This was such a fun spot for brunch! Great to get little plates to share and try everything. A little expensive but nice for a special occasion - super nice staff too
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Avocado Toast
Cameron Debartolo
Horrible experience waitresses are awesome but food was so super and over priced my i ended up spending 42 dollars on one pancake that my daughter hated soo stupid 30 percent in charges cause the place is to cheap to pay its staff even though it charges that much? Also bunch of political crap everywhere so tired of hearing people's opinions when i just want to eat you live , no one's pressing you guys your fine
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Thomas Riedl
Delicious inventive food, friendly space
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ali Keshavarz
This was one of the best dining experiences I have had in my life! Being in the food and hospitality business most of my life, I wish more places could match this level of excellence. I recommend this place 120% without any hesitation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Paul Nguyen (Dukie Travels)
Had a great brunch at Hilda & Jesse. From start to finish service was amazing. The staff was very interactive with our daughter. We did the chef's tasting, & my daughter had the French toast sticks which she enjoyed, but she really loved the micro greens and the staff was kind enough to get her a bowl when she wanted more. Food was really good with a variety of complex flavors.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Lukasz Zbylut
Excellent service, good food, stage atmosphere caused by people being squeezed on the tall tabletops while many tables sat empty.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Terry Xu
TL;DR - Hilde and Jesse is a great culinary experience to kick off the day. Has the charm of a small cafe with the creative palate complexities of a seasoned restaurant.
Full review:
Before jumping into the highlights, I did deep dive and read all the negative reviews (1 or 2 stars) within the past 3 months. While I can commiserate with some of the points, most of them were an unfair assessment of this establishment or presented an issue that was not their onus. For example, penalizing them for having smaller plates instead of having huge portions like a bowl of pho is a questionable comparison at best. It's not a great comparison because at Hilde & Jesse, you are getting high quality, fresh, tested, ingredients that constantly change across weeks and seasons, with the experience of trying something new and complex. At your local Vietnamese spot, it's a tried and true classic with constant supply chains for ingredients and minimal changes week to week.
Now onto the highlights.
I came here for brunch to celebrate my wife's birthday (at the recommendation of a friend). The staff were very friendly and made us feel like regulars despite our first time going there. The warmness is reflected in both the staff and the decor.
For the food, it was clearly a thought out menu that went through several iterations of recipe testing. I appreciate the different flavor profiles they brought to each dish, done in a way that was impactful without overwhelming the main star of the show. There was one dish that didn't resonate with me, but that was more due to my preference in flavors and textures (I can tell it was high quality, just not my cup of tea). Some must orders are the grilled beef tongue and early girl tomatoes.
Overall I would highly recommend and look forward to coming back in the future
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Susanne Peter Kuhn
This was a most amazing surprise dinner. I have rarely experienced such concentrated, exquisite, surprising flavors in a relaxed, friendly & knowledgeable environment. An experience that cannot be recreated at at home.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mat Lit
Whacky restaurant with whack food (in the best way). Loved the black-eyed pea fritters (which reminded me of a great falafel) and shrimp toast. The chicken with hominy porridge was nice, though it is EXTREMELY rich.
The famous pancakes are excellent, and this is coming from a pancake hater. The smoky syrup starts a little intense, but everything tastes so good as you keep going. Loved the crisp edges and addicting blueberry sauce.
Overall, the food is all familiar but very surprising. The decor is fun and service is friendly and fast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Thao Nguyen
It just became my favourite brunch place in SF. My friend recommended place for beef tongue. My friend was absolutely right that they have the best beef tongue. Besides that they have many creative and delicious dishes. Cannot go wrong with anything they have.
Had such an incredible experience here - my friends treated me to a lovely birthday brunch here and the staff at Hilda and Jesse went above and beyond to make the experience extra special. The food is top notch and incredible: the ingredients are really high quality, the flavors are refreshingly experimental and well-balanced, and the cooking is excellent. The beef tongue and the duck are some of the best I’ve ever had. The pancakes and the French toast are a complete dream. We didn’t have a single bad dish here - the food is some of the best I’ve had in SF and their Michelin star js well-deserved. Additionally, the chefs and staff here brought some extra dishes to the table like an amazing tomato salad and refreshing melon sorbet as special surprises for my birthday. They were so sweet, welcoming, attentive, and really fun. I cannot recommend Hilda and Jesse enough!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Christy banh
Such a good wonderful experience and the food was one of the best in San Francisco. We were welcomed and treated so well. Highly recommend the beef tongue and duck leg katsu!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Daniel Ingman
If I could give this place a 6 star review I would. The food and service were absolutely perfect. We sat at the counter and felt like we were the VIPs that day. Evan and Olivia took such good care of us. We'll be back for sure
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
J
Such fun vibes for brunch! Did a la carte and tried early girl tomatoes, duck confit, and avocado toast. All were incredible. Great portion on duck.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alexandra-Emily Kokova
The highlight of my stay in SF. The food was excellent, and most importantly - felt like home when I was feeling terribly homesick.
