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    TRACE

    3.8 (377 reviews)
    Closed 7:00 am - 2:00 pm

    TRACE Photos

    Business Info

    TRACE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Trendy
    Classy
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - TRACE

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    Reviews With Photos

    Menu
    Deb C.

    Nice place. French toast was really tasty with crispy texture I enjoyed. Would have liked to have known ahead of time that there would be cream on top for anyone lactose-intolerant. My friend had the cinnamon bun and enjoyed most of it though. Seemed very filling as she couldn't finish it. Good deal for $8 while the French toast was $26. Little steep on coffee being $6. Good combo with the $40 destination package.

    Eggs Chilaquiles
    Hemali S.

    Okay hear me out. This place is amazing. We had breakfast today and never imagined a service like this. The food was prepared quick yet had all the flavors of hours of manual labor. The staff was attentive and never let a glass go empty. The ambiance was relaxing while also classy. We have a few more breakfasts coming up this week, but if this is what it is like, I can't wait for the morning to come!

    Menu 1/2 - August 2023 - VN
    Vince N.

    Trace is a brunch eatery located in the lobby of W San Francisco. An included daily room credit brought our gang here for some morning fare. ATMOSPHERE: High ceilings, big windows, trendy decor and lighting. RESERVATIONS: Not needed as there were lots of open tables. PARKING: Hotel valet, street or the garage on Howard Street. BRUNCH MENU: Handful of continental and traditional breakfast selections, alcohol. BEVERAGE: Mimosa - $13.00 Adequate, conventional offering. FOOD: Avocado Toast - $23.00 I was hoping it'd be a light dish but it was very hearty. The single, oversized toast was blanketed with mashed avocado, two eggs and seasoned pea sprouts. Very good. SERVICE: Host service was immediate and professional. Our server was equally good. OVERALL: Slightly pricey with delectable offerings.

    Lox and bagel and I got eggs and sausage.
    Ted C.

    I had checked in early enough at the W that I was looking for a breakfast spot and after trying to find an entrance but found it was in the lobby of the hotel. I did that slow, 'looking for someone to help' walk since there wasn't anyone at the host stand and there were 2 tables occupied; had they closed down early because it was so quiet? Someone came up and asked me if I'm staying at the hotel and I said I had just checked in. She didn't seem to register that but I got seated adjacent to one of the occupied tables, a little weird since there was so much space in the place. I guess it ended up making sense, less space for our server to traverse. I looked at the menu and saw they had bagel and lox on the menu. I ordered that and since I found myself to be exceptionally hungry get 2 eggs and links as well. My server took my order came back, with curt efficiency and let me be. I wasn't expecting much from the bagel and it was thin but pretty tasty, not just bread with bagel seasoning on it. The lox though was pretty good as well, not overly salty or greasy. The eggs and sausage helped with that. My meal got assigned to my room.

    Twisted Cinnamon Roll
    Nicole K.

    While staying at the W hotel, I had $40 each day to spend at the property. I was able to enjoy a light fare and coffee at Trace. I got the twisted cinnamon roll, fruit bowl and a cup of coffee. I didn't realize that if you're staying at the W hotel, the coffee is waived until I got the check. I enjoyed everything that morning and the staffs were friendly and efficient. Would recommend if you're nearby or staying at the W.

    Eggs Chilaquiles
    Kayli D.

    We stumbled upon this place after the line for a place down the street was too long. It's inside the W, and you have to enter through the lobby. We got confused as there's a door with a menu and the name on the side, however the door is locked (and we weren't the only ones that had this issue). The inside was pretty, we got seated immediately. Good looking menu, but the food was just blah. Lacking flavor. After we paid, we ended up having to wait for someone to meet us so we tried to order another round of mimosas, however they never came. Our waiter was nice, very knowledgeable about allergies. Overall it was fine, convenient for where we were located, but wouldn't come here for the food.

    Breakfast burger
    Adnan C.

