The best fish and chips I’ve had in years. The friendly, upbeat atmosphere and gracious hospitality, great service and staff. It is no surprise that the business is one of the longest serving in SF.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Vadim \u0026 Irina Johnson
Passenger pickup
Elias Melo
I’m giving 1 star because it’s not possible to give 0 stars. I went with a friend who is from Colombia and we were talking in Spanish. The security guard asked us to leave and said that “this place is only for blonde women and men with money”. How does he know our financial condition? Is speaking Spanish a problem for you? If you speak Spanish you may suffer discrimination here
Caitlyn Matoso
I want to give a shoutout to Mark and the Balboa team! I came here after my bridal dress appointment, and Mark made sure that the Balboa team rolled out the red carpet! From the warm welcome at the door to the special table they reserved, every detail was perfect. The service was top-notch, the food was amazing, and then they totally surprised me with dessert and covered the drinks. They went above and beyond and made me feel so celebrated on a special day!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kirti Goenka
A bit over hyped. Extremely slow service.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 1
Magali Gutierrez
I was excited to try Balboa Café, especially since it’s known for having some of the best espresso martinis in the city. The espresso martinis were smooth and well-balanced.
Unfortunately, the food didn’t quite match the same standard. I had the salmon, which lacked flavor, and the paella was just average. Another downside was the cleanliness — the table we were seated at had a noticeably dirty tablecloth, which was disappointing and took away from the overall dining experience.
Great for drinks, but the food and attention to detail could use some improvement
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
JJ
Good espresso martini
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
L S
Very delicious food and drink. We had the best hamburger and delicious Balboa salad yesterday. Portion sizes are worth every penny! The service was excellent! Great ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ran Tang
Bad experience ! One afternoon, I picked up my 4-year-old from school, and he was hungry, so we stopped by to get some mac and cheese before swim class. It was cold, and as I spoke with a female staff member, a male staff walked over. She told him I wanted mac and cheese, and he said jokingly, “Oh, maybe it’s in my pocket.” I asked, “Sorry, what?” He replied, “I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking about my phone,” then pulled it out and pretended to be on a call. I felt very disrespected. It was a simple request—why respond with such rudeness?
Balboa Cafe does not approve of our country’s constitution. They want what they want but not anyone filming in public
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Lidi
Great place for drinks but not food. I got the shakshuka and the tomato sauce looked like ketchup. No onion, eggplant, red pepper just a lot of tomatoe sauce that looked and tasted like ketchup, 2 eggs and bread. The eggs tasted like they had been cooked, frozen, de thawed and microwaved. Probably shouldve stuck to something simpler like the omelette which looked fine.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Lydia
Great place for drinks but not food. I got the shakshuka and the tomato sauce looked like ketchup. No onion, eggplant, red pepper just a lot of tomatoe sauce that looked and tasted like ketchup, 2 eggs and bread. The eggs tasted like they had been cooked, frozen, de thawed and microwaved. Probably shouldve stuck to something simpler like the omelette which looked fine.
Luke Arthur
Wasn’t a fan of this place, thought the espresso martini was overrated. I also found the staff to be rude.
Sitara Marathay
I would think of myself as an espresso martini aficionado. I just moved to San Francisco and I was recommended Balboa Café multiple times. I have never been more disappointed in my life. I unfortunately was not even able to finish my espresso martini. I was underwhelmed and disappointed. On top of that, the staff was rude and short with us. I will not be going back
Excellent food, friendly service, nice ambience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The best fish and chips I’ve had in years. The friendly, upbeat atmosphere and gracious hospitality, great service and staff. It is no surprise that the business is one of the longest serving in SF.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Passenger pickup
I’m giving 1 star because it’s not possible to give 0 stars. I went with a friend who is from Colombia and we were talking in Spanish. The security guard asked us to leave and said that “this place is only for blonde women and men with money”. How does he know our financial condition? Is speaking Spanish a problem for you? If you speak Spanish you may suffer discrimination here
I want to give a shoutout to Mark and the Balboa team! I came here after my bridal dress appointment, and Mark made sure that the Balboa team rolled out the red carpet! From the warm welcome at the door to the special table they reserved, every detail was perfect. The service was top-notch, the food was amazing, and then they totally surprised me with dessert and covered the drinks. They went above and beyond and made me feel so celebrated on a special day!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A bit over hyped. Extremely slow service.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 1
I was excited to try Balboa Café, especially since it’s known for having some of the best espresso martinis in the city. The espresso martinis were smooth and well-balanced.
Unfortunately, the food didn’t quite match the same standard. I had the salmon, which lacked flavor, and the paella was just average. Another downside was the cleanliness — the table we were seated at had a noticeably dirty tablecloth, which was disappointing and took away from the overall dining experience.
Great for drinks, but the food and attention to detail could use some improvement
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Good espresso martini
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Very delicious food and drink. We had the best hamburger and delicious Balboa salad yesterday. Portion sizes are worth every penny! The service was excellent! Great ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bad experience ! One afternoon, I picked up my 4-year-old from school, and he was hungry, so we stopped by to get some mac and cheese before swim class. It was cold, and as I spoke with a female staff member, a male staff walked over. She told him I wanted mac and cheese, and he said jokingly, “Oh, maybe it’s in my pocket.”
I asked, “Sorry, what?” He replied, “I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking about my phone,” then pulled it out and pretended to be on a call. I felt very disrespected. It was a simple request—why respond with such rudeness?
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Balboa Cafe does not approve of our country’s constitution. They want what they want but not anyone filming in public
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Great place for drinks but not food. I got the shakshuka and the tomato sauce looked like ketchup. No onion, eggplant, red pepper just a lot of tomatoe sauce that looked and tasted like ketchup, 2 eggs and bread. The eggs tasted like they had been cooked, frozen, de thawed and microwaved.
Probably shouldve stuck to something simpler like the omelette which looked fine.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Great place for drinks but not food. I got the shakshuka and the tomato sauce looked like ketchup. No onion, eggplant, red pepper just a lot of tomatoe sauce that looked and tasted like ketchup, 2 eggs and bread. The eggs tasted like they had been cooked, frozen, de thawed and microwaved.
Probably shouldve stuck to something simpler like the omelette which looked fine.
Wasn’t a fan of this place, thought the espresso martini was overrated. I also found the staff to be rude.
I would think of myself as an espresso martini aficionado. I just moved to San Francisco and I was recommended Balboa Café multiple times. I have never been more disappointed in my life. I unfortunately was not even able to finish my espresso martini. I was underwhelmed and disappointed. On top of that, the staff was rude and short with us. I will not be going back
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