The Best Brunch Spots In The Misson District, San Francisco

Fresh cups of exquisite house coffee are a consolation for those who brave the snaking line at Boogaloos for some of the Mission’s best brunch. With a kitchen producing food as quickly as the time it takes for new customers to arrive and sit down, it is clear that Boogaloos’ mandate is to serve as many hungry mission brunchers as possible. Boogaloos excels at the basics, with plantain cakes, tamarind sour cream, chorizo and even soy-rizo to add some neighbourhood flavour to the regular eggs and potatoes. Other vegan options include the grilled vegetable and polenta pancake, with the option to add vegan sausage on the side. The weekend menu brings several new spins on eggs benedict, offering versions heavy on avocado, grilled tomato and black forest ham. Brunchers can also ‘do the boogaloo’, starting with a base of scrambled eggs and adding some extra layers from ‘the playlist’ – in other words, the musical menu of add-ons.

Craftsman and Wolves can only be described as a highly evolved bakery with its unparalleled and sophisticated patisserie offerings. A selection of buns, tarts, brownies, éclairs, financiers, croissants and cookies beckons brunchers and afternoon snackers alike with inventive creations like the banana, blackberry and coconut muffin, the curry cashew cookie or the savoury black fig and olive oil tart. A house specialty is a variation of Scotch egg baked and breaded with asiago, sausage and green onion, nicknamed ‘the rebel within’. Breakfast options include a granola and yoghurt parfait furnished with fruit and a seasonal quiche, while lunch selections include baguette tartines, chilled corn and avocado soup and a savoury tart topped with pistachio and stacked with pickled turnips and fromage blanc.

Foreign Cinema boasts a dining experience which has widely been hailed as ‘quintessentially San Francisco’. As one might expect, Foreign Cinema is indeed a foreign cinema, with foreign films and independent films alike screened in a covered outdoor dining area, with seating also available indoors and along a semi-private mezzanine. With experience in the San Francisco restaurant scene that has been ‘fermenting’ for 20 years, Gayle Pirie and John Clark’s brunch menu shows their extensive experience. An impressive roster of oysters and other shellfish begin an impressive menu of brunch options with prices to match, yet creative dishes like the Persian omelet, Oaxacan style calamari and a non-industrial, organic take on pop tarts are great value and delicious.

Mission Bowling is a strike when it comes to original brunch venues. Not only is weekend brunch at Mission Bowling one of the few acceptable occasions in life to bear a mimosa in one hand and a bowling ball in the other, but it is also the only time when the typically boozy bowling alley is open to minors and families. Alongside a crucial selection of morning cocktails from bloody Mary’s and shandy’s to sangria and the apple brandied orchard sour, savoury brunch dishes like the croque madame, chilaquiles, fried chicken and waffles and heirloom tomato benedict promise to lure anyone out of bed. Diners do not have to reserve a bowling lane to partake in the Mission Bowling’s famous Mission Burger on the outside patio with a side of green chili cheese fries.

Renowned for being San Francisco’s oldest ice cream parlour, St. Francis Fountain provides a welcome alternative to the trendy brunch scene with down to earth milkshakes, burgers and an undeniably hearty breakfast. Founded in 1918 by a Greek immigrant named James Christakes, St. Francis Fountain was handed down across three generations before being purchased by the current owners, who promptly renovated the dining room and expanded the kitchen. Fountain classics span root beer and Guinness floats, while more original milkshakes are made with espresso or soy. Banana splits and sundaes will satisfy even the most dire desert diners. Burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads stand alongside the usual breakfast suspects, with house specialties retaining an aura of mystery and comic relief with names like ‘nebulous potato thing’, ‘vegan thing’ and the ‘chef’s mess’.