    Very good burgers. Everything on the menu is good. This is one of our go to breakfast amd brunch spots. Customer service is outstanding and staff is friendly.

    Cinnamon Roll. Flaky croissant like and amazing

    I drink my coffee, black, theirs was very good. The bowl of berries was ok, I had to pick a few old ones out. Eggs Benedict was perfect. We came back that afternoon to the Living Room Bar, which is the same menu and enjoyed the guacamole and chips but the cinnamon roll was amazing, flaky layers of cinnamon sugar like a croissant.

    Lovely table setting
    Winnie W.

    Not happy with this place. We had a party of 14 on Mother's Day and as expected, Trace is not busy. We KNEW that this place would be overpriced, BUT, we came for the nice decor and relaxing environment and just wanted to get away from the usual Mother's Day crowd... what we didn't expect is the POOR and INATTENTIVE SERVICE. From the moment my party was seated, we were pretty much ignored the entire time while other tables were being served and greeted. Our server was nowhere to be found. What seemed like a long time (I'm sure it's like 5-10 mins) someone finally brought the table water. We waited some more... Still, no menu, no waiter, no greeter. My sister finally walked to the Maitre 'd to complain about this. Then long behold, the waiter FINALLY arrived. By this time, we're 25 mins in after being seated. Well, he simply passed some menus around and then left... again.. and again, no where to be found. By the way, he was also short 3 menus... ok, no big deal I guess; we can share. But this just speaks to the level of inattentiveness. Then, after reviewing the menu for another 10'mins, we need to FIND OUR WAITER so that we can order our food. My sis has to go to the Maitre'd to ask for someone to help us, AGAIN. This time, we're told that there are actually 2 servers who back each other up and apparently, our primary server is pretty awful and the other waiter was supposed to pick up the slack... well, sorry, I don't really care! Can we just get some help here, and mind you, we're paying $20 for a bagel here so I do expect some service!! Well, throughout our brunch, my sis pretty much had to coach the waiters every step of the way... take away the empty coffee cups, more half and half for coffee please, more sugar, more coffee, more water, take away the empty plates... what the heck! For our party of 14, we pretty much ordered everything on their limited menu. All items tasted decent to pretty good, but everything is twice the price than what one might expect to pay : $16 pancakes -- very good, 3 very fluffy pancakes $23 smoked salmon bagel -- good but a similar bagel at New York Bagel would be $7 $28 Crab benedict - pretty good $19 Chicken Club sandwich -- ok, but awful chips $16 -- Steel cut oatmeal. Well, it's oatmeal When servers brought out the plates, they were very confused and did not have a clue which plate goes where and simply yelled out the name of the dish, waiting for us to raise our hand to claim the entree. AWFUL SERVICE. Again, we KNEW we'd be paying for mediocre food but we came for the nice ambience and to avoid the crowd. What we didn't come for is a 18% mandatory gratuity and awful service. Yep, there is a reason why this place is never busy.

    Pork belly with octopus
    Claire W.

    Dined here on New year's Eve with a few girlfriends. We chose this spot since some of the girls in our party really appreciate good ambiance and this is one of the cuter spots in town. Overall service was fine. Nothing to rave about and I would've actually expected a bit more and better service from a place like the W, but since we were able to get someone's attention regardless if it was our server or not, I'm fine with it. As for the food, I was pretty disappointed in their selection. There wasn't a lot to choose from on the menu. I ordered the crispy brussel sprouts and pork belly. As for the brussel sprouts, I found those to be tasty, but they were sitting in a bowl of what tasted like oil, potentially with some of the marinade sauce. I would've wished they separated the oil so that my sprouts weren't drenched by the time I got to the bottom of the dish. As for the pork belly, I wasn't a huge fan. It was too dry for my liking, so I only ate one bite. I did eat the octopus that came with it however and that was tasty. Overall, not a spot I would recommend specifically to try the food, but if you're looking for a good restaurant in the SOMA neighborhood with a full bar connected to it, and good ambiance, this is a spot to check out.

