Royal Cuckoo Market

Quaint little market with great gourmet specialty items. Nice spot to drink a coffee outside.

how come i lived in sf for 18 years, regularly patronized the bar and never knew of this market until im moving out of town!!! i cant help but believe this is a sign that my life is indeed cursed. damnit. well, if you happen to be in sf visiting or living and you need any of my two favorite things (fancy booze & fancy soap) then dont even go anywhere else. just go here because they will set you up right and theyre not yet packed to the gills like the slightly overrated bi-​rite market. also, the chap behind the counter is knowledgeable and nice. support them, since i cannot!

Amongst the other speciality items they stock– the spirits are really great. They have lots of craft items. I needed Campari and the owner, Charlie suggested a small batch, Italian provider, which was excellent. I look down on Campari now. :)
Great items, great service. Exactly what you want in a gourmet neighborhood grocery.

This place is the bomb. Best selection of alcohol in the Mission — hands down… Little bites remind me of Parisian markets that owned my heart traveling. The folks here are sweet hearts with great customer service and the goods to satisfy most of your neighborhood needs — it’s a classic styled «bodega» that reminds me of the bodegas of Europe, except now I can read the signs. Go here, and you will find something special. I promise.

What a gem! Cuckoo is your perfect stop before Sunday afternoon in Dolores Park or on the way to a dinner party. Fancy crackers, high quality eggs, freshly squeezed OJ, meats & cheeses, sauces, toiletries, small gifts, and more. Bi-​Rite fans will be at home.
Mixologists will also love this place… specialty spirits, amaros, martini fixings, and bitters. Also they’ve got a selection of wine and many imported beers. Prices are good because they’re buying through the affiliated bar.
I had a perfectly light and crisp panini for lunch (smoked turkey and bacon with swiss & jalapeño jelly, omg). They’ve got coffee, soups, sandwiches, and snacks.
You can tell that this place was lovingly curated by people who know what they’re doing when it comes to food and booze. I live a block away and I’m excited that next time I need a shallot or Japanese whisky at 9pm, I know exactly where I’m going.

Wow! We just stumbled upon this place today and were pleasantly surprised!
This is a great upscale shop featuring a wide selection of quality beer, wine, and liquor. They also carry bread, cheese, jams, chocolates, and other foodie items.
It’s a great place to pick up supplies for a wine and cheese night or picnic, grab a hostess gift before heading to a dinner party… or simply stock up on goodies for the home.
The staff is friendly and welcoming.
A great addition to the Mission!

Great place.
Lots of interesting stuff
I particularly like their coffee. It’s not fancy but it’s really good and really, really inexpensive.

The best booze selection I have ever seen in SF. Great selection of every liquor, lots of wine, dry goods, speciality foods, cheese, eggs, milk, beef, bacon, frozen food, produce, chocolate, and the list goes on and on.
I love this place and think its a great addition to the neighborhood!

stumbled upon this little treasure one day in search of chocolate. it is definitely even better than it gets in it’s category. it’s sort of a tiny, very well curated, aesthetically pleasing, bodega/​liquor shop. i’m not much of a drinker so no bottles for me, but i will go out of my way going forward to head over here for coffee, snacks and maybe the occasional «what am i going to make for dinner!?» because it seems that he could help me make that happen and it would be yummy. so, why am i so enamored with this place? stop in some day and see for yourself. you’ll walk out with a treat and just a little bit happier than when you went in is my guess. and a little bit is a good thing. i like my happiness in small doses. too much either doesn’t end well or wasn’t real. i’ll keep stopping by for my small doses.

Neat little store that has a bit of everything: coffee & pastry, some produce, soup/​sandwiches, craft beer, liquor, wine, and both local bay area goods alongside imported delicacies. I stop by several times a week. Friendly people behind the counter, nice airy space, and a cool record spinning most nights.

It’s expensive. However, in this little pocket of the mission there aren’t many choices for corner stores or liquor stores. The few that are on my 2 – 3 block radius are just as expensive for sub par drinks. I’m not into paying (or drinking) a 12 pack of Coronas for 20 bucks. They have nice beer, nice snacks, nice ice cream options and nice staff. Love it.

