Alnico

1050 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110, United States
+1 415-757-0889
$$$ Filipino restaurant , Brunch restaurant
(241 Reviews)
Price Range $20–30

Alnico presents a focused Filipino brunch experience tucked into the lively stretch of Valencia Street in the Mission District. It’s a full-service restaurant that draws a crowd looking for a mix of familiar breakfast comforts with distinct Filipino twists, making it a worthwhile stop for those wanting to explore this cuisine beyond typical lunch or dinner hours.

The atmosphere at Alnico is casual but energized, with a modest space that tends to fill up quickly, especially as the mid-morning brunch rush approaches. Arriving early can make a significant difference in avoiding long waits—a common theme among visitors. The crowd is a mix of locals craving weekend brunch and groups celebrating occasions like Mother’s Day, often bringing a festive but laid-back vibe. The staff’s passion for the food shines through, even when the service flow can get a bit uneven during busy times.

What stands out here are the inventive uses of ube, a Filipino purple yam, featured both visually and in flavor, from drinks reminiscent of Vietnamese iced coffee to hotcakes that benefit from a generous dip in ube sauce. Traditional dishes such as chicken and waffles and short ribs with rice find a welcome place on the menu, delivering hearty and satisfying plates that arrive fresh and hot. Portions can be generous, leading many to recommend sharing or ordering smaller plates if you’re not planning a big meal.

For drinks, Alnico offers a small but interesting selection of sparkling wines and regional whites and reds that complement the brunch offerings without overwhelming the casual nature of the dining. Parking in the area is relatively easier compared to more central Northern Mission spots, thanks to surrounding residential streets, although it’s always wise to allow time for a bit of searching during peak hours.

In short, Alnico serves best as a weekend brunch destination for those interested in Filipino flavors with a contemporary brunch twist, suited for groups who don’t mind holding a brief spot in line and appreciate lively neighborhood energy. The vibe is especially welcoming before the late morning crowd gathers, providing a relaxed window to savor both the food and the Mission’s eclectic streetscape.

What they serve
Serves alcohol
Serves coffee
Serves wine
Best for
Serves breakfast
Serves brunch
Serves lunch
Serves dessert
241 Reviews
Amanda C. Sun

27 Dec 2025

We came here with reservations for Mothers Day and had to still wait a little before we got seated due to the table before taking their time. Everything was solid! My mom and sis loved the ube coffee drink and I liked my regular ube drink. The pancakes are good but you must have every bite dipped in the ube sauce. Next time, we can go for the smaller portion to share vs a whole order. The sesame chicken wings with waffles had delicious sesame flavor that was strong on the waffles which we were a fan of. The loco moco was the best one! The sauce was so rich and tasty! Highly recommend and service was great :)

Joshua Yuan

16 Dec 2025

You need your whole group here to be seated. It seems to get busy closer to 11am. Talk to the host and be added to their wait-list when you get here. Parking shouldn't be too bad (compared to more central mission) as there are a lot of residential streets around. Our server didn't give us any water refills, and kept asking us if we were done eating even though there was definitely lots of food on our plate and it was only 30 and 45 minutes into our meal... Food is quite yummy though and good portion size. The drinks were really good too - Uber horchata is nice and so is the strawberry calamansi. My favorite was the chicken porridge. Enjoy!

Josh Rennert

04 Dec 2025

A Filipino-style brunch, what’s not to love. Yes, the wait can be quite long during peak hours, but we arrived reasonably early and were able to be seated right away. The chicken and waffles, as well as the short ribs with rice, were delicious. The signature ube made for beautiful drinks like the Vietnamese Iced Coffee or the Ube Hotcakes. However, the taste may not be as enticing as the visuals suggest. With that said, the food was very good and all in all the restaurant was a great choice for brunch. Recommended.

Hector Pacheco

21 Nov 2025

The pancakes and chicken waffles are expertly prepared, arriving fresh and hot. Upon discovering this spot, I noticed the lengthy queue, so you know it’s good and worth the wait. Arriving before the noon rush ensured a peaceful atmosphere. The staff is incredibly friendly, clearly passionate about their craft. The flavors were delightfully infectious, and the sauces were generously portioned. The wings were perfectly crispy without being greasy. Coming back with friends.

Jubriel Meneses

28 Oct 2025

Food: 10 out of 10 would recommend. Honestly, if everything else--service, ambiance, wait times--were horrible, I'd still recommend going, just for the food. We were fatties and ordered way too much (Bistek, Tito Boi, Ube Mini Pancake Stack, Turon). It was all good. Just a heads up the mini pancake stack of ube is PLENTY. Unless you're carbo loading for some athletic event the mini pancake stack hits the sweet spot. Seriously, go get the food there. Oh and we got the Matcha Latte and Vietnamese Coffee with Ube. Also delicious. I wish we could taste more Ube with the Coffee but , its to be expected, as with most things coffee related, coffee tends to be the dominant flavor profile. The food arrived in a relatively quick manner. Considering how packed it was, I was expecting the food to take a really long time, but it didn't. I'd say about an average wait period. Service: Absolutely fantastic. They were attentive without hovering, friendly without being too pushy, and were there when you needed them. What else could you ask for. Additionally, I was able to ask them to switch out my longinisa for vegetarian sausage (it was delicious btw). They did it all with zero fuss Ambiance: The place is really sunny and bright, nicely decorated as well, and since they're so busy there's a constant humdrum of social conversation. Honestly, their popularity is a bit of a double edged sword here because the only noticeably "negative" thing that I could point out is that the place was very crowded and the tables are kind of close together. Even that kind of goes away once the food arrives lol. A stomach full of delicious ube pancakes and what is essentially shrimp and grits will often do that . Wait List: Because of it's popularity, I'd recommend doing a reservation. They say wait times are usually about an hour. However, because we're both lazy and impulsive we just decided to walk up, and despite being fully packed we were seated in like 15 minutes. Another kudos!

CRISTINA BAUTISTA

17 Oct 2025

The food was savory and really good. We enjoyed all we ordered that we shared. Ordered the famous ube pancakes and the sauce that comes with it was so good. The chicken and waffle was delish and chicken porridge was totally different,,the spice and the crunches of the garlic was amazing. I will definitely come back.

Anna Sheu

13 Oct 2025

Food and drink we very tasty! Pork belly was tender, waffles in the waffles and chicken wings were just right, and the shrimp and grits and poached chicken congee were great. Drinks were also fun and refreshing. The ube pancake was very photo worthy though not our favourite as it was fairly sweet. Appreciated how you could make reservations via Yelp.

Elizabeth Cortez

20 Sep 2025

My friend and I have been wanting to try this place out. We've been seeing posts and articles about the food and were curious. We decided to have brunch at Alnico on a Saturday at 11. My friend took a while to find parking, but she came just in time for us to get seated. It took about 20 minutes of waiting in a virtual line, but we luckily got seated quicker coz most of the other parties were bigger. I got the chicken wings and waffle and the mango mansi drink. My friend got their version of a loco moco and the ube latte. We decided to share the ube pancakes. Flavors were good and I really enjoyed the sauce on the pancakes. Wished I got something alcoholic. The interior is lacking and the staff basically rushed us to pay and leave. Can't blame them coz they were pretty busy. Is it worth another visit? I'd go if someone else wants to try it. Edit: went again with a different set of friends. We were seated outside at around 1pm. Better service coz they weren't in a hurry to get us out of there. The rib-eye Bistek was delicious! And as always, the ube pancakes had to be ordered. Everyone loved it.

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