Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store Cafe

The server took 20 minutes prior to providing menus or acknowledging our presence. The breaded eggplant Parmesan focaccia sandwich was burnt, dry, bland, lukewarm, and took forever to be served.
The music was good, perhaps I’ll return to try the meatball sandwich.

I lived most of my adult life in San Francisco, but now divide my time between there and the Pacific Northwest. Back in SF, I decided to head to North Beach for lunch. So many places there are now overpriced and touristy-​kitschy, but this joint hasn’t changed in decades. Old-​time décor, great panini, friendly but blasé and rather distracted service, beer, wine & coffee drinks. It’s small, on Columbus right across the street from Washington Square, with both outdoor tables across from the park, and a bar and some window-​front tables. You can still get a damn good focaccia sandwich for about $ 10, which is a real bargain in this tarted-​up neighborhood.

After a trek through Chinatown and some noontime beers at Rogue across the street, I was jonesing for a fresh caprese. The bartender suggested Mario’s as an industry fave so we headed over and found two seats at the bar. Most options were hot, either panini or pressed focaccia. The cook was either new or busy, because he seemed super flustered and forgot the pesto on my sandwich and gave my boyfriend the wrong one.
They were both good so we didn’t mind much either way, but we also had nowhere to be and were starving!

This place has a ton of character and the best paninis in North Beach. The restaurant is on the corner of Columbus and union. Outside seating gives you a great view of Washington Square, St. Peter and Paul’s church and Coit Tower.

Awesome sandwich, great atmosphere, fast service cool peeps. Definitely a go to in North Beach. I’ll be back.

Charismatic bar tenders, the perfect Italian sodas, cute little location. My son said it was the best sandwich he’s ever had in his life (he got the meatball sandwich). Well worth a stop.

Cute little place– stopped here in a sunny day to get Italian sodas. Wanted to make them Italian crème sodas and was shocked to find out they don’t have cream? Um, a coffee place that only has milk? Wtf?
But, place is super cute and staff was relatively friendly.
If you’re in the neighborhood, there are a ton of coffee places– I’m certain most of them have half and half or cream– this is a cute place to stop and rest your feet. It overlooks an adorable park. But be prepared to drink coffee with milk… Gasp!

Another North Beach hideout. Casual, conversational, small, local.
A place one can cruise by and say hi to a mate. Always a good hideout

I loved this place!!! I was walking along Columbus when it started pouring. I ran into Mario’s to get out of the rain and grab something to eat. First off, they had Kraftwerk playing over the speakers. That was a huge plus!!! The server was really nice and very attentive. I had a chicken sandwich on their amazing focaccia bread. It was delicious! I ate the entire thing. I had a nice beer to go along with the meal. I was visiting San Fran, and now I’m back in Brooklyn and I find myself craving that sandwich. When I go back to San Fran I am going to make sure that I go back to Mario’s.

Although I love Italian foods, I am not a big fan of restaurants that are located in North Beach. However, Mario’s is an exception. This place feels really warm and homey. It is kinda of tight inside and they have only few tables. I guess that’s what makes this place so cozy. Oh, and the food is also great!
I think I had one of the best meatball sandwiches of my life at Mario’s. It’s oven baked, with perfect amount of fresh marinara sauce. I am saying perfect, because most places drown their meat in sauce and in here they don’t do that. The bread is not soggy, yet very tender.
So, if you are into oven baked sandwiches or love meatballs you should definitely checkout this place. They also have beer and wine, which is nice if you want to stay there for a little while and relax.
Beware, the place is kind of low on staff and they take long to prepare your food. So, if you just want to grab a quick snack, and are in a rush then this place might not be the best option for you.

3.5 stars.
Oops I totally forgot to review this place a couple months ago. While several sandwiches on Liguria focaccia are $ 12, the popular meatball sandwich is $ 12.75 so given the reviews I opted for that. I thought it was good but not as incredible as the reviews made it out to be. I learned I actually prefer Liguria’s focaccia untoasted since it is softer and greasier, and I enjoyed the meatballs from The Italian Homemade Company better. Moreover, this sandwich is a bit pricey for the average portion size. So yeah… overall good but not great.

If you want to experience real San Francisco, try here. That’s what I was told by a long time friend/​business partner in San Francisco.
Great place to grab your lunch, afternoon snack in a lazy slow afternoon. Enjoy the view of the Washington Park.
I ordered grilled eggplant open sandwich and flavor was amazing. Taste fresh ingredients inside the sandwich, I enjoyed every bite of it. I came by a car and parking was difficult to find. If I wasn’t driving, I would definitely have tried some of their drinks, sitting by the window, watching people enjoying sunny afternoon at the park.
Very small café, service could be slow but that wasn’t my concern. I was just three relaxed enjoying late lunch on weekend.

The food here is pretty good. Grilled sandwiches, coffee — it all tastes good. However, to spend 1 HOUR waiting for your food is unacceptable under any circumstances.
We walked in, sat down immediately and within 5 minutes our order was taken and drinks arrived. What happened next was akin to waiting for deliverance. After 20 minutes and no food, I wanted to get up and leave, but said to myself that we waiting a while already and the food should be about done. 20 minutes more and by now y stomach is rumbling. Another 20 minutes and still no food. At this point it’s basically a joke.
The food they serve is basic. Salads, sandwiches, and mini pizzas. Doesn’t seem like rocket science. After inquiring about our food, we found our one of our plates was just sitting on the counter for 5 minutes. Completely unacceptable, and I will say this confidence I will NEVER be back, no matter how good the food is.

