Assembly Café & Beer Garden

An awesome sandwich on an incredible day. The kiosk at Assembly Cafe was very user friendly. Everything went smoothly and my order looked great. The “Throwback” Burger was bitter-sweet. Big, filling and tasty. A good meal for a picnic.

Recently visited Assembly for lunch and it was a great experience. Assembly arguably has the prettiest backdrop because it’s in front of city hall. It’s open Monday - Friday from 7:30 am - 5 pm. They offer breakfast and lunch options at reasonable prices. On a nice day, eating outside in front of city hall, the Asian art museum, and San Francisco public library is truly awesome

I enjoyed the food and sitting outside on a nice day. If you're not familiar with the Civic Center, there can be quite a bit of wind and people who might ask you for some help, so there is that. But I'm really glad this place is here activating a square that has really been in need of some love. The sandwich was yummy. The housemade chips and pickles were too. An affordable lunch, yet with pretty good quality.

Definitely coming back to try a sandwich! I came to Bill Graham to grab my bands for the outside lands event! Then I got a little bit of Thursday so I had to stop at this amazing spot right here in front of the City Hall. I had breakfast before I came here, but definitely coming back to try one of their sandwiches which looks to me that are very delicious! 😋

Concierge was friendly, but there are no posted menus, just screen interfaces, so it takes longer for people to order. Didn’t have what I ordered, so they offered to substitute an item without refunding the difference. Food was bad — a “caprese” sandwich with large rubbery inedible chunks of sundried tomatoes, a limp piece of basil, and flavorless mozzarella. The house made chips were unsalted and lost their crisp after less than 5 minutes in the to go box. Waste of money. Disappointing, especially for a central cafe at Civic Center.

Great selection of food incl. good plant-based options that are not an afterthought, friendly and fast service, nice outdoor seating with a side of Reggae music and stunning views of the Library, City Hall, and Courts. This place is so much better than (and not as "precious" as) "The Market" a block from here.

I’m so glad they opened this place up. Been coming here regularly during the week. They aren’t open on the weekends, but they are open 7:30-5 pm during the week. It’s a great place to hang out during lunch or after work. They have a fairly large selection of food and drinks and they are priced extremely well for the area. I definitely recommend checking this place out.

I really, really want to like this place. Incredibly convenient, lots of potential in the heart of Civic Center Plaza, which is so limited in food options. After many tries, I cannot spend money at this restaurant anymore because the food is always subpar. My breakfast burrito today was bland, the potatoes were practically still raw, the egg overcooked and it was not worth $12+ tax. Generally, everything I've ordered (Cuban sandwich, for example) has been oily without much flavor. I'm writing this in hopes that the management will read this and truly improve their menu to make flavorful, healthy and delicious food.

I was running late but needed a coffee pick me up, and found this spot. It's cute, clean, open, and has what looks like a robust menu. I appreciate the quick service and customizations the order kiosk offered. Service had a fast turn around and kind delivery to the window. My iced latte was fine and I made my appointment with time to spare thanks to the location and speed of the lovely barista!

It's got some sandwiches and got a breakfast bagel with egg ..then a sprite Ran into the ladies dogs and phobic service

This place is at a nice location near bill graham and Asian art museum. It has an extensive menu but the quality of food was really subpar. I ordered a salmon bagel and potatoes. The bagel was majority egg and a little bit of salmon. The potatoes were not seasoned and undercooked. I also ordered a mocha and hazelnut coffee. The mocha is just powder. When I opened the lid, I noticed it wasn't even mixed. I feel like the least they could do is mix the powder with the liquid before serving it. The hazelnut coffee was much better, but not good enough to make me come back

