144 King Art Cafe

Wouldn’t eat here again.
Default to go? Serving a lemonade in a coffee cup, salad in a box? Employees seem unhappy. Not a good mix.

Decent sandwiches, but they were out of salads.
Nothing amazing, here. Decent prices for the area (especially with the 30% discount). All in all, worth checking out at least once. I might swing by to see what the breakfast is like.
Pros
— Relatively cheap for the area
— Nice atmosphere/​has art
Cons
— Not very clean
— Out of lunch items at 12:40
— Not a lot of seating (some broken seats)
— Food is decent

Royal news.
Overhyped baby fuss:
Underhyped breakfast fuss: Granola with nonfat greek yogurt, blueberries, strawberries and topped with honey. Reasonable $ 6 and ready in about 6 seconds.
Royally good breakfast beats royal babies.

This place is completely hit or miss. I’ve gone here 4 times for lunch to give it a fair chance and only once was it decent.
One of the first times I ordered a grilled sandwich and it came in a puddle of grease in my box. Completely gross.
This time I took the safer route and ordered The Vegetarian sandwich (Portobello, roasted red peppers, hummus, sprouts, grilled onions, gruyère, avocado on whole wheat). The flavor was good but it was like biting into a pile of mush, if you can imagine. The side salad was tiny and meh-​tasting.
I’d say this place is one you’d have to risk to try out for yourself. I’ve heard some people had great experiences and others (like me) did not.

We had an alright experience at King Art Café this morning. The place is really cool and eclectic. Lots of great art lines all the walls. The staff wasn’t particularly friendly and we ordered a couple of breakfast sandwiches that were decent but not amazing. One had tomatoes and instead of cutting them they were put in whole which was difficult to eat.
If you’re in the neighborhood not a bad place to stop but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here again.

I like 144 because everything on their menu is local, organic, and fresh. For instance, if you go in there late in the lunch hour on a Friday, they might not be able to make certain items on the menu because they order everything fresh for the week. 144 is a good alternative to healthy SoMa favorites like Darwin Café and is directly across from the ballpark.
What I have tried:
–The Kimchi Reuben– This is a must-​try! The sauce and the pickles really made the sandwich for me. They throw in tasty tossed greens on the side too.
–Kale & Brisket Salad– This is divine. The second time I tried it, it was a bit watery (this is a cooked salad), but the flavors are always paired perfectly! If you’re addicted to the infamous kale salad at Darwin Café, I would definitely stop by to try this.
–Chicken & Cous-​Cous– The chicken was really undercooked and there was an overwhelming amount of sun-​dried tomatoes. This was a swing & a miss, maybe it’s better on other days.
It’s a really great atmosphere in there to just sit and eat lunch by yourself. I really enojy this place and will keep coming back to try new things as their menu changes.

Review on Coffee + Ambiance.
Coffee: 3 bucks for a generic drip is a bit extravagent. Having said that the coffee itself wasn’t terrible but drips in this price range are usually hand made in Hario Drippers not made in a ginormous pot. I’d stop by again for coffee in a bind but wouldn’t go here looking for a hand crafted coffee experience
Ambiance: Good, like the vibe. A bit loud but its easy to do work and chat without bothering others. Slightly off the beaten path too so thats nice.
Overall not bad coffee place

I have continued my love affair with 144. The chicken club is mesmerizing and the breakfast Sammies are not only a bargain, they are delicious! I see they now do office catering so I’m searching for the opportunity.

This review is only for their coffee.
Pretty good. At first their prices were a bit more than average, charging $ 3 for an americano vs $ 2.25 at Ironside.
I heard the beans they use are from the same distributor as Blue Bottle or some how related.
I rarely purchase their food as prices seem a bit expensive.

I’ve been here twice now. Once for breakfast and once for lunch.
For breakfast I had the bacon & egg croissant. The bacon was flabby and undercooked. The eggs soaked through the croissant and I had to eat it with a fork and knife. How hard could it be to make this thing easily edible with one’s hands? Other than that it was fine.
For lunch I had the «roasted» brussel sprout salad with poached beets. The brussels were nearly raw, not roasted. Roasted brussel sprouts are a food of the gods; these were nowhere near cooked. The beets alternated between cooked nicely and crunchy. Seriously, how hard is it to cook a vegetable correctly? Otherwise the salad was good. I enjoyed the ratio of cheese, dressing, veggies and leafy greens. At $ 10, I expected better.
Look, they have everything they need to be good. Fresh organic ingredients, a prime location, amazing space. All you have to do is pay closer attention to HOW the food is prepared. It’s simply a technique thing. I much prefer the shitty Costco-​ingredient breakfast sandwich from Brannan Street Café because at least it’s assembled for easy consumption and the bacon isn’t raw. If they could sort out their preparation issues, I might come back.

Enter… Look at the menu… Stocky brunette female looks at me like I’m from another world… Rude ‘yes?’ … Run for exit :-))))
You want a new place to flourish in a neighborhood that is picky and has enough good choices already… Least u can do is put a pleasant face in the front to attract customers :-)

Fresh, but damn, my pork belly sandwich… The meat was green!!! If you leave meat in the fridge for too long, and it turns colors, and you cook it, the color doesn’t go away. I usually see that with bacon, sometimes it turns gray with a shade of green. I still ate the sandwich, it taste good. I got a little sick, but that was my call.
Acorn squash soup was pretty good though. Coffee is ok, but I think there are better places walking distance.
My first order was a breakfast sandwich on English muffin. The first bite was amazing. You can taste the freshness. Very memorable.
I like the environment, it’s an art café, so when you wait, you can look
Around and explore your mind.
Besides the green pork belly, it was ok, still hesitant to return though.

