Braving Brunch: Long Lines, Heavenly Eggs Benedict at Mission Beach Cafe

Anna Roth

Notorious for its long lines, brunching in the city can easily turn into a whole-day affair. That's why SFoodie is proud to present its newest series, "Braving Brunch," your go-to resource for navigating the mid-morning meal.

The Spot: Mission Beach Cafe
The Neighborhood: Mission
The Cuisine: New American
Specialty Item(s): Mushroom eggs Benedict, giant mimosas
Worth the Wait? Not at peak brunching hours

It was the Yelp photos that got me. I was in bed with one of those hangovers that doesn't seem so bad as long as you lay perfectly still, and browsing brunch spots on my phone in a semi-desperate attempt to find somewhere that would be delicious enough to make the pain of getting up worthwhile. Yelp led me to the Mission Beach Café, and the user-uploaded photos of the mushroom eggs Benedict were enough to motivate me to take a shower and leave the house. Mission accomplished.

See Also:
- Braving Brunch: Sweet and Savory Harmony at Plow
- Extreme Brunching: Deep-Fried "Croque Yes Ma'am" at Southpaw
- Ono Grindz Brings The Big Island to The Avenues

The thing about MBC, though, is the wait. When my sister and I arrived at the corner of Guerrero and 14th, the list of hungry would-be brunchers was already two columns long, but I had that damn eggs Benedict stuck in my head now (and it looked so good in real life, spotted through the window!), so I wrote my name down and we walked over to Four Barrel to get some coffee. When we got back to the café, the list had only advanced halfway down the first column. We walked around the neighborhood. Eventually we sat on a bench and waited, getting hangrier by the minute, but since we'd waited so long we weren't going to give up now.

Anna Roth

Finally, about 1.5 hours in, my name was called. And once we were inside, the long wait seemed to fade away (I wrote about this phenomenon last week in my review of Bar Tartine's new sandwich shop). The room was bright, the waitstaff was friendly, the customers were happy. We ordered huge wine goblets full of mimosas -- nice bubbly-to-juice ratio, and my sister's pomegranate mimosa had a nice tartness. And what problems persist in the face of a massive mimosa? Once I had the menu in front of me, I was slightly swayed by lavender French toast, but stayed the course.

The much-anticipated mushroom eggs Benedict was delicious. On a homemade English muffin, with perfectly poached eggs, a generous amount of sautéed mushrooms, and a truffle-scented hollandaise that had a proper amount of tang. I've thought about it several times since, and though I don't think I'll ever wait that long again, I know where I'll be heading the next time I wake up early on a weekend and can beat the crowd.