Excelsior Coffee — Restaurant in San Francisco

I’ve been hearing about this place for awhile since I bake a lot of ube goodies, and my friends told me to check out their selections. I’m not a coffee drinker, and I have bad reactions to caffeine so I couldn’t really buy any drinks from here.

First time I went there, the woman on the counter was helping somebody else so I ventured to the case but kept going back in line. It’s a small area so it was obvious where I stood line-wise. I was halfway between the case and the order line when it was my turn. With a smile on, I was ready to speak but the woman looked at me then looked at the guy behind me, and asked the guy for his order. The guy pointed out that it was my turn. The woman reluctantly took my order packing my few treats in limited pastry bags saying the bare minimum. I still tipped even though I didn’t think she deserved it. By the time I got home, the tarts were all crumpled because they were on top of each other. They still tasted good but the presentation ruined the experience.

The second time I went, I was going to the hospital to visit somebody so I brought two small Tupperware containers. They didn’t have the tarts but I enjoyed the ube brownies previously so I ordered some. I asked for two brownies, and a different lady from last time informed me each order comes with two. That wasn’t explained to me before, and I briefly wondered if I was overcharged in the previous visit. They had extremely limited ube treats so I ordered banana bread. The lady asked for my other container to use since they wouldn’t fit in one. I didn’t mind. However, she literally propped them in the container, and they obviously wouldn’t closed with how she put them. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to cause a scene. I paid first, tipped, and had to rearrange both containers so I could close them without smashing and ruining any of the treats I bought. By this time, the lady moved on to stocking the shelf without a backward look. I wondered if the employees there are unhappy.

The third time I went there, it was a guy on the counter. I ordered a bunch of treats again. I saw that he was about to put several treats in one bag. I asked if he could separate the tarts so they wouldn’t get smashed like before. I told him I was willing to pay for extra bags. He dropped one of the ube truffle balls on the counter and he put it in the same bag as the other. The same counter that people touch and put money or anything else that’s probably unsanitary. The guy didn’t charge me for extra bags but he also didn’t say anything else. He seemed unhappy that I asked my things to be bagged separately. I paid and still tipped although not as much as I normally would. I didn’t eat the truffle balls so they went to the trash when I got home. I didn’t know if the counter was clean and sanitary. In other bakeries I visited before, employees would throw any food that fell on the counter or outside the plate/tray. I should’ve said something but I really didn’t want to cause a scene. I wasn’t looking for friends but three different employees who never cracked a smile, and seemed unhappy to me are just not welcoming.

I do want some ube brownies and I still want to try the ube truffle balls but I’m not sure I want to go back to the place. I just didn’t feel welcome. I would recommend perhaps investing in small pastry boxes for people like me who buy a lot...

Wife and I came in to grab a coffee and some food Sat, Jan 7. The line was very long, but place was obviously busy. We ordered 2 coffees, a pastry and a spam breakfast sandwich. The two coffees came out fine, the pastry was forgotten about until I had to go back and ask.

After 15-20 minutes, we assumed that they had forgotten our sandwich order as they asked us again what we had ordered and then created a new ticket for it and took it to the kitchen. We waited 10-15 for the new order and left the cafe, only to realize in the car that they had gotten the sandwich order completely wrong too.

Feels like the place needs to have an adult there. The whole time, the young employees were laughing so loudly to one another across the whole cafe,...

I got here right at opening having come for the ube treats. I ended up getting a horchata latte with oat milk and an ube pop tart. I’d just finished an intense workout, so this was technically breakfast. I felt like a kid again ordering the pop tart, but it was cute, so I couldn’t resist, and it wasn’t that expensive. I thought the latte was just okay, and none of the lids fit the cup perfectly, so I had to be extra careful carrying it. The pop tart was good, but several bites didn’t have any filling, so it was mostly pastry. I would come back to try other ube desserts but probably...