Caffe Sapore

Fantastic sandwiches and quiche and the service is very friendly! This is the second time I’ve stopped in and both times I walked away impressed with their food. They offer a wide range of bagel and panini sandwiches, salads and quiches with delicious and generous combinations of ingredients. I chose the mushroom and chard quiche and my partner chose a bagel sandwich with portobello mushrooms, hummus and chicken plus other stuff. The quiche was the best we’ve had and we loved the sandwich as well. I walked away with a giant molasses cookie that tastes as good as it looks– great finish to a great meal!
I will be back!

Café Sapore is a great, cozy little neighborhood gem in the heart of little Italy in San Francisco. I used to work across the street in 2011 and this was always my local favorite for coffee walks in the morning or lunch. I always liked the great variety of food, drinks and snacks — the food was always made fresh (sandwiches, salads, bagels), staff and I tried out literally everything and was always satisfied.
5 years later, I’m coming back and I see that the coffee still has the same vibe — amazing, especially for a fast and ever-​changing city like San Francisco!
I immediately felt at home again — the cozy atmosphere, the great music (most of the times they don’t play main stream music — italian love songs, french chansons… What a welcome change!), the great food and drinks — so great that this is still like in the ‘good old times’ in 2011!
Yes, I hear some of the comments about ‘we had to wait (too) long for our food’ — but hey, they even openly admit a d announce it at the bar! So one can’t expect the same service as in a ‘fast food’ chain — you come to Café Sapore to slow down — this is what this place is about and this is a welcome touch in our hectic world. And: you can be assured that their food IS really freshly made!
Also, I hear that owner Elias is still here — knowing what a great owner and customer oriented person he is, this is great! Also, the coffee is still filled with locals, artists, musicians — what a great diversity.
Today I had one of their delicious ‘guiches’ (asparagus) with side salad — just yummy and a great small lunch for a rainy Sunday afternoon in San Francisco.
Café Sapore is truly a ‘typical’ San Francisco local neighborhood place. Come and check it out!

This small café on the corner of Taylor and Lombard is super cozy. Great atmosphere and friendly staff. We ordered a breakfast bagel and cheese plate and coffee. Tasted great. Many locals come here — didn’t see any tourists. This place is a gem.

Like other Unilocalers have said, be patient. The food takes a lot of time for some reason, but it’s well worth it. The hot focaccia sandwiches are TO DIE FOR. I wish I could be back in SF to eat another warm, delicious sandwich.
I ordered a sandwich with salami, mozzarella, tomatoes and capers. The capers were everything. They gave the sandwich an incredible flavor that I’m going to try to mimic in my sandwiches at home.
One negative I have is the macaroons. They are awful. They’re dry coconut mounds so don’t get them. They became the inside joke of our weekend because they looked so good but tasted awful. Stick to the delicious and heavenly sandwiches and be happy and full!

Pretty cool place with nice staff. Good variety for every diet and taste — PLACE TO BE FOR VEGANS. They have freaking delicious coffee!

Unilocalers came through again!
Found ourselves in North Beach looking for a light snack knowing that a heftier caloric intake event would be realized later in the day. The Unilocal Posse seemed to like this place so we gave it a shot. Entering the eatery we found a lively vibe without it being «frenzied». The friendly cashier took our order and directed us to have a seat. We ordered the Trieste Focaccia hot sandwich to split. That with two bottles of water totaled about $ 15.
Ten minutes later the hot and cheesy delicacy was served. After the first bite we agreed this is one rich sandwich. Lots of melty cheese, tomatoes, pastrami, and Dijon mustard all on lightly toasted focaccia. What a well balanced sandwich. All the elements came together without any one being overpowering. Delicious!!!
Caffe Sapore is now on our list for the times we visit the North Beach area of San Francisco.

My wife and I stopped in to this laid back little place for breakfast after deciding the queue to Mama’s was too crazy for us. Naturally, I had the breakfast bagel, which was generous and tasty. The views up Lombard street went down a treat too.

Cute local café in North Beach with a good option of breakfast selections. I had a bagel with lox, avocado, tomato and balsamic that was pretty delicious after a late night out :) The bagel was a little under toasted for my liking, and the bagels on the west coast in general are not that great-​but the coffee was good and the selection beats out the other cafes in the area. It looked like they serve lunch and beer/​wine as well!

I love this place. We stopped by on our way to visit Lombard Street. I ordered the tuna melt on a bagel and was given very generous portions. The tuna melt tasted great and definitely hit the spot.
My husband ordered the bear bagel, which I tasted and it was yummy as well. If you are looking for simple, good food and don’t care about carbs– this is the spot for you.

Sapore is great café in north beach.
Their food is always fresh and delicious, it may take long to get your food because they make it fresh from the oven.
Also, I found it very convenient for student to study, I usually go their to study as they have wifi and to have a cup of coffee and some sandwiches or bagel
I highly recommend it.

