SF Eats: Stonemill Matcha
Stonemill Matcha, San Francisco's first all matcha-focused boutique cafe finally opened, but I was super excited to be invited to a preview luncheon last week to get a first look at this fancy new spot! As soon as you walk in, it already feels very zen with all wood paneling and an open space with some seating in a connected room. My eyes were immediately drawn to the super cute tables they had set up for us with trays of pastries on them.
You'll find a mix of Tartine Manufactory and their own sweet pastries at Stonemill Matcha. The Tartine ones include an exclusive matcha croissant that will only be available there, plus interesting sweet and savory options like a Kinako & Orange Morning Bun, Furikake Everything Croissant, and Chashu Danish. The Stonemill Matcha desserts included matcha cream puffs (with puff pastry on the bottom for added texture), black sesame cream puffs, cake rolls, fluffy cheesecakes, chocolate tarts, matcha tarts, and more. I seriously couldn't get over how beautiful and delicious each item was 😍 I could go back again and again for just the desserts.
The matcha drinks menu is also pretty extensive! I got a Genmaicha Cold Brew and Iced Ginger Matcha Latte, and both were tasty. I'm a big fan of ginger though so the latter was probably my favorite. Be warned...it has a huge ginger kick so you'll want to take a small sip at first to gauge how much you like it!
On the savory side of things, I liked pretty much everything they let us try at this lunch 😋 They started us off with a salad, thick brioche toast with red bean and matcha butter, and chicken katsu sandwiches. I am now a matcha butter convert and need it in my life, k thanks! The savory sweet combo on brioche was so good and I loved the toasty soft bread texture. The chicken katsu sandwiches they gave us were actually 1 serving, so if you're hungry this could really fill you up! The chicken was perfectly cooked and still had the crispy fried shell because it was made so fresh—YUM!
After these tasty dishes, we were served more filling and larger entree-style dishes: their take on jook plus a tasty salmon over rice dish. The salmon dish was matchazuke with salmon & nori, and they poured this savory matcha broth around it so the rice absorbed the flavors. It was the perfect pairing for the salmon because the broth was so delicate that it didn't overpower the fish. So good!
The chicken okayu (the jook) was honestly probably my favorite dish (I know, I know, I have said this a few times already 😝), but it was SO GOOD. It wasn't a huge portion, but I'm sure one bowl on it's own is plenty filling. It was served with different mushrooms, an egg that was poached or sous vide, some seaweed, and a spice mix for you to sprinkle on top of everything. It was rich and savory and tasted like delicious home cooking!
To round out the whole meal, they served up handmade lavender ice cream topped with a matcha sauce—their matcha affogato. The ice cream had a strong lavender flavor that could be off-putting if you're not into those floral flavors, but it paired nicely with the matcha! The lunch ended with gift bags containing authentic Japanese matcha whisks wrapped up in these adorable little kitchen towels.
Hands down, I had a great experience at Stonemill Matcha and I thought the space was really well done. It's not super big so I imagine it will be very crowded on a regular basis, and with not that much seating it won't be easy to hang out with friends there. Despite that, I think the food and drink available make this a spot worth checking out, especially if you have a sweet tooth or are a matchaholic! Here's the full menu of items we got:
