Simple Pleasures Cafe

Simple Pleasures is so cozy. If only there were more places like this left in San Francisco — a real gem!

Bad customer service.
Bad food.
Bad coffee.
Dirty dishes.
Stomach ache afterwards.
The server/​cashier with the dream catcher tattoo on her arm was extremely rude and unpleasant. Either she was having a totally crap morning or she is a huge asshole.
Our food was extremely bland, and the ketchup packets had gone bad I think. Most of the packets were bloated and all the vinegar had separated out of them. The water glasses had food in them. We both got stomach aches right after eating.
Positives: outdoor seating is cool and the paintings on the wall are nice.

Please Unilocal,bring us ZERO Stars or a Thumbs Down.
Yeah so two «dark toasted» bagels to go, one is a piece of coal. And since it was to go, well I’m not going back to return it. But tell me hipster café cook, how is black on both sides dark toasted? One bagel is fine and now I’m hungry.
This spot is lame.

The roommate was picking up dinner nearby. We weren’t in the mood for the same thing, so I decided to wander into Simple Pleasures for a bagel. It was Monday, February 29^th at 6:15pm.
Went with the Bagel w/​lox on Onion: smoked salmon, cream cheese, red onion & tomato ($ 6.95), add Capers (+$ 0.50). There were a couple people before me who also ordered food items, so I had a little bit of a wait. The cashier was friendly and the atmosphere of the café was very lively and fun. I didn’t stick around to absorb the vibe as I took my bagel home to eat.
The bagel wasn’t very good. It was hard with a stale chew. No doubt from sitting outside all day. But still, I’ve kept bagels for a few days and still managed to make them soft and chewy after toasting. Don’t know what happened here. There also wasn’t very much lox on the bagel. I found it odd I was charged for capers as lox normally comes with capers. I guess since they charged me, they felt I had to get my money’s worth? Holy moly, was there an overload of capers! There were so many, they kept falling out as I ate the bagel. It would have been better if they just included a few capers with the bagel and charged more for the bagel and lox.
I once came here 10+ years ago for breakfast. Got a bagel and lox, coffee and read the paper. It was nice way to start my day. I also remember the food being better. Based solely on this last experience, I’d say stay away from their bagels at night. But as a place to hang out and have a few drinks, this looks like a fun place.
Note: They’re cash only!

Guy at cashier burned me with hot coffee!!! 1^st time at this café, there were long lines so we thought everyone knew good SF coffee like sight glass. However the coffee wasn’t even good. Sadly they have problems handling coffee for customers, guy tried handing me the coffee and tipped the coffee cup over spilling the scalding hot coffee all over my hand and wrist. Dude didn’t even apologize for his crappy serving skills. I’m sad and embarrassed for this guy. Complete inability to do the right thing. No apology, no offer to make things right.

Surprisingly good sandwiches, try the panini! Polite staff and seems popular in the neighborhood

Just got back from Japan few days ago, still have jet lag badly, so needed to get a good cup of coffee. Japan was great, clean air and all, but I did not have any good coffee in Japan. Nada, nada, nada.
So I came here.
A large cup of good coffee for $ 2.50 is like … in heaven, like, to me anyway.
And, a small thing happened, I ordered a sesame bagel with cream cheese with veges, by the time when my order was ready, a girl who was making my order, she dropped the half side of the toasted bagel by accident so she was toasting a new bagel, but telling me that, «I dropped a half bagel, so I have to make a new one, so, you’ll get one and a half bagel.»
I was like «Yatta!»
It seemed like she gave me one and a half cream cheese too.
It’s like miracle!
Merry Christmas!
She made my day today.
That’s all.

They have great coffee and I’m in the neighborhood so it’s a convenient café for me to go to however, unfortunately their staff is terrible;they’re not friendly at all. It’s sad because I have to drive farther for decent coffee when they are so close. I otherwise go across the street to the Promenade café where the service is incomparable. Funny thing, my husband mentioned to me the same thing last night. He made a comment about going on a coffee run and then he said, «maybe Simple Pleasures» followed by «oh never mind, they’re so rude there I’ll just go to the Promenade café». It’s a shame if you don’t want to work with the public then get a different job! I haven’t wrote a review here because I always give them the benefit of doubt but it’s been the same for a few years. I’d like to give them the business but the staff makes it such an unpleasant experience SMH.

