Trader Vic's — Restaurant in San Jose

Looking for good food at an airport is a little like looking for flowers in a silicon chip factory. It is a world of movement and expanse, of huge windows and too much light and all the time there is a godlike voice looking for someone and telling someone else to come get a lost item… possibly their soul or most certainly at least their sanity.

“Joseph Martin please come back to gate 7 to pick up your lost sanity!” And of course don’t let anyone put anything in your bag.

Trader Vic’s looked like a decent possibility, it had french toast, the wife wanted french toast, what can you do? After a brief wait in the decompression area we were approached by the waiter who directed us to our seats, like a man with other more important things on his mind. He seemed dismissive and uninterested.

That first exchange was off putting, like the blast of cold water you get in the shower when you switch from the main faucet to the shower head. A bit of a shock, there among the lush foliage with the river of humanity flowing past as if you were perched on a bank while the Amazon River flows past full of stories and history.

That abrasive feeling continued throughout the meal. Perhaps he has aspirations to work at a real Trader Vic’s, or he is descended from royalty, but I’m afraid it did not feel welcoming or friendly. Maybe it is just that airport crowds are mean and his skin has thickened over the years, but I would skip straight to the aerial pretzels given no other choice.

Was the french toast good? Well, it wasn’t bad and although expensive, thin, flabby, and uninspired, was better than McDonald’s. Take that as you may.

Much of this could have been fixed with a modicum of friendliness, something to make this a port from the storm, an oasis in the glass and steel desert.

There, set to the side of the moving mass of the traveling hordes, could be a place where the weary traveler stops a moment and gathers themselves, makes plans, decompresses from the rush to catch their final leg home.

It could be all of this and more. It could be a memory, part of a treasured story, a bright spot in a long journey. But it’s not, it is only a veneer in the hard jungle of the lonely lemming.

Remember the food. Remember the pride in service. It’s not just a product, a matter of being proud of the concept instead of being proud...

Great staff. They are super nice. The food is just ok. I was super surprised that for a dip they gave me a plate of broken chips and crumbs to dip in it. Strange quality and care issues there. The drinks are fun. My only major major gripe is that this place is dirty. Like don't look up and don't look down kinda dirty. All the columns and decorations have layers of thick dust, the glasses are covered in thick water spots and make you double check that they aren't actually dirty glasses. Even the TV screen is covered in a surprisingly thick layer of dust. For such a place that could be super charming and fun, the grime factor is off putting. When people sitting around each other are comparing how dirty their glasses are compared to the next person...you should probably take notice that some changes need to be made. Like, why in the world are you using a small caraf to measure out your wine pours...in the same vessel, for all wines, over and over, by the cash register? How long have you been reusing that thing...a day, all week? Just strange non-typical food service standards kinda weirdness. I'm sure it's all safe and what not, but it will serve them very well to dust, sweep, and maybe update the dishwasher. I'll come back. TV with sports, beer, wine, fun cocktails and ok enough food with a very small list of...

I would love to rate them higher as the food, drinks and atmosphere was worth a 5 star review but the service was not. We went for a late lunch before catching our flight, I was paying cash and put more than my total on top of the bill. After a long wait our server grabbed the bill and the cash and went away to her register, I assumed she was going to be back somewhat quickly with my change but after a few minutes went by she hadn’t returned. I assumed she got busy and was fine with waiting but then I watched her take my bill and the cash I had given her, put the cash into her register, took the change out of her register and immediately throw it in her tip jar. She did well serving us and I completely planned on leaving her a tip but after she tipped herself with my change and without asking I was not thrilled. I was planning on asking her for my change when she came back to our side of the bar top, but then she somehow never managed to come back so I asked a different server if I was going to receive my change and she said she would go check with our server. I watched her go over to our server and tell her, our server then went over to her tip jar, dug around until she was able to come up with what my change was and bring it over to us and tell me “sorry I got busy”. I will not go back because of this, super...