Boudin Bakery & Café, San Francisco

If you are walking on the street near Fisherman's Wharf, stop by and check out the windows at Boudin's. They make fresh sourdough bread there daily. The cool thing about looking in the window is that you may be treated to them making the bread in very fun shapes. Some things that I have seen them make include: crabs, bears, turtles, and alligators. It is very cool to see.
Downstairs is a cafeteria type place, while upstairs offers more of a restaurant type experience. I have only eaten downstairs. You order your meal at a counter and bring it to a table. If you are there with more than one person, I recommend having someone stake out a table and someone going to get the food.
While you are sitting downstairs, you are treated to the site of the bread being delivered straight from the bakery to the counter. It is a treat because they have this elaborate system where things are put in a basket that sits on a track that takes the bread up toward the ceiling and then down to the other side of the building where the food counter is. It is really neat and easily miss-able if you do not pay attention or know about it.

Favorite Dish: I love Clam Chowder in a bread bowl. I definitely recommend it because it is a great it when San Francisco weather gives you chills while visiting the the wharf right on the water. Plus the Clam Chowder and the Sourdough Bread Bowl are big San Francisco staples. Boudin's is definitely a bread place. The Clam Chowder is good, but not the best I have ever had. However, it is edible. The sourdough bread is delicious.

Stopping by Boudin's for a bread bowl filled with clam chowder was a suggestion I read frequently, we stopped here twice for a bowl. I don't know that it was the best clam chowder I've ever had but I love the idea of the delicious sourdough bread sopping up the chowder and then being able to eat your bowl. And it's especially nice at night when the temperatures drop a bit and you are looking for something to warm you up.

We first stopped by after the Alcatraz cruise, it was late and we weren't sure if we be able to find a lot of places still open so we stopped here and then over at the takeout fish places. The 2nd visit was a little busier, it was mid afternoon and we joined a lot of people soaking up the sun on their patio. Upstairs at the Wharf location there is also a full service restaurant, we ate at the downstairs self service cafe which has soup, salad and sandwiches on the menu.

In addition to the chowder, you can buy sourdough bread to take home including some loaves crafted into shapes such as crabs and lots of other goodies at their shop. There's a glass window on the outside of the building where you can watch the bread being made even later in the evening, if you are there during the day you might look into the museum and bakery tour.

Favorite Dish: Clam chowder in a sour dough bowl of course! We also grabbed sandwiches at their airport location for the plane ride home, surprisingly only about 30 cents more than the Fisherman's Wharf location.

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The original purveyor of sourdough bread in S.F.

Favorite Dish: Although there is a restaurant overlooking the bay on the 2nd floor, prices are higher. I recommend you buy a bowl of clam chowder in a bread bowl and take it out to eat.

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This is the More Crowded Branch of Boudin (Ghirardelli branch is closed) since it is located in the touristy Pier 39 area (although it is just 1/4 mile away from the main branch) and again this San Franciscan Tradition, born of the Goldrush area was established in 1849 by Isidore Boudin, son of a family of master bakers from Burgundy, France, by blending the prevalent sourdough among miners in the Gold Rush with French techniques and they claim that thet still use that same mother dough.

Favorite Dish: bread bowl filled with creamy clam chowder to die for! again like what I've said, sourdough bread is a 3,000 year tradition and was started by egyptians but why do san francisco sourdough bread taste the best? it is because of the AMBIANCE!!!! No trip to San Francisco would be complete without taking several loaves of San Francisco sourdough bread home (although clam chowders are better in seattle specifically at Ivar's, they don't have the tasty sourdough bread of San Francisco!).

My friends and I actually takeaway the sourdough bread bowl and sat by the wharf to enjoy our soup and bread! It was summer, but the wind was a bit chilly for us, but the hot soup warm us up!

This is one of the 2 food items I've tasted during my travel that I long to taste again!

Opens daily from 12:00am to 9:00pm

Favorite Dish: BOUDIN SOURDOUGH BREAD BOWL US$14.95
Choice of crab & corn chowder or the traditional clam chowder.