For food and drinks this place is a 3 at most with regular coffee drinks, pastries, sandwiches, bagels and beer on tap. A great SF local coffee hang out spot. What pushes it to the 4 is the ambiance and having a parklet outside which lets you enjoy your day that much more. Many regulars and pets welcomed. It’s a place where the old and young commingle. The hipsters, college kids and parents come together. Also live music during the week.

Ice Coffee is the best in the City and the people are always nice who serve you there…

Just had espresso and a pastry, but it was tasty. Also, bought a lb of French roast for $ 11.95 which seems like a screaming bargain in SF these days.

Their coffee is delicious.
Their wifi password is not «feelingsafe_​injosephgordonlevittsarms»
(just in case that was your first guess).

My favorite place to go for Coffee!
I usually make my own but every once in a while I like to go here for my Java. Their coffee is awesome! Always taste great, I’ve never had a bad cup. The people working there are awesome too. They have some really pretty women working there and I appreciate that. I love sitting outside in the Parklett when the weather is nice!

I really wanted to like this café more. The atmosphere is very cool, and cozy, and the coffee is decent, (albeit very expensive because of the cup size.). But the bagels were terrible, fluffy… so bad they were not even eaten, (bad and small too !).
And for this you have to pay cash, no cards.

I always eat here on a weekend. Get there early and eat oatmeal with raisins and a nice cup of coffee.
Great to start a nice weekend with.

Very hipster coffee shop. Pretty chill setting The pastries look good the coffee was just fine. Small black coffee to warm off the SF chill at 10am. The café stayed quite busy during our 20 minute hang out sesh. The lines move quick and they make some mighty tasty bagels to boot.

It seemed like a weird place to me, but it looked like quite a few locals had made it into a hangout spot. Reasons why this place fell short in my eyes:
The baristas couldn’t tell me which teas had caffeine;
Cash only;
Grungy seating and décor.

I’m a bit surprised by the overwhelming positive reviews. The atmosphere and setup is very cool, like something you’d expect in Seattle/​Portland or maybe even in the Mission. High ceilings, dark wood, elaborate chalk board menu, and what looks like a full bar next to their espresso machines. The staff sport dyed hair and tats and the patrons all looked artsy with their hipster clothes and Macbook Airs. We visited on a foggy Sunday morning and there were plenty of people enjoying what looked like pretty amazing sammies. Their pastry game also seemed on point (definitely not made in-​house though).
With that said, there’s something grungy about this place that wouldn’t make me feel comfortable eating there. We were also standing around for about 2 minutes because no one felt like asking us what we would like to have. The people behind the bar, save the baristas making drinks, just stood there like zombies. The owner finally noticed this and went up to the register himself to take our order. He was nice enough but everyone else seemed miserable. Americanos are my go-​to drink but the one here was mediocre at best and very expensive for the amount. Their house coffee seems much more reasonably priced but I was so turned off by my drink I doubt I’ll be returning here to find out.
This area of Richmond doesn’t boast a lot of cafes so I can see the appeal for those who live here. But Simple Pleasures simply just isn’t a place I would bother taking time out of my day to check out.

I wasn’t going to write a review, but it’s laughable that this place actually has four stars. The décor is retro and cozy and the food is pretty good for what is is. Unfortunately, all of the potential this place has to be wonderful is wasted by the presence of an unenthused, passive-​aggressive (or downright aggressive) staff.
As someone who works in the service industry, I understand that people have bad days. I have had bad days at work. Keeping this in mind, I always try to be as polite and patient as possible while placing an order. Still, the servers were markedly rude almost all of the two-​dozen-​or-​so times I went here, when I lived in the area. I was honestly shocked the one time that a cashier was actually polite and engaging with me. I only saw her working there once. I guess she wasn’t a good fit, and I’m not at all confused as to why.
Had they not been so close to my old house, I would never have patronized this place. Their espresso was consistently burnt and I don’t think they could have produced microfoam to save their lives. I usually don’t have to add any sugar to my lattes – only in worst-​case scenarios; unfortunately, these lattes were beyond repair a few times. I forced down half and tossed the rest. My willingness to do so was partially inspired by the suspicion that the staff was immature and unprofessional enough to decaf me, anyway.
Skip this place and go to [literally anywhere else] instead.

