Hill Street Cafe La Cañada — Restaurant in La Cañada Flintridge

Hill St Cafe La Canada- Dishonest and Rude.

Went to Hill Street Cafe in La Canada for takeout dinner. Ordered from a takeout menu I took from the restaurant last time I was there.

When I arrived to pick up the food, the total came out to around $10 more than I expected for 2 orders, based on the prices in the menu. I asked to take a look at the menu to see the prices. She handed me a take-out menu from the stand next to her. They were the same prices that I expected to see.

I asked why the total is so much? And she looked at the receipt and told me, “these are the new prices.” and showed me that the menu for the sit-down customers inside the restaurant had updated the prices. I pointed out that since I had not seen the menu for the sit-down customers, I should only be charged the prices in the menu that they provided me.

I asked to speak to the manager and told him the problem. He shrugged dismissively and said “Sorry. Can’t help you. These are our prices now.” I said “But you are sending your patrons home with THESE takeout menus and they have THESE prices in them. So these are the prices you should be charging.“

He said “There is a disclaimer in the takeout menu that says prices may vary.” I looked and showed him that there is no such disclaimer. (So he lied to my face) Then he said, “I will have them update the takeout menus.” I asked “Are you going to refund the extra money I was charged?” He refused, “Sorry. No. We don’t do that.”. I told him “That’s very dishonest. You are advertising one price for takeout customers and then charging more when they get here to pay.” He again gave me an unsympathetic shrug and said “Sorry you feel that way.”

My better judgment told me to hand him back the food and demand a full refund and never go back in that restaurant again. But my wife was hungry and waiting for dinner, so I let it be. (BTW, the food was very good. That’s the only reason I’m giving 2 stars instead of 1. No complaints about the quality of the meal, just the dishonest pricing, the garbage customer service and the dismissive, condescending and arrogant attitude of the manager.)

I went back into that restaurant a couple of weeks later, and, to no surprise whatsoever, the takeout menus have not been changed. So they are still dishonestly advertising lower prices for takeout, and then charging their customers more when they come in to pay.

Just putting this out there so y’all know Hill St. Cafe in La Canada are...

I did it AGAIN! I read reviews from people I do not know, and ​appear to raise their voice because they can ;-)

I wonder if the people who are overly critical here can stand up to their own standards in their lives.

On our #tenthousandstepsperday we discovered La Canada - and have tried this Café for breakfast and liked it. It's a​ bit on the pricey​ side, true, but everything we had was very delicious. The service was not overly fast, but friendly - and we really enjoyed our stay there. For one it had a nice temperature - my wife tends to feel cold. And, it had a very nice sound ambiance, and I do not mean the music. The whole place had such a warm "tone" - I can just hope you get what I mean.

Would I go again or recommend it to friends (a four-star​ mandatory): Possibly. There was really nothing bad to it but the price, which was not really high. I read that syrup and jelly came in plastic packs and such. True. However, is there this mom-and-granny​-place in the area where the both of them bake their own fresh bread and treat you with homemade​ jellies and stuff? If there was, I would immediately go (and if I did not have a very successful business already, I would open one, called "Mutti's"). While I did not find this place, my wife and I will continue to roam around and hate the world for writing things like

"My recommendation to them is that they hire a real chef who can give the menu some personality - make the menu much smaller (bigger is never better!) and get rid of the cheap diner aspects like prepackaged syrups and cream cheese. I'd also hire ​more professional staff - with quality training. They should also keep the place at a cool 68-72-degrees like most restaurants. The alternative is to lower the prices to match what this place really is despite the new look - an old-school​ diner."

In my world, people who demand better quality for less money automatically disqualify​ themselves as "dreaming ranters" ;-). In the meantime,​​ I thank you for reading this and can recommend this place, as long as you do not expect miracles. The place advertises "Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner" - and that is exactly what they do - and they do it better than OK, but does not...

EPIC FAIL! I took my elderly parent to dinner here this evening and had the worst experience. First, my glass of water had a "dirt ball" at the bottom - in the water. Second, my order of two chicken enchiladas was nothing more than ONE small tortilla with the edges folded over. And it was not even warm. The "enchilada" was served with rice that was cold, burnt, and hard. The meal was so unsatisfactory that I sent it back. My parent's senior fish and chips was of poor quality and quantity as well - but it was not returned. We paid our bill in cash, leaving the money on the table with the receipt. While we were already in our car with the engine running, a male server (who was not our server) accosted us in our car and accused us of not paying our bill. When we returned to our table, our money was still there. Our server claimed she had no idea why we were forced back into the restaurant. The manager claimed that it was just all a "mistake". I seriously doubt that. It felt like we were targeted. No one makes that...