High-Hand Cafe — Restaurant in Loomis

Friday, 10/25/2024 - We drove by High Hand Nursery & Cafe and decided to try them. Address is 3790 Taylor Rd, Loomis, CA 95650. They do have a little parking lot there. It was full. We parked in the residential area and walked over. Join arrival...

Pros

1. it was pretty large. I saw an area where you could host a band and dance floor. But it was closed. There was a shopping area, plant nursery, lots of areas to take picture, Koi fish pond, and of course the cafe.
2. We arrived at 12:50pm and was put on the wait list. They told us the wait was like 20 min. The hostess was very nice. The Cafe was packed.
3. our table, chairs, utensils, plates, cups were clean.
4. water tasted great. No funky or metal taste.
5. the home made chips was good. Perfectly crispy and seasoned. They gave it to us on the house because they made us wait a long time to get seated. That's what we were told.
6. we got the BBQ pork sandwhich ($19) and side of chicken ($9). BBQ pork sandwich kind of had that sloppy joJoe taste. You know the one in the can? That's how it tasted to us. It was still good. Bread was good. The side of chicken I got was really dry. But I ate it. I was hungry. The potato that came with the BBQ pork sandwich was good.
7. bathroom was in a separate building. There were 3 stalls in the women's bathroom and it was clean.

Cons

1. we we told 20 min wait. Took them 50 minutes to seat us. There were people that came after us that got seated before us.
2. i checked with them twice to see where we were on the wait list. 1st time was told there were 2 more group ahead of us. The 2nd time I checked, I was told we were next to be seated. Two more mins, they said. Then I saw them seated 3 other groups as soon as they walked in! So i told my SO to go check. He checked and within a few more minutes, we were finally seated.
3. there was a group of 3 people that arrived after us. As soon as we were seated (after waiting 50 mins), they were seated right next to us. They didn't even have to wait! So not fair.
4. then the waitress came and took their orders before us. She probably didn't know who was seated first. But my point is, it was a looooong wait for us, while others were getting seated right away and orders taken right away.
5. they didn't check back with us to see if we needed anything else after our meal arrived. Right when we paid our tab, was when someone finally came and asked if we wanted water refills. Yes. Yes, we did.

Conclusion For me, even though this was a cute restaurant and nice nursery, I won't be coming back here. The wait was way too long after being told it was only like 20 mins wait. Then to see those that arrived after us seated before us. And to see the people who arrived after us getting seated after 50 mins waiting, getting seated right away wasn't right. The waitress and 2 hostesses were very nice. But I won't be coming back here. I don't recommend this place. But feel free to try it. Your experience may be...

Such a cute place to dine,browse and shop. Highly enjoyed our food both visits. Servers and hosts were very pleasant and friendly both of my visits to High Hand. My friend hosted a very small baby shower here, and we did come a month prior to dine and get a feel of the atmosphere and the first visit was the reason we were immediately sold. This place can give a phenomenal experience, but unfortunately one person can create an unwelcoming atmosphere. Wasn’t expecting that one person to be the manager, Erin. I’ve worked many years in a restaurant that’s similar to the atmosphere of High hand, and there absolutely is etiquette for both customers but staff as well, and from staff, those expectations are placed higher because this is their environment of their work. My friend was organizing this small get together and I advised her to give the restaurant a call with whatever questions she had to make sure it was aligning with their flow and she did so more than a week in advanced. She didn’t ask all of her questions because she immediately was met with aggravation in responses from Erin. She was only asking questions wanting to better understand what was and wasn’t going to be okay with the plans or ideas for the table and how ordering would work. Instead of responding with kind and informative responses to her simple questions, she was met with condescending and cold comments/responses and was repeatedly interrupted before finishing her questions. Some people are unsure, and it was always appreciated by my staff when people asked in advanced rather than not asking at all and both sides are dissatisfied and frustrated. Whatever was aggravating Erin enough to be cold and lacking in hospitality over the phone call a week prior to the reservation/ same behavior towards several of the guest during the reservation - it’s unclear what justifies that behavior when you work in the industry of hospitality. I tried talking about this directly with Erin after our reservation, she was interruptive, defensive and was met with “sorry you feel that way” and lacked the accountability in having the self awareness that she was mishandled her frustration or annoyance. I gave the benefit of the doubt that she may had a bad day during that initial phone call but highly disappointed that it carried into our time being there. This is always something I would pay no mind to because employees are human but this is an issue when it comes from a role of management. Hoping whatever it was that was so aggravating, can be dealt with with a bit more professionalism and less passive aggression towards those who are providing you business and taking care of your staff with generous gratuity. Aside from one negative persons behavior, I do truly believe there is a great potential for a lovely experience...

Restaurant It's a very interesting and unique atmosphere of a greenhouse dining area, well decorated with a farming outdoor feel.

The staff and food seemed friendly and the food for me and my 3 friends was all delicious and perfectly satisfying. I had the breakfast burrito which came with a delicious salad(what an excellent idea). Friend 1 had eggs Benedict crab with potatoes. Friend 2 has eggs with steak on potatoes. Friend 3 had French toast with carnel sauce. All the food was excellent!

Our experience After we enjoyed our meal along with good conversation, we got up and walked around the scenic nursery and enjoyed calm music playing in the background. It was delightful to see other people doing the same.

My friends and I walked around some more, as it was my first time there, and I was quite impressed with all the different rooms on the property. They had in addition to the nursery full of plants, an entertainment stage area with tables (a dj was seemingly setting up for a show). Another room had a little shop area, which included a nice little olive oil shop. Another area had a nice bigger sitting area with fancy lights and a really long table. Another room was a bar like area with TV sports on it. And there was another area I did not go to. But there was also a nice balcony when you stepped outside the large sitting room.

As we walked back to our car, we also noticed a few other shops with interesting items for sale. There is so much to explore in this place. Next time, I'll plan for a longer stay to check it out more.

In Summary I imagine this place would be a major attraction in a small farm town, and a great place to spend a date with my wife.

Go check it out! (Please forgive my lack of photos, I'll get...