Il Canto Cafe — Restaurant in San Francisco

Il Canto Café is a small independent sandwich shop that I’ve passed by many times when going to Sapphire Asian cusine which is next door. I decided to finally give it a try a couple of weeks ago. Being a small place it was packed during my first visit. The menu is simple a bunch of panini’s, salads and some readymade pasta. I decided to get the Chipotle chicken panini ($8) which as per the menu is chipotle sauce, jack cheese, chicken, spinach, tomatoes on a ciabatta roll. After ordering it was a short 10 minute wait and I was on my way.

The panini had two problems. First, the contents were not thawed out properly before being toasted so all the chicken tasted like a cold hard lump. I understand that you have to refrigerate the sandwiches to avoid a Chipotle type of situation but you have to thaw them out correctly before toasting them. I had to let the sandwich sit for about 20 minutes to get the contents to proper room temperature but that made the sandwich soggy. The second issue was the panini was over toasted. It was in the press for a couple of minutes more than it should have been making the bread extremely crispy. Overall this was not a good panini.

Obviously I was not very impressed with my first visit so I was in no hurry to return. I decided to give them another try a couple of days ago. This time they were not that full. I decided to get the chicken breast panini ($8) which as per the menu is pesto, chicken breast, spinach, tomatoes, provolone cheese on focaccia bread. This time I observed process a little closely. The sandwich was first microwaved to thaw it out and then toasted in a panini press. This time the panini was only marginally better. At least it was thawed correctly, but could have used a little more time in the toaster.

Price wise it is in line with what you will pay at other independent sandwich shops in the area but consistency in quality is lacking. I think they have potential but need to fine-tune their process a little more. Competition in this area is intense (there are 30+ sandwich shops in a 1 mile radius in downtown) so when benchmarked against other independent sandwich shops like Front Door Café, Good Luck Café, Chez Julien etc. they do need to take a...

Congrats, you happened to click and find the best breakfast burrito in SF. Let me tell you, I love breakfast burritos, it’s my favorite thing in the morning when done right. That last point is key, as it’s frequently messed up at other places.

There is finally a place that’s decided to do everything correctly, when it comes to crafting the perfect breakfast burrito. Are Burritos normally too soggy, don’t worry this place crisps the tortilla on a panini press. Eggs usually too one note? This spot adds veggies to the seasoned cooked to order soft eggs. To add, to the list of things done right, this spot is open during the weekend in FiDi (shocking), has great hours and fair prices.

Now let’s get into more details. You can customize it however you like, I got the bacon avocado, added potatoes and omg finally a place that gets the portion and ratios correctly. You know what drives me bonkers at other places? When they manage to pile all the egg on one side, cheese is non existent, and they squish all the protein into a tiny corner on the bottom. Not here, here every bite has every topping. A simple step, that you’d be surprised many of the very popular places in SF miss. Also, the potatoes here are crispy and not raw or mushy.

I’m gonna say it, this is legit the best breakfast burrito in SF. If you’re a burrito connoisseur like me, you know how important all the details above are. Oh and the guy taking the order is super delightful, and there’s quite outdoor seating.

What more do you want?! Come on by and support this spot and have an outstanding, perfect, breakfast burrito made how...

Wow what a great spot. My brother just got me this one day. Maybe the burrito was better because it was a gift but also I think it was just solid. It does something unique with a breakfast burrito. The flavors are super present and the inside is moist. Really solid breakfast burrito. I got the meat lover because I am a huge meat lover. It had great mixture of the egg and the meat. Usually I feel like breakfast burritos are more on the dry side. Probably because of the eggs or potatoes but this breakfast burrito was moist and flavorful. Super impressed by this place. I have no clue how the service or atmosphere is because I got it delivered. I can only imagine how much better it is if I got it fresh. I would rate the burrito high eights, maybe like 8.7 for a breakfast burrito. One of my favorite breakfast burritos I have had. So 4.35 and I have no clue how the service atmosphere is again. Overall, solid...