Say Cheese

This is my guilty pleasure in SF.
Yeah, yeah, it’s gourmet snacks that normally fly in the face of the health-​minded folk of the city. Nothing in here aside from the wine and olives is Vegan, so if you’re about that you won’t like this place. If you don’t really care, and want to eat some amazing cheese, charcuterie, sandwiches, olives, and other favorites this place is incredible.
The selection here is impressive, but the absolute best part about this place is the service. It’s daunting to walk into a place where things you may have never seen before are stacked on the shelves. There are dozens and dozens of types of cheese, from smooth to funky, and from every kind of farm animal that has nipples. Not sure what to try? Ask for a recommendation. The people behind the counter are super friendly, helpful, and will tell you honestly if you can get a better bang for your buck with a different product.
I walked in one time and said that I was looking for some raw cow and goat cheese, something interesting, but not too funky. Then I wanted something that was crazy weird and interesting. I found exactly what I wanted, along with some complementary salamis. I was about to pick up a small round of triple cream cheese and the person behind the counter said he had something way better (and cheaper). He was right. He then did it again when I wanted to buy the standard table water crackers. Again, right on the nose and that’s all I buy nowadays.
Over the last three years I’ve been here dozens of times, often for a special occasion (wine, cheese, and book dates at Golden Gate Park). One evening I stopped in, they were trying to get rid of some inventory. They tossed a bottle of red wine in with my purchase for the hell of it. It was delicious.

Woooooow-​whee! This place is an absolute gem.
Say Cheese is the first spot in San Francisco that made me feel like I was in Europe. (I come from two European imports and go back to visit frequently :)). The store is small but bursting at the seams with incredible cheeses, meats, wine and candies.
After our first visit, we left dreaming about the sandwiches. I quickly scanned the menu while we were inside and couldn’t wait to return and order one (we unfortunately came right after getting lunch elsewhere).
The wait was worth it.
I got the Black Forest Ham on wheat with Mendocino mustard, cambazola cheese, arugula, tomatoes, onion and pickle — WOW. Wow, wow, wow. (There is no better word for the food here, sorry.) It was absolutely divine.
My friend got the Rosemary Smoked Ham on wheat and was just as thrilled. The sound effects from both of us while we were eating were hysterical. There were many «mmmmmm“s along with «Oh my gosh…» and «DAMN!»
Both sandwiches survived an hour-​long drive to Mt. Tam plus two hours of hiking — bouncing around a backpack — before we stopped to devour them. I can’t imagine a better moment; eating a Say Cheese sandwich during golden hour on Mount Tam is a dream come true. The only thing you have to do is bite in and savour all the goodness that is life.

Top quality sandwiches, and a ton of good wine and cheeses to choose from. We ordered the caprese and jamon serrano sandwiches and picked up a couple bottles of red. Both excellent. This will be my go-​to sandwich shop even though I’m not in the neighborhood!

Slowest service ever. Food is good, though pricey and nice selection but if there’s more than one customer in the store, be prepared to wait a looonnnnggg time.

Roger and the crew are amazing. The cheese selection is amazing, and the salami is delicious. Even though I’m not a sandwich lover, their sandwiches are amazing.

Say Cheese is golden. Their cheese selection is unparalleled and their wines are killer, and highly curated. I’ve never had a bad experience with this place. If you find yourself in Cole Valley, go here. Be warned though, it’s easy to totally blow it out on wine and cheeses — they let you sample cheeses and literally none of them are bad.

They have a great selection of cheese and wine and assorted dips and tapenades that will fancify you for any dinner party.
They also make great sandwiches — WHEN they have bread! The proprietors pride themselves on being cheese heads, which is all one can ask for from a specialty shop like this. The problem is they view the sandwich business as far less important and even a nuisance.
I can’t forecast their cheese v. sandwich revenues but one could easily say +60% of their foot traffic is sandwich focused and therefore also a core driver for derivative cheese sales.
But don’t tell them that! To actually stock bread and other sandwich items would make them a sandwich shop, which they are too important to care about.
Try ordering a sandwich from them 5 times; you’ll be left empty handed on at least 2 of those occasions. I’ve been left at the alter by their sandwich mismanagement too many times that I now I even buy my fancy cheese and well-​to-​do snacks elsewhere, too.
3 stars because its great stuff. 3 stars because they often disappoint.

It doesn’t get any better than this. I’m so lucky we picked cole valley to live in when moving to SF, because Say Cheese is a godsend! And I don’t like anything else in CV. Just CHEEEEESE.
Every staff member is knowledgable and helpful, but don’t go in looking for a bunch of free samples. Their selection is incredible, I love challerhocker. Try it.
We’ve come in multiple times looking for fondue cheeses and every combination we’ve tried has been drop dead delicious. So much so, that we don’t go out for fondue anymore.
Their selection of meats is also so yummy. I love this place. Love love love.

