Heirloom Cafe

Second visit as good as the first.
This is truly a hidden SF gem! You feel as if you have stumbled into someone’s home. From the moment you step through the nondescript doors you enter a warm and welcoming space where you will experience exceptional service presenting a wonderful dining experience.
Tart — fresh and tasty
Duck — flavorful and well balanced with vegetables and quinoa
Burger (secret ask for it) — one of the best I have ever had
Lovely spot that I am fortunate to have in my hood. If you are looking for a wonderful meal and a post dinner walk through the Mission I highly reccomend Heirloom.

Heirloom Café is a hidden San Francisco gem. The atmosphere is quaint and romantic. The service is wonderful and attentive (shout out to Ashley — such graceful and natural service). The food is incredible. My dining partners enjoyed the chicken, fish and pasta. The kitchen always accommodates my vegan diet with a delicious mixed vegetable plate. This is the restaurant that I want to bring my parents to during their next visit. Outstanding!

Truly exceptional. Here in SF great is around every corner. A few stand out. Service was very good and food was exceptional.

We were lucky enough to experience Heirloom café on two occasions. When sent on a recommendation, we visited at 6.30pm on a Tuesday night, the place was already full, but the host found us a spot to sit on a shared table and we enjoyed a very relaxed informal glass of wine each over one of the delicious home made deserts the chef makes in house. The wine was excellent and ambience perfect. We liked it so much we returned a few nights later to sample their $ 65 p. head wine and three course dinner. We had the same waitress who was delightful and remembered us from the other night.
We had a delicate salad of smoked haddock with cherries, stunning. shaved fennel salad, snap peas, walnuts also great. Then steak for mains which was excellent. Desert was a delicate pastry of rhubard and strawberries and another chocolate delicate mousse.
All around a great evening, great food, great service. Would highly recommend.

I love Heirloom, totally authentic and great food, as well as fabulous owners and staff.
You can hear your conversation too which is a pleasure.
I love the space, highly recommend the food and the ambiance is a hip country /​city hybrid.

Dinner in the ol barn house satisfied all the senses. Each course had an outstanding set of flavors and textures. Confident and experienced chefs who care deeply for cuisine and customers.

This is such a hidden gem in the mission district. The dishes are super tasty and the service is good. I love the shaved fennel salad and I can say this is one of the better salad that I had, and love the coconut panna cotta with citrus gelee. I couldn’t say more but had an excellent experience there, and the price is very reasonable.

B’s original choice, Myriad Gastro pub, was a good place for a date but I’ve been there done that, which made him cringe because he wanted to take me to some place I’ve not been; admittedly, he says later on, it would be hard. I don’t mind going to a place that is not necessarily new. As of late, I prefer going to more of an established spot that is good. He had recently moved his office and I had not seen it. Meeting here worked as parking was easy on a work evening.
There are two types of restaurants: the kind you go and meet family friends and colleagues to, and the kind you go on a date to. This could be both, depending on what you are wearing. My dress of the evening was a size small Bebe green blue leopard skin tight mini dress that I just bought, and it would have made Dolly Parton proud but it was not necessarily the kind of attire you ought to be wearing out to meet an old friend on a day light savings night. That said, I put on a scarf to hide it all, so that I did not look like that I did not belong. The restaurant seemed to have a number of working tech workers that evenings.
It has a good vibe, down to earth and casual. Food is very fresh, it reflected seasonality well. B chooses menu as he usually does the ordering. That leaves me with pondering about the history of the building and how this place came to be.
The soup was green, very green, with a dollop of cream on top that popped. The color nearly matched my dress but I did my best not to spill the soup on my dress (Mission accomplished!). The smoked trout was well proportioned. The steak and duck both were tender as mains, not too much food nor too little. Service was quite outstanding. Water glasses were filled seamlessly, the wait staff came to check on us but not so intrusive that I felt interrupted. B and I had much catching up to do but mostly about mundane work and travel stuff: there is a level of comfort that people sink into when they’ve known one another for two decades. With each meeting the familiarity is renewed and bond tightened.
We took our time to catch our breath, ate our food, and surveyed the surroundings. When bored, we counted the number of ladies in the dining room sporting short hairdo, B stared at my head and said, «yep, you are the only one.»
This is not an «it» restaurant, not in a long time. But this is a good restaurant with decent food and established menu, and the wait staff are all well trained.
What’s amazing about this city is that you simply can’t go wrong with almost any restaurant. Sometimes it’s nice to wait for the hype to die down and then you can actually really enjoy a fantastic place at ease, like we did.
We’ve eaten in many places together and separately, but this is our very first time together at this place since he moved his firm into this neighborhood. I’d like to see more of him in this neck of woods. Hopefully in this very same spot.

