Rex Cafe

Adiós Rex, Hola Marbella!

A convenient neighborhood brunch spot at 1.5 blocks away. I came because I heard they were closing, but maybe that’s all for the better anyway.
All the dishes were sub-​par and the service fine, except for them taking about 30 minutes to get our check (I had to get up, find our server, and ask in the end). Surprising considering the wait had really built up by the end of our meal. Oh and don’t get one of those comfy-​looking booths by the window. You’ll be FREEZING. You still will be nestled deeper in the restaurant, but at least less so.
* Breakfast Burrito — 2 stars
(scrambled eggs, grilled marinated flank steak, mixed peppers, sweet onions, black beans, jack cheese, ranchero sauce & sour cream, w/​home fries. $ 13.00)
The steak was overcooked, way too chewy, and had zero flavor. Nothing tasted fresh and the burrito just wasn’t packed well together.
* Eggs Benedict — 2.5 stars
(served with home fries traditional canadian bacon, rex grilled pepper salmon, vegetarian spinach & tomato, blackstone bacon & tomato. $ 13.25)
The english muffin was old and stale; the sauce had an odd flavor that was just off.
* Vanilla French Toast — 2.5 stars
(with mixed berry coulis. $ 9.50)
Nothing special — and the toast was too soggy. Not enough crisp!
Have to say I’m not sure we ordered the best things on the menu. I regret not getting the scramble, which looked really good.

Four of us enjoyed a lovely brunch yesterday at Rex Café. We arrived around noon, and the hostess told us it would be around 15 – 20 minutes for a table. We didn’t mind waiting idly outside in the sunshine, but we were seated much quicker than the estimated time.
The drinks took a while to come out, but our waitress did tell us that the bartender was «slammed.» The service was pretty slow, overall, but the food and drinks more than made up for it! My Bloody Mary was delightful –one of the best I’ve had in a while… almost as good as Merengos BM’s. I opted to go for the California Omlette – Monterey jack cheese, avocado, salsa fresca, and a drizzle of crema. I enjoyed every bite of it! It was served with fruit, sourdough bread, and seasoned country potatoes.
My friends all enjoyed their food also – the menu has a variety of choices, and a decent selection of beverages to choose from.
I will definitely be back to enjoy an outdoor table on another lazy Sunday afternoon!

A nice place to grab a drink & sit outside. The mid week, night time service was stellar, and fellow patrons were friendly & nice.

Hard to get the attention of the waitress — we must’ve wasted 15 – 20 min trying to 1. get the bill and 2. having her take our card. I know sundays are called lazy sundays for a reason, but no one has this much free time with their life.
My husband’s breakfast burrito looked good but I stayed away since it didn’t seem to outweight the potential throat closing from my egg allergy. Since I felt like a taco, I ordered sides: salsa, tortillas, grilled chicken, avocados and smashed my husband’s potatoes. It was great to be able to create something that didn’t have eggs, but savory enough for my hungry belly.
After our super lazy sunday brunch (not out of choice), we were walking home when all of a sudden my husband announced he needed a toilet STAT. A bit later I started getting very uncomfortable, and ended up with fever and nausea. It’s now monday at 4pm and I still can’t eat, and had to skimp out on work.
I’ve had a couple other experiences at Rex and although the service was better, I can’t say the food is good enough that I will be going back– especially since I have them to thank for missing my first ever interview.
Good:
*A good selection of sides
*Cool vibe
*Okay food/​Pretty good food.
Bad:
*Awkward bathroom
*Slow brunch service
*Losing out on a first ever interview, a whole day of work, and spending 1.5 days in misery.

It was some pretty good food.
I got here at around 11 and got a table for my friend and me, but she got there a bit late, so I waited for her, at a table, without waitresses hassling me. I did ask if it was okay that my friend wasn’t here yet, and the hostess was okay with it. SCORE.
I got the scramble and it was delicious. Some bread to accentuate the deliciousness and damn, I want to go back again. Mimosas are just amazing all around. I love orange juice and champagne together.
They have great outdoor seating, and it’s super nice on a nice and sunny day (we don’t get TOO many of those). I think those are first come, first serve, but I’m not sure. It’s a nice place and I’m glad that I was able to come here and experience it for myself. It’s a pretty nice place on Polk!

