Golden Gate Perk Internet Cafe

I’ve only come here for lunch so my review (and stars) are based solely on the food experience.
As an internet café, I’d be stoked to find this place (4.5 stars definitely), but I didn’t use the services so can’t speak to value or experience.

If it wasn’t for Unilocal,I’d totally miss this place and it’s discrete entrance. They’ve gone beyond the Korean taco/​burrito trend and ventured into the land of cheese… unfortunately often forgotten from Asian cuisine. Their kimchidilla is a star with the tacos being decent co-​stars (depending on the filling).
Kimchidilla: This item alone is enough to warrant the 4 stars! A wonderfully executed crispy tortilla (Mexican restaurants could learn something) filled with a bunch of cheese and kimchi. On top I think there is even some cream cheese drizzle with sesame seed sprinkled about.
Tacos: Each taco is your choice of meat plus a double soft corn tortilla shell (from a bag, not freshly made), white onions, cilantro, kimchi slaw, lettuce shreds and a nice vinegary Korean hot sauce. It’s a solid base so the success really depends on the meat.
Short Rib: A bit overcooked and had that weird reheated beef taste. Definitely not as good as fresh kalbi.
Spicy Pork: Nice spicy sauce. Pork morsels were firm like they had been BBQed a very long time… perfect texture for me!
Chicken: Mostly if not all dark meat. Well charred. Bland by itself, but the accompany taco fixings help make up for that.

Pretty friendly service… hit or miss food (but usually alright)…
… Pretty nice interior but not always the cleanest… decent computers…
Fair Korean food, pretty good drinks.
The –2 stars is for the main complaint: High prices.

The lunch train from work decided to branch out from Indian food and burritos, so we went here and grabbed a table for the ten of us. They didn’t have enough menus, but half of us went in knowing we were getting bibimbap. It was pretty solid bibimbap, if you ask me, and I’m basing the entire star-​contents of this review on the bibimbap. One start was deducted for the sauce not being as delicious as A Store on the Corner (also SOMA), but everything else about it was fantastic (esp the brown rice and the egg). And just because it’s fun to type and say: bibimbap BIBIMBAP BiBiMBaP!
It seems like a pretty chill location to grab a cup of tea and get some work done, but they also have a decent beer selection.

I really wanted a Kimchee Buritto. And decided to come here, since John’s snack and deli was 2 blks further away then Golden Gate Perk.
Bad call.
I order Kimchee burrito with Spicy Pork.(EXTRA SPICY), on a spinach wrap.
What I got was a Kimchee burrito with a little Spicy Pork, LOTS of Room temp day old rice, cold veggies, a cold spinach wrap that was unraveling itself, and unsatisfied tummy.
Maybe if the burrito was HOT or even WARM, it would have been decent, then maybe the day old «spiced» rice wouldnt have been so horrible to eat.
Dont get me wrong… i ate the whole daymn thing… not like i really wanted to. but I was hungry, and if I didnt eat fast enough, the whole thing would have unraveled on my desk. And I just didnt want kimchee stains on my white shirt. [plus im broke, and didnt want to waste my $ 6.50 that i already spent]
I barely tasted the spicy pork, i could taste the kimchee, but dang that rice over powered everything, even the EXTRA SPICY couldnt help this burrito.
MAYBE it was just the person that made it today. cus i heard other coworkers say its good here… BUT I know that at John’s they always make it right.

A sweet little refuge for me in downtown.
The ladies that work here are really friendly and want to ensure you are enjoying yourself.
Amanda in particular makes the best tuna melt in the city in my personal opinion.
The café has a range of foods, mainly Korean or a Korean-​hybrid and a good stock of caffeine and juice type beverages.
They also have Beer (bottled and draft), Soju and Sake.
The café is usually populated with people on relaxed business lunches, tourists checking email or people, like myself, just looking to chill.
There is table seating, a couple of comfy armchairs and a sofa. If the weather is permitting they also have outdoor seating.
I don’t really want to tell people about this spot as I prefer a sparsely populated destination for my lunch/​evening relaxation, but where-​else can you go for a pint, sarnie and catch an hour of a movie on your lunch break downtown?

This place is OK. As others have noted, it might be easy to miss if you weren’t already looking for it.
As you step in, you climb a flight of stairs to get to the main level of their place, which to me (being 5’11″) has very low ceilings.
There was plenty of seating in the afternoon. I went up to the counter and ordered — to my great pleasure — a bottle of Mexican Coca Cola. Yes, the sweeter stuff in the glass bottle.
I was about to head to the back of the place, but it was very hot and smelled heavily of curry. Instead, I went to the front of the place where I sat down at one of their bar-​style counters with my computer and Coke. Unfortunately, by escaping the curry smell, I got hit by various scents of burning gasoline, diesel, and so forth. It seems that the smells waft inside and then head upward, where they get trapped on the main level of this establishment. Not very pleasant.
I might go back, but only if it’s not really hot inside and I’m not wearing a business suit that I don’t want stunk up by the various odors emanating from the kitchen or from the street.

