Great delicious authentic food. Friendly staff. Decor is old school. Quiet place if you're trying to get away from crazy busy spots.

I had been craving for a good Schnitzel since I visited Europe earlier this year and this restaurant did not disappoint! The schnitzel was well fried and the mashed potatoes were very buttery! The Sauerkraut was the highlight and even my German friend loved it! Since I went during lunch time, the restaurant was also very quiet. It was also very walkable to a lot of other stores in the Richmond district. The service was great as well. Overall, the food & service were good but it was a bit pricey for schnitzels. read more

Cafe Europa - Pork Schnitzel - German Near Me - San Francisco, California

At July 2025 when I was visiting, I came into this cafe and ordered two dishes. The foods cost $33, plus 8.625% tax in San Francisco and 15% tips I clicked on the screen, the total should be $41. Yet I came to realized much later that they charged me $45.59! At that time, the bill was handwritten for me to check, and then I put down the credit card, a staff came with a POS machine. I clicked 15%, signed, and saw the total charge went to $43.xx, so I checked the handwritern bill again and realized the staff made a mistake (the total of the pre-tax food items should be $33 and but she wrote $35). I pointed it out, the staff apologized, and gave me $2 cash. So far everything should be fine, an honest mistake and the staff was very nice about it. However, this does not explain why my credicard was eventually charged $45 instead of the $43 I signed for. Were there uncommon charges in San Francisco, and is it allowed that the resterant owner to not inform customer about it & not showed them in the final amount (after tax and tip) on the bill? read more

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Great food and service! We ordered: Mushroom Crepes (4 Stars $12.50) The crepes were really good. The crepes were stuffed with sautéed mushrooms and folded into a envelope, them browned in butter and served with chives and sour cream. Very good! Pierogi with Potatoes (Stars 3 $15.75) The pierogi was the size of large dumpling, 1 bite. The plate comes with some sour cream and sprinkled chives. Pierogi with Cabbage & Mushrooms (4 Stars $15.75) same as above, but I like these ones much better. Pierogi with Chicken (4 Stars $16.75) same as above. Pierogi with Beef (4 Stars $16.75) same as above but I think I like the chicken better than beef. Borsch (Stars 3.5) good but not that great. Hungarian Pork Goulash (Stars 4 $24.50) The pork was so tender, the sauce was perfect, served with mashed potatoes. Beef Stroganoff (Stars 4 $26.75) Super tender beef strips in creamy mushroom sauce with pasta. Veal Schnitzel (Stars 5 $32.50) The veal was very tender, breaded and deep fried perfectly, well seasoned. It was served with stewed purple cabbage (3 Stars) and homemade mashed potatoes (3 Stars) with mushroom sauce. The mushroom sauce (4 stars) was really good. Until next time... read more

Everything was cooked perfectly Great drink selection too We love this place so much Highly recommend for a delicious meal that will leave you feeling perfectly warm and at home read more

Plus side: tasty comfort food in ample portions. Attentive service (we had the place to ourselves ) Ambience meh. Lighting seemed wonky. Small menu but even so they were 86 a few items. Was kind of hoping for more but an oasis of Eastern Europe cuisine and a nice change of pace. read more

The bill seemed off to me and when I was finished mathing 4X, it looks like I was overcharged by about $10. I don't like that. The meal is diminished when you feel tricked. There were too many overcharges not to be purposeful. The food was decent though I didn't appreciate being told twice I couldn't order a bowl of soup until I was ready to order our entire meal. I hadn't eaten in 24 hours, I can order a cup of mushroom soup ($7.75) while we look over the menu, right? The stroganoff was enormous but was a bit bland and they used rotini, not egg noodles ($27.75, charged $28.75). The pork kielbasa ($24.50, charged $26.50) was fine, I liked the spicy mustard. The beef pierogi stole the show and was absolutely delicious ($16.75). The cucumber salad was sloppily cut and too pricey for a side salad at $11.50 (charged $12.50). The tab was off by a small bit and the tax was over calculated resulting in another overcharge of $6.12. I'm half Eastern European so the sleight of hand on the noodles without saying a word about its substitution and the cucumbers cut as if by a blind man bothered me in addition to feeling like a patsy regarding the padded bill. They need to do better- and correct the overcharge on my bill. read more

