Fountain Cafe

Good variety of food but hygiene is an area of concern for me.
I ordered a vegetarian wrap for lunch and the woman making my wrap was not wearing gloves (unlike other competing restaurants in the area). Also, without washing her hands, she made my wrap while also making what appeared to be a turkey and bacon sandwich. Using the same unwashed hands for both, she handled my vegetarian wrap and the meat-​packed sandwich. Again, not customary for food-​service locations.

Worst customer service. My 1^st 1 star rating in Unilocal.It’s the 24^th of December, 7:30am, and the guy at the counter was cranky, unhelpful and discourteous. Won’t be back.

Fantastic food and great service. I call in my order and they have it ready by the time I get there, it’s incredible! And I call from the Montgomery station lol literally around the corner. Love this place so much!

Hot breakfast platter early M-​F. Stack of pancakes is ginormous so you may want to order the short stack and sides instead. There is oatmeal and bacon and eggs and great coffee too in a spacious, well lit clean location in Crocker Square mall 3^rd floor Financial District.

Great breakfast deal for FiDi. I usually get the pancake special or an omelet. Also good deal for burgers & fries. Salad bar has a good selection too but it bothers me that they don’t post the per pound price. It’s probably the only place in this immed area that doesn’t have the salad bar price psoted that I can think of. What are they trying to hide? Anyway, it’s $ 8.99/lb as of TODAY. Most of the time the staff is pretty friendly. My good timing I guess…

the food is good but the employees here couldn’t be ruder or more entitled. Someone should inform them they are in the service industry

It’s nothing spectacular but Fountain Café is one of the more reliable spots in Crocker for a quick grab and go kind of lunch be it the salad bar or items from the ala carte menu.
In a rush, the by-​the-​pound salad bar is the fastest way in and out. My defaults are the salad wraps though. The grilled chicken Cesar salad wrap with a spinach tortilla is typically the first choice although I’ve had the chicken apple salad wrap fairly often too. Both are under $ 6. It’s quick, cheap, and just the right amount of food for workday lunch. As a bonus, they take cards which makes it faster and more convenient. Not everything’s a hit though. Personally was unimpressed with the falafel sandwich which tasted stale.
Reasonably friendly staff pushing out food as quickly as possible to get you out the door is a quick plus here. While not everything is an ace, the extensive menu covers quite a bit from all-​day breakfast to burgers and fried chicken strips. You’ll probably find something here and if you have time, take it up to the roof of Crocker Galleria and enjoy some sunshine while you’re at it.

Oh wait, this isn’t Foundation Café? What was I thinking? I was sauntering over to the Galleria looking for a late lunch when I noticed this place on the third floor with all the other fair-​to-​middling eateries. All of them appeared to be closing up shop at a bit past 2PM. I give the staff here credit for not shooing me away hungry, disgruntled and actually getting a sandwich at Jimmy John’s, owned by a right-​wing conservative who enjoys killing animals on safari like a certain dentist we all revile.
Thankfully I did not have to compromise myself politically and was able to order here or so I thought. Perhaps I should have played it safe and got a $ 4.99 BLT or even a $ 5.99 Reuben off the grill. However, I was in the mood for a hot lunch and threw my dice on the table to order their $ 8.19 Hot Entrée with Salad, Veggie and Bread. That day, it was a Grilled Pork Chop, but the grill was already shut off for cleaning. So they took a cooked Pork Chop out of the fridge and nuked it along with a serving of mixed zucchini, yellow squash and carrots.
The vegetables weren’t terrible, but that pork chop was dry to the bone with a slathering of sauteed mushrooms and onions making no-​never-​mind of the plate. No bread or salad either, just some congealed brown rice they forgot to nuke with the chop (photo:
). Does this look good to you? Then you would have enjoyed the commissary at San Quentin. At least you get Jell-​o there unless I’m remembering the wrong Jimmy Cagney movie. They didn’t have microwave ovens back then.
FOOD — 2 stars… I wish they would have just said they had no hot food instead of serving something my mom would have made on one of her off days
AMBIANCE — 2.5 stars… diner set-​up in the Galleria, no big whoop
SERVICE — 2 stars… ditto my comment about the food
TOTAL — 2 stars… stick with the sammies, less risk there

Had lunch here now for several years, and always blown away by the home cook food and awesome salad bar. Just a great atmosphere and a fair price to be paid.
Always take clients and friends to this food oasis, that produces healthy, hearty food and a good price.

