I ignored the "overrated" comments on here because I'd had a good experience about five years back on the weekend. Just came back from breakfast on a weekday morning, and jeez. They weren't kidding. I ordered a farmer's breakfast with bacon. They forgot the bacon, the potatoes had a metallic aftertaste (which I can STILL taste after an hour), and (astonishingly) the portions were small. This would be sort of okay for Denny's. But Kate's has a big rep, and from what I see they're not even trying. read more

The wait was a little long, but that is because everyone seems to know how good this place is. The french toast was a must have since you looked around and saw them everywhere! I had the special, whole wheat with strawberries and bananas..delicious. Definitely will be back..worth the wait read more

One of the better brunch deals around. You can get a good sized pile of food and a cup of coffee for about 7 bucks. The lines can be a pain, but if you can motivate to get to breakfast before 10am, it's doable. read more

I don't like Kate's. There. I've said it. I want to like it; I've claimed to like it. So what's the problem? I just don't like the food. It's not very good. Bad potatoes. Really average everything. Once had a really gross corned beef hash. Icky. Plus, there's this one waiter who is a complete asshole. He just ignores you the entire time. He spends his time down the block, literally. People have to go get him. Best thing about this place is the coffee. Really good coffee. Too bad I can't drink it anymore. read more

this is one of the best breakfast deals- portions are enormous and it's cheap. If you want to go healthy, try the fruit bowl with granola and yogurt- really good. And they also have great omelettes and pancakes. read more

it's like... you know when you're waiting outside drooling all over the windows and pointing at people's food and sort of whimpering and innocent customers can't focus on their meals because you're desperately acting out the motions of eating a beautiful french toast orgy and 1,000 cups of coffee? i want their maps. the music is too loud for my hangovers though... read more

The food isn't necessarily great, but it is good and it hits the spot when you're craving a giant breakfast. And there are definitely some things on the menu I enjoy quite a bit. The french toast orgy is a huge plate of french toast topped with fruit, granola and "love"... oh wait, that was yogurt. Anyway it's gigantic and very good. I can pack down the food on any given morning/ afternoon and I barely get through half of it. The big guy breakfast is good for those of us who have a hard time making decisions. They basically just give you a little bit of everything which also ends up being a ton of food. Anyway, come hungry or share with friends. It isn't gourmet, but it's good for a greasy spoon which is sometimes exactly what you need on a rough Saturday morning. read more

I think Kate's Kitchen is like a joke I don't really get. Its sort of on the same level as Taqueria Cancun for me. Everyone else is laughing it up while I sit there kinda chuckling, looking around nervously. Check please. read more

Kate's used to be so good, I mean it still is for eggs and toast and hash browns. But I got the french toast orgy, which was good except for the fruit that was on it, cantaloupe was out of season at the time and tasted off and the rest of the fruit was just meh. Most of the time Kate's is great, but the servers were a bit off and not dressed appropriately. If you're into pancakes they are famous for them and they always have different varieties. Portions are huge so you might want to split it with a friend or partner! read more

What a cute and cosy place for brunch! I met a friend here for brunch a couple of weeks ago and we had a lovely time. I had a daily special omelet which was tasty and my friend was really happy with her choice too. It's a great start to a chill afternoon in the Lower Haight. read more

I ordered a small and basic breakfast, but was not overly impressed. The English muffin was good, but the homefries were greasy. The strawberry jam was great, but the jalapeno too sweet. The neighborhood isn't the best, but the bus is nearby. The service was friendly and the atmosphere was comfortable. I did feel that this was nothing special, with the exception of the strawberry jam. read more

Such a great find! Yes you might have to wait for about 20 to 30 minutes on the weekend - but go grab a cup of coffee across the street at Cafe International, and just enjoy the fact it's the weekend! For under $10 I got the BEST breakfast sandwich - the Lauren Special - 2 sunnyside up eggs on a kaiser roll with aioli, tomato, onions, cheese, avocado, and meat (I passed as I am a veggie) plus home fries. Throw in a coffee and some friends - that's the recipe for a great weekend. read more

Pretty much everything on the menu here is delicious from the fruit orgy to the farmer's breakfast. Staff is always nice and playing good music. Get some hush puppies to start. Not the cheapest breakfast in SF, but definitely one of the best. read more

I hanker after their Flarney Barney or whatever it's called. Perfect hangover food. One of the hosts there is a total b**** and the rest are somewhat friendly at best. Still, the food is copious and cheap, if that's what you are looking for. No mimosas, either. Very crowded. read more

