1,137 reviews
#19 of 4,919 Restaurants in San Francisco$$ - $$$, Cajun & Creole, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options+1 415-345-8100+ Add websiteImprove this listing
Hours
Sun
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Mon
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Tue
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Wed
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Thu
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Fri
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Sat
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Ratings and reviews
Travelers' Choice 2024
RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Food and ambience
Cajun & Creole, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
“My wife and I had beignets, fried green tomatoes, a scramble, a cup of gumbo,...”
“I had Chicken & Andouille Sausage Gumbo and Grandma’s Molasses-Black Walnut I...”
“The beignets are also delicious and the specials were creative and featured i...”
“... she was quickly forgot about it when she got the Chicken & Andouille Gumbo.”
Can a gluten free person get a good meal at this restaurant?
Details
Women-owned, Asian-owned, LGBTQIA+-owned
Tripadvisor allows businesses to update and manage their attributes and details, but does not verify the accuracy of this information.
About
Brenda's offers a soulful mixture of Southern, Creole and French cuisines presented in a down-home style and atmosphere in the heart of San Francisco's Civic Center neighborhood. Famous for our original stuffed beignets, biscuits, fried chicken, po' boys and shrimp & grits. Come by for brunch, lunch & dinner daily except Tuesdays when we are closed for dinner.
PRICE RANGE
$14.00 – $30.00
CUISINES
Cajun & Creole
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch
FEATURES
Takeout, Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Live Music, Gift Cards Available
Top 3 reasons to eat here
Sponsored by: Brenda's French Soul Food
1. BEST BREAKFAST IN SF BY FAR!!!
"This popular brunch spot is well worth the wait."
AngieM404
2. A Must Try! STUFFED BEIGNETS!
"We got the beignet flight and it was heavenly."
rhinocar
3. Southern Food. To. Die. For.
"Great New Orleans style food."
JEMJ51
Contribute
4.5
1,137 reviews
Excellent
732
Very good
294
Average
79
Poor
16
Terrible
17
Hitcher84
Eureka1429 contributions
Jan 2020 • none
Grab a reservation if you can, otherwise just show up and write your name on the chalkboard. We came here for weekend brunch with kids. Everyone loved their food. Vegetarian options. We started with a flight of four beignets. The biscuits are amazing, as are the grits. They make Benedict’s on biscuits. The catfish Benedict is a big hit. The French toast and pancakes are also amazing. Prices for food are very reasonable, about $15 per entree. They also have cocktails, which are a little pricey at $9. Service is very good. They pack you into this small restartaunt pretty tightly. I shall return.
Written January 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Art F
San Francisco21 contributions
Feb 2020 • none
Enjoyed a recreation of a New Orleans here in San Francisco with another family. We started with orders of casino oysters crawfish and oyster flights. Best was the oyster flight and the oysters were prepared perfectly.
We all shared a taste of our meals and the creole shrimp pot pie was clearly the winner at the table. The generous size pie was filled with chunks of breast meat chicken and the sauce was very tasty. I had the shrimp and grits which had a generous portion of shrimp but I thought the grits were a bit running, very tasty meal and the runner up. Pasta Orleans was a generous portion and tasty but the brisket special was dry probably because the meat was too lean and sliced too thin which dried out the meat halfway through the meal.
Service was attentive and friendly and the ambiance definitely made you feel as if you were in New Orleans.
Parking is difficult so give yourself time to get there and park. Be sure not to leave anything in your car’s backseat because the area is a bit sketchy.
Written March 29, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Summerasalifestyle
Malibu3586 contributions
Oct 2019 • none
Lotsa hype and the hype is correct.
Came for a Sunday brunch...Always a line. Put your name on chalkboard and wait outside— 15 min to an hour but line moves fairly quickly.
Interior is much larger than it looks.
I wanted to try everything but we settled on beignets, eggs benedict, hash, goat cheese & shrimp omelette along with mandatory chicory coffee.
Be warned, the portions are more than large, maybe more than huge.
Daily specials including Sunday brunch when we went.
Fast friendly service.
This may be the best reason for going out to breakfast...Anywhere!
Yes yes yes.
Written February 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Erin G
Toronto23 contributions
Jan 2020 • business
I team and I enjoyed our dinner at Brenda's but the hostess was very rude. My team was visiting from Toronto on a Wednesday evening and one of our members was delayed due to a work issue. The hostess basically wouldn't even speak to us and just kept pointing at the wall to their "rules". There are better ways to communicate and make your customers still feel welcomed.
The food was good, we had the fried chicken, but after all the raving reviews we were left a little underwhelmed. I just don't think "French Soul" food was for us. Our server also took 25 minutes to take our drink order even though the restaurant still had empty tables.
Written January 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chandler
San Francisco1 contribution
Mar 2021 • none
We ordered takeout, great food, would definitely recommend this place! We got our food pretty quickly after placing the order online. We ordered from hyperflyer.com, where you actually order directly from the restaurants, and you pay a lower price than other third party delivery apps because the restaurants don’t need to pay commissions.
Ordered the French toast, omelette, and chicken Benedict, taste so good with beignets and coffee. Totally recommend it.
