There are some places that you just fall in love with as soon as you step inside. Places where you can even forgive the crazy line out the door, the crowded seating, and people hovering around waiting for their to go orders. Because it’s that good.
Stonemill Matcha is one of those places. It’s busy, but busy for a reason. I would have been perfectly content if they just sold matcha drinks and matcha pastries, but no, they went above and beyond and also have a menu of Japanese breakfasts and lunch meals, served in picture perfect trays and baskets. And suddenly I was treating myself to a $30+ lunch on a Wednesday, and not even being mad about it.
If I lived in San Francisco, I’d be here once a week. I’d also probably pack on extra pounds from overdosing on their pastries, which I’d be pre-ordering by the dozen. Then again with the hills of SF, maybe not. Either way, it’s probably safer for me to keep a distance. But this is an obligatory stop whenever I’m in town.
the details
| Address | 561 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA |
| Website | https://stonemillmatcha.com/ |
| Yelp | https://www.yelp.com/biz/stonemill-matcha-san-francisco |
| @stonemillmatcha | |
| Hours | 9am – 6pm every day |
| Price | $$-$$$, drinks start at $5, pastries are $3-8, food is around $15-20 |
| Aesthetic | simple and elegant in a very Japanese way, plenty of wood with a navy façade |
good to know
Go here for: fulfilling your matcha craving, and for a nice Japanese lunch
Order this: anything and everything in their pastry case. If you’re hungry, order a pretty katsu sando or matchazuke.
Amount of time to spend: anywhere from 30 min for a quick meal to 1-2 hours to catch up with a friend over some tea.
When to come: it seems to be pretty crowded regularly, but is especially crazy on the weekends. Weekday mornings are a bit more peaceful.
Parking: is difficult in the area, apparently. It’s a short walk from the BART station though (16th Street Mission), and somewhat close to the Church St & 16th muni station (J).
Other things to note:
- Don’t be fooled by the random people posted up with laptops on a weekday, like many other places in SF, there’s no public wifi. Also, they have a no laptop rule on weekends, not that you could ever hope to get any work done with the traffic in there.
- Their dairy alternative is oat milk.
- You can special order pastries for pick up (minimum order of $25, but you can select individually, which is amazing). And whole cakes too! They have a form on their website, and you need to place orders 72hrs ahead.
Last visited: October 2019
Last updated: January 2020
