Manitas Cafe — Restaurant in San Francisco

Really Terrible Experience Unfortunately

I personally would avoid this restaurant at all costs. The food was just ok, and the service was so bad it nearly cost my life – I will explain.

We had a nice day planned for a Sunday afternoon. My fiancé and I were planning to grab some food and then she surprised me with booking us for a pottery class. We visited Manitas Café as she wanted some Salvadoran food. I went ahead to place the order and there was a young man (maybe 14 years old would be my guess) working the cash register. Prior to placing my order, I mentioned to him that I had an allergy to sesame and tree nuts. Then I ordered the Huevos Rancheros and the Enchiladas. I asked specifically again if there was any sesame in the sauce and was told that there wasn’t. The food was delivered to our table. I took a bite of the enchiladas and then a bite of the Huevos Rancheros. Within seconds I felt my mouth get all itchy and my throat started to swell. I ran to the kitchen area and asked the owner now if there was any sesame in our food. He said yes both the Huevos and the Enchiladas have sesame in the sauce. I told him that I has asked when I ordered the food if there was sesame because I had a severe allergy. He walked past me and said sorry. I said “no, it not alright to just brush it off, it is serious.” He never said another word to me and just went back behind the counter. I luckily had pills on me that I took immediately and then left with my fiancé to drive to the hospital to see if I would need to check myself in or if the Benadryl would take effect. I had to take my inhaler and more pills (didn’t take the EpiPen yet) and then got pretty drowsy from the medicine. Needless to say, our afternoon was not going as planned. We were not going to make the pottery class. I woke up a couple hours later covered in hives and skin felt like it was on fire. I took more pills and debated going to the hospital. I felt like I was getting it under control and avoided the hospital because my breathing was still alright and did not want to incur high costs.

I just wish restaurants would take this whole allergy thing more seriously. They need to have proper training for their employees. I decided to send an email to the restaurant to tell them about my experience and that I wish they would take it more seriously because it had such a negative impact on my day and my health – literally suffering for 4-5 hours. I am including the response below from the restaurant after I let them know how the allergy effected my afternoon as I was shocked by the response.

“I apologized twice, listened to your snark, refunded the bill, trained the person. That’s all we owe you. Good luck with the “deadly” sesame thing. Send us a doctors note next time you decide to miss pottery class. Bye “

Whose counting – he did apologize once, my snark was when I said “it is not ok”, this is not about a refund of the bill – this is about proper training which obviously did not happen. But you have got to love the quotation on the deadly part and then the conclusion was just one for the history books – does not show a care in the world about how this impacted me and could impact others. I much more professionally response would have been “we will take this matter much more seriously in the future, make sure we do complete proper training and our employees are aware of the food allergy ingredients as not to provide false information. Sorry your day was negatively impacted but I hope you are feeling better. We hope to do better next time.” Something along these lines, but as you can see from the response, this individual has zero sympathy for the impact of their negligence. It could have been a lot worse if I took more than just two small bites and if I was not carrying the medicine on me. I am not sure why he seems so angry, but obviously does not recognize the severity of the mistake. And the food was not even that tasty – the worst part. At least if I am going to taste something with sesame by mistake – wish it...

I recently started working in the area and was eager to try out Manitas Cafe. Excited to try the food, I placed a to-go order and opted for a burrito. However, upon eagerly unwrapping my meal, I was dismayed to find that there was no salsa included in the bag.

Thinking it might have been an oversight, I waited in line again, hoping to rectify the situation. To my surprise, the staff informed me that they didn't have any salsa available, even for purchase. This was particularly frustrating, as I had noticed on their Yelp page numerous photos showcasing dishes accompanied by--you guessed it--fresh salsa.

Feeling perplexed, I couldn't help but wonder: how could a Salvadoran restaurant not have salsa available? It seemed like an essential component of many of their dishes. The staff member directed me to a table where I could find Tapatio, but it just wasn't the same.

The whole experience left a sour taste in my mouth. As much as I wanted to enjoy Manitas Cafe, this incident rubbed me the wrong way. It's disappointing when a restaurant fails to meet even the most basic expectations.

Also the burrito was basic, and not worth the almost $20 I paid for it.

Despite potentially delicious offerings, I'm hesitant to return given this experience. And as much as I'd like to recommend it to others, I can't overlook the fact that something as simple as salsa was missing. Hopefully, they'll address this issue in the future, but until then, I'll be exploring other dining options...

Not a suitable place for business meetings. Horrible attitude

One of the nice things about San Francisco neighborhoods is the polite relationship and sense of community that local businesses share with residents. The owner of this cafe is unprofessional. Went there for a business meeting. When we arrived, we saw this man struggling to open the door because his hands were full. I hopped in politely and held the door for him with a smile because it's what San Franciscans do for their neighbors. My business meeting partner ordered a latte, I opted for water not feeling like having anything. Didn't realize how petulant this choice will make the guy. Done with our business meeting, this guy interjected to mock my choice of water, and for not drinking it. While clearing up our table, his hands were again full and he dropped something, I once again helped pick up the item. Then this man proceeded to make placing the item and my cup of water an embarrassing show in front of my business associate. I regretted ever being polite.

Can't speak for the food, as I didn't eat here. But the unprofessional and petulant attitude of this cafe owner is enough to make it an undesirable place for a business meeting - unless you can handle...