I tried the Clam Chowder which was heavenly and totally complementary with the sour dough bread..

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It was 11am and I had already checked into the hotel and had scaled down the stairs at Lombard Street before making my way to Fisherman's Wharf. And there is was in all its clam chowdery glory: Boudin's.

Boudin's takes over a significant chunk of real estate at Fisherman's wharf, with an entire restaurant, bakery, and separate take-out restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating.

The concept of eating clam chowder in a sourdough bowl is definitey a novelty, but if you're going to play tourist in San Francisco, it has to be done. The city, after all, is famous for its sourdough bread, and when you're famished at 11:30am and you've just teleported yourself to San Francisco, what else are you doing to do?

Exactly.

We ordered clam chowder from Boudin's take-out location. While waiting to be called, I learned something very important: when you order from the take-out window, choose to sit underneath the awning. There are literally dozens of pigeons and seagulls that permanently reside next to Boudin's outdoor seating areas - all awaiting left-overs from other people's bread bowl clam chowders.

Needless to say, being rained on by seagull poop is not on anyone's agenda. (A family with kids sitting next to me learned this the hard way). To avoid this scenario entirely, I recommend eating the soup under some sort of covering, regardless of how much you want the sun in your face!

Favorite Dish: The clam chowder in the sourdough bowl is pretty much the famous item on the menu here, but it ain't cheap. For 2 bowls of clam chowder plus one bottle of water costs $17. While not outrageous, they're tourist prices.

The clam chowder was New England style - creamy with bits of potato in it. It was just simple comfort food, and was perfect on that cool spring afternoon. There's way more bread than soup per portion, and good luck to anyone who attempts to eat the whole bowl. I couldn't, but I tried. The bread is tasty, but bring a hearty appetite!

This location has closed. So, check out the location on Jefferson street near Taylor or the one at Pier 39. They're all good.

I'm writing about the one on Beach Street within Ghirardelli Square. It's a very small spot though the service is quick enough that you're really never waiting for a very long time.

The sandwiches are very good though a bit pricey. My fav. is the vegetarian sandwich and the turkey and swiss with cranberry sauce. Yummy!!!

They are known for their clam chowder served within a round sourdough bowl.
There are various locations.

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Boudin Sourdough Bakery and Cafe is located on Jefferson and Taylor, but there are also locations in the wharf area at Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square. They have been making the original San Francisco sourdough bread since 1849 and it is like no bread you'll ever have anywhere else in the world. It was established in 1849 by Isidore Boudin, son of a family of master bakers from Burgundy, France, by blending the prevalent sourdough among miners in the Gold Rush with French techniques.

Privately owned and operated, the cafes sell a variety of food and bakery products. In addition to its Sourdough bread, Boudin Sourdough Bakery & Cafes sell coffee and espresso drinks, Sourdough bagels, pastries, hearty sandwiches, soups in a bread bowl, salads in a bread bowl, and Sourdough pizzas.

Opens: everyday from 11am-6pm

Favorite Dish: Boudin Bakery is world-famous for its Original San Francisco Sourdough French Bread, which is baked with the same "Mother Dough" or Sourdough Starter used since 1849. Born in the Gold Rush, Boudin Bakery is the oldest business in San Francisco. The bakery still uses the same "starter" yeast culture it developed during the California Gold Rush.

If you want a light lunch, you can get a bread bowl filled with creamy clam chowder to die for. No trip to San Francisco would be complete without taking several loaves of San Francisco sourdough bread home (although clam chowders are better in seattle specifically at Ivar's, they don't have the tasty sourdough bread of San Francisco!). It's a place to bring your out-of-town friends here to impress or entertain them. The glass building was built only 2-3 years ago. There're usually a small crowd gathered along the Jefferson St where you can peek in to see the making of the monstrous shaping bread: Lobster, big crab, and crocodile. San Francisco's famous clam chowder is hold in a sourdough bread bowl for ~$8. As you're waiting in line, you'll find yourself dazzled with the moving bread baskets on top