Trace
Californian · San Francisco
About Trace
Trace is a Californian restaurant restaurant in San Francisco, CA. Rated 4.2 out of 5 by guests. Discover the menu, photos, and reviews.
What Customers Say About Trace
Trace at the W Hotel offers excellent service and tasty food, especially breakfast and brunch. Many rave about dishes like the Salmon Benedict and apple French toast. Some find it overpriced, but the quality and service often justify the cost, especially with hotel credits.
Popular Dishes
Best For
Tip: If staying at the W Hotel, take advantage of the daily credit. Ask Damien for the secret menu items for unique dishes.
Features
What to see nearby
Data from Wikidata
Explore the area around Trace
Trace is located in San Francisco, surrounded by cultural and historical points of interest. Here are some of the most notable places nearby.
Historical Heritage
- Building at 735 Market Street (A 350m) — historic building in San Francisco, California, United States Lugar inscrito en el Registro Nacional de Lugares Históricos
Museums
- Museo de Arte Moderno de San Francisco (A 55m) — museo de arte moderno en San Francisco, California, Estados Unidos
- Centro para las Artes Yerba Buena (A 118m) — contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California
- Museum of Modern Mythology (A 144m) — museum of pop culture brands
- Children's Creativity Museum (A 254m) — museum in San Francisco, CA
- Contemporary Jewish Museum (A 298m) — museum in San Francisco, California
Parks & Gardens
- Yerba Buena Gardens (A 208m) — public park in San Francisco
Other Points of Interest
- Four Seasons Private Residences at 706 Mission (A 187m) — Skyscraper in San Francisco, California
- 706 Mission Street (A 202m) — skyscraper in San Francisco, California, U.S
- Monadnock Building (A 332m) — building at 685 Market Street, San Francisco, California
Data from Wikidata
Frequently asked questions about Trace
Trace San Francisco Reviews
20250603: Trace is outstanding. I'm staying at the W, and this restaurant is part of it. First night, salmon with muscles and clams over vegetables in pickled lemon juice and broth. For desert, I had a Basque cheese cake. The salmon was perfect, and the sauce was tasty and worth sopping up with bread. The cake was denser and less sweet than NYC style. Second night, I had a Caesar salad with salmon, and it came with white anchovies - I didn't even have to ask. Third night, I had the risotto with wild mushrooms and salmon - the mushrooms including morels, cremini, and others. All meals were wonderfully done, and the wait-staff was helpful and attentive.
A great breakfast location right next to SF Moma! Yes, it is expensive (hotel restaurant in sf, makes sense), but the service is phenomenal and the food is delicious! They use great quality ingredients, and you can taste it.
Stayed at the W, searched for a nice breakfast in SF and ended up happily at the Trace in the hotel. All four of us (foodies) loved our breakfast and coffee, key recommendation is to order of Damien’s secret menu. Damien is a member of the team who crafted several uniques dishes that were not on the menu. We loved it.
Surprisingly tasty breakfast inside of W hotel. Start serving 6:30am, delicious egg white scramble (herb oil, crispy chickpeas, gold beets, arugula, lemon tahini dressing, wheat toast) attention to details, including toast not smothered with butter, rather provided square bowls of butter, citrus marmalade and ketchup. Friendly and cheerful young lady staff Jane was attentive, recommended freshly green juice to no disappointment. Will definitely bring my friends next time
I tried the apple French toast. It was excellent. Nice thick slices of bread and cooked to perfection. It came with candied walnuts and fried apples. I really liked that they brought some extra syrup on the side. I didn’t need it because I don’t like my French toast swimming in syrup. For those that do, they give you some extra on the side. My friend tried the Belgian waffle with dark chocolate, strawberries and bananas. It was very rich and was like a dessert but also very good. Both are recommended.
Excellent service and excellent food. One of the best spots in the city. Located next to the W hotel you should definitely try this place if you're looking for something nice, less casual.
6.5 Salmon Benedict was really good and crispy potatoes really nicely done. Better than a lot of fancy brunch spots in sf. Alvin is great
Room great and trace brunch is amazing ,better than others hotel's buffet breakfast.
Terrific "lunch on the fly"! Delicious burger and fries, soup and ice cream sandwich! Che was a wonderful server!
20250603: Trace is outstanding. I'm staying at the W, and this restaurant is part of it. First night, salmon with muscles and clams over vegetables in pickled lemon juice and broth. For desert, I had a Basque cheese cake. The salmon was perfect, and the sauce was tasty and worth sopping up with bread. The cake was denser and less sweet than NYC style. Second night, I had a Caesar salad with salmon, and it came with white anchovies - I didn't even have to ask. Third night, I had the risotto with wild mushrooms and salmon - the mushrooms including morels, cremini, and others. All meals were wonderfully done, and the wait-staff was helpful and attentive.
A great breakfast location right next to SF Moma! Yes, it is expensive (hotel restaurant in sf, makes sense), but the service is phenomenal and the food is delicious! They use great quality ingredients, and you can taste it.
Stayed at the W, searched for a nice breakfast in SF and ended up happily at the Trace in the hotel. All four of us (foodies) loved our breakfast and coffee, key recommendation is to order of Damien’s secret menu. Damien is a member of the team who crafted several uniques dishes that were not on the menu. We loved it.
Surprisingly tasty breakfast inside of W hotel. Start serving 6:30am, delicious egg white scramble (herb oil, crispy chickpeas, gold beets, arugula, lemon tahini dressing, wheat toast) attention to details, including toast not smothered with butter, rather provided square bowls of butter, citrus marmalade and ketchup. Friendly and cheerful young lady staff Jane was attentive, recommended freshly green juice to no disappointment. Will definitely bring my friends next time
I tried the apple French toast. It was excellent. Nice thick slices of bread and cooked to perfection. It came with candied walnuts and fried apples. I really liked that they brought some extra syrup on the side. I didn’t need it because I don’t like my French toast swimming in syrup. For those that do, they give you some extra on the side. My friend tried the Belgian waffle with dark chocolate, strawberries and bananas. It was very rich and was like a dessert but also very good. Both are recommended.
