Stonemill matcha (SF mission)

Stopped by on I believe the second day of stonemill matcha’s opening. About 2 PM there was a steady bustle with a friendly floor staffer trying up steer the line into something sensible. I opted to grab things from the pastry case to go along with a ginger matcha latte. I got the last of the matcha croissants, a chashu danish, and a kinako morning bun, all tartine creations I believe.

I don’t think the matcha does much for the croissant, despite the gorgeous coloring when you tear into it. There was a subtle astringency that I thought was a bit lost in an otherwise standard tartine croissant. I find theirs to be both a little too large and baked a bit darker than I would prefer, and I don’t think this new matcha one stands up to that extra toastiness. Still a very fine pastry. The chashu danish was far more interesting: a square of puff pastry with subdued pork cubes, with kale (I believe) and matcha dusting. I wouldn’t have thought “chashu” if it wasn’t so named, as this was nothing like the red, sticky char siu filling you might think of. It was a bit sweet, offset by the savory greens. The kinako morning bun was quite good as well. The roasted, nutty soy flour matched the sweetness of the bun nicely.

I liked my ginger matcha latte. It wasn’t very hot, I’m guessing due to the lower temperature of tea vs espresso, but I like the warming ginger with the gentle frothy matcha.

I’m curious to go try stonemill’s own kitchen offerings, especiallly the matchazuke and the okayu. In this neighborhood I doubt this place will ever achieve anything resembling the serenity of a “cha-no-ma.” I think I’m more interested in the pastry case than anything, as I love Japanese bakeries. I wish I could remember more of what was on offer, but I was watching the dwindling number of matcha croissants afraid they’d sell out. Which they did, to me (phew) although as I’ve said this was my least favorite of my trio.

Oh not that there would be anything WRONG with me finishing the lot all by myself, but for the record I took them to share with a friend at work. Those croissants really are quite big. Sorry for picture quality, I was in a poorly lit room.

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After eating at Mixt for lunch I went to Stonemill Matcha for dessert. It’s a small shop with some seating, but not enough. When I was in line I noticed only 1 table left that I was able to grab and this was on Fri 6/1/18 in the afternoon.

I ordered:

Ginger matcha latte $5.5 - it’s a medium sized cup that if you have there, they bring to you. It takes a bit of time to get so can’t be in a rush.

I also got a chocolate chip cookie $3 - it was ok, too salty for me, I did finish it though. I think I read that Tartine makes their pastries.

They have some regular food on the menu, I didn’t pay attn to it.

I walked by on Sunday 6/3/18 and they have a line to get into the shop so if you want to eat there best to go early.

Hrs:
Daily 8am-6pm

Stonemill Matcha
561 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110




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