Noticing the dearth of reviews here, I'm mildly surprised at the lackluster response to this daytime kiosk operation at Civic Center Plaza. I wonder if it's because there wasn't a great deal of fanfare back in February when the current owners took over from Bi-Rite who built and operated this kiosk until the pandemic shut them down. Maybe people still think they can get Bi-Rite ice cream here and get bummed when they discover it's gone. If you ask me, I really think it's because the menu wasn't all that memorable. This was despite the use of local celebrity names to name their salads, sandwiches, and burgers. The approach reminded me of old-fashioned delis that used to make a big deal of naming their sandwiches after movie stars. I came here just because I happen to be walking in the plaza on an especially warm day and thought this might be a good choice for lunch since there looked to be plenty of seating in their somewhat enclosed patio area. I tried the $11 Phil Lesh Salad, which was tasty though a bit paltry. It consisted of a bed of greens mixed with quinoa, butternut squash, charred Brussel sprouts, tomato, and pumpkin seeds, all of it doused with a red wine vinaigrette (photo: https://bit.ly/3xXJFTo). To ensure I wasn't being too healthy, I also went for the $5 Hand-Cut Kennebec Fries, which were really chunky steak fries topped with shaved parmesan cheese though coverage was rather spotty (photo: https://bit.ly/3regyHu). All of the food was on the OK side of the flavor spectrum which may have answered my own question. FOOD - 3 stars...decent enough salad and fries though a bit light on the portions AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...fine when it's sunny and out, be mindful the plaza attracts its own population that may infringe on your experience SERVICE - 3 stars...a bit curt and transactional TOTAL - 3 stars...I'll wait for the day when there is an Ed U. sandwich heavy on the mayo RELATED - Exploring the Civic Center? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: http://bit.ly/2NIQ0tw

It's been hit or miss every time I've come here. As stated previously, I liked their candied bacon roll and didn't like their turkey roll. Since then, I've had their Brussels sprouts, impossible burger, and breakfast burrito. The sprouts weren't bad. I prefer them to be really charred, and they were slightly so. But they still tasted good with the bacon and egg. I didn't get any mustard vinaigrette flavor, but I finished most of it. Their impossible burger was pretty good! I thought it was seasoned well. I think the pickles were chopped with the sauce. I was hoping to get some heat as the menu said they're habanero pickles. I didn't really enjoy the breakfast burrito. It was so-so. I can't put my finger on it, but I've definitely had better breakfast burritos in the Civic Center/Tenderloin area. I still think this place is worth a try. Maybe my misses will be your hits. I've had good service here, too. But I have to take it down a star from my previous review because of the inconsistencies. Also, I still wish they changed their civic roll menu where you can get two different sandwiches for $15.

This place took over from Bi-Rite after the pandemic. Today I ordered an Ansel Adams burger with some fries. There was a bit of a wait because there were only three people working and the food is made to order. This has got to be the smallest burger in the world. For $11 plus an extra $1 for the smallest fries in the world, it's a rip off. The portions are smaller than a happy meal. The pickle looks sad and dehydrated. Burger was tasty and not dried out. Fries weren't oversalted but it wasn't crispy either. This is ok but for the amount you pay, it's not worth it.

due to a printer malfunction or whatever, they totally and completely lost my order. so it happens. what I didn't expect was the amount of discourtesy and attitude when asking about my forgotten food. first the line cook said she was working on it. please. she didn't know what was happening nor did she give a damn. either way, shameful. then when asking this other dude who looked like he was in charge about my food, he acted like I was bothering him with my inquiry. way to treat your customers, buddy. so I guess after only waiting 20 minutes for a sandwich, I'm the one in the wrong. maybe I should've waited 45 minutes before I said anything. my bad, bro. so he finally asks me, what did you order? the Huey Lewis. we're out of the Huey Lewis. wow, that was never relayed to me while I was ordering or paying. This was an epic lunch fail and decided to get my money back and be done with this place all together. But I did get comped a soft serve swirl. So all's well that ends well, right? fuck that. The Assembly sucks. and what's worse, the foods isn't even all that good to begin with. When considering this place for lunch (or any meal really), go elsewhere my fellow Yelper.

Recently visited Assembly for lunch and it was a great experience. Assembly arguably has the prettiest backdrop because it's in front of city hall. It's open Monday - Friday from 7:30 am - 5 pm. They offer breakfast and lunch options at reasonable prices. On a nice day, eating outside in front of city hall, the Asian art museum, and San Francisco public library is truly awesome

I love the location, variety and pricing here. During happy hour (3-5pm), you get $1 off of food items which are pretty cheap compared to average food prices in San Francisco. For example, the impossible burger which comes with a side salad is regularly $8 but is $7 during happy hour. They have soft serve Straus (local dairy farm) ice cream for $3 and it comes with a waffle cone. I actually can't finish the soft serve because the portion is so large. There are many tables and benches around the cafe and you can enjoy the lovely view of city hall while you eat. The Main Library is next door as well as the Asian Art Museum. Perfectly positioned for a full day of fun!