For free wi-​fi and a hearty breakfast, this place is for you. Continuing on our journey through SF, the bf and I decided we needed to grab a bite of breakfast before we headed out to Haight-​Ashbury and Golden Gate Park.
This place was a definite blink-and-you’ll-miss-it. I found the location on Unilocal and so we decided to give the place a try. A few of their coffee items weren’t available even though they are listed on the menu, so I went with the standard bacon, eggs and toast breakfast and got an iced mocha. BF wanted something heartier and got a Korean chicken dish with a side of rice, as well as a mocha. The food was average and straight to the point — no frills. It’d be four stars if the food had blown me away.
On the upside, the service is wonderful and this a definite chill spot to hang out when you need to access some wi-​fi to help you find your way around the city or to grab a quick bite in the busy cross streets of Union Square and Chinatown. There are all sorts of other Korean fare that might be a better lunch option.

came here since we had no idea where to eat.
this was the only place that seemed to have reasonable prices.
we were greeted and we seated, which was really nice.
i ordered a turkey melt. which was actually really good! they threw in some jalepenos and it gave it a nice kick.
were were well taken care of, the girl came back all the time to make sure our water was refilled.
the only problem about this place is that the wait time for two sandwiches was really really long.
i think i’d come back.

The Korean tacos here are definitely better than the other place in the Financial District. However, I have not been able to come back here because every time I have come here, they are closed on weekends and close pretty early as well. There are days I am craving Korean tacos after having tried them in LA and in the Financial district.
At Golden Gate Perk, my friend and I had ordered the 3 taco combo which included bbq chicken, spicy pork and short rib. The tacos were dressed in kim chi, lettuce, lime and other flavors. My favorite was the short rib which had the most flavor out of all the 3 tacos we tried. I definitely cannot wait to come back and try their burritos and quesadillas as well if they are open! lol…

Since my visit to Kogi I have developed a soft spot for Korean tacos.
It was such a pleasant surprise to find this wifi café located within walking distance from Union Square, Chinatown, and the Financial District. The exterior may be unassuming but inside it is equip with several desktop computers, a comfy lounge-​like area in the front, followed by a café with a big flat screen TV in the back. They also have a nice seating area in the alley next to the café, and offer a list of menu items that include Korean and Korean-​Mexican cuisine, sandwiches, and beverages that are either deeply alcoholic or highly caffeinated.
Lighting is not the best, but the staff is warm and friendly. In my three separate visits in the last few days I’ve tried their kimchi spicy pork burrito, trio tacos combo, and bibimbap. My kimchi pork burrito ($ 6) came in a spinach flour tortilla with plenty of spicy pork, rice, kimchi, lettuce, large bean sprouts to mix with cilantro-​corn salsa. The tortilla was stiff while the spicy pork was tough and unevenly distributed. I wished the cilantro in the corn salsa could have a stronger taste to further bring all the ingredients together. On the plus side, the burrito had a nice spicy kick and the combination tasted better than the ones I had at Calbi Korean BBQ.
The next day I tried their taco trio ($ 3 each) with chicken, short ribs, and bulgogi. This time the double deck flour tortillas were thicker, softer and better, and the meat were deliciously prepared. I was not in fave with the spicy pork and thought the chicken was the most flavorful. Comparing to the burrito, I find the addition of cilantro onion relish made quite the splash in giving these tacos a slight advantage in taste. Even though they each cost a dollar more than the ones at Kogi, portions were more generous here with the meat coming in larger chunks. I would definitely tango with this trio of tacos again.
Finally, my order of chicken bibimbap ($ 11.65) was not very good at all. The portion was humongous with a huge egg cooked sunny side up to go with eight assortments of veggies and hearty chunks of chicken. I thought it was nice to have a set of kimchi on the side and the mixing sauce had depth in flavor, but since the rice was undercooked, the taste simply did not come together. That morning, I was their first customer to order from the lunch menu and I think they might have rushed my order and put all the ingredients together before it was ready. Not recommend it.
I wasn’t impressed with their espresso drinks but I did enjoy their tea selection. Given these experiences, I would definitely stick with their delicious taco trios. If this were a restaurant I would probably give it a 3 stars rating, but their originality based upon the concept of having Korean tacos to go with free wifi service, friendly staff, and comfy café environment led me to give another star. Aside from the fact that they are not open on weekends, I definitely enjoy having a home office in this part of town. I would love to come back again.

