The Vestry

My friends and I are regulars here for a reason — the bottomless mimosas are truly bottomless. I think the waiters know to skip the niceties and hand over the pitchers whenever we come in. That being said, service is always friendly and attentive. It’s easy to walk in with a group of 12 and get relatively quick seating on a Saturday or Sunday around noon. If you want to be polite, call first. I still haven’t found a dish here that makes me truly satisfied, so I’ve done a fair bit of skipping around the menu, and here is what I’ve found:
Eggs Benedict — fairly typical, nothing to write home about. substitute in bacon.
Shakshuka — kind of bland, tried to eat it once while I was hungover so that’s probably wrecked my conception of it.
Breakfast Calzone — haven’t had this myself, but my friends order it sometimes, and it’s HUGE. not for the faint of heart.
House Cured Lox Flatbread — normally my go-​to.
Chapel Po’boy — first time was perfect, second time was heavy on the slaw and made the whole thing oddly soggy.
Honey Hot Fried Chicken — a tower of glazed chicken rested on a piece of white bread and paired with pickles. i liked it, but my friend wasn’t a fan.
Warm banana bread — dank. get one or two of these for the table.
Next to try? The avocado toast.

This was my 5^th time at The Vestry and it was really bad this time around. The moment I walked into the blaring disco music I was ready to bail. We were seated at the smallest table that barely was fit for one person let alone two. This was on top of the fact the room was totally empty for the next hour. And then the cold air arrived from an open door next to the kitchen. Crate after crate of glasses etc were brought in without any regard for our comfort. The waitperson took the order for drinks and water. All was fine with that. But then the avocado/​pumpkin seed toast arrived that tasted stale, followed by the chewiest scallops I have ever had. If this was indeed cerviche I was surprised. Not 3 minutes after we received the cerviche our entrees arrived. I mean there was no place for anything. While the waitperson stood there with the entrees I was forced to consolidate the appetizers onto a single plate for her to put the plates down. My trout was overcooked and flavorless. The trout sat on a bed of something unidentifiable. My friend’s hanger steak was done medium-​rare as requested but he said it also was flavorless. We opted to go across the street to Dandelion for dessert rather than possibly suffer through another tasteless dish. My previous visits to The Vestry have been much better. After tonight, I will opt for somewhere else.

Great food and drinks for brunch, BUT not very many vegetarian options unless you want a side or a salad.
Would have loved to order the eggs benedict, cowboy breakfast, or toad in the hole sandwich– but all of which include meat (and if I were to sub it– paying $ 18 for a meatless Benedict is not my jam). The remaining options are carbs or carbs, but good nonetheless.
I recommend:
Chocolate babka, french toast
Warm banana bread
House made corn bread
To drink:
Crown of thorns (I ordered with vodka, but you can choose from vodka or gin)

We hosted a birthday dinner for 20 people at The Vestry and it turned out to be a great idea. The evening was wonderful and everything went very smoothly. Lots of compliments on the space and the food. It was really an ideal space for us, and very cool and inviting as well. We appreciated the chef’s help with writing happy birthday on our home made cake, and overall the staff was really great.

This is your typical SF brunch spot — good food, a little overpriced but generally worth it.
Extra star because this place is quick with its service. Unlike other SF spots where I’m used to waiting hours for Sunday brunch, this place was super easy to get in and out of. We had no wait for a party of 4 and I don’t think I ever saw anyone waiting in line for more than 5 mins. The servers were very attentive and came by quickly with water and to take our order.
The food was very tasty. The banana bread is well worth the 5ish dollars and comes with a delicious cream cheese butter. The toad in the hole sandwich came with sweet and salty bacon marmalade which was a good touch. The chicken and waffles was divine. It came with butter and a sweet pepper relish so you basically don’t need maple syrup. I was a little thrown off that they charge $ 2 extra for maple syrup — their rationale is that it is real Vermont maple syrup, but even so, $ 2 for a small side of syrup seems excessive. But again, syrup completely not necessary.
Overall, good food, quick service (!!) and reasonable prices.

Sometimes it’s hard to motivate on a rainy Sunday. Thankfully the prospect of catching up with good friends, bottomless mimosas and brunch food lured me out into the drizzle.
My friends and I sat down in the lively, crowded space. After excusing myself for tapping the back of the chair of the patron at the next table as I contorted into my chair, I was able to relax and soak in the many good options on the menu.
Within moments, our waitress appeared with a smile. She was surprisingly fast in returning with our bottomless mimosas, which we sipped while making the difficult decision in front of us regarding food.
The warm banana bread and its heavenly cream cheese butter companion showed up quickly, delighting us until our main dishes arrived. The benedict, shakshuka and chicken and waffles (with a side of syrup) did not disappoint.
We were pleasantly invited to continue to sip our bottomless mimosas after our plates were cleared, thus easing the transition back into the rain.

