, so the food was just really darn good. It's a bit pricey (french toast was around $10.95 I think...but WORTH IT!).
A word of warning! Beware the $9 mimosa. I thought it was going to be a huge glass. NO! Small glass! Good news is that it's mostly bubbly. However, it's probably ultra-fancy champagne, which is drowned out by the orange juice. Give me Andre mimosas in a huge glass. Seriously, I won't notice the difference. Secret is safe with me *wink*
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Great experience here. Arrived at 10am Sunday and were immediately seated at a 3 top by the window. Ordered a fruit plate (overdosing on figs while in SF), fried eggs with curried cauliflower and dal and poached eggs with biscuits and sausage gravy! Very nice selection! Everything was seriously good, including the white peach Bellini I had as my appetizer. Watch out if you are used to asking for your Bloody Mary extra spicy... my wife set her mouth on fire with that thing!
What a lovely spot! We've been for brunch and for dinner and both were great experiences. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, the atmosphere is charming and the food is oh so yummy! We will definitely be back. And I just learned they are open for lunch Wed-Fri, so I'm def going to bring some co-workers or clients there soon.
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A fantastic place for sunday brunch no double. Great ambiance. It would be a nicer if my french toast portion was a bit smaller and add the sausage as a one plate.
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Just had a lovely brunch there with a visiting friend. The bar seats were a little crowded, but our neighbors kinda camped out a bit there, and happened to have wider bodies. No sweat. Service was on point, friendly, and attentive enough without being intrusive. I had the pesto scrambled eggs with heirloom tomatoes. Ankles to Jesus it was good. My friend, who claimed to not be terribly hungry and harbored much trepidation about ordering ::gasp:: french toast ate it so fast and with such a fury of moaning between bites and small conversational phrases that I dare not ask for a bite.
It's alright, we aren't that close, I can go back and see what that was all about.
Gonna go again for dinner, as this place has been on my list far too long. Hell, maybe I'll hit up dinner tonight. It was that good.
The two stars are not for the food, they are for the damn healthcare surcharge. I know Universal is not the only place in the city adding a buck or two per person onto checks because of the new healthcare laws, but there is no excuse for factoring that in to the automatic tip. Never mind that the 20% was already added for a table of five, but now we are tipping our server for his healthcare??
I have absolutely no problem tipping 20% (at least), but come on. It's the principle! The principle! No more factoring the surcharge into the tip - it's tacky, Universal Cafe.
I dream about this place - the steak I had for lunch was absolutely unreal. Everyt ime I come to San Francisco now I do at least one lunch here. I had dinner as well and brunch once but to be honest, its the lunch that is most memorable to me. Great place for dates (although I can see how it can be tough to get a table) but no good for single dining (at least from my impressions).
Along with everyone else, the buttermilk biscuits with poached eggs and smothered in a white gravy with bits of sausage is OMG!!! I came here with a friend for bunch, the place was packed.. many waiting for a table. Well, we were lucky, only a short wait, and right away we ordered. I order the pesto thin bread thing, (can't remember the name) andmy friend order te buttermlk biscuit. OMG, before I even tried her dish, I couldn't stop staring at it, cuz it looked and smell so good. Anyway, lucky me, my friend wasn't hungry and she only ate half her dish, and the rest went to me. =) Overall, both our dish was good, everyone there seems to love the food to. As of right now a 5 stars, but I shall return to confirm my rating.
