Firewood Cafe

We love this place and food is great for a quick meal. Don’t come before 7 PM… so many children running around like monkey’s on the floor without any parental guidance.

I have come here twice on my visits to San Francisco. It is a great place located in the Castro District. The staff is very friendly and it’s a casual spot. I have had their Kale salad and added Salmon and I have had their wood oven Salmon. Both are very good.
There are only 3 salad options (Ceasar, Kale and Garden, I believe is the 3^rd choice) and they come with 3 toppings for a base price. Then you can add on a meat and more toppings for add’l price. So by time I finished with my salad order my price went from $ 10.95 to about & 17.95. I added the salmon which about $ 6 – 7 more I believe. And an extra side. So by time tax, tag and title was added it was almost $ 20 salad. But it was so worth it. The portion is very generous and it was down right delish! So that was my first time there.
My second time there (this past time when I checked in) I got the wood oven Salmon dish with Swiss chard and roasted potatoes. All I can say is mmm mmm good! The Swiss chard is sautéed and has white beans and onions and big bacon bits, which I didn’t realize cause I don’t really eat pork, (except bacon sometimes. Lol) so ate a few and moved most of them to the side. And the potatoes are seasoned to perfection.
I came with 2 friends, one that introduced me to the place and a coworker. One friend had a Kale salad with salmon and my other friend had a type of jambalaya dish, and each enjoyed their meal tremendously. This will definitely be a spot I will continue to come to when I am in San Fran.

DO NOT COME HERE IF YOU ARE FROM OUT OF TOWN AND HAVE CHILDREN WITH YOU. The Castro is the most OUT section of San Francisco, and on your way there you too may see a group of men wearing nothing but flip flops and strategically-​wrapped aluminum foil, walking down the street looking like they just swallowed a bottle of Viagra and are 15 minutes from the recommended «call your doctor» time frame expiring. How this is legal I don’t know, but it was far from out of place among the assorted other men, wearing the likes of studded leather vests or short shorts, as if a Village People convention was in town (which… I mean… maybe it was. Maybe it is every day. I don’t know.).
That said, I went to the Firewood Café with a group of four. We didn’t have trouble finding a place to park on the street, and the restaurant wasn’t overcrowded (though it was pretty full by the time we left). I got the jambalaya special, and the other orders from my group included pork loin, sausage pizza, and grilled shrimp. The food was good. Absolutely no complaints about my jambalaya, or the bites I had of pizza and pork. The vegetable sides were flat-​out excellent.
I was confused as to whether this is a lunch counter-​type of restaurant or a sit-​and-​wait type of restaurant, as you have to line up at the register to order, but then your food is brought out and staff are busily bussing tables and refilling drinks. I rather wish it was one or the other. My understanding is that they also do take-​out, and I suppose if I had done that, then my confusion about the service model and my aversion to bringing my kids here would be set aside in favor of just enjoying the food.

LOVE LOVE foods, they are awesomely tasty! Love this neighborhood, I mean, in this amazing LGBT community! The people who work at Firewood are so cool and friendly to the deaf community, I’m really grateful! Firewood is the one of my favorite restaurants! :)

A cockroach, a little under 1 inch in length, walked across my table today as I waited for my lunch. I changed tables and when informed, wait staff seemed neither particularly concerned nor apologetic. They also did nothing to clean the table (wipe it down, replace the plates that were there) where the cockroach had been.
I used to like this place. Roaches are a common problem but when they’re waltzing around in bright daylight, it’s pretty unappetizing. Health Inspection records online also confirm a recurring «modest vermin infestation» issue.

I’ve eaten here a few times now, and every time it’s ok, but nothing spectacular. I got the penne most recently ($ 15), which was a good portion size, but there was an ungodly amount of sauce and cheese. Authentic Italian pasta does not have a lot of sauce. This is definitely a typical American-​Italian restaurant. There was so much sauce and it was so rich that there was a point where I said, I just can’t eat anymore. If they toned down the amount of sauce and didn’t put a handful of cheese on top, it actually would be a pretty decent dish and you’d be able to taste the other ingredients: peas, shiitake mushrooms, and ham.

Just had a dinner meeting here with eight friends. The café served two different kinds of chicken, roasted potatoes, Caesar salad, olives and three kinds of thin-​crust pizza — pepperoni, mushroom and marguerita.
Everything was delicious. I particularly liked the Caesar salad and the mushroom pizza. So much food was served that everyone took home a box of leftovers.
Thanks to Firewood and its staff for a great meal.

Used to love the place for it’s generous salads but after waiting over a half hour for a take out order and them overlooking the salad dressing it’s just not worth it.
Nice folks but skip it if you value your time and expect any attention to detail.

Have been going here for decades & am comforted that it still remains here as VC tech money destroys any semblance of what makes S.F. great by replacing it with homogenized coffee shops.
Crust of Margherita pizza is perfect with just the right amount of sauce, tomatoes & basil. Garden Salad can easily be shared by two & choose the right fixings to fit your mood. Throw in a few sides (red peppers stuffed with goat cheese, feta salad, roasted potatoes) and you have a full meal without any meat. Has pasta & chicken, pork loin & salmon for carnivores.
Crowd is friendly/​cruisy but tile & concrete interior can cause a high noise factor.

I need to go here more often because I like the food — specifically the house tortellini with marinara sauce. The restaurant is café style where you order the food at the counter and they bring it out to you. The staff is nice and the place is clean. I recommend!

You can’t beat that chicken. Just got a salad so can’t speak to most of the menu items, but for the price I can’t complain and the staff was really nice.

