3251 20th Ave, Suite 172
San Francisco CA 94132
(628) 256-6013
Parking: mall parking lot
Last Visited: December 8, 2021
Food: 2 stars (note I only tried the cool pancake)
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 4 stars
Price: $$ to $$$
While Gram is known for its start in Japan and for premium pancakes, especially the hot ones (their signature), note that this review is for cool premium pancakes only. Gram offers a variety of the Asian version of cafe style food - regular sweet pancakes, savory pancakes, fried snacks, curry bento, rice and spaghetti dishes, and their signature souffle pancakes. Instead of seeing giant stuffed animals, imagine seeing fluffy stuffed giant pancakes - almost like a pillow you could hug.
Frankly, I experienced sticker shock when I arrived at Gram. Those fluffy hot pancakes with 2 or 3 stacked on top of each other and some lovely cream have been showing up on my various social media feeds for a while. I had every intention of getting a hot premium original souffle pancake (stack of 3), but it's a commitment. First, it's the 30 minute wait; this dish is offered for dine-in only. Second, the price for this stack of 3 original style pancakes is $17. I was thinking about whether I really wanted to do this considering I also had 2 mochi donuts awaiting me and how I wanted to spend my time since I had taken this day off from work, so instead, I went for a cool premium pancake.
- Cool Premium Pancakes - Offered in original, matcha, oreo, salted egg, strawberry, and seasonal flavors, I figured that if it's good cold, it will be even better hot. Pictured here are the original and matcha. While the pancake is not too sweet and it was delicate and soft, the mixture of the custard and the pancake both being refrigerated (versus one at room temperature or custard that might be like ice cream in coldness) meant that the contrast of temperature was missing. As you can see here, the matcha, while flavored well, could have been presented better where the seam of the piping bag could have been on the inside of the pancake 'sandwich.' You can upgrade the flavors by adding salted egg for $2 or sesame for $1. The texture of the filling is on the denser side which means that it holds up, but well, I just wasn't wowed by this experience. I'm not sure I would go back for the hot ones based on this experience, and I'm unlikely to get the cold ones again. $5 each or $20 for four
On the plus side, the guy working the front counter was completely patient with me and asked if he could answer any questions since I mentioned that I had never been there before. He was certainly kind and that was greatly appreciated.
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