Flanched Farney Garney is awesome for a hangover, but aside from that, I think my tastebuds have evolved since college. The fruit is mealy, and the quality is pretty poor...not to mention, eh, not the cleanest. read more

Just incredible pancakes, and very generous servings. The bacon however was a little over done and the line could be long--but again, worth the wait for the strawberry banana topped cornmeal pancakes. Great hash & potatoes, I'd definitely go back again--it's kinda necessary when all I could think about is the food there... read more

I grew up in West Virginia and I know biscuits and gravy. This place would have closed down there in their first week with their interpretation of biscuits and gravy. The biscuits were rock hard sitting in a completely flavorless gravy. You really have to try to make biscuits and gravy this bad. I don't understand any of the positive reviews of biscuits from this place. Those people must not understand what biscuits are suppose to taste like. Biscuits /= rocks. Yuck. I'm not even going to start with the collard greens. WARNING to southerners and country folk: stay away. read more

Had the French Toast Orgy, was a monstrous portion with too much granola on top. Very difficult to eat and the bread was a bit dry. I would go back, it's just ok greasy spoon. read more

This is a looong overdue review. So, breaky food is one of my favorites and they do it right here. I had the eggs, potatoes and toast and I can taste the flavor of good ol fashion american breakfast food. Big portions and all the fixings you need. This was a one time shot for me, so if you're in this part of the city and want grubbing AM food, you will be happy here. read more

I'm disappointed that the food looked better in the pictures than in actuality. I would have given this place 3 stars but it lacked the service to bulster its ratings. We walked in and stood there for a few minutes, no one gave us eye contact or said hello, so we figured we should just pick any table. They were slow to acknowledge us, had to ask for water refills, and had to walk the check to them since they weren't coming to get. The food is okay and very reasonably priced for SF, but I guess having a cheap meal means you don't get a nice eating-out experience too, the service was greatly lacking warmth and attentiveness. There are much better places for brunch, and I recommend elsewhere. Try Straw instead. read more

I've never met a restaurant in the lower haight that I didn't like, and Kate's Kitchen is no exception. The food is tasty, the service is great, and I couldn't ask for more. read more

as a hungry tourist I was delighted to find this place for my breakfast one morning while wandering the streets of San Francisco. The staff was quick, professional and very friendly and the food was like home made. read more

Kate's has always treated me right. Great service, really great food. The french toast is superb. After a night of drinking, or if you are just craving solid diner faire, Kate's is great. Best for groups of 4 or less. read more

It's just a typical greasy spoon. Everything was just okay with a few puddles of grease, but hey- sometimes that's just what you're looking for. read more

Absolutely love this spot in SF for breakfast / brunch. The bacon cheddar pancakes are the best thing on the menu.

Fantastic hollandaise sauce. It's increasingly hard to find real, housemade hollandaise sauce in this city. Kate's Eggs Benedict doesn't skimp on real, expertly made sauce or the full sized muffin. Also the coffee is pretty good. read more

Polite servers, fast service, generous portions. This place is great!! Highly recommended

Awesome service for how busy it was this morning! I sat at the bar and had Irene's Wrap. A breakfast burrito with potatoes and vegetables on the side - super delicious! read more

french toast orgy ... mmmmmmmmmmmmm !! the wait sucks on weekends, and the waitstaff can be self-absorbed sometimes (hey, it's the lower haight, right?), but the food tastes great and there's plenty of it! don't try for large groups (5+) on weekends. read more

The breakfasts are definitely decent, but the portions are way too big. I felt so bad that I could only eat about 1/3 of the food on my plate. The sausage is delicious though, and so are the hush puppies, orange juice, and pancakes. The bacon sucked. Very dry. The service was great for me and even though I went on a Sunday, I didn't have to wait in line.. I agree with the other posters that it isn't the cleanest place. read more

i love me some kate's!! first of all--the farmer's breakfast: cheap, lots of food. they have orange french toast...ohhh myy goshhh sooo gooodd. they have aztec scrambles...yummm! and you know what? as much as everyone tells me that they've had to wait forever for breakfast...ive never had to wait more then 5 minutes even on the weekends. read more

Waaaay overrated. How is there a line outside on weekends? I thought the food tasted like sawdust.

