All You Knead

I realize All You Knead has been closed for a really long time, but I feel like I would be remiss if I didn’t contribute something to the conversation that seems to keep going long after it’s doors have shut for good.
I remember when my family first discovered this place, and shortly after when it became our first stop on all day trips we took to San Francisco — whether we planned to spend any more time on Haight afterward or not. I also remember AYK as the place we collectively decided to break up with a toxic family friend we’d been long overdue for a separation from, and on a separate occasion as the place where my then-​boyfriend now-​husband and I ate as a celebration of one of our weird milestones super early in our relationship — six months after our first kiss, possibly even a true-​blue anniversary — but who’s counting? Ahh, the mems.
It breaks my heart to think that I can’t come here any time I want now, but such is the course of life I suppose; ashes to ashes and all that garbage. Miss ya, All You Knead!

One of my favorites — CLOSED :(

in the mindset of «if you don’t have anything nice to say…» i neglected writing a review for AYK since i’ve become a Unilocaler… but hearing that it’s closed, i have to say, ummmm… yeah… makes sense…
I’ve dined at this establishment four times in about eight years, and each time was worst than the last, until the last time about three years ago, took The Man there on the way to Amoeba and i’m not sure what was worse, the snotty, F U ‘tude from the waitstaff, the filthy surroundings or the skanky trash food… no wait. it was the two days of gut busting upper AND lower GI upset that me and The Man both got from eating there which ruined the rest of our stay in the city by the bay. Thanks AYK.
i kept my mouth shut because I figured fool me four times shame on ME… but i’m so glad to hear this rattrap is closed… in a beautiful city like San Francisco where everyone seems to care just a bit more, this place stuck out like a sore thumb. And I’m sorry to say it owners, but how many years did you let your patrons suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous attitude from your servers before you realized people would just stop coming back?
I guess when the doors locked behind your ass for the last time.
along with my heart, AYK forced me to leave a few feet of descending bowel in San Francisco as well. I say, good riddance.

Rest In Peace, All You Knead…
When Pork Store was overflowing with tourists, kids, and the bridge and tunnel, you opened your arms and doors for us hungry, hungover, local fools…
When Squat and Gobble was too expensive for our skinny wallets, you made us feel rich with the abundance of food given per each plastic plate you served…
When the Creperie Frenchie chicks were god-​awful slow in making our simple damned ham and cheese crêpe, you sped by with lightning speeds of bacon, eggs and endless refills of strong coffee…
When People’s café bartop was packed for Sunday morning football with their big flat screens, you came through with the empty booths directly in front of that boxed TV with foiled antennas…
All You Knead, you were amazing, creepy, dirt sexy, and delicious all at the same time.
You truly will be missed…

All I can say is «WHAT THE FRACK?»
I love Haight for the quirky shops and the vintage stores but this place encompasses everything I loathe about the Haight minus urine and schizophrenic street urchins. All you Knead (not sure what they are kneading since they got none of my «dough») is just the worst place for customer service I have EVER in my life encountered. We came in on Sunday to have what could be equated as lunch and were ignored with seating and then ignored by the waitress. Mind you we were in there for about 20+ minutes waiting to be asked our order. There was hardly anyone else in the place, the staff outnumbered the clients and yet service and human interaction was non existent.
I am not sure about why this is as neither I not my husband were throwing attitude. I am an ex waitress so I never look down upon people in the service industry or give them a hard time or attitude but this place was OBNOXIOUS ! I am not sure what was required to get service here, perhaps a good dousing in a patchouli oil bath and some canabis smoke infusion would have done the trick.
If you want to time travel to 1967 Haight to witness pretentious hippies zonked out of their gourd then this is the place, if you want to eat, GO ELSEWHERE! We ended up ditching this place and headed to our old standard Louis’ (by the Cliff House) or the Seal Rock Inn to enjoy omlettes, coffee a spectacular view, FRESH AIR, and service from friendly, sweet and delightful staff.

