Eureka! — Restaurant in San Luis Obispo

So I've totally blanked out and thought I reviewed this place when I visited in September.

Also I very, very rarely give 1-star reviews

I went here with a coworker to have dinner with my bosses since we were all in the area and wanted something simple like burgers and fries. We understood due to Covid that the outdoor dining was the new normal and ordering using the QR code was something we've all done before.

I admit that it was my fault that I didn't read through the whole instructions since I thought it would work like many other restaurants that have the QR code linked to the table you're sitting at (like at places such as Firestone-Walker Brewery). So I ordered the Bone Marrow burger, fries and a sour beer which roughly came out to almost $40 for myself.

I didnt realize you had to put a table number down for an order to be taken to that table but easily enough I would have just picked it up instead at the takeout window, not a big deal I had thought.

After waiting at least an hour for my food while everyone else at my table received theirs (They ordered incorrectly also but received their food at the takeout window). I asked about my order to at least 3 different servers but none of them could even find it. Roughly about another half hour I was finally able to talk to someone that found my order somewhere but at that time it was too cold and everyone had already finished their food.

I asked just to cancel it and get a refund which is the reason I'm posting this since I just realized that the refund never happened. At this point I don't care about it but this has left a bad taste in my mouth and I'm going to never recommend this place whenever I happen to...

The truffle fries were all salt and not even very truffle. Just extremely salty. Boyfriend has high blood pressure, so he didn't even eat them. (I could buy better truffle salt at Ralphs. ) Also you can't eat salt as a meal. It's gross. We couldn't even get the salt off because it's stuck from the oil. The place is so loud and echoing. We couldn't hear each other because the drunk person behind us was so loud and it echoes like a cave in there. They did not stop him from being super loud and obnoxious. The whole place was annoyed. He wasn't talking about anything appropriate either. This made it really difficult to enjoy eating. We were like, "What? " the entire meal. Music too loud. Is it a bar or a restaurant? Cuz I was waiting for a drunk jackass to hit on me for no reason. We had to yell to talk. Prices were way higher than expected and the food is not worth the higher price. The menu is tricky. I thought if I got one of three smaller sides it was included in the burger price. It is not! I was charged another $4 for a side I did not care that much about. But it was in the first list of sides, which made it look included. I also could have sworn that's what the waiter implied. I was never reminded of this additional charge for my side until the bill came and it was too late.

To Do List: Buy some SOUND PANELS and make the menu readable. Kick out horrible customers to keep people coming back.

(You can make your own sound panel by filling any canvas or painting with rock wool insulation. It will dampen the echo. Right now...

Eureka! has long been one of my favorites - until last week. I went in with a friend and was told that a 16% auto-tip was included in every bill b/c of Covid. Didn't make much sense to me - are people really not tipping during a pandemic? But whatever , fine - I was having a spirited conversation and didn't feel it was necessary to interrogate the server about this unusual policy over which he didn't have control anyway. Maybe people really are that awful, who knows?. 90 min. later and 2 drinks in, the bill comes, I scan it to make sure it was the right one, added my customary 20% and went back to the conversation. Waiter picks up, makes small talk, and we depart 10 min. later.

Well, later that night, I'm wondering why the bill was so expensive - and realize I tipped 36%! I'm willing to bet over half of their patrons do this. Hey Eureka, why not stamp the CC receipt to remind customers (such stamps are available on amazon)? Why not have servers give a verbal reminder of the auto-grat as they drop the check - so customers can decide what they want to up it to 20% or more? Why didn't my waiter come back to confirm that it was in fact my intention to tip 36%? The only explanation is that the hope is precisely that customers double tip. Whatever. The rationale for this policy is obscure to begin with, but the implementation is super suss. I've been going here for years and feel like the loyalty this community has shown to you has been...