I’m always looking for good places to have brunch on Sundays in the city, and I’ve gotten tired of my usual haunts. As a result I’ve now been twice to Le Zinc, a cozy french bistro on 24th Street in Noe Valley. Somehow it manages to always avoid the crush of people on 24th, which is surprising, because I think the food is better than Savor or Miss Millies — both restaurants that have waiting lists 12 deep on Sunday at noon.
Max Braud, the chef at Le Zinc, says his first goal was to have “the cleanest restaurant in the city. If we can do that, everything else will come.” While I didn’t go poking around in his kitchen, I can certainly vouch for the public areas of the restaurant and the bathrooms, which were spotless. But cleanliness is something that we’re not supposed to notice, and you wouldn’t if you hadn’t been pointed to it — instead you’d notice that the restaurant is tastefully done, with warm lighting and dark stained wood. Local artists display (actually good art) on the walls and the rest of the decor is classic French Bistro: small tables, candles and wainscoting. On warm days, the back patio filters sunlight down through the leaves of fix and lime trees, and dogs are welcome.
The food is impeccably prepared. I’ve eaten a lot of eggs benedict in my day and they make one of the best I’ve had. Our last time there, Ruth got a crabcake benedict which was surprisingly light and delicious, and it was accompanied by crisp-on-the-outside soft perfectly salted fingerling potatos.
We haven’t been for dinner, but a glance at the menu reveals a reasonably priced wine list of many good French wines, appetizing dishes, and best of all a stellar list of freshly prepared desserts including house made sortbets, profiteroles with chocolate, etc. etc. We’ll be going back some evening for sure.
Brunch for two with a Latte and fresh squeezed orange juice ran us $35 including tax and tip.
Le Zinc
4063 24th Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
415.647.9400