Mondo Caffe

Excellent fresh sandwiches made right in front of you. I’ll be honest I have never ordered anything NOT on their fresh soft focaccia bread because it is always good. Paired with a fresh green salad, it makes for a quick relatively inexpensive lunch.

This place is fantastic. Get the soup/​salad combo, I seriously think it’s my favorite lunch in SOMA. The soup is always tasty, and normally a side salad is just ‘meh’, but this side salad here is _​delicious_​. Mop up the scraps with their soft, rich focaccia which it seems everyone on Unilocal agrees is the best part about Mondo.
The owner is also a really great guy. He remembered me after I hadn’t been for 6 months, and is always up for a good conversation. I’ve probably told 10 people about this place before writing this review, so figured it would be a good time to tell Unilocal

I have to admit — I’ve worked about 100 feet away from this place for over a year and finally tried Mondo Caffe a few Saturdays ago. I’m a big fan of a solid lunch downtown during the work week. Always seeking a top-​tier sandwich shop.
Admittedly, it’s not a super-​value. But, boy, was it good. I ordered a Crab Melt panini, and I thought the ingredients were very tasty — the bread was wonderful. Sort of a biscuit-​like flavor. The panini came with a nice mixed-​green salad with vinaigrette, as well. They have a bunch of good options for paninis, and usually there are several specials listed as I walk by. (Next, I’m trying the three-​mushroom panini.) The portion was substantial enough to be full for the rest of the afternoon, and I’m not a particularly light eater.
Additionally — great interior, and nice tables outside facing out to Mission St. (plus, it’s in the sunny-​side during lunch and afternoon.) Very friendly staff.
Give it a try!

A solid lunch spot, yes. A destination? No. To begin with, the service issues that plagued my colleagues seemed to find me as well — months later. I don’t know whether it’s an attempt to be ‘authentic’ or what it is… but when people from multiple countries/​cultures all complain about similar things, it’s probably best that you re-​examine your business.
Getting our food took a ridiculously long time and dealing with changing menu prices was an annoying complication of what should have been a relaxed lunch. In fact, I was the last person in my party to get my food as it appeared that my order was forgotten (my sandwich with side salad came out fifteen minutes after the rest of my parties’… and after I inquired to find out what was going on). The bread on my salmon panini was a bit too soft for my liking, but the dill marscapone spread paired nicely with the smoked salmon and red onions (but, when does it not?). I also enjoyed an Italian soda. I wanted to go big and order a fruit with which I was unfamiliar, but MC was out of some syrups, so I settled for lime. It was pleasant and refreshing but I was in the mood for something a bit more exotic.
MC does what it does with some competency but I can’t say that the 3 – 3.5 average is incorrect. Decent (once you finally get your order)? Sure. Inspired (especially in a food city like San Francisco)? Not at all.

Well… We were coming off of our first college interview, down the street, and my son the emerging foodie had researched possible lunch spots in advance. Not a lot of options for lunch on Sundays in that area, but except for a couple of bad reviews, Mondo Caffe looked like a good option. Interesting salads for me; panini for him. Too bad it didn’t pan out. If only things had been as described; it might (I say «might» have been better.
The location was perfect, not even two blocks away, and when we got there only two two tops were seated, so we didn’t expect much of a wait. We ordered at the counter, and the person was pleasant, but didn’t seem to have a great command of the language.
I ordered the «organic cannelini beans and shrimp salad» What would you expect this to look like? I had in mind some arugula with shrimp and beans tossed in a dressing and thinly sliced shallots (based on their description.) This is what I got —
(sorry for the blur). On the left was arugula, 6 small to medium shrimp tossed in a very scant dressing lacking salt. In the middle a couple sat a couple of slices of foccacia. On the right was an incredibly odd, though not bad, tossed salad which included peas and corn (defrosted from frozen) shredded leeks (a little tough when they’re raw), shredded red peppers (not sure– that’s what they looked like, but they didn’t really have any flavor) and very thinly sliced zucchini, nicely dressed and tossed with an adequate amount of well balanced dressing. I didn’t dislike it, but it wasn’t at all what I ordered.
My son ordered the «famous durino» prosciutto panino. As you can see from the pic, it was sorely lacking in the non bread elements
. The thing that really rankled me was it wasn’t prosciutto! For $ 9.50 he got one thin slice of mediocre ham, one thin slice of rubbery mozzerella.
We were pretty disappointed.
I give them a C-​, (2 stars). If they’d just been slightly below average, I would be less punitive, but I hate that they misrepresented the ingredients!

