Dottie’s True Blue Cafe

I was really excited to get brunch here with my friend on a Friday morning. After reading the reviews, I was quite scared about how long the line would be, but to my surprise, I only had to wait around 15 minutes for a seat. It took the waiter forever to take our order and it also took the food forever to come out, which made the experience less enjoyable for us.
I am giving this place 3 stars for most of the food and the service, but the potatoes are so amazing that I am bumping it up to 4 stars. My friend and I both ordered The Open Road. The eggs and the french toast were pretty average, but I would totally come back here just for the potatoes. The prices were a bit high but at least the portions were good! I was definitely filled to the brim when I left this place.

This review is SOLEY for the staff. Particularly the head chef/​owner. I came here on a Monday, 11:30am. Busy but not anything out of the ordinary. The staff is pleasant, busy running around nonstop accommodating the annoying super bowl tourists in town and trying to keep up. I came here by myself on my only day off for a nice breakfast and am seated in the corner by the kitchen area, the head chef is a fucking asshole. What a douchebag. I’ve been here so many times and I’m so confused as to how he treats his staff like shit. Yes chefs are notorious for that, but barking orders at his staff and when I glanced over once and one of the servers asked if I needed anything and I simply said «no thank you I’m fine.» The owner screamed at the waiter saying «no talking at the front I need an order count.» UH WTF DID THE OWNER JUST YELL AT ME!!! not only do I feel like I got in trouble but he by no means necessary had to speak to his staff like that and as I am typing my food is getting cold and I don’t even want to eat it, I’m scathing mad with a loss of my appetite and thanks to the owner who ruined my day off. I don’t even care about the food now. I’m in the service industry and cannot stand pricks who treat their staff so poorly. NOW I HAVE TO AWKWARDLY SIT HERE AND EAT MY MEAL!!!
Ps, the anger and fury shows in this fucking frittata being waaaaaaaaay too spicy and sloppy. Also, my muffin is incredibly undercooked. Food used to be better but clearly he can’t handle being busy. Id rather go to Brenda’s or Mission Beach or even Chipotle. Wow. Way to go.

I was looking forward to coming here because of its great reviews and my excited was confirmed when I saw the line around the corner to get in. However I was slightly disappointed in leaving.
First of all, it didn’t feel like it was located in the safest part of town. I was on edge walking to it and didn’t feel comfortable standing outside waiting. While waiting a homeless man that was crazy walked in and started pushing people. The manager called the police but it took them 20 minutes to respond. By that time he had already swung at a guy and left yelling profanities.
The restaurant was decorated nice and had a good atmosphere. The wait wasn’t too long to get in. But ultimately the food wasn’t worth the wait. I don’t know if we ordered the wrong things but I was left disappointed. I had the blueberry pancakes with fresh fruit. My mom ordered French toast and cinnamon roll with bacon. The fruit was delicious, very fresh. The pancakes were just ok. They were very large and cooked well but lacked flavor.
The cinnamon roll wasn’t too sweet which was nice but it was also a little hard on the edges. The bacon was delicious and cooked to order.
The servers were friendly but didn’t listen well. They were so busy running around they didn’t hear our requests to order food with our drinks or go ahead and pay our bill.
I wonder if we just came on a bad day? The scrambles all look delicious when we were walking out. I would have considered going back and give that a try but with the scary incident we had, the wait and the price, it just wasn’t worth it to me.
For two people, the bill was over $ 50. That very expensive for breakfast, especially considering the food was just ok and the overall experience left me feeling uneasy. Which is sad because I really wanted to like this place.

