Harley Gray Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in San Diego

I went to Harley Gray on 11/7/2020 for brunch. This was one of the worst experiences I have had at a restaurant.

We arrived at the restaurant around 10:15 am. We were seated right away.

Our table of 6 immediately put in our orders for bottomless mimosas and all of our meals, plus one appetizer.

Within 10 minutes we were served water and our first round of mimosas. After finishing our first round, we waited about 20 minutes until we were able to get a hold of a RUNNER to inform our waiter that we needed a refill. Within that time our waiter and other waiters were serving OTHER tables around us with food and refills on their mimosas.

Another 10-15 minutes passes and we finally receive our second refill of mimosas and our main meals. The appetizer was not brought out with the main meals, so we informed the runner that we were still waiting on it. 15 more minutes went by and we still hadn't received the appetizer, so we had to let ANOTHER staff member know, AGAIN, that were still waiting.

Now speaking for my meal... I ordered the Lobster Benedict. In just looking at this dish, I was not appeased by its appearance when it arrived to the table. On top of the appearance being disappointing, the dish was bland! I could not taste a hint of even salt and pepper.

I got the attention of our waiter and let him know that the dish was bland and that I wanted to order something different. Instead of apologizing and asking what did I want to order instead, he scolded me by saying "What do you mean bland?". So I repeated to him that the dish had no flavor. He goes on to say "Can you explain more what that means."

Someone else at my table then shouts, "She doesn't like the dish, and she wants to order something different!"

At this point I did not want to order anything else, but I needed food! So I ordered the Burger on the Brunch menu.

(Mind you, during all of this time, we have only received one refill for our bottomless mimosas, while still, all of the other parties are being taken care of)

At this point my whole table is disappointed and frustrated that we have been neglected all morning. We were being ignored and not catered to one bit.

Before the waiter left the table from me ordering my burger, some one at our table asks the waiter, "what's going on today? I feel like we are being neglected while all of the other tables are being served in a timely matter."

The waiter responds with, "well the bar is busy, I have a lot of tables, and I don't have to explain myself to you."

At this point, we get upset and call another waiter over and explain to her what's going on. We ask for a different waiter and kindly remind her that we are still waiting for my burger and that we needed our next refill for mimosas.

Once my burger finally arrives, again my dish is bland! Not a hint of salt or pepper on my burger! I decided to just eat my burger and call it a day.

As I am eating my burger, our waiter then becomes very attentive (finally). But also, as I am eating, a woman named Courtney comes to our table to let us know that we have passed our 2 hour limit for dining.

With a smile on my face, I let her know that we have been waiting and ignored longer than we have actually been served, eating or drinking because of a, b , and c... Instead of apologizing, she says, "Aw I know, but I have other customers that need to eat, so I am going to give you guys 20 more minutes."

I was appalled at this response!

The dining experience this day was unacceptable.

Maybe that day we had a waiter that was having a bad day, a cook that was not in their element, and a manager that didn't care.

Unfortunately, I will not recommend this place to anyone, nor...

Listen, I rarely if ever write negative reviews let alone reviews that are this long but this time I just have to add my 2 cents because spending 70 bucks on a bad meal with lackluster service is upsetting. Cold food came to our table after we ordered 20 minutes later which was surprising but ultimately a negative. The food looked like it was microwaved and put on a hot plate after being cooked earlier. Cold scrambled eggs, cold toast for the Avocado toast, cold chilaquiles, and lukewarm pancakes. The chilaquiles salsa had a good flavor but tasted old and meat was an additional 6 bucks. The chicken that accompanied the chilaquiles looked like it was cooked in the morning and then added sliced as an afterthought. The pancakes were bland, hard to cut but looked nice. Avocado toast looked nice but tasted like it was made hours before on cold bread even though the bread was toasted. All the meals tasted like you were being served cafeteria food from warming trays.

Waiter seemed distracted, disappeared and never came back with extra coffee because he HAS TOO MANY TABLES to effectively man by himself. Hire more waiters! The food looked nice when it arrived but it was bland and cold, menu is overpriced, and the meal was expensive and the service was poor. Will never come back here again. We wouldn't be surprised if this place doesn't last much longer with such solid competition serving up better food for comparable pricing and way better service.

Easy ways to improve: Serve up fresh food, hire more waiters and hire a chef that loves cooking fresh food. Also, pay your workers well as in a living wage. Take care of your employees. Not saying you don't but if you don't, then this why clients have a bad experience with poor service and cold food. Listen, I know times are tough during a pandemic but you have to step it up if you're pricing your menu at 15 to 20 bucks a plate for brunch and doing that in Mission Hills. Mission Hills is one of the RICH areas...

Friday we went to Harley Gray to celebrate my best friend's new path. I've been wanting to try them out and this seemed like a perfect opportunity. The restaurant is a nice intimate size and has such a warm and inviting atmosphere. I made a reservation for our group because I am a reservation person but depending on your party I think it is suitable to walk-in. The hostess was lovely on the phone and in person. I had to call to let her know we were running late. Once we arrived we were immediately sat at a nice table by the side door. Our server who was training greeted us brought water and took our drinks and appetizer order. He was great and was being shadowed by his manager, Manny, who was also personable and friendly. We started with the Billionaire Margs doubles obviously and they went down refreshingly and tasty. We each had two. Our appetizers came next. We had the calamari and the crispy fried artichokes. Both were delicious and made perfectly. For our entrees I ordered the pork schnitzel which was the perfect choice. It was outstanding! V ordered the mahi mahi which was also done well. It was light and flavourful. C ordered the Harley Gray burger which she said was great. I couldn't try I don't eat red meat. I'll definitely be back for more schnitzel! I'm a huge restaurant dessert person! I don't really eat dessert at home and I make dessert even less so when I'm out I love to sample. I ordered the Apple Brown Betty which my mom always made. It was so darn good! It wasn't cloyingly sweet either. V ordered her favourite tiramisu and said it was perfect. C ordered the s'mores which I tried and it was good but too sweet for my taste. We finished up our cocktails, chatted and digested, and then settled up the check. I love a restaurant that allows you to sit and eat and enjoy the company you're with and doesn't hover. Thank you, HG, we had a fabulous meal...