Cornerstone Café & Bar — Restaurant in Sacramento

I have been here a few times. Each previous visit, I ordered breakfast food. It was ok, varying between fair and mediocre. But I was on J and wanted to stop to eat something and decided to go to Cornerstone. I ordered a hamburger, and literally told my sever I wanted my hamburger "plain, with nothing on it." What I received is in the picture I am uploading, a hamburger that was absolutely slathered in mayonnaise. I told my server, I asked for my burger plain, with nothing on it, and I would like another burger. This was irritating, but whatever. The menu says that burgers come with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo. I understood when I ordered it "plain, with nothing on it," that it would not include any of these things. But I guess mistakes can be made and I was just a little annoyed at having to wait longer to get my food. What happened next, though, caused me to nearly lose my mind.

My server came back to my table and told me that it was the restaurant's policy that when someone orders a hamburger "plain, with nothing on it" that it would include mayonnaise. She told me that I should have ordered it "dry" in order to not include the mayonnaise. I said, well, I do not understand how it could be that "plain, with nothing on it" could be interpreted to mean "please put mayonnaise on my burger." She told me that that was the way restaurant did things and this was how I need to order next time. There will not be a next time. I cannot tolerate that level of cognitive dissonance, to engage with the world with the understanding that mayonnaise is somehow ontologically and categorically special, mandatory yet undisclosed, must always be included even if you order something "plain, with nothing on it." It seems to me if you are a server, and you know that ordering a burger "plain, with nothing on it" will be interpreted by the restaurant to mean, "please put mayonnaise on my burger," you might want to notify the customer and clarify whether they want mayonnaise. But not at Cornerstone. That's not how...

Cornerstone Café & Bar is one of my favorite spots for brunch in Sacramento! It's the perfect hangout spot for a relaxed, affordable, and fun brunch with friends. What I love most is that their brunch menu stays open until 4pm, which gives us plenty of time to meet up, enjoy a leisurely meal, sip on mimosas, and watch a game without ever feeling rushed.

The atmosphere is great, with plenty of open seating option -booths, tables, and even seats at the bar if you’re looking for something more casual. It’s an easy spot to hang out for a few hours.

The food is delicious and reasonably priced. Some of my personal favorites are the club sandwich (loaded with turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato, plus a heaping side of perfectly cooked fries), the chicken fried steak is also excellent, and when I'm in the mood for something a little lighter, their omelets are always a hit too. Every item on the menu feels like it’s made with care, and I’ve never been disappointed.

If you’re in Midtown Sacramento and looking for a place that combines great food, fun vibes, and a relaxed atmosphere, I highly recommend...

Stopped in with the family for lunch. We sat ourselves outside, as the sign at the host stand indicated to do. It wasn't busy by any means, as this was about 3 pm.

Took forever to get a server to approach the table. When she did, she was friendly enough, but distracted and rushed.

Husband ordered coffee, which didn't come with cream. Took him until our food arrived to get any cream. Refills were hard to come by.

The server apparently transferred us to another server without telling us, then disappeared. The new server visited us once to finally bring creamer, but the busser got most of our refills.

No check was brought to the table. I had to go inside to ask for our check after waiting for it. Server was looking to end his shift also, and was closing out checks. Gave me the wrong one first.

The food was... fine. Blandish, but not awful. I had biscuits and gravy, and they were pretty standard. Husband had a shrimp omelet that had fresh ingredients, but was basically unseasoned. Seems like the chef was a little uninspired, but it was fine. Extra star for that, I guess. Probably...