NewTree Cafe & Chocolate Shop

I love that all the food is organic and fresh here. The Thai chicken salad is terrific and the chocolate bar sells tiny little bite sized morsels — perfect satisfaction for those frequent yet modest chocolate cravings.

A fueling station for both the body and the mind.
Located at the base of the California Center office tower, this small café is an escape from the business of life.
Step into a warm, brightly-​lit ambiance with chill beats, friendly employees and bamboo columns stretching into a bamboo canopy overhead. Yes, seriously a cool environment to come and unwind for a bit. There are a few tables, sofas and free WiFi. Mint strawberry water, too.
Food is made daily in their downstairs kitchen and transported magically to the shelves in the café. The wife and I each picked up a Breakfast Wrap ($ 7.45) and the cashier offered to toast it for us. I definitely recommend getting it toasted– much better than a session in the microwave!
We enjoyed our wraps, which tasted fresh and contained scrambled egg, spinach and peppers. Regular and gluten-​free options were available. I devoured my wrap quickly since it was a little small, but given that this is SF where rent for a studio apartment can be over $ 3000, I’d say the price for this food was pretty reasonable.
NewTree is a pleasant sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of the Financial District. If I ever start working in this area, you bet I’ll be by more often.

I love non-​traditional flavors of chocolate, especially lavender, so when I saw NewTree pop up on Unilocal,I knew I had to try their lavender chocolate.
The café has a pretty trendy earthy vibe going on. There’s a good amount of seating and a wall that displays all the chocolate, with samples of every flavor for you to try. Sweets aside, there’s some standard breakfast items (oatmeal, parfaits, breakfast wrap) and more interesting salads and sandwiches for lunch, as well as pastries. The food’s a little pricey given the portion sizes (about $ 10 for a salad and $ 7 – 8 for a sandwich), but probably more or less on par for the FiDi area.
–CHOCOLATE BAR ($ 6.75) — 3.5÷5
I’ve probably tried most of the different flavors of chocolate thanks to the free samples they have in the store. I can’t taste the difference between a lot of them, but I really like some of their more «exotic» flavors, like lavender, thyme, chili pepper and ginger. You can actually taste the flavors! The chocolate in general is pretty good quality and the bars are impressively high in fiber, but $ 7 a bar is still pushing it.
–CARAMEL WAFER ($ 1.95) — ²⁄₅
A «healthier» version of Dutch stroopwafels. They’re advertised as reduced in sugar and high in fiber, but don’t be fooled. It’s still about 130 calories for one of these cookies, and there’s still quite a bit of sugar and barely any fiber. They definitely taste healthier; they’re much drier and grainier, and because it’s reduced sugar, the caramel doesn’t shine through as much. But $ 2 for a single wafer? These unfortunately aren’t healthy enough to warrant that. I’d rather get a bag of those chewy mini stroopwafels from Trader Joe’s.

This place is amazing, I work near new tree and buy most of my meals here. I wouldn’t come here if it wasn’t for the wonderful staff. Lawrence brightens my day, they are lucky to have him!

Wandered into this place randomly — only reason I even gave it a look was because of the sidewalk sign. Glad I did!
The actual space of the café is really nice — very modern, and somehow the ambiance screams «we’re healthy!»
They have a menu mainly comprised of salads and sandwiches, plus a (vegan) soup of the day and coffee.
I had a small salad (avocado, baby corn, lettuce, tomato, cucumber) and the soup of the day, which was tomato basil with cashews used instead of cream for thickness/​richness. Both were very tasty, and the vegetables in the salad were clearly high quality and fresh.
Total was ~$ 10.50 I believe and while the value is not outstanding for the money, it’s at least par for the course in FiDi.
I think I’ll be back!

