Citizen Cake (CLOSED)

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399 Grove St, San Francisco, CA 94102
San Francisco, CA 94102

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(415) 861-2228
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Citizen Cake (CLOSED) - San Francisco, CA
Reviews
( 19 )
( 18 )
( 13 )
( 17 )
( 16 )

Best

I went to Citizen Cake last night with my girlfriend following a friend's recommendation and we weren't disappointed. Everything we ordered was excellent (except for one of the ap...

Worst

The dessert I ate was simply heavenly, but my husband's was not that great. It was way to sweet!! Go for the dessert and not for their other menu items or service for that matte...

Good desserts to take-out 11/20/2006

annamalsf Provided by Partner
The desserts here especially the chocolate ones are rich and delicious. Cupcakes are my favorite. Service is less than desireable so i'd recommend getting it to go. Pros: desserts Cons: service, parking more
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Bad Service 11/13/2006

joliecrush18 Provided by Partner
After watching this on Racheal Ray, I went there with my boyfriend a few months back to try this place. The service was terrible. No one was at the front to welcome you or take you to your seat so we just sat down somewhere. A few waiters walked by and ignored us. Just when we finally got their attention they told us they were closing and walked away. We were surprised by the terrible service for such a hyped resturant. Since I came all the way from Los Angeles, I wanted to at least try something. So I just purchased a few of their cookies. The Chocolate Chip is good but i'm not sure i'm willing to go back after that rude incident. Tip: If your going to take care of your sweet fix - avoid the wait and rude service by going to the Citizen Cafe upstairs of Virgin Megastore in Union square. They have the sweets and some food. Pros: Good Cookies Cons: Bad Service and a bit pricy for cookies & cupcakes more
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Great dessert, food ok 10/24/2006

mkbauer Provided by Partner
I was here for brunch. The scrambled eggs was ok. Though, dessert was really good. I would recommend that you try the desserts. Pros: Desserts Cons: Average food more
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once again: tasty food, lousy service 10/8/2006

jeffanderyn Provided by Partner
i'd been to citizen cake a few times over the years for dinner, always with good food and medium service and recently went twice for brunch. the first time the food was great, as always, and service was indifferent. thinking i'd made too quick a judgement, went back recently for brunch with a few friends. HORRIBLE service! they were out of a number of things - not the waitress' fault, but it would have been nice if she'd told us before we ordered. or even just after we'd ordered. or before half of us were served our entrees already. and then she forgot the ketchup, the bloody marys, the sides of potatoes, put cheese on the "no cheese" item and didn't ever stop by to see how we were or bring us any water refills. my husband had to fetch the pepper mill himself after 20 minutes of waiting. the food was good, but i won't be back anytime soon. Pros: tasty food, airy dining room Cons: indifferent waitstaff & poor service outweigh food more
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average food, high price, friendly services 10/5/2006

leungdennis Provided by Partner
Been there a couple of times, desserts look nice, but not top notch, the cheesecakes were over baked when i was there last time (center of the cakes were doomed down, not flat), price on oter items such as French macaroons, and fruit jellies were nice, but way over priced, i like the different flavors of the sorbets. Food was ok, not the most creative you would see with that price, but the service was good, staffs were friendly, nice decor. Average in general, but if you are looking for really good pastries, you would be disappointed. Pros: comfortable environment, friednly staffs Cons: high price, difficult parking more
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GREAT coffee and desserts 9/10/2006

ghom30 Provided by Partner
I have been here before but decided to go for a late afternoon coffee. We ended up with both coffee AND delicious desserts. The little "pie" was a homemade apple pie that was fresh and tasty and my bf's plum pistachio tart was gorgeous! Pros: ambience more
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I died and went to heaven... 8/10/2006

