St. Francis Fountain — Restaurant in San Francisco

An old-school diner with lots of vegan options? Let's go!

I was amazed by the sheer number of vegetarian and vegan options offered at St. Francis Fountain. They have tofu scrambles, vegan chorizo hash, vegan pancakes, vegan sausage patties, veggie chili, garden burgers and seitan melts! They even have veganaise and Earth Balance Buttery Spread.

I ordered the vegan blueberry pancakes with a side of vegan chorizo hash. The pancakes are more dense and chewy than your typical buttermilk variety. This is neither better nor worse, just different. They were bursting with blueberries, which was a treat. The vegan chorizo hash is quite oily (as hash often is), but it's quite tasty. They served it with the Earth Balance spread, which I had never tried before. It's pretty similar to a salted, whipped butter.

My partner ordered the Polar Melt on light rye. The seitan is well seasoned. If you like patty melts and the like, this is a great veggie option (it came with jack cheese, which you can probably leave off it you want to go vegan). It's one of the best melts I've tasted in a long time!

They carry Mitchell's ice cream and La Copa Loca gelato for desserts and fountain drinks. They also have vanilla soy as a non-dairy option. We didn't try any of these since we were so full from our meals. Maybe next time.

Their brewed coffee is pleasantly strong and their staff is quite friendly. Combined with a big, tasty meal, it's hard to leave without a smile on your face. It's not the healthiest place to eat (it is an old-school diner after all!), but the veggie and vegan options really show how almost every other restaurant out there is really dropping the ball when it comes to...

Legend has it that hipsters line the walls of this place, but from first-hand experience, that isn't the case, so don't feel intimidated ala Four Barrel.

St. Francis is your grandfather's-type diner. From the outside, the place is aglow with large neon signs luring all passersby like mosquitoes. Then on the inside, booths reminiscent of old wooden church pews encompass most of the seating, and a random, seemingly-misplaced candy stand greets you as you walk in. But it is all of these quirks that add to the character of St. Francis making it a unique place to eat.

Here, I've ordered the Chef's Mess, which is ultimately a pile of scrambled eggs, mushrooms, bacon, sour cream, cheese, and tomatoes. Twas very filling, but nothing special. On a separate occasion, I tried their chocolate shake, which they concoct carefully using Mitchell's Ice Cream (as it took almost 10 mins to make). This is what I feel has garnered its followers. Not only was it tasty, but the leftovers that they hand you in a silver cup was enough to re-fill my glass 2 times over. Now, that's what you call: bang for the buck!

Overall, my visits to St. Francis Fountain have been good, but is it worth waiting 30 mins to an hour to eat? Maybe not. But on a warm day in San Francisco, come and visit for their shakes. I promise, you...

I used to come often until their unprofessional attitude kicked in. The server refers themselves as being " inconsistent " when it comes to sitting. I put my name on the waiting list as usual, waited 20mn to be seated while seeing multiple people being sat sat the bar without any wait not sign up. I asked the waiter why they did not offer us that option and sat other people there, his answer was that they were simply inconsistent when they get busy. I asked the manager and he told me sometimes they do sit people without checking the waiting list and calling names out when they are busy. Meaning they don't care if you waited and followed the rules and other cheated and did not. They have no clue what they are doing, all looking like they are homeless , dirty clothes, dirty hair (not attached) and come with an all stars attitude. I worked restaurant business for over ten years, they are nothing but hipsters with no professional skills, working there because they can't work anywhere else... Their manager is the worst, no excuse for his attitude and careless misdemeanor. At your own risk, food is always ok...