SFReview

photo credit: Krescent Karasso

20th Century Cafe image

20th Century Cafe

This spot is Permanently Closed.

Bakery/Cafe

Hayes Valley

$$$$Perfect For:BirthdaysBrunchCoffee & A Light BiteLunch
Earn 3x points with your sapphire card

Between the pale green floor, big copper espresso machine, and tin-fronted counter, 20th Century Cafe looks and feels like it jumped out of a story about an idealized 1940s universe. Even on a cloudy day, the big windows let in enough light to give this place a sort of brightness that should only exist in worlds where children find secret gardens and people wear lace gloves. This Gough Street spot has a short menu of Eastern European food that’s fun to work through when you have no plans for the day, or at least want to make the 15 minutes you actually have free for breakfast before heading off to a meeting feel even longer.

There are pierogies with sour cream and tart plum preserves that are surprisingly filling and light honey cake that tastes like a tea party should spring up around it - along with our favorite lox bagel in town, which comes with the perfect amount of cream cheese, pickled shallots, and dill. It’s all good enough that you’d put up with eating it in a BART station at rush hour, but luckily, it’s in a quiet spot on the edge of Hayes Valley instead.

20th Century Cafe image

photo credit: Krescent Carasso

Infatuation Logo

Company

2024 © The Infatuation Inc. All Rights Reserved.

FIND PLACES ON OUR APP

Get it on Google PlayDownload on the App Store