Palio Caffe

Didn’t like the customer service. The lady helping to get orders out was kind of pushy. I ordered what I thought was something well known, caramel machiatto, but she charged me for a cappuccino and said «she wants what they make at Starbucks so it’s more». I’m not sure I understand that. The drink is pretty common among all coffee shops so, I don’t know. The cup was small and we paid for the larger size and it was half foam. I’m not a picky person really, just be nice to me and give me what I pay for.

Dismal experience. Panini wasn’t fully toasted and not much better than a pre-​packaged sandwich from Safeways. Customer service was surly. One star for carrying Diet Dr. Pepper. Another star for free wi-​fi.

If you want mediocrity, come here. If you want love and sunshine and happiness, go to Café Me on Washington st. Café Me has much tastier breakfast options and a much friendlier attitude. The food at Palio the kind of standard stuff your office would get for a lunch meeting. With Chinatown just a couple of blocks away, there’s no reason you should go here for lunch. The waitstaff is beyond surly. My first time coming here will be my last time.

What a disgrace to the institution of Italian coffee. Bitter, no flavor, and $ 3.25 for a cappuccino! My co-​worked ordered a drip coffee and found the same issue. We ended up throwing our cups away. Why bother with all the Italian vocabulary and ambiance when the most simple and most revered part of any Italian’s day is coffee? How can the owners allow this to continue? I know it’s bad when I lament the loss of $ 3.25. It’s a small amount, but it infuriates me when I want a good cup of coffee and end up with something that does not even qualify for coffee status.

This is a great lunch place! Everything is delicious, and coffee comes in bowls, not mugs! The sandwiches I have tasted here are both chicken, meat and vegetarian. My favorite is eggplant sandwich and mushroom sandwich. The taste of spices is just perfect, not too little, not too much, just as it should be! Just think of it, this place is right by the Pyramid, in the heart of San Francisco, and it is both clean, affordable and delicious! What else can you wish for? Highly, highly recommended.

Watched again as one of the workers here sneezed into her bare hand and continued working. I’m amazed this place is still here given the mediocre food, the sullen and brusque service, the cold and ugly space and the routinely unsanitary practices.

Palio d’Asti is what you might consider an all-​day café. They have your breakfast foods and coffee, and they also serve heavier foods if you are stopping by for lunch. The café itself is a great space to work by yourself or in a small group, though not so much if you need electrical outlets to keep your devices charged all day.
I came here with a friend to catch up, and I had not had breakfast yet, so I ordered their house parfait. I must say… I’m not really a fan of peanuts in my granola. I just wanted basic, normal granola. Other than that, there was plenty of bananas and strawberries at the bottom which was great. I would not get the parfait again, but I’m sure I would like some of their other items more.

This post is based on the second round of food that Palio sent to the office the next day to try and make up for our terrible order. It was a really nice gesture, and my coworkers and I appreciated it. The manager obviously really cares about the café. In the spirit of transparency, we are still not fans of the food, but the manager went above and beyond.

I had a meeting with an attorney friend and stopped by his office downstairs of Palio. We had originally decided to walk over to Starbucks since he indicated that something was a bit off with Palio, but when we arrived the Starbucks was completely packed. Instead, we walked back to Palio and braced ourselves for a legendarily bad experience and a case study in how not to run a business.
For starters, I ordered a hazelnut latte which was fine except it was missing the hazelnut completely. Upon handing me the mistake, the woman behind the counter promptly (and sternly) told me «Good bye», which is a really strange way to thank your customers. My friend and I sat down for a chat before we were kicked out by these ladies shortly thereafter at 4pm. Who closes at 4? On top of that, it was a pretty unceremonious affair and couldn’t even be bothered to let us out the front door, instead forcing us to go out the side.
I’m honestly shocked that this place has managed to stay open despite the poor reviews. They have a great location which would be better served by a staff and full business overhaul. I will definitely not be back unless I’m looking for a bad attitude instead of a cup o’ Joe.
Food: ²⁄₁₀
Service: ⁰⁄₁₀
Price: $
Atmosphere: ⁴⁄₁₀

This is a solid 4 stars place for me. Lunch for 9 $, with healthier choices and tasty food is right my piece of cake.
If you are looking for impeccable service and people making you feel like an important, valuable customer this is not your place.
If you don’t care about this and you just want a tasty panini or a decent salad without breaking the bank or queuing for an hour then this is just your place.
I had the 9 $ lunch offer of half a panini with salad with the salmon mascarpone panini, which was tasty and nice, and the calamari salad, which was nice but a bit on the greasy side.

