Best Healthy Breakfasts In San Francisco

By Laurie Jo Miller Farr

No time to cook a healthy meal before heading out the door? Start the day off right with a healthy breakfast at one of these five local spots, where the weekday morning wait isn't as frightful as it is on the weekend. Yes, of course the weekend brunch is also worth queuing up for at these places, because that's the way San Francisco rolls.

Precita Park Café
500 Precita Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 647-7702
www.precitaparkcafe.com

Arrive when the doors open at 7 a..m. (except on Mondays) or come anytime for breakfast served all day long. Since 2011, the Bernal Heights location is the largest of the group's four cafés (now in North Oakland, too!) serving sustainable fare from a curated list of local purveyors. A menu of New American café fare features healthy, lighter options, as well as several vegan and gluten-free dishes. Go for organic oatmeal or granola with fruit and yogurt. Order something super-charged with protein such as three eggs scrambled with lox or SF croque, which is two eggs with runny yolks served on sour flour with Swiss, ham, sauce Mornay and parmesan cheese. Bring Fido along for homemade veggie dog treats.

Rose's Cafe
2298 Union St.
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 775-2200
www.rosescafesf.com
No two days are the same at Rose's. A changing daily menu brings in regular patrons who like to hang out at cozy sidewalk tables in the sun-trapped Cow Hollow corner. For proof that pizza can be a healthy breakfast option, try smoked salmon pizza with crème fraîche and scrambled eggs or a breakfast pizza with smoked ham, fontina and eggs. With an accent on Italian, the menu features organic local produce, fresh seafood, humanely raised meats, and free-range poultry. Everything the chefs use is made with fresh ingredients from small local farmers, fisherman and ranchers. Even the breads, rolls, focaccia, pastries, pizza dough, sorbets, and jams are made daily in the kitchen from scratch. Open from 7 a.m. on weekdays.

Boulette's Larder
1 Ferry Building, Suite 48
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 399-1155
www.bouletteslarder.com

There's nothing wrong with a morning bay view to accompany breakfast prepared at an open kitchen. Come to the Ferry Building for a healthy breakfast at a communal table after 8 a.m. on weekdays and on Saturdays (closed Mondays) for a menu filled with hearty and fresh, seasonal, organic options. Here one: Straus vanilla organic yogurt with hachiya persimmon plus hot porridge multi-grains (wheat berry, corn, buckwheat, rye, oats, and flax) topped with walnuts, currants, and organic sugar and a poached egg with a touch of ghee clarified butter.

Related:  Unique Soup Spots In The Bay Area

Tartine Manufactory
595 Alabama St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 487-2600
www.tartinemanufactory.com

Here's what happens when a 5,000-square-foot light-filled, chic industrial space meets a team of awesome chefs and an "ever-evolving philosophy on flavor, craft and human health." If you can resist the famed pastry (plenty of which is gluten-free), there are wheat-free menu items such as house yogurt, pomegranate, bee pollen, granola, and vegetarian items such as Emmer porridge, ricotta, apple and persimmon butter, walnut, nibs. For an infusion of protein, find an egg sandwich on a soft bun with cabot cheddar and a choice of greens, bacon, sausage, or ham on the breakfast menu served from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. weekdays.

Eats
50 Clement St.
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 751-8000
www.eats-san-francisco.sites.tablehero.com

When you've got a random weekday morning off, come to the Inner Richmond for one of the city's most popular breakfasts without the weekend wait. It's a small spot with folks eating at a few sidewalk tables outside, otherwise milling about waiting to see their names come up on the blackboard. Try the acai smoothie bowl with fresh berries, banana, coconut water, granola with coconut and almonds, and fresh fruit. Or, homemade granola with Greek yogurt, honey, cinnamon, and fresh fruit. Get your Mexican omelette or huevos rancheros with Equator coffee or something from the fresh juice bar for a typical Eats breakfast. Or, ask for eggs any style and substitute egg whites only if you prefer. Served daily from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Related: Best Carrot Cake In San Francisco