One of my favorite Sunday brunch spots, with friends. Food is always on point and the mimosas are always full. Make sure to get the banana bread!

Brunch on the patio. It’s quite the party with mostly large groups (and couples) taking advantage of bottomless mimosas.
(Oh, and the food is prettily presented and the vegetable dishes unexpectedly tasted like they were straight from the farmers market — really fresh and well-​executed.)

This was my FOURTH visit to The Vestry for brunch and I have yet to be disappointed.
SERVICE: This time we had a birthday brunch for my husband. Making a large group reservation (~20) was quick and easy. When we arrived there was a beautifully laid out table. A server (Jennifer! :) immediately came over and asked about special request and the flow of the brunch. She took special considerations for how to present the cake, logistics, etc. She was super attentive throughout the meal, and was great! Another shout out to managers Roz, Dana, and Edgar for the perfect logistics. The only downside I can report in regards to service was that I waited for like one-​minute to get checked in.
FOOD + DRINKS: Moderately priced, and delicious! Go with the Bloody Mary, they are caliente. My guests all around enjoyed the food; I went with the Avocado toast which was deceptively filling. Great variety of veggie and meaty options. We didn’t get it today, but they have an awesome $ 15 bottomless mimosa special (which I’ve done on my previous visits).
ATMOSPHERE: Non-​shi shi and modern. If you like 90s/​00s Cali/​Biggie hip hop this is the place to be. Hip, but not hipster. I’m from New York and this place has a Brooklyn vibe.
OTHER TIPS: If you’re in a large group they cannot split cards, so someone be prepared to pay upfront and then get cashed/​Venmo-​ed back.
This is my go-​to spot now for when guests are in town and large group gatherings. You won’t be disappointed!

Chill bar in the Mission. Prices aren’t bad. Cocktails are around $ 11, wine is around $ 10 – 15 and food is reasonable too.
If you’re like me and want wine but actually don’t know anything about wine, I’d recommend asking the server for a recommendation. Our waitress recommended me a red wine that I really enjoyed. Unfortunately, I don’t remember which it was (helpful, I know). but it went down real smooth! $ 14 for a VERY generous pouring.
I didn’t try any of their cocktails but they sounded pretty interesting, so I might have to try one next time. Didn’t have any real food either, just some of their fries. I prefer my fries thin cut and these were on the thicker side, so I found them to be just alright.
Great atmosphere. Trendy, hipster, casual. There’s outdoor/​patio seating if indoor seating isn’t available, but it’s heated so it’s surprisingly comfortable even in the winter.

I give this place five stars I’ll tell you why I had to take one star off because we were strolling by on a whim I told my friend let’s go inside they were empty tables enclosed right on the sidewalk of Valencia like I guess the star tables and I asked for one and they said they were most likely reserved and then we left those tables were not filled and the restaurant was closing.
Listen I value customer service more than I do tasty food I can make my own tasty food I go out to get stroked and for good vibe OK so this place delivered door staff was good the waiters were good the busboy they were all charming the table was a little wonky we had to adjust it a little bit and the waiter fixed it I ordered the hanger steak the fried chicken the salad and a bottle of wine we had some dessert my friend totally loved the hanger steak I thought the fried chicken was tasty as hell I would go again it reminds me of old-​school San Francisco and I have lived here since 1984 so I know what I’m talking about.
We visited Friday, November 20 and I wore a pink hat.

Solid place with a really chill vibe and decent drink selection. Definitely gets bigger crowds before a show at The Chapel next door. Went for an event involving free Dandelion Chocolate and Anchor beers (Steam, IPA, Winter Wheat) — so really tough to have any bad memories about the place. It’s nice to be a few blocks away from the primary Mission bars — it’s just enough distance to keep the crowds manageable.

3.5 stars
Came here for dinner and a show with a group of friends on a Friday night. Really glad we had a reservation because the place was completely packed. Outdoor patio seating was heated and very comfortable even on a chilly November evening.
Food menu is limited and expensive. My $ 12 arugula salad was on the smaller side, but I will say those polenta croutons were a real treat and whatever cheese they used was surprisingly delicious. A few of my friends ordered burgers ($ 17) and another ordered a small-​ish bowl of french onion soup ($ 11). While we were all pleased with our meals, I think everyone was expecting more food for the price.
On the flip side, drink menu is huge… and also on the pricier side. If you come during happy hour make sure you specifically ask for the HH menu, as staff was not very forthcoming about their HH offerings and reluctantly handed my friends the menu upon request. Beers are $ 6, then $ 8 during non HH times. Specialty cocktails are $ 9 (HH) and go up from there. Wine list was quite large and prices started at $ 9 and increased quickly.
In total I ended up spending about $ 70 on a salad plus a few drinks. Definitely NOT a cheap night out.
TLDR; Cool spot with great atmosphere. Trendy bar scene. Cool outdoor heated patio. Expensive menu. Limited food options. Occasional live music.

