Breadbelly Review: The Kaya Toast Is the Runaway Star

All PostsSan Francisco Eats
Written By Amy Suto
The Kaya Toast at Breadbelly in San Francisco, milk bread piped with green coconut-pandan jam and flaky salt

It was 9:48 on a Monday morning (the receipt keeps me honest) and the patio at Breadbelly was already in full swing: yellow bistro tables, full sun, sunglasses on every face.

Breadbelly is the Asian American bakery and cafe at 1408 Clement St in San Francisco’s Richmond District, and the Kaya Toast (milk bread piped with coconut-pandan jam and flaky salt) is the runaway star of the show. The internet has known about this toast for years — and for once, the internet is right.

What to Order at Breadbelly

The Kaya Toast ($10) is exceptional: a thick slab of milk bread with crisp griddled edges, ribbons of sweet coconut-pandan jam, and a hit of flaky salt that keeps the whole thing filed under breakfast instead of dessert. Crispy, sweet, and inhaled.

Pair it with the carrot orange juice ($6), which I’m prepared to call phenomenal. The carrot smooths out the orange’s tang and the result goes down like someone fixed orange juice’s one personality flaw. Toast plus juice is the combo. Trust me on the combo.

(A breakfast sandwich and a watermelon lychee iced tea also made it onto the tray, because restraint is for people who aren’t writing a review.)

The carrot orange juice at Breadbelly on the sunny Clement Street patio

The $6 carrot orange juice, out-glowing the patio.

The Patio Fine Print

There’s not really any seating inside, and the outdoor seating doesn’t have umbrellas. On a sunny Bay Area day, that math means you might be a little uncomfortable unless you came ready for some sun (sunscreen or acceptance, I recommend both). Otherwise it’s a genuinely nice little patio, and even around late breakfast we found seats easily.

Watermelon lychee iced tea in front of the illustrated storefront window at Breadbelly San Francisco

Outside the shop, where the window art has declared a Tomato Morty Summer.

The Verdict on Breadbelly

  • Best for: Kaya Toast pilgrimages · sunny-morning pastry runs
  • My order: The Kaya Toast and the carrot orange juice, together
  • Damage: $50.40 for a big breakfast for two, tip included
  • Where: 1408 Clement St, the Richmond (Google Maps) · breadbellysf.com

Clement Street is a legitimate food crawl these days: Eats and its fluffy pancakes hold down the other end of the street, and Kiss of Matcha pours fruit matcha at 750 Clement. Breadbelly slots in as a really solid stop rather than an all-timer, and the Kaya Toast is the reason you go. We chased this particular breakfast across the park for a matcha einspanner at Jandii, a same-morning double-header I fully endorse.

For everywhere else worth your appetite in this city, start with the best restaurants in San Francisco — every spot on it has its own receipts-backed review. Subscribe to my newsletter for new ones as the eating continues, and my travel guides prove the appetite has range.