I have a special place in my heart for Caffe Sapore. The place has always been a lunch favorite for me and they staff has always been incredibly helpful and nice. Just smiling and helping everyone can go a long way in San Francisco. No matter who has been working here they have always had a good attitude and go out of their way to help their customers.
It is actually a café that you want to become a regular at. The drinks varied on quality but it actually is about the food here. This is a perfect place to go to lunch or dinner in the area. The prices aren’t too outrageous and the selection is incredible. There are so many sandwiches, wraps, bagels and salads to choose from. On top of that they have a solid pastry selection to choose from and a great bottled drink section for alcoholic and non alcoholic drink specials.
They offer student discounts to SFAI students which is awesome and they are welcome and friendly to the hoards of tourist that stop in to order or use the restroom from the lombard area.
As far as food I especially enjoyed the ceaser salad and the salmon bagel. The portions for their food is huge. You will have a heaping plate full of food no matter what you order and it is always great quality. The service is quick despite how busy they can get here. There is also plenty of seating in the area as well as several seats outside to people watch the throngs of tourist making their way up the lombard hill.
This is what local cafes should be like in SF. Not to busy but have quality food and drinks that keep you coming back. A great place to get work done or just have lunch with a coworker or friend. The place has treated me well for years and I appreciate their business.

Personally, I don’t think Sapore has great coffee. HOWEVER, their food is always fresh & delicious. It’s prepared right when you order, so it takes awhile for you to get it. So I would not recommend ordering something here if you’re in a rush. It’s worth the wait though! I always get their bagel breakfast sandwich and it’s the best. Generous amount of everything! The bagel sandwich is HUGE.

Discovered this place this morning 9÷1÷15 with my LO after dropping off my eldest to school. This will definitely be our new spot since the closure of La Boulange. We got a blueberry cream cheese danish that my LO picked out and I must say its very delicious.

Caffe Sapore: just went to the one at 1701 Yosemite Ave opened Yesterday
great place to eat, the bagel is HUGE, with great people no one is over there now but i hope the business starts to kick in

Cute little café with outdoor seating. Down the hill from Lombard Street. Food is great! Worth the stop.

Came in here while on a tour bus stop. I had about 10 minutes before boarding the bus. Perhaps I shouldn’t have bought anything knowing my short time, but I figured coffee should be a quick pour. My family went to line up for the restroom (which was filthy) when an employee cut them off saying it was reserved for customers only. I told her I was buying drinks. I bought two coffees and one chai. My tour bus was about to leave and I asked how long it would take. The employee said it was almost done. The employee gruffly said sorry could I step aside. The employee then casually asked the other, «are you really sorry?» To which the other responded, «no.» Horrible. Tone of voice and body language had created an unfriendly unwelcome atmosphere, and the last dialogue won the crown as the worst service in coffee shops I’ve experienced.

Caffe Sapore’s owner, Elias, is incredible, both in terms of his food and in terms of his flexibility, availability, and willingness to go the extra mile to meet customer’s needs.
I coordinated a college tour for 350 sixteen year old students in the Bay Area last week. We used Caffe Sapore for lunch for the students, over three days of the tour. Not only was Elias willing to prepare lunches for our incredibly large group, but he was also willing to deliver them, as far away as Berkeley, while dealing with last minute changes in orders. He answered calls as early as 7 in the morning and as late as 10 at night.
The lunch was unquestionably the best one that we had on the tour: the sandwiches and cookies were delicious, fresh, and high-​quality. And they were extremely affordable.
I highly, highly recommend Caffe Sapore and Elias for all occasions and groups. I’ve never interacted with a caterer who was more willing to meet the needs and wants of his clients.

My boyfriend lives close to this place so I have tried it out a handful of times. I can’t complain about the food, because I always seem to enjoy what I order, but it takes a ridiculous amount of time to get it. Even when there are barely any people inside, they still can’t seem to make things in a timely manner. They do have a sign saying «we make good food, not fast food.» But like others said, it doesn’t take that long to toast a bagel.
The people who work here also aren’t very friendly or professional. They like to have personal conversations out in the open and are extremely loud.
I would have given it ⁴⁄₅ if they were quicker. Maybe hire another person to work behind the counter on the weekends. It would help.

Meh. I came here for a quick meeting with a friend to go over some nerdy stuff on a Sunday morning. We got there around 10:15 am and there was no line to order. The food was a little on the pricey side but hey, whatever, its still cheaper than a full sit down brunch.
The one great thing about this shop is that they have outlets everywhere. We had no trouble locating a table where we could plug our laptops in.
The reason I’m giving 3 stars is for the time. My friend and I ordered toasted bagels with stuff on them. It took us around 30 minutes to get our toasted bagels. I get that it was a little crowded but still, it takes 3 minutes to toast a bagel and put cream cheese and lox on it.
I do have to say they give a nice portion of lox on bagels. Maybe they were just nice since I waited half a decade to eat but either way, it worked out.

Caffe Sapore is your friendly neighborhood café that serves up some decent sandwiches. The coffee though, was a slight disappointment. The brewed coffee tasted awfully sour. The cappuccino lacked brightness. The only saving grace was the extra thick foam.
I did rather enjoy their focaccia sandwiches, especially the Cortina. It was made with smoked salmon, avocado, capers, lemon juice and olive oil. Ingredients were clean and simple and it just tasted wonderful. Kool Guy was decent for a vegetarian sandwich although I found the mustard a bit too strong for me to handle.
Not a bad place to grab a quick breakfast but I really expect the coffee to be better. Much better.

Bön, très bon même et le service est nickel. Ça vaut vraiment le coup de remonter Lombard Street juste pour le petit déj !!!