Sears Fine Foods has been serving up Swedish Pancakes since 1938. The original owner, Ben Sears, was a retired circus clown who inherited the perfect Swedish pancake recipe from his Swedish wife.

The original location (500 block of Powell Street) had quite a reputation for the novelty of its Cadillac waiting room! What is that you say? Yes it is true, the owners at that time (Mrs. Brenner) used to park two pink Cadillacs in front of the restaurant with the heaters and radios on to shelter the waiting crowds. 

In 1964 the restaurant moved to the location it is in today. Alas the restaurant underwent an extensive remodel in 2004 that stripped it of all it’s retro glory. The one redeeming quality is that they do still showcase many
photos of the original restaurant.

The Dames decided a trip to Sears Fine Food should be themed “Breakfast for Dinner”! Each Dame wore a favorite vintage apron and we hosted our own runway (well really just a strut around our 10 person table) showing off each of our aprons for the delight of all the ladies (and some of the patrons sitting at the bar). The speciality of Sears Fine Food is the 18 Swedish Pancakes for $10.85. Many of the girls ordered pancakes and hearty salads taking the breakfast for dinner idea to the next level. The vegetarian pasta was greasy and too garlic-y but the creamed spinach received many ooohhh and ahhhs from the ladies many of them proclaiming it the BEST CREAMED SPINACH YET!! The dessert was a butterscotch pudding served with whipped cream and ginger brandy snaps – a creamy delicious dessert. On your way out make sure to get your photo taken with the gorgeous vintage Sears Fine Food neon sign. Truly a San Francisco landmark even without the decor or the pink Cadillac’s parked out front.

Overall Dames aux Gateaux Rating (1, lowest – 5, highest)
Ambiance – 2 Dames forks
Service – 3 Dames forks
Food – 3 Dames forks
Cocktails – 3 Dames forks
Dessert – 5 Dames forks (for the butterscotch pudding!)

Sears Fine Foods
439 Powell St
San Francisco, CA 94102
http://www.searsfinefood.com