Tabac Plus — Restaurant in San Diego

We stopped in at Tabac+ for brunch on Saturday, and while the space is gorgeous and the overall vibe is great, there are a few things I think management should address as they continue to grow.

Clarity of Ordering One of our guests, who is very familiar with traditional Turkish breakfast, placed our order. Unfortunately, the server did not mention that eggs already come with the spread, which led us to order far more food than four people could reasonably eat. It would have been helpful for the server to clarify this rather than allowing us to over-order.

Drink Spill Incident There was an accident where the server dropped a drink on me, ruining the white outfit and bag I was wearing. While mistakes happen, what surprised me was the lack of urgency or acknowledgment from staff. A manager never came over, and the only gesture offered was another juice (which we hadn’t ordered) and a small plate of nuts and apricots. Nothing was comped from the bill, and it left the impression that no one truly cared about the situation.

Tea Service & Safety Concern When the tea arrived, guests were expected to pour from what appeared to be a water jug rather than a traditional teapot. The lid stuck, and while one of us was pouring, extremely hot liquid spilled and caused a painful burn on a friend’s hand. Again, no staff member or manager checked in after this happened, which was very concerning.

Food Quality, Presentation & Service Style When the Turkish breakfast spread was served, there were no small spoons provided for sharing the dishes. Additionally, the eggs that came with the spread were stuck to the plate and served cold, which was disappointing. Service overall felt very hands-off. While I understand this may be intentional to create an authentic Turkish experience, for guests unfamiliar with the custom it can come across as inattentive service. A quick explanation from servers from the start would go a long way in setting expectations.

Positives On a brighter note, the interior is stunning—modern, beautifully designed, and full of thoughtful details, right down to the branded silverware and straws. The atmosphere is stylish and inviting, and it’s clear a lot of care went into creating the aesthetic.

Overall This restaurant has great potential and a beautiful concept, but I hope management takes steps to improve service training, communication,...

Beautiful place, great food & shisha, but left with a very bitter taste.

Tabac+ has all the ingredients for a memorable night out, the location is beautiful, the food is flavorful, the drinks are well-crafted, and the shisha is truly, truly excellent. We came to celebrate a special occasion and had a good time. However, our experience was unfortunately overshadowed by what felt like an extremely deceptive billing practice, some would even call fraud on behalf of the server. Our group of four split the check, and when we each paid, we were presented with tip options of 3%, 5%, or 7% — surprisingly low. I asked our server why the percentages were so minimal, but she didn’t offer any explanation. Wanting to make sure the staff was fairly compensated, I encouraged everyone to leave a custom tip closer to the standard 18–20% (or more) for the great service we received.

Only after everyone had paid and some had already left the table, upon my repeated and surprised questioning, she cared to explain hat gratuity had already been included in the total, and what we tipped was on top of that, and that we should've asked for the itemized bill sooner, not after we had already paid.

It was disappointing and quite embarrassing, to say the least. While I acknowledge I should've insisted on an explanation sooner (even though I mentioned multiple times to her that it's crazy how low the % options were and perhaps something's wrong with their POS system!), I also believe that clarity and transparency should be the bare minimum. Not disclosing an included tip until after we added another gratuity and after everyone's leaving the table feels exploitative.

Even though I loved the place, my group will certainly won't be returning, which is a shame given how promising the venue is and how some of us were previous customers.

I honestly hope management takes this feedback seriously, as it’s experiences like this that can really damage your...

We decided to check out the new Tabac+ with a group of friends since it had been ages since we last had hookah, and I was excited to try their Turkish-inspired menu.

The atmosphere is nice, with great music and a relaxed vibe. I also really enjoyed their selection of non-alcoholic drinks — plenty of creative options to choose from. We ordered several appetizers and the lamb kebab. The highlight for me was definitely the hummus with ground beef kebabs — absolutely delicious and the best dish of the night. The rest of the food was good but not particularly memorable, and unfortunately, the lamb kebab was overcooked. The hookah, though, was excellent — smooth, flavorful, and with a variety of flavors to choose from. The biggest downside of the evening was the service. Our waiter was trying to be attentive, but it was clear he was inexperienced. There were several mix-ups with our orders, and at one point, my drink was delivered to a friend first — after the cool dry ice effect had already dissipated. It may sound small, but I was looking forward to capturing that moment, and it was frustrating. On top of that, splitting the bill was unnecessarily complicated, even though we explained at the start that we needed two separate checks. Overall, the experience was mixed — great hookah, nice atmosphere, decent food, but the service needs a lot of improvement. With some training for the staff, this place has the potential to be a...