Nick's Lighthouse — Restaurant in San Francisco

This is the new location at 445 Jefferson.

I live in the neighborhood and used to be a regular at Jack’s, the previous bar that occupied this space, before it sadly closed down after the owner passed away. So when I saw a new spot had opened in its place, I was hopeful it would bring back that much-needed bar and restaurant vibe for locals and tourists alike.

My wife and I stopped in one afternoon for a couple of beers before picking up some crab across the street at Alioto’s. The service was decent, and the drinks were fine — just a couple beers and maybe a whiskey. We enjoyed the visit overall, but the music was blaring at a volume that made conversation nearly impossible. On top of that, it was 1950s music, which didn’t really match the feel of the place.

Fast forward to my second visit: I was working on my house and decided to take a break and grab a cheeseburger and a beer. The bartender was friendly and somewhat engaging. He took my order, poured my beer, and went over to take care of the only other table with customers.

Unfortunately, the food was a letdown. The burger bun was stale and hard, and the two frozen beef patties were overcooked and dry. Oddly enough, there was even a faint seafood taste to it, which didn’t help. I gave up after a few bites. On the bright side, the fries were actually really good — crispy and flavorful.

Overall, if a place can’t get a basic cheeseburger right, it’s hard to see it lasting long in a neighborhood like this. And for some reason, they don’t even have Guinness on tap, which is pretty surprising around here.

One more thing: the whole "4% discount for cash" policy is just a confusing way to say there's a 4% charge for using a credit card. I even saw a couple walk in, read the “cash only” signs behind the bar, and leave. It’s off-putting. Honestly, it’d be better if they just streamlined the payment policy altogether.

I’ll probably give it another shot in a few weeks to see if things improve — hoping they find...

Warning - 20% tip is automatically added to every bill as a service fee but they don’t tell you!

This was our first time at Nick‘s Lighthouse. We went in and there at 6pm on a Saturday night and there was only two people in the restaurant other than the two people at the bar. We were told we could sit anywhere which we did. We asked a few questions about the menu then placed our order. Not long afterwards my husbands dinner came out but not mine. I waited and waited and it finally came out when my husband was half done with his. Server asked if we would like a few extra napkins but that’s it. We got the bill and right before my husband was going to pay it I looked and saw service charge on there. They automatically added a 20% tip to the bill. When the server came back with the slip my husband asked him if the tip was already added and he said yes, so my husband asked him if it was anywhere on the menu and he said yes. We didn’t see on the menu that it was an automatic 20% tip for any size party. We weren’t looking for it but we looked over that menu for a long time. If we had seen that we would’ve left. If they have no problem doing it then they should post it where you can see it and/or have the servers tell the customers. A tip is earned and the server wasn’t worth 20% but they automatically put it on there. The server then doesn’t have to do their job well because they’re already getting a tip so they don’t have to do anything extra, they don’t have to work for it. They don’t tell anybody and then at the bottom of the slip there’s a spot where it says tip for you to add additional so if you don’t notice that it says service fee on there you’re going to tip him your 15, 18, 20 or 25% whatever you tip on top of the service fee, which is already added. I will never...

Wonderful food, terrific and friendly service and gorgeous historic dining room and bar. We had beer and cocktails, chowder and shrimp and it hit the spot at 4pm after a day spent wandering the waterfront. Great happy hour prices too. We had the best waiter ever and really enjoyed our meal in a comfy booth by the fireplace. Has to be amongst the best spots to eat at the Wharf. 100/100 and thoroughly...