Anna

This cafe is tucked away in the middle of an office building, transporting you to a world away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It feels very elegant and historic, with calm outdoor seating shaded by the building. The egg sando was light and airy, but the bread was quite dry for Japanese milk bread (probably in the fridge for too long). Not sure if they do iced drinks because I ordered a matcha latte and forgot to specify that I wanted it iced. It was bitter leaning grassy and I would probably put it in the same class as Kiss of Matcha. Their other food offerings look great, though! A good place to catch up or do some offline work.

Justin Snider

Food was very good for the most part. Thought the cod was a bit bland. The fried chicken was delicious and light, black sesame dessert was a hit and rigatoni with smoked salmon was cooked perfectly and way more delicious than you might think! Also had some of the duck and it had a great flavor to it. Overall a fantastic meal only issues were with pacing of the plates. We sat an ordered drinks then food a few minutes later with the fried chicken supplement. Less than 10 minutes later we get the fried chicken before anything else. We did say "as it's prepared" but figured it would come after the salad. From there it was a good 40 minute wait (about an hour after we sat down) before the salads came. Rest of the food was paced fine just a weird start. They were also out of several things, which happens but was a bit of a let down. Would definitely come again as it was way more good than bad! Space is super cool!

+23

Metinee Ding

After seeing all the hype about Cassava on Bay Area Eats, I was excited to try their restaurant week menu for date night! The meal started off okay as the ‘end of summer’ salad left something to be desired (figs were really flavorless and bland) and the salmon and avocado crudo felt very mundane. However, we opted to order the supplemental octopus and that was phenomenal. The octopus was wonderfully seasoned and slightly crunchy, arguably one of our favorite dishes of the night. The duck main course was also delicious, super succulent and flavorful with great accent flavors and textures (the fig on this one WAS sweet and delicious!). Unfortunately the cod was a little bland, but we did love the fried cauliflower mushrooms, and the textures were great in that dish. Desserts were absolutely wonderful and light as well, a wonderful way to end the meal. We also really enjoyed the ambience of the restaurant, and the service was excellent! Just falls short of 5 stars because of the appetizers though, sadly.

+2

Sofia Lema

The coffee was good, but the "sandos" are just sandwiches in sliced bread and already made, put in to go boxes (they were fine, but don't call them "sandos"). The place is really nice, but all the tables are outside so check the weather before you go.

JD Rosensweig

The service is good and quick. The atmosphere is really nice located in an open area between the buildings in a calm part of town. The food, though, left much to be desired. My friend and I got the egg salad sandwiches and Chicken Tsukune Miso. While they were nicely presented and made with fresh ingredients. Both were fairly bland overall. The egg salad was fairly straightforward without much added to vary the taste. The soup had little to no salt. I did enjoy the Chai Latte. But was overall disappointed.

Jing Li

I’ve had Cassava on my want to go list for some time, so when we stopped in on Friday and they had a table without reservations, we were very excited. We decided to try to $118 tasting menu because it was suppose to be a James Beard finalist and you normally put your best dishes on a tasting menu like that. The menu was generally very disappointing, seemingly without any cohesion or theme. The asparagus appetizer was fine, but the crab and pea over toast was so bland that it kind of ruined the crab for me. The fish & lamb were fine but nothing special. Overall, it felt like a new chef trying their hand at a set menu, but didn’t really know what they were going for. They also seemed to forget about us between the 2nd and 3rd course. It took over 2.5 hours to receive and eat 5 course! The server was super friendly though, so overall I still give the service 3 stars. They did remove the price of our tea ($14 total) from the final price, but they charged a 5% SF mandate and a mandatory 20% gratuity, so overall it was still over $300 for 2 people. I wouldn’t come back again after that, which is a shame because it seems like their regular menu is pretty decent. For this price, there are many places in the city that’s much better.

