Bistro L’Aviateur

fantastic Tunisian food and atmosphere. fresh ingredients, excellent spices and beautiful presentation. surely one of the best restaurants in san francisco and probably much wider. multiple visits and have been impressed with every bite. price is more than fair: how much better is this food is than the more expensive and far lower quality of alternatives in the neighborhood? as good as it gets. the only nit is hours are very limited, but i prefer less hours better quality. just plan accordingly.

An escape to Paris. The beautiful Tunisian French family of 4 that owns and runs the place is so great that sometimes we go just to see how calmly and easily they take their jobs. They are always having a good time while cooking, and often if the place is not busy will sit outside and enjoy each others’ company. It is truly a family-​run place and reminds you why you love family!
The décor is also so cute as the Dad was a pilot in France and recreated the theme very nicely!
Our favorite is going for brunch because it is quiet and their french press coffee is great! Also the freshly squeezed lemon or pineapple juice is very good for non-​caffeine drinkers.
Our favorite dishes are the egg cocette, either with salmon or veg, and the waffle w/​berries.
We’ll go back for dinner soon and will update our review then.

Family-​owned, cute, on the corner café. Aviation décor everywhere. Dad is a pilot. I wanted to love this place, but the food was underwhelming:(

Absolutely delicious and adorable oasis of a place. All the food is organic and well-​crafted and the service was very friendly. Eat here, you’ll be glad you did.

Charming little place with friendly service and beautiful décor but just so-​so food.
The presentation was impeccable for each dish but the flavor fell short. My wife had the waffle with sliced strawberries, cream and nutella and it was quite good, definitely the standout. My Tunesian quiche lacked any distinguishing flavor and just came off like a potato and egg omelete. I tried to make up for it with a bagel with avocado and salmon and it was good but nothing stellar either.
Place is so cute that I am hoping our experience was just a lapse, wish them well and continued good business.

Average and overpriced. Came here for brunch on a whim and saw a bunch of fancy French names for various types of egg dishes. Ordered the coquette which came in a bowl with a side of toast, a light salad of greens and literally two blueberries.
Did see quite a few vegan options though so this could be a good choice for dietary accommodations.

Stumbled upon this cute café while taking my dog out for a morning walk around the Mission and decided to stop in for a bite to eat. What I liked so much was that this felt like a mom and pop type bistro, not the usual hipster brunch spot with a 2 hour wait.
Everything on the menu sounded delicious but I decided on the Cocotte (baked eggs) with sausage and I couldn’t resist ordering the Brioche (with nutella, butter and jam), just to have a few bites.
The one thing I would say is that the baked eggs were great, but just a tad too much cheese (yes, I know I know, who ever says there could be too much cheese on something?), but I was hoping to taste more of the eggs.

Wow! I love this place! Great food, lovely ambiance, and friendly service.
We came for lunch on a Friday and were super pleased. I loved the veggie waffle — it was a waffle served with mozzarella, tomatoes, an egg, and salad. Definitely an unusual combination (at least here in the US), but absolutely delicious and full of flavor! My husband also enjoyed his ratatouille with merguez sausage.
The light, airy, colorful café is very cute and welcoming, and the staff was very friendly.
Can’t wait to return!

Bistro L’Aviateur is an amazingly cute French café.
It’s aviation themed, with bright-​colored walls, plenty of natural light, and a few airplanes and propellers tastefully added to the décor. It’s really cute, check it out!
We came here for brunch. I had the Cocotte with veggies, which looked small, but was very filling and really tasty.
There were a few other folks around, but it wasn’t too busy. It’s hours seem to be changing a lot these days, but when we went, it was only opened for lunch on weekdays and brunch on weekends. It’s definitely going on my list of breakfast and brunch places!

Great little place, absolutely delicious food, really cool décor, and sooo nice owners.
Made with love, like at home.
Can’t wait to go back!

I’m so thrilled to add French to the neighborhood repertoire (there’s also Peruvian, Mexican, American, and German within a few blocks), and what a charming place at that!
A couple near us was practicing their French in front of their young daughter, and the two servers (likely owners?) spoke entirely in French with them. They were great with the daughter (they have a few high-​chairs, they asked her to pick the color bowl she’d like her food served in, and brought her a small coloring notebook and crayon after dinner).
We arrived around 6:15 and the place was nearly empty, but was filled by the time we left at 7:15. It’s pretty small, so I’m guessing once word gets out it’ll get busier.
And the food! We shared a chef’s salad as an appetizer– simple but tasty– and had a beef bourginion and lamb couscous. It looked like a normal portion but I was stuffed after. The vegetarian gratin looked great when I saw another table order it.
The menu is written on two chalkboards, I’m guessing because it changes often enough that printing menus would be wasteful, but they do a great job of making sure we can read it, even bringing one of them to our table.
It is very European, so we had to ask for the check, but it all adds up to feeling transported back to France, so I can’t complain. Returning to try brunch soon!