shoegal84 Provided by Partner
Word on the street was that this was the place for those who had sweet toothes, such as myself! They were right! I didn't know where to start...I asked for a box, and proceeded to load it up! You must try the alfajores (did I spell that right). They are the traditional Mexican wedding cookies, but C. Cake takes their own spin on them, and all I am going to say is that carmel is involved. They literally melt in your mouth. Everything was yummy, the smores, the lemon cookies with frosting in the center, the flourless chocolate cake is TO DIE FOR and comes in a single serving. I even had a tuna sandwich was was delish... But can you believe I didn't have room in the box for a cupcake?? You simply must make a stop to see, I mean taste for yourself! Pros: Cookie, and cakes, and candies oh my! Cons: Boxes that aren't large enough to hold all my desserts PLUS a cupcake! more
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Passion fruit dessert is the best 7/18/2006

foodielover Provided by Partner
After a nice sushi dinner, we decided to have dessert here on a Saturday nite. The lines were too long and we took home 4 individual servings of dessert instead. The clerk recommended the bread pudding - a real disappointment. It was cold, hard and frankly, I've had better. The chocolate cake was good, but sweet. The best one was the papaya infused w/passion fruit - just the right amount of citrus tang with aromatic passion fruit flavoring in a white cake. Their white cakes are moist and not overly sweet compared to the chocolate cake. From past reviews, it sounds like the food and service need improvement, so stick w/the desserts. It's what they do best. Pros: good desserts especially the papaya/passion fruit cake Cons: avoid the bread pudding, long waits, no parking more
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Amazing Dessert, Underwhelming Food 6/19/2006

mbar5sam Provided by Partner
We went here for my hubby's birthday and it was OHHHHKAY. There are only 5 options, which wouldn't be bad if the food was good. I chose my entree based on the servers raves, and it was OHHHKAY. The food was pricy too. We had a nice bottle of wine, 1 starter, 1 cup soup, 2 entrees, and a birthday cake for $180. Which I don't mind spending if it's an experience, however I think they were all out of experinces. If you're going to give them a try skip them for dinner and stick to dessert. They also have savory ice creams to go with some of the starters and entrees. We had a blue cheese ice cream and it tasted like cold blue cheese in ice cream form. Not my faveorite. The cake was incredible and they have an option where you can "deluxe" the cake. They cut the cake in various triangles and make an architectural structure out of it. That was truly beautiful. They even made a little white chocolate banner and wrote a personalized happy birthday on it. I'd go back for dessert only though. Pros: Desserts Cons: Food, Ambiance, Price more
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Average with availability issues 6/18/2006

sfnativegal Provided by Partner
Despite all the raves this place gets, this restaurant is average. We were told on seating that they had run out of several items on the menu. My salad and pasta dish were good, but nothing outstanding. We wanted to have ice cream sandwiches for dessert, but were told that they ran out of most of the cookie flavors and most of the ice cream was gone too--a big disappointment. They really need to address their food planning quantities because this seems to be a problem. On a positive note, the service was great and our waitress was friendly and attentive. more
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SF Paradigm-- great food/horrible service 5/26/2006

pulpoink Provided by Partner
I had a fantastic brunch at Citizen Cake-- fresh OJ and down home comfort food! However, the staff acts as if they are doing you a favor when they wait on you. However, if you are not in a hurry (because believe me things will take a while) the food is worth it and the desserts are to die for! I had a chocolate cup cake that nearly made my eyes water. more
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Great food, terrible service 4/30/2006

jessica20 Provided by Partner
My first visit was for a friend's birthday. It was her favorite restaurant, so I had high hopes, but unfortunately left with a sour taste in my mouth (not from the food!). The waiter we had was so inattentive to our table, yet found enough time to flirt with all the ladies at the table next to us. At the end of our meal, we finally had to get the host to bring us the check we'd been waiting on for so long. On my way out, I gave the hosts some feedback about my experience, but they didn't seem to care. Unfortunate because the food was great, but I don't expect to be back there any time soon. Pros: Flavorful food, Ambience Cons: Rude waitstaff, Expensive more
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Servers with Attitude 3/1/2006

