The Marsh Cafe & Gallery

Just so you don’t make the same mistake I did, the café is no longer a general public café ie for reading, laptopping, .
From their website :
«It is currently open 30 minutes before showtimes, serving as the lobby and check-​in point for our Upstairs Studio theater.»

The Verdict: «Small, low-​key, friendly, artsy»
I stopped by here with a friend to stake refuge from the recent downpour and found a nice, friendly, down-​to-​earth café filled with cool artwork from what looked like many of the Marsh Theatre’s plays. It’s an ideal place to hangout before or after any one of the plays showing at the Marsh (next door).
Would I Recommend It? Yes, good hangout or meeting spot.

I dig. The hours are deece (till 10pm), the wifi is free and strong, and my cappuccino (make sure to ask for a double) for $ 2.50 was a steal and quite tasty to boot (if a little foamy). There were no hot foods on offer when I visited, probably owing to the 90 °F temperatures outdoors — lord, I wouldn’t want to turn on an oven in this weather either. However, that does not make up for microwaving my bagel.
BAGELS SHOULD NOT BE MICROWAVED. EVER.
I assumed bagel and cream cheese = toasted bagel with cream cheese but I was wrong. I hope this was a one-​off, because that’s definitely not what I was expecting. I can’t think of a worse way to eat a bagel and it’s an affront to yeast lovers everywhere.
There are a few competing types of music playing, both equally annoying (bring headphones) and this seems to be a hotspot for canoodling couples (bring an eye mask?).

The barista behind the counter knows his coffee! Definitely a great spot to come to for a snack and drink before the show.
Peasant Pies and more, but I went with the sandwich, but the only problem was the place was so busy we had to wait about 10 minutes in line… but worth it.
The Show we saw was The Real Americans with Dan Hoyle which was phenomenal, so part of this review also goes to the Marsh Theatre which is the same business.
But if you’re looking for a meal or more than a snack or dessert, stop elsewhere before hand.

For some reason, it’s such a San Francisco thing to make things difficult for the customer. Weird hours of operation, cash only, no reservations etc. What most businesses don’t realize is that until you are a «destination» store/​café/​restaurant, you can’t pull this mishegas. And so many businesses owners wonder why their business is in the red. It’s because of situations like today. Got to The Marsh Café at 3pm. Their hours said open from 3pm to 10pm everyday. Great! When I opened their door, they said they were closed for another 20 minutes. Really now? And why would I wait around for 20 minutes for you to be open when there are a million other coffee shops I can spend my cash at? Foolish.

This place is a hidden gem of a cave. Lots of plugs for the computer and room to spread out even though the space itself isn’t that big. My colleague and I worked here over an evening and were amazed at how much we got done; the atmosphere is conducive to great focus. What the other reviewers said about the overhead noise is true, but didn’t bother me. And the people who work here are nice, nice, nice ~ in fact, when I said so to the kind barista he blushed and said he was just happy to get up in the morning and come to work — and he meant it! Please, stay away and save this place for me so I can get some more work done.

Initially I thought it had all the makings of a good spot for laptoppers: plentiful power outlets, free wi-​fi, bathroom, and a typical coffeehouse menu (sandwiches, espresso drinks, tea, soups, cake, pastries, bagels, cookies, Peasant Pies). The soup comes from a can (Amy’s Organic). The walls are covered with pictures of their productions with child actors (the café is also where the box office is located and where you’d purchase tickets for their theater productions).
I started working on my laptop and sipping on a decent latte… young kids were constantly showing up and it sounded like someone was running around upstairs. At first I thought there was a school nearby but then I realized that the kids were probably rehearsing in the upstairs studio. Anyway, they travel in packs and I felt like I was in the middle of a middle school cafeteria. Only then did I notice the GoGurt and Capri Sun that they sell.
The music was also annoying (classic rock). It’s too much of a kids’ hangout to be a good place for serious laptoppers.

You might think that running a café a few doors down from the ultrahip Ritual Coffee Roasters would bode poorly for business. Marsh Café takes a little different approach, opting to avoid fancy wine-​like adjectives for their coffee and instead focusing on the basics.
Marsh Café provides very good coffee at good prices, dished up in a modern and chill vibe that provides a nice compliment to the neighboring Marsh Theater.
Marsh Café is the alternative coffee shop to your fancy alternative coffee shops!

I don’t want to encourage anyone to go here by writing too much, but Marsh has easily become the go-​to café to go to if you want to get any work done.
With free wifi, good prices, and enough power outlets there’s little reason to not come.
The only disadvantages are that it gets crowded sometimes (emphasize sometimes) and they close at 10PM. Hopefully that makes you not want to go because I would still like to get a seat!