This was a nice surprise. Each dish was unique, well-​balanced, and delicious. A few highlights:
–Bacon onion tart: sweet but savory, but the flavors were not too strong, great appetizer
–Burger: doesn’t look impressive but really tender, well-​cooked, and flavored
–All their duck and chicken dishes were tender and juicy

This place was great in 2010 and it’s even better today. The hostess was outstanding on the phone and then in person getting us a table (walk-​in for 2 during primetime on a Friday). The server was terrific and helped us pick the perfect wine. We ordered a number of things (all were all delicious) and the staff split not only the entrees but also a couple of the apps without us even asking. The food came out shockingly fast as well. Can’t say enough about the entire experience.

Heirloom Café is my favorite all-​around restaurant in the world. Every single dish I’ve ever had here has been fantastic. Whether an appetizer or a soup, entrée, dessert, everything. I can’t say that about any other place I’ve been to more than once. Plus the servers have always been superb.
So ya, five stars for sure.

What a yummy and nice find in the Mission.
Extremely impressive was the prix fixe menu with wine pairings — and a veritable bargain at $ 65! Not only were the dishes not watered down (which can usually happen with prix fixes), but the wine pairings were inventive and fun. I always appreciate expanding my wine horizon beyond standard issue Napa/​Sonoma grapes.
I enjoyed the roasted chicken dish with savory bread pudding the most, but honorable mentions go to the scallops and fresh-​baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.
The wine list is very solid — lots of great options at all price points.

4.5 stars, but worth rounding up! What a lovely place! First, the service was wonderful! I think our server’s names was John — he was awesome. The hostess was incredibly sweet and helpful as well. The space was really nice, too. It was all open, so you can really see into the kitchen (which is awesome!!). Everything we had was great. Also, the portions are really generous. Had a wonderful squash soup to start — you could really taste the squash. Also, they were able to make it vegan if you wanted (so nice!!). The scallop appetizer was also great — 4 medium sized scallops cooked perfectly over a really nice purée. Husband had the sausage special which he said was awesome. I am vegetarian 99% of the time, but sometimes make exceptions for ground meat. They had a special burger that sounded awesome (and was awesome!) — enough to be my one non-​veg day of the year. It was ground beef mixed with cheese, onion jam, on a really unique english muffin.
I would definitely come back! Next time I am saving room for dessert.

We’re neighbors, and we’ve been to Heirloom many times since it opened. We’ve never had a bad meal there, and last night was no exception. The pork dinner was the best meal I’ve had there, and the best representation of that type of dish I’ve ever had. The spaetzle was melt-​in-​your-​mouth wonderful, and the cabbage had a nice bite, without being too sweet or too acidic. The pork itself was simply fantastic. My wife had the short-​rib sugo pasta, which was also very wonderful. Our dinner guest had the burger, and it lived up to its reputation and his high standards. As always, the wine selection (especially the pairing) was delightful.
One star was reserved only because the restaurant was uncomfortably smoky last night, as though the hood wasn’t working properly. Other than that, it was another memorable dining experience.

HEIRLOOM CAFE — A MUST!!! A super pleasant surprise and a wonderful, wonderful way to close a very special day and evening!!!
Where to start… We read about Heirloom and immediately put it on our list of must try as soon as possible. We booked reservations for 9:45 after a show, etc. We arrived about 45 minutes early and were greeted with a wonderful warm and inviting welcome. While they understandably could not seat us so early, we were offered seats at the wonderful bar, long, comfy with a super great view of food being prepared by very friendly and inviting Chefs etc.
Honestly, we immediately fell in love with the ambiance. We struck up a conversation with a gent sting next to us over his beautiful bowl of pasta!!!
We decided to eat at the bar, overwhelmed by wonderful scents and vibes. Our server was magnificent. He welcomed us with total kindness and sincerity and easily reviewed the menu and special prix fix dinner for the evening – oh yes, with a superb wine pairing.
Here we go:
Complimentary marcona almonds and olives in the perfect oil with a glass of wine – off to a brilliant start.
1. Little gem lettuces, radish, feta, perfectly dressed. I wanted more and more of this. We watch the chef prepare it and could tell from his attitude and style it was going to be scrumptious and it was perfect! The paired wine was a complete match!
2. Off the bone pork chop with braised cabbage, pears, spatzle… LOVED THIS DISH. Perfectly cooked and served. Every bite was thoroughly enjoyed. Again paired with a white wine that was delicious and a wonderful companion to the pork.
3. And last, but not least, we were offered two different desserts so that we could try more of HEIRLOOM CAFÉ’s superb dishes. Cheddar shortcake, candied apples, cinnamon ice cream and caramel!!! FABULOUS!!! Again, paired with the perfect white wine.
During our dinner, we had such pleasant exchanges with the staff. Their timing was perfect and their attention to detail, spot on. We also had the delightful pleasure to have a super nice young woman sit next to us mid way through dinner. She was a friend of one of the staff and as such was prepared something special, not on the menu. She generously offered some of the amazing mushroom brochette etc and we loved it and of course the conversation.
HEIRLOOM CAFÉ is a must!!! We have already told several friends about of fantastic experience and we cannot wait to return to try everything on the menu
HEIRLOOM CAFÉ is most definitely an exceptionally pleasant surprise. 4 thumbs way, way, way up! 5 gold stars and a really big super snap!!!
Thank you for the perfect dining experience and an evening of joy!!!

