Museum Cafés Inspire

In San Francisco food is an art form – and the city’s many museums know how to show it with their masterpiece cafés. The museum chefs use local, seasonal and sustainable produce and ingredients to create edible works of art that often complement seasonal and permanent exhibits. At these Bay Area Museums your art experience goes beyond the exhibits hanging on the wall to a culinary treat found on the plate.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151 Third St.
415-357-4000

The Museum of Modern Art features two options to enjoy food:

• Caffé Museo offers menu items inspired by its exhibitions and always includes a soup and pizza of the day.  Museum admission is not required to access Caffé Museo.

• The SFMOMA Rooftop Garden Blue Bottle Coffee Bar offers cleverly designed desserts that await visitors after walking over the suspended bridge from the museum galleries to the adjacent parking garage rooftop sculpture garden. Espressos, lattes and coffee from San Francisco original coffee maker Blue Bottle Coffee Co. complement the sweet treats in exclusive Heath ceramic mugs. Museum admission is required for access to the SFMOMA Rooftop Garden.

Walt Disney Family Museum
The Presidio
104 Montgomery St.
415-345-6800

It’s only natural that a museum about Walt Disney should feature the legend’s favorite food. In an exclusive arrangement with Wolfgang Puck, the café features family-friendly prices and menu items – such as Walt’s favorite chili, Jell-O with fresh fruit, chicken cubes; SPAM and eggs with biscuits and honey, cupcakes and cookies. Visitors can see Disney’s shopping list in Gallery 7b –a handwritten list Disney gave his housekeeper. The menu changes daily and sometimes is inspired by a movie playing in the museum’s theater. For example, when they showed “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” the café created a seafood sandwich. Museum admission is not required to access the café.

Boudin Sourdough Museum
Boudin at the Wharf
160 Jefferson St.
415-928-1849

Boudin is the opposite of museums: it is a bakery that happens to have a museum offering a comprehensive history of San Francisco. After touring the museum visitors will view the inside of the bakery where the aroma is sure to inspire a trip to the café below where loaves of bread are available for purchase.

California Academy of Sciences
Golden Gate Park
55 Music Concourse Drive
415-379-8000

The California Academy of Sciences has three dining areas within the museum:

“The Academy Café” is a no reservations café with stations that serve international/ethnic cuisine such as Irish stew, pho, tacos and quesadillas. Executive chef Charles Phan also features his signature steamed buns and spring rolls. Organized into independent food stations, such as “steam,” “sizzle,” “noodles,” “sandwich,” “tacos” and “coffee and pastries,” the café is casual with seating indoors and outdoors, where guests may look out into Golden Gate Park.

“The Piazza” is an airy, naturally-lit extension of the café that offers limited menu items such as coffee, pastries and sandwiches.  Museum admission is required for access to the Academy Café and the Piazza.

“The Moss Room” is more formal and offers a rare fine dining experience in a museum. Reservations are not required for lunch, but recommended for dinner. A collaboration of owner Loretta Keller and Chef Justin Simoneaux, the Mediterranean/California menu includes biodynamic wines and spirits, and a seasonal menu. The atmosphere is relaxing, situated below the museum with jazz music and Asian River fish casting shadows in a large fish tank bordering the room. Museum admission is not required to access the Moss room.

Contemporary Jewish Museum
736 Mission St
415-655-7800

Life imitates art in the Contemporary Jewish Museum’s “Café on the Square.” The café, catered by McCalls Catering & Events, specializes in Jewish favorites, such as lox and bagels, and the café is known for its vegetarian, kosher-style potato/carrot latkes and matzo ball soup. The menu also features items inspired by the museums temporary installations – for example, during the Maurice Sendak exhibit, the café served a wild mushroom pot pie, Mikey cake and Max’s Tuna Fish sandwich.

de Young
Golden Gate Park
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr.
415-750-3600

The de Young’s visiting exhibits inspire an edible palette in its café. During the King Tut exhibit, the McCalls Catering & Events menu featured Middle Eastern cuisine such as tabbouleh and hummus. With the d’Orsay French impressionist exhibit, McCalls says the café plans to incorporate more butter in its dishes and offer French-inspired cuisine.

Legion of Honor
100 34th Ave. and Clement
415-750-3600

The Legion of Honor Cafe features an adaptable menu that syncs with the parts of day. Like many McCalls Catering & Events menus, the offerings reflect the exhibits displayed in its marble halls. For example, the Cartier exhibit inspired a French-European menu that includes Nicoise salad, French onion soup, Quiche Lorraine, Croque Monsieur and steak frites. Lunch includes soups, salads, sandwiches and hot entrees available for dining in the café or take away for an alfresco lunch in Lincoln Park, which has stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Museum admission is not required to access the café.

Asian Art Museum
200 Larkin St.
415-581-3500

Inspired by the Asian collections, “Café Asia” features stir fry, dumplings and other dishes that change twice a year, many reflecting the changing exhibits. Catered by McCalls Catering & Events, the menu also includes kid-friendly options such as hot dogs. Guests may sit in the cafe, or enjoy a view of the Beaux Art architecture of City Hall on the outdoor patio. Museum admission is not required to access the café.

Image courtesy of Flicker CC Julian Stallabrass CC