Early To Rise, Scratch Made Brunch — Restaurant in San Francisco

Early to Rise was first founded as a pop-up in 2016 and now has become a staple in San Francisco's NoPa neighborhood. Born from the desire to bring high-quality homemade brunch food to San Francisco, Early to Rise boasts an impressive number of items on their menu that are all made in-house, including their bagels, charcuterie, and preserves.

It's highly recommended to make reservations (especially if you're looking to dine-in on the weekends); however, if you are early to rise (haha get it?) and arrive at the restaurant soon after they open you just might get lucky and snag one of their counter top seats. And that's exactly what I ended up doing.

As much as I love brunch, I'm much more of a night owl as opposed to an early bird so waking up in the mornings can be a challenge for me. On this particular Sunday morning I happened to find myself awake bright and early at 7am. Thinking to myself since I was already awake I might as well make the most of it, I ventured outside in search of a brunch place to sample. Early to Rise came across my search and I arrived at the dining establishment shortly after they opened around 8:05am. Luckily, they still had countertop seats available and we snagged two seats for ourselves.

When you step into Early to Rise you're immediately greeted with what I can best define an elevated diner aesthetic, in which there are design elements somewhat reminiscent of an old 1970s diner, but modernized.

We decided on their peaches cobbler french toast, the eggs benedict, a sugar donut, plus a side of hash browns (because who doesn't love potatoes). To wash that all down, I also ordered their strawberry yuzu spritz, which can be made alcohol if you want (with an addition of prosecco); however, the original version of the drink utilizes non-alcoholic spirits from Lyre (perfect for me). To start with the drink, the drink was freshly prepared in front of us (as we were seated at the countertop) and was perfectly sweet, tart, and bubbly all at the same time - definitely something I would love to drink again.

After the drink came the sugar donut (being the second sugar donut of the day as we were told) and was absolutely delectable - a light, fluffy, sweet bite at all the same time. For those of you looking for something a little more decadent they do have their daily deluxe donut which features both a filling and a topping.

For the main dishes, we both really enjoyed their eggs benedict as the dish was perfectly prepared and the addition of Canadian bacon and spinach (which is a +$3 added cost on top of the dish) was definitely worth it and added another savory dimension to the meal. Although I'm a HUGE fan of french toast, I did find their peach cobbler rendition to be on the sweet side, but almost overwhelming so and regrettably I could only finish one of my two slices. Last but not least, the hashbrowns were delicious perfectly fried potato goodness.

If you're looking for a new brunch place to try, then Early to Rise has to be one of your next stops in...

My girlfriend and I were really excited to try (Early to rise) as the food looked amazing online. My apprehension began as it was apparent there was dysfunction with seating guests in a smooth transition. I noticed a table was cleaned and reset for over 10 minutes. It wasn’t until I approached the host that she finally realized she could seat us. Initial service was fairly quick and our drinks came out shortly after ordering them. I ordered an oat-milk latte which was pretty good, it had a nice nutty flavor and my girlfriend had a mimosa. For our food, I ordered the eggs with hash browns, bacon and I added the silver dollar pancakes. My girlfriend got the eggs Benedict. When the food was brought out, we weren’t asked if there was anything else we needed. How about a side plate for this hefty arugula and fennel salad I didn’t know was coming on top of the food I actually ordered…and some ketchup for my hash browns. I feel that should be pretty standard protocol for hash browns. My hash browns did not seem like they were from scratch as you would imagine from the name. A solid block that seemed deep fried, almost like the grocery store frozen kind but larger. My bacon was thick and extremely fatty and I imagine the kitchen had a bread shortage as my dish came with a small half piece of toast. My eggs were cooked fine but that’s nothing to celebrate about. After we were served I had to get up multiple times to ask for things I needed, we were basically left alone once our food came. The two silver dollar pancakes I added on we’re definitely as described, the size of actual silver dollars and nothing special. Let’s just say my girlfriend didn’t finish her Benedict. We finally got some attention when they wanted to try to sell us on another mimosa, not to ensure our enjoyment of our food or experience. Finally my girlfriend ordered tea but they don’t have honey…shame. The expensive price tag, lack of execution and poor service earned this two star review. The food wasn’t terrible otherwise it would have been a one star review. Very unfortunate but I can’t imagine returning, I would have rather made...

This cute NOPA neighborhood spot lives up to its made-from-scratch reputation.

The strawberry pancakes taste exactly like how a dad would make them (buttery edges and extra fruit), but elevated with premium ingredients like pistachio-hazelnut-brittle and spicy mint. It just may be the best pancake in the city!

We decided to opt for the “fancier” eggs Benedict — “Eggs Stinson” — and were pleasantly surprised by how well the crab pairs with the hollandaise sauce! The chilled meat helps cut the spicy flavor of the sauce and compliments the dressed greens. Admittedly, the grits were a bit uninspired — they were pretty bland with nothing but butter for flavor — so next time we’d ask to sub them in with hash browns.

Now, there are a few words of caution before trying Early to Rise:

(1) the coffee was, I’m sorry, possibly the worst cup of coffee I’ve ever had. It may have just been a bad batch of beans, but it was so bitter than no amount of milk or sugar could’ve redeemed it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a coffee snob by any means (I use k-cups at home, for heavens sake!) so for me to say it’s bad honestly means it was, frankly, really bad.

(2) the lack of reservation system is a big drawback. Getting a table was a nightmare, not only because of the long wait (which we expected for a place that doesn’t accept reservations), but the front-of-house was seriously chaotic. Guests were cutting past one another, the instruction from the hostess was unclear, and several groups were getting clearly agitated by the confusion.

Even without adding in reservations, incorporating some type of system that texts the waitlist when their table is ready could go a long way in making the dining experience more smooth, in addition to a bit more clarity from the hostess. All the same, brunch time on the weekend gets hectic and it’s a (relatively) new place, so I’m hopeful that they will work these kinks out.

Overall, I’d give this place 4/5 as the food (minus the coffee) was phenomenal and the service was eager though not...