Sarah & I had a late brunch this morning at the newly-reopened Metro Kathmandu (formerly Metro Cafe). The brunch menu looked identical to Metro Cafe’s, slightly french, but mostly typical brunch fare (chorizo hash, benedicts, goat cheese & spinach omelette), with the addition of a curried lamb burger.

The interior has gotten quite a makeover, and is now very red, with black accents and minimal decor. It’s nice in a modern sort of way. We sat by the window and enjoyed people-watching along Divisadero St.

I started with a Bloody Mary ($7), a good, but not great, rendition of this classic brunch cocktail, and Sarah had a chai ($2), served in a french-style cappucino bowl-mug. Chorizo is nearly irresistable to me, so I had to get the chorizo hash ($10), while Sarah, who has much the same relationship with both crab cakes and benedicts as I do with chorizo, had no choice but to try the crab cakes benedict ($10).

Our dishes arrived in short order, and both proved to be good – my hash consisted of a small pile of al dente potatoes topped by chorizo, a dollop of creme fraiche, and two poached eggs. The creme fraiche did a lot to elevate the texture and richness of the dish, and it was a good balance of spicy (from the chorizo) and creamy (from the creme fraiche and egg yolks). Sarah enjoyed her benedict as well, although she’s had better recently.

Service was fine, and the total was a reasonable $31, after tax, before tip. I thought the new Metro Kathmandu was at least as good as, and possibly better than, the Metro Cafe which preceded it, and look forward to trying some of their “nepalese” dinner items (nearly all of which are familiar Indian dishes, but oh well).

My rating: Good

Metro Kathmandu (website)
311 Divisadero St.
(between Page & Oak)
San Francisco, CA (map)
(415)552-0903