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If you long for highest quality Central and Eastern European cuisine done very authentically you will feel you've finally found the place to get it. It's a pleasant atmosphere yet without too many fills, because the food will speak for itself - all the traditional best dishes - ghoullash mushroom soup, stuffed cabbage rolls, schnitzel, pierogies, and other greats such as grilled salmon, chicken Paprikash and borscht. A must try and a local convenient favorite! Alex will take care of you - and fresh beer from Poland, Austria, Lithuania, Czech, Germany, and others! read more

I'd like to point out that this café has a very attentive owner, Alex, who is present at the establishment and genuinely cares whether guests are satisfied. The staff is very polite, the prices are reasonable, the portions are generous, and the food is delicious. I highly recommend it, especially for those who enjoy European cuisine! read more

Cafe Europa - Goulash and mashed potatoes - German Near Me - San Francisco, California

Savouring Christmas with the Potato cheese and cabbage, mushroom, Perogies, heavenly food! It's heaven in earth, eating almost the home-made food. read more

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What a fabulous taste of Eastern Europe! Wonderful food and attentive service. Got there early, so had the place much to myself, but it filled up within the hour. A very comfortable place. I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh made latke and the pork goulash with a nice glass of Saperavi from Georgia, and, of course, Napoleon cake to top it off! read more

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Surprise extra charge for using a credit card. What a joke. Try somewhere else. Plenty of places don't do that.

My first time trying this place and it was sooo good! The two of us ordered six items and we almost ate everything! The prices are a bit high but it's so good it didn't matter to us as much. The goulash and Perogis were the stars soups were tasty so flavorful we loved both! The Spatzel was yummy with the goulash. I've tried the pork schnitzel, honestly it was just ok, I've had better elsewhere, but it wasn't bad. I would try the cabbage rolls next time. read more

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An elegant old world neighborhood restaurant dropped from another world into San Francisco's Richmond District. Truly delicious home cooked food, well executed, not fussy. Standout is definitely the Pork Rib Special, fall off the bone succulent. Everything is good. Not crowded. Lovely people and reasonably priced. Great low key date spot. read more

Cafe Europa - Pork Ribs and Pork Shoulder Rice Pilaf Specials - German Near Me - San Francisco, California

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First time so had to go cliche - pork schnitzel, cream of mushroom soup, Neapolitan dessert. Everything was exactly as hoped. Super tasty soup, tasty crunchy tender pork, well seasoned potatoes, tasty sauerkraut, creamy dessert. Don't forget the Stiegl Weisse. Very welcoming and nice people. Real deal authentic. read more

Cafe Europa - Almost finished before taking a shot. - German Near Me - San Francisco, California

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10/10 - Goulash reminded me of my grandmas - Borscht was best I had in the city - Napoleon cake also reminded me of my grandmas. Basically a big throwback to childhood in the best way possible. I will say when we walked on like half the lights were off and it didn't seem open almost. Ambiance was weird but service was super great. Don't fret on the ambiance = my opinion. read more

Love this place. Old school family Polish (etc) restaurant. Really good traditional food.

What a disappointment! I expected much better food for their high prices. Beef Stroganoff seemed like pulled beef in jelly substance rather than really good meat slices. Salmon was pretty dry. We noticed some dead flies on the floor and dust on the counters. Overall: street food at a mid-to-high restaurant price. read more

Let me tell you the food that Cafe Europa prepares is the BEST IN TOWN, and the owner Alex is not shy to tell you it is the best in town, in fact it is even on the menu. But you know what, good for him. If he was lying it might be a different story but the food here, for me, is like buying a ticket to a Time Machine and going back in time to my grandmothers home cooking. The flavors are real. The food is real and homemade. All of it and it is damn good. I have tried the chicken schnitzel with the red cabbage and the stuffed cabbage and the goulash and the cucumber soup and the borscht soup and the potatoes latkes and the beers and I literally have nothing to complain about. And if that wasn't enough the damn napoleon dessert is the giant cherry on the cake. It is unique and off the hook good. Now, get your butt of that chair, stop reading this review and go get your grub on at cafe Europa. Come home with a smile on your face ready to sit you full happy butt back on the couch for some digestion time. read more