Written March 24, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rhawig
Whitefish Bay502 contributions
Jan 2020 • none
We went to Brenda’s with a friend that travels to New Orleans often. They were impressed, we were impressed. We started off with the hush puppies and Crawfish beignets. Both divine! The hush puppies are huge. I quenched my thirst with their Bloody Mary-good. Then I had the fried oyster/bacon PoBoy made with the softest bread. Coleslaw was perfect too. We ended the night sharing a chocolate beignet because we were stuffed. It was worth every bite. So delicious. Just the right amount of GOOD chocolate! Others in my group had the brisket, fried chicken and the jambalaya (which they loved with no seafood in it!) We might have to go back before going home! It’s a nice short Uber ride from our hotel.
Written January 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
WildParrott
San Francisco45 contributions
Dec 2021 • none
Don't go here if you have dietary restrictions. They have a policy of not changing how they prepare dishes. All I asked was that they not bread the oyster in the Hangtown Fry (wheat gives me migraines), but they would not.
Manager told me "It would not be the same dish. Brenda has a policy of not modifying how dishes are prepared."
So I ordered a bowl of cheese grits with a poached egg.
Service was lousy. They served my wife her bowl of gumbo (which was WAY too salty), then five minutes later brought my bowl of cheese grits (which were very good) and reminded me that I also had a poached egg coming.
Another five minutes passed, so I complained about my missing egg. A few more minutes passed and they brought out my poached egg, which was stone cold.
Very hip joint. They do very well and obviously don't need my business.
Written December 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
spiffydew
11 contributions
Dec 2021 • couples
The food was amazing. Customer service and concern is awful. The shrimp and grits plate came out scalding out, the waitress set it down didn’t warn me and I grabbed it to move it closer. It burned the *uck outta my hand. My finger is blistered and while they brought out a cup of ice as I was in the bathroom running cold water over it never once did they come back to ask how I was as we finished our food. As I walked out of the door I told him the food was great but I thought it was horrible they never stopped to ask if I was ok. The host said he was comping the coffee we had. I didn’t want anything comped I wanted the human decency of checking on someone you injured.
Written December 26, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mxpaolo
Wolverton271 contributions
May 2022 • couples
Visited for brunch on a Saturday, a small queue but less than 10 minutes wait.
I had the iced walnut coffee which was lovely and a choice of cream or not to drink.
For brunch we had the apple beignet cooked fresh and served warm delicious and a few other choices from plain to crayfish or a mix selection.
I had the omelette with corn, courgette, tomato and pepper mix. Served with toast and choice of potatoes, a large meal and delicious. My partner had the French toast with banana and rum which couldn’t be finished.
Don’t be out off by the wait or area this was great service and delicious food!
Written May 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Karen J
California147 contributions
Oct 2021 • couples
Read great reviews of this place and had a recommendation from friends who lived in the area, and it did not disappoint. We tried the sample plate of all 4 kinds of beignets… and the crawfish ones were amazing! Chocolate of course, still the favorite. 2 of us got eggs Benedict and the other two, an omelet with chorizo and one a chicken fried steak with creole seasoning in it. One thing I will say is we easily could have all shared a plate, serving sizes are HUGE. I was unable to even eat half of mine, but we all loved ours. Service was fabulous and we brought home a jar of watermelon pickles because, why would you not? It was great! We will be back!
Written November 1, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shanelle
Santa Monica8059 contributions
Nov 2022 • friends
Southern spot with brunch options in the Tenderloin. Street parking. You put your name on the board inside on the right hand side and you can get a sense of your wait time. Indoor seating only. We came around 11:30am on a Saturday and for our party of 3, we waited about 25 minutes. Credit cards accepted.
The prices are very reasonable and the portions are sizeable. I got the fried chicken basket which came with two pieces and a biscuit. We ordered a trio of beignets, which came with a of original, chocolate, and apple one. The chocolate one was my favorite - they used Ghirardelli which was super rich. The dough was thicker than I would’ve liked but the beignets did come fresh/hot from the fryer, so they were still yummy. The hot chili jelly was a good complement for both the chicken and the biscuit.
Written November 19, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kevin B
Denver814 contributions
Mar 2022 • family
Spicy Orleans pasta had a great creamy sauce and plenty of seafood and sausage. Excellent flavor. Fried chicken was extra crispy and came with a delicious petty jelly. We got the apple beignets which was also delicious. A bit more crispy and dense than other beignets. Tasted like a good fry cake. I would definitely return.
Written March 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Katrina R
Santa Cruz31 contributions
Jan 2020 • family
We visited Brenda’s after a recent show at the Orpheum. Despite having a large group we were seated right away. Food was delicious. Home made biscuits were tender and flakey. Beignets out of this world. Service fast and friendly and prices very reasonable.
Written January 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Grant B
12 contributions
May 2021 • none
My wife and I went here for a nice brunch in San Francisco. We split a beignet sampler and they were so delicious we could easily have eaten nothing else. My wife got the fried chicken eggs benedict and said it was phenomenal. I got the french toast and a piece of fried chicken. The fried chicken was crispy and moist while the french toast was fluffy and delicious. Our favorite breakfast in the bay!
Written July 24, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
eatsallday
San Francisco13 contributions
Aug 2023 • friends
This is a fun restaurant. We came for dinner before a show at the Orpheum. Food was good - shrimp and grits was very flavorful and delicious. Beignets are not as light and fluffy as others. Red beans and rice lacked spices. Fried chicken was solid. Bummer that our server charged us for an item we hadn’t ordered and we didn’t catch it because we were running late for the show.
Written August 12, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
…
Showing results 1-15 of 1,031
Related Stories
Best moderately priced restaurants
See all 
Best nearby
We rank these hotels, restaurants, and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Best nearby hotels
See all 
Best nearby restaurants
See all 
Is This Your Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your Free Listing