Worst. Customer. Service. Ever. (But can you actually quantify customer service if there was none to begin with?)
If you’re going to help me, then help me. If you’re going to ring up my order, then do that. Don’t start to ring me up and then walk away before I’ve paid, and then laugh because I’m annoyed that you walked away. It’s not like I’m in a bit of a rush to get to my office in the morning and all. Damn, at the very least do the minimum requirements of your job and take my money before being distracted by whatever shiny object caught your eye or latest trendy quip from your co-​worker you overheard.
Never going back there again.
And to the blonde boy behind the counter, I wasn’t mad at you because of my yogurt. I was annoyed at how rude you were, and then how rude in turn your colleague was as well. If, after our transaction, you’re going to talk shit about me on my way out and ask «What’s wrong with her?», and reply that «She was mad at me because I didn’t help her.» then you should really wait until I’m at least out of the store. Or better yet, ask me what’s wrong and I’ll let you know how horrible you both were at your job.
And yes, I was mad because you didn’t help me. Because THAT’S YOUR DAMN JOB.
Did I say that I’m never going back? Well, you fine prospective customer shouldn’t either. Or at all. There are many other fine establishments in the FiDi that have hired lovely people who will be polite in assisting and not start your morning off on the wrong foot.
#damnhipsters

I came to work today on a mission to find a new healthy option for lunch. I usually stick with salads from Mixt Greens, Specialty’s, or Soup Co. Whenever I visit Soup Co., I always make a note to try this place (right next door!). Well, today was the day.
I love the design of this place. Very beautiful and modern, although the tables did look a bit small/​cramped.
As for food, I asked a worker what she recommended and she told me to get the hummus tempeh wrap. It was good, but I wasn’t too crazy about it – not what I would have chosen, which is perhaps why I was just a bit disappointed. Next time I want to go for a salad or the quinoa burger.
When checking out, I tried the coconut soup of the day and LOVED it. So I got that with my wrap, made it a combo for $ 11, and got chocolate as well! I’d say that was a good deal.
Overall, it was a positive first visit. I’ll likely come again and try something else!

NewTree is another café focused on the healthy living trend that is rapidly creeping its way through San Francisco — complete with wooden décor and grassy walls, the café has the whole vibe of a health-​conscious era. As with other restaurants of this type, NewTree’s products are not the cheapest, though you can be sure to find all sorts of healthy choices ranging from Soba Noodle salads to Quinoa burgers.
Their protein sides are definitely on the pricey side — $ 5 for a small container of chicken or 2 deviled eggs, so I would opt for the regular sized salads (my favorite thus far is the Chicken Avocado salad for $ 11.50, though I’ve heard the Thai Chicken salad is also a customer favorite).
Even the chocolate here is pretty healthy — Quinoa Flax, Superfruit, etc. You can also try them before you buy them which is great.
Definitely one of my go-​to healthy food places in the FiDi area!

The interior of this little café looks like a garden. An umbrella of bamboo soars overhead filtering light and making you feel as though you’re sitting under a huge shade tree. Air plants dot the walls and hang in glass bubbles from the ceiling.
The food is already prepared and in refrigerated cases: Salads and sandwiches and the typical pre-​made fare. The salads run $ 11 – 12 and some of them have meat, some don’t. They have quiche and other pastries at the counter and I bought a $ 6 leek and feta quiche to share with my girlfriends, in addition to a salad. So $ 19 without a drink.
You sit at either a tiny tall table or a tiny small table. And there aren’t very many tables, seating isn’t easy to get to because it’s crammed into such a small area but my feeling is most people take the food back to their office or outside to a plaza to eat.
Everything is served in 100% biodegradable plastic. When we were there, the metal forks were gone and they’d put out tiny oyster forks and wimpy plastic forks. There are four salad dressings offered: Thai, raspberry, tomato and something else. I couldn’t find a recommendation for which to choose and I wish they had them because I have no idea what a tomato dressing would be good on.
So there we are, sitting on foam blocks, knees touching a small table, holding our $ 12 salads to our faces and eating with wimpy plastic forks. I don’t know, it just seems like a lot of money for this experience and the food was just okay. Granted, with the few bites of quiche, I couldn’t finish my chicken salad and had it for dinner so maybe it was a good deal.
What this place seems to be known for is its housemade chocolates infused with an assortment of exotic flavors. They have tiny dishes with samples in front of each and a «salesperson» will explain the chocolate to you. They also have giant slabs of brownie for $ 4 at the counter if there’s someone at the office you’re trying to win over.

part Donkey Kong Country,
part Logan’s Run,
traces of Ray Bradbury
and Mindbeach.
quality food, a little too healthy.
their best items are gone
by mid afternoon or sooner.
but I get the leftovers
just to hang out in this ambience.
4^th star for interior design.

