15 Top Spots For Elegant Toasts Across San Francisco

Let's talk about bread. Throughout the centuries, every culture across every continent has baked bread. In the modern era, people eat this household staple for breakfast, dinner, and dessert; it's enjoyed as a low-budget option and elevated to fine-dining standards by chefs across the globe. Although we all have our favorite variety of the staple, one is arguably the most prominent of all: Sourdough. And as it turns out, this beloved bread kickstarted San Francisco's love affair with bread. It all began during The Gold Rush of the late 19th century when prospective miners rushed to California in droves. Times were hard, nutrition was slim, and bread starters were productive — Soon, amateur bakers filled the city and began to notice that the moisture in the air from heavy fog made the bread more flavorful in San Francisco.

Over a century later, bakeries across the city sell San Francisco-style sourdough worldwide, and patrons queue for hours to get their hands on the tangy bread. More recently, cafés have sprung up across the city, presenting the city's iconic bread gently toasted, buttered, and finished with unexpected toast toppings. This isn't the toast you throw together for breakfast on a rushed morning — no, this is decidedly decadent. Don't worry, it's not all about the avocado, we promise. Are you ready to explore toast as you've never experienced before? Join us as we scour San Francisco's best spots for elegant toast.

Picture this: fluffy, soft, and deliciously buttery French pain de mie smothered in creamy sweet ricotta, a drizzle of dark golden honey, a sprinkle of sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and glistening fresh fruits. Mazarine Coffee, a small coffeehouse just a short walk from Union Square, offers this perfectly Instagram-able (and mouth-wateringly delicious) toast on the modest menu, plus more.

The warm and welcoming atmosphere of the small coffee shop is a welcome reprise from the hustle and bustle of busy Market Street. For those who like the liveliness, there are a few tables outside for people-watching and a quick catch-up over lunch. It's one of many ways you can observe the owners have modernized a French influence throughout Mazarine Coffee (its namesake is the Bibliothèque Mazarine, in Paris). Nonetheless, the main draw remains the food — sample an almost too-pretty-to-eat toast topped with vibrant beetroot hummus, sliced avocado, salty crumbled ricotta salata, and toasted sesame seeds, or dig into an up-market take on ham, eggs, and cheese on whole-wheat toast. We'll leave the rest for you to discover.

Trendy craft coffee and elegant artisan toasts may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the notoriously gritty San Francisco neighborhood of The Tenderloin. However, "in the know" locals will direct you to an indispensable fixture of the area: Scullery, a cozy and compact coffee shop founded in 2016 by Scottish native Sharon Lindley. Although Lindley has made San Francisco her home for many years, she incorporated echoes of her heritage throughout the eatery, particularly evident in the name — a historical British term meaning "small kitchen" — and the menu. The business has since changed hands, but Scullery remains an underexposed haunt with uniquely British dishes.

Expect a small toast menu, a little cabinet of pastries, and a range of drinks (locally sourced coffee and British classic PJ Tips tea are standouts). Welsh rarebit is a must-try — sourdough topped with melted grilled cheddar cheese — and tastes especially good with chutney.

Just a short distance from popular tourist spots is Union Street, the heart of a shopping neighborhood filled with trendy eateries, independent shops, and specialty boutiques, all with San Francisco's famous historic Victorian architecture. Nestled amongst other restaurants is Avotoasty, a Hispanic and woman-owned airy hangout ideal for brunch.

If you hadn't guessed, Avotoasty is all about avocados. Founder Sofia Pinzon, who hails from Columbia, believes that enjoying simple, nourishing, and vibrant food is the best form of self-care. While delicious and healthy açaí bowls, smoothies, and beetroot lattes fill the menu, we can't help but focus our attention on the toasts. Artisan sourdough forms the base of each toast, with most toppings incorporating avocado in some form. Picture simple avocado toast with poached egg; smooth hummus with avocado, olive oil, and micro greens; silky avocado topped with juicy tomatoes, mozzarella balls, basil, and balsamic glaze; perhaps avocado with smoked salmon, or delicate prosciutto ribbons.

