Ladle & Leaf

This our go-​to place during lunch hours. Absolutely love their parfait with strawberries & blueberries.

Pros: Farm Raised Ingredients, You can pick ingredients or you can you can select an already crafted salad, you can also select a protein to enjoy with your meal, this location carries soup, salad, and sandwiches
Cons: My Corn Chowder Had Zero Flavor/​Seasoning. Zero Taste even with Cilantro.
Highlights: I really enjoyed seeing the fresh green salad presented and tasting the fresh green salad presented. I ordered the Cranberry Kale salad and had just enough ingredients to make my day.

I ordered a perfectly tasty kimchi beef salad, but what really makes this place worthy of four stars is the wonderfully cheerful and efficient Asian woman behind the register, who totally makes up for the other glum faces along the food preparation counter and the super long and slow line.

I’ve only had the Chicken Tortilla Soup because it’s dairy and gluten free. The soup is always burn your mouth hot, just the way soup should be served. They were quick to serve my soup with a smile but I had to wait at least two or three minutes to pay today even though there was only one customer ahead of me. Apparently, the cashier was also making the person’s food so I had to wait to pay. Adriana, who scooped my soup, realized I was waiting and went behind the register so I could pay. Thank goodness for her. It was about 9:36am and there was almost no one in there yet. Chicken Tortilla Soup in general is boring and basic and it met the requirements. It had a thick consistency with a few pieces of chicken in it and tastes fine. The salads on the other hand looked great in the refrigerator case and the breakfast egg items on the menu sounded amazing. I will be back to try out their Breakfast Burritos, Kimchee Rice & Egg Bowl and Quinoa with Two Fried Eggs Bowl. The bowls come with mixed greens too.

Cuts corners, does not wash lettuce, food is not organic as they claim, gloves are not used while prepping catering

Yummy!!! I was searching like a lost child after I hit the gym extra early this morning, wanting something semi healthy and filling. Having carb-​ed out last week on bagels, thought I should start off the week with a healthy protein breakfast.
Was looking for a omelette and just walked into the joint, as it looked pretty healthy from the outside (lol). I decided to get a quinoa/​salad/​fried egg bowl, which was super good and cheap ($ 6). It’s noon right now and I’m still pretty full, which is surprising because I love to snack.
I’ll def be coming back for more breakfast options!!! Yay

I used come here about 3 or 4 times a week for salads. Salads are decently priced and have some inspired ingredients. However this week when I went my salads have literally been half full. I asked what was going on and apparently they are changing their portions. I don’t think it’s worth it to pay the same price for literally half my portion and am so disappointed because I used to love coming here.

Very convenient healthy option for lunch in a rush. Spent about $ 13 for a very deep container of custom salad full of chicken breast and veggies. This is no different from the price you would pay at the salad bar of say, a Whole Foods. You can grab prepackaged salads, wraps and sandwiches as well. Clean. Easy. Not too busy. Quick.

The workers here are nice and their steak kimchi salad is one of the only salads I actually enjoy eating!

Ladle and Leaf is perfect for the two types of weather in San Francisco – sunny or cloudy. You can get a hot bowl of one of 100 delicious varieties of soup to warm you up or enjoy a fresh responsibly sourced salad on a sunny day. Formally San Francisco Soup Kitchen, Ladle and Leaf has out done its former self with quality ingredients like wagyu beef, kimchi, and seared tuna. Ladle and Leaf is the freshest way to satisfy your soul in San Francisco. Try their breakfast salads – eggs over a bed of greens and goodness.

Groupon got me to come here. I didn’t know what to order but I saw a another Unilocal Elitist recommending the Thai peanut chicken salad on Unilocal.So I ordered the Thai peanut chicken salad and I thought it was mediocre, nothing special and nothing to rave about.
The second time, I got the chicken bacon and Cobb salad without blue cheese and it tasted great!
Prices and portions for the salads are similar to the ever so popular Mixt Green.

The chocolate pu-​erh tea here has been keeping me pleasantly caffeinated all morning.
Ladle & Leaf apparently opened in November — but I noticed them for the first time today. They’re the new ‘evolution’ of San Francisco Soup Company.
Ladle & Leaf offers a decent selection of healthy oriented breakfast and lunch items and I appreciate that they carry Equator coffee products. I was hoping for just a side of chorizo protein today — since I wasn’t that hungry — but the lady helping us –wasn’t exactly sure how to ring it up — and so I got the next best thing — a massive big serving of moist carrot cake… cake…
That pastry was huge and I could taste the granules of sugar in every bite. I think my head is still reeling from the sugar bump.
The carrot cake bread was solid, but I would pass on breakfast at Ladle & Leaf again. Their healthier breakfast and lunch options sound great in concept — but the execution of them is lacking. If you’re looking for a grab and go spot — there’s not a ton of ‘go’ here. Ladle & Leaf’s customized salad menu does focus on organic ingredients — but I think I’d still pick other stream-​lined salad/​sandwich spots nearby over Ladle & Leaf.
…
I’m going strong on that chocolate pu-​erh though and my typing abilities have dramatically sped up — since manifesting it this morning.
Trust.