So happy I didn’t skip dinner. And the pancakes… Just go and see for yourself.
This was such a fun spot for brunch! Great to get little plates to share and try everything. A little expensive but nice for a special occasion - super nice staff too
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Avocado Toast
Horrible experience waitresses are awesome but food was so super and over priced my i ended up spending 42 dollars on one pancake that my daughter hated soo stupid 30 percent in charges cause the place is to cheap to pay its staff even though it charges that much? Also bunch of political crap everywhere so tired of hearing people's opinions when i just want to eat you live , no one's pressing you guys your fine
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Delicious inventive food, friendly space
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This was one of the best dining experiences I have had in my life! Being in the food and hospitality business most of my life, I wish more places could match this level of excellence. I recommend this place 120% without any hesitation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had a great brunch at Hilda & Jesse. From start to finish service was amazing. The staff was very interactive with our daughter. We did the chef's tasting, & my daughter had the French toast sticks which she enjoyed, but she really loved the micro greens and the staff was kind enough to get her a bowl when she wanted more. Food was really good with a variety of complex flavors.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Excellent service, good food, stage atmosphere caused by people being squeezed on the tall tabletops while many tables sat empty.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
TL;DR - Hilde and Jesse is a great culinary experience to kick off the day. Has the charm of a small cafe with the creative palate complexities of a seasoned restaurant.
Full review:
Before jumping into the highlights, I did deep dive and read all the negative reviews (1 or 2 stars) within the past 3 months. While I can commiserate with some of the points, most of them were an unfair assessment of this establishment or presented an issue that was not their onus. For example, penalizing them for having smaller plates instead of having huge portions like a bowl of pho is a questionable comparison at best. It's not a great comparison because at Hilde & Jesse, you are getting high quality, fresh, tested, ingredients that constantly change across weeks and seasons, with the experience of trying something new and complex. At your local Vietnamese spot, it's a tried and true classic with constant supply chains for ingredients and minimal changes week to week.
Now onto the highlights.
I came here for brunch to celebrate my wife's birthday (at the recommendation of a friend). The staff were very friendly and made us feel like regulars despite our first time going there. The warmness is reflected in both the staff and the decor.
For the food, it was clearly a thought out menu that went through several iterations of recipe testing. I appreciate the different flavor profiles they brought to each dish, done in a way that was impactful without overwhelming the main star of the show. There was one dish that didn't resonate with me, but that was more due to my preference in flavors and textures (I can tell it was high quality, just not my cup of tea). Some must orders are the grilled beef tongue and early girl tomatoes.
Overall I would highly recommend and look forward to coming back in the future
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
This was a most amazing surprise dinner.
I have rarely experienced such concentrated, exquisite, surprising flavors in a relaxed, friendly & knowledgeable environment.
An experience that cannot be recreated at at home.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Whacky restaurant with whack food (in the best way). Loved the black-eyed pea fritters (which reminded me of a great falafel) and shrimp toast. The chicken with hominy porridge was nice, though it is EXTREMELY rich.
The famous pancakes are excellent, and this is coming from a pancake hater. The smoky syrup starts a little intense, but everything tastes so good as you keep going. Loved the crisp edges and addicting blueberry sauce.
Overall, the food is all familiar but very surprising. The decor is fun and service is friendly and fast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It just became my favourite brunch place in SF. My friend recommended place for beef tongue. My friend was absolutely right that they have the best beef tongue. Besides that they have many creative and delicious dishes. Cannot go wrong with anything they have.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Had such an incredible experience here - my friends treated me to a lovely birthday brunch here and the staff at Hilda and Jesse went above and beyond to make the experience extra special. The food is top notch and incredible: the ingredients are really high quality, the flavors are refreshingly experimental and well-balanced, and the cooking is excellent. The beef tongue and the duck are some of the best I’ve ever had. The pancakes and the French toast are a complete dream. We didn’t have a single bad dish here - the food is some of the best I’ve had in SF and their Michelin star js well-deserved. Additionally, the chefs and staff here brought some extra dishes to the table like an amazing tomato salad and refreshing melon sorbet as special surprises for my birthday. They were so sweet, welcoming, attentive, and really fun. I cannot recommend Hilda and Jesse enough!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Such a good wonderful experience and the food was one of the best in San Francisco. We were welcomed and treated so well. Highly recommend the beef tongue and duck leg katsu!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
If I could give this place a 6 star review I would. The food and service were absolutely perfect. We sat at the counter and felt like we were the VIPs that day. Evan and Olivia took such good care of us. We'll be back for sure
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Such fun vibes for brunch! Did a la carte and tried early girl tomatoes, duck confit, and avocado toast. All were incredible. Great portion on duck.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The highlight of my stay in SF. The food was excellent, and most importantly - felt like home when I was feeling terribly homesick.
So happy I didn’t skip dinner. And the pancakes… Just go and see for yourself.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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