My Godmother and I have a tradition of breaking all of our diet plans whenever she visits me in California. Although the reviews warned of a long wait, and a «seedy» neighborhood, we decided to give it a try. WORTH​.IT.
I waited in heavy SF Fog (read as light rain) on a Friday morning (9:15) for 30 minutes (with no umber-​ella– ella) before being seated, the line was around the corner (short block — like 5 ft to the corner) and the line moved. Once seated coffee and order were placed within 10 minutes. I had the lamb sausage with eggs and potato’s and the dill buttermilk toast. My Godmother had the lamb omelette with eggs, potato’s, whole wheat toast and champagne.
Everything was perfectly cooked, and warm. The butter was soft (hard butter is a pet peeve), and the service was prompt without being pushy. There are pictures of iconic women entertainers (loved that) along all of the walls and an overall homey/​welcoming vibe in the place. They’ve been doing this for over 20 years, and the staff are super friendly, and service on point.
If you’re familiar with downtown SF, Dottie’s is off Market and 6^th, yep lots going, someone may ask you for change, and you will see homeless people. It’s an unfortunate reality of living in the Bay Area, but they aren’t looking to harm you, plus it’s one block off Market Street, not that serious people.
I’ll be returning very soon (like Monday) to dig in to that coffee cake.
Tips: DO
Go on a weekday morning, have a cup of coffee first and chill in line, it moves fast.
Best for party of Two (if you’re concerned about time)
Take pictures of Specials and Bakery specials when in line (can’t see from seat)
Leave after you eat, let other people sit :)
DON’T refer to the unfortunate folks in the area as «ghetto»

Waited an hour in line on Sunday morning. Expected the food to be amazinggggg but it was just your typical brunch food.
The waitstaff was friendly and our food came out fairly quickly after being seated.
I ordered the zucchini pancake special. Husband got the wide road. My zucchini pancake was alright… comes with a poached egg on top. If it weren’t for the marina sauce that they French the zucchini cake in — it wouldn’t be that good. My husband enjoyed his wide road which came with French toast, whiskey fennel, scrambled eggs and potatoes.
Nothing out of the ordinary… Very typical brunch– not worth the wait IMO.

The immediate neighborhood gives you some pause, especially if you manage to snag a parking space in the alley right next to Dottie’s, only to realize that people in the rooming houses above are randomly throwing canned goods, eggs, and liquor bottles out the windows without any regard for whether there might be people or cars below, let alone me standing in line watching nervously over my car.
Nevertheless, the wait is worth it once you make it inside. You’ll get super rich brunch fare — and huge portions at that, given the reasonable prices you’ll pay. A side of warm whiskey crumb cake turned out to be a loaf’s worth of food that could fill several people at once, even though the main brunch entrees hadn’t arrived yet. The cake was already mouthwateringly rich and buttery in and of itself, but nevertheless came with a generous helping of butter on the side. More substantial entrees like the True Blue plate, smoked salmon scramble, and Alabama Summer (three pancakes and fruit salad) were even more satisfyingly artery-​busting.
Service is reasonably friendly and efficient, which makes for the actual time spent dining in the venue feel trivial compared to the amount of time spent waiting in line. I guess you’ll just have to catch up with your friends while waiting in line and then chow down quickly as you’ll be famished by the time you sit down.

We have Sunday matinée tickets to the Golden Gate Theater as part of our Best of Broadway series. For the past couple of years, we’ve looked at the crowds in front of Dottie’s but never got in line because they were just daunting.
Today, we got into The City a bit earlier than usual and found street parking right away so we walked over and the line looked bearable. It stretched around the corner but was mostly single file so not more than maybe 20 to 25 people. I think the fact that it was the weekend between Christmas and New Years worked in our favor. People are either on vacation or sleeping in.
We arrived around 12:30, got in at 1:00, ordered at 1:07, got served at 1:18 and were out of Dottie’s by 1:40. In plenty of time for a 2:00 show time.
As much as we wanted coffee, we ordered water. You never want to drink too much close to show time because… well…think about it.
She ordered Dottie’s Famous Pancakes
Whole wheat buttermilk spiced w/​ginger & cinnamon served w/​pure maple syrup
I ordered The South Western
12.95
Andouille sausages mushrooms onions peppers & jack cheese in an open faced omelet w/​home fries salsa & tortilla. I added sour cream and avocado.
We think they must sprinkle magic dust on their food because it was oh so good! Never have I not been able to finish my breakfast. I had to get a doggie bag which she devoured when we got home.
What made the meal even better was that we sat at the counter. The entertainment provided by the ballet of three cooks working together to put out all that food was terrific!

