A2/Rustico Cafe

They haven’t closed, they’re still there!
Just called A2 now.

Best place to eat while getting your work done! The food can be as artsy as the work produced at CCA! I would recommend half the items on the menu on any given day!

this place just gets worse and worse. I could make a list but I’m going to put as much effort into this review as they put into their food. If you find yourself in the neighborhood, which has tragically few options, do yourself a favor and go to JBs instead.

Eating here for the last 3 years has made me cringe at the sight and smell of this café. Could you please change the menu? I mean, it’s the same food that people only buy because there’s nothing else! Not much for non-​wheat eaters, and everything with wheat tastes… tasteless! Pizza has cardboard for crust. All the soups haven’t changed for 4 yrs!!! And why add mozzarella to a quesadilla with sandwich deli chicken? Come on!!! Most of us are beside ourselves trying to find something new here. And the phở… it’s expensive and they skimp out on the meat. The deli case has the same items it did when I first came to this school. Tired out spaghetti, old looking Pad Thai, tofu, and pasta. It looks like they throw it out every day because no one eats it. Just change it up!!! I do recommend the tuna salad, but the same one for the last 4 yrs. has made me hate it.

It’s the cheapest place to eat in Potrero and a staple for all of us busy/​poor/​lazy California College of the Arts students. I don’t think I would come here if I wasn’t a student at the school and essentially chained to my architecture desk, but I don’t know what I would do without A2.
Run by a sweet family and full of regulars. A good place to have a lunch meeting or just grab a quick cup of coffee. Staff is friendly, prices are low, and the food is above average.
Egg on focaccia bread = $ 3. Sold.

A2 earns an A.
Quality: Americano had just the right amount of sugar free vanilla syrup. Parfait was overflowing with fruit. Grilled tofu and hummus (substituted at no charge) was divine. Homemade walnut brownie was sinful in the best way possible.
Innovation: Nori seaweed instead of lettuce in my sandwich? Brilliant.
Speed: My food was ready almost as soon as my order was taken and credit card processed.
Price: Very reasonable. $ 3 americano. $ 5 parfait. $ 6 sandwich.
Service: Friendly and focused.
A2 goes to the head of the class.

One pattern I’ve noticed after switching from mainly being on the Oakland campus, to mainly being on SF campus: Oakland kids always get quesadillas, and SF kids always get bagels. It’s true, see for yourself. You can practically tell a kid’s major by what he or she orders at good ol’ A2 Café.
The coffee sucks, I’ll say it right here. I drink it anyway, since I practically live on this campus sometimes, and I don’t feel like leaving campus when I’m in the middle of some important project.
I like the pizza, and the tofu sandwich is actually pretty delicious. And of course, bagels! Tons of them! Mostly with cream cheese, although egg and cheese is pretty delicious too.
Stars off for the shitty coffee, at a school where we’re all running on caffeine 24 hours a day.

I was broke so I got the Hummus. It was good but it took long for them to get it to me. Considering it’s just a warmed pita and hummus it should’ve been faster. I liked the veggies it came with. Very healthy selection of food and drinks. If i went to school there I would probably go back.

Here’s what was good:
1. The soup of the day was cheap and tasty.
2. The «No cheese» vegan pizza (well, assuming the crust is vegan, which I don’t know, but since I’m not a vegan I’m not worried about it – I don’t think they actually claimed vegan) is reasonably priced and was tasty (and interesting, had slices of avocado along with the other ingredients)
Here’s what’s not so good:
1. They didn’t give me the soup until the pizza was nearly ready and I had to go over and ask for it.
2. The ingredients side of the pizza was soggy. It’s also a logistical annoyance: the avocado kept falling off (although I guess that’s to be expected if there’s no cheese to glue it to the dough).
I’d try other choices in the area before eating here again, but I would nevertheless eat here again. Not a bad experience, just a so-​so one.

This is the café at CCA where I am a student. That is California College of the Arts and not the California Culinary Accademy. This is an important difference because a culinary school would never allow the food that they sell her. It’s not bad, but as my friend said «Their pad thai is the kind your grandma would make.» And he is not referring to your Thai grandma who has burned off all her tastebuds from eating spicey food for 50 years. That said, they are close by and accept credit cards for $ 3 or more.

Pretty good sandwiches here.

The phở is amazing! The beef tail in it. heaven~~ They have it tomorrow ha.
Chicken curry soup good too.

What a splendid little cafeteria. The place is totally family run and operated. They have some great sandwiches with inspired and creative combinations of ingredients at prices half of which you might find elsewhere. Like, smoked trout with fig spread. A much larger selection than most places of its size, with quality bread as well. Some great side dishes like green bean salad or even pad thai, and some wonderful coffee as well. The high ceilings and bright sunlight really make it a nice place to hang out, sip coffee, or read. I spent several hours there and the owners were really friendly to me, and I managed to read over 200 pages of a book. Too bad it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere.

