On my first day in San Francisco my coworker and I checked into our hotel and headed out into Union Square to find a place for lunch. We assumed since we were in a major, metropolitan area, it would be easy to find a cute lunch place. Not so.
After a solid thirty minutes of wandering with no luck, I popped into the closest hotel (Palace Hotel) and asked their concierge for a recommendation. He pulled out a map of Union Square and drew me the route to Belden Place, an alley with several restaurants with outdoor tables.
We walked a few blocks to Belden Place and fell in love with this hidden row of outdoor cafes!
We walked the entire row and looked at every menu before deciding to dine at Cafe Bastille.
The host seated us underneath a large, yellow umbrella and handed us menus.
We toasted to our week in San Francisco with a glass of chardonnay for her and a raspberry caipirinha for me.
As we looked over the menu our waiter brought us a bread basket with two French baguettes. Yum!
My coworker decided on the beet and goat cheese napoleon which arrived in a beautiful presentation. These are two of my personal, least favorite foods, but she absolutely loved the dish.
I ordered the ratatouille crepe which came topped with a poached egg and accompanied by a side salad. I was about to take my fourth bite of the crepe when I noticed that it was stuffed with not only the ratatouille, but with chicken! I immediately went into panic mode, as I haven't had a single bite of meat in thirteen years. The waiter asked me if I'd like to add chicken to my crepe when I placed the order and I said emphatically, "No, absolutely not, I'm a vegetarian."
We flagged down the waiter, let him know of the goof and he quickly delivered me a new, chicken-less crepe. Aside from this genuine moment of panic, the crepe was actually exceptional. The side salad was also wonderful. The ingredients were fresh and topped with a zesty dressing.
The restaurants on Belden Place are adorable! It feels like being in Europe. I would love to go back and try others on the row. A big thank you to the concierge at the Palace Hotel for directing us!