This place is amazing. I looked at everything on the menu and everything that arrived at other people’s tables and I wanted it all. How do they not have 5 stars?!? Oh well, great for us because we had zero wait. Such creative and tantalizing menu items. The food looked better than they read on the menu and tasted better than they looked. Bravo

I’m going to have to start this off by saying our service was great and Spencer was an awesome server! He was quick to refill the bottomless mimosas and was super friendly!
On the other hand, portions were inconsistent, food was mediocre, and everything was over-​priced.
I had the Shakshuka — eggs were cooked perfectly, but the spicy tomato sauce could have came out of a can and the 3 tiny crustini were a lame excuse for grilled bread. The portion was also definitely «girl» sized and a regular man could probably eat at least 3, so $ 15 just doesn’t make sense.
On the other hand, a friend got the calzone and it was HUGE. For only a couple dollars more, it could have fed a whole small family.
Heard the Po’ Boy sandwich was flavorful, but everyone complained about the shrimp being way too hard from being overly battered and fried.
Ratio of orange juice to champagne in the pre-​mixed mimosas is all wrong. They should just leave a bottle of champagne and orange juice on the table, especially for $ 16/​$ 18 per person, which is high even for this area.
On the bright side, no wait on a weekend at 11:30!

Worst service ever. Everything that could’ve gone wrong, went wrong.
Came here with a Bachelorette party of 10 at 11am, and I think we barely got our waters and orders taken at around 12.
1 waffle was cold, 1 waffle had a hair on it, a Bloody Mary was not made correctly, an order of side potatoes and bacon came at the end of the meal. The bacon was extremely burnt, and tasted like garbage.
It was absolutely beyond annoying and took forever to get any kind of refills, condiments, or things corrected.
Another girl in our party ordered avocado toast, and it didn’t arrive until 30 mins after our food arrived. Absolutely ridiculous!
The runners and cooks were not apologetic at all.
Then at the end of the meal, she brings out a free cookie custard dessert to apologize for everything, and then still puts it on the check, haha.
Entirely too much time spent here for mediocre and overpriced food. I will definitely not be coming back here unfortunately.

I took my boyfriend here last night to celebrate his new job. We had walked by it a few times and finally took the plunge. We were immediately seated outside and ordered a margarita, lager and two of the $ 1 oysters. The margarita was alright, for $ 11 I was pretty underwhelmed. The oysters were delicious and $ 1 is an absolute steal. For dinner we both ordered the burger and fries. Again, the burger and fries were nothing to write home about. We had a good time but overall the food was just okay.

Atmosphere: 4 stars. Very comfortable and intimate, whether indoors or outdoors on the large side patio. Bonus: dogs are allowed outside.
Drinks: 4 stars. Great cocktail menu. Plenty of beer and wine options. Might I recommend the Lady Guadalupe, or the Walk the Palenque?
Food: 3 stars. Pretty solid, but nothing craveable that I need to return for. The fries that come with the burgers are above average, the flatbread (which changes) can be good as well. My salmon with corn was quite tasty, and other dishes were just ok. (Nothing was bad!)
Service: 3 stars. I’ve been here twice and both times had mediocre service. Always slow, with a general nonchalance. On my most recent visit our quoted wait time was 30 minutes, and we waited nearly an hour. No check-​ins or explanations were offered. Once we were seated, it took another 10 minutes to even get a menu… and the waiter managed to blame us for that. Very few check-​ins throughout and I felt as though we were inconveniencing him. He may have been responsible for too many tables, so I’m not sure I can blame him entirely.
The Vestry is in a great location when you’re walking the Mission or coming from Dolores. It’s definitely well-​situated and I’d think the perfect spot for a happy hour or late-​night drink. I’ve heard they’re best for brunch, so maybe give that a shot too.

The food here is so amazing. Order anything and expect it to be good. The waitress is really friendly and good at giving suggestions.
They have a pretty neat outdoor seating area at the back. Came here at noon Sunday and we still have to wait even though we had a reservation but the wait is worth t!

Make a reservation for brunch. We had a nice table outside and they have heating lamps for those chilly SF mornings.
We got the bottomless mimosas (so good, can taste a hint of champagne, could be dangerous, I think we both had about 3 total, so worth it). My friend got the eggs benedict and she was happy. I got the fried chicken and biscuits — the sauce over the chicken was sort of like a sweet and sour sauce (very good), and the chicken was nice, tender and boneless (less messy for sure). The biscuits were slightly crispy and soaked up the sauce and chicken juice (nice).
Service was good, answered all our questions and the mimosas refills came at a nice, regular pace — thank you! I would come back.