Is it right to give a cafe a full four stars when you've only had coffee and bagels there? It is when the coffee and the bagels are as good as the ones at Caffe Centro.
Living in the South Park area, if you want a good espresso drink, especially on a Saturday, your only choice really is Caffe Centro. Sure, there are three Starbucks in the neighborhood, but I wouldn't say that their espresso is passable, let alone good. Caffe Centro's, however, is exceptional. I mean, it's no Ritual or Blue Bottle, but they make a mighty fine cappuccino.
More importantly, Caffe Centro makes a mean bagel. You would think in a city like San Francisco that there would be a number of places that produce good bagels, but don't kid yourself, the average bagel in The City isn't even in the same universe as the bagels from H&H or Ess-A-Bagel in New York. Caffe Centro, however, makes a very good simple bagel with cream cheese, putting it on par with Katz Bagels for the best in the city.
My wife says the sandwiches here are better than average, but I can't personally vouch for them. However, if you're looking for a good cup of joe and a bagel to get you going in the morning, you can't do much better than Caffe Centro.
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