I should have came here first for dinner but went across the street for sushi instead. That was a BIG mistake. My fiancé and I finished up with our dinner at Takara Sushi and walked straight in here after we saw the number of people eating and looking like they enjoyed their meal. We were miserable and felt like we need something more satisfying. So we added more quarters to our meter and walked right in.
Immediately, the staff greeted us and told us about their Specials. Their menu board is big and extensive from pizzas, pastas, to sides, and kid’s menu. I almost got lost reading every word on that board and to find out they have a Specials menu almost made me faint. It took my fiancé a few minutes of calling my name before I was brought back to reality. I ended up ordering a Margherita pizza and a Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. I know, it is so generic but my stomach was not up to eating anything complicated or gourmet for that matter. We wanted simple comfort food we can cry into after our disappointing sushi dinner.
So once we got our food we started to dig in and I cannot believe how good the pizza was. Thin crust and baked perfectly. The Alfredo sauce was creamy and had broccoli and zucchini in it. The pasta was cooked perfectly as well. I almost choked on my tears while I ate my pasta. It was that good. The wait staff was wonderful. She came by and checked on us and refilled our drinks. It was like the dinner we should have had in the first place. We finally ended the night on a good note and after our simple Italian dinner we boxed our leftovers and went home. We were finally satisfied.
I recommend this place if you find yourself in the neighborhood. It is a bit out of the way for me but I won’t be surprised if I end up here with a group of my girlfriends on one of our gatherings. It is a very spacious restaurant that can accommodate large groups. If your group arrives early enough you can dominate the back room which can easily seat 10– 15 people. It is all open seating, so first come first served. High ceilings. Laid back atmosphere where you can easily fit in with your jeans or yoga pants. If you do dress up, like how I ended up here, don’t feel out of placed because the staff will welcome you warmly like anyone else and be just as attentive. Enjoy!

When I come to here it’s because it’s after the gym or a support meeting & I’m too lazy to go home to cook or that the other neighborhood options just aren’t doing it for me. Tonight’s dinner was a special one so 25 of us unceremoniously descended upon them like locust. Love having to order & pay at the register first thereby eliminating the check split with multiple diners. Tonight I ordered the half herb rotisserie chicken with roasted new potatoes, a fail safe standard. Usually on point, tonight’s bird was rather, um, dry. Though it did have all the flavor that I’ve come to expect from Firewood, tonight’s clucker was a big miss for me. I’ll certainly go back, but not when they’re so slammed by a pack of hungry animals. We’ll see if that makes a difference.

Prices are up and Quality is down since my last visit. This used to be one of our go-​to places in the Castro for an inexpensive, solid Italian meal. Last night, $ 22 got me a small side Greek salad that tasted like it was made a week ago, and some rubbery shrimp and calmari drenched in what tasted like tomato sauce from a jar. I had nothing to drink — not even a soda.
I know that commercial rent in the Castro is ridiculous, but the quality/​value ratio just doesn’t seem to be at Firewood any more.

Enjoyed awesome food, quick service, and wonderful atmosphere in The Castro! Great pizzas! We had a group of 19 and the staff was remarkable & took us all in comfortably. No stress at all!

If you are looking to eat some staple Italian food, especially in a large group, this is a good go-​to. Conveniently located near clubs and bars in the Castro District, even the cashier told me it’s his favorite after party eatery.
The food itself is nothing special but comes in a decently large portion for its price, so… awesome! I ordered the Penne ($ 12.25) which is tossed in a white wine cream sauce with prosciutto, shiitake mushrooms, and sweet peas. I sampled a few other dishes from my friends, including the House Tortellini ($ 12.50) which is stuffed with roasted chicken and cheese. Neither blew me away, but I would still come back here again.
The line to order takes awhile for some reason, but the chefs put out all the food on a nearby counter that will entice you until you reach the register. The best part about Firewood is that they have an area with cups of prepoured iced water with lemon, as well as bowls of assorted olives. It’s the little things that make Firewood worth returning to.

Less than satisfying and not cheap.
Pasta was overcooked, and the pizza really salty with a ‘wood-​fired’ crust. Ok, maybe it was wood-​fired, but some wood-firing’s not gonna fix what tasted like a frozen pizza crust.
What was good? Well the half roasted chicken. That was actually really good.
Bill without tip was about $ 50. And the food came out seriously staggered… like 20 minutes apart for each thing.
It was surprisingly busy for such a mediocre place. I must be missing something.

Simply gourmet 5 star menu with ingredients being as fresh as fresh gets. Sweet white corn freshly cut off of the cob.
The atmosphere: a large modern, clean, positive-​spirited, and calming.
The staff: I was particularly happy with someone named Paoi, a happy, kind, and «at your service» type of person and very on point. Always smiling.
The salmon: so fresh, so juicy, so perfect, and I can be picky with fish. THIS was TASTy!
I would absolutely come here again. It seems like a place that would suit any occasion and any time of the day or evening would be a good time to come here.
Can’t wait to try other dishes from here! Props to the chef.

I think it’s the bland sauce that prevents this thin crust pizza from hittin’ 5 stars, because the rest of the pizza is good. It’s good in a hybrid italian/​NY pizza typa way.
Food is prepared quickly, the staff is courteous and efficient, so 3 stars sums up the whole experience.
Save this pizza for the meal you have before you board your flight. Otherwise, hit up Delfina.

Firewood Café offers healthy eats. I was told its the destination for the workout gurus because they serve free range organic chicken, and home grown veggies bought from local farmers. They get busy and the line can stretch out the door, but they are quick to take your order.
Make sure you order first, then take your seats. They will bring your food to your table. I do recommend their prosciutto pizza. It is delicious. Their herb chicken could use more seasoning, but the skin wasn’t too bad. They give you huge portion and for about $ 12, you can have a good meal.
Cheers! ~ :p