What coffee shop? There’s no coffee shop here!
*backs away slowly*
This is where you’ll find me most nights with my head buried in the books or eyes glued to the computer screen, absorbing as much accounting information as possible. There’s a big table for group discussions, free wifi, plenty of outlets to plug in, and simple drinks at simple prices.
Sometimes it gets crowded from the Marsh Theater crowd stopping in during intermission. Sometimes you’ll hear random stomping noises above [very likely the latest performance]; they’ve chained someone up in the room upstairs or something crazy like that. I guess the only other con I can think of is that it’s in the Mission and not the best place to find parking if you intend to drive. I’ll circle around the block for more than just a couple minutes sometimes…
Oh, and once a man came inside from the street and yelled out, «I’m going to kill you all!» and walked out.
The people who work there are very nice.

Easy place to work and the best selection of caffeinated and noncaffeinated teas I’ve ever seen. Of course, I’m referring to life in the café. I think the location is excellent, the people who work here are creative and laid back, so I can’t imagine a bad experience seeing a show here either. Until then though, I recommend this as a work station for any person who needs a home away from home or just needs to get away from their home so they can get some work done. There are plenty of snacks to eat, those teas I mentioned coffee, and one addictive sampling of chocolate cake — you can get it by the slice and I recommend that’s all you do.
Only minus is that they have, as one of the staff member put it, «the smallest trash can on valencia street.» If you really care about trashcans though, I don’t know…

Okay, STAY FAR AWAY. THIS PLACE BLOWS. SERIOUSLY.
(I’m hoping to scare off the riffraff there so they don’t dilute the quality of this place and ruin it for me. For those of you who read more carefully: good coffee. Tasty nibbles. Good prices. Friendly staff. Fast and free wifi. AMAZING music to the point of distraction. Quiet place to get work done. And a decent amount of indie-​girl eye candy if you’re into that.)
It’s a great place to get work done. Actually, no, between the music and the aforementioned indie-​girl eye candy, it’s a terrible place to get work done. I am sad that I don’t live within walking distance.
But seriously, don’t ruin it for me. STAY AWAY.
(Unless you are indie-​girl eye candy, of course.)

the best alternative to rituals!!! when rituals is on its good/​bad day! LOL
theatre and café. what more can you ask for? i was there for some quiet time. and the café never disappoint me. 4 stars because i was too naïve to be there. hahaha

The Marsh Café has a new look and new offerings, and I like! I’ll be back here more often now. Such a chill place, you feel like you could hang out forever, and they have this awesome cherry-​vanilla Republic of Tea that I’m now hooked on. Not to mention that you’re supporting The Marsh, one of the best theaters in the city!

I love this café. I come here to do work about once a week and there’s always plenty of space and the wi-​fi works great. The snack foods and drinks are super cheap and the tea is delicious. Also, they don’t get testy if you stay for hours, which is always an important consideration for me.
Jason who works here is super friendly and always plays fun music. Any coffee shop that can play Waiting Room by Fugazi works for me!

I did some studying here for a couple hours while I was waiting for the bf to arrive from LA on Friday night, and it was a good space for doing so. Also, tea is only $ 1.25 a cup (what is this, the ‘90s?!), and cookies are only $ 1 each. It’s a small place, but there weren’t that many people there, so it didn’t feel crowded at all.
My only complaint is that the jazz music was turned up kind of loud at times (a local station out of Santa Cruz, I think).
Additional points for a super clean bathroom. There’s also free wi-​fi, though I didn’t use it, so I’m not sure how the network is. The café is part of the Marsh theatre/​gallery, so you can feel good knowing you’re supporting an arts nonprofit while you’re there!

I came to Marsh over my regular Philz because they were open a little later on a Sunday night…
They also have REALLY cheap prices! Right now I’m unemployed and beyond broke, so I really appreciate the fact that I can get a tea for $ 1.25. Mmmm, Pomegranate Green Tea. Great selection.
The gentleman behind the counter was really nice.
The café was really quiet.
My tea was delicious.
I actually really like it here. Definitely think I’d choose this over a lot of other places I’ve been frequenting!

I love this place, it is affordable, quiet, and away from the yuppie scene of the Mission district (ie Ritual).
Clerks are offbeat and nice, make me want to come back again and again.
Thanks guys!

I’m a student so prices and atmosphere are really important to me (for studying purposes). The Marsh Café hits the spot!
$ 1.25 for a cup of tea (They have Republic of Tea brand… one of my favorites).
$ 1.00 for a cookie (Most places in The Mission charge 2+ for cookies, including the grocery stores!)
Anyways, the prices are more than reasonable. And it’s quiet and relaxing inside… no one’s screaming about post-​modernism and its implications in a blah blah blah (*cough* *cough* Ritual *cough*).
Visit The March Café!

Nice little café next to The Marsh. Usual décor — nice art on the walls, a small stage, etc.
Coffee was not bad, but not great. but only one dollar. yeah.
and free wifi.
³⁄₅ coffee
⁴⁄₅ atmosphere
⁴⁄₅ service
?/​5 food
⁵⁄₅ value