I’m pretty sure that none of the words in the name of this restaurant are accurate. I’m not holding it against them though.
Mario’s is awesome because it consistently has the optimal number of people inside of it. Typically SF restaurants crowd toward the either end of the spectrum of occupancy. They’re either so empty that you start to question the authenticity of their health inspection certificate or so popular that you start to contemplate ways for «Jennifer party of 3» to mysteriously disappear just to get a seat. Mario’s fits neatly in the middle of that spectrum.
Walk in for a late weekday dinner, grab a table and order the breaded eggplant sandwich. Solid rotating beer selection as well.
There’s only one person making food so it’s not a great place to go if you’re in a rush. It took me forever to realize that they make it all right at the counter behind the bar (I once wandered around the back looking for the kitchen and came back very confused).

I strongly recommend Caprese.
Mozzarella is so fresh and milky!
drink is not so expensive.
Nice view to park & church.
Reasonable restaurants.

Great place to grab a cold beer, or a coffee drink, sit and watch the crowd roll by. Across the street is the always green Washington Square Park and beyond it the beautiful Saints Peter and Paul Church. On the right you can get a good glimpse of Coit Tower. So visually you will not get bored, but you may get hungry! My favorite at Mario’s is their meatball sandwich which is served on locally baked Focaccia bread. If it is too cold for you to sit outside, sit at the bar and chat with the people around you. Even though many tourists stop there, it is also a favorite hangout of the locals and they always have interesting tips for you if you are visiting.

Very good café, but the price a little bit too high. The location are amazing n the front of the park .
They are many other good options since this city are amazing. Don’t go outside since they will not going to give you a good service.

Talk about a great meatball sandwich! I come in here every few months and I always get the same thing: The meatball sandwich!
Don’t let the sign fool you, they don’t sell cigars. Sorry.
But that I mention they have the best meatball sandwich. Yes I sure did because it’s awesome!
I brought my dad in there a few months ago and he is a food critic because he’s a chef, and he love the meatball sandwich also. We followed that with a double espresso each and called it a day. Very happy customers.
It’s not the best place for groups that a lot of tables for two.
They also have outdoor seating that Overlooks Washington Sq., Park and that’s a great place to people watch.

When you drive by Mario’s and there’s a parking space right outside, you have to take it. Then you must go into Mario’s, grab a seat at the bar and order a beer and a meatball sandwich. They serve it on Liguria green onion foccacia and toast it in the oven. That sandwich is one of the most delicious things that you’ll ever eat: the perfect amount of sauce, cheese and meatballs nestled inside the best toasted foccacia. With pepperoncini on the side.
I’ve also had the eggplant sandwich and it was heaven as well, but for some reason I almost always gravitate towards the meatballs.

A North Beach institution. Back in the day, Food & Wine magazine put the breaded eggplant sandwich @ Mario’s on their list of «the 10 things you MUST eat when you’re in SF.» This was way, WAY before 7×7 magazine came out w their first list, since 7×7 magazine didn’t even exist then. I had to mention this because there are so many newbie «foodies» out there that actually don’t know that there were lists like this & that there was a thriving food scene in SF long before «the 7×7 list» ever appeared. Even worse, there are droves of people that use the 7×7 list as the deciding factor on where & what to eat in this town. And that’s just sad. SF has been cranking out exceptionally noteworthy food forever, & Mario’s has been doing it from day one.
The skinny…
Yes, they used to sell cigars. Heck, the place used to be filled w smoke when you walked in, when smoking inside was still legal. When the non-​smoking law started, they still sold cigars, just no more smoking.
An espresso here is iconic.
They make a mean cappuccino. It’s written up in many a travelers guide. We’re talking internationally.
The breaded eggplant is just as awesome now as it was way back when. Only now many peeps seem to love the grilled eggplant just as much. I say yes to both; let your mood decide or order a ½ of each.
Standouts…
The meatball. The sausage. The chicken. The combo (ham & salami). The turkey. The tuna. The veggie. Yes, they’re actually all great. No joke. Basically, if you haven’t had a focaccia sandwich from Mario’s, preferably right out of the oven & piping hot w the requisite pepperoncinis… then you just haven’t lived. And that’s their focaccia sandwich out of the OVEN; NOT a panini w regular baguette bread from the panini press. There’s just no comparison. Trust.
The house made tiramisu is THE BEST in NB. No contest.
Sometimes the service is great, sometimes it’s not great. But the tunes playing are always great. Always. So, just tune the service out if need be & enjoy everything else.
An institution. Mangia.

Vraiment agréable!
Aller, je me lance pour le premier avis en French!
Tout d’abord, l’ambiance: on se trouve dans ce café, tout en long, très chaleureux avec la vue sur le park just en face. Le tout dans une déco boisée, chromée… avec des tableaux et photos un peu partout.
Je me suis assis avec un ami à la table parfaitement dans l’angle, nous étions donc comme dans une bulle au milieu de la rue.
Little Italie… c’est amusant la manière dont les quartiers de San Francisco nous projettent littéralement dans un imaginaire où l’on se croirai facilement en Italie pendant un instant.
Ensuite, la musique… pour un ressortissant Français, ce n’est pas anodin d’entendre un disque de Serge Gainsbourg dans un troquet de l’autre côté de la planète.
Voilà pour le décor. Ensuite, le produit.
Mon choix, compte tenu de ma longue marche + balade en catamaran dans la baie de SF, s’est porté sur un capuccino + tiramisu (cf photo).
UN REGALE. Avant même la première bouchée, gorgée, je me suis régalé en regardant cette splendide harmonie des couleurs. Les couverts et la porcelaine né payent pas de mine… mais le contenu est très soigné!
Je dis bravo. J’étais bien content de trouvé un peu de chaleur dans cette journée aussi ventée!
Seul point à souligner: pas de wifi.