San Francisco Salad Co. - Honolulu

I was informed by security this morning that taking photos of the Christmas lights in Tamarind Park is not allowed. So much for public access to this private park.

I got the Italian Sausage with Potato Soup and it came with bread and butter. I really liked it and it was more filling then I thought it would be. It is a little spicy.

Once upon a time in a land far away there was a college student working in a non-profit on Wall Street in New York City who had fallen deeply and madly in love with Hale and Hearty Soups, a build your own salad and soup establishment that left you feeling full and not stuffed. The college student eventually grew up, moved around quite a bit and found herself working for what seems like minimum wage in downtown Honolulu. Still lusting over the perfect soup and salad lunch, this now grown salad enthusiast searched near and far for something to fit the craving.Enter San Francisco Salads. Now this place is NO Hale and Hearty Soups. There is no build your own salads, there is no wide variety of soups, BUT what they do have is freshly made, well prepared salads and delicious soups, even if the choices can be a bit monotonous. Where San Francisco Salads succeeds is in the quality not quantity of their offerings. All salad offerings are named after places/neighborhoods in San Francisco and run the gamut of a regular house type salad to several salad options with chicken to include caesar, oriental, greek, chef's salad, etc. and a salad option with salmon. You can tell the salads are prepared fresh daily and contain quality ingredients. The soup offerings are tomato basil, tortilla, sausage and potato and chicken and wild rice. I have only tried the tomato basil and the torilla soup but both are delicious with the tomato basil being a favorite. You also can select your choice of dressing and bread. Extra bread can be purchased for $1 apiece and soft drinks are also available for purchase. San Francisco Salads is a one man show with who I assume is the owner taking orders, payments and packing orders to go. Despite being a one-man operation, the wait is never too long and service is efficient, though not too friendly. While I'll always miss the make my own salad option of years past, this place is perfection for days I don't have home lunch and I'm not looking to induce a diabetic coma by ordering plate lunch.

Overall: tasty salad for quick pickup Parking: downtown so try the Alii parking structure or street Cleanliness: clean Ambiance: chill pickup lunch space Noise level: quiet (no tables inside) Recommend dish: whatever you like with the sesame dressing Service: friendly Good bang for your buck?: yup, pretty good deal for downtown Would I come again?: yes! Fun tip/fact: just check out what's in the display case to see what he has; never know what he has in stock This is my go to salad place. Consistently, the greens are fresh, clean, the chicken is low fat, and it's always ready to go. Usually the salads are enough for a meal or two, especially if you paid it with a bread or soup. The owner is also very nice and remembers my order. ~Enjoy!

I couldn't make a fresher salad if I tried. Very decent sized salads for under $10. And I dig that they come in reusable containers.