I love fountain café. I love how the staff remembers my order, and how friendly they are. I used to come here every morning for my egg white omelete with sausage and cheese. When it’s later in the day, I come in for a cheese burger and no vegetables.

The #6 — Turkey, Ham & Bacon Sandwich with Cheddar Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Mustard & Mayonnaise on Wheat Bread is delicious. I will have to try this sandwich on one of their rolls next time. Good food, good service, clean facility and friendly staff members.
Three team members takes orders and payments while other members take care making the food. I must admit the food does come out quick which is good so props for this part.
There is Free Wi-​Fi available for customers’ convenience. I like the fact that they have flat screen televisions installed with news and sports being broadcasted.

If you need that quick bite, this is your place to go.
This is solely based on their Italian chicken panini but I hope to amend my review soon based on their breakfast burritos.
I was a little confused by the Italian chicken panini because it had a sweet apple smear on it with chicken. I don’t think they confused my order because panini had chicken and is the only chicken panini on their menu.
The sweet Apple smear threw me off because that’s not what I think of with «Italian».
I still hope to try their breakfast burrito because it’s one of the only places I’ve found in FIDI that serves breakfast all day.

years of living in san francisco… having lived just up the street… first time visiting crocker galleria… never knew this existed… small and narrow shopping mall structure wedged between buildings… plenty of lunch options… fountain café upstairs… cafeteria style restaurant… menu above the wall and some specials for the day… breakfast, salad, sandwiches or full entrees… weekday lunch and taking a sandwich… bacon, avocado and cream cheese sandwich $ 5.75…a small soda $ 1.75…$ 7.65 total for a meal… fairly low pricing for a fidi lunch… tables plenty inside and more outside… hearty trays of pre-​cooked meats and dishes for bigger meals available… decent meal, large portions and cheap prices…

Let’s count this down – makes it easier on both of us:
10. Best breakfast burrito – you will instantly gain five pounds and you won’t be able to eat for the rest of the day, but this hangover helper does the job.
9. Fountain’s salad bar is the chronic of all salad bars in the FiDi. They even have falafel!
8. Clam chowder. It’s not loaded with potatoes (i.e., filler). It’s creamy. It’s delicious. It’s served on Fridays. It’s $ 2.50.
7. Bagels! There are all kinds of flavors. I recommend the jalapeño cheddar. Get it toasted. Get cream cheese on the side. Get $ 2.50 out of the bottom of your purse. Then get going.
6. What in the hell is chicken coteletti? I don’t know either, but one of these days I’m going to order it just for S&G. Fountain has it every day!
5. All of their soups are yummy! Cream of asparagus, cream of cauliflower, cream of broccoli — oh yes, they are all yummy.
4. They do serve beer, but why are you going to the Crocker Galleria to drink beer?
3. Quick service – cause we’re in a big hurry! Fountain has more than one person working the registers, and their menu is designed to move food out quickly.
2. You can get a dessert crêpe or baked salmon with brown rice or a BLT or enchiladas here. Now that’s a diverse menu.
~AND~
1. Yet another lunch spot under $ 10 in the FiDi. Hurrah!

Ventured into this café at the top floor of the Crocker Galleria. Free wifi and plenty of tables and chairs. Wasn’t very packed during lunch hours but it was a full house. There’s a salad bar in the back for $ 7.50/lb. Sandwiches and wraps are decent price $ 5 – 6.
Got myself a seafood wrap. For $ 5.29, you get yourself a 6 inch long wrap filled with imitated crab meat and veges. Nothing really special about this wrap that would cause me to order it again…