I’ve been coming to this shop a while now. It offers an extensive selection of wine & spirits without the ‘corner shop’ prices. This little market has everything from Champagne, wine, and craft beers to Whiskey and Pastis.
Grab a few stems of flowers in front of the store. They offer fresh Dahlias, Sunflowers or whatever flora fits the season.
The shop keeper is super friendly and very excited about being in the neighborhood. Welcome! The hours are great too! 9am — 9pm, so if you’re on your way to dinner and need to bring ‘something’, pop on in and choose from the vast selection!

organic fruits and vegetables, fresh bread, gluten-​free items, snacks, soda

Time: 1:18pm/77°F partly sunny
Purpose: Was contacted to be in afternoon for a visit of this 3 week old business.
Set-​up: A small shop located in the Mission district with it’s main feature whisky amora and turn back the clock looks. However there are other goods to be had also. Basically you can safely say all in one convience neighborhood shop. Place has more grocery goods and distilleries than what’s advertise outside. There’s no outside seating inside a counter overlooking streets with a 3 person stool seater. Walls fill with alcohol further back cold fridge for and freezer for the must refrigerate goods. Cashier counter has assorted various healthy snacks. Shelfs onnleft fill with pasta, olive oil, sauces, noodles simple cook at home DIY goods.
Staff: Older man in his early 50’s real nice, warm and inviting for a place like that. Stop what he was doing attended to me and ask what he can helpe with. Felt bad by stopping him doing his work so, I kindly said I’ll browse a little if I need something I’ll let you know. His reply certainly no worries that’s what I’m here for.
Cleanliness: Grade A, no complaints new place minor gripe crumbs on counter from previous patrons. No biggie inhale big gulp of air and blow it off before settling down.
Eats/​Drinks: Bag of Route 11 chips $ 1.29, freshly squeezed OJ $ 4.25, baklava $ 1.50, biscotti $ 2. Juice was good as they have their own machine on site with oranges stack ready to go. Baklava is store bought the same one’s seen at restaurant depot. No need to go any further here as I just wanted to see what shop is all about. The biscotti was the star of the show here, texture and taste is definitely there. Enough hazelnuts to make a serving itself.
Products/​Services: Whiskey, distilleries, grocery, snacks, baked goods, bagels, home made beef jerkeys, Baia Pasta, juices, smoothie bottles, health cleaner elixirs, energy bars, candies, chips, cookies. Coffee by Ritual, Oneninetyseven, De La Paz. Baked goods by Batter Bakery, bagels by House of Bagels. On spot coffee bean grinding. LaSpaziale espresso machine 1 chamber extractor.
Punch Lines: Neighborhood shop, friendly worker, knowledgeable, good prices, freshly squeezed OJ, 3 seater, lots of aged whiskey, organic/​local/​sustainable as much as possible, some home made goods. Mission district, muni bus, street parking, cafes/​restaurants, boutique, banks, bakeries, laundromats, salons, check cashing places, electronic shops, meat, hardware, local unions.
Tradeoffs: People mainly shop afternoons for whiskeys. Here they open early in the morning for those early birds, end up buying other goods as well. Good tactic to attract as early as possible.
Final Thoughts: I like the goods here as they’re locally sourced. Not really a whiskey drinker so coming here for that purpose wouldn’t serve me any good. Don’t expect dish size eating here. Everything is package or box ready to go no cooking involved. I really think their bread & butter here are the hard liquor. The snacks and baked goods is just for looks drawing in non drinkers, everyone has their first lick, try and be hook. I was thinking it was a wine shop or similar, to my surprise it has hidden goods.

The owner is super nice. Everything is well organized and, for the most part, really good quality. Every time I walk by they have something new. Recent additions include fruit and Ritual coffee.

Cute, small local shop that just opened up in The Mission!
The owner, Paul, has a cool concept: espresso machine for your coffee fix in the morning along with a pastry, nice liquor for the evening, and cool gifts for anytime.
There’s a cozy feeling inside the shop, primarily because of the custom-​built wooden shelves (thanks to Paul’s nephew) plus the old timey singers crooning from the record player on the front counter.
Can’t wait to see what they stock on the rest of their shelves.
Once they’re officially open, their hours will be 9 am to 9 pm, but don’t quote me on that!