LAUREL COURT RESTAURANT — Restaurant in San Francisco

The cheese was moldy!

I am a vegetarian and my partner is not, and we ordered a pasta dish, one with meat and one without. Both came without meat and instead one had cheese and one did not. We decided to ask for extra cheese rather than asking for it to be remade with the meat on my partner’s dish, and the parmesean they brought out had MOLD on it.

The servers also tried to take away our appetizer too soon (we were halfway through the brussel sprouts and they already tried to take it away), and the pasta itself was runny and had frozen peas which was not listed in the ingredients on the menu.

While we were seated, we watched a waiter clean the table with a dry, used towel, not replace the plate mat, and place the new silverware directly on the used table mat. The table itself where we were seated was extremely sticky.

They also charge an automatic 20% gratuity, even for just 2 people. Given the order was wrong, we were rushed, and the food literally had mold on it I have never been more disappointed in an overpriced meal.

I added a photo of the moldy cheese. I know the mold spot is small, but as a microbiologist, I think it’s important for people to know, by the time it’s visible, the entire package cannot be salvaged.

Edit: We had a breakfast credit so we had to come back for breakfast and it was just as bad! I added a photo, and yes that is $7 worth of potatoes! I am Irish, so I’ve never not wanted to finish a serving of potatoes. They've accomplished the impossible!

My partner’s sausage had frozen goo on it. I added a photo of his sunny side up egg breakfast, as served. $25? Yikes!

Took forever for the food to come out and the avocado was hard and brown. At least the table wasn’t AS sticky!

Oh and they charged us an extra $40 for drinks we didn’t order separately after we left dinner. No idea how that happened. Luckily the front desk cleared those but I’ve literally never had a hotel charge for drinks I didn’t...

One of the most disappointing afternoon tea experiences my sister and I have ever had. While the ambiance was pleasant and fitting for a venue of this caliber, nearly every other aspect fell far short of expectations.

The food was underwhelming, with several items tasting slightly stale, but the service was the most egregious issue. As I was driving, I requested apple cider instead of champagne. Halfway through tea service, the server mistakenly poured champagne into my half-full glass of cider, completely ruining the drink.

The real shock came with the bill. Our server informed us that a 20% gratuity was automatically included, which was also noted in the menu’s fine print. However, when the bill arrived, he insisted the tip had not been included and asked us to fill in the gratuity section. Confused, we asked for clarification from another server, who speculated that maybe our server “preferred his tip in cash.” ???

When we requested a corrected bill to include the automatic gratuity, our server sighed loudly, dramatically ripped the original receipt in front of us, and said, “I’ll bring you another one then!” For an establishment like the Fairmont, such behavior was not only unprofessional but utterly appalling.

Considering the price and the venue’s reputation, this experience was a complete disappointment. While the ambiance and live music was nice, the food and service were far below the standard one...

I really seldom give poor review as I feel that is wasting my time and not helping anybody. I had high expectations for this place given it's in a 4-star hotel and charging premium price. I was disappointed as there was such big disparity between the price they charged and the food and service they provided. We came to the Fairmont Hotel to see the gingerbread house and decided to have a nice dinner here since the atmosphere seemed nice. Seating was quick as it was still early at 6pm. We started with steam mussel and California coastal chowder. The chowder was good though not exceptional. The mussels were below average and obviously not that fresh. For the main course, my wife had a butter lettuce salad and I had the braised lamb shank. At least no one can mess up a salad as it's just chopped lettuce with apple and pecans. The lamb shank was tender but with little flavor. Overall the quality of food would be 2 out of 5 stars even in a average restaurant. Our waiter did not even check in on us once after taking our orders. We had to tell the bust boy to catch him to give us our bill. The lack of service from the waiter was jaw dropping. We ended up paying 5-star price for 2-star food and service here. It's hard to imagine I would ever...