Cafe Sebastian

Tucked away in San Francisco, Café Sebastian delivers big on flavor and charm. I stopped in for a quick lunch and was blown away by the quality of the food and the welcoming vibe. I ordered the French dip sandwich, and it might be one of the best I've had—tender, flavorful beef piled high on a perfectly toasted roll. As a side, I went with something a little different: the smoked fish. It was a pleasant surprise—lightly smoky, delicately seasoned, and clearly fresh. A perfect contrast to the warm, hearty sandwich. Service was friendly and efficient, and the cozy ambiance made it a great spot to relax mid-day. Highly recommend stopping by if you're in the area.

Beautiful spot for breakfast with a lovely patio at the base of the Transamerica Building. Service was nice and the food was excellent. Ordered the coffee, eggs, and the pancakes, which were delicious and unique, if a little on the small side for portions for the price. As a bonus, even the washroom has a bold and nifty aesthetic!

We found a brand new restaurant that will definitely be our top choice in the neighborhood. - The food is delicious, and the presentation is great - They offer a rotating menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and they are open on Sundays! - It's quite affordable for San Francisco, especially considering the quality of the food. - The location is near a beautiful park that features live music (check the schedule) and art installations

Space is stunning, but food was a miss. On the menu sounded great, but execution was off on smoked salmon toast, quinoa salad, lemon pasta, soup, and sirloin sandwich. Juice was also awful texture and flavor.

Great place to catch up with a co-worker or come for a breakfast date. The food was good and the service was speedy but warm. The decor was very chic. The eggs scramble, sourdough toast with tomatoes and latte were all tasty. Definitely checkout the park and museum afterward!

Cafe Sebastian is exceptional - what a sensational new addition to the fidi neighborhood. The food was of a fine dining caliber. The ambiance is relaxing and open concept. Highly recommend.

Love this location. It's not inside Transamerica, you can enter from the park next to Transamerica or from Samson Street. Btw, I fact check for you, the cafe inside Transamerica is not part of cafe Sebastian, some influencer gave us wrong info. Seat yourself. And order from the QR code on each table. Food is delicious. Service is friendly. Order a shave ice, it's super fun. The shave ice master is amazing. Love love love this magical cafe.

The iconic TransAmerica Tower The SHVO building has new restaurant that has a entre menu pallet rivaling any Michelin star restaurant to boot a Top Chef! Well I had the chicken, The broccoli soup and the dates! The chicken was tender and moist, not dry and not pink but perfect and topped with a sesame seed medley! The tasty cheese within the broccoli soup was subtle and not over powering and flavorful ! The dates were delicious and went down smoothly topped with a satisfying Manhattan. What was more satisfying is that it’s an excellent 5 star lunch that was easy on the pocket book. I think even Anthony Bourdain God bless his soul would approve of this wonderful new establishment in the Jackson Square district FIDI districts. I’ll try the deviled eggs next time ! Thank you chef Bradly Kilgore

Get in here today. This restaurant is going to be popular. Get the CS BREAKFAST SANDWHICH. I recommend you share this because every bite is packed with flavor. Get the BABKA. Simple and delicious. Very nice to nibble on. Get the JALAPENO, CHEDDAR & SCALLION SCONE. Personally, I'd like a little more kick but I like pain. It's great and not spicy at all but soft and enjoyable. This is a fresh new addition to Transamerica. The ambience is great. Get in here but you probably already need a reservation.

TLDR: We're so happy for this new addition to the neighborhood! This place has so much potential and we'll definitely be back. Probably a 3.5/5 based on our first experience, but only a few notes to get it to a 5/5. ------ FOOD: 1. Market Salad (5/5): Large salad that came with LOTS of different greens and veggies. Ordered with the cabernet vinaigrette dressing which was great, and the salad was overall well dressed. Would definitely get again, though I'd personally ask for a touch less dressing next time. 2. Half Chicken (3/5): Chicken was juicy (not dry), I loved the everything-bagel seasoning that crusted the chicken, and the pesto + greens were a good addition to the dish for a reasonable price. However, the chicken was so salty that I had to pair with bites of our salad. Please consider revisiting the prep for this dish! 3. Deviled Eggs (2/5) - Came with 3 deviled eggs and unfortunately the flavor was really lacking for us. Not worth the price, and the menu listed cornichon that didn't ultimately come with this dish. The eggs would have been great with some more acidity or spice to add another dimension. They serve breakfast and lunch here, as well as drinks and pastries. ------ SERVICE: * Host / server seats you but then you can order on your phone by scanning a QR code. Your food still gets brought to and cleared from your table, plus they bring and refill your water, but ordering is just less traditional. I actually liked this method because the experience still felt more upscale, just without having to order through a server. * Service was overall great * We had an issue where we showed up around 9:30 am on a Sunday when they were supposed to have opened at 9 am, but strangely they were closed. No sign saying why. Hopefully this was just a one-off given the holidays. ------ ENVIRONMENT / AMBIANCE: * Love the vibe of this restaurant. Cozy, spacious, beautiful. This is one of the main reasons why I think this place has so much potential. This could be a fantastic place to meet up with friends, grab a coffee/pastry and work, or stop by for a quick bite. * Located in the new Transamerica Pyramid park and started by well-known chef Brad Kilgore, who also has a few other concepts opening up in the park area soon * Great place to walk to or uber to -- not too much parking nearby unless you're able to park in the garage for the Transamerica

