Hard Knox Cafe — Restaurant in San Francisco

Happened to be in the Outer Richmond SF and was ravished for a good hearty breakfast. Stumbled upon Hard Knox accidentally, and we got there 30 mins before opening, but the Manager, Susan, was kind enough to allow us to wait/rest in the sidewalk patio (helped me a lot because I have a mobility disability). While we were waiting, we were offered coffee which helped as it was a tad brisk this morning. Food: Amazing! Beignets: Not the typical, squared-off-beignets that you may be used to, as this looked more like a round'ish croissant, but it tasted just like a traditional beignet, and the outside crunchiness made it fun! As you can see from the pic, fresh fruits adorned the pastries. Great touch! Chicken and waffles: Crunchy on the outside, moist and juicy on the inside, full of flavor and in no way too salty or oily as in many places. Veggie omelet: Customarily, I'm a carnivore, but the ingredients - egg, spinach, mushrooms (ordered it with extra mushrooms), Swiss cheese (ordered it with extra Swiss cheese), tomatoes, onions - were so fresh, I devoured it in 10 minutes. The hash browns that came with it stayed crunchy on the outside, and soft/moist inside, throughout the meal. Grits: Typically, grits don't get a review, but these were very tasty and wholesome. Slather on some butter, and it was delicious! Plus: Before our orders arrived, Susan brought us some delicious corn bread baby muffins FRESH out of the oven. We were served four pieces, but I could have easily shoveled a dozen into my mouth -- they were that good. The place became fairly full within 30 minutes, with customers who appeared to be from the neighborhood. This resto is dog/pet-friendly, too, and they provide your fur babies with doggie water bowls. Absolutely a wonderful place to start your weekend! Thank you, Susan, and staff, for the...

First time coming here(& that’s coming from someone who literally lives blocks away from this place) decided to try their Jambalaya. Let’s start with the Cons: There’s a small sign telling you if your going to order to go to just walk in but if your going to eat there you have to form a line, but there should be an employee guiding people & I know I went during Lunch & they seemed like they were super busy plus short staffed, so I’ll give them a second chance next time. 2) if your ordering to go there’s no way for you to know when your order is ready, I waited like 15 mins. Until I asked an employee who was cleaning a table in their outdoor patio which he told me to give him a second & went inside to get my order if I wouldn’t have asked I’d still be waiting for my food, once again it was lunch time I understand but they should be more organized 3) they gave me my order but only included a spoon but not a fork which I needed because I ordered Jambalaya with pasta & I had a hard eating the pasta with the spoon plus no napkins! Who doesn’t give napkins in a restaurant! Once again I understand they were busy but come on, makes u not want to come back to this place for such poor service & the Jambalaya was ok, I think Safeway’s Jambalaya taste better than this. Ok let’s move on to the Pros: Food was hot when I ate it so that’s a plus, they included some hot house that went well with it, & the corn muffins they include with the meal! That’s the winner in this all! Super good! Highly recommend u try their corn muffins! On that note I’ll still give this place another try because I’ve heard there known for their fried chicken so I’ll come back & try it out, hopefully I’ll have a better experience the second time I come...

TLDR: Hard Knox Cafe and Soul Food has some of the best fried chicken in the city. Their chicken and waffles are great, flavorful and comforting. The waiters are nice and friendly. My only issue is that the food takes too long to come out compared to other Southern style restaurants I've been to.

Hard Knox Cafe and Soul Food has been a staple in San Francisco for nearly 20 years now, since 1999, and has been very successful in bring the Southern style food and flavors into the Bay Area. The restaurant has two locations, one in the Dogpatch and the other in the Richmond. The atmosphere of the Richmond location has an 80s diner vibe, decorated with quite a few vintage advertisement signs and bright red couches that look like they were ripped out of a car from the 70s. After we were seated, it did not take long for our orders to be taken and for the complimentary cornbread to come out. My friend and I ordered the same thing, fried chicken and waffles.

One of the biggest complaints I have with Hard Knox Cafe is that the food took too long. My party, after receiving the corn bread, waited nearly 30 mins for the actual chicken and waffles to come out. I'm not sure if this was a usual wait time for them, but that was the longest I've waited for chicken and waffles from a restaurant. Regardless, the chicken and waffles were fantastic. The chicken was very juicy and flavorful, no dry spots at all. The breading around the chicken was seasoned well, nothing felt overpowering. The waffles themselves were sweet and fluffy, for a good contrast with the fried chicken. Overall, the food was good, the service and atmosphere was good, but the amount of time you wait felt excessive. I liked the food, just not enough to...