I’m usually a bit more of a brunch-at-home person, but occasionally, it makes for a great time to catch up with friends. I knew the other half was going to be away for work one weekend, so I scheduled a brunch far enough in advance so I could get some friends together to head to Nopa as they book up so fast and there’s always a giant line (or so I’ve heard). I have always wanted to go, but never did for that reason (as I hate to queue for almost any reason). Now was my chance! And because of the start of a world pandemic, my husband’s work trip was canceled, so he also got to join in the fun.
So I do have to comment first on the service. It wasn’t the best. (And that’s in the British sense of the term.) It took ages for any of our order to get taken, and then even longer for our server to return. Once we had drinks, it was kind of okay because we were enjoying drinks and each other’s company, but having to hunt down a server constantly to get our order in or to get more drinks became a bit tedious. The drinks are really great though, and while I started with a Bloody Mary, I switched afterward to what was essentially a Negroni with sparkling wine to lighten it up a bit for the brunch time of day.
We decided to order a crab etouffee brioche bun and the coffee cake to start with, and then three of us decided to order the sausage and eggs, and one the granola. One of my friends was flabbergasted to find out that coffee cake does not, indeed, contain any coffee in it. I think there were some pejoratives about Americans thrown around, but she still got on board with trying it out.
After about fifteen minutes, our server returned to inform us there were only two sausage dishes left, so I changed mine to the butter-basted eggs with sprouts and blood orange. The two starters arrived, and we dug in. While I was expecting to like the bun more out of the two, I really enjoyed the coffee cake. It wasn’t very sweet at all, and it was a great way to start the meal. The bun was nice, but it really seemed to be lacking something in order to make it a really fantastic dish.
The mains came out, and they definitely looked stunning. At this time, my husband and I decided to split the dishes, so I started with my half of the butter-basted eggs. All in all, it was a really nice dish. The eggs were cooked well, and the sprouts and orange really went well together. It also felt like it was lacking something to make it amazing, but I was pleasantly happy with it. The sausage, however, was definitely a winning dish. It was nice and smoky, and there were some amazingly cooked potatoes underneath. The poached egg was really well done, and I was glad I got to end the meal with such a great dish.
I really liked a lot about Nopa. The food was great. I kind of regret not getting the burger when the original sausage dish wasn’t available, though, because I know how good it is. I just really wanted to try some of the other dishes. And they were enjoyable, but some more so than others. They do a pretty good job with the sweet pastries at the beginning, and the cocktails really are fantastic. I can definitely see why Nopa is very popular for brunch, but I think I would have been annoyed if I hadn’t booked and would have had to wait. Just possibly be prepared for some iffy service at an otherwise great meal.
Score: 4/5
Recommendation: Coffee cake and burger! And all the cocktails!
Nopa
560 Divisadero St
San Francisco, CA 94117