Awesome little coffee shop tucked away off California where they have a wonderful variety of morning pastries, takeaway salads, and a broad assortment of healthy fare. Coffee wise, this probably isn’t my first go-​to option, but in the few times I’ve wanted something reasonably healthy to go with my coffee, this has been a good option that’s pretty fast. Their chocolate selection is obviously the bigger component of the store, and while I have yet to purchase said chocolate, I know in the sampling I’ve done that it’s definitely delicious! Check it out if you’re impatient and not wanting to wait in line at illy around the corner and an alternative to Starbucks across the street.

4 pm rolled around at the office and it was clear that we’d be working late.
To improve the process, I stopped to get a cup of hot chocolate from NewTree.
I was excited because I’ve always liked thick hot chocolate, and assumed NewTree’s product would be similar to stuff I’ve had in NYC (Jacque Torres, Burdicks, etc).
I was slightly disappointed when I tasted it and experience a slightly sour twinge.
I was hoping for thick, bitter and sweet.
But! And here’s the good part, the chocolate mixture went straight to my head and made me delightfully happy from the inside out the rest of the evening!

MATCHA LATTE! I finally found a matcha latte outside of Japantown center. Look out, weekly budget…
This morning I dropped in deciding between a regular latte and a matcha latte. The guy I spoke to (I think someone called him Borys?) told me with utmost confidence, «I’ll make you a good matcha latte.»
And ohhhhh did he. The ratio of matcha to milk was perfectly balanced – not too milky, not overly bitter. And he added just the right amount of agave to have a hint of sweetness.
I’ve had their hot chocolate at their other location, but I will definitely be back regularly for their matcha latte!

Not impressed. Food is ok but a bit over priced which I understand for location.
The customer service was poor. Not very friendly interaction.

My love affair with NewTree chocolates began almost 10 years ago. My husband and I just got married and moved into our first house. During all of our furniture hunting, we usually ended up at CostPlus. Instead of checking out housewares, I always ended up in the candy aisle. Always. It was where I discovered one of my favorite chocolates, the NewTree lavender chocolate bar. For a few years, I was able to snag a couple bars at CostPlus but for some reason, they stopped carrying it and I was never able to find it anywhere else except online.
So imagine how happy I was to discover that NewTree opened up not one but two cafes in the city. I was elated. Last week, I finally stepped in the NewTree café on California street which is a couple of blocks away from work. This place rocks. You can sample their different chocolate offerings and they won’t knock you for it. You can literally spend as much time as you want just trying out the different types of chocolates.
I, of course ended up with a bunch of their tiny chocolate lavender sample sized packaged bites. For an ounce, it’s about $ 2.75. Not bad and you can mix and match the different types of chocolate. I also tried their green tea matcha latte. It’s pretty amazing. If you love green tea, try it and you’ll love it. They also have plenty of salad and sandwich offerings. I picked up a goat cheese and pear sandwich and they happily toasted it for me. The space is beautiful and serene.
While there, I could hear a group of 3 just raving about how much they love this place. They said it about 5 times in a span of 2 minutes. It’s Ok, I love this place too. It’s a nice getaway from the hectic life of corporate world. Stop in and enjoy. The service is so friendly too. I hope you love it as much as I do.

I decided to drop into New Tree for my afternoon coffee instead of my usual Starbucks or Philz.
My general impression is that this place is pretty pricy. I was okay with that since it’s at the base of my building. The interior is designed very nicely and well themed.
I decided to try the coffee because it was relatively reasonably priced ($ 2). I’m sad to say it was probably one of the worst cups I’ve ever had. The brew tasted day old and just north of warm. The roast was weak and not all that flavorful.
Based on this experience, this is a strong 2 star establishment, one for location and one for offering espresso drinks, and nothing more.