I heard so many great things about this place and I really wanted to try it out. Living in SF also means you like to brunch, so I always welcome new joints.
When I arrived the line was super long, wrapping around the corner of the building. Don’t let that intimidate you, it moves pretty quickly. I had a good 20 people in front of me and only waited half an hour. When we got to the front, I noticed they had ample seating in the front and back of the restaurant, plus the servers seems to be really efficient. Speaking of service, our server was Louise. She was so warm and welcoming! I really liked her presence and she took the time to make us feel at home. Made the experience that much better.
For breakfast, I got the thee egg omelet options that starts at $ 9.50. With this option, you also have the option to add a few things in it for additional costs. Here’s what I got:
-$ 1.00 options: Onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach
-$ 2.50 option: Italian Sausage
-$ 3.00 options: Avocado and Gruyère cheese
OMG! The omelet was massive! The dish came with home fries and your choice of bread which I chose the house-​made buttermilk dill toast (when in Rome, right?). Such a hearty plate. The components matched my palate but trust me, you can choose whatever you see fit, they have tons of options.
Whenever I go to a new joint, I try to get a few items so I have a well round review (and because I can eat!) so I also got the Berkshire pork sausage links (3) for $ 6.50 and a side of the house made thick cut French toast for $ 12.95. The links were super flavorful and a nice serving for the price. The French toast was OMG delicious. The pieces were huge, breaded nicely and served with a warm syrup. Highly recommend them!
This brunch spot is on point. If you’re looking for more of the food options than the unlimited mimosas, come down and check them out. It’s definitely worth the wait!

We arrived around 11am on a Sunday and the line went out their door, around the corner, with about 10 people standing in the alleyway. The guy in front of us in line had called the restaurant, who had estimated a 30-​minute wait (though none of the staff were outside to see how long the line actually was). I think we waited at least an hour, but I was excited for my friend, who was in town for the weekend, to try some great eggs.
My friend got the Zucchini Cakes, which I’d thought were great in the past, but she found them a bit flavorless. She also got a single pancake, and that was simple, soft, fluffy, tasty.
SPECIALS
* Chipotle Ground Beef, onion, tomato, corn, spinach scramble w/​grilled cornbread & potatoes (special $ 13) — 4 stars
Tried a bite, this had good flavors and of course the eggs at Dottie’s are always fluffy and soft.
* Fried egg sandwich, smoked turkey-​provolone, biscuit (special, $ 14.50) — 4.5 stars.
Delicious, my favorite dish of the meal! The biscuit really made this dish — it had a thick crisped crust and the inside was heavenly soft. The thick slice of avocado was the 2^nd best part.
EGGS
* Chorizo, onion, cheddar scramble ($ 13.95) w/​cornbread replacement — 2.5 stars.
I was very disappointed by my own dish. I found the eggs to be watery and the ingredients lacking flavor. My friend tried this and liked it though — we traded his Fried Egg Sandwich for this and were both very happy!
* Grilled Cornbread w/​Jalapeño Jelly (replacement for toast on scramble above) — 4 stars
Super tasty, very grainy cornbread. A tad on the dry, crumbly side, but the jalapeño jelly keeps it together nicely, so just make sure to slather that on!
* Lamb Merguez Sausage, roasted garlic, tomato, spinach & goat cheese omelet w/​house-​made buttermilk dill or whole wheat toast & home fries ($ 15.50) — 4.5 stars.
Everyone loved this! The lamb had a great gamey flavor that was unique and sharp for an omelet.

30 minutes de file de 8h15 à 8h45, mais ensuite quel régal ! la 3 eggs omelette à la mozzarella, ham, mushrooms and bacon est parfaite (toasts un peu gros mais le pain est bon), les muffins sont légers et copieux, les pancakes sont faits de pâte légère, café et chocolats chauds irréprochables ainsi que les jus d’oranges frais. les petites assiettes de fruits frais coupés ou entiers se mangent sans faim ! addition correcte (max 20 $) pour un petit dej très copieux et délicieux qui vous permet d’affronter tous les dénivelés de San Francisco !

Después de una noche difícil (vamos a decir, simplemente, difícil) uno se levanta con un hambre que da calambre. Y como bien sabe todo el mundo mundial, no hay nada como un buen brunch con bien de grasas saturadas para darle al cuerpo la oportunidad de recomponerse como es debido.
A mí ya me habían recomendado Dottie’s en varias ocasiones, pero todavía no había ido… Imagino que porque no quería (de ninguna de las maneras) esperar la cola que se suele formar ahí. Pero era viernes y (todavía) era pronto, así que allí nos plantamos. Sorpresa, sorpresa: la media hora de cola no nos la quitó nadie y terminamos sentados en una mesa comunal. ¿Fue eso un problema? En absoluto.
Yo me hice con un True Blue Plate. Esto significa que por 11 dólares me bebí todo el café que quise, y me comí dos huevos revueltos, bacon, patatas de la casa y tortitas, más un zumo y todo el café que te apetezca tomar. Os digo que es el desayuno más barato que he probado en mi vida, y que no fui siquiera capaz de terminarme semejante cantidad de comida: era una auténtica barbaridad. Rico, con fundamento y por un precio irrisorio. ¿Qué más puedes pedir?
Que no haya cola. Pero eso es imposible, así que espérala con alegría.