I’m usually skeptical about eating at the restaurants at Crocker Galleria. There are plenty of places to eat downtown and Crocker is usually home to generic/​overrated /​chains (like 360 «Gourmet» Burrito) that just don’t fit my fancy. My homegirl Rita I. raved about the Mushroom and Swiss Burger she had at Fountain, so we went in for lunch today to catch up with our former co-​worker.
The place is very clean, but stiflingly warm! Put some fans in there, guys. It’s not even that warm out today and I was starting to glisten in my cotton tee. Anywho, my friend ordered the Fish and Chips, which, upon eating, said it tasted like «nothing», hmm. Rita I. got the Tuna Melt with fries which looked good and she liked it, and I had the Reuben with fries.
Not a great sandwich, but it was edible I suppose. I picked it up and water /​oil dripped all over my plate, and continued dripping until I put the sandwich on top of some napkins. It was a freakin’ waterfall! I know that microwaved meat when I taste it, also you have to drain the water off the plate so the customer doesn’t think about the prep mode. I used to work in restaurants, I know the tricks. I was literally gnawing at the meat. Maybe it was old, but it was near impossible to take a single bite without full pieces falling onto my plate. And all that pulling out of meat caused the soggy light rye bread to crumble in hand.
I’m all for the benefit of the doubt, and my fries and pickle were excellent, so I may go back to try a burger. I hate to think back on food I’ve spent money on and imagine what else I could have gotten with it. For $ 8.68 I could have had a fresh bahn mi from Phở Express, plus chips and guac from Chipotle, ’nuff said.

My favorite go to lunch place when I worked by Maiden Lane. I was always able to get a good lunch for under $ 8 and the salad bar was my favorite. I always grabbed some of their cold pasta (with the spinach) and mixed it with some real salad so it would fill me up better. They have tons of toppings too so you can add all the things you love, just remember to not go too crazy.
Like others have said the cashiers are pretty rude. All they do is talk to each other and look like they hate their lives, but whatevs. I only have to deal with them when I pay my food and that less than a minute worth of interaction.
I definitely recommend coming here for lunch if you don’t want to spend that much.

Where does one get pancakes in the FiDi? Where can you get some good old fashioned pancakes with eggs and bacon? Turns out it is harder to find than you can expect.
The search brought us to Fountain Café which is on the 3^rd floor of the Crocker Galleria. It is a small little «diner» with some indoor and outdoor seating. The employees seemed brusque which is fine, it was early in the morning. In addition to pancakes, they also serve crepes, sandwiches, burritos and omelets. The food was bleh, I thought that there was no such thing as bad bacon but I was proven wrong. The bacon was dry and chewy. The pancakes were ok but the rest were meh.

If i could give half stars, this place would be 3.5 at the most.
Located on the third floor of Crocker Galleria, the hubs & I stumbled upon this place because of the fancy sign to be honest. But when we approached the place, we saw that they sold breakfast platters, as well as sandwiches, crepes, and salads.
It’s pretty spacious with several tables inside and outside. There is a self-​serve salad bar in the back that you pay up at front.
A lot of their foods are sort’ve pricey. They range from $ 2– $ 7 usually. We stuck with a sandwich and a wrap.
— Chicken Apple Salad Wrap: ($ 5 ish) This was a fairly decent wrap. Has a good amount of chicken and green apple slices along with red onions, lettuce, and a creamy vinagrette type of sauce.
— Turkey Cranberry Sandwich: ($ 6 ish) you can customize this sandwich by choosing your bread, cheese, and whether you want to remove condiments or add some. We had it with wheat roll and American cheese. This was also a fairly good sandwich. Has a nice amount of cranberry sauce and turkey, and the bread wasnt too hard to bite into.
While the food was good, the workers were kinda snooty. The woman behind the register was sneering a lot at the other customers. Not sure if she was having an off day, but yeah, not the greatest customer service. Wifi is available but slow.

I must say that they face tough competition with restaurants next door, in Crocker Galleria and many restaurants on Kearny Street.
I bet Financial District workers who get off at lunch are extremely confused on where they should fill their stomach hunger! This place is conveniently located in Crocker Galleria and targeted to financial district working class during lunch hours to grab café food!
Having sandwiches, a salad bar, breakfast and coffee selections, this café fits the standard of being a café!
Don’t expect fine, fancy food here, but a good meal for lunch!
Wi-​Fi is pretty slow — probably because there are so many other Wi-​Fi and usage in this area!
They do have unbeatable butter bagels for $ 1.25! Toasted and buttered to quick perfection!
Commendable service and orders are served pretty quickly!