House of Shaw Cafe & Bakery — Restaurant in Stockton

Went here for lunch today with my mother, wanting to try out a new local spot to eat. At first, seemed like a nice little cafe with a bit of charm to it, decently busy. Upon ordering, we were served by a man who seemed to be in a not so great mood, giving everyone attitude. As someone who works in retail in a rougher area, I get it, customer service (especially when understaffed) can get to you and pile up with the other things in life, making some days rough. However, he decided to take it out on us, making today quite possibly the worst dining experience me and my mother have ever had. Let me share.

After he took our order and giving us plenty of attitude and lack of care doing so, we pay (we generously tipped them too) and take our number. We go to sit and find all the available tables dirty, covered in crumbs and spilt drink, resulting in us cleaning it ourselves with napkins. Once sitting, we wait about 10-15 minutes before we even get our drinks, which were honestly decent lattes. What follows is about 45 minutes of waiting with no customer service, no checking, and no food. At first we thought it was due to them being short staffed, but plenty of other groups who were sitting and individuals who ordered to go, who ordered after us, were receiving their food first. We only ordered two coffees and three simple dishes, one of them being to go, meaning they could have less urgency for it. My mother and I sat in confusion, until eventually the man who took our came to our table… to inform us that they were out of an ingredient for my mother’s dish, still packing attitude and being condescending. He then disappears and returns with one of ours dishes about 10 minutes later… the one we ordered to go, so we still didn’t get to eat. After another half hour of waiting, we receive our food… which was incredibly disappointing. The same man said he would return with silverware for my mother, never came back, forcing my mother to grab her own fork. Her tostada was sloppy, my sandwich bland, and our to go wrap looking as if it and its side salad were merely thrown in. I should note that my mother is a type one diabetic, so by the time our food arrived her hands were beginning to shake. Not only was our food disappointing, but they made my mother wait to an almost dangerous amount of time for her to eat (the to go order wasn’t hers, otherwise she would have ate it), which is unforgivable to me. I say unforgivable because I believe the man who served us did this on purpose, picking on us because of his bad day. Sure, he was giving everyone else attitude, but he was seemingly making us specifically wait and just making things unpleasant for us. Wether it was because of our looks or he chose us at random to screw with us, I’m not sure. If you’re reading this buddy, get help. Things get rough for people, but taking it out on others isn’t right, so I hope things get better for you, sincerely.

If the owner happens to read this, the man who helped us had tattoos, black hair, facial hair, wearing a black shirt and was on larger and taller side. I didn’t get his name, but I think he needs to be talked to. My mother and I will not be returning. Thank you for reading...

Came here with my partner and was really looking forward to trying a new place. A bit pricey for the food and tipped generously for service that we never really received. Went to find a table outside and it was shaking like a see-saw. Tried to balance that out with sugar packets/napkins but still couldn’t get the table to lay flat. Ordered a turkey sandwich that had literally just turkey and cheese - never received our chips and it was around $13!!! Ordered another croissant sandwich that was average but also very pricey for what it was. Service was meh at best. Never received the chips with our sandwich. Received the wrong drink twice and ended up settling. Had to ask for napkins and silverware. Wanted part of our order to go and it was brought out on a plate. We were never checked on and felt extremely frustrated through out the whole experience. It wasn’t packed or anything. Definitely would not dine in here again but will give it another try for the pasty selection to go. Hoping we just came...

The service was fantastic. I think that's the most important part. The woman who made my bagel was a perfectionist and the food was incredibly beautiful and assembled very skillfully with much attention to detail. The atmosphere was ok. Quiet and clean for the most part. The food was good. I ordered the lox bagel with salmon and capers. It tasted alright. Not too bad. The bagel was very chewy but not unpleasantly so. The coffee was really just ok. Not too much flavor. I ordered the hazelnut cold brew with oat milk. My table was extremely wobbly so it moved with every bite of my fork and every time I picked up and set down my coffee so that was a little frustrating and embarrassing but I did not want to move and dirty another table so I stuck it out. If I decide to eat breakfast in Stockton again I will definitely consider this place from just the service alone. Professionalism goes a long way and this team definitely...