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Balboa Cafe San Francisco Reviews
Fun and happening bar near Marina
Restaurant during the day, but a hopping bar at night. Young fun crowd comes on weekend evenings. Good mix of both locals and tourists, including many international ones. Great place to hang out with old friends or meet new ones.
A lot of curb appeal, but the guts didn’t live up to expectations
When searching for places to eat near our hotel this place stood out as definitely worth a try. They were known for their espresso martinis and the food looked outstanding. We walked from our hotel and you could feel the energy of the place from almost two full blocks away. There were so many people drinking and hanging out outside that we were convinced we wouldn’t get a table. Despite the fact that the place was packed, we were able to get a seat right away. Most of these young professionals were here to drink, and most of the drinkers were holding an espresso martini. Inside, the place was loud and lively, but that didn’t bother us at all. It was a Saturday night and the locals were out for the night. As for the food, the fried calamari was very good. It came with two sauces and both were complimentary in different ways. The vegetable risotto with shrimp and Balboa burger with fries were both very good. Overall, the food was very good. Nothing was a disappointment, but nothing reached the WOW level either. If in the area again, we could see ourselves going back. But it’s SF, so maybe we’d be more inclined to try something new. As for the espresso martini, eh. We didn’t see the appeal. It was a good espresso martini, not a great one. Candidly, it tasted like they took a great espresso martini and watered it down. It was too light for my taste. Didn’t pack a punch at all. Just one man’s opinion. The service was good. No complaints there at all.
Class SF
The Classic Balboa Cafe was established in 1913 and it’s a timeless spot. It's one of the few places where you can still experience the old-world charm of San Francisco. It’s been a favorite for many generations. An old polished bar which a packed cocktail menu. As for the food, it never disappoints. I’m particularly fond of their salads—always fresh, crisp, and perfectly balanced. The sandwiches are equally impressive. It’s a classic.
Great Vibes and Food
Great restaurant, atmosphere, service and tasty food. I especially loved the Chimichurri Fries, they are so delicious.
Call soup served in a hot bowl tells you what kind of place this is for food.
Great bar and San Francisco atmosphere. Been here many times and the food is very uneven. Last time I went, I ordered the soup of the day. When it arrived, the soup was cold, but the bowl was hot. Obviously they put cold soup in the bowl and then put the bowl in the oven. What kind of restaurant does this? What kind of chef would have this as the regular procedure for serving soup? And to top it all off the food is very expensive.
Great for Lunch
No trip to San Francisco is complete without lunch at Balboa Café. This is a great institution dating back to to early 20th century serving up familiar staples and creative originals. There are a surprising number of vegetarian options-love the kale salad. My husband always orders the. Urgent served at temperature on a crusty baguette. The real star is their vast wide selection. We love the Adaptation Petite Syrah available at a reasonable price. Service is friendly and welcoming whether you are a local or visitor, they are glad to see you.
Friendly neighborhood brunch place
This is a friendly place with good indoor and outdoor seating. I visited on a Saturday morning for brunch and was greeted at the door by the friendly owner. The bar seating was perfect and I enjoyed a fantastic garden sandwich.
A favorite place
My family and I have eaten here each time we've traveled to stay in this area of San Francisco. The restaurant is fun, great atmosphere and the food is always interesting and good.
Popular restaurant and bar
Popular spot known for espresso martinis in the Marina. Came here for dinner on a Friday evening around 9pm and it was pretty crowded. We didn’t have reservations for our party of four but we nabbed an inside table with a less than 5 minute wait. Outdoor seating with heat lamps is also available. The Mac and cheese was the crowd favorite. I did enjoy the poke nachos as well, though note that there is a lot of mayo-based sauce on top. The buttermilk calamari came in a huge portion size so that’s a good option for those groups that are hungry. We got a salad and risotto to round out the meal - those were alright. Service was pretty slow but it was a busy Friday night, so we just went up to the bar to try to pay the bill.
Connect with users posting reservations for Balboa Cafe San Francisco
AppointmentTrader is a community-driven platform where users can exchange their reservations or leverage their personal relationships with Balboa Cafe San Francisco. Buyers can make informed decisions using automated seller ratings, which reflect past transactions and reliability.
Each posting on AppointmentTrader shows you which user submitted it and along with that provides a trackrecord of that user which indicates how much experience
the user has and how many percent of their transactions resulted in them issuing a refund.
If there is no user posting that fits your schedule, you can bid on your preferred time.
Let's say Peter has a great morning and decides to take his three friends to Balboa Cafe San Francisco at 6 PM the same day.
He checks the restaurant's website and sees that no reservations are available. He then looks at the Balboa Cafe San Francisco page on AppointmentTrader, but finds that there are no user postings either.
That's where the community-driven bid process comes in.
Peter can place a bid on AppointmentTrader, which serves as a reward for any community member who chooses to work on securing the reservation. AT then notifies experienced users who may be able to help.
Step-by-Step Process
1.) Setting a Reward (Bid)
* AppointmentTrader uses historical data to recommend a reasonable reward amount for securing a reservation - let's say $100.
* Peter really wants to go, so he increases the bid (or reward) to $200.
* At this stage, the reservation does not exist yet.
2.) A Community User Picks Up the Bid
* FulfilledThread16, an experienced AT user, has a strong track record of successfully securing reservations and low refund requests, they receive a notification about Peter's bid.
* FulfilledThread16 picks up the bid, meaning they will now work on securing the reservation.
* Peter can now talk to FulfilledThread16 for any questions Peter may have as FulfilledThread16 user fills the bid.
3.) Finding the Reservation
* FulfilledThread16 now uses their connections at Balboa Cafe San Francisco to secure the table.
* If they successfully get the 6 PM table for four, Peter receives a confirmation that the reservation has been secured.
* If FulfilledThread16 fails to secure the reservation, the bid is returned to the pool so another user can try.
4.) Payment & Protection
* Once the reservation is secured, FulfilledThread16 receives the $200 reward which is credited to FulfilledThread16's AT balance, where users manage their own funds and can withdraw via available payout options such as bank transfer, PayPal, or Zelle.
* Peter can now enjoy the dinner with his friends at Balboa Cafe San Francisco!
* As with all transactions on AT, disputes and no-show fees are handled through the platform's community-driven resolution system. Users with a strong track record are incentivized to fulfill bids successfully, and community members can report issues to maintain trust in the marketplace.