Fresh fail.
With a bright design, organic offerings and extremely friendly staff there is a lot to love. Green smoothie and granola bar with strawberry jam filling samples were the best part.
Especially because they were free.
Parfait at $ 6 was disappointing. Minimal fruit, delicious but sparse homemade granola and whole milk Strauss yogurt. Three of my least favorite things especially at that price.
Double Americano at $ 3.50 was smooth and a better deal but still on the pricey side. Unfortunate they don’t offer nonfat milk.
Even the WiFi wasn’t working. Fortunately the staff was as good as the samples and saved star three.
Original location did better:

What a difference a location makes. I had been to the original place on Ecker Place, and frankly it left me a bit cold since the vast chocolate selection appeared to take center stage for the more elite customers, and the café was managed like a sideline operation for the rest of us, at least when I tried it three years ago. Flash forward to last week and I found myself coming with a colleague to their new location at 311 California where the Toaster Oven used to be. Newly renovated, it’s a brightly lit space with tall ceilings, lime green on the walls, and stylized bamboo shoots shaped like trees rising high to the ceiling (photo:
).
With plenty of open seating, this is a far more convivial setting than the chilly vibe I got at the Ecker Place spot and more enticing one to stay, chat and munch. A broad sandwich and salad selection was on display in the refrigerated section although their most popular item was out already, the $ 11.50 Chicken Avocado Salad. I went instead for the same priced Thai Salad with organic marinated pieces of white breast chicken, green and white cabbage, carrots, red onions, mint, coriander, and sesame seeds (photo:
). It was quite delicious with a freshness and crunch that made for a satisfying lunch.
My colleague started well with the $ 5.25 Organic Fruit Salad, which had melon, strawberries, grapes and mango accented with chopped mint (photo:
). But she was disappointed with the $ 7.45 Chicken and Salsa Verde Sandwich, which was nestled in an Acme sweet deli roll (photo:
). She found it dry and unfinishable. The menu is too interesting to dismiss though with paninis, soups and quiches complementing the lunch menu and a separate selection of treats for breakfast including quite a variety of organic pastries. I could easily see myself coming back to try them under the fake bamboo tree.
FOOD — 4 stars… good, fresh selection of lunchtime items with the Thai salad an early favorite
AMBIANCE — 4 stars… much more open space here than the original location, well organized
SERVICE — 3.5 stars… friendlier crew than I anticipated
TOTAL — 4 stars… healthy food selections in a convivial setting

Visited for the first time today and am loving every aspect of the experience (except… the wi-​fi is too slow to do work there T_​T)
Décor: Light, green, feels refreshing, high ceilings, slopes and curves, pebble floor, wood and plants everywhere
Drinks and food: Excellent, I had their mushroom soup and tried their chai latte, matcha latte (unsweetened by default! this is how it should be) and vegan hot chocolate (uses almond milk).
Staff: Friendly, welcoming, helpful, prompt and often approaching with free samples :)
Internet: Free but spotty
Wall offerings: Chocolate samples galore, and always-​available citrus and mint water
Pricing: In line with what one may expect from a chocolate, vegan/​vegetarian/​eco-​friendly café in San Francisco in the FiDi.
TL;DR: Fun to visit, but a little dark inside and not great for working.

This company has a genuine desire to overcome the paradox of taste, health and environmental sustainability. This intent is exemplified by the phenomenal hot chocolate. Trust me — I don’t want anyone to mess with a decadent hot chocolate and try and make it healthy. If they didn’t tell me this was vegan I’d have never guessed it! I’m still awestruck.
The place is an oasis of harmony in the midst of the financial district, with an uplifting environment of natural materials that still looks modern and cool.
Gourmet sandwiches, soups and salads that you can indulge yourself with, guilt free. The food is an affordable luxury. It’s not cheap but the slight premium is worth it given that the ingredients are organic and support local farmers. The food is handcrafted and made fresh just before lunch time.