I’ve been meaning to find a korean tacos place since I wasn’t able to try the kogi truck during my visit to LA. I found two places near my work that had korean/​mexican fusion food — Golden Gate Perk & John Snack’s and Deli. Decided to go with Golden Gate Perk first since they have seating here.
Verdict:
My score for this place fluctuated all throughout my lunch here.
12:30pm — Sat down at a table with my friend. As mentioned above, I liked how there was seating. +1
12:35pm — Menus were handed to us promptly. It was a nice touch since I thought I had to go to the register to order, this being an internet café and all. +1
12:45pm — The nice girl took our orders.
12:46 to 1:30pm — Proceeded to wait for our food for a V E R Y L O N G T I M E. — 5
If we’re keeping score, they’re currently at — 3 now. :(
1:31 pm — Spicy pork tacos are here! With a complimentary extra taco to apologize for the wait. +4
1:40 pm — Chicken taco arrives. Meat was a little dry. — 1
1:42 pm — Kimchee burrito is here! SO DELICIOUS +2
1:55 pm — Received bill. saw a discount! +2
End score: 4 stars
Golden Gate Perk TOTALLY redeemed themselves with such a fabulous display of customer service. They’re aware that the kitchen was slow and was willing to make up for it with complimentary items.
I hope today’s lag in the kitchen was an anomaly.
I will definitely come back for the spicy pork kimchee burrito. It was really good — huge portion size & all the flavors mixed really well together. Tangy, spicy & hearty. AND It was only $ 6. What a steal!
Give them a try!

It’s an internet café! It’s a bar! But most importantly, it’s a place to eat a burrito with kimchi inside.
You may be acquainted with John’s Snack & Deli on Battery. They serve up some mean Korean food and have been made famous (at least in my book) with their genius invention of the kimchi burrito.
Well! Someone else is making ‘em too! And better? Golden Gate Perk boasts a super friendly atmosphere with lots of couches, flat screen TVs with sports, and computers. They have beer on tap and happy hour specials. Now how does the Korean food come into play? Nooo clue. But there is a young, jovial Korean (ish?) couple working there (seem like owners) who are very polite and eager to please.
Now onto the burrito. Let’s get this straight: the kimchi burrito is not a whimp-​out version of a real burrito. It has loads of tangy kimchi, rice, lettuce, salsa, cheese, and your choice of spicy pork, bulgogi (whatever that means) beef, or BBQ chicken– all wrapped in an honest-​to-​Job tortilla. Everything Mexicans have– and so much more.
So much flavor! So much crunch. Your buns have no idea what they’re missing.
But wait, there’s more…
They also make kimchi tacos and enchiladas (kimchiladas, of course). I tried the taco too– and it was exactly like the burrito, but a lot smaller and with the traditional Mexican corn tortilla instead. Yumm.
Only negative mark: the happy Korean couple sucks at the foil wrapping. It’s a mastery in progress though, I am sure.

I might have skinned my knee pretty badly jumping on the current Korean taco fad bandwagon, but Golden Gate Perk made up for that by making me a true believer.
I tried the spicy pork, as well as the short rib option ($ 3 each, and they have a deal where you can get one of each meat — they also offer chicken — for $ 8), and was surprised at how much I enjoyed everything considering that Korean is not the highest on my list of lip-​smacking food genres.
So cancel that trip to Los Angeles if you were planning on tweeting your thumbs to bloody stumps trying to track down the Kogi truck. Golden Gate Perk can hook you up.
And you’re going to need extra napkins. These suckers are messy.
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This is not my 2^nd time here but my 2^nd time officially reviewing this spot.
I come in here often, mostly to escape the noisy bustle that is the Financial District. also I like their abundant supply of Splenda when I don’t have quite enough dollars for a Vanilla Latte (which needs no extra sweetening!)… =)
anyhow, I had been noticing their many ads for new menu items so I made the executive decision to try both the Kimchee tacos and Kimchee Burrito each at different times. Both good. the Burrito was the perfect amount of food for me. i should have ordered at least 2 tacos. i was pretty hungry, but they were good.
as a personal side note, any place that sells either taco or burrito menu items deserves up to four stars (because how can you live in California and NOT like one of those options?). second, i’m a big fan of many of the SF’s burritos spots so to pay LESS than $ 7 for a burrito is great!
I must say, I was not a big Kimchee fan before this, but I can definitely scarf a kimchee burrito. the combination of everything in it was good. I’m not gonna lie, I took my time because I used one of the computers too and was a bit caught up in the movie they were showing that day…
but the burrito is really tasty and filled me up without being filling.
the Spare Rib option is my fav, but the ladies behind the counter tell me that spicy pork is a pretty popular selection. I chose the ribs for the burrito and had the chicken in the taco, so pork is the last one I need to try before I can say I have conquered all the options. No matter what, they all smell pretty tasty!

