Local Union 271 — Restaurant in Palo Alto

Everything about this place was tainted by the absolutely abysmal service. That was probably the worst waiter I have ever experienced. I'll try to be brief, but he did everything wrong.

My girlfriend's father ordered a glass of the Gewürztraminer off the 'Special's Menu. The waiter just turned and walked away (saying nothing), later coming back saying that he just wanted to confirm that it was available, and it was. 15 minutes later, the wine was still not served. What asked what was going on. The waiter said he didn't know that he ordered a glass of wine. We repeated that we wanted the Gewürztraminer. The waiter just stared at us blankly and said 'What's that?'. When it finally came, it wasn't a Gewürztraminer. We asked the waiter if we could see the bottle it came from. The waiter said it didn't come from a bottle, it came from a machine. We decided to walk over to the bar and speak with the bartender and we confirmed that the waited was either lying or just didn't know what he was talking about.

My girlfriend ordered her entree. (the waiter was using a small computer tablet to take the orders). After getting everyone's order, he went back to my girlfriend and asked what she wanted. She said that she was the first one to order. He said that he never got her order. WTH???

I was interested in the salmon. The salmon was called 'Sustainable Salmon'. I asked the waiter whether the salmon was farmed or wild? He said he didn't know, but he would go find out. When he came back, he said that it was farmed, as is everything at the restaurant (in a very condescending tone) as if he thinks that farmed salmon is better than wild salmon. He obviously had no idea what he was talking about.

4 . At the end of the meal, we asked for some 'to-go' boxes for the leftover food. He said he'd be right back. He never came back. 10 minutes later, I just got up and went and found to-go boxes and brought them back to the table. Even after that, he never came back to the table.

Because there were 6 of us at the table, we were automatically charged and 18% tip. I'm usually a generous tipper, but this waiter didn't deserve this!! He was absent the entire meal, and when he was present, he was absolutely clueless. The receipt also contained pre-filled in options for additional tips just to trick people into double tipping.

The automatic 18% tip was added to our 'corkage fee' (of $25) which we paid to drink a bottle of our own wine. Is this customary?

Anyway, I'm not even should this long review does justice to just how terrible this waiter was. All 6 of us left this fairly expensive restaurant in shock that they would hire such a terrible waiter. We...

We came because they have high reviews with more than 1000+. Ha, the only thing that is good is the atmosphere. We were excited to try out this place on their outdoor patio with fiery heaters. The food was… not that good.

The staff lacked some common sense. When she asked what we wanted for drinks when I scanned the menu, I said “just water is fine”. Then, she came back with only one glass of HOT water. Excuse me, did I speak too lowly that made you think just water = hot water? It’s burning hot, and only ONE cup. We were a 3-people group. I had to ask her again for cool water, and this time she came back with A cup of cool water :) I gave up as I also ordered one Latte for my husband (I’d just steal some sips then) and gave the water for my baby. Other than that, food was served quick.

We ordered iced Latte, one Avocado Poached Egg Benedicts and one Bacon & Deviled Eggs Platter. For $22, we expected more from the Egg Platter, but the food disappointed us. No comment on the presentation, but it looked ridiculous. The bacon was overcooked, too dry. The eggs were very bad. The only good thing was the grilled bread, because only the bread tasted okay.

For the egg benedicts, I would ask how could you screw up egg benedicts? It was so bad that we couldn’t finish the plate. The eggs were okay, tomatoes were not fresh, the avocado was… edible at least, but the bread was soggy and not warm. And the side potatoes were over grilled to the point many pieces were pitch black.

We ordered iced Latte to go because we were slow drinkers and we wanted to enjoy every bit of the coffee. After having these two dishes, we had to gulp down all the coffee to wash away the...

We sat outside. Each table had a bottle of hand sanitizer- I appreciated that. There was a heater separating a 2-top from a 4-top table. It was warm and provided some COVID necessary distance.

The best dishes we had were the grilled artichoke- fresh and tender. The lemony dip had a nice zing. The artichoke dip was creamy and warm but I think pita chips or something similar would be better it serve it with instead of crusty bread (which ended up getting hard if it wasn't eaten right away).

We also ordered the rock cod tacos at the recommendation of the server. She was friendly and helpful but the tacos were meh. Not particularly fresh tasting or flavorful.

We split the brownie with ice cream for dessert. It was a warm brownie with ice cream so it got the job done but not outstanding. It would have been great for the server to bring additional plates in these COVID times (because it's not over even though people are over it) instead of just bringing two spoons and the main dish.

It was a busy night and the table on the other side of the heater had 4 people. The server didn't step all the way under the awning to work with that table. She stood right behind my chair and yelled in to them. It was noisy on a Friday night so sitting outside was not as nice as it was with the parklets (oh how I miss those!). To combat the noise she had to yell, right over my head.

All in all, it was great talking with my friend, we shared a few tasty dishes, and the service was friendly. I don't see myself coming back.

UPDATE: Thanks for the personal reply LU 271 but if all you got from my review was about the lackluster food...you are missing so much...