$ 8.20 for a large chicken soup only slightly bigger than a cup in a restaurant. I was shocked as I read $ 5.75. When I expressed surprise, I was told I could read the price. And fine — the misreading is on me, so I ate the loss. But NO ONE would believe chicken soup costs that much, even in SF. Ludicrously overpriced.

Decent salads but a bit pricey. Hard to make it out paying less than $ 10.
Custom salad took forever. I repeated my combination multiple times and it seemed their system wasn’t easy for the cashier to select the options?
Used the Groupon ($ 5 for $ 10). Paid a few bucks more and ordered the half salad/​half soup
I chose the Chicken and Avocado + 5 (seemed like the best value vs. build your own). It tasted fairly fresh but ingredients were average.
— Base: Half Kale/​Half Arugula
— Toppings: Roasted corn, edamame, pumpkin seeds, roasted brussel sprouts, tomatoes
— Dressing: Champagne Vinaigrette
I chose the organic split pea soup. It was very thick and hearty.

What really makes this lunch spot great is the friendly staff — Gabi and Roberta are ON IT. Roberta often spots me on the street and greets me by name; it’s impressive and sweet that she remembers me amongst all of her regulars. She even brings up certain topics that I’ve mentioned to her while making my way down the soup line.
When Ladle and Leaf took over the old Soup Co., they stopped posting their daily soups online. When I asked Roberta about it, she apologized that they would not be implementing that, but she offered to email me the daily soups. I didn’t take her up on that because that would be way too much work for her to do, but talk about going above and beyond.
I regularly order the Thai Peanut Chicken salad, I get edamame instead of tomato. One thing to note is that one salad-tosser’s «medium» dressing can often be another’s «light» or «heavy» — it can be a toss-​up (mind that pun). My best advice is to just watch them dress the salad and then tell them if you want more. If they put too much, then you should just shut up and move on down that line. I’m sure they will happily re-​make the salad, but do you really want to be THAT person?
Soups worth mentioning are the Chicken Tikka, the Lobster Bisque, Coconut Dahl, West African Peanut, Coconut Crab, Black Bean Chicken Chorizo and the Salmon Chowder. My coworkers rave about the Chicken Pot Pie soup, but I’ve never tried it. They run out of that fast whenever they have it on the menu, so it must be good because they are always out when I get there around 12:45 or 1.
I tried the Bahn Mi sandwich on their soft opening day. It would have been better received if it had been called something else like «Asian inspired sandwich» or something lol… that’s not very punchy, but you get my point. It was French bread with chicken, a wasabi aioli, shredded carrots and maybe radishes or something and some cilantro. It might have even had lettuce and tomato on it. It DEFINITELY was not a Bahn Mi. My coworker got the turkey pesto and it was a-​ok, but nothing to run and order again.

What really makes this lunch spot great is the friendly staff — Gabi and Ramona are ON IT. Ramona often spots me on the street and greets me by name; it’s impressive and sweet that she remembers me amongst all of her regulars. She even brings up certain topics that I’ve mentioned to her while making my way down the soup line.
When Ladle and Leaf took over the old Soup Co., they stopped posting their daily soups online. When I asked Ramona about it, she apologized that they would not be implementing that, but she offered to email me the daily soups. I didn’t take her up on that because that would be way too much work for her to do, but talk about going above and beyond.
I regularly order the Thai Peanut Chicken salad, I get edamame instead of tomato. One thing to note is that one salad-tosser’s «medium» dressing can often be another’s «light» or «heavy» — it can be a toss-​up (mind that pun). My best advice is to just watch them dress the salad and then tell them if you want more. If they put too much, then you should just shut up and move on down that line. I’m sure they will happily re-​make the salad, but do you really want to be THAT person?
Soups worth mentioning are the Chicken Tikka, the Lobster Bisque, Coconut Dahl, West African Peanut, Coconut Crab, Black Bean Chicken Chorizo and the Salmon Chowder. My coworkers rave about the Chicken Pot Pie soup, but I’ve never tried it. They run out of that fast whenever they have it on the menu, so it must be good because they are always out when I get there around 12:45 or 1.
I tried the Bahn Mi sandwich on their soft opening day. It would have been better received if it had been called something else like «Asian inspired sandwich» or something lol… that’s not very punchy, but you get my point. It was French bread with chicken, a wasabi aioli, shredded carrots and maybe radishes or something and some cilantro. It might have even had lettuce and tomato on it. It DEFINITELY was not a Bahn Mi. My coworker got the turkey pesto and it was a-​ok, but nothing to run and order again.
Also, the Hibiscus iced tea is bomb. I get a glass of it, drink a little, then add water and I keep doing that all day until it’s basically just water. It’s really strong and sweet with no water added to it, FYI. But I like that because I can treat it like a juice concentrate :)