    Roasted pork belly - 2018 SF restaurant week
    Jennifer H.

    Went here for the SF restaurant week's dinner option. Starters - Ahi Tuna Tataki: The tuna was paired with a black olive vinaigrette, which brought out the sweetness of the seared tuna. The creaminess of the avocado really made the dish blend well with all the ingredients. Also, the portion was very generous. :) Roasted Pork belly: The pork belly was accompanied by a squash puree. The pork belly was cooked so that the fatty bits were filled with pork-olicious fat and juiciness. YUM! Entree - Liberty Farms Duck Breast: the menu listed duck confit croquettes, but croquettes were no where to be found. :( The duck was nicely cooked but we both thought the saltiness of the entire dish made it hard to finish. Would not order this again without asking for more bread. ;) Dessert - Chocolate ganache bar with cookie butter ice cream: beautifully plated but in terms of taste, it was not very creamy and had more of a cake texture. Vanilla bread pudding: Drenched with a butterscotch caramel sauce which made it ultra sweet and the perfect way to finish off the meal. Without a doubt, we both thought that the first course was the best dish that suited and satisfied our taste buds. The decor and environment is great for lunch meetings or client meetings. It is also located inside the W hotel and just a few blocks away from the conventions center.

    Edwin R.

    My salmon was fantastic. Juicy and tasty. I had their famous lemon drops martini. It was delicious, surprisingly as I'm a whiskey guy. Our team were here for an evening of get together. Good place for large groups. We received their royal group treatment that came with sparkling mineral water. Best on their menu, grilled Brussels sprouts. Nom nom. Ambience was great and service was fantastic! Cheers!

    Dessert
    Sheri W.

    Really a 3.5, but there are a number of reasons I'm deciding to round down. First, I'd stopped in here for apps and drinks with friends before and already had the impression that the food was good but overpriced. I finally planned to come here for dinner after purchasing a TravelZoo deal $69 dinner for two that included one Share dish, two "Taste" dishes, and two Mains, plus 20% off bottles of wine. Without this deal, I feel that the individual dishes at regular menu prices are delicious but just not amazing enough to warrant the cost. We selected the charcuterie board for our Share dish. It included paper-thin Italian cold cuts, pan-fried crostini, tomato jam, stone ground mustard and a sharp, cheddar-like cheese. I love charcuterie and think this stood out as one of the best parts of the meal. We were also super happy with our "Taste" plates. I chose Creamy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Toast, and the BF chose Roasted Scallops. Both of these dishes were flawlessly executed, but here is where things started to go wrong with the service. No sooner had the Taste dishes arrived then the Mains arrived as well. Now we also had plates of Flat Iron Steak and Sauteed Branzino on the table that were about to get cold while we finished the hot soup and scallops. The waiter basically apologized as he was setting the Mains on the table and started the delivery by saying he could return them to be heated. But, we really didn't want fish and steak to be heated up! Portions for the Mains were small, while portions for the other two courses were average. My BF's flat iron steak turned out to be a few slices. It was properly cooked medium rare, but seemed under-seasoned. It really didn't have very much flavor. I was happier with my Branzino. It was simply but perfectly prepared with a crispy skin, but I definitely wished for a bigger portion. It seemed like barely 3 ounces of fish, and maybe 1 or 2 sliced fingering potatoes with a bit of leeks. I have to wonder if the portion sizes for the mains weren't down-graded due to our TravelZoo coupon. Overall, I'm neutral about TRACE as a culinary experience, but it's a beautiful space and I feel overall that it's a good dining experience if you want a relaxed and generally good meal in downtown SF. Just purchase a deal for value.

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    11 months ago

    Nice place to sit down and eat. Good food, fresh salads, deliciously combined dishes .. we thoroughly enjoyed the food and the company.

