Breadbelly — Restaurant in San Francisco

As a working professional my Sunday afternoon's consist of finding a nice coffee shop to enjoy a cappuccino (or two or three), open my laptop and start prepping for some activities for the coming week. This has been my usual routine for as long as I can remember. My spot is usually determined by where my activity from earlier in the day was. Often that'll be Saint Frank in Russian Hill, Sightglass on 7th, Stable Cafe in the Mission, or Home Cafe in the Richmond. On my way to Home Cafe in the Richmond I passed by Breadbelly which I had never seen before. It looked super cute and inviting from the outside. That's where the positives ended.

Once my wife and I went in and started looking at the menu we saw Wreckingball was their coffee of choice. The price for my cappuccino ($4) which is typical fare in SF. However, we did notice that Latte's are $5.5 which is nearly a 10-20% premium compared to other similar shops. Their "BB" drinks though were $6+, a bit steep but hey worth a shot since it's "signature" right so we settled in on a Black Sesame Horchata.

Once we took a seat (right by the owner/cashier), my wife and I cracked out our work and laptops. In a short amount of time they delivered our drinks and made no mention of the laptop or books. Then about 10 min midway through our coffee the owner interrupts us with one of the most awkward and most tone deaf customer service experiences I've had:

Owner: Hi, I just wanted to mention that we typically like to have a no working Sunday policy at our store. I apologize, we've been meaning to put a sign to state that but haven't gotten to it.

Me: Ok, so what exactly are you asking of me at the moment?

Owner: You need wrap up and close your laptop.

Me: My whole afternoon is based around getting my work done, and this just throws a giant wrench into that.

Owner: We're going to have to ask you to wrap it up.

This interaction would have been totally acceptable if there were signs saying no working on Sunday's. Home Cafe does a pretty good job about that on specific tables that are identified as "no laptop" tables. The part that irked me the most was that the owner admittedly knew he had no signs and knew it was a problem. Also what made this worse was that the cafe was at most a quarter filled at the time. I could understand if we were occupying a table with a nearly full room or queue forming. All in all this was one of the most ridiculous experiences I've had in a neighborhood coffee shop.

After reading some other 1 star reviews for this place, it seems this is almost a carbon copy of other Sunday laptop experiences. You would think that after a couple times, printing a sign would be that much easier in the spirit of customer experience. It seems they are more than happy to take your money and ask you to leave. With a service mentality like this I'm hoping there are mostly one and done visitors like myself...

2 pronged review for this place:

First, the toast with the pandan is super delicious. The thick warm crunchy toast with the sweet creamy pandan topping sprinkled lightly with salt is an outstanding flavor.

The egg salad sandwich had the familiar comforts of a sandwich and egg salad with a unique twist of deep fried veggies. A little messy to eat with the egg salad falling out, so make sure to enjoy it in the wrapper in which it is served.

The cornbread was delightful. The melted yet crispy, salty, and even crunchy cheese paired very well with the sweeter and moist corn bread beneath it.

Flavors were all unique, interesting, and 10/10 across the board. There is no indoor seating, but a relatively large parklette and benches out front.

Second prong — the value / price. Yes, it is SF. Yes, the food was very delicious. That said, almost 50$ for a coffee, sandwich, and 3 pastries makes me feel like I’m losing my mind a bit. It felt steep, even compared to other excellent bakeries in the city. 4/5 stars just because the flavors are outstanding, but the value leaves something to be desired.

That said, would I go back? Totally.

Probably just for coffee and that pandan...

wow, top tier bakery in the city. genuinely blown away by the kaya toast, a must try! this place is on the pricier side but overlooked it bc it was that good. overall, not an everyday bakery but somewhere i would take people visiting.

kaya toast: soo good!! the kaya and pandan flavoring with the warm, fluffy milk bread and flaky salt to top were perfect.

breakfast sandwich: top tier breakfast sandwich in the city! the chili paste spread provided the perfect amount of spice and wasn’t too heavy of a sandwich

kaya bun: not as good as the toast but still tasty. wish the topping stuck to the bun.

persimmon croissant: amazing, must try. the filling had chunks of persimmon adding a tartness to the sweet croissant

macnut pineapple croissant tart: a little too sweet for me but people with sweet tooth’s would probs like it

ma faux caccia: delicious focaccia bread, would recommend to mapo tofu lovers

scallion pancake: delicious scallion pancake like sandwich but a little too oily for me. prefer the sandwich but a good alternative.

black sesame latte: enjoyed this drink even though i’m not the biggest black sesame fan.

matcha latte: well made matcha latte, similar...