Central Brisbane

Central Brisbane has the quaint feel of a small coastal town—think a California version of a Nantucket seaside village. This is mostly a residential area, but on Visitacion Ave.—the main drag—there are a few stores, one of which is a great little coffee shop, Mad House Coffee that is everything you could ask for in a coffee shop--a great place to take a book (as I did one day when I had an interview in the area) and just kill some time.

It is a fairly typical coffee shop on the inside—lots of wood chairs and intimate tables, well-spaced but cozy. In the back they have a great patio. This is really fairly representative of the neighborhood, which is probably the most social part of Brisbane. (There is even a bar—Club 23—which is, I am given to understand by my boyfriend, one of the oldest clubs in the Bay Area.)

There is also a local grocery Carroll’s, a Chinese place and a Mexican joint. All-in-all, kind of a quaint feel to the place.

The homes in the area are mostly of the older variety and fairly small by our current standards, though fairly well-kept. The average home here dates from 1945—so it is definitely an area filled with older homes. The average price is over $500 K with only the highest cost homes climbing into the million dollar range. These tend to be farther up on the hillside and have hardwood decks and views of the bay.

Overall, a quiet little nook—perfect for those that would like to escape the hectic city and feel away from it all.

Central Brisbane is a small, secluded neighborhood encompassing about two dozen windy residential blocks. It is part of the greater San Mateo County and is wedged between San Bruno Mountain State Park and San Francisco Bay. Aesthetically speaking, the district provides a vast array of middle to upper middle-class homes. And for your dining needs, there are a couple restaurants charmingly nestled into the suburban quarters. One of the neighborhood’s best perks is its proximity to the San Francisco International Airport (a couple miles south) and Candlestick Park (home of the San Francisco 49ers).

Most of the neighborhood is built on the steep foothills of the lush green San Bruno mountainside. In fact, homes that scale the westerly mountainside are pretty tall and overlook Brisbane and the San Francisco bay. These residences are pretty pricy and can offer at the very least beautiful aesthetic house fronts. To get there, you have to climb up narrow roads along the hilly landscape.

For public transit options, the closest bart station lies on the other side of San Bruno Mountain State park (about a 20 minute drive away). Other commuters take US Route 101, which skirts the neighborhood’s eastern border. Younger families will be interested to know that there are a couple schools within the city’s limits, which include Brisbane Elementary and Lipman Middle School.