If you were to look at your average map, or maybe even your less-​than-​average globe, you might note that the countries of Korea and Mexico are separated by many miles, quite a bit of water, and sometimes you even have to unfold your map to see both at the same time.
Despite these cartographical challenges, somehow the GGPerk has managed to fuse elements of the cuisines of both countries to make one of the best culinary surprises I’ve had in some time: the kimchi taco.
If you love kimchi, I don’t have to sell you. If you don’t love or know kimchi, just consider that this spicy fermented cabbage replaces the taco’s lettuce and salsa in one package AND adds a delightful vinegary counterpoint to your meat-​of-​choice.
They’ve also got a kimchidilla (kim chi in a quesadilla) and a kimchi burrito, but really… it’s all about the taco. Try it, why don’tcha? What else you got going on?

What can I say– I have found my weekday Oasis! This little place is a secret I’d like to keep but it just wouldn’t be fair to all those stuck in their financial district cubicles.
Details Details–
1. The GGPerk Angels rock !!
2. great place to have a drink or 2 or 4 or 7
3. They play MOVIES while you chill– points points
4. Food is great– chicken = yum, bimbimbop = double YUM, Beef = REally Yum, and now they have K-​mex (mex with kimchi) to round off with quadruple YUM!
5. They have SOJU, soyou better try it when yougo.
6. FREE Wi-​FI so you can justify heading on over during work and sit your laptop down and pretend to work!!!
Did I mention there new tacos and burritos are da bomb! Oh yeah, I did.
Lastly, this joint is really reasonable on the pocket book.

I come here all the time. Whether it’s to have their cucumber & cream cheese sandwich or just to have a tea and relax before my hair appointment next door, it has always been a really easy-​going and good experience.
I think the owner needs to fire that hyper vigilant waitress who, before I could even plug in my laptop, came over and asked me and my friend if we needed anything. When I responded with a «Yes, that would be great!» she told me that I could come up to the counter and order then.
Why wouldn’t she just take our order then and there?!
I felt like Julia Roberts on Rodeo. «Can I *help* you?!
Responding somewhat annoyed, I said as politely as I could muster, «sure, I will be right up.» One minute later, however, she came over again and said that although she didn’t want to be rude, the free wifi is for paying customers only.
Understood, I get it. But damn woman, give me 5 minutes to settle in before you come over twice to bug me to buy something.
I better leave now, before she kicks me out for staying a half-​hour!
p. s. thanks for the free wifi, i was able to write this negative review while sitting on your comfy couch!

To start with, the owners are fantastically friendly people and I kinda feel bad about the 2 stars, but I just really did not enjoy my lunch of bibimbap. The rice was hard and clumpy, the egg was a little overcooked, and the veggies didn’t have much flavor. I rarely ever leave any food behind– either I finish it all or bring whats left in a doggie bag, but here at Golden Gate Perk, I couldn’t bear to eat more than a third of it and I did not want to bring any of the leftovers home. Even the third I did manage to eat had to be dripping in the hot sauce to be tasty. The extra kimchee I asked from them helped, but it still didn’t save my lunch. Perhaps I should have ordered it with the meat option, but I wanted to save some cash and figured it would be fine as a vegetarian meal.
I’m not sure that I would return– perhaps to take advantage of their internet service, but really, if I want some Korean food, I think I’m better off sticking to Sorabol in the Westfield food court (plus its cheaper!).

Golden Gate Perk is a cute little café just off of Kearny that serves coffee and regular café food… and also Korean food. The place is tiny and cute with a bunch of tables and couches near the front of the restaurant (bright with lots of natural light) and back of the restaurant. There are also computers with internet access.
We came here for lunch with some people from work — 13 of us in all. If you’ve been to Golden Gate Perk, you might wonder where 13 of us would sit. Well, not very comfortably (for us or other customers) near the front of the restaurant. It’s not a place made for large parties, but they made due. I think they are used to serving smaller groups of people, not necessarily parties of 13 for lunch. I had the bugolgi which was pretty tasty, though I was puzzled by the small kitchen in the back. How were they preparing the bugolgi??? The people who work there are super nice and were very helpful in accommodating our large group.
Anyway, few Korean options in the FiDi area, so this is definitely a good one (especially given the price). Generally, a cute place to relax and snack on some good food.