Mama's On Washington Square — Restaurant in San Francisco

I stood at the door looking for someone to acknowledge me or tell me to enter. A cooking staff looked at me with a smile and motion me to come in. I had to open the door myself and was bewildered. There was no one to greet me nor tell me how the system works. It was my first time at this restaurant.

The restaurant is small and not busy. I happily found an empty table and began to sit until a wait staff hurriedly ran to my table and informed me that I had to order first then find a table afterwards. I thought this was an odd system. What happens if I can't find a table to sit after I ordered? Waiter said I had to sit outside. I don't like eating outdoors especially on a crowded corner. Since outdoor seating was widely available and there were several empty tables inside that I abided and ordered my food.

The Cranberry-Orange French toast caught my eye (House-baked bread made with tart cranberries, fresh orange juice, and walnuts) because I thought it was unusual because it was made with orange juice). It's like a loaf cake that is sliced and dipped in egg. I prefer it to be more crisper than soft - expecting it to be similar to a pancake (hard on the outside and fluffy in the middle). My companion ordered the Monte Cristo. The middle should be cooked longer so it wouldn't be soggy. The potatoes are loaded with green onions and it should have been listed on the menu. Since neither of us are onion lovers, we barely touched the potatoes.

The ambiance reminds me of sitting in a Paris restaurant soaking in the surroundings and looking at a park. If I had to wait a long time to get into the restaurant, I would have gone elsewhere but since there was no wait and it was the only brunch restaurant in this neighborhood, I thought I would give it a try.

I am giving it a 2 stars because of how you have to get to the bathroom. What an experience that is - totally disgusting and intolerable. I am surprise that the Health Inspectors did not write them up for it. I am glad I did not have to go beforehand otherwise I would have walked out and...

Would give zero stars if possible as we were unable to dine at this establishment. My brother and I planned on having Father's Day Brunch together at Mama's On Washington Square. His knee was injured so I dropped him off while I went to look for parking. I got a disturbing call from my brother as he was being harassed by one of the employees. This man, MIKE, approached my brother, grabbed his airpod case and backpack - his personal belongings- and proceeded to move the table that my brother was sitting at, insisting that he needed to give the table to other people. You have to understand that every single diner at this restaurant was either White or Asian, so for my brother, an African American to be denied the service, common decency, and respect that one would expect from an establishment like this is heinous and disturbing. Even more disappointingly, it turns out that Mike is the MANAGER AT MAMA'S. When confronted, Mike apologized, saying that he had "been awake since 3 am". I have worked in the restaurant and service industry for 10 years off and on and never in my life have I seen a manager, or anyone, think it is okay to touch a patron's belongings and forcefully take a table out from under them to give it to other diners.

Mike, it does not matter what time you woke up, it is 2024, you are the manager of a (somewhat) reputable restaurant. I hope you take this opportunity to reflect on your biases and make the conscious decision to be better in this world. *Don't make excuses for yourself * Commit to understanding exactly what part of you thinks that it is okay value some customers over others based on skin tone or appearance. You offered us a free meal but us staying there, sitting there, eating your food, would only serve to make you feel better about your shortcomings. The humiliation of you causing a scene should not be ours to carry. I hope you are embarrassed because it is you who made a fool out of yourself. To the owners of Mama's, take a look at who you have running...

I heard legends of this place. I heard I absolutely could not miss the food, that it was the best breakfast in the Bay. I heard of it's long wait, and how you must arrive early in order to even eat at a reasonable time. Only some of these legends are true.

We arrived right at opening, with a line already waiting. The line was short and we figured it'd move quickly. Our wait was around an hour, which isn't bad for some nice breakfast.

But the thing is, the breakfast isn't nice. It's ok. It's nothing special. The eggs didn't stand out to me in anyway, the potatoes were undercooked(a complaint I had read about before, but hoped wasn't typical), the sausage was just ok. I could have, and often do, make better breakfasts at home.

My husband got a crab cake benedict. He really liked it. I tried some and I wasn't impressed. It wasn't anything special. It wasn't worth an hour wait.

I was so disappointed in our breakfast. I mean, I could have gone to Tartine! ...Tartine! They have an unbeatable breakfast. Tartine is worth waiting in line for, which I have done. That line moves much faster.

The best thing at Mama's is the French Toast, but skip that and go get a Morning Bun at Tartine. It's way better.

Mama's food isn't horrid(except those damn undercooked potatoes), and the staff is friendly. I guess I just felt like the food did not live up to the legends. It just sort of feels like they got all this praise and are now just phoning it in.

If you find yourself in San Francisco during breakfast hours, do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. The Mission distract has some amazing Mexican...