Not really as good as all the Hipsters made it out to be. PLus they had a pretty limited selection and it felt like the waitress did not care for us. Granted it was 2:45 and they were closing up, but we still expected service gosh-darnit! I still prefer Eddie's Cafe over this place. read more

I came here with great hopes and promises from my buddy. I was promise food that would satisfy me greater than my love for Ihops. My dreams were crush the second I walked in the door. I've tried many cafe's, but this was in my opinion a shit hole. I may have just went at the wrong time, but regardless a business should always maintain a standard. The atmosphere blew horribly from the dark lighting to the waitress who seem like she wanted to kill herself for working. The food was burn and was dry. Service suck, so I shall never return. read more

You've got to laugh out loud at the service - its not rude but slightly snarkey. I liked it.. I did. And its open early on a WEdnesday morning which when the fog rolls in, you really get the sense that this kitsch diner is the only thing left in the mountain town you're now in - I know where did I go with that one? Don't ask - Basically, the atmosphere is great and the food, pretty great - try it out. read more

Because variety is the spice of life I decided to let this weekend be a Mission Pork Store-free weekend. Because kicking an addiction is always hard, I must admit, my withdraw symptoms might have made me slightly more cantankerous than usual...but, I do try to be fair on YELP, always. First and foremost, as I walked in to the restaurant, my first thought was: rough around the edges. The decorating is interesting (my boyfriend and I spent at least twenty minutes pouring over a full-wall mural of the US and all the exports for each state. As a proud Missourian I was pleased to see not only were pigs, cows and corn represented, but also the Ozarks. The place is crowded, which is good, but it's too crowded: crowded in a chaotic, noisy, un-thought-out way, rather than designed to use space and eliminate noise. Plus, the kitchen was open, but not in the charming ways of Zuni, more like an elementary school art classroom with a large window so you can watch you food being put together on and off...with the artistry of...the dudes that work in kitchen. And, to make issue worse, every time the table to our side was served we had to lean forward to accommodate. I know it's SF, I know space is not of the essence, but planning and thought do eliminate if not alleviate issues of this sort. And the food. Actually, I can't lie. The food was pretty good. The portions were too big, but that's not a problem, that's a must for brunch dishes. The coffee rocked, the cornmeal and buttermilk pancakes were a delightful gritty masa texture that was so yummy I got told to keep my hands off the boyfriend's plate. I was a bit let down by the potatoes--I like mine shredded and deep friend to a crispy sort of hash plate, but these were more J's Pots of Soul-style. Good for my liver and bad for my point of view, there was no alcohol. And, I gotta say, a brunch with out mimosa is like a cock fight with out pecking. My original thought was my final thought: well on it's way, but still very rough around the edges. Once this place closes in the kitchen ceiling or creates a more unified open-kitchen look, gets a liquor lic. or starts serving sujou and figures out how to make the most out of a small space, I'm likely to give up pork store for good and become a one restaurant girl--but until that day, I pledge my allegiance to the pig. Oh, and PS: never, ever name anything "orgy" anything. I hate it. I won't say it. Even though fresh oatmeal and yogurt sound amazing on a waffle, I won't order a french toast orgy just like I won't order a chocolate thunda from down unda from Outback. it won't happen. read more

ya know, kate's kitchen is supposed to be the cat's meow of lower haight brunch fare, but i am just not that impressed. i went back here recently with a group of friends, and ordered the sausage gravy with cheddar cheese biscuits. frankly, the gravy was disgusting- totally bland and hardly any sausage. and the biscuits were pretty boring too- very little cheesiness. it's also irritating that they don't accept credit cards. that said, i have always enjoyed the flanched farney garney (their version of a breakfast sandwich- egg and bacon on a bun of some kind), and their other egg options are pretty good. read more

Really delicious food, and one of the few places you can get cornmeal pancakes. But if you come here on a weekend between 11am and 1pm, expect to wait half an hour to an hour for a table. If you're already hungry when you arrive during these hours, you're better off walking around the corner to Squat 'N' Gobble. read more

AS all my friends know- this place is in my top 5 for BRUNCH in SF - course I am all about the French Toast/Pancakes kindda gal. And, I was lucky enough to be able to eat there with my friend Celly back in May before I moved out to CHI town. The Portions are HUGH and better to split with someone. And, if you don't want to wait in the lines- avoid weekends or go after 2pm. But- for sure get the the pancakes topped with granola and lemon curd!!!!!!! read more

The food is not delicious (I most recently had the corned beef hash--corned beef was fatty, potatoes not tasty). The wait is long. The coffee is bad. The atmosphere leaves much to be desired (tables smooshed in to straight rows, seating in the middle of a thoroughfare). Last time I went there, at 10am on a Saturday, they ran out of butter. Butter! I will probably go here again b/c it's real close to my house, maybe to give the egg sandwich a try, but overall I just don't like it. read more