Buttercup — Restaurant in Oakland

Ok, so this review is about the good, the bad, & the ugly of choosing to eat here. Dining out is TOO costly these days for poor choices, so my hope is this will help YOU make the best decision for YOUR needs AND your dollar!! & since the East Oakland location has now permanently closed, this IS the only 1 left in Oakland to visit! Make sure it's where you WANT to go!

The GOOD: FOOD! Just about anything on the menu IS hella tasty! Sure, some items are always better than others but, if your looking for abundant portions of basically decent diner food, many of which is made in house, you won't be disappointed with most items on the menu! Breakfast for dinner? Sure! Both sweet and savory options abound! Appetizers as a snack or even full meal? You got it! Especially the giant nachos or the house-made mozzarella sticks. All that cheesy goodness... Yum Want a sandwich, burger, salad, &/or full on "mama's" dinner? Plenty choices here! Steaks, meatloaf, fried chicken, pork chops, even shrimp and grits! Don't even get me started on their mac and cheese, lol! Seeking a tasty desert? Done! ESPECIALLY their homemade pies!!! No, this isn't high end fine dining. But it'll fill you up with diner style comfort food that'll leave you satisfied.

The BAD: Be careful what you order IF you seek any menu changes!Service is spotty, portions HAVE decreased while prices have SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED (like everywhere!), and there seems to be a bit of bait and switch going on with menu descriptions & cost items vs. bill pricing. Lesson: ASK DETAILED questions when seeking substitutions, & ALWAYS CHECK YOUR BILL!! E.g.: hubby ordered an item with the accompanying condiment "on the side" but never received it! Another member of our group ordered the BREAKFAST Chicken and waffle item, substituting the listed ONE breast-piece for a thigh/leg. When the bill came it listed a "4 pc" item WITH a $5.00 upcharge!! But 4 pieces were never discussed, ordered, or arrived! NEITHER was ANYTHING EVER said about an ADDITIONAL cost!! Only when we asked to see the menu & pointed out the discrepancy did the other 2 pieces appear! Leftovers! But still...NOT. COOL. Buttercup! Not cool at all!!

The BAD: Well, not really the fault or responsibility of the establishment itself but DO be SMART about this downtown location! Do NOT leave ANYTHING in your car, park close to the place or just spring to pay and safely park in the lot on Washington, and ALWAYS be aware of your surroundings! Just like ANY & EVERY major city these days, protect yourself from being targeted for theft! That's just a reality of downtown anywhere, and you'd be foolish not to plan accordingly! Buttercup gets a bad rap for the continual break-in's surrounding their parking lot, but THEY are not to blame! Still, unsuspecting visitors from out of the area may be unfamiliar with these kinds of safety issues, so now ya know!

We'll go back occasionally, sure. But NEXT time we'll know to ask some additional questions BEFORE we order! I suggest YOU...

The food is alright, been here three times before, but the waitstaff can be pretty awful and I'm not the only one who's noticed it. I came in and everyone stood there giving me weird uncomfortable stares, and the hostess at the front was too busy chatting and rolling her eyes, laughing on the phone to bother giving me a menu at all...

my food came, Hot chocolate and Black and Blue burger with extra bacon and cheddar cheese for a dollar extra each, and i loved it. but as I was ordering it, my waitress Karly had interrupted me so much in the midst of me saying my order that she didn't realize I had said I also wanted to add extra cheese and bacon onto it. The burger was good but I took a bite and then realized there was no bacon on it at all and a mouth full of onion shreds.. tasty, but not expected... waited for her to come around again, took her a very long time (in a pretty non-busy place) until my food was cold and at that point I thought "well its not a major deal but i should probably go soon"....

she came around, and I nicely asked her if she had added bacon to the burger like I had asked... she was nice the entire time up till that point, but her attitude completely changed when i asked that, then started to accuse me of lying, despite her not writing my order properly. And I guess she didn't speak English great, as I noticed during a few talks with her, but she then made it seem like I was asking if the burger order ITSELF came with bacon and huffed, grabbed a menu, slammed it open and was aggressively asking other waitstaff if it came with bacon.... awkward to get glared at.

I was only gonna ask if I got the one dollar extra charge, and if not then no big deal, and if she did then could I get bacon on the side, but she had completely and unprofessionally lost her temper and caused a scene over something I noticed.... very lame.

I guess the manager saw her attitude and made her come back here with a smile to ask if that was okay, but I felt it was a very unpleasant experience and not how you handle it at all..... I should have been listened to, she jumped to conclusions, and receiving a negative attitude over something that could have ended in ten seconds with a "no, I'm sorry, my bad, but its not on the bill", had pretty much ruined a pretty peaceful dinner for me. Didn't like it at all.

Even noticed other tables trying to leave had been waiting up to 30 minutes just to get the bill or the boxes they had been asking staff for, and it took longer for me as well, but they deserved better than that, to be honest.

Not the first time, either. :/

Come for the food if you like a quiet space and some food to be with, but... the waitresses could be much more...

I wasn’t greeted when I walked in & the hostess kept looking at me waiting for me to tell her what I wanted instead of offering or asking. However, I was seated almost immediately. It was pretty busy so I didn’t want to complain when it took over 13 minutes to get water and coffee. In fact, my food arrived less than a minute after that. I got a vanilla latte that was served in a clear glass that seemed hotter than normal. It wasn’t drinkable much less enjoyable. When I finally was able to drink it I can say it wasn’t great but ok. The pancakes were tougher & chewier than I prefer but the bacon & potatoes were perfect. The eggs were fine. Kind of clumpy. The server (name on the receipt, I assume) was friendly but she did not check on me at all. The two times she came to my table I beckoned her. One of those times she was checking on other tables for the 4th or 5th time. She was walking off without even looking my way again so I yelled excuse me, which I hated. 😂 I watched as she refilled coffee & cashed ppl out. Mind you, I wanted a straw for my drinks & extra syrup. So I wasn’t even able to enjoy a beverage while I ate for an extended period. Later, I wanted napkins that I eventually accepted I wasn’t going to get unless I got up to get them. Also waited for the check for too long. When she finally came she did not immediately cash me out! She took multiple orders then passed the check off to a young lady walking by. 😂. I know that doesn’t sound out of the ordinary but again, I watched her (mainly because I was trying to get her attention) take other guests checks and immediately cash them out! I don’t know wtheck this was about. It’s kind of funny. Ironically, as I’m waiting for my change she brought back water & a fancy coffee to the table whose order she JUST TOOK. Mine took more than 10 minutes. 🤣 a man in a button up who looked like a manager or something walked by a couple x & did not engage with me. Not sure if he did w other guests. Needless to say the service was lacking FOR ME. Oh, I also watched as the bus boy used a rag to wipe the tables and then pulled silverware and napkins out of his pockets for the table. Should he maybe sanitize his hands in between? Anyhoo, the menu is extensive. Hopefully the service for me was an anomaly. I’d recommend but don’t expect anything in regards to the...