On a beautiful Friday afternoon, I entered the hard-to-miss Atlas Café. With their name painted both on the side of the café and on top of the entrance, it was the first café that I didn’t accidently walk by.
Their food looked a little expensive, but the weather was hot and I was starving, so I ordered their Roasted Turkey, Avocado and Uncured Applewood Bacon sandwich, $8.50, with their Pilsner beer, $4.50, with their homemade ginger lemonade.
Sitting at their outside patio, I placed my items on a table and prepared myself to enjoy my food.
The crust of the sandwich was too hard for my liking, so I ended up taking it off, solving my dilemma. Otherwise the sandwich was delicious, the turkey taking center stage with the avocado, bacon and arugula playing important side roles.
I usually don’t buy alcoholic beverages, but a beer with ginger lemonade sounded too refreshing to pass up. The beer was light in color, taste, and the ginger lemonade added just a touch of sweetness to it. It was the perfect complement to their sandwich.
When I came back the next day, I decided to try another sandwich. Their Apples and Cheese, $7, was excellent. Next time I come to this café and bring friends for lunch, this will be what I order. It has pickled apples, sharp cheddar, Holland Gouda and arugula on a multigrain miche.
The apples taste sweet and are crunchy. I don’t taste anything that resembles pickles, which I was expecting. There is something about the taste of sweet apples and the Gouda cheese that go very well together. It think it’s the combination of sweet fruit and rich savory cheese.
I got their ginger lemonade to go with it, but it was too gingery for my taste buds. It should have been sweeter, and I could barely taste the lemonade. It’s my least favorite thing that I’ve tried.
Brunch is always something I’ve loved, and was excited to see that brunch on the weekends lasted till 1 p.m. I had their Smoked Trout Bagel, 6.25, with cream cheese, tomato and pickled red onions, along with their mimosa, which is made of fresh squeezed orange juice and pink champagne.
The Apple Cheese sandwich might be my favorite food item, but the mimosa and trout bagel was my favorite meal. The bagel was not easy to take a bite of because of all the toppings, but the taste of the trout with cream cheese and the onions was divine.
Eaten with the mimosa, which had the perfect balance of orange juice and champagne, and it was heaven.
Later in the evening, I got a moka, like a mocha but spelled with a ‘k,’ and their crossaint which was in the shape of the heart. The moka was okay, as was the crossiant, which was also a little too sticky and too sweet for my taste. I think I’ll just stick with their sandwiches and bagels.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this café. Though the crust on the bread were a little too hard, and some of the artwork, which I won’t describe, is a little bizarre, the overall feel of the café is relaxed, and a bit hipster-ish. And the people at the front counter were always friendly and in a good mood.
Bonus points for the entertainment they have every Saturday from 4-6 p.m. Meredith Axelrod and Craig Ventresco play different types of music, according to the events menu on Atlas’s website. When I was there, they played some old blues. Nothing beats good food and live music.
Store Hours:
Monday – Friday 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.Saturday – Sunday 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Yelp Rating: 4 stars
Address: 4039 20th St., Mission District
How to get there from SFSU: Take the Muni to Van Ness station. Exit at Market and 11th, cross the street and take the 9 to Portrero and 20th. Continue walking on 20th St. until you get to Alabama St. It will be on the corner on your left.
For future events at their cafe: http://www.atlascafe.net/blog/
Below: Smoked Trout Bagel. I might have a taken a bite or two out of it..
Below: Roasted Turkey, Avocado and Uncured Applewood Bacon Sandwich with a Pisner Beer