Toy Soldier — Restaurant in San Francisco

Toy Soldier had a promising restaurant week menu for lunch. I've never been to this particular restaurant before and Belden Place is a famous alley that has a number of restaurants. It's usually packed with people in the evenings or at least from what I remember. Even at 1pm the area was bustling with patrons so that's a good sign. It seemed like they were just finishing up a busy lunch service when we arrived. There was no wait for a table which was great and we were seated right away. Unfortunately that's when things went south.

I looked at the glass cup that was on the table and was told it's just a scratch. Not exactly comforting to hear if you ask me. I ordered the wedge salad as a starter, grilled salmon for the main, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. The wedge salad is solid and had plenty of bacon in it. Definitely a good option if you want to go light on appetizers. I also tried the braised meatballs and they were great with the marinara sauce. Things slowed to a crawl at this point and we were left wondering where our order was. We were told it's was coming and that's only after we flagged our waiter down. The grilled salmon was seasoned well, had the right flavors, and spinach was perfectly cooked. I tried one of the pieces of the fried chicken and it was good. My first choice of the strawberry shortcake was out. They only had the chocolate brownie left which was just okay. The portions were quite large and a good value for lunch.

Service: our waiter seemed checked out. He was the only one left in our area and even when the place started clearing out after the lunch hour rush, the pace of things was awful. There was absolutely a lack of customer service today and they fell short. If there were issues in the kitchen he did not inform us nor apologize for the delay. Same goes for the dessert since we were only told towards the end...

If I could give this restaurant a ZERO, I absolutely would! Our team made the huge mistake of booking this place for an offsite with 120 people, and it was a complete disaster from start to finish. Ridiculous Price, Pathetic Experience: We paid an outrageous $120 per person, only to be shoved outside on cheap plastic chairs. Unbelievable Wait: We waited a mind-numbing 2 hours and 40 minutes for the main course. That’s right—almost THREE HOURS for food! Insulting Portions: For 120 people, they served a few lamb chops, steaks, some salmon, and pasta—barely enough for 80 people. Each dish was a single plate for over 10 people, so by the time it reached us, there was NOTHING left. People Left Hungry: Nearly half our team gave up and left before any real food arrived. Overcharged and Underserved: After people left, they still charged us for 120, so the actual cost per person was over $180 for this nightmare. Horrible Service and Attitude: The staff treated us like we were a nuisance, not customers. The environment was terrible, the service was worse, and the food was a joke. This place is a scam. They took our money, gave us nothing in return, and treated...

Came here for restaurant week and was excited for their three course lunch menu. We were seated right away upstairs. This restaurant is located in belden alley and has a lot of seating with outside patio seating, and inside has two levels of ample seating.

We ordered the meatballs and wedge salad, beef stroganoff and pork chop, and a strawberry short cake and chocolate pot de creme. The food came shortly after. The salad and meatballs were good. The beef stroganoff was really good, but the pork chop was sadly tough and dry. The dessert came and I was really looking forward to the strawberry shortcake but enjoyed the chocolate pot de creme a lot more.

Overall, it was a great experience. Restaurant week gave us a great opportunity to try this place. I was a little disappointed in the pork chop and strawberry shortcake. After we had finished lunch, it was pretty hard to get our waiter back for the check since we were upstairs alone. I would recommend this place as it seems like a nice...