This is my go to coffee place in the Richmond! I sometimes wished I lived closer to this lovely place!
Their coffee is by far the best coffee in town! Ahmed (the owner) really knows how to roast his beans!
If you’re there during lunch time try their tuna salad sandwich, it is out of this world. Very simple, but so delicious!
And their happier hour makes everyone really happy with local kegs!

This place is way out there. I biked out here from SOMA to try this place, and it wasn’t bad. I enjoyed the coffee (café au lait) and the pastries were top notch. The staff was a bit curt and I didn’t get a helpful vibe from him — later when I asked where the pastries were made, he either didn’t want to tell me or didn’t know. In either case, the décor and environment was pleasant, even if the bathroom was intentionally grungy. Nice outdoor parklet for sitting. Make a trip here, but maybe not from outside the city.

It’s a pretty standard San Franciscan café with a retro-​hipster vibe. There’s a huge selection of pastries, fruit, food, drinks, and more which was great. It also wasn’t super crowded on a Saturday morning and had ample seating. Decent place to go if you’re in the area.
I wasn’t a fan of the service, however; the baristas seemed happy and chatty but it was hard to get their attention. I was left waiting at the head of the line for a long while before I could place my order and gave up on trying to return my non-​disposable cup to them (left it on the counter).

Those residential blocks on Balboa just before Ocean Beach can sure feel nippy… and not because I was there (…rimshot, please!). There’s a definite breeze coming off the Pacific that you can feel as you walk through this remote ‘hood on a crisp Saturday morning. Well. at least it’s remote to me just because I live in SoMa and presume anything west of Twin Peaks is the desolate outback. Still I’ve had my share of satisfying meals over here at places like Cassava and the bistro at the Cliff House, so a cup of joe afterwards is more than welcome. Enter Simple Pleasures Café which offers a retro-​vintage vibe starting with the name which reminds me of that song from «Pippin»…not Simple Pleasures but what was that title again? Oh yes, ‘Simple Joys’…
Sweet summer evenings, hot wine and bread
Sharing your supper, sharing your bed
Simple joys have a simple voice:
It says why not go ahead?
Those hippy-​dippy lyrics fit this space, too, except the part about sharing your bed. After all, I don’t know you. But it is a cozy spot to get a $ 2.95 Chai Latte (photo:
), and there are a lot of other temptations if you are so inclined… pastries, bagels, soups, sandwiches. Why not? Those are simple pleasures that bring simple joys, too. They roast their beans two doors down, and they have a fancy Italian espresso machine for true caffeine snobs. What’s more, they have quite a parklet right in front that makes the whole venture feel more spacious — four separate benches that provide solitude and socializing in equal measure with plenty of room for wandering canines (photo:
). An Outer Richmond charmer.
CHAI — 4 stars… smooth and sweet, a libation that fits perfectly with the place
AMBIANCE — 4 stars… an ocean breeze and a spacious parklet make this the ideal casual hang
SERVICE — 3.5 stars… friendly with lots of florescent hair
TOTAL — 4 stars… simple pleasures bring simple joys, and it says why not go ahead?

A much better atmosphere. The new staff is much more professional and they are more engaging to the non regulars.
The City provided outside seating is a huge plus. This «parklet» wasn’t available several years ago. It allows patrons and non patrons to to hang out and smoke dope and drink from paper bags while basking in the evening glow.
This is San Francisco. This café is much better. 4 stars.

Absolutely fantastic place. Big enough that one has enough room to study, plus wireless internet.
They usually have a changing array of great craft beers on tap.
They have late hours and nice jazz bands playing at night.
The vibe is always nice and artistic/​intellectual.
Good pastries.
I wish we had a place this wonderful in the outer taraval neighborhood. Until that happens, I will keep going across the city to come here.