Cafe Myth: 490 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, CA; 415-677-4289
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Well I finally got around to trying Cafe Myth this past week. I’ve been a big fan of Myth the restaurant in San Francisco and was excited when I first learned that they’d be taking over the Cafe down the street from the restaurant on the corner of Pacific and Montgomery in downtown San Francisco.
And what a pleasant and enjoyable lunch it was. If you are the type that enjoys gourmet food but not gourmet prices then Cafe Myth is just the place for you. The lunch menu is full of little gourmet twists. I have to say that this was the first time I’d ever had truffle covered homemade potato chips (excellent!).
The Cafe is somewhat small and seats about 50 or so in a pleasant indoor/outdoor patio combo. You order your breakfast or lunch at the cafe counter and then a waiter brings your food out to your table. They have a really nice help yourself water bar complete with your choice of cucumber or lemon waters and lots of ice. The decorations are modern and contemporary and many of the themes (eg. cactus) are borrowed from the full service restaurant and represented in miniature form.
Although you might think $3.50 for potato chips is a bit steep, when you factor in that they were generously covered in white truffle shavings and the portion was easily enough for three people, the price is much more reasonable. Oh, and the potato chips beat the Lays down at Subway hands down seven days a week.
In addition to the truffled potato chips I also ordered Sid’s Roast Beef sandwich for $8.50. The sandwich came with a small side salad and pickle and really was more like a sandwich and a half. In fact, two people easily could have shared the lunch I had between the giant portioned sandwich, salad and extra large potato chip order.
The sandwich itself was awesome. A Meyer lemon based dressing combined with a large portion of rare roast beef was just the decadence that I was hoping for on my vacation from my usual lunch salad. Absolutely delicious and a great value.
Cafe Myth also has some great bag lunch specials which generally include a sandwich, a side and desert (pumpkin chocolate chip cookies) for less than $10 as well.
The meal was beautifully presented as well. I’m going to get a salad the next time I go there and enjoyed watching the waiters bring out these giant salads in these big beautiful white bowls.
In addition to a great gourmet lunch, Cafe Myth also has a full espresso menu and bar and is a great place to take a load off for an hour or so in SF if you want to meet someone and just linger for a bit at a cafe. Romantic and airy, the outdoor patio especially is great for hanging out and watching the mix of Jackson Square advertising and PR types walk past.
If you are visiting SF make sure to check out Cafe Myth for lunch. Spend the morning shooting the downtown architecture and after you shoot the Transamerica Building it’s just a short walk up Montgomery to the Cafe. Get there early though as by 11:45 you’ve got a long line beginning to form at the Cafe.
More from Yelp.
hands-down this is the best lunch around. i’m there minimum of once per week.