We'd be remiss if we didn't mention that Avotoasty is also the only place in San Francisco with "unicorn" toast, an eclectic and vibrant choice with pastel-tinted sweet cream cheese and rainbow sprinkles. Pretty? Yes. Iconic? Yes. What else needs to be said?

Soon, food enthusiasts will realize that city centers are not the only spot to find the best eateries. By venturing a little beyond San Francisco's city center and exploring the peaceful community of Outer Sunset, you'll discover the aptly named Outerlands. A gem that's got reviewers raving, the restaurant features homely salvaged wood decor, beautifully presented plates, house-made bread, and some of the best toast in the city.

Outerlands makes most of its toast from sourdough made with levain (starter). Standard offerings include everything from simple toast with fruit jam to the more complex. For vegetarians, there are maitake mushrooms with caramelized onions, goats cheese, frisée, and balsamic; pescatarians will adore smoked trout with dill, capers, cucumber, radish, and crème fraîche; while French toast with seasonal fruits and almond slivers will please the dessert-lovers. Outerlands also runs toast specials regularly, so check before you order.

The U.S. has a remarkably sturdy coffee culture; after all, Starbucks, the largest coffee brand in the world, was founded in the country. On the other side of the globe, Australia has developed a unique coffee culture with "magic coffee," an invention pioneered in Melbourne, Australia's coffee capital. Throughout the years, the influence of Australian coffee culture worldwide has grown, and one of the most pivotal players in the industry is Bluestone Lane.

The chain has five locations throughout San Francisco — the first restaurant opened in the Financial District, followed by Union Square, The East Cut, SOMA, and Theater District. The menus, which offer Australian café fare along with coffee, differ slightly from location to location. The simplistic option is toast with vegemite and butter, an Australian classic. There are also crowd pleasers like smashed avocado toast with chili flakes, cinnamon and honey banana, peanut butter and berries, or smoked salmon with cream cheese. Take your pick!

Behind the quaint brick walls of The Mill is a collaboration between two quintessentially San Francisco businesses: Josey Baker Bread and Four Barrel Coffee. While Josey Baker (yes, his last name is Baker) produces the baked goods, Four Barrel Coffee supplies coffee. The partnership began in 2011 when the founder of Four Barrel Coffee, a local and independent coffee roaster, invited Baker, who had been making artisanal bread from his apartment since 2010, to join forces on a café concept.

Since then, The Mill has become synonymous with elegant toast and hot coffee. The café, which is bright, homely, and features shelves of vinyl records, has no WiFi, and the seats disappear quickly. You'll find piles of freshly baked whole-grain bread stacked against the wall, and the toast menu hangs above the counter on a wooden board.

The toast that put The Mill on the map is its simple cinnamon sugar with butter and sea salt, so it's always recommended. But there's creamy avocado mash; lemony ricotta atop homemade jam; smoked trout with rye bread; sage butter and egg-in-a-hole; pumpkin butter, almond butter, and chocolate-hazelnut spread, too. That's not to mention the specials and the gluten-free bread — the only thing to do is try it for yourself.

At Tartine, it's all about the bread. For the founders Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt, working with bread is intuitive. Combining age-old wisdom concerning the science of bread-making with art, craft, and philosophy is what sets Tartine apart. Every step of the process, from milling the flour to reading the weather and working the dough, is carefully overseen by their team of specialist bakers. Customers obviously respond well to the love put into the operation; Tartine has four locations across the Bay Area, five in LA, and six establishments in Seoul, Korea.

Our pick is Tartine Inner Sunset, a modern and casual eatery found within a stone's throw of Golden Gate Park. Tartine Inner Sunset also delivers the best menu selections — you don't want to miss the thick-cut buttermilk toast topped with whipped ricotta, sweet orange marmalade, pistachios, lemon, and lavender honey. We know what we'll be dreaming about tonight.