The Buoy

Cuisine	Dessert
Price	$ (under 15)
Rating	7/10
Last Visit	Nov. 9, 2024
Location	SFBA: San Francisco: West

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General Notes

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The Buoy is a relatively new Korean dessert cafe that recently opened in Hayes Valley. This is one of the few places in SF that I've seen have einspanners on the menu (which I guess is not surprising, given that it's a Korean cafe). They're not as incredible as some of the ones I've had in Korea, but they're still super comforting. The food and drinks were pretty good, the ambiance is incredible -- it has a modern but comfortable aesthetic and it's really spacious (maybe the hype hasn't quite reached SF yet). Great place to hang out / catch up / go on a date / even study. The only downside is that unlike most Korean cafes, they close really early, so it doesn't function super well as a dessert cafe.

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Negatives

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> I haven't tried any of their sweets, but I've heard that their roll cakes are not that great. They make it with rice flour, which might have something to do with it.

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Dishes Tasted

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• ★★★☆ Ssuk Tiramisu -- pretty yummy, the ssuk flavor is not particularly strong though so it mostly just tastes like tiramisu.
• ★★☆☆ Kimchi Onion Jam Panini -- caramelized onions, sauteed kimchi, bacon, spread of fresh house-made herb aioli, mozzarella cheese. The pieces of kimchi are a little too big, and the dish feels generally a bit unbalanced (could use a touch more sweetness, a bit less cheese). But overall pretty good. The salad is way overdressed.
• ★★☆☆ Onigiri (kimchi + spam) -- it's ok
• ★☆☆☆ Onigiri (tuna) -- The texture of the tuna didn't meld super well for onigiri, and the taste is not particularly noteworthy
• ★★★★ Onigiri (crab) -- Also delicious!
• ★★★★ Onigiri (tempura) -- Delicious, love this combination.
• ★★★☆ Einspanner (black) -- delicious drink! would have liked a touch more cream and for the cream to be a bit more intensely "xiang", but otherwise delicious. Very unfortunate that they don't have this in decaf.
• ★★★☆ Einspanner (ssuk) -- ssuk I believe means mugwort powder; it's a green, herbaceous addition. It works pretty well, although definitely took me a bit to get used to. It's apparently pretty common in Chinese desserts.