Brickhouse Cafe & Bar — Restaurant in San Francisco

I've walked past Brickhouse many times, but it was only recently that I finally checked it out. I went here with a group of friends for a late brunch / lunch. It wasn't busy when we went, so there was no difficulty getting a table fir a group. And right off the bat, the server was already there shortly after sitting down; he was attentive and friendly, so I'm not really sure who the other Yelp reviewers were referring to since it couldn't have been him. The group of us shared two starters, garlic fries and onion rings lol. It's perhaps not my first choice as starters go, but they were big and greasy and delicious anyway. For my entree, I had the Brickhouse burger with the three cheese toppings, which was perfect for what I was craving this day. My friends had more "brunchy" type foods, opting for some egg entrees with some combination of the other stuff, and they all seemed more than satisfied with their choices. The place itself was interesting to check out. It's more of a "bar" than a restaurant, which I'm perfectly fine with, but just writing it here in case people were expecting something different. Overall, great food and friendly service. It also seems like a fun place to hang out when it's more bar-like, so I'll probably come by again sometime in...

UPDATE: Changed rating from 1 to 4 stars. It appears that the staff at the time of this visit lacked managerial oversight and implemented the auto-tip policy on her own, against company policy. My attempt to rectify this issue in person at the time was hindered by the fact that I was dealing directly with said employee because there was no manager present at the time…though she didn’t express this to me. She just claimed that it was company policy.

As you can see, the proprietor replied to my post and explained the reality of the situation and graciously offered a gift card to use on a return visit. The gift card is unnecessary and I will not claim it, I will however continue to use this establishment as my go-to Giants pregame stop.

I’ve been coming here for years and it’s always been good people. good food, and good service. However, I won’t be coming back. Maybe it’s the norm now and I’m out of touch, but an automatic 20% tip for 2 people when the place is empty and another 4-5% surcharge is ridiculous. I likely would have tipped the 20%, or more, anyway, but I think it’s BS to go the automatic route. If costs have gone up then increase the prices on the menu…to hide 25% is not a business practice that I...

My wife and I had a TERRIBLE experience here.

We went to the counter to place our order and the young lady behind the register was obviously distracted and disinterested. We ordered breakfast with water. When asked "for here or to go" we asked to eat there. We paid and sat down. We were brought one water in a paper to go cup while everyone else was being served with nice dishes. We asked that another water be brought and in a while another to-go cup arrived. Finally we got our meals but in two greasy brown paper bags by the girl who took our order at the register. We mentioned to the this person that we wanted to eat in. She looked incredulous and said "you said you wanted your order to go". We explained that we didn't and we asked at the register to eat in. She gives us a long hard look amd accuses us of "f×!*ing with her. At this point I told her that she was obviously distracted when she took our order and we did, in fact, both ask her for dine in. She let's out a "pshaw", snatches our bags, and returns with two plates (no silverware or napkins) DROPS them on the table with an audible clank and sarcastically says "I guess the customer is always right".

On top of that the food was mediocre at...