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Updated 1/28/24 with current menu, additional photos
Our 2024 Kantine San Francisco Review is from our recent visit. Since we regularly bought bread, sandwiches, and pastries at Ole and Steen when we lived in NYC and enjoyed plenty of great Danish bread and pastries when visiting these friends in Copenhagen last summer, we were happy to see how Kantine, which bills itself as “Scandinavian from scratch,” measured up. Chef Nichole Accettola spent about 15 years in Copenhagen, and Kantine is a very personal project, modern and flooded with natural light, which is open only for breakfast and lunch before closing at 3pm, allowing her to spend time with her family, a rarity in the grueling restaurant industry.
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Kantine Location and Hours
Kantine is located at 1906 Market Street by Guerrero. It's open Tuesday-Friday 8am-2pm, and Saturday-Sunday 9am-3pm. It's closed Mondays and is walk-in only (no reservations). You order inside, and if you're ordering anything that has to be prepared in the kitchen, you'll be given a small placard and stand to bring to your table.
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Kantine Menu and Food
We'd looked at Kantine's menu on its Web site and had decided what we wanted to order.
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Since our 2023 visit, the menu's changed a bit such that there isn't the build-your-own brunch, but there is a simpler brunch plate on offer that includes a soft-boiled egg, bread, butter, jam, cheese, and housemade yogurt with granola. We went the family-style route, ordering two of our favorite Grovbirkes sandwiches, the seasonal salad, yogurt bowl, and bread pudding, then sharing everything.
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There's indoor seating, but it was actually quite crowded, as several customers were working on laptops, so we chose to dine outdoors. We were given a small placard so that staff could identify where to bring our order.
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My husband and son both got the Grovbirkes Breakfast Sandwich; it comes with herbed scrambled eggs, and Havarti cheese, ham, and/or bacon can be added for a supplement. The flaky rolls, studded with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds were a huge hit. We especially like it with Havarti cheese and crispy bacon.
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The seasonal salad, currently a winter salad with plenty of kale, some quinoa, roasted kabocha squash, crisp rye croutons and shaved parmesan is excellent: highly recommended alone or together with a Grovbirkes sandwich.
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Fans of yogurt and granola shouldn't miss the yogurt bowl, with its excellent seasonal jam, berries, and housemade granola.
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On this occasion, since Kantine was sold out of its cardamom morning buns, we tried the banana chocolate bread pudding. I liked that it wasn't overly sweet and it had good flavor, but it was a bit dry–it would have been better if it was moister.
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Previously, when offered in 2023, I got the Build-Your-Own-Brunch with 5 items: herbed scrambled eggs, runny organic egg with creamy spinach, chickpeas with kale, tomatoes and preserved lemon vinaigrette, overnight muesli, and smoked trout salad (this is a $3 supplement). I liked the variety (and with the vegetables, smoked trout, and dairy, whole grains and fruit in the muesli it was also more nutritionally balanced than the breakfast sandwich), but it was a good thing I'd chosen both egg dishes, as otherwise it probably wouldn't have been filling enough given the small portion sizes of the chickpeas and smoked trout.
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The smoked trout was a highlight, although frankly I was expecting a slightly larger portion size. The muesli was fine, and my husband (who likes muesli more than I do) enjoyed his taste, although I would have really preferred to try the yogurt.
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The three of us shared a Cardamom Morning Bun. It's very crisp and flaky, and ideal for those who don't like their breakfast pastries too sweet, with a subtle cardamom taste. Personally I still prefer Tartine's Morning Bun, which has a bit more syrup and gooey goodness to it, plus I love the orange zest that Tartine uses; it adds such a wonderful contrast to the rich croissant dough and really elevates it.
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The Verdict
We enjoyed our Kantine brunch and would return. The highlights were the Grovbirkes Sandwich on its seeded flaky pastry roll, winter salad, and yogurt bowl. The Cardamom Morning Buns, which we've had on other occasions, are very good, although we still prefer the morning buns at Tartine Bakery and Tartine Manufactory.
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