Cafe Europa - Cabbage Rolls Lunch - German Near Me - San Francisco, California

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I'm surprised this place hasn't blown up; it's definitely one of the solid spots in the neighborhood. We were craving for Veselka and started looking up places where we could get decent cabbage rolls and stroganoff. But we ended up following the recommendation of our server for everything - he is a very persuasive fellow - and everything did not disappoint. We got the latkes, pilaf, and bigos. For dessert, he recommended the napoleon... didn't even look at the menu anymore and just followed. The Bigos is the clear winner as it was a very hearty dish, the napoleon was so fresh and creamy, not too sweet, and the beer selection was great. Latkes and rice were great too but excited to order all the other items from the menu! Everything felt like a good homecooked meal. And I'm not even from the EU. Another plus: even though we went on a Friday night, we beat the dinner crowd by arriving at 6:30. read more

Cafe Europa - Napoleon - German Near Me - San Francisco, California

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I took my Eastern European partner as a surprise to eat there, the service was amazing. They made a special dessert for her. She was a happy girl. I was a happy man because my girl was happy. I highly recommend this place as per my girl the schnitzel was really good and authentic read more

Cafe Europa - Cherry dumplings - German Near Me - San Francisco, California

Pros: this place offers a rare type of cuisine that not many places on the west coast do. Food is decent. Cons: price point is pretty wild. Entrees after tax tip are about $35-40 for pretty small quantities . Cheap ingredients and surprise credit charge (not written anywhere, but they charge you an extra 4 percent or so when you use credit). read more

Small local Polish restaurant in the Richmond area. This restaurant has been around for over 20 years. We came to celebrate a birthday. We ordered the Hungarian goulash, beef stroganoff, veal and pork schnitzel. Also mushroom, beef crepes and marinated herring. Food was good and my favorite was the marinated herring which was reasonably priced $12.50. We also order the Napoleon dessert recommended by the server, which was as expected, ok. Overall, food was good, a bit overpriced. However, service was good. read more

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Cannot say enough about the food. If you have not been here before, you are truly missing out. So so good

My husband, a friend, and I decided to have snacks at a few different places instead of having a real lunch this past Saturday when were in the neighborhood and exploring SF. Café Europa was our third stop and I wanted so much, I over-ordered. But we finished every bite. We had the zucchini pancakes, marinated herring, potato pierogi, and a beer each. The food was all good. The beers were good. The service was good. The café was traditional and comfortable. Overall, I had a great time and would be happy to return! A great place to stop if you're craving some Eastern European food! read more

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My favorite new restaurant. The potato pierogi are to die for, pork schnitzel highly satisfying, and the cabbage roll is just the ultimate comfort food. I will be back there in no time. read more

Cafe Europa - Pork Schnitzel Cabbage Rolls - German Near Me - San Francisco, California

Alex! Thank you for kind and attentive service and krasavchik self. You just made our wonderful dinner at Cafe Europa that more delightful. Please do not look past this Eastern European Cuisine in the quiet Laurel Heights-ish/Richmond district. We were looking for something Polish for my boss to enjoy and it really to her back to her childhood eating some long forgotten dishes. It invoked her senses and taste buds and she reminisced about her polish grandmother and mom's cooking. Mission accomplished. =) We ordered so much to try and taste and we were all deliciously pleased w/ everything that Babushka cooked in the the back. Borsch, potato pierogies, Latskas, Schnitzel, Kraut, goulash, and sausage...filled our dining table. Really well done, seasoned, and enjoyable. We hope to return, if we're back in the city and have a hankering for polish/german/Russian/eastern European food for sure. Street parking poses some challenges, but doable. $20-30+ for dishes/entrees, bring your larger limit credit card lol Eastern European food is not cheap eats lol. Dziękuję, Spasibo, Danke schön! read more

