Rise & Shine: Brunch Arrives at San Mateo's Historic Train Station

Rise is owned by Omid Zahedi and his wife, Susan Payrovi, who also run Rise Pizzeria in Burlingame. When they opened in the train station nearly six years ago, mornings were part of the vision. Then the pandemic put those plans on hold.

"Rise & Shine and Daily Dose are pieces of the original vision for this building that we're finally getting to bring to life," Zahedi said.

Before opening brunch to everyone, Rise spent five weekends hosting private "Founding Guests" previews, inviting longtime regulars in and refining the menu and service between weekends based on what they said.

The brunch leans on what Rise already does best, the wood-fired oven. The Brunch Pizza comes with cream, house potatoes, bacon, red onion and two wood-fired eggs, and the Mushroom Truffle & Egg Pizza adds portobello, mozzarella, truffle oil and Parmesan. Both come with hollandaise for dipping. For something sweet there's Pizza alla Nutella with banana and toasted hazelnuts.

Chef Domingo Segovia's chilaquiles start with corn tortillas fried in-house every day, tossed in a house-made guajillo chili sauce and topped with black beans, avocado, eggs and sour cream. The Rise team says adding rotisserie chicken makes it a guest favorite. The wood-fired shakshuka bakes three eggs in a spiced tomato and roasted pepper sauce, finished with feta and served with Rise bread.

Even the pancakes have a Rise twist: the batter uses live yeast. The Lemon Ricotta & Berries stack comes with whipped lemon ricotta and seasonal berries. Benedicts and a loaded breakfast burrito round it out, and Rise's new coffee bar inside the restaurant, called Daily Dose, pours espresso, lattes and iced coffee at the main bar during brunch.

Rise's address is part of its appeal. Because it sits right in the downtown Caltrain station, it makes an easy first stop for anyone coming into town by train: brunch or a coffee at the station, then a short walk into downtown for B Street's shops and restaurants, and on to Central Park and its Japanese Garden.

We've been for dinner with a big group for a birthday, and the team took great care of all of us. The room, with its tall arched windows, is worth seeing on its own.

Next, Rise plans to add a separate walk-up stand, the Daily Dose Kiosk Bar, with early weekday walk-up coffee, burritos, breakfast sandwiches and pastries before regular opening, aimed at commuters and morning meetings. Rise & Shine is also now available for events like bridal showers, office gatherings and family celebrations, booked through the restaurant's event manager.

Rise & Shine weekend brunch: Saturdays and Sundays, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Rise Woodfire, 2 North B Street, inside the downtown San Mateo train station
Menu and reservations: risewoodfire.com/rise-and-shine