Cafe Kati

09/17/08

Good food but really strange service

by citydavid at Citysearch

We used to love Cafe Kati but haven't eaten there in a few years but we decided to give it a try. At 6:15 on a Tuesday it was empty-at least we were seated promptly. The service was so odd that it seemed as if it was their first day in business. We had to wait for the menus to be printed, complimentary biscuts were "in the oven" until after 7pm-and then they were served lukewarm. The server kept coming over to see if everything was okay at our table in a not-so-discrete way. However, the food was quite good and the dishes well composed so who knows what's going on. We had the vietnamese spring rolls whcih were light and flavorful. The peach salad was fine and we ordered the steak that was cooked to our liking and was very tasty. There are many other restaurants with the same level of food and better service so I don't think we'd go out of our way to eat there again - but if we're in the hood again and looking for a place to eat we might stop in again.

• Pros: Good food, easy to get a table
• Cons: Erratic service

02/14/08

Worst dining experience ever! Offensive chef/owner!

by jojo517 at Citysearch

Safe to say the WORST dining experience I have ever had, and that is saying something because we go out to eat quite often. This restaurant has gone downhill fast. Between the RAW chicken and the wrong vegetables served with both entrees, the poor service (one waitress for the entire restaurant), the lack of heat in the restaurant, a constantly skipping CD on the stereo, and the completely offensive and inappropriate behavior by the chef/owner (which included using the "F" word and giving us the finger), I will never go back again. The steak (a $30 item, mind you), was ordered medium, but was served black on the outside and raw on the inside. The raw chicken was covered in goat cheese, even though no mention of goat cheese was on the menu description. The chef/owner was completely out of line and could have diffused a bad dining experience, but only made it even worse than it already was. Spend your money elsewhere!!

• Cons: Service, food, owner's offensive & rude behavior

05/05/07

Sad but true!

by dimpletgeorge at Citysearch

Its true!

I had read some 'not so great reviews' for Cafe Kati. I couldn't believe it, or rather didn't want to believe it ! Have some great memories of eating out here. And at one point it was my favorite restaurant in San Francisco. But its with a heavy heart, I have to agree with a lot of the critics on the deterioration of this place. The food just didn't have the magic, it once had. I was going back here after 4 years. The bathroom was stinking, the rooms looked dingy. The food lacked that certain something. Didn't quite hitt the spot. Was rather expensive too. At this rate, its not going to be able to sustain on its old glory for too long.

Too bad and too sad!

• Pros: Validated parking, decent service
• Cons: Not quite what it used to be, expensive

11/20/06

Bring back the old Cafe Kati!!

by franklin77 at Citysearch

What has happened to this place?! This used to be one of my favorite restaurants in the city! The last 2 times I've made reservations on a SATURDAY NIGHT I was called only hours before the reservation and told the restaurant would be CLOSED - on a Saturday night!! Seems like something is going on there. And, the last time I actually dined at Cafe Kati the chef got into a screaming match with a customer and continued to rant and rave around the restaurant with the other customers about how he was in the right and his customer was wrong. It's sad to say but after reading all of the other reviews, it sounds like things are really going downhill. Please bring the old Cafe Kati back - it's such a San Francisco treasure!

• Pros: The food is delicious and well priced
• Cons: Service went from what used to be flawless to messy and unreliable

11/02/06

A Good Experience - They May Be Turning Things Around

by kg555 at Citysearch

I was worried about this place after reading the unfavorable reviews on citysearch, but my experience was very positive. The service was excellent, a 10/10 I would say. Several people helped us and were friendly, funny, and engaged. The food was inventive & flavorful (esp. loved the prawn rangoon). The owner/chef actually came out to check on us and see how things were going. Seems to me that this place may be turning things around for the better.