Came in here for breakfast and it took about 10 minutes for it to be completed. I ordered a #1 wheat bagel, they gave me a wheat wrap. When I mentioned the mistake, she took back the wrap, pulled the eggs and cheese out of it, and put it in a bagel. I couldn’t eat it, probably perfectly sanitary but the cheese wasn’t melted and the bagel was cold. I won’t go back.

Sandwiches = delicious. They offer full size or half-​size sandwiches, salads, and some drinks.
Prices = moderate.
Service = okay.

Disrespectful service. Decent food. They will slap your credit card on the counter in front of your outreached hand and call «Next» while you are standing right there.
Hey management, is this necessary? I promise I will come here more often if those three ladies in the morning treat me with a little respect. Credit card in hand. Say have a nice day Greg. Then I will give you more of my money.
One Star until then.

After getting yelled at by the lady reheating my pre-​made Rollo Pollo wrap, having to correct the cashier on what my order was, and standing around confused for a while with other confused customers awaiting their orders while the staff kept fucking up (which only got them more upset at us), I finally got my lunch. It was awful. It tasted like something a stoned college kid would come up with in the middle of the night. «Let’s see we have some kind of wheat lavash bread, some chicken, some leftover grilled onions, and a can of Chef Boyardee.» Really, the sauce had a pretty nasty sweetness about it. The chicken wasn’t any better. I had to cut into one of the pieces to make sure it was cooked through because of the weird texture. It was then that I realized it was probably cooked, sliced, and frozen months ago before Sysco shipped it out. I’ll only go back here as a form of self-​punishment. Like if I do something really stupid like lock my keys in my car, I’ll say to myself «Nice going asshole, you’re eating Palio tomorrow now!»

Standard B-​/​C+ café.
Food is fine — a variety of pre-​made sandwiches that get toasted. You won’t crave it, but you won’t mind it either.
Staff is a little off — I’ve seen others describe them as grumpy, which seems about right. But they’re efficient enough (and they’ve been better lately).
Only notable because it is seldom crowded despite being on the first floor of a large building.

I’d give it one star, but I reserve that rating for places from which I contract food poisoning or hepatitis. Bland food, kind of rushed service despite no one behind me (for good reason), and high prices. In other words, typical financial district fare.

Nothing special. Quick service. Hot sammies aren’t bad.

The good news: It’s one of the only places in the Financial District that isn’t a madhouse at lunch hours… only had the Mediterranean salad which is good! This one time the lady making my salad apologized for how long it took.
The bad news: The staff is consistently extremely rude, and I mean like extremely. I usually chuckle in their face a little when I’m treated so poorly, wondering why they think it’s acceptable. The one time I got a chocolate chip cookie but it was more like a burnt piece of… cookie I guess???
I have to admit I still go here just because of the convenience factor… I just have to get over my pride when it comes to being treated like the enemy :(
Also– can’t help but wonder how rude they will be to me after they read this review– Sorry!

What a grumpy grandmas working there! I asked for a glass of water along with my coffee. The paper cup came dirty on the edges. I pointed out. She took the cup, poor a water from the dirty cup into a clean cup and handed to me. Amazing! No sorry, no talk no smile. Just a grumpy face expression. Its like they doing you a big favor working there.
The barista was nice thank you.
Being a tenant in the same building I’ll go for my coffee elsewhere next time.

This here is a fine establishment when you need to stop someplace for a quick round of attitude.
Café? Naw. It’s a grumpateria. No matter the time of day, no matter how simple your order, you’ll be served by staff who are crabby, frowning, and quick to yell at you, the person behind you in line, and the person behind them. They don’t discriminate; it’s equal service for all!
Sssshhh. Palio, you smell that? It’s your tip money. I tend to tip pretty well… but treat me (or my friends, if we’re in a group) like gardening mulch and kiss that tip goodbye as it sits, nestled and warm, deep within the confines of my pocket. I’m not looking for sunshine and fanfare and glistening rainbows and a reach-​around upon my arrival; a smile would be cool.
One other tidbit and then I’ll leave them alone. They have oatmeal here. And, by that, I mean that the word is printed on the menu. And that’s it. Ask them for some and they will hand you a miniature bucket of what appears, smells, and tastes like moisture-​cure adhesive.