Cafe Dolci

Café Dolci is a cute little spot. It doesn’t have much room but the sandwiches are so good. I had a Chicken Sandwich w/​carrots, radishes, and cilantro. It had a decent amount of mayo and it was just salty enough. I got the combo with chips and a drink for $ 9.50. Would definitely go again if I had the craving to

I was on the fence about writing this review, but I think it’s only fair I warn everyone else. Plus I’ve had almost a full week to recover, so it’s not being written in an «I hate this place for giving me the worst food poisoning of my life» fueled rage… sort of.
I tried this place for the first time a month or so before and thought it was eh, so would try another item and better gauge if I would return. Needless to say, I won’t.
The start of my demise occurred on Monday April 18^th, 2016. I ordered a Number 1 (special pork) with pâté added to it to go. The Sandwich didn’t taste any different or smelled weird in anyway. Then again the pickled daikon and carrots could have hid any odd smell that would have typically been a tell tale sign to not consumed. Had the sandwich around 12:30pm. By 1:15pm, I had the weird burps, the burps that make you think of a night of too much late night eating. By 2:00pm I was nauseous and worried projectile vomit was going to come spewing out of my face. By 3:00pm, projectile vomit did spew out of my face. To top it all off my stomach started to give the telltale sign projectiles were going to be coming out of the other end.
By 4:00pm that day, I was experiencing the sandwich coming out of both ends. I took some pepto in hopes that it would help me make it home at the very least. I made it home only to be stuck with a 102 °F fever and still experiencing the sandwich’s attempt at excising itself out of my body. I felt like I was in some twisted version of «The Exorcist» meets «Alien» with what That damn «Number 1 with Pâté» was doing to my stomach.
Eat here at your own risk. By no means am I a wuss — I’ve been fine with eating off street vendors abroad. Who would have thought a sandwich back home would have nearly killed me!

Nice hidden little gem! A small mom & pop joint owned by a friendly Vietnamese couple. I ordered the grilled pork sammy with pâté (for some extra flavor). I appreciated that the French baguette was toasted unlike other bánh mì places I have eaten at. Although the establishment was quite small and I felt a little crammed inside, I’d give it a ⁴⁄₅ on the first try because it was delicious! I agree that it is a bit pricey like others have mentioned, but it was a nice treat since I’m not here too often and I got to enjoy it at Yerba Buena Gardens nearby on a beautiful day!

4.5 stars, super delish, would be 5 but I’m from the 626 where there’s bahn mi sandwiches down every corner for $ 5 and under. Butttt, this would totally be a regular spot for me if I lived in SF.
Important stuff:
— Parking is a beezy, you can circle around a jillion times and try to find parking, or you can do as the locals apparently do (and how we did) = park wherever and flip on those emergency lights.
— Lovely, friendly service; literally a mom and pop shop with the mama and papa as the two owners and sandwich masters
— Sandwiches are hot and yummy, ranging from $ 6.75−8ish
A quick review:
I ordered the grilled pork sandwich with everything on it + spicy peppers. It was $ 6.75, ~$ 7 with tax which we were kind of surprised about since we can probably get 2 for that price back at home in the SGV. But, we were also pretty surprised at how huge the sandwich was lol. They use these really soft and fat baguettes that were probably one of the best parts of this meal. Freshly toasted, these tasted really yummy.
Inside the sandwich there were thick slices of grilled pork (delish) and tonsss of pickled carrots and radish (yay!!) plus cilantro and peppers. Was really yummy.
And my last note: the mama and papa are a lovely couple, really nice and friendly and totally add those extra sparkles to an already great business :)

They are both very nice people. This is my first experience, so I am hoping this will change. I came in, placed my order then another customer caucasian male walks in and places his order after me. They decide to work on his order first and he is in and out in a flash as I thought I would be. By this time they have only finished the drink I ordered. Another man walks in and they start heating up his order while making my sandwich, which means they just slapped mine together and pretty much gave it to me as quickly as they could to tend to the next guy that came in after me. They not only catered to other customers before me, they also got my order wrong. I only got to take a bite of my sandwich and had to throw the rest away because they took my entire break time just to make my order. I might come back here as a last resort to try again some time down the road and see if I get better service. They were really nice people, but their priority of service sucks. If I came in before the guy that came in after me, then make sure my food gets heated up before his, thanks.