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    2 years ago

    Amazing Food. Super local, tasty, responsible. Service was great. Ambiance is nice, close to many things to do. Nice hotel.

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    Ask the Community - TRACE

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    Sisterita

    Sisterita

    4.5(1.1k reviews)
    0.6 miFinancial District
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    Locally sourced ingredients
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    Excellent service! My only advice is to come and see for yourself. When we called to ask about a…read morewait, they mentioned there was not wait... part of the reason they do that is because they don't keep a list. You either have reservations or you're a walk in and you stand in line until a table is available for you. At first this was strange, but I think it makes for a better experience. The team was incredible, they were so kind on a day that can be stressful for a small restaurant. We had incredible food. I was so happy to get my Eggs Royale and my husband said the French toast was the best he's ever had. (Even comparing it to French toast in Paris) No notes. This will be our Mother's Day place going forward next time with reservations.

    My partner and I decided to go to the city one weekend and decided we wanted brunch. After looking…read morethrough some place, we came across Sisterita and it looked very promising. It seems like this place is an asian fusion brunch place incorporating french dishes into thai/asian themed dishes which is up our alley. We made a reservation at 1:45 PM and we had to wait for about an extra 30 minutes before getting seated. Initially, I wanted to try their crab fried rice but unfortunately they were out of crab. We decided to get the Alcatraz Escape and the Brioche french toast which were recommended by the wait staff. The staff was generally friendly and accommodating but I can tell they were swamped and stressed out with all the people they were trying to serve. The food itself tasted decent, the Alcatraz Escape had a tasty flavor which incorporates tom yum paste (sweet, sour, tangy flavor) into their scramble with about 4 shrimps. The side of crispy chicken was good but nothing that stood out to us. The brioche was soft but there wasn't much flavoring besides the fruits and caramelized banana. It was served with evaporated milk which made the brioche soft but not adding much flavor to it. The price however was quite pricey. For two dishes as a side we paid around $78 with tax and tip.

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    Brenda's French Soul Food - 3 way beignets- plain, chocolate, apple

    Brenda's French Soul Food

    4.2(12.8k reviews)
    1.0 miTenderloin
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    I still love Brenda's!!!!!!!…read more I haven't been back in a few years, but I am happy to report: they are still just as great! It was my daughter's first time and she loved it just as much as I did. We came during restaurant week so we decided to get the Creole Sampler so she could try a bunch of different items. (Sampler included red beans and rice, collard greens, fried catfish, hush puppies, plain beignet and gumbo). We also ordered the beignet flight and shrimp and grits. Plenty of food for the 2 of us, plus we had left overs. I can't not order the shrimp and grits. It's just so damn good! It's so rich and flavorful! It came out SUPER hot. Grits and cheese still bubbling. My daughter and I were both surprised she liked the collard greens. She's usually not a fan. She also liked the red beans and rice and she doesn't usually like beans either. That just goes to show how amazing the food is here! We came in around 4something pm on a rainy Sunday. There weren't many people there, but by the time we left it was more than half full. Service was friendly, and there was a band playing, which was a nice touch.

    I am speechless! I saw the rave reviews for Brenda's French Soul Food and had to try them out for…read moremyself. And, my goodness, I was not disappointed. Let me start with the star of the show - the Shrimp & Grits. The flavors blended so well I did a little dance in my seat. Creamy, savory and delicious! I will be dreaming about the Shrimp and Grits from now on. The Bananas Foster French Toast melted in my mouth. So yummy. I wasn't a fan of the Crawfish Beignets. It was something about the flavor of the red powder/ seasoning that left me underwhelmed. All in all, one of my favorite stops while I was in town.

    Photos
    Brenda's French Soul Food - Dining area and entrance

    Dining area and entrance

    Brenda's French Soul Food - Shrimp & Grits

    Shrimp & Grits

    Brenda's French Soul Food - Their dark chicken and shrimp.

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    Their dark chicken and shrimp.

    TRACE - breakfast_brunch - Updated May 2026

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