+2

ayush kalani

My friends and I went to Cassava for Sunday brunch. We made an online reservation, but the place wasn't as busy, so walk-in would have been fine too. The walls of the restaurant are adorned with bright hues, and the large, expansive windows fill the space with an abundance of natural light, making it very warm and welcoming. We tried quite a few items from the menu- 1. Bread basket 2. Fried chicken 3. Baked egg skillet 4. Pain perdu 5. Mussel & fries 6. Barley tea The bread basket was decent. It came with butter and house berry jam. The beryy jam was good but very watery and didn't have the traditional jam like consistency. The croissant was very light and flaky. The mussels were fresh, sweet, and buttery. The fries were the highlight of the meal. Baked egg skillet lacked flavors. The fried chicken was okay. The aioli sauce that it came with was very salty and tangy. The pain perdu was a bit underwhelming. The bread/toast was dry and dense. The service was good but it can be better. There were times when we needed utensils and extra plates, and there was no server in our section of the restaurant to ask for help.

+11

Alexander Coughlin

Cute space but bland food. Our group dined a la carte at Cassava with high hopes. The menu has a lot of our favorite foods but we were left feeling very underwhelmed and overcharged. The parker rolls were stale. The rigatoni was cold with sauce that tasted like it was straight from a can and the noodles were undercooked. The chicken liver mousse was practically flavorless. The salmon and the burger both presented well visually but, again, flavorless. Even the sauce on the burger was flavorless. The one standout dish for our crew was the duck confit. During the meal, the timing was quite off and we waited a long time in between courses. When it came time to pay our bill we were told that service had already been included (really, for our group of 4?) which just felt tacky. We are generous tippers, but didn’t like the bait and switch of that. If you want to price in tip, I’m all for it, but be upfront about it and make that clear and/or price the dishes accordingly. And as for price, the premium they charge for the food is simply not justifiable for what you get. Would not return or recommend to others.

+1

Meng Hui Ong

Newly opened Cassava offers an interesting menu of Californian cuisine with a slight Japanese twist. The interior is very simple and basic. No fuss. No special decor. Minimalistic. A splash of colour on the walls. That’s it. The menu looked interesting. The items listed are for single serving and the server advised that a few dishes be ordered to be shared. The deep fried oysters looked cute with three dots of persimmon ketchup on top. It was an interesting take on oysters. I didn’t get much of the oyster as the batter over powered the delicate taste of fresh oyster. Torched local Halibut crudo with beets looked good. The delicate fish was overwhelmed by the taste of the beets. Sliced asparagus with rigatoni and cream sauce was good. The taste was light and refreshing. Perfect spring dish. Grilled black cod was ok. Can’t go wrong with the usual grilled fish. The pork chop was good. It was juicy and cooked just right. The sear was perfect which gave the chop great taste. This was the best dish. This restaurant have potential. They need to fine tune the menu and balance the taste profile of their food.

+4

B E

Will start out with the positive. The service was fantastic. All wait staff were super responsive and social. Some of the best I’ve encountered in San Francisco. The restaurant in situated on a fantastic North Beach corner making an excellent viewpoint for taking in city life. The food on the other hand was entirely mediocre. The mussels flavorless in a lifeless broth sat next to a micro bowl of fries characterized by an aftertaste of oil that went above its smoke point. The croque madame was okay. All this to wash down with a $16 pint of beer. Purely from a food perspective, this was an airport restaurant experience. For this price point in a vibrant city, diners deserve much better.

Sayantan Mukhopadhyay

Before any product launches in the market the company responsible runs a ‘self funded’ user testing period. This place wants to pay you instead for their five course tasting menu which is in highly experimental state. What a shame. All the dishes in the five course tasting menu are equally unimpressive. Lack balance, flavor or finesse. I have no idea why this place got James Beard nomination; I have no idea why this place got 4.5 rating avg here. The food here is not cheap, wine is stupidly expensive. I am also adding photos of the dishes; they look great but taste horrible. The location is actually cool. They should turn this to a cafe or bar and stop serving food until they find a products worth charging for. P.S. I am adding this section to clarify some context in the comment below from our server (not the chef/ owner). My main review remain unchanged. After eating the first four courses (three in picture below and a muscle risotto not in pictures) we felt pretty full and requested to skip the main course (the beef short ribs). We did not make this request because of the taste food served but the fact we were full. The waiter was very accommodating. Allowed us to box the risotto we could not finish also made a deduction in the bill (although I requested not to make the deduction because it's a fixed menu). I must agree the server was the most delightful part of our experience (in addition to the graffiti on the wall). Again, it does not change my review about the food I experienced on that day and it's a subjective assessment. My reviews are not endorsement or misinformation campaign.