I got super sick after eating a bagel with lox from here. I wanted to be able to support a local business but I can’t give a good rating after what I experienced. The woman working behind the counter handled cash then didn’t wash her hands. She put only ONE glove on one hand and then proceeded to make my food. The bagel itself was ok, they were skimpy with the cream cheese, and super cheap with the lox. I definitely will not be going back as they don’t follow even the basic health code practices. The rag they were using to wipe down the counter and the coffee machine AND the knife they use to cut food was completely gray and dirty, absolutely disgusting.

This place is great. Friendly staff, cute little shop and reasonably priced. Glad I found this on my vacation

My goto Banh Mi spot downtown. Way cheaper and tastier then the other Banh mi spots in the area.

I go visit Danny and Linda every day at Dolci! They take care to know their customers and greet everyone with a smile and friendly, «Hello».
They have delicious dim sum that is pre-​packaged and ready to be heated up and devoured. It’s some of the best I’ve had. Danny goes to Chinatown every morning to pick it up fresh.
For lunch I usually get the meatball banh mi. The meat is tender and slightly sweet and their home made pickled daikon and carrots are awesome! — I’m addicted.

In a nutshell:
+ Good Banh Mi.
+ Staff are nice.
+ Cheap eats.
+ Cash only.
I recently came here after a long hiatus (a year? two years?) and the place is exactly the same as how my faded and faint memory remembers it. It’s run by a husband-​and-​wife duo in a really compact space (like, it could win an award for serving-​these-​many-​items-​on-​the-​menu-​from-​a-​place-​this-​small compact). I’m a vegetarian and always go for the Tofu (Veggie) Banh Mi. The portion size is good and their sauce enhances the taste in a subtle yet positive way. The jalapeños they add inside are fresh and real spicy (was a bit too much for me). But they ask you ahead and you can always say no.
The lines can be a bit long depending on the day but it moves fast. Best of all? It’s just SIX bucks. It’s cash only but there’s ATMs all around this spot. Come on SoMa, reasonable prices are possible!
It’s one of my lunch rotation spots and I know I’ll be back here.

Can’t eat there but one of the best banh mi though pricey ($ 7.50) — Understandable given location. She’s a 1-​person operation, all but clean and even the bagels look good. Hope she’s making a profit. Very friendly and hard-​working lady. And she uses Peets coffee!

I come back here again and again.
The place is tiny but pack a punch on what they can delivers.
It is an experience to visit this place.
Vietnamese Food is above average.

Café Dolci has the makings of a great Netflix sitcom, don’t you think? A married couple has to spend the entire work day in a space no bigger than a hall closet without driving each other crazy, while their wacky work neighbors from Walgreens and Wells Fargo stream in and out shooting the breeze with them as they wait for their pastries and banh mis. Orange may be the new black, but I could see how lunchtime claustrophobia could be a trend that takes off. Smells like a hit to me. In fact, if «Grace & Frankie» didn’t get picked up for a second season, I would have suggested recasting the Asian married couple with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as lesbian partners in that tight, little space. Let the hilarity ensue.
While that concept went into turnaround, I decided to come here as a fallback when I was looking for the Mob Dog kiosk and realized later he didn’t set up his stand on Tuesdays. Gee, I walked down Market on a gloomy day for nuthin’? That’s when I turned around and thought I should give this place a try. I was amazed at the sight of both of them in that tiny space acting very civil with each other and to the customers (photo:
). I’d be stark raving mad after ten minutes, I’m sure, like I felt as a teenager in a much bigger space selling Chinese food in my little pagoda stand at the World’s Fare in the Great America theme park. I ordered the $ 6.50 Grilled Pork Banh Mi, and it was just fine when I got it back to the office (photo:
). I smell an Emmy.
FOOD — 3 stars… perfectly decent banh mi although a bit too much bread for me
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… uhhh, it’s a closet
SERVICE — 4 stars… let’s give it up to the couple who can work that closely together
TOTAL — 3 stars…“Lunch in a Closet’…how’s that for the title of that sitcom… hey, it’s better than «My Mother the Car»

