Restaurant Review : 901 Columbus Cafe in San Francisco, CA

901 Columbus Cafe
901 Columbus Ave.
San Francisco, CA
# 415 - 409 - 9001

901 Columbus Cafe is a decent little cafe/restaurant on the corner of Columbus and Lombard. Since it's right near the crooked part of Lombard Street, it's a popular tourist area, and thus the prices are according - a bit higher than average. However I can't complain about the quality, the service is consistently good, and the place is clean and spacious.

Aside from coffee drinks and various types of pastry, you can get basic meals here, and they have Guiness and some local brews on tap. The place opens at 7 A.M. and stays open fairly late every day. Saturday nights between 4 and 7 are worth a look as they screen some old campy favorite movie such as Evil Dead and have $1.50 drafts during that time. Place also has WiFi, a few tables outside, and a couple of tables near the wall with power outlets (though these tend to get camped quickly).

The pastry is kind of average for what they charge for it ($1.50 for a smallish cookie that tastes like it was baked yesterday, $4ish for a creme horn), but the coffee is decent ($1.50 for a small, $2.00 for a large). Haven't tried any of the food, but the breakfast bagels are reasonably priced and pretty good.

They apparently have an arrangement with a number of tour charters, so one thing you have to look out for is a giant bus suddenly stopping out front and disgorging tons of people with cameras who immediately form a long queue. If you catch this place on an ebb time however, like early morning on a weekday, it's a decent little chill spot. Also not a bad before/after stop if you're catching a show at Cobb's Comedy Club or Bimbo's, as it's less than a block from both.