Went for dinner here this past Saturday night with Hue L. and our NYF. Our reservations were at 7:45pm, but we were actually early and arrived around 7:20pm. The hostess advised us our table wasn’t ready yet, so we sat down next to her little hostess stand to wait. She offered us water, which we accepted, so she went to grab a carafe of water with some glasses. When she came back, she decided to rearrange some things and gave us one of the available tables. THEN, she gave us our water. I think she realized the three of us sitting next to her juggling a carafe and three glasses of water for 25 minutes probably wasn’t going to be a picnic.
The menu was a lot smaller than I anticipated. I think I’ve gotten used to pages and pages of options. I find it so much harder to decide on what to order when there are less options to choose from!
We started with Bacon and Onion Tart to share, which they very thoughtfully cut into three equal pieces for us to easily split. I actually didn’t notice the bacon flavor much, but the sweet onions were nice.
For my entrée, I had the papperdelle with braised lamb, pea tendrils, roasted carrots, and pistachios. I thought this was really tasty and flavorful.
Hue L. had the duck, which looked pretty good. He didn’t say whether or not he liked it.
Our NYF had the salmon. Her dish looked really sparse and sad, so both Hue L. and I offered her some of our entrees (which she declined).
We also split two desserts. One was a vanilla custard and the other was strawberry ice cream. They were both pretty tasty.
Total for 3 people including tax/​tip (and two glasses of wine): $ 175. (not cheap!)

The food here is down home and simple. They have a daily prefix menu with wine pairing for $ 65 per person. The pour for the wine is around a ²⁄₃ pour — bigger than a normal tasting pour but smaller than a full glass. They were actually pretty accommodating for substitutions for items from the a la carte menu.
I substituted the bacon onion tart for the salad on the prefix. The entrée was the steak and the dessert a vanilla pudding.
The bacon tart was good and simple, nothing too special. Definitely a rustic dish. The steak was fine, too, and the same for the dessert.
All in all, the food was well prepared, but nothing special. It was the type of stuff (including the ingredients) that I could easily make at home. I guess the whole concept is supposed to be rustic and the restaurant achieved the goal. I just look for something more inspiring and complex than the output of an above average home cook when I go out to eat.

I try to avoid this place because I live too close– don’t want to make a habit of a somewhat pricey place that happens to be on the corner of my block… but that burger is worth every penny.
True: none of the menu items are huge portions, but I’m usually not leaving hungry, even if I’ve never left full.
I really enjoy that the service is both casual and graceful. No one’s pretentious about whether you have a reservation or not, though I’d probably recommend one for a group larger than 2 or 3.
The wine list is rather comprehensive– I can’t imagine what a 1987 pinot noir would taste like (probably vinegar), but they listed it for $ 350– but not entirely inaccessible; there are several sub-​$ 12 glass options on the regular menu and bottles as cheap as $ 40 (sure, that’s not really cheap, but… it’s a restaurant).
I’ve also never seen this before, but the corkage fee depends on the age of your bottle: anything younger than 2002(ish) is only $ 10, and older than that is $ 20.
Overall, it’s probably not affordable for a regular stop unless you stick with the off-​menu burger (which is awesome), but if money’s not an issue, I haven’t tried anything I didn’t like yet.

Corner-​restaurant Heirloom Café blends into the residences on the blocks. Intimate & homey, due in part to its being housed in a refurbished Victorian. Close-​together tables, an open kitchen, & subdued lighting also provides that cocooned feeling.
We shared their pasta dish ($ 23) as an appetizer: pappardelle, butter, parm, & shaved black truffle. Simple, yet decadent. These textures & tastes are my definition of comfort food.
I ordered the off-​menu burger ($ 13), its ground beef patty has pungent, gooey cheese (called epoisses) running throughout. Topped with arugula & onion jam, there is plenty savory, flavorful goodness sandwiched between their bun of choice: the English muffin. A unique burger experience. I was thankful for the side of pickled carrots — it had the right amount of freshness & acidity to cut through the burger’s richness.
As far as dessert, Heirloom’s pitfall is the same as many other great restaurants — the flavor doesn’t match up to the standard set by savory offerings. We left half our chocolate cake w/​vanilla ice cream ($ 8) mostly untouched, though I did enjoy the sweet stickiness candied tangerine peels lent.
Would absolutely return to try their surprisingly affordable $ 65 prix fixe with wine pairing.

Nice, romantic, quiet dinner spot, really surprised us. It’s unassuming, and tucked into a little corner on Folsom.
Good wine selection.
To start I had a small plate that was inventive and mad flavorful: squash, some epic typa’ beans, and pecorino.
For my entrée I had the asparagus risotto with mint and pecorino. Rich and creamy, yet highlighted by the crunchy freshness of asparagus. Wow, who knew?