Ended up here for Sunday brunch bc our 1^st choice was unexpectedly closed & my friend was super hungry & unwilling to venture further. I adore brunch & found nothing special on the overpriced (for what you get) menu. I think the drunker you are the better this place is.
Service was sloppy & slow — the place wasn’t packed either. When coffee finally appeared (& the server quickly disappeared), they didn’t simultaneously bring a spoon, cream & sugar. All had to be requested when we could flag someone down. WTH??!
Decided on the buttermilk pancakes combo w/​2 eggs & chicken apple sausage. No pure maple syrup. The pancakes looked & tasted like they were frozen & microwaved. Chicken apple sausage — flavorless.
PLUS it was absolutely FREEEEZING INSIDE the café. It is a decent size place, the front door was closed & we were sitting at the back. It is ridiculous to wear a jacket & scarf inside while dining.

3.5 stars.
I really liked Rex Café and I think it’s another little gem on polk st. Why only 3.5 stars? Well, the service was phenomenal. Our waitress was not only pregnant, but checked up on us not too little, and not too much. I hope my date tipped her well.
Also, the ambiance. Great place for date with a kind of casual feel to it. Dim lighting, not too noisy.
They have a good selection of alcohol and other beverages, but their menu is very un-​vegetarian friendly. So, if I were to come back, I’d have to get the same pasta dish. I hate it when restaurants do this, oh well.

Rex’s is my goto spot on Saturday and Sunday mornings. They have hands down some of the best eggs benedict in the entire city. The vegetarian version is amazing, as is «the blackstone». My backup is always the breakfast burrito, it’s huge, delicious and jammed with steak.
They have very little turnover on staff, mainly because they are all awesome. Hang out at the bar are in the middle or snag a seat outside, it’s all golden.
I don’t drink bloody marry’s but my friends contest they are glorious, as are the mimosas. Luckily my gym is across the street because this place is too good to miss.

A nice place to combine weekend brunch and people watching in San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighborhood. This place is nearly always a good time for brunch. Come here to cure that hangover. Their bloodys will hit the spot. The food is fresh and tasty and the friendly bartenders here are eager to join in on the festivities…:) This spot also has a few outside tables for those sunny days in Russian Hill.
Kick back guilt free, and watch people go in and out of the crunch fitness across the street, while you sip your bloody mary and eat your eggs benny.

So on a beautiful sunny Monday afternoon, my friend and I were on our way to Aux Delices for some good Vietnamese food, but we stumbled upon a cool little café with its windows wide open and fans going. It was just cool looking, with its «Cheers» bar right in the middle of the restaurant, its outdoor seating and high lost ceiling. We didn’t even look at the menu, we just thought it was a cool place to get a quick bite and drink while feeling at ease.
The staff was very friendly, everyone around us was either drinking Bloody Mary’s or Mimosas so my friend ordered a Mimosa which she thought was good. I was lame and went with a water. The menu didn’t have a huge variety on the list, I chose the Rex Skillet because the chorizo and sourdough bread caught my eye. My friend ordered Huevos Rancheros. She thought the Huevos Rancheros was just so-​so, it came on top of a whole tortilla, she was hoping for tortilla chips, but she did mention the salsa was fresh and well done. I loved the Rex Skillet though, good flavorful amounts of chorizo, and when you eat it on the toast sourdough bread, MMmMMmm yum.
Our bill came out to $ 30 with tip, so it wasn’t cheap but not too expensive. I’d come here again and probably sit outside or by one of their open windows.

Ok, just had Rex for dinner last night… it’s basically my neighborhood go to now.
Tried the carrot ginger soup — fresh and a nice spice of ginger… and the cream of mushroom soup was AMAZING! It was SO YUM!
Also, they have some really great, creative drinks — the one that is my new favorite is the «Greygoose elderflower fire martini» — it has muddled slide of jalapeño, greygoose & st. Germaine. DELISH!
The pork sausage bolognese was pretty good… the noodles were homemade and flavorful but the sauce was sort of dry… if that makes any sense. I’d have liked it a little more saucy… I liked the soups more :-) Looking forward to trying their chicken & waffles dish… coming soon…

Came here for brunch before a random scavenger hunt. It definitely fits the neighborhood — lots of testosterone followed by estrogen looking to land the former.
That said, the place is warm and pleasant. and the service was super friendly. I had the REX skillet which is plenty of food for one person. The skillet, like most, was a greasy pile of jumbled ingredients not easily distinguishable from any other skillet you’ve had. They only have sourdough toast (no wheat), but you can sub an english muffin though. The food was average, but the people watching was pretty entertaining.