The customer service is terrible. First off there is no customer service. you have to order from a kiosk. They never speak to you. I ordered a hot tea. It took more than 5 mins and then they took my teabag They can't get your drink right and it's way too overpriced. A tea in a very small cup was 4.50 after tax and they had nerve to ask for a tip. DISRESPECTFUL. I DONT LIKE THIS business model order and pay at kiosk

The assembly has a very broad menu between sandwiches and burgers. Also lots of other unique items like the Mexican mocha, which I've had which is very yummy. Today I had the Clint Eastwood. It was not a disappointed for me and a main item for me after various visits. The lemonade is nice and fresh, the staff are quick and friendly. I recommend this place as good eats for outdoor dining in a unique oasis in this area probably for a half mile

They switched ownership and it is severely worse. First they have a whole new menu but it does not match the menu online. The options are only breakfast things and burgers and a couple sandwiches. I really miss the rolls they used to have. We ordered a caprese sandwich and then they told us they were out of it but didn't refund me for it even though what we got instead was a bagel which was nowhere near the same price. The food was also really bad. The burger was greasy and bland, the breakfast sandwiches were odd. We ordered about 7 things and no one enjoyed theirs.

This place has a couple unique features that make it a win for the neighborhood. First, they have outdoor seating right on civic center plaza which seems to be kept clean by onsite staff. Second, and this is a big benefit, they allow you to order relatively small items without a price penalty. Lots of the time, I'm looking for a light lunch but the places around there only sell larger items. They offer what are basically half sandwiches for half price. They call them wraps or breads or something, but they are basically a piece of bread with yummy stuff on top. I had the Huey Lewis, the Carlos Santana, and the Faith No More. One of them was bacon-y, and it had almost more bacon than I even wanted, a generous portion. Enjoy.

Really quality food at really reasonable prices!! I had a vegetable sandwich with chips for under $10 including tip, which is NOT a thing in this area. The only things you can get for under $10 around here is some fried stuff or a veg burrito. VERY happy to see this place in the neighborhood, and can't wait to come back and try the impossible burger. Also - the seating area is spacious and sunny. There are urban alchemy guys all around keeping it relatively clean. It was a nice spot to sit for an hour or so in the middle of the day.

Thank you for being in Civic Center. The breakfast burrito is really good. The coffee could be better.

I've had the avocado toast here as well as one of the burgers. Avo toast is always pretty good so it's no surprise that theirs was fine. The burger was ok, though maybe a little overcooked. What was weird and bad were the fries though. They cost extra and mine were, being generous, partially cooked. That probably all adds up to 3.5 stars but let's round up here since I want this location to work.

Not a bad lunch option. I've only had their salads, which weren't that big or creative but decent. I hope to try their sandwiches next.

The impossible smash burgers here are good. Service is good. The public convenience station is handy if you need a restroom. Decent place to grab a bite if you're in the area for jury duty or whatever.

They replaced the human at the order window with a machine. This is a bummer. I prefer humans.

The food here is so good and so well priced. We're vegetarian, and there were plenty of options for us. A must go for weekday lunches.

Terrible service. Had to wait 25 minutes for a cup of tea. Also, they charge $1 for creamer, almond, and oat milk.

Not much selection in this area so super happy they opened. Coffee is great and you can also buy quick food to go. Order in advance or eat on site if it's a nice day

Well-priced, good lunch fare, convenient location! I appreciate that they have a range of vegetarian options. I'll definitely be back.

Wouldn't fill my thermos- instead gave me coffee in paper cup with lid + sleeve+ paper bag with sugar and 2 creamers. Coffee was watery. Disappointing that SF would rent to a large catering company instead of a small cafe- I miss bi-rite.

I would recommend the Civic Rolls. I've had the Journey (tuna melt) and Huey Lewis (shaved rib eye) so far. Both were great but the Journey (tuna) really stood out. It's a big step up from the regular tuna melts you find in sandwiches, and I highly recommend it. I've also had a salad here before and I wouldn't order it again, but will continue to make my way through the Civic Rolls to try them all! Come at happy hour (3-5pm) and they're $1 off!

Great burgers and civic rolls are tasty. Chips served with them are crispy any homemade. Tried one of their homemade pastries with coffee earlier this week. Tasted fresh. They use the local Sightglass coffee! Happy hour is 3-5. Going to grab a beer for $5 before my commute home!