Énormes et délicieux pancakes, petits dejeuners traditionnels copieux et goutus.
Ambiance jazzy à la nouvelle Orléans, service agréable.
On a fait confiance à Unilocal pour ce breakfast et on s’est bien régalés!
A faire!

«DER Brunchplace schlechthin. Da müsst ihr hin! Reservierungen sind nicht möglich, aber 45 Minuten in der Schlange stehen lohnt sich auf jeden Fall…» So wurde dieses Café von meinen Bekannten angepriesen. Ok, dachte ich mir, dann wollen wir das mal probieren.
Mit insgesamt 6 Kollegen wollten wir diesen sagenumwobenen Brunch ausprobieren. Zum Glück war die andere Hälfte unserer Gruppe schon deutlich vor uns dort und konnte sich in die Schlange einreihen. 30 – 40 Minute Wartezeit war wirklich gut kalkuliert. Wir kamen später dazu und mussten glücklicherweise nur noch 5 Minuten warten. Drinnen ist der Laden wirklich klasse! Mit hohen Decken, alten Fliesen und dunklen Holzstühlen. Irgendwie eher französisch als amerikanisch. Sehr hübsch!
Dann wurden wir in den hinteren Teil des Cafés gelotst — an 2 verschiedene Tische die in entgegengesetzten Ecken des Raumes standen. Etwas irritiert fragten wir den Kellner ob wir den Tisch wechseln könnten, damit unsere Gruppe zusammen sitzen kann. Nein, war die kurze Antwort. Etwas perplex fragte ich dann den zweiten Kellner und erklärte unsere Situation: Wir wären zu sechst gekommen und dies ist der einzige Tag an dem wir uns alle sehen würden. Ob es nicht möglich wäre die beiden nebeneinanderliegenden Tische zu bekommen. Nein, das geht leider nicht. Warum das nicht geht, ist mir bis heute nicht klar. Die 3er Gruppe die nach uns kam wurde dann an unseren Nachbartisch gesetzt… sehr seltsam.
Ich habe mich dann mit der Sitzordnung abgefunden, war aber doch etwas angefressen. Die Tatsache, dass es an dem Tag keine Eggs Benedict, sondern fast nur Omelettes gab, hat die Sache nicht besser gemacht. Im Endeffekt waren die Portionen zwar riesig und auch lecker, auch der Kaffee und der frische O-​Saft waren gut, aber alles in allem war es mir den Aufwand nicht wert. Da hätte ich lieber in einem weniger gehypten Ort mit meinen Freunden an einem Tisch gesessen und eine größere Auswahl an Speisen gehabt.

30 min de queue un dimanche matin à 9h, ça les vaut? Je dirais oui. Probablement les meilleurs pancakes que je connaisse, banane et framboises intégrées directement à la pâte. Café médiocre mais «bottomless». Le cadre est sympa, on né s’y sent pas trop pressé.

Tomei café-​da-​manhã aqui duas vezes. Uma foi uma sexta-​feira e chegamos por volta das 10am, estava uma fila enorme e esperamos do lado de fora por quase 45 minutos. A outro foi numa segunda-​feira, chegamos por volta do mesmo horário e conseguimos uma mesa rapidamente, porém ao sair já vimos que a fila estava lá fora. Conclusão: Venha cedo ou você vai pegar fila, independente do dia da semana.
A verdade é que o Dottie’s é famoso pelo café-​da-​manhã/​brunch mas o cardápio também tem outras opções, então muita gente vai chegar um pouco mais tarde e comer um hambúrguer ou uma salada.
Muitas vezes nós não estamos na «vibe» do café americano. Todo esse bacon, ovos, panquecas é um pouco demais quando estamos acostumados a comer um pãozinho com frios ou manteiga, mas se você quiser experimentar eu recomendo que você coma as panquecas! Elas são bem grossas, então uma deveria ser suficiente para saciar sua fome. Se quiser algo salgado, pode pedir algum dos pães artesanais e comer com manteiga.
O café é refil (assim como a água filtrada), então toda vez que sua xícara estiver um pouquinho mais vazia eles vão encher, quer você queira ou não.
O preço é OK, já que SF é uma cidade cara. Mas eu achei que o menu de café-​da-​manhã, que vinha com ovos e panquecas tinha um melhor custo x benefício do que outras opções do menu.