I’ve walked past here numerous times in the last few years on the way to Axis Café, never really too motivated to check it out. After seeing their menu offerings, I finally got the gumption to give them a try.
They have a pretty big selection of items, both run of the mill and not so usual, like tuna basil and smoked trout sandwiches. Of course I had to try their smoked trout sandwich! I think I was a trapper in my past life or something, I like almost everything smoked (fish, duck, bacon, sausage, eggs, mashed potatoes, lung– OK, just kidding on the lung).
My smoked trout sandwich came with arugula, a light drizzle of a sesame dressing and the toasted slices of whole grain bread were evenly covered with a combination of fig and mild chile spread. This all made for a very interesting and tasty sandwich. The sesame complimented the smokiness of the trout very well, giving it an interesting note and the sweetness balanced out the heaviness of the fish in yet another interesting way.
I was a piggy so I also ordered a side of their pasta salad (which I know I will never finish– the portion was enough for three people!), today’s looked like rigatoni with glazed balsamic mushrooms and caramelized onions, all mixed up with grated parmesan. It had no shortage of flavor but unfortunately I think I will have to give this one away to coworkers since it was so garlicky. It was good though.
Jury is stil out on the rest of the menu and their consistency– I shall be back to try their pizzas, salads and breakfast items, which may bump them up a star or two. Service was fast and friendly, and the place looked very clean. It’s just far enough away from work to make it a good sanity break walk, and they have very good portion to price ratio.

If you want to get a nice sandwich within budget then this is the place to go. The sandwiches are all very delicious and the desserts are yummy as well. This place is very relaxing so stop by and grab a coffee on your way to class!

Hey, the UCSF campus café was good, why not try California College of the Arts? Located right off the open-​air entryway, Café A2 isn’t likely to catch the attention of casual passersby, but we who work in these parts leave no lunch-​stone unturned. It’s a utilitarian little space, but with nice high ceilings and lots of light. I was excited to see that they actually serve a breakfast menu at lunchtime here (mostly bagels with various types of egg scrambles). I had the chicken & mushroom one – a bit dry but generous portions. Not surprisingly, the clientele is mostly students (and yes, they are that easy to spot – I’ve never seen so many creatively fashionable jackets in my life).

I would give this place 3 stars because the food isn’t thaat great, but its been good to me and I must thank it. Its closest replica in my mind is the whole foods prepared foods section, which is generally reheated, pre-​prepared generalities with a few exceptions, but really good pizza, bagels, and japanese noodles. and its much cheaper than whole foods.

I eat here every single day. Their brownies are almost always warm when I want one and they are ooey-​gooey-​melty-​chocolate goodness that promise intense sugar highs. Best damn brownies around.
But they sell average coffee. They make average lattes. They sell a variety of meager pasta salads and make half-​warm sandwiches. They don’t have plastic cups for iced drinks, which is a major coffee shop faux pas.
However, they are 100% dependable. Working late hours in the middle of the asshole of the city (all the street patterns collide right here) I can find very little to stuff in my mouth, even with a bicycle to take me places because hills surround me in all directions. A2 is open until 7pm and have decent prices.
I’m glad they’re here.

Monday morning:
Me: I’d like an onion bagel with cream cheese.
Cashier: $ 1.75
Tuesday morning:
I’d like an all seed bagel with cream cheese.
Cashier: $ 1.75
Wednesday morning:
I’d like an all seed bagel with sun-​dried tomato.
Cashier: $ 2.25
Thurs morning:
I’d like an onion bagel with sun-​dried tomato.
Cashier: $ 2.25
Fri morning:
Cashier: We ran out of bagels.
I’ve spent a good chunk of my paycheck on bagels and quick lunches here. The vegetarian lasagna is pretty good but the rest of the food is hit or miss. Extra star for being right at the entrance of my work.

I wouldn’t have found this place on my own because it’s totally tucked away on a side street near the Jessica McClintock outlet. But we saw a menu and decided to head over for lunch today. I was a little hesitant to think good things about an Italian café run by Asian folk (just like I don’t trust my sushi being made by anyone not Japanese). However, it was amazingly yummy and note expensive at all. I got a giant slice of eggplant/​feta/​kalamata olive pizza with a generous portion of green bean salad. The pizza was pretty good — nice and crispy. They also have a large panini menu and a selection of eight or ten different side salads. The woman behind the counter even gave me a «sample» of the tofu salad that I asked about, and the sample size was like five chunks of tofu… I was expecting on piece on a toothpick.
Very nice people… the décor is lacking, but who cares… it’s a great, no frills lunch spot.