Walking into this little restaurant, you immediately know you are going to have a great experience. You hear French being spoken all around you by the staff and even customers, the owner greets you warmly and ushers you to a seat. You smell the fresh herbs and classic mother sauces on the stovetop, and with every breath you are taken away to another place in the world where people value amazing food and a culture of hospitality.
As you drink your mint tea, you look around you and notice all of the little details they’ve put into the décor and design of the restaurant and kitchen. You feel like a guest in someone’s home, like they absolutely treasure your presence here and look forward to your time together.
Looking at the chalkboard menu, you realize that every day they must serve something different and interesting. One of todays many options is beef bourguignon, but it is not just any normal beef bourguignon; it is very tender, melting in your mouth with every bite, finishing with a silky sauce and subtle wine flavor. It builds upon the amazing appetizer you had earlier. You order one of their beautiful desserts and savor each bite in hopes of delaying the end of your meal here.
You look back into the open kitchen to see who you can thank for such from-​the-​heart cooking and see the owner’s wife deftly and thoughtfully preparing each dish, sending out a piece of herself, her experiences, her passions, and her opinions on each plate.
You are reminded that this is why French culture is so interesting. They truly care about food and hospitality. They value your company and want to make sure you had an amazing experience with them.
As you leave and thank the owners for an amazing time together, assuring them you will be back time and time again soon, you pull on the little airplane door handle and are transported back to another reality for now. You can’t help but think you’ve found something precious here… and relive this food and experience in your dreams each night until the next time you go back.

I only had decaf espresso (they didn’t have any regular coffee or regular espresso available because the machine wasn’t working) and a house-​made pistachio macaroon, but it was all very delicious. We paid double what one would expect for this fare at a regular café. The owner also offered us the macaroon to try, which is the kind of treatment new restaurants offer to showcase their menu, but these are usually comped since they are solicitations. Not here. Rent is high, I get it.
The restaurant is small and has a distinct family-​owned and operated feel, but is still refined, and even playful. The bistro is nice enough for a casual date or lunch meeting. It is quite small and there are only a few tables (there is also counter seating along the windows and a communal table), so if you’re looking for privacy this isn’t the place – unless it’s empty. We were also not permitted to sit at a table because we weren’t dining, only having coffee (even though the place was mostly empty and there weren’t patrons waiting).
I’d like to try the food on another occasion. Three stars may seem low, but it’s just what they designate: A-​OK!

Cute neighborhood restaurant. Came here around 7 on a Saturday night before a show and no wait (others right after us were not so lucky).
My wife ordered the kale salad and I ordered the Lamb Couscous based on a recommendation from the very helpful waiter. We were both very happy with our choices and finished it off with the Chocolate Lava cake. The dessert did not have that liquid chocolate center as many other chocolate fondants that I have had but it was very good and satisfied our chocolate need.

Amazing food and atmosphere. So happy to see this tiny, authentic spot open up in the neighborhood. The owners are super friendly and very very dedicated. And the lamb CusCus is BY FAR the best in San Francisco.
I haven’t tried brunch yet but I’m he menu seems quite amazing. Definitely up on my list of places to check this coming weekend!

A new neighborhood gem!
Have the mint tea with pine nuts, it is so tasty and interesting. Hubby had the scented coffee, also amazing. Being linguistically challenged, we ordered the cocottes without realizing they were baked eggs and not omelets. I don’t love soft yolks and they were super nice about our mistake and brought us chanterelle omelets instead. They were delicious!

Great discovery and thanks to other Unilocalers for the reviews that prompted us to go to Bistro L’Aviateur for lunch this week.
It is a bright and cheerful place and the owners are charming.
We had their lunch special quinoa salad with a sardine ($ 14.50) which was original and delicious and their ‘charcuterie’ plate which was also very good (all hams/​sausages from France) albeit the later was a bit pricey ($ 14).
Definitely recommend and we’ll be coming back to dinner as their menu looked very enticing.

What an amazing place!
We wandered by and stopped in for dinner and had a lovely time! Fish casserole and lamb tajin were amazing!
Our host suggested a beautiful rosé to pair with the lamb.
Highly recommend!

New little gem in the neighborhood. French-​Tunisian comfort food done lovingly .
Since my partner and I are vegetarian we had some lovely gazpacho soup and eggplant caviar for starters. The cauliflower Au-​gratin was lovely and a big entrée served with red quinoa and ratatouille. But the best part is the lovely desserts — the Lebanese flan was amazing: later of ground raw pistachios and almond covering a milk with rose water flan — amazing.
They also served us some gorgeous Pettit fours. Definitely a nice addition to the neighborhood.

Qeesh, peesh jeesh, and a little pateesh leesh in the Meesh.
(Allow me to goog translate from faux Tunisian: I got quiche, peach juice, and pâté for lunch in the Mission.)