Talbot Cafe

I used to come here five or six times a week, but living in another state now, that has become impossible. The very first stop though when I arrived in San Francisco, was Talbot Café — that’s how much I like this place. The owner truly care about the quality of service and food, and it shows. The have made improvements and expanded their menu since I was here last. Ate here twice on this very quick trip into town, and can’t wait to get back! I love the hero sandwich here. The breakfast sandwiches are mouth-​watering. Prices are still very reasonable and the food is exceptional. Come and see. You and your wallet will leave satisfied.

Talbot café was closed for two weeks for renovation. It is now open with new and improved menu. Also offering school lunch delivery to FAIS/​CAIS school. 9-​27-​2015

Came in today since they closed for 6 weeks for renovation. Impressed with their new added items like Smoked salmon salad, beef pastrami sandwich withy the tangy taste of mango salsa. Love the beat is their new item Avocado toast with poached eggs on whole wheat. Their poached eggs are perfect, not so cooked, not so raw. Their thick layer of avocado and olive oil make everything so creamy. I haven’t tried their ceviche yet but the customer sitting at the next table said their ceviche is one of the best he has tried around the Bay Area so far. Definitely will try their ceviche next time

Super friendly staff and a variety of pastries and drinks. They also have ice cream. I only had enough for a bagel but they let me have cream cheese on the house. They also carry ginger ale.

Ordered a sandwich and a salad to go. When I got back to the office and started on the salad I discovered not one, not two but three of the three tomatoes were rotten.
Might wanna check out your order before you leave!

I’ve tried going to this café so many times and have finally given up. The coffee is terrible. I seriously don’t know what the problem is, but it’s super acidic and bitter no matter how much soy milk and sugar I add. The last 2 times I went I actually asked for my $ back and will not be going back. I would highly suggest they get Califia Almond milk instead of that horrible almond milk in a box (almost every other café in Hayes valley has this now and it’s much creamier and better). I would also suggest they figure out why their coffee is so bitter: (

When I was in the 4^nd grade I had a crush on a girl in my class. I wrote her a note that simply asked, «Do you like me?» with the check boxes, «yes», «no» and a casual, «maybe».
My friend delivered the note to her friend and later that day the survey was completed and delivered back to me. As I stood alone in the corner of the playground with my stomach full of butterflies, I could not imagine the vortex of shame that was about open up and swallow me, slowly close in and suffocate my soul for the rest of my life.
It was in that in that moment that I promised to never leave myself vulnerable again, and in all these years I had never experienced such a deep level of disappointment, until I unwrapped the turkey sandwich I ordered from Talbot Café.

Loved this little coffee shop! Stopped in after realizing the comic book lounge I intended to venture into was actually closed on Monday. My travel partner and I ordered iced lattes (hers dairy, mine soy), and could not have been more pleased. Preferred their preparation of Sight Glass beans WAY more than Blue Bottle Coffee. Tip of the hat Talbot Café! If I lived in San Francisco, I would definitely be a regular. Friendly and accommodating staff, too!

Second time here and the sandwich is as good as I remember it. Last time it was Nutella on baguette. This time caprese baguette. And great coffee —
Sometimes it’s not open when I walk by buy seems like they are changing that so stop by!

I want my drip coffee to be strong, and this was not. The blueberry scones was perfect! A lot of children due to the nearby school. They seemed to like the cookie shelf :)

I am DONE coming here! I work at a school around the corner. I started in January 2013 for 6 months, then changed school for a year, but I came back in August of 2014. I was SO excited to be back, not only at the school, but also because I loved coming to Talbot’s. I used to go here ALL THE TIME for a quick salad or sandwich, even breakfast if I was particularly hungry. That was before it changed ownership. I have tried to put up with the change in ownership but I can’t do it any more. Here are the MANY reasons why — and this is since August!
1. Their menu on the wall is TOTALLY wrong — under one sandwich, the NAME of it was one type of meat (pulled pork sandwich), but the description had a different type listed (steak)!! When I mentioned it, they said «Oh, yeah, we know, don’t go by that, use the print out one.» Oh, okay, good to know — why don’t you get on a ladder and COVER IT??? Or, I don’t know — FIX IT???
AND the side «special» menu that is hand written had 3 different misspelled words — being an English teacher, I corrected it for them. And their handwritten sign outside had misspelled words, too.
2. I was craving a tunafish sandwich — they’ve taken it off the menu. So I grabbed a croissant and headed down to Nina’s (on the corner of Fell and Franklin) to have them make the tunafish on the croissant I bought. As they were cutting into it they told me the croissant was stale!!! They toasted it to try and help with the staleness. Awesome — so glad I paid $ 2.50 for a stale croissant.
3. There’s a spinach salad I order that you can have chicken put on. It took SOOOOO long to make. Finally the chef brought it out to me and apologized for how long it took (apparently they needed to kill the chicken before cooking the meat). I looked at it and they’ve now changed the seasoning on the chicken — it’s red and looks spicy. When I asked he said it wasn’t spicy but he could prepare it with the other herb chicken (the one they have ALWAYS been using). I said no thanks, I’ve got no time to wait. It was definitely not as good as the herb chicken
4. It takes FOREVER for them to prepare your food. And I do not understand why. There can be 3 people in the back preparing area and it’ll take 10 – 15 minutes to get a salad? Or 10 minutes for a bagel with cream cheese???
5. The main guy who works the register has NO idea what he’s doing. And he’s been working there since about August or September. He is extremely pompous and slow and gets easily confused with simple orders. Awesome.
And this was the final straw…
6. Today I went in for a bagel and cream cheese. I work at a school around the corner and we were out of hot water (our hot water filter is SLOOOOOW and if a bunch of people got tea just before me, then there’s no hot water for me for about 10 – 15 minutes). I decided to ask if I could have some hot water — it was going to cost me $ 0.50??? Ummmm… what??? You’ve got a pitcher with cold tap water for FREE, but because it’s HOT you’re gonna charge me??? Okay…*maybe* I could understand this if I just popped in for hot water, but I was buying a bagel!!!
This is the closest place to my work but I will forever on walk on by. Adiós Talbots!