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Highly Recommend! Drove up from San Jose in search of Beef Stroganoff, Borsch and Pierogis prior to attending a concert. Various reviews on the internet suggested Cafe Europa made the best . . .and its true! I arrived right at opening and was disappointed to discover the owner was setting up for a private party, but fortunately he was still willing to make these dishes for me, even the midst of his preparations for which I am so thankful. I waited in the quaint restaurant while the food was prepared. Got home and sampled it all. . .the stroganoff was creamy and delicious with perfectly tender beef, the borsch had just the right balance of savory, sweet and sour, and the potato pierogis which I have never tried before were wonderfully chewy and well seasoned with a delicate onion sauce. It is comfort food at its best, but sophisticated at the same time. I also got to taste this wonderful cake that was freshly made for the special party. I'm not sure what the name is, but it was creamy with vanilla cake and delicious! I must mention that some of the reviews commented on how the owner is handsome. Most importantly, he is kind, hospitable and a talented chef, but he really is extremely good-looking. What more can you ask for? read more

Cafe Europa was a restaurant that my friend and I went to check out, as we wanted a quick place to eat at and my friend was craving some good European food. The cafe is on the smaller side, but the decor inside is nice and the person helping us with our orders was very friendly! They had nice photos along the wall of the place, and the restaurant seemed to be maintained well. We also were able to be seated very quickly, so there wasn't a wait at all for us. For the food, we decided to get a pork schnitzel along with the cream of mushroom soup. My friend and I both got a cup of the soup, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it! The prices of the food are reasonable for SF, and the soup had a great flavor to it! The pork schnitzel was also very tasty, and reminded me a lot of a European Fried Tonkotsu. The outside of the schnitzel was quite crispy while the meat itself was tender, and the potatoes/purple cabbage that came along as sides were good as well! If you are around the Inner Richmond area and want a good place to get some Polish food, Cafe Europa is a nice restaurant to hit up! read more

Cafe Europa - Cream of Mushroom Soup - German Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Iv been craving eastern European food for a while and this place really hit the spot. I work nearby and convinced the wife to meet up with me at the presidio and head over. Its a small cozy spot and the owner was our host and waiter and set us up at a window full of succulents. He was friendly and knowledgeable and recommended us some freshly made latkes that sounded good but I had some stuff in mind I wanted the wife to try. We ended up getting the herring appetizer, a cup of borscht, cabbage rolls, and a pork schnitzel. Everything was super fresh and perfectly executed. Fresh tender pickled herring with onions, olives, and rye, a warm cup of favorful borscht for these cold days, delicious rice and beef stuffed cabbage rolls that we opted for a creamy mushroom sauce with instead of the usual tomato sauce, and a massive crispy fried pork schnitzel. We both came hungry and ended up with enough leftover for a late night snack later but alas not room to try the dessert. Great food, service, and overall experience. Sadly the owner mentioned the future being uncertain due to a greedy landlord(my landlords cool thankfully but Mao was right about most of them) and other issues plaguing the industry and city atm so come out and support this place while you can and while it counts. read more

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Came here on a quiet night and seated near the window. Had some white wine and then Pierogi. Perfectly cooked and served with caramelized onion. Beef stroganoff had slices of steak and a great mushroom sauce. Definitely has a Euro vibe to the place and the owner, Alex was super nice. read more

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Came on a Friday night around 7pm. Ordered a few dishes to share family style. I tried the zrazy one beef and one mushroom, latkes, pork schnitzel, and the beef stroganoff. The zrazy was recommended to us as a special. It's a potato mashed and shaped as a disk that's stuffed and topped with sour cream. It was pretty rich. The sour cream cut through the richness well. I liked the mushroom one more. Latkes had the taste and texture of bread to me. I thought that the gravy was a bit acidic. However, it was tasty, and the portion was huge. Pork schnitzel was a bit dry, but it was so satisfyingly crispy. The sauerkraut paired well with it. The beef stroganoff was my favorite. It had almost the same mushroom sauce as the latkes, but it was more creamy. The pasta itself was delicious. The beef was so soft. I definitely want to come back to try the other things on their menu, especially the cabbage rolls and pierogis. read more

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Excellent home made food. I'm polish, and this was authentic. The gentleman working there now is a one operating man machine. We need to help keep this beautiful spot open! I couldn't choose a favorite dish- and can't wait to try more. I was really craving cold herring fish w vodka and rye bread that day - random craving, I know - and he sure delivered! Such an excellent spot. Please try it . It's a polish- Russian - Hungarian - German fusion. Not many in the city. read more

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La comida estuvo espectacular, nuestro mesero Alex nos acomodo a mi familia sin ningún problema. El servicio fue 10/10.