I saw this place listed on a blog (SF Eater, Epic SF Sandwiches to Eat Before You Die) as having one of the best sandwiches in SF — Jamon Serrano with manchego, romesco sauce, and arugula on Dutch crunch! Well, I had to check it out since I was in the area to volunteer. It was a nice day so I took my sandwich outside on the bench in front of the store to enjoy, and enjoy I did! Super fresh ingredients meld together to make this sandwich delectable to all your taste buds. Mmmm mmm, yes, it is definitely a reason to go to Cole Valley to try this sandwich, and buy some wine and cheese to take home.

Say Cheese is one of my favorite spots in Cole Valley. The staff is incredibly nice and are always up to give you suggestions on cheese, wines, and sandwiches. I strongly recommend grabbing some sandwiches from Say Cheese and walking to Golden Gate Park for an awesome picnic.
They do beautiful gift baskets and parties too!

Amazing service! The man helped us pick out an amazing red wine, cheese and salami. It was all so perfect! Plus who doesn’t love to sample cheese!

Abso-​effin-​lutely one of the highlights of Cole Valley. Consistently, the staff are über knowledgable, friendly and damn passionate about cheese (& wine!). It’s fun to present them with a scenario, then they seem to know exactly what to select. Example: We’re headed to a dinner party of 8 people tonight. We’re having seafood appetizers but also pork as the entrée. BOOM! 5 different cheeses are selected, we taste all, decide on 3, go with their red and bubbly recommendation, walk into the dinner party like WHADDUP I got a big block… of Camembert for you, dear friends.
Le sigh.

This place is awesome! The whole staff is welcoming and super excited about cheese! Everything is so fresh and delicious. Don’t even get me started with the cheese selection, can anyone say Comte!
So to answer Ian c.‘s review he needs to grab a bottle of wine and chill out. These are the best sandwiches in the Bay Area, calm down about your chicken. Also I bet he paid with cash, so what is more dirty cash or the sandwich makers arm?
Hats off to say cheese, Ian c. You got some issues.

I’ve heard good things from other, but they have to succeed for me. They are out of something so for my last three visits, have not been able to offer me the sandwich that I want. Its not little things either, last two times they are out of chicken?! So, no chicken sandwiches at all?
Also, the last time they were able to make me a sandwich that I wanted, the guy making it didn’t wash his hands (he had previously been staking shelves) and didn’t wear gloved either. He handled everything with his unwashed dirty hands. So…

Doing it right.
Best sandwiches in cole valley, friendliest, most informed staff. I’m not really a cheese person, but I really dig almost everything in this place.
Amazing wine selection, as well.

Great staff. They seem very knowledgeable and even better, they are passionate about what they sell
Great deli with fantastic food. Lots of cheeses for sample and purchase. Homemade sandwiches are really good. Had fresh prosciutto and mozzarella with a bit of fresh olive oil. OH MY GOODNESS!
This is now on our must go to places on our trips to the city!

In the heart of Cole Valley, Say Cheese is seriously killing it. I would normally feel like a complete idiot walking into a store like this because everything looks so fancy, but the staff immediately acknowledges your presence and asks what you’re looking for today. Sometimes you know exactly what you want, other times you have no idea. Either way, everyone is so helpful and really knows their cheese… and best meats and wines to pair with this fabulous dairy product. In addition to cheese, this place makes some bomb ass sandwiches and you won’t pay an arm and a leg for one (around $ 8).
Whether you are looking to impress a new hottie with a gourmet spread or need to feed your sharp cheddar craving, Say Cheese is definitely one of the best places in SF to hit up. I promise, you will LOVE! #colevalleyforlife

My favorite part about Say Cheese is that I can walk in, tell them what I’m looking for, and then feel like a celebrity. All for just buying freaking delicious cheese. I’ve never met a staff member whose been rude, or not knowledgeable about the various cheeses on display. My personal favorite is the ricotta di limone. It’s ricotta cheese that tastes like pound cake. Heaven.
Next time you go in, ask if they have the cheese that tastes like lemon pound cake. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!
We’ve gone in before and told them the occasion, what we want to buy for, and for how many people. They don’t up-​sell at all and honestly just care about your experience. Best cheese shop in the city.
Also, please don’t forget to call me when this lemon pound cake cheese comes in.

Fantastic, fantastic place! After spending a half hour tasting and learning and sampling and a little dancing I walked away with an aged manchego, a nice gouda, gorgonzola and a cheese I’d never tried before that smelled like the streets of Taiwan but tasted so, so good. Also there was a decent charcuterie selection, I loved the truffle mousse.
This will be the go to place for schmancyfancypants dinner parties. Also don’t microwave the stinky cheese to melt it. Your house will never be the same.

******************************* 937 *******************************
Loving this cheese shop. While waiting for Zazie, we came in here, nice surprise, snack, cheese, some wines, and more cheese.
The gentleman that helped us, let us try the stinky blue cheese. He asked what we liked and gave us exactly just that, that beautiful stinky creamy blue cheese from France, arrrrr! We indulged with the crackers, we couldn’t wait for Zazie!
Tiny little shop, I’m not fat but I got a hard to navigate because the shop was packed on Sat. I was so afraid I’m gonna knock everything off the shelves. I’m clumsy and this shop makes me nervous. Other than that, good price point. If I’m in the area again, I would definitely come here to buy more cheese. SAY CHEESE!

Komijnekaas hier.