I came here twice today, once before my fitness class for a dirty chai latte, and after for a sandwich and to telecommute.
1) The dirty chai latte was tasty. I can’t comment on their other drinks since that was the only one I tried and thought they did it right! 4 out of 5.
2) I got the herb chicken sandwich. It was good, but a bit on the small side. 3 out of 5. I do eat a lot for a small human and could have stuffed myself and eaten 2 sandwiches… it was actually a good portion control for me, otherwise that fitness class I just took would have been a waste ;)
3) The service was awesome, very friendly staff. They were great the first time around, and especially the second time. I checked in on Unilocal the second time and got the 30% off bill coupon, but my phone wasn’t loading the page. The guy at the counter was super nice about it, told me I can just pay later when it loads and they’ll go ahead and make my sandwich. Even when they were going around cleaning up tables, they asked how things were and was nice nice nice. 5 out of 5.
Perhaps it’s too friendly for some people, but I like this much better than the typical stink eye and attitude from other cafes.
4) The WiFi is fast and stable! This place is also perfect for telecommuting.
It’s not somewhere I’d go out of the way for, but Talbot is right by my class, and this will be my go to café for quick bite/​caffeine and telecommuting on class days.

Terrible cheap and acidic coffee, filled w high school kids, low quality pastries and food.
Unless you need a lunch bag for recess, avoid!

Great café and if you can find a place to sit, it’s got free wi-​fi! I got a latte and it was excellent. Awesome place to WFH not at home.

My daughter goes to the school across the street from Talbot. At about noon, I received a phone call saying that she had lost her lunch. I called Talbot to place an order. The guy told me that I should order before 10am. After repeatedly informing him that it was due to my daughter loosing her lunch and that I was JUST informed, he told me again to place the order before 10am. What?
This guy obviously did not want my business so I cancelled my order. I called back to report and he said he was the manager! WOW

Tried this place 3 or 4 times, and every time it’s more or less the same experience: it’s hot as hell in there, there’s 3 different people talking to me at once (one of which who I assume is the owner), and they either don’t see my order come in online or they completely mess it up. I can see they’re trying really hard to be attentive, but it comes off as overbearing; I just want to get my stuff and leave without incident, and they won’t stop talking long enough to even listen when I’m trying to add a coffee or something in person. The food is decent enough, but some consistency would be nice.

The food here was decent. Came here for breakfast, and the prices were quite nice! Be sure to check in for 30% off your bill! I had an egg and Canadian bacon croissant, and their Sight Glass coffee. The coffee was stellar. Amazing. The croissant was obviously fresh, and there was lots of eggs and bacon on there.
This is an art café, but they could have certainly had a lot more art on display, if you ask me. Some of it was interesting, drug themed.
They have today’s paper there for you to flip through, and free wifi. The restaurant was clean, and the service was friendly and fast. They offer coffee drinks, a limited breakfast menu, and ice cream!
They do swift business here, and they’ve got some nice outdoor seating where you can hang out, surf the internet, and chill in the California sun.
Parking can be a bit of a challenge here, but I guess that’s the usual situation for SF.
I enjoyed the fact that this place is clean, well lit, and had plenty of seating.

This is a nice, artsy little café with cool décor that makes me feel right at home. The atmosphere is great and so is the music. We had a BLT and Caprese sandwich, which were both delicious. The only complaint is that they took a while to bring it out when they only had one other customer and they’re a bit pricey compared to most cafes.

small neighborhood spot. easy to drop in and get caffeinated on my walk to work.
they brew Sightglass and I’ve had a regular cup o joe and a latte. both times they were pretty weak, but it’ll do if you’re in a pinch. affordable and friendly. sometimes they’re a bit slow on setting up in the mornings so be patient! they’ll get those coffee lids out :)

Talbot café has a «double» coffee for 2. actually. it’s a large, not 2 shots of expresso.
they also have grilled cheese sammies and specialty sammies (9)
brew: coffee (2) «due torri» oaktown roastery
–smooth, medium roast, a little acidity.
–much better than starbux
drips:
–very friendly service
–10ish tables for sitdown
–free wifi.