{"id":190456,"date":"2026-02-23T20:47:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T20:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/190456\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T20:47:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T20:47:12","slug":"san-francisco-bone-broth-cafe-is-expanding-to-the-peninsula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/190456\/","title":{"rendered":"San Francisco bone broth cafe is expanding to the Peninsula"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"A variety of sweet iced drinks are available at Trad Bone Broth. From left, chai broth, Sweet Serenity broth and matcha broth. Courtesy Trad Bone Broth.<\/p>\n

A new Peninsula cafe won\u2019t be brewing coffee or steeping tea \u2013 it\u2019ll serve bone broth.<\/p>\n

Trad Bone Broth turned heads with its San Francisco debut in 2022, and now it\u2019s in the process of expanding to downtown Burlingame, with an expected opening in March. The small takeout-only cafe offers various broths on tap and uses these broths to craft made-to-order signature drinks ($11-$15). Some are savory and some are sweet, but all bone broths are made with 100% pasture-raised chicken and beef bones from farms practicing organic or regenerative agriculture, including Markegard Family Grass-Fed in Half Moon Bay and TomKat Ranch in Pescadero.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to provide a really nourishing product in a really convenient form,\u201d co-founder Jonathan Kim said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Brothers David Kim, left, and Jonathan Kim co-founded Trad Bone Broth, a cafe concept specializing in bone broth on tap. Courtesy Trad Bone Broth.<\/p>\n

A Minnesota native, Jonathan Kim moved to Seoul, South Korea, after graduating from college. During the six years he lived there, he developed a fascination and appreciation for Korea\u2019s broth culture, noting that nearly every meal came with a bowl of soup or a cup of broth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did a two-year gut reset diet once I found out about broth, where I was drinking broth every day for two years,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just felt really good, just really felt nourished by it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Trad Bone Broth offers four types of broth on tap: European beef broth, classic chicken broth, Korean-style creamy white beef broth (Seoul Broth) and a vegetarian option made of Pacific kombu. Courtesy Trad Bone Broth.<\/p>\n

After returning to the States, Jonathan Kim missed how accessible broth was, and he formed a business idea, convincing his brother David Kim to forgo law school to start Trad Bone Broth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a tough sell, but then doing all this very wholesome cooking and working with your hands probably just healed me of the need for prestige,\u201d David Kim said.<\/p>\n

The name Trad comes from the word \u201ctraditional,\u201d representing the brothers\u2019 commitment to create bone broth in an old-school way. Broth is simmered for 20 to 40 hours in kettles, not pressure cookers. Trad\u2019s broth production process is completely plastic-free, as broth is packaged in stainless steel kegs and glass jars so that there are no micro plastics in the broth and no plastics in the trash bin.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, a lot of the soul of bone broth is about doing what the grandmothers did,\u201d David Kim said. \u201cThat wisdom of giving you chicken soup when you\u2019re sick or when you\u2019re recovering from an injury wasn\u2019t spoken in scientific jargon, but is really this very sophisticated and passed-down wisdom that\u2019s in every single culture around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

To start their new venture, they decided to move out of the Midwest to San Francisco, where they thought broth culture would be more accepted and fit into the healthy California lifestyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll our friends (in San Francisco) were like, \u2018It\u2019s kind of perfect broth weather because it\u2019s always 10 degrees too cold,\u2019\u201d David Kim said.<\/p>\n

\"\"David Kim, left, and Jonathan Kim founded Trad Bone Broth to help \u201cheal America\u2019s gut,\u201d David Kim said. Courtesy Trad Bone Broth.<\/p>\n

Four broth varieties are available on tap: European beef broth, classic chicken broth, Korean-style creamy white beef broth (Seoul Broth) and a vegetarian option made of Pacific kombu ($9-$13). Jonathan Kim inherited the Seoul Broth recipe from a Korean chef, and he said it tastes more like milk than meat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All four broths can be drunk as-is or crafted into beverages, including David Kim\u2019s go-to, the Immunity Broth, made with the classic chicken broth, ginger, turmeric, black pepper, garlic and ginseng. For first-time broth drinkers, he recommends going sweet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe newbies to bone broth really need to try the sweet ones, because they\u2019re 75% bone broth, full of protein and collagen, but it\u2019s like drinking a sweet latte,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Trad\u2019s matcha broth is made with the Seoul Broth, housemade coconut milk, raw honey, ceremonial-grade matcha and vanilla ($11-$15). Courtesy Trad Bone Broth. <\/p>\n

\"\"Trad\u2019s Sweet Serenity broth is made with the Seoul Broth, housemade coconut milk, raw honey, lavender and vanilla ($11-$15). Courtesy Trad Bone Broth. <\/p>\n

David Kim\u2019s favorite sweet broth is the matcha, made with the Seoul Broth, housemade coconut milk, raw honey, ceremonial-grade matcha and vanilla. Other sweet options, available hot or iced, include the chai broth, Sweet Serenity broth (made with raw honey, lavender and vanilla), chocolate sea salt broth (made with regeneratively-sourced cacao) and peppermint cocoa broth. He explained these sweet broths taste like nourishing, more satiating cafe drinks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it sounds so weird and it\u2019s kind of hard to wrap your head around, but, man, people try those and are just hooked, and the kiddos really love them too, which is super sweet to see,\u201d David Kim said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had 12-year-olds come in with their allowance money and be like, \u2018I\u2019m not doing boba this week because I wanted my bone broth.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to beverages, Trad Bone Broth also offers soups packaged in Mason jars, including Korean beef soup, chicken wild rice soup and chicken pho ($24). New to the Burlingame store will be a selection of beauty and home products made from tallow, including candles, soap, sunbalm and other skincare products.<\/p>\n

\"\"Korean beef soup, left, and chicken wild rice soup at Trad Bone Broth. Courtesy Trad Bone Broth.<\/p>\n

The Kims said that when they first opened Trad Bone Broth, people were very skeptical of the concept, but many skeptics have since become regulars. The Kims explained that people drink broth at all times of the day \u2013 some use it as a coffee substitute in the morning, others use it as a snack to hold them over until the next meal and others use broth for fasting.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur internal goal was to heal America\u2019s gut,\u201d David Kim said. \u201cI think our menu is composed of these traditions that really helped us and nourished us \u2026 so that\u2019s what we want to pass on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trad Bone Broth<\/a>, 1406 Burlingame Ave., Burlingame; Instagram: @tradbonebroth<\/a>. Beginning March, open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.<\/p>\n

Dig into food news.Follow the Peninsula Foodist on Instagram<\/a> and subscribe to the newsletter<\/a> to get insights on the latest openings and closings, learn what the Foodist is excited about eating, read exclusive interviews and keep up on the trends affecting local restaurants.<\/p>\n

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