Drakes — Restaurant in San Carlos

I've passed by this restaurant on El Camino Real many times and it's always bustling with life, so I had to check it out for myself! I decided to go on a weekday around lunchtime to avoid the crowds and long waits, as I get pretty hangry, LOL. When we walked in, the bartender was busy cleaning glasses, and we stood there awkwardly. I asked the group ahead of us if we should seat ourselves or wait, but they didn't know either, so we waited. A few minutes later, the bartender seated us. We got our menus, but I already knew I wanted the chilaquiles with added chorizo, my sister ordered a club sandwich, and my other sister got chicken and waffles. I also ordered a coffee since it was late morning.

Our food arrived, and I immediately dug in. I've been craving chilaquiles, and these hit the spot. Imagine loaded nachos, but in chilaquiles form, with various toppings including guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, and a generous portion of chorizo. My egg was cooked perfectly - no soggy egg here. The dish was extremely savory and definitely worth the $25. I also tried my sister's tater tots, which were a great choice, and the chicken and waffles from my other sister's plate, which were underwhelming. The waffle was soggy, and the chicken, though juicy, lacked flavor. I wouldn't order that again. The coffee was okay, not too bitter but not particularly smooth either.

The ambiance is typical of a lively brunch spot. The tables aren't too close together, giving an intimate feel, with large ceilings and beautiful decor - very aesthetically pleasing. The service was good, but it would be nice if the staff acknowledged customers waiting at the door with a quick "I'll be right with you" or something similar. Overall, it's great to know what this place offers, and I look forward to exploring the menu further...

Ughhh I was excited and wanted to be all about this place. There were lots of open 4 tops but they crammed us in some corner 2 top upstairs. Took a long time to get service and then when the food came the quiche was clearly microwaved with different temps throughout and a rather small portion for the price. For that price that they couldn’t b in individual ramekins and warmed in the oven. The salad was only some carrots with greens and onion but the house vinaigrette was tasty. We shared a pancake which was cooked perfectly and rather tasty. My friend ordered eggs over medium and they came out literally browned throughout and the yolks cooked all the way through. She had to send her sausage back because it wasn’t cooked all the way through. The service was slow overall but friendly and when we tried to use the bathroom downstairs one stall was locked (places do this so they don’t have to clean) and the other stall was not useable as it was too dirty. When I told the female waitress she said to use the one upstairs bc we share the downstairs one with the other restaurant. Hmmm my guess is she won’t even help get that cleaned up. After waiting upstairs for the one stall available for the entire restaurant that bathroom was very clean and well decorated. Maybe not advertise both bathrooms if you aren’t going to help maintain it. Not sure I would return as breakfast is such an easy meal to nail and you have to be able to cook those eggs right. Do...

I have been in this restaurant twice for breakfast and the food is very good and served fast, however the service might need some adjusting. From the moment my husband and I walked in we felt we were being watched. The first time we went it wasn't as obvious but the second time made us not want to come back. We felt we were being judged from the staff and felt uncomfortable and unwelcomed to the point that I made a comment to my husband about not having many Hispanics eating there overall and maybe thats why we were being looked at. We also ordered the bottomless mimosas and I'm assuming this was part of the issue as well and maybe they felt we got one to many since the server that gave us the last one asked us if we were okay in what I felt was a judgy way (it also made me think they were definitely watching us closely since this guy was not our server and this was the first time he served us a mimosa, also its literally called "bottomless" if theres a time or amount limit maybe change the menu?). Also, we were not being disrespectful or bothersome in any way, had we been speaking loud and being obnoxious I would understand, but there was none of that.

I have worked in a restaurant before and I know there are preconceptions of who tips and who doesn't so I believe this might be a reason why because well, we don't look like their usual guests but it's just rude to judge someone and treat them in that way just because of who you...