Golden Coffee Shop

My dad used to take my sister and me here when we were young… probably 25 – 30 years ago. As the years passed, we both moved out of the city as young adults and our father passed away. I would fondly remember this place but I couldn’t remember exactly where it was located, I knew it was somewhere near the Tenderloin-​ish area, on a corner, and on a hill. I figured it was probably out of business and stopped obsessing over trying to find it. This past weekend… I found it! I cannot believe this place is still around and when you walk in, it feels like nothing has changed! This place is straight up stuck in the 70’s-80’s. It’s so awesome.
The food is hella cheap and good. I ordered the corned beef hash, hash browns, and eggs over easy… all for under $ 7?! What?!
My wife ordered an egg and bacon with toast… under $ 5?!
This is Twilight Zone prices… on the real.
Our total was like $ 14. So unreal and the food is still hella good.

This was a cool breakfast diner we ended up at because the lines at several other brunch places were way too long… SF loves to brunch. Really liked the diner vibe here and the food was tasty and cheap! It seemed family run and the seating was interesting at the bar, a unique experience!

Exactly what a diner should be. Their set up is really cute, too – it’s amazing what they can cook in that little space! Yummy, simple and cheap – finding this trifecta is increasingly rare in SF!

The food was great!!! The French toast was really delicious even though it had no special flavor to it. The eggs and hash browns were perfect and went very well together. The only negative is that it was super cold inside…

This is my go-​to breakfast spot when I’m in SF. It’s a literal ‘mom and pop’ joint serving traditional breakfast items. The décor is non-​existent and the place could do with a good clean, but as far as the food goes, you won’t find better. The pancakes are a thousand times better than chain restaurants like IHOP or Denny’s. The prices are extremely low. It’s so good, I rarely consider eating anywhere else in the city for breakfast.

Well what can I say. I was duped by the large majority of good reviews. I don’t understand why this places has a high rating. I mean it’s cheap, but come on people have you not tasted good american breakfast in your life?! I’m from out of town and went based on Unilocal reviews the moment I walked in I knew there was something wrong. Yet I decided I would be humble and give a shot. Boy was I wrong I got french toast with two scrambled eggs and a side of hash browns. The French toast was by far the most disgusting thing I’ve ever had in my life. They tasted old and smelled old, God I can still taste it yuck. The same goes for the eggs. Hash browns were under cooked. Avoid this place at all cost.

I am a cat who rarely eats out for breakfast. lunch, dinner, late night bite? sure, but breakfast is sort of a rarity to me when it comes to eating somewhere other than the home.
that said, as a roaming cat of SF, I happened to see a friend recommend this place as a good simple breakfast spot, so I decided to give it a go, and make my way to this place.
needless to say, upon walking in, I was a bit surprised to find a very small place with a large bar style table around a kitchen of sorts. looking around, I wouldn’t give this place any extra points on décor or cleanliness, but it wasn’t too bad. I am one who judges more on service and food quality anyways.
a woman took my order and she was quite nice. despite it being pretty hectic here, she always kept my water filled.
I decided to order the Joes special with hash browns and English muffin. the English muffin was served first and the hash browns and eggs were served a few minutes later. I have to say, I like the way they prepared the egg here. it was much more flavorful than some other breakfast spots I have been to where despite being rated well, their eggs seemed bland. here there was a lot of good flavor which I truly appreciated. the hash browns were nothing too special, but were a good accompaniment.
note that this place is cash only which makes it a place I can see a lot of regulars going to, but probably not tourist necessarily.
overall, while not pretty to look at, I can say that this place is somewhere I would definitely go to again when I’m looking for a quick breakfast that is very well priced and easy. nice little place that I can see being a regular spot for many!
*chirp!*

As good as it gets! This place is amazing.
Seriously, where can you find typical american breakfast for less than 10 $ now a days?
Breakfast and bunch is seriously over priced and overrated around the city now with bacon and eggs for $ 15.
So happy to find a breakfast joint that caters to my american breakfast cravings for cheap!
Two eggs + has browns here costs ~$ 4.00! what? yepppp.
I really like the corned beef has + eggs here, which is only $ 6.50 :)
NY steak + eggs. $ 9.95. Definitely a score!
It’s always a full house on the weekends and
The bottle neck here is definitely the food, which takes while to come out because there’s only one chef cooking for the whole place.
Very solid american breakfast, no complaints.

