Cafe Bravo — Restaurant in Oakdale

Unfortunately I had a bad experience at this restaurant. We went to this restaurant after we were celebrating a graduation and I wasn’t very hungry so I ordered a soup and I had let the server know ahead of time that I had an onion and garlic sensitivity and cannot eat them. When the soup arrived it had onions in it, and I could not eat it so I requested a bowl of the other soup ….as the server stated there was no onions in that soup. It was only broth.

Meanwhile, everyone else at the table (we had seven total) had their food delivered, and they had already finished eating, and my soup had not arrived. We asked a few times and she insured us it was on the way. At this point, I asked to cancel the soup because everybody was done eating and I didn’t want to eat alone and I really wasn’t sure that it was going to come without any onions in it as it is a Mexican restaurant. The server would not let me cancel the second soup, and in fact, insisted that I pay for both soups, even though I ate neither one. Not to make a scene I did pay for both soups and as I was walking out the door, she ran to give me a bag with my second soup and it as I was leaving. To my surprise when I got home the soup really was only broth so I’m not sure why it took over an hour to prepare and everyone else finished.

We also ordered the oysters in the half shell as an appetizer and they were the worst fishy awful oysters I’ve ever had and we did not eat those and we let the server know this was an issue as well, we paid for them, even though we did not eat them, and we never got an apology for the soup or a terrible oysters. We just left.

I only like to write more positive reviews but occasionally we do have a quite disappointing experience. I do not recommend...

Okay, we were driving by Oakdale, and see a 4.6 star joint with over 400 reviews. It must be legit. We had to stop by. Initially we weren't too excited that it was Latin food, not because we don't like it but after a long drive none of us were in the mood for taking risks.

Other than the guac not being absolutely fresh (still fresh though), the food turned out to be awesome, given the location and price point. The fish taco with battered cod was perhaps one of the best I've had. It almost came out like a Mexican salad with plenty of onions, lettuce on a bed of rice. But lifted with tortillas, it was again fascinating. The steak was juicy but you shouldn't expect steakhouse steak here. And the pasta was also solid for the kids.

Also, the gentleman who served us was super friendly. We initally felt like we were being stood up but once he found us, everything was wonderful.

Oakdale is a city/town you drive by a lot on your way to Yosemite. And when doing so, I highly recommend stopping by at Cafe Bravo. You'd be pleasantly surprised at the caliber of Latin comfort...

I friend of mine recommended this place for thier non-traditional yet original and unique menu that you don't find at many restaurants these days. I decided to go and found they had a nice ribeye steak on their menu and decided on that. It was definitely the right choice!! It was cooked to perfection, it was tender, it was quality and it had all the flavor that a grade A ribeye should have!! They seasoned it to perfection and even had ne check the cut to make sure it was to my liking. The staff were so kind and attentive, the restaurant is nice and quiet and the place had a beautiful deco of ambiance. If you're ever in Oakdale or want to to try a unique and savory menu with a great spin on great food, do not pass on this place, it is definitely worth trying! The have amazing soups too!! And if you're ever in the mood for a juicy and flavor and herb filled ribeye definitely check this place out!... best in...