jtikky Provided by Partner
I was offended and insulted during my culinary experience at Citizen Cake. Our waitress was rude and inappropriate and made snide remarks every time we didn't say or do something exactly the way she wanted. For example, she snapped at my friend for saying "with ice" instead of "on the rocks. The food was good, but WAY overpriced for it's lack of originality--it's something you can get anywhere. If you do ever go here, just get your desserts takeout. more
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Rudest Service Ever!! 2/28/2006

knep Provided by Partner
Worst experience/service EVER! I have eaten all around the world and different parts of the country... but this place truly tops unfriendly service. Waitress was rude, hostess totally unfriendly (she gave us a hard time for not having a reservation, despite the fact that there was only 2 other people on the restaurant), and then the waitress about had a conniption when we were not all going to order an overpriced entrees. Oh and also, we had to pick 3 different types of teas, as they were out of our first selections. Never again!!! more
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"Terrible" would be too kind 2/27/2006

elizready Provided by Partner
I wanted very badly to have a good experience. First time I went just for dessert. The hostess was not interested in doing her job, so we finally went up to her and were like HELLO?! The cakes were disgusting. Dry cake with thick, waxy, lardy buttercream. The servers were extremely unfriendly, service was slow, and the place was loud. The 2nd time I went for dinner. Assumed the rude hostess/servers weren't typical of the place, but they were just as unfriendly the second time. Ordered duck for dinner. The food took half an hour & when it got there it was lukewarm and there was a small piece of fuzz in it. I paid WAY too much for that crappy meal. It didn't even fill me up. I'll never go back. I was born and raised in SF, and this is just about the worst experience of my life. Pros: none Cons: food, hostess/servers, noisy more
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quirky goodness 2/17/2006

golightly_holly Provided by Partner
went in with some friends, had a great time. . the place was slamming busy, but the staff seemed to have it pretty much under control. The entrees however, did take a little longer than we would have liked, but we were thrilled when they came out, quite tasty indeed. the desserts were a little odd, but fun, not your run of the mill fare. i'll be back. Pros: food, service, windows Cons: speed, noise more
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A bit disappointing 2/14/2006

Citysearch User Provided by Partner
I was a little disappointed after I went to Citizen Cake for the first time. I was expecting delicious desserts because I had seen the chef... more
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Waitstaff often has attitude 2/10/2006

papillion Provided by Partner
I've been here too many times to count. The desserts are good; the food is over-priced and mediocre. The waitstaff leaves more to be desired. Waitress told me (very rudely) to check for myself to see if there were any more cupcakes. She could not be bothered to treat a customer with basic courtesy. Nice job. Pros: Desserts Cons: Rude waitstaff, bland food more
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Excellent Experience 12/21/2005

squirrely_guy Provided by Partner
I took my family to Citizen Cake last night before the Nutcracker, we all had a fabulous time. The food was outstanding, from start to finish. The London Broil and Crab salad were perfectly prepared. The server was professional, attentive and very friendly. She suggested a lovely wine and took great care of us. We were not rushed, but the entire staff made sure we made it to our 7:00 performance. It was our first visit to Citizen Cake, but most certainly will not be our last. Pros: food, service, atmosphere more
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Don't bother, really! 11/3/2005

dloy Provided by Partner
We had read a flattering review somewhere and the web site made the place seem worth going to but it was the worst place we visted in all of San Francisco duirng our 6 day stay. The staff was rude!!! From the dismissive host to the invisable waiter to the rude bakery counter help it's amazing to me that a place like this can remain open. The waiter did'nt even know what was available for dessert and told us to get up and go look?! Why bother, with all the other great places in this city go spend your $$$ elsewhere. Pros: Good Name, Good web site Cons: poor/slow/service, tasteless food, zero ambiance more
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  • Neighborhoods: Hayes Valley, Central North
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