Excellent service and excellent food. One of the best spots in the city. Located next to the W hotel you should definitely try this place if you're looking for something nice, less casual.
6.5 Salmon Benedict was really good and crispy potatoes really nicely done. Better than a lot of fancy brunch spots in sf. Alvin is great
Room great and trace brunch is amazing ,better than others hotel's buffet breakfast.
Terrific "lunch on the fly"! Delicious burger and fries, soup and ice cream sandwich! Che was a wonderful server!
Great spot next to the restaurant. Perfect for any work meetings. You can use the $25 daily credit from the hotel here. Breakfast and lunch were good. Coffee was good. Service was excellent!
Trace is my favorite breakfast spot in San Francisco. Highlights: green juice, avocado toast, bacon, and excellent service. When Damian makes a recommendation, (such as lemon oil for the avocado toast) say, "yes". He's legit.
Had a lovely brunch for my birthday here! Portions are plentiful and all the food we had (burger and chicken&waffle) were all delicious! Alvin our server was very friendly and professional :)
Outstanding service! Had breakfast here 2 mornings in a row (the W Hotel charges a $35/night resort fee which you can use as a credit towards food/beverages). The staff in this restaurant were amazing. Friendly, prompt…they even remembered our exact order from the day before. The lattes were perfection, and the food was very good. Never thought I’d be motivated to write a review of a hotel breakfast, but here it is! These people are just too good not to give them a shout out.
Great spot next to the restaurant. Perfect for any work meetings. You can use the $25 daily credit from the hotel here. Breakfast and lunch were good. Coffee was good. Service was excellent!
High quality food and true professional servers. They also treat locals like family.
Had a lovely brunch for my birthday here! Portions are plentiful and all the food we had (burger and chicken&waffle) were all delicious! Alvin our server was very friendly and professional :)
Outstanding service! Had breakfast here 2 mornings in a row (the W Hotel charges a $35/night resort fee which you can use as a credit towards food/beverages). The staff in this restaurant were amazing. Friendly, prompt…they even remembered our exact order from the day before. The lattes were perfection, and the food was very good. Never thought I’d be motivated to write a review of a hotel breakfast, but here it is! These people are just too good not to give them a shout out.
While staying at the W hotel, I had $40 each day to spend at the property. I was able to enjoy a light fare and coffee at Trace. I got the twisted cinnamon roll, fruit bowl and a cup of coffee. I didn’t realize that if you’re staying at the W hotel, the coffee is waived until I got the check. I enjoyed everything that morning and the staffs were friendly and efficient. Would recommend if you’re nearby or staying at the W.
While staying at the W hotel, I had $40 each day to spend at the property. I was able to enjoy a light fare and coffee at Trace. I got the twisted cinnamon roll, fruit bowl and a cup of coffee. I didn’t realize that if you’re staying at the W hotel, the coffee is waived until I got the check. I enjoyed everything that morning and the staffs were friendly and efficient. Would recommend if you’re nearby or staying at the W.
Okay, the decor is nice, and the service is great. The food didn't even taste terrible - but there was so little of it. When I pay $30 for a salmon, I expect it to at least come with some filling sides.
Trace has really nice decor and is a good setting for a date. Unfortunately, the food is only of average quality. The appetizers are really good (oysters and tomato soup were great), but the mains were only ok. Overall, it was good, but wouldn't go back
Really cool decor, but the food is overpriced and pretty ordinary. Great coffee though.
Okay, the decor is nice, and the service is great. The food didn't even taste terrible - but there was so little of it. When I pay $30 for a salmon, I expect it to at least come with some filling sides.
Trace has really nice decor and is a good setting for a date. Unfortunately, the food is only of average quality. The appetizers are really good (oysters and tomato soup were great), but the mains were only ok. Overall, it was good, but wouldn't go back
Really cool decor, but the food is overpriced and pretty ordinary. Great coffee though.
My recent visit didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. I waited a bit longer than expected for service, and my order wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. The team did their best to fix it, but I left feeling a little disappointed. Hopefully, next time will be better.
My recent visit didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. I waited a bit longer than expected for service, and my order wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. The team did their best to fix it, but I left feeling a little disappointed. Hopefully, next time will be better.
I came here because of the great Google ratings and was quite disappointed. The latte tasted like it was made from an airport machine and too watery. I got the Tracy omelette ($26!). The toast was cold and stale, the omelette too cheesy and dry, and the potatoes were soggy. I would not come back as there are many other great brunch options in the city, especially for the price. My server named Alvin was very attentive and helpful though. When I mentioned the latte was watery they made me another one with a double shot.
I came here because of the great Google ratings and was quite disappointed. The latte tasted like it was made from an airport machine and too watery. I got the Tracy omelette ($26!). The toast was cold and stale, the omelette too cheesy and dry, and the potatoes were soggy. I would not come back as there are many other great brunch options in the city, especially for the price. My server named Alvin was very attentive and helpful though. When I mentioned the latte was watery they made me another one with a double shot.
The Asian woman at the reception was so mean. No hospitality. The wait staff were very nice.
The Asian woman at the reception was so mean. No hospitality. The wait staff were very nice.
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About Trace
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181 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94105
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181 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94105
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museo de arte moderno en San Francisco, California, Estados Unidos
contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California
museum of pop culture brands
Skyscraper in San Francisco, California
skyscraper in San Francisco, California, U.S
public park in San Francisco
museum in San Francisco, CA
museum in San Francisco, California
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