If you’re looking for something quick and easy (and tasty), try one of the paninis here! Mondo Caffe has a ton of different types of salads and sandwiches (both hot and cold) that are made fresh with their focaccia bread. I tried the (hot) Meatloaf Panini, which was pretty good! The thin slices of meatloaf, veggies, and melted mozzarella cheese was great and will do the job just fine for lunch. It came with a side salad that had a pretty good dressing on it that tasted like a sweeter balsamic vinaigrette. The portion sizes here are pretty reasonable and the food is delicious so if you’re craving a sandwich, here’s the place to go. I’d say the overall price of your meal will range from $ 10 – 12.
The café can get pretty busy during the lunch hour so either try and beat the rush by stopping by before 11:45 AM or so if you can or by coming in around 1 PM. It did seem like orders came in and out of the kitchen pretty fast though, which is always good. Wifi is also available for customers, which is pretty helpful although there aren’t any accessible outlets for people to use.

O sole mio, what a decadent sandwich you serve, Signor Mondo. I have to admit I’ve been a couple of times for lunch now and order the same thing — the $ 8 Porchetta Panini. Why? Because the slabs of roasted pork loin, the richness of the focaccia, and the slathering of the mayonnaise spread collide in a way that makes me feel like I should be spanked for my mid-​day indulgence. Probably by Giada DeLaurentiis in a leather dominatrix outfit… but then again, her head probably wouldn’t fit through the door.
Tight quarters here, especially during the lunch rush. Although the frittata sitting on the counter looked good, I like the Porchetta Panini. Now is it Por-​KET-​tuh? My friend Linda, an Italian to her core, says you’re not supposed to pronounce the «ch.», so I tried to be authentic and say it that way. The already confused woman at the register looked even more confused and had to call in the entire kitchen staff to listen to me. Before I got on all fours and started oinking, one of them said, «Oh…por-CHET-uh!»
So I took my number to the tiny table next to the window and waited in humiliation. It was worth the unwieldy UN translation session because the sandwich is that good if a bit much when you have to go back for a 1PM meeting. The panini also has provolone, watercress and tomatoes, and it comes with a fresh mixed green salad with fennel slices (see photo). It’s not an everyday lunch, at least not for my girlish figure (sic), but maybe next time, I should bring a sign. Gee, how did Helen Keller handle these things?
FOOD — 4 stars… a sandwich so tasty it’s almost worth a lifetime on the hips
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… packed like sardines at lunch with a line for take-​out orders
SERVICE — 3 stars… they need interpreters stat!
TOTAL — 4 stars… mambo to Mondo for the pig… no, not me

I really like this café. I’ve tried their proscuitto and three cheese mushroom panini before and they are delicious! Their portions are generous and it definitely fills you up, especially since it comes with a side salad.
Staff are nice and helpful as well.

Mondo is one of my go-​to lunch spots for a healthy, delicious sandwich & salad. I’ve tried most of their sandwiches at this point, from the polpette (meatloaf) to the three-​mushroom. All of the sandwiches come on their delicious focaccia bread (some of which are toasted), and each one comes with a delicious (and not altogether tiny) side-​salad. I usually get a bag of chips nonetheless, to round out my meal.
The staff is friendly, the dining room (which is self-​service) is usually mellow and good for conversation, and the food is great!