Communion Mission Hills — Restaurant in San Diego

I'm a former server, so my review for Sunday brunch is coming from a place of knowing how a restaurant should be run.

1. When booking the reservation, there was nothing denoting that for parties of 2+, there were only good views on the patio. Also didn't know the patio was covered/enclosed, so wouldn't have been subject to the elements. Had we known, we would have reserved a patio table, as the views are one of the main draws of this restaurant.

2. The servers were very kind and well-meaning, but so slow and forgetful. The restaurant wasn't busy, so I don't understand what the problem was. My friend asked the food runner for a glass of ice water. He forgot. She asked our server. He brought a cup of ice. She had to ask again for water. Even if he didn't hear her correctly, it was obvious her water was low. At one point a gentleman came by and filled our water, which was great. But that was the only time we saw him.

3. I'm gluten free and one of the main reasons I chose this restaurant is that I saw they had GF muffins on the online menu, which is so special and rare for a nice restaurant like this. When I arrived, I looked through the menu and they were nowhere to be found. When we ordered, I asked the server about it and he said he would ask the kitchen. He forgot. I had to ask him again. He asked the kitchen and they said they don't have them today. SO disappointing.

4. A food runner brought us our food and didn't offer any ketchup/hot sauce for our roasted potatoes, which is generally standard for that item. We also had no salt on our table, although it was on other tables. Our server was slow to check on us after we got our food. My friend was out of her cocktail since before our food got there. He didn't offer her another one. So we had to ask for salt, hot sauce, a glass of wine, and aforementioned ice water. A lot of work on our part when all those things should have been offered or pre-supplied.

5. My friend was excited that Lambrusco was on the menu. She ordered it (again after she had been without a drink for quite some time), it took forever, and our server came back with a CAN of wine. Come on guys. That's the kind of drink you see in a brewery, not a restaurant like this. And if you're going to offer it, at least denote on the menu that it's in a can, so the guest can make an informed decision. We honestly felt a bit tricked. My friend and I both tasted it, and it was disgusting. Couldn't take more than one sip. Thankfully our server was very gracious about taking it back and took it off our bill. However, again took quite a while by the time our server checked on us, rang in the new cocktail and the bartender made it to get the replacement cocktail. My friend didn't get a drink she was happy with till after we had finished our entrees. So probably 45 minutes or more from when she finished her first cocktail. She probably would've ordered a third had service been faster, meaning a missed opportunity for up-selling. However, both cocktails she did order were delicious.

6. All food ordered from the kitchen was fast coming out. Presentation was beautiful. I loved the French omelet, but my friend felt the mushrooms were slimy. The flavors of the Bibimbap were amazing, but the meat was overcooked...like well done and hard to chew.

7. Ordered dessert, which of course was not offered and I had to ask for. Cheesecake was delicious. However, couldn't finish it because was sooo sweet. I think some bananas or other fruit would have helped to balance it out.

8. The ambience and décor were fantastic. Loved the mismatched plates, pink tiles, gold accents, bathroom décor, hand towels and Aesop soap. The bartender came by to help clear our table and we had a nice chat. Very friendly. Someone else also helped clear our table at one point. Our server did bring us share plates without us having to ask. Another employee took our picture. All little things we noticed and appreciated amidst everything else.

All in all, this was a stressful experience with decent food and a missed opportunity for...

I was really hoping we would have a great experience and this would be my new favorite rooftop restaurant in San Diego. Unfortunately, we had a very disappointing visit last Friday. It was my dad‘s 75th birthday and we had a nice table with a gorgeous view, but customer service was off, to say the least. We ordered two appetizers and one of them, which was the Indian style potatoes came out with a wad of long black hair on it. Not one piece, but multiple pieces sprinkled in and around the food, which was gross.

When I pointed it out to the waitress, she quietly took the plate away, but didn’t apologize or even offer to replace it. She just proceeded to ask what we wanted for our main entrées. I told her we were in the middle of drinks and appetizers, and we would like to have the appetizers that we intended to have but without the hair. She was super weird about it & took a while to get back to us. At that point, we decided we were over the appetizers so we ordered our entrées.

I ordered the lobster risotto, which was a very small portion for a $60 plate. There was barely any lobster in it. Nobody at my table was particularly happy with their dinner, but we were all trying to forget about it and focus on my dad’s birthday & have a good time.

At the very end, the waitress came out with the bill and there was an extra $50 charge on there. My husband asked her why it was on there, and she initially denied it was incorrect and proceeded to tell us that we were reading it wrong. Finally, it became apparent that the drinks from the table next to us were charged to our bill so she took it off, but was rude about it as if it was our fault. Not only did they charge us extra, but didn’t compensate us for that gross hair incident. The waitress was cold and unapologetic, and I just found that she really made the whole experience kind of crappy. For a $300 plus dinner it was just a low brow experience. Disappointing for a beautiful place like this.

Review UPDATE: After I posted this review, I did get contacted by management of the restaurant and I have to say they handled it very well. They took full accountability, were very kind and went out of their way to take ownership of the situation. Mistakes happen and it’s possible this is just a one off so I did wanna share this because it’s important to be fair to businesses when they make an effort to do the right thing. We will try this restaurant again in the future optimistically & hope for a...

I was very excited to try this new restaurant. My mom flew from Puerto Rico for her birthday today, on New Year’s Eve. I specifically reserved this place for that reason and made a couple of simple special requests weeks in advance.

First, I never received a response. I sent three emails, two messages via Instagram, and called three times. On the third call, I had to insist on speaking with the manager. Once again, I anxiously explained my special requests, but the manager didn’t seem to care.

Despite the lack of communication, we gave them the benefit of the doubt and hoped they would be more attentive in person. We arrived at our reservation time, but our table was not ready. Guess how long we waited? One hour!

When we finally sat down, the food was terrible—overly salty and poorly prepared. Then, when it was time for dessert, they informed us that we needed to move inside to the bar because it was close to 11 PM, and they didn’t have an alcohol license due to being in a residential area.

Frustrated, we asked for our desserts to-go. We waited another 20 minutes while sitting at the bar, surrounded by staff cleaning up and completely disregarding our presence and visible frustration.

When the bill arrived, they did not apply our $300 reservation deposit as promised. We brought this up with the shift manager, who gave us a weak excuse, claiming their policy had changed effective today. Are you serious?

After more back-and-forth, she finally applied the $300 deposit to our $1,000 bill—but only because we insisted. By this point, it was already 11:30 PM, and we were trying to leave to celebrate New Year’s Eve and my mom’s birthday.

As we settled the bill, the server approached us and said, “I’m so sorry. If my mom came from the Philippines, I’d be upset too.” Even he acknowledged how terrible the service had been.

What an incredibly disappointing experience. They failed to honor our requests, showed no care for our special occasion, and displayed poor customer service from start to finish.

We will never return to this restaurant, nor will we recommend it to anyone....