Exactly the kind of small hometown local diner I had in mind. I’m originally from NJ and it’s often hard to find a NJ style diner of this caliber. Golden Coffee Shop is an honest diner experience –while on the road, it is a friendly piece of home.
I had the «Joes Special» from the omelette menu. It has the typical amount of food & grease I expected from a good diner — it was on point. The coffee was smooth & just what I needed to get me going for the day.
Excellent food, coffee and old school east coast diner style feel. I will visit Golden Coffee Shop again!

I went again today because I wanted a simple breakfast without waiting an hour somewhere. For some reason all the decent breakfast places on Nob Hill are packed with hipsters and I for one don’t want to waste half a day waiting for breakfast.
I used to come to this place every weekend for years. I’ll admit that as my palate evolved and bank account grew I decided to shrug this place off. I played the mad game of «find the best place» for years. Sometimes it’s the simple things and places that please us the most. This is one of those places.
So I got a full, hearty breakfast with a waffle and left stuffed. Everything tasted great. It is definitely a dive but I like it.
I think they source most of their ingredients from Costco, but so what? Costco is known for having exceptional quality so if they can use superior ingredients and pass the savings on to me, I’m all for it.
Looking forward to getting back into my groove with this place. It’s like connecting with an old friend.

This little dive’s 4-​stars are well-​earned. No, it is not the same 4-​stars as, say, Zuni or Delfina. But for what it is – a neighborhood divey greasy spoon — it’s practically perfect.
I have done some snooping on the interwebs, but can find no history on the place. I suppose I could ask the folks that work there, but they’re all so damn busy (and efficient). All I know is that I have been going there for almost 20 years now, and it’s great. In my mind it has been open for decades, run by multiple generations of the same Chinese family. But that’s just my dive fantasy…
Love the wrap-​around counter, and because I generally go there by myself I rarely wait for a seat — parties of 3+ will be more challenged. People watching is an added benefit to the counter: the odd old neighborhood farts you know who have been dining there for decades, European tourists, and (now) douchey hipsters who sadly discovered this gem a few years ago. Oh well…
Again, all good diner food. My go-to’s are the Denver omelet or the steak and eggs (the hash browns are aways perfect), and a burger or BLT (and the fries are aways perfect). The coffee? Meh. It’s okay. I have certainly had worse. They do some Chinese rice dishes, none of which I have tried. It’s rare for me to leave with a check more than $ 10.
So, get it on your list.

This place is just so many levels of happy. It’s delicious, simple, clean enough, quick, consistent and cheap. Grab a stool at their quaint little U-​Shaped bar and you’ll be helped right away. Like previous Unilocalers, you almost don’t want to share it because it’s so wonderfully unchanged and popularity makes it less of a simple pleasure.
Food — My go-​to meal is coffee, veggie omelet (no cheese needed it is so yummy on its own) and sourdough. The omelet is loaded with fresh veggies and the homemade hashbrowns are the perfect blend of soft and crispy — not too greasy either. My BF is picky about his corned beef hash and loves theirs. Most things come as A La Carte so you can pick and choose easily.
Price– We both get coffee and add-​ons and our meal totals to a thrilling $ 20.

A classic mom & pop shop that offers simple and delicious breakfasts. The menu is very customizable, and allows you to order EXACTLY what you want, and how much. For example, some orders differ by only 1 egg or 1 piece of bacon. I got the Buttermilk Pancakes with a side of Corned Beef Hash, while my boyfriend got Joe’s Omelette with a side of hash browns. The portions were huge, and everything came to a total of less than $ 15! My favourites were the pancakes and the corned beef hash — the pancakes were light and fluffy, and the hash was perfectly crispy.