In a nutshell: consistently good.
All You Knead fills a very distinct gap left by all the other breakfast restaurants in the Upper Haight. You could always stand in line and cram into a tiny table at the Pork Store, deal with the standoffish service at the People’s Café, or wait forever for a table at Magnolia… but why do that when you can easily fit the remains of last night’s party into one of the huge boothes at All You Knead?
The place is easily capable of seating groups of 6 – 10 people thanks to the rows of tables in the center and the large boothes on the western wall, as well as plenty of stock four-​person boothes for smaller groups. Similarly large is the menu — from breakfast to dinner, AYK has a lot of options. The items which I order most frequently — namely the french toast, pancakes and hamburger — are all good enough to come back and get again. The kitchen is very accommodating, too. My counterparts frequently ask for some pretty strange modifications to their meals, and the kitchen always does a great job. If you’re lucky, your server might even have some suggestions of his or her own!
The biggest downside for All You Knead is definitely the service. It can be pretty slow when the place gets busy, and All You Knead is not a good choice if you’re in a hurry to eat. However, this trait is, ironically, what keeps me coming back. After a few visits I was on a first name basis with most of the breakfast wait staff, and I find myself back at All You Knead almost every weekend because of the friendly staff, good food, and laid-​back atmosphere.

This is not a specialized restaurant… and counter-​intuitively, often the larger and more diverse a menu, the grosser the food… so I didn’t have high hopes.
Despite it’s inclusive approach, All You Knead serves as a delicious exception! The menu was massive and consisted of everything from burritos to pasta. I ordered an omelet and loved every bite of it.
Next time you’re roaming the Haight (or cautiously walking as inconspicuously as possible), stop on in and dine at the oldest restaurant on Haight (according to the couple I heard on their way out).

Incredible.
The pizza is heavenly. The service was incredible, the floor manager was waiting our table and he was nothing short of amazing.
I wish I could give them 6 stars. You cannot visit San Francisco an eat pizza without going here.
This place fits in perfectly with the rest of the block in terms of décor, it’s not amazing but it’s authentic Haight-​Ashbury style décor.
The pineapple chunks here must be picked from the best Hawaiian pineapple trees watered with the tears of virgins and sprinkled with the horn dust of baby unicorns.
This place is really all you knead when it comes to pizza!

All You Knead maintains a delicate balance.
On one side: their menu. Even the most finicky, indecisive eater will find something to order — there’s that much variety to the menu. I hesitate to describe their dishes as «diner fare» because they’re better than that… «home-​style» might work better. Others have already pointed out the possible perfection in the homefries and coffee and I’d echo in kind.
On the other side: the staff. They’re always so preoccupied with talking with one another that the service falls flat. This place ought to be packed everyday and that’s rarely the case, and it’s no doubt because of this single, unfortunate mistake. You’ll have plenty of time to notice the rather unkempt feel of the place while hearing all about the waitstaffs’ or cooks’ exploits from the night before.
There are no signs of anything unsettling this balance anytime soon.
You know… maybe it’s better that way anyway. They’ve found what works and if it means the staff can eek out some fun while on the clock then so be it. I’ll keep coming back.

The boo thang lives really close to All You Knead so I’ve ended up there on multiple occasions post-​night out and needing some greasy food to soak up the remnants of last night’s festivities in my belly. The food is always decent and I appreciate the sour cream that comes with the house potatoes.
The price is reasonable and that’s keeping in mind the slight higher price that many Haight street restaurants have since it’s a tourist-​heavy area…
However, I never wake up and think to myself «I’m really craving some All You Knead» but seeing that the Pork Store 1) usually has a really long line and 2) has gone way downhill in the past year, All You Knead is an easy choice since there’s usually no wait since the place is so large and because most people are huddled outside of Pork Store thinking that it’s a «must have» for sf

EDIT: Service has been consistently better recently, so some of the below may no longer be true. To 4 stars with you!
I come here all the time if I’m not in a hurry. The food is pretty good and the prices match. The three stars are for the service, which is usually awful. The wait staff don’t seem to know how to refill water or coffee on a regular basis, or check to see if you’re done. Today, 45 minutes passed between me finishing my meal and flagging the waiter down so I could pay. (I could have tried harder, but that’s not the point, is it?)
If you do end up at this place, either expect to be there for a while, or sit in the back so the staff is forced to walk by you every time they go in and out of the kitchen. It pains me to say these things because they seem like friendly people, but I have to be honest. If they could get their act together, this place would be incredibly solid. I do recommend you give it a shot some time.
That said, the Eggs All You Knead is *delicious* and the home fries are consistently great. The omelettes are good as well. I’ve only ever tried the breakfast menu.
All You Knead, I believe in you!

