The Nail Bar Los Altos — Local services in Los Altos

This was my first time here. I booked an appt through google and didn’t have to wait which was good. When I booked my appt online for a signature pedicure the price showed $50. The price is outrageous but I understand you can’t get anything less with inflation and Bay Area prices. The pedi itself was nothing special. Nothing “signature” about it. They didn’t ask if wanted regular nail polish or gel so I assumed they only have gel options. Upon paying the total was $70 🥴 plus a 3.9% cc charge. I didn’t ask why the price was a $20 difference than the one showed online because what’s the point? It has to be paid regardless. A tip option wasn’t available so when I ask Lilly if I can tip her she said cash or I can charge my cc for her tip only but there would be another 3.9% fee. She expected me to charge my card again but I didn’t. I always tip but if you’re a business that complicates tipping or doesn’t provide an option when paying with card then why am I going to go out of my way to pay a ridiculous fee just to tip you?! It’s rare when anyone Carries cash nowadays. They also have flies everywhere! They keep the door open with no screen so the entire time I was fighting off flies. Not very relaxing.

My usual nail salon is in Fremont but my tech was booked so that’s why I ended up here but will not come back. I live in Sunnyvale and don’t care driving all the way out there. I usually pay 70-90 for a new set of nails with design! My tech does quality work! I paíd $70 for a pedi here that’s just like any other pedi at any salon. Crazy!! (Only 3 stars for lily....

This place reminded me of the cattle farms you see on highway 5 from LA to SF. Densely packed, optimized for a quick job with no regards to individual preferences. The moment you enter you feel like you are subjected to an automated process - if you dare to stay stop that’s not what I want or I don’t like that and I have another preference you’ll hear chit chatter in the Filipino language and you know that you are subject of their gossip. I’ve actually tried to record some of that on my phone and then use Google translate to capture what they were saying and it was some nasty stuff (yes, on could give it the benefit of the doubt that the recording or translation was inaccurate). Either ways I was tired when I went to do the mani-pedi. Although I called ahead to make an appointment I still had to wait longer than 20 minutes then I felt like I was hurried while trying to make my choice for the color and the design. Finally, I tried to close my eyes and relax and the lady kept pinching my hand and/or feet like to prompt me. I paid for a full gel mani pedi but the nail polish started to chip and peel away the next day- clearly not the product I paid for. Overall it’s not a pleasurable experience, cheap job and not at all satisfactory or relaxing. DO...

Damaged & lumpy Nails…This was my first time here. I normally go to my usual salon, but this place was close to work and I was on a tight schedule. The nail tech, Queenie, over-filed my nails when removing Gel-X, leaving them thin. She also used a USED NAIL FILE to shape my nails. When applying regular polish, it came out patchy and lumpy. After two coats she was about to finish until I pointed out that I could see my natural nail through the polish. She blamed it on my nails being “thin,” but I’ve only had Gel-X twice in my life and my nails have always been strong and healthy. The thinning happened here from over-filing.

She offered a third coat, which helped slightly, but the polish is still uneven and lumpy. It’s fully dried, I haven’t touched anything, and I’ve been careful not to use my hands. The manicure is just bad quality.

I paid full price and tipped 20%, but left with damaged nails and a manicure I can’t wait to remove. Now I have to grow my nails out to recover from this appointment. I’ll stick to my usual salon from now on.

UPDATE: Nails are chipping after 14 hours and completely cracked after 24 hours. I’m terrified I will develop nail fungus because of...