1 Stunde warten, 1 Stunde mit Genuss essen und das für einen fairen Preis.
Na gut, man zahlt schon den Preis in der Warteschlange. Man denkt sich nur «WTF is going on in there». Warum stehen Leute hier an, als würden Sie Hamsterkäufe vor einem Sturm anstreben.
Na es ist eben europäisches Frühstück. Das Sollte man nicht unterschätzen. Scheinbar eine echte Marktlücke. Man stelle sich vor, man würde nun noch echtes Sauerteigbrot und Brötchen importieren oder gar frisch herstellen können. Dann würde man wohl bis Mission Street anstehen. Aber das ist «zum Glück» noch nicht der Fall.
Also die Sitzplätze waren nett. Etwas dunkel, wenig Fenster. Aber gut.
Die Auswahl war enorm. Ich entschied mich für das «The long Road Breakfast» (ich glaub das war der Name. Siehe Foto. War echt klasse!
Ei war lecker, Speck genial, Pancakes super, Kartoffeln auch lecker. Aber alles in allem für mich ein gutes EU Frühstück. Nichts was man nicht in einem gut sortierten Café in Deutschland zum Frühstück auch bekommen könnte.
Also wer nach SF fliegt und gut frühstücken will, kann sich hier gerne anstellen. Das sollte man schon einmal gesehen haben. Wer plant länger dort zu bleiben, soll einfach ein gutes Rezept aus Deutschland mitbringen und mal selbst einen Laden eröffnen. Erfolgsrezept? Deutscher Name, irgendwas mit Bakery und «original», ein Elite Event mit Unilocal für den Start und dann am besten vile Personal einplanen. Am besten gleich Zettel wie an der Wursttheke einführen, denn das Chaos ist vorprogrammiert.
5% des Gewinns bitte an mich. Kontodaten gebe ich dann Vertragsabschluss raus. Und nicht vergessen, Nutella ist Pflicht!

Perfekter Start in den Tag mit den Pancakes von Dotties Café. Sehr nette Bedienung, entspannte Atmosphäre und die Ruhe/​Charme der goldenen Zwanziger. Immer recht voll, keine Reservierung möglich, aber man kommt recht schnell zu einem Platz, da der Host seinen Laden gut im Griff hat. Enjoy it!

avec autant d’avis positifs d’habitants et touristes de San Francisco, peu de risques de se tromper. Ce fut excellent, les meilleurs pancakes jamais savourés avec du vrai sirop d’érable, comme ils aiment à le noter !!
Mon avis ici né fera que vous conforter d’y aller avant 8h car nos amis les ricains sont capables de faire la queue pour venir petit déjeuner ici. je l’avai lu, je l’ai vu et en France, il né me viendrai pas à l’esprit de faire la queue pour un petit déj. alors méfiez vous et allez y tôt.
Pas très économique mais je né regrette pas du tout de l’avoir fait. Merci Unilocal (encore)

EXCELLENT — Le meilleur Pancake jamais mangé, confiture de fraise à tomber, muffin anglais parfaits: rien à dire. Les gens st cool et l’ambiance à l’Americaine est vraiment chouette. Un conseil: allez y tôt parce que file d’attente dès 9h !

Un excellent petit dej chez Dottie’s ! Tout est fait maison, préparé devant nous ! Les serveurs ont le sourire et sont dispos malgré l’activité du restaurant… Les pancakes sont effectivement à tomber ! L’attente vaut le coup !

Le meilleur petit déj de tout San Francisco, assurément. Levez vous tôt, la file d’attente commence dès 8h00AM. Le pancake maison est à tomber par terre !

Le meilleur petit déjeuner (et les meilleurs pancakes) de San Francisco.
Attention queue assez importante mais c’est véritablement une institution et vous n’aurez pas besoin de manger de la journée :)