Beautiful cafe just recently opened and is part of the $1 Billion revamp of the iconic Transamerica Pyramid. Cafe Sebastian is an all-day restaurant. Currently only the casual cafe is operating, but soon the 1st floor space will also host a Japanese shaved ice shop called Madlab, and an upscale Italian-Japanese restaurant called Ama. On the day of our visit, the floor manager was really congenial. He welcomed us and handed us the menus and informed us to order via the bar code. We sat down and admired the beautiful interior with the open kitchen concept. Our coffee drinks soon arrived. We noted that the temperature was just lukewarm, not piping hot which is how we like our coffee drinks. Our pastries were chocolate babka and a spiced honey and apricot danish, both of which we asked to be warmed up. The babka came first. While it was tasty I was a little disappointed at the thin slice. For the price I was expecting a mini loaf. Then we waited quite a while and the danish still hasn't come, so I got up to ask the counter clerk. Apparent it was missed, and she apologized for the mishap and immediately started to prepare the pastry. The danish was good, but the delay took away the enjoyment of it. Perhaps they are still experiencing a bit of start-up blues and the staff still need more training. I hope they will get better. I like to come back and try the shaved ice and the Italian-Japanese cuisine.

My colleague and I stopped by Cafe Sebastian the Friday right after their opening. The staff were very welcoming. We thoroughly enjoyed the Sage cider, which was quite comforting like a nourishing broth. Definitely a unique warm beverage to warm you up on a foggy San Francisco day. I also had a croissant.

We came in for breakfast and ordered a latte, cap, and 2 yogurt parfaits. The tab was $50. The coffee drinks were average. The parfaits were gorgeous works of art and very tasty, but about 1/4 the size of what one expects for that dish. We left hungry. I will come back though because of the gorgeous outdoor space which seems to be part of the new Transamerica Park. It would be wonderful on a warm day or evening.

I'm rounding up to three stars because Cafe Sebastian has tremendous potential and I really want them to tweak their approach to be a mondo success. Firstly, the waitstaff was very friendly, but I'd prefer if there was just table service instead of QR code ordering. The gorgeous dining room deserves a more personal touch. Plus, we had to ask the staff for water anyway so it defeated the purpose of ordering by phone. As for the food, the quinoa salad had good flavor but was insanely salty. If not for the absolute bombardment of salt, it would be a winner. Also, the ratios were dissatisfying as it was a quinoa overload with trace amounts of kale and sweet potato. If the ratios were balanced and salt reined in, this would be a frequent repeater. I hope Cafe Sebastian takes this constructive criticism to heart because I believe with a few changes this could be in my regular rotation.

Don't come here for just coffee or working at a cafe. Their wifi was down and they only had almond milk as a milk substitute when I visited. Another reviewer mentioned the babka is thinly sliced - very true. It was delicious yes, but seriously overpriced. Service was polite. Order at your table from a QR code. When the restaurant just starts to fill up, it gets pretty loud easily. Nice modern decor and probably more for a business lunch.

I popped in for a quick breakfast. I got the breakfast sandwich which was a sausage patty with cheese on focaccia. It was delightful, at a glance it may seem small, but there is a huge sausage patty in it, and I'm sure enough calories for half a day. I was well satisfied. That being said, the sausage was great, with a pleasantly surprising amount of spice and flavor. The Focaccia was fresh made in house, with a great punch of rosemary. The whole sandwich felt crafted. I look forward to trying their lunch and dinner menus, when available.

The iconic TransAmerica Tower The SHVO building has new restaurant that has a entre menu pallet rivaling any Michelin star restaurant to boot a Top Chef! Well I had the chicken, The broccoli soup and the dates! The chicken was tender and moist, not dry and not pink but perfect and topped with a sesame seed medley! The tasty cheese within the broccoli soup was subtle and not over powering and flavorful ! The dates were delicious and went down smoothly topped with a satisfying Manhattan. What was more satisfying is that it's an excellent 5 star lunch that was easy on the pocket book. I think even Anthony Bourdain God bless his soul would approve of this wonderful new establishment in the Jackson Square district FIDI districts. I'll try the deviled eggs next time ! Thank you chef Bradly Kilgore

Excellent scramble, blueberry danish, and cappuccinos - excited to go back again here soon!

What an experience! First of all, the food is amazing. No, absolutely amazing. Excellent. Exceptional. The service is equally superlative. Attentive, responsive staff. A work of passion everywhere and in everything there. Those who attended to our rather large group were amazing... I haven't seen such dedicated people who didn't waste a moment, whose every move was single-purpose in their devotion to their patrons. Flawless teamwork in a warm, captivating venue. I wish them all success.

Sampled the food at the public opening for the Transamerica Pyramid. Can't wait to try the food again once it opens