I’ve been coming here for about a billion years, so listen up, kids! Just refreshed my memory today with a crowd of friends who were way more sober and less hungover than we had been in the olden days. And what we doscovered is – this food is tasty!
Best homefries in the city, and I’ve tried them all. Damn good! Muscular coffee, heaping servings, friendly waitrons, and that long climb to the toilets. I’m so glad that this place hasn’t changed much, though I wonder how I’ll get up those stairs in another 20 years.

The eggs benedict is rockin’! I got mine with avacado, bacon and tomatos, delicious. The home fries were perfect. We came in very close to closing and the service was great. We even had a pain in the butt kid with us and the waitress was super cool. I’ve been here a couple times and I’ve always had a good experience. When I’m back in the area I will be back.

All You Knead is located in the middle of Haight-​Ashbury and we made a quick stop during our thrifting trip. We ordered the home fries & regular fries, for a grand total of $ 10, split between 4. In other words– super duper cheap!
The regular fries were very starchy and you could definitely taste the potato-​ness of the dish. I know that sounds stupid, but it just tasted very real and non-​artificial. But what REALLY sold me were the home fries. They were deliciously crunchy and savory– I could seriously eat them all day!
While the food itself was pretty good, the atmosphere and restaurant itself was a bit sketchy and shabby, so this wouldn’t exactly be my favorite brunch place. I’d probably order takeout just for the home fries though!

I had a not so pleasant experience here on a recent visit.
I had to walk to the back to find waitstaff, and they were too busy talking to each other to see me standing there asking for menus. I was handed menu’s without so much as a hello, or any type of common courtesy greeting. Whatever. I’m not one of these Unilocal*ers who thinks that rose petals should be tossed on the floor upon my entrance, but a simple hello would have been cool.
That said– my judgment is based on the overall experience.
— Gross tasting, greasy pizza
— Gnats in the water
–Slow service
— Dirty/​dusty restaurant
— Poor ventilation
I pride myself in being fair in my reviews, and this spot fairly deserves one star.

Worst, most surly and rudest service I’ve ever had there. I need to sit in a booth both for comfort and to hear better. There was one booth open that needed to be bussed and the server saw us standing by it. He would take a couple of plates off, then look at us and go away. He did this over a 10 minute period, just removing one or two items from the table and consciously ignoring us standing there by the booth.
This behavior went on until there were only a napkin and fork left on the table, at which point he turned to us and told us to go sit at a clean table.
I told him I needed a booth to whìch he angily replied, «then wait!» and turned and walked off.
I have been going there for many years to enjoy their Potato Buzz, but that visit was my last vìsit. No customer should ever be treated that way.

AWESOME, bacon cheeseburger!
i think I’ll go get one right now!

Great place to get breakfast or lunch. The menu is extensive and the food is good. The breakfast potatoes the other day were the best I’ve ever had.
Occasionally the service isn’t up to par– like they’re understaffed or something, but it’s never been a big deal.
The place has a real cozy feel to it: hooks on wooden columns to hang your coat and natural lighting. Like other Unilocalers have stated, this is diner-​style chow and not a place to expect to be catered to. What you see is what you get.

This place has a seriously giant menu. And since I can’t order until I’ve read every menu option, weighed the pros and cons of every combination of entrée and side dish, and created a prioritized list of meal plans, making my decision at All You Knead was laborious. Once I made a final ruling against breakfast foods (it was around 5pm, but my first meal of the day; don’t judge me.), it came down to one big IF. Would the kitchen serve me NACHOS with FRIES instead of tortilla chips? The answer was yes and man was that tasty!
Others in my group got the BLT, super deluxe home fries, and the chicken quesadilla (which was huge and really good).
The service was awesome, everyone was super nice. And this is the cheapest non-​pizza place I’ve found in the area, so that’s a bonus.

Eggs All You Knead, yes please! Breakfast all day, right on! Decent prices, sold!
Why are people on Unilocal so overly critical of places like this?! get off it!
It has character and I like that. Imma fan.