This is a casual neighborhood place and I don’t know why I don’t visit more often. It has a nice selection of items on the menu (burgers, sandwiches, salads, etc.) and a full bar.
I stopped in recently on a Sunday night around 8PM for a light dinner. I had a mixed green salad with the added salmon (only $ 5.50 and it was a decent slab of salmon). The bread with tapenade on the side was a nice variation on the usual sourdough with butter that you get at most places. There’s a full bar, but I went with a glass of wine and they had a good selection by the glass.
The service was good and the music was great! (I always love a mix that includes New Order and Red Rockers!)

This place is cool and looks unique on the inside but seems more like a local diner in any other city. The food is good and the entrée prices are good and reasonable.
Seems like the apps and soup/​salad are overpriced but the entrees are decent and deliciously made.
One time I was in here and the bartender gave me a glass of Chardonnay and it was corked. I whispered to her that it was corked and she said out loud well everybody else is drinking it and seems to be alright with it. I tried to be cool about it — but that was a long time ago, I think she’s gone. otherwise you get a well made cocktail.

I wasn’t too hungry, so I had a glass of wine, and decided to order from their newly changed menu, the chestnut soup. What spells the holidays more than a hot, thick and rich bowl of roasted chestnut soup? Well, it was amazing. It had great flavor, with small chunks of chestnut and pancetta cooked in it. I was savoring each spoonful like it was edible gold.
With that, yes, i am a fan.

Solid 3-​star San Francisco bar. Friendly staff with decent beer prices, though not the most amazing selection, in a comfortable environment.
I really enjoy the interior of this place, though it’s not as awesome as someplace like Lush Lounge down the street.

*Happy Hour Review*
½ price appetizers: Monday — Friday 5pm — 7pm! Beers were $ 3.75 on tap. A great bargain for what you can get.
Ordered the duck pâté & calamari. Being Vietnamese, I love my pâté! Load that stuff in my Banh Mi please! The pâté was served w/​pieces of perfectly toasted bread. There were also some pickles and olives to balance the fattiness of the pâté. The calamari was surprising well executed. Lightly battered and fried to perfection. Most joints would over cook the calamari to the point where it was dried out. These was moist and fluffy! It came with a thai chili sauce.

I come here a lot because it’s very close to my new place, it’s easy, I almost always luck out getting a table outside when someone is leaving, and the food is pretty good– not anything crazy good like you can’t get anywhere else, just as many people here have said, but still good, and around brunch times on this part of Polk Street sometimes you’re too hungry to wait in line somewhere else, or the other places don’t have any outside seating. The service has always been good. I’ve never had any complaints about the omelettes, or burgers I’ve had, and I liked the 2 salads on the brunch menu, a spinach salad and a chicken salad.
The last time I was there my friend and I ended up inviting someone we didn’t know to sit with us outside as we were chatting about someone’s Ferrari getting towed in front of us, and we had a blast. All of the tables around us were laughing about how a tiny shitzu in a pink leash and rhinestone collar was hanging out under the tables and no one could figure out who’s dog it was. The guy at one table just started walking around Rex Café asking everyone «Is this your dog?» and for some reason it seemed pretty funny to everyone. (Turns out it belonged to someone at the store next door.) But my point is that people there seem to be easy going and just having a good time. Maybe it was the Sangria, Bloody Marys, or wine.. . or that most of us escaped the horrible Union Street Fair thingy and just needed to chill out and have a drink in a calmer environment on a hot day.

If it’s sunny: sit outside. Trust me.
A sunny day on Polk street means there is… plenty to see.
* wink*
I had the huevos rancheros which were $ 12. They were slightly above average but not $ 12 good. The upside was that it was a beautiful day out and there’s nothing like being out on bustling Polk street.
Inside it’s a great space with high ceilings and dark red wood. It’s not incredibly well-​lit which is great if you’re hungover from a crazy Friday or Saturday night.

— One amazing hung-​over breakfast
— One yummy split chicken dinner sandwich
— One slightly-​better-​than-​mediocre Bloody Mary
— Several nice bartenders
— Available tables on busy Polk Street…