The orange chairs at 639 San Anselmo Ave. have chrome frames. The counter is faced in forest green tile from Clé in San Rafael. A mural of old San Anselmo by San Rafael artist Stella Prichard runs along one wall, and the old Hilda's sign hangs next to the bathroom door. That room is now Tasty Delicious. According to the Marin Independent Journal, it opened in late September after a year of rebuilding.
For decades people came to this spot for German-style pancakes. The new menu has burgers, fried chicken, fries, soft serve and shakes. The team that rebuilt the corner picked up one branch of the town's diner history first and put the pancake branch at the end of the list.
Sixty-five years of breakfast, then a gut renovation
Hilda's Coffee Shop opened downtown in 1960, first across the street from the address everyone knows. The Pitch, the student paper at Archie Williams High School, reported that founder Tor Nielsen named it for his wife, Hilda. Darleen and Brian Young bought it in 1978 and ran it until 2006, and then their daughter, Sue Kirton, ran it until September 2025. The paper described the menu as classic American: burgers, fries, scrambled eggs, eggs Benedict, omelets and the German-inspired pancakes the place was known for. It also called Hilda's one of the few breakfast spots in downtown San Anselmo during those 65 years.
The building is why it closed. The Pitch reported problems with the plumbing, electrical, flooring and windows. Pat Townsley, owner of Creekside Pizza & Taproom across the street, bought the business and told the paper, "This building was substandard in every way. ... It's a health and safety concern."
The IJ described the fix as extensive work on deferred maintenance to bring the space up to current building, health and accessibility codes. San Anselmo architect Bill O'Callaghan and the San Francisco construction company Cookline, which also worked on Mamahuhu in Mill Valley, handled that work.
The time an old building needs before it can serve food again explains why the corner sat closed from fall 2025 to fall 2026. It also explains why the first version of the new restaurant is a simpler one.
The menu follows the drive-in side of the family
The IJ traced San Anselmo's burger-and-shake tradition to two places from the late 1950s and early '60s, Jeep's Drive-In and Hilda's Coffee Shop, followed by Bubba's Diner in the mid-'90s. The paper said that history of nearly a century inspired the team behind Tasty Delicious. Operations manager Ryan Soifer told the IJ, "We built this for the community, honoring what came before us but at the same time, blazing our own path."
You can see the lineage on the walls and on the menu. Bubba's original clock hangs near the kitchen. The Bubba's Burger is the restaurant's smash burger, with thin crisp edges, pepper jack, fresh jalapeños, grilled onions and Firecracker Sauce. Designer Ann Lowengart of Ann Lowengart Interiors, who lives locally, wrote on Instagram that her brief was a 1960s- and '70s-era burger joint in the style of Inverness. Her room has a wood-slatted ceiling, paneled walls and a deep green banquette backed in '70s floral print.
Chef and general manager Jackson Palmer grew up in Mill Valley and cooked at State Bird Provisions in San Francisco. He then worked at pub and burger restaurants in Colorado and most recently at Creekside. Before the flat-top went in, he tested burger blends at Creekside across the street, cooking two patties at a time in a cast-iron skillet, and settled on a custom 80-20 Black Angus blend.
The prices are low on purpose. The IJ reported that the team wanted the place to be cheap enough for people of all ages to come often. This is the current menu on tastydeliciousca.com:
| Item | Price | What's on it |
|---|---|---|
| Tasty | $10 | 4-oz patty, American cheese, caramelized onions, pickles, Tasty Sauce |
| Backyard | $12 | Adds lettuce, tomato, raw onion, ketchup, mustard |
| Bubba's Burger | $13 | Pepper jack, fresh jalapeños, grilled onions, Firecracker Sauce |
| Double Tasty | $14 | Two 4-oz patties |
| The Otherside | $12 | Buttermilk-brined crispy chicken sandwich |
| The Palmer | $13 | Crispy chicken Caesar wrap |
| Hand-cut fries | $5 | Cut daily, twice fried |
| Sidewinders | $6 | Twisted fries, part curly fry and part wedge |
| Hand-spun shake | $6 | Vanilla, chocolate, Oreo, strawberry |
| Soft serve | $5 | Vanilla, chocolate, swirl |
A few details for regulars. A black-bean patty can replace the beef on any burger at no charge, and gluten-free buns cost $3 extra. A "Yumbo" adds fries and a drink for $5. The kids' menu, called Little Tasties, has a $7 burger and $8 chicken tenders. Monthly specials, called Wild Tales, are posted on the restaurant's Instagram. The shake and soft-serve ingredients are local too. The IJ reported that the soft serve uses high-butterfat milk from the Jersey herd at Valley Ford Cheese & Creamery, and the shakes get a splash of Clover whole milk.
A diner that seats more people outside than inside
The dining room is 12 feet wide and seats about 34 people. The new street-side parklet holds about 50. Most of the corner's seats are now on the street, which suits an afternoon and evening burger stop better than a long breakfast in a booth.
The IJ reported that the parklet was built with angled corners to improve sightlines for drivers and pedestrians at the crosswalk. The paper also said a retractable waterproof canopy was on the way, which would make the outdoor seats usable in Ross Valley's rainy months.
The IJ reported that, starting October 5, the restaurant would be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. That's lunch, after-school and dinner. The website lists the address, the phone number (415-419-5227) and online ordering marked "coming soon," so call ahead to confirm hours.
Why the pancakes come last
Breakfast is in the plan. The IJ reported that a coffee-shop-style breakfast was planned for later this year and would include Hilda's pancakes. The restaurant's own breakfast FAQ explains the order: "Once we get the lunch & dinner rhythm perfect, we'll get on this."
That order makes sense for this team. The managing partner's other restaurant is a pizza and tap room. The chef's recent experience is in pub and burger kitchens. The burger blend was developed across the street before the new kitchen existed. The team started with the meals it already knows how to run in that tight 12-foot room.
For now, the place Hilda's ran as a breakfast counter for 65 years is a lunch and dinner counter, and breakfast downtown happens at other spots on the avenue.
Where downtown mornings happen in the meantime
Marin Magazine's August 2026 San Anselmo dining guide named five breakfast picks: M.H. Bread and Butter, Comforts Cafe, Bubbala's, Longway and Marin Coffee Roasters. The guide recommends checking each restaurant's website and social channels for current hours. These three cover most of what Hilda's used to offer:
- Comforts Cafe, 335 San Anselmo Ave. The guide says it has been feeding the neighborhood since 1986 and lists it for sit-down breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch. It also appears on the guide's "best for kids" list.
- M.H. Bread and Butter, 101 San Anselmo Ave. Coffee, pastries, artisan bread and a seasonal brunch menu. The guide says its "front porch" patio is busy in the mornings and lists it as dog-friendly.
- Bubbala's, 906 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. A breakfast-and-lunch cafe and deli. The guide's listing focuses on grab-and-go.
All three are breakfast places that also serve lunch. Tasty Delicious is the reverse: it starts with lunch and dinner, and breakfast comes later. Once the coffee-shop menu launches, 639 San Anselmo Ave. will again have both of the traditions the IJ described, the burgers and shakes of Jeep's and Bubba's and the pancakes Hilda's served starting in 1960.
If you'd like to talk about what's opening along San Anselmo Avenue, Miranda Hanson is happy to chat over a shake or, once they're back on the menu, a stack of pancakes. Let's Connect.