I used to eat here a few times a week when my office was literally half a block away.
First … don’t expect to walk into a fancy breakfast place! This is a small shop! It has a triangle of seats where sometimes your elbow to elbow with people and 2 tables in the front. Second … the food, some of it is from a can and they obviously buy their breakfast meats from Costco but they aren’t even hiding that fact.
When you need an awesome breakfast … they have good selection of traditional breakfast items including sausage (Jimmy Dean), bacon (I think Oscar Meyer), and Corned Beef Hash from a large can! The waffles, pancakes, and hash browns are hand made. They also have an amazing chicken soup that is delicious!
If you order a steak you can have it with hash browns or steak rice … don’t want toast? Ask for a dinner roll! They are open to whatever.
Prices are good, very cheap!

Fantastic little hole-​in-​the-​wall breakfast spot in the heart of downtown. Seemingly ran by an Asian family, they crank out hearty breakfast plates in impressive portions and at respectable prices.
I adored the two (2) buttermilk pancakes. I also loved my Joe’s Omelette, an omelette featuring ground beef, cheese, and a variety of veggies. I thought it lacked seasoning, though. I hardly ever add salt to anything, but I did find myself picking up the salt shaker and tabasco here.
Looks like this is a locals beehive, and I can understand why. If I lived in the area I’d probably find myself at Golden Coffee Shop regularly.
A bit of constructive criticism — they should clean the dirt out of the window seals and wipe down the walls.

nice little mom-​pop place.
no frills straightforward breakfast.
had denver omelette. very good and simple.
the pancakes were good too.
very cheap and fast service.

Awesome service, more than reasonable prices, and good food. We’ve been three times so far, and it’s been very consistent. All the food tastes fresh, and is as describe (no surprises)

A neighborhood mom & pop breakfast diner.
Super affordable menu with items starting under $ 5.
You can get 1 egg or 2 or 3 done any way you like served with hash-​browns & a side of buttered toasts and jelly.
Their omelets are very filling. I rarely ever finish one. My favorites are the joe’s omelette and the veggie omelette.
The chicken soup is pretty yummy, too. Especially when you dip the toasted dinner roll into it. Perfect for a cold day or when you’re feeling a bit unwell.
Corned-​beef hash is a bit salty but pretty alright, too.
The service is quite fast.
Come in with low expectations and some cash.

Our favorite in the neighborhood! Ok, it’s cutre lux and there may be a line… But it’s as worth as waiting gets.
Food is really good, feel good, taste good, cooked in front of you. Friendly for conversations with strangers, and good super fast service.
Hash browns. Bacon. Eggs. Yeah!

Solid. Come here for the prices, not the quality of food.
I stumbled upon this little store on my way to Brenda’s for some ridiculously heavy brunchin’, somewhat naively hoping that the wait would be somehow under an hour. Obviously not.
Stumbled back to this little place for some placeholder breakfast until the next large scale San Francisco wide event (Santa con) to pull San Franciscans away from their beloved Brenda’s so I can get into the damned building.
Anyways, breakfast here is ridiculously cheap. Pancakes taste like they are made from a bisquick mix, but that’s to be expected. This isn’t mymy’s.
Stark white walls, grill in the back, some service counter smack dab in the middle. Service is friendly, attentive when you need it. Definitely come here is you live in the area and are feeling lazy on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Not Sunday brunch pilgrimage worth it, but solid food nonetheless!

Best. Omelett. Ever!
Ein MUSS wenn man morgens ansatzweise in der Nähe ist. Der Laden ist winzig und sieht aus wie ein Diner aus den 50er, der Koch und die Bedienung sind noch älter, es dauert etwas länger und man riecht danach auch nach Fritteuse, aber glaubt mir, es ist es Wert!!!
Bestellt euch das Omelett mit Schinken, es gibt ein leckeren Rösti dazu.
Oder Buttermilch-​Pfannkuchen (zwei waren mir zuviel) und einen O-​Saft.
Der Tag kann nicht besser beginnen.
Zum Essen, live Einheimische beim reden beobachten, also mir gefällt das.