The food is ridiculously fresh.
I had the sandwhich of toasted ciabatta with tamarind roast pork belly and a red cabbage, apple and celery root slaw. It came with a side of green salad with bits of pancetta and goat cheese.
The bread was soft and crunchy. Pork belly was tender, flavorful, lightly seasoned and a nice balance of fat and lean. The crispy slaw was the perfect foil. It had just enough acid to cut the fattiness of the pork, but not so much that you lose the natural flavor of the produce.
The place was cute. It had cool music, plenty of windows and a piles of books in this homey-​loft-​like space. There are inside and outside seating. I would hang longer if I had more time.

It pays to walk the neighborhood, especially since I had another place in mind to grab a little something to eat. Can be appealing to an art lover, but I’m more interested in what they had to offer food wise. Local, organic? Yes please. I had a cup of their refreshing strawberry lemonade, and at the end when my juice was all gone I got to chew on all the strawberry ‘seeds’ at the bottom of my cup =)
I also got their Kona Hawaiian Pistachio, Cherry & Dehydrated Guava granola with yogurt… doesn’t that sound like a little getaway in a cup? I know, it’s just yogurt with some granola, but I was feeling kind of down and just the description alone brought me a little out of the downer funk I was in. You mention guava to me, and I always think about Hawaii.
I’d frequent the Art Café more… for a little walk and a little piece of edible getaway.

I haven’t had lunch with my girlfriend in SOMA since I started working in Sunnyvale, but Dreamforce was in town and I wasn’t about to miss out. I stopped by her office and we decide to try this cool little café near the ballpark for a change.
I ordered their turkey and Brie sandwich, which came with huge chunks of cheese throughout, and includes a side salad. The sandwich was fantastic and the chunky Brie really made it, though the undressed salad was just ok.
The café itself is a great place to enjoy lunch and there’s some patio space outside where your dog can join you. The café entrance is in an alley so it can be easy to miss. It’s a great alternative to HRD when you want something lighter, but I personally like what Darwin has got going better.
Food: ⁸⁄₁₀
Service: ⁷⁄₁₀
Price: $$
Atmosphere: ⁹⁄₁₀

144 King Art Café is a new coffee and lunch spot hidden on an alley off King Street. It has high ceilings, free wi-​fi and random art. Overall it’s a nice vibe but the food needs work.
I went at 10am and they were out of breakfast sandwiches. I ended up paying $ 6 for a cup of granola (too little) and yogurt (way too much), which is just wrong. I also got a cup of coffee, which wasn’t very good. I went to Philz afterward.
I hope that they get their act together because the space is great. However, at the moment, the food and drink are really dragging it down.

My morning:
1. Get into work and decide to step out for coffee.
2. Walk to 144 King and order a drip coffee
3. Notice that the barista underestimates the amount of water needed for the filter and decides to top off my cup with about 3 ounces of hot water.
4. Get back to my office, pour water + coffee mixture in the sink, make coffee in the office.

This place is really hit or miss. I’ve been about five times and would say that it’s been good twice. The portions can be good, but if you visit on the late-​side of lunch it feels as though they are trying to stretch the remaining food and the portions can get really small. Also, the drinks are really watery — not what you’d expect from the prices they charge.
Why the 2 stars? Today I ordered a salad and bit into a piece of cold, raw chicken. Not slightly undercooked, completely raw! They gave me a refund, but it’s going to take a lot to convince me to ever come back.
PS — if I get salmonella, I’m dropping this to one star…

144 King is a nice change of pace in this SOMA neighborhood.
Upon entering, I immediately enjoyed the art café atmosphere. Large & airy, delightful and different from your typical lunch spot, 144 King is not to go unnoticed. I would definitely recommend this place to those would like to relax with a beverage and read or do some work.
The food. I got the cubano which was a tasty combination of pork, jalapenos, cheese, ham and mustard. It also came with a small side of salad greens, all about $ 9 tax included. While most definitely enjoyable, I will say the sandwich felt on the small side and I’m hungry an hour later.
I will most likely head back to try other options (I hear they change a good portion of their menu daily). My closing thought, stop in and check it out. It’s a cool little business and worth a shot.

UPDATE: I just had the shirred egg in tomato confit with feta, garbanzo beans and harissa. This is AWESOME!
The doors for 144 King Art Café open tomorrow but I’m already salivating after spending an hour in there inquiring about the space for a party rental. Formerly of Frisson, chef Michelle Mathews is launching her new endeavor in a gallery space directly across from AT&T park. Mathews will be offering a more thoughtful organic menu in sharp juxtaposition to the heavy sports bar fare of Pedros and Petes. With a 20lb turkey fresh out of the oven, a roast simmering in the pot and a 30lb pork belly slated for tomorrow’s opening, I’m already excited for her lunches.
Down with Safeway sushi and frozen food patties! Up with slow cooked deliciousness!