Time: 8:27am/51°F rain
Purpose: Word of potential client sign up got me going. Was told to go before peak breakfast hour for meet up. Hail Über from home to location.
Set-​up: L&L replaces SF Soup Co with similar offerings. Spacious walk-​in space with counter for grab n go items. A soda fountain and mini fridge in corner along with self help utensil station. It’s bright vibrant almost retaining same color of past business. Since its take out downstairs, the dining room upstairs is much quieter beside operational noise. Inviting and simple place nothing too complicated.
Staff: Looking at a crew of five or so, each with special task. Back of house workers didn’t acknowledge me as much as front personnel did. Their attitude shows they’re not please with their job. Never seen a smile from anyone only straight face. I get it, but still show some interest. Other than attitude, they’re efficient. Ramona is the only happy out going worker there. Others just do what they are told, no interactions with them.
Cleanliness: Grade A, immaculate with safety and food handling permit posted. Hairnet and latex gloves seen while prepping food.
Eats/​Drinks: Broccoli and cheddar quiche $ 4 was pretty much mediocre. It looks drool-​worthy and appealing when its hot. There wasn’t much to it, just standard quiche. I fork chunks after chunks to make sure what I tasted wasn’t just in one particular area. It has been confirmed, the whole quiche was average. Potato was the main filler, but that’s normal. However, I did like the amount of cheese in center. That was the highlight of this quiche. Open-​faced pastry shell was not seen and bottom was mushy. Close resemblance would be like eating potato bread. Even when warm up, it had no buttery flaky layers tasted. Not sure if the ham & swiss fare any better or not. I know, I’ve been spoiled by quiches made by well-​known pastry chefs. Not gonna point fingers here as, I did came with low expectations.
Main Features: Café-​free egg sandos/​bowls and Mary’s free-​range antibiotic-​free chicken.
Products/​Services: Salad, fresh fruit, sandwich, pastry/​danish, wrap, combo/​pairing, hand round and baked artisan bread, hand-​crafted soup, made-​to-​order sandwich, catering, custom tossed salad, breakfast/​lunch, assorted bottle beverages/​fountain drinks, daily specials, take plastic (no minimum).
Punch Lines: Fi-​Di, inexpensive/​affordable, casual, little to no wait time, efficient, nothing out of the ordinary, dine-​in/​to-​go, always buzzing, harried staff, light bites, BYO, free Wi-​Fi.
Tradeoffs: Touts cage-​free egg and Mary’s chicken, but other items as not highly praised or any indication of what and how its handle.
Final Thoughts: No matter how you look at L&L, its no better than other places (unnamed) around. I think previous business fits the bill better. After all, SF Soup Co is name like the city itself, it came and went just like that. Not sure what happened there, but they’ve same offerings that L&L does. It’s alright for that quick bite, but by no means it any better. To me, the difference is like rebranding SF Soup Co that cut down on soup, but added free-​range/​cage-​free to attract the health conscious crowd.

I loved SF Soup Company and the improvements at Ladle & Leaf make it even better. Chicken Tikka Masala is my favorite. Montgomery is usually where I go. Gabriella is always friendly and in an endless good mood. Today, the line was out the door, yet I was in and out in less than 10 minutes.

How do you take the perfect little lunch stop with good food that you can grab and go quickly and ruin it? Visit Ladle and Leaf, if you have LOTS and LOTS of time to order and get a sandwich or salad. There are plenty of places that serve better of both in the FiDi neighborhood. Want a quick soup to go? Those days are over — the wait time is ridiculous and management is not addressing customer complaints. I left after waiting several minutes to place an order with only one person in line in front of me and full service staff behind the counter. The food is fine, but now overpriced and it takes a ridiculous amount of time to get your food and go. Bye bye SF Soup Co.

Wonderful family owned place, previously San Francisco Soup Company, added many new made to order sandwich options and hand tossed salads. Love that you can pair a half sandwich and soup or salad. Try the seared tuna miso salad or the roast beef and cheddar sandwich on chibatta. Pretty great they have breakfast now too! Breakfast burritos and egg dishes made to order. Taking grab on the go to the next level!

Overall, a good place to eat. The food is healthy and the place is very clean. However there are a couple of drawbacks. Trying to order and pay for your food is both confusing and frustrating. One line converges into the next. If you order a salad you have to wait until somebody orders AND receives their soup before you can pay. Another shortfall is the amount of vegetables a salad is given. The serving spoons are so small that you barely notice any veggies in your salad however you do get an ample supply of greens.

My recent experience at the new Ladle & Leaf was completely on point: fresh, healthy, unique options that capture the SF foodie scene. The décor and concept feels very current and inviting. Diverse menu, too! I feel like I could go there all the time without getting bored.