Warning: Cash Only
Them: Very sweet married couple who own and run the epitome of a mom and pop shop
Me: non-​pretentious EastBay resident who enjoys decent food and coffee at great prices and happens to work in The City. (I still have standards, I’m just less douchey with my ratings)
The Review: I’ve been here entirely too many times and Linda knows my «usual» (Extra Strong iced Vietnamese coffee). They have spring rolls delivered fresh daily around 10:15am — they’re affordable (around $ 7) and huge (which is also what she said). They also have a standard dim sum combo available after 10am (3 pieces for about $ 5), which is a nice mid morning snack. Hey also have Vietnamese sandwiches and my coworkers love them but I’ve never had one myself so I can’t completely vouch there.
Overall this is just a solid spot for Viet coffee, bagels, and more. It also helps that they’re such a friendly couple.

More like 2.5 stars. I got the #8 — ham and fancy pork with pâté. Bread was kind of stale and they very skimpy with the meat, but generous with the pâté. Cost was $ 7.50 which is very expensive for a banh mi. If it was good, then fine. But it wasn’t.
Cash Only.
Tiny to-​go shop next to Walgreens.

I was pretty surprised at the size of this establishment. It was very small but the lady inside had a very charming presence. I ordered a banh mi and the pork bun and they were both very delicious. I was pleasantly shocked at the quality of food even though she works in such a small space. Definitely will be coming back next time I’m around in SF.
Total for banh mi, pork bun, and a tea was like $ 11. Not the cheapest but my cheap is compared to Los Angeles San Gabriel cheap.

The Nicest couple ever operate this little shop. Between Grant and Kearny on Market St, you might miss it if you blink. I recommend… Everything.
Their coffees, teas, and bagels are all very good and the tasty Vietnamese sandwiches are a steal!

Banh Mi Dac Biet and Café Sua Da!
This is a tiny little shop that reminds me of the tiny bakery and coffee shops in the train stations of Japan. Linda, the very nice lady running this place, has a whole sandwich shop set up in about eight square feet.
The French drip coffee with condensed milk (café sua da) was ok. The sandwich was fresh for the most part but was expensive. The baguette was not the freshest but ok. For the cost, I would expect more in the bread. The pâté stole the show! It was soft with a strong and distinct flavor.
I enjoyed the food but for the cost, I think it is A-​OK. $ 11 for banh mi and café sua da.

Café Dolci is the perfect place to pick up a Banh Mi for lunch without putting a hole in your pocket. The restaurant itself is super small and there is no seating– only enough room for a couple people to order. It looked like its run by an elderly Vietnamese couple, so I knew this place would be legit!
I picked up a couple of Grilled Pork Banh Mi’s and Shrimp and Pork Spring Rolls for my drive back down to SoCal and I do not regret making that decision! The bread was toasted lightly and was fresh and soft, unlike some banh mis that tend to butcher the roof of your mouth -.-. The grilled pork was tender, flavorful, and not overly fatty! They used just enough pickled veggies and jalapenos.
The Spring Rolls came with a peanut sauce and they were good, but they tasted like your ordinary spring roll. I did really like how they used big pieces of grilled pork rather than those thin processed slices of meat– pretty filling!

Call in and avoid the line!
Finally I have found a Vietnamese sandwich that can really be called a great Vietnamese sandwich. I always get combo 8; ham and pâté. It comes on a delicious crunchy bread packed full out pâté, cold meats and healthy helping of pickled veggies. I absolutely love this place! They always sell out of spring rolls so come early!