The food was unbelievably good. The owner was extremely nice and the wait time was very little. I would highly recommend coming here.

Yum! The weather is getting cooler now so having some hearty, stick to your ribs central European fare is a good idea. This place is really tasty. I started with a cup of the soup special lamb/garlic with some I believe cilantro in it. Also a dollop of sour cream. So tasty! Perfect for a chilly evening outdoors. I will hasten to add that they have a patio heater, but it was not working our night. If you've been to central Europe you know that they take the cold well and part of it is their diet. I did not miss the heater nor did my female companion. We were dress warmly for the San Francisco chill. There are also tables inside. Then I had the housemade kielbasa with some mashed potatoes and rotkraut instead of sauerkraut and scrambled egg instead of the Fried egg that it comes with. A generous plate that I wound up taking about half home. Even better the next day. My companions and I started with beers. The woman had a small glass of I believe a Pilsner and her husband and I had the Baltic Porter. A chewy stout as they say. I am actually a wine drinker so after finishing my Porter I inquired about the red wine. They have a Croatian red and a Georgian red. The proprietor brought out both to let me taste after advising me that the Georgian had more body. I agreed with him. And had the Georgian. The Croatian is like a Pinot. I enjoyed the Georgian red, but it did not have as much body as a California Cabernet. For my companions they also each started with a soup. The husband with a cabbage soup and the wife with a soup I don't recall. I believe it was a chicken soup but suffice to say they enjoyed their soups. Four entrées the wife had borscht which was not a beet soup but instead a vegetable garden as described to us by the proprietor. She loved it and my wife who is vegetarian I'm sure would love it as well. For dessert we ordered a generous slice of the chocolate cake and took it with us to enjoy with coffee at home. It was moist and very chocolatey. Now that I know about this place, I will be sure to be back. You can expect entrées to run between $18-$28. And I should mention that they serve you a slice of good black bread with your bowl of soup. Dictated using Siri so please excuse any typos. Thanks and stay well! read more

Cafe Europa - Chocolate cake - German Near Me - San Francisco, California

Delicious veal schnitzel! Best in San Francisco! Also, the owner is very friendly. Worth the price!!

If my favorite European comfort spot actually closes down, I swear to god I will be genuinely so sad. I love the owner here and this place is truly beyond the ambiance or charm it naturally offers. This place is a hidden gem and OG. The owner makes homemade food that's *chef's kiss*. The soups and mains are too good to say specifics, but of course the schnitzel is beyond to die for. The owner is so accommodating and you can truly taste the love in his food. I beg the owner to not close this place down and I hope SF puts their foot down for places like this. This place must stay forever read more

Food is amazing, chicken schnitzel is one of the best I had. Napoleon cake is a must have. I love this particular desert so much that I get it any place I go to. This version was probably one of the best. Moist and not overwhelmingly sweet, it really melts in your mouth. We also tried Kvas, this was a true highlight, made in house, real taste of my childhood. The owner is a sweet man who gave us a chance to practice our Russian. Many thanks for such a great meal. We will be back! read more

I really, really, REALLY wanted to like this place. I've been four times over the years now just hoping it'll be better. It is more disappointing every time. I've gotten the golumpki, the cabbage roll with beef and rice filling. That's a staple my Babci (Polish for Grandmother) made when I was a kid. It's basically peasant food, not fancy but delicious. The ingredients cost less than $1 for one. They used to give you two but now it's just one large one that isn't even warm in the center. It comes with mashed potatoes that I'm pretty sure came out of a box. I love me some boxed mashed potatoes but it was wild for the price. If I told my Babci I spent over $20 on golumpki she would strangle me with her babushka. I truly wish the food wasn't awful because I'd be there all the time. The menu lists all of my comfort foods. I just can't keep trying, I gave it more chances than a place deserves and it gets progressively worse. read more