01/20/08

The Most Fabulous Service in The City!

by Anders0nic

I have visited this Cafe several times now and can say with conviction; Best Cafe in The City! My girlfriend and I went for a nice Thanksgiving Dinner and was impressed with the quality, quantity, and thoughtfulness of the service and dinner menu. I have since then been back on sveral occasions to sample their finiest hours; Brunch/Breakfast. I have ordered different everytime and each time I am drawn in by the range of the cook behind the counter. This morning my girlfriend and I went in and was surprised by a special treat from the cook and the waitress. If you have a chance try their "special" fruit pancake. It is to die for!

01/17/08

The best service and food in my life

by rennisance

Kookez cafe is the most wonderful place i have ever been to. The restarant is beautiful and the service is reveloutianary. The clam chowder simply tickles your tounge as the broth drizzles down your throat. The main courses are also as good, like the hot sauce, mashed potatoes, steak, chiken tenders, pasta, and desserts. This faboulus diner is made to delight and is extremely good for kids and for big parties.

• Pros: Service, Price, everything
• Cons: none

07/30/07

While I share the same enthusiasm for the food....

by melhughes

...I cannot share the same enthusiasm at Martha when it comes to the service. Perhaps our service was terrible due to the fact that our waitress spent an incredible amount of time with the large group in the front of the restaurant. There were only 3 of us and at one point we actually got up and went to the counter to get the water pitcher to refill our own glasses. Would have done the same with the coffee, but I didn't want to seem obvious.

The food, however, is really amazing...which is why I am giving it 3 stars. I'd give it 5 if I could say the same about our service. We'll definitely go again to enjoy their really good food and the fun environment. I just hope that the next time we go in someone will be kind enough to pay a little more attention to us instead of focusing on just one big 'tip', oops I meant group.

• Pros: Great food! Good vibes!
• Cons: Service can be an issue when it's busy...

07/29/07

Absolutely perfect!!! Food to die for, impecable service!!!

by martha29

I went to Kookez Cafe for a Sunday birthday brunch with a group of friends, and boy was it a great choice. Not many weekend brunch restaurants take reservations for large parties, but Kookez was both accommodating and helpful from the get-go. The food and drinks were incredibly delicious (every single thing we ordered from the mango mimosas to the French toast to "Lynn's favorite breakfast"). The "Sonoma Skillet Cakes" are a MUST. Our food came out fast and hot (and did I mention delicious). The service was superb. Erin, our waitress, deserves kudos galore for being so on top of it! And I don't use the word "kudos" a lot. She nailed our order and literally everyone in the group commented that she was one of the best servers they've ever had! Ask for her and leave a big tip - she deserves it!

We were lucky enough to have the entire front section to ourselves due to the size of our group, but any seat at Kookez would be a fantastic choice. We all HIGHLY recommend Kookez Cafe and we can't wait to go back. So technically, this review is from 13 of us (6 of which are foodies).

• Pros: Food, service...everything!
• Cons: Parking can be tough in this neighborhood on the weekends.

06/02/07

Yum! Perfect spot for a mellow Saturday dinner out...

by mgee

We arrived 20 minutes early (with reservations) and were seated right away. The hostess was warm and gracious throughout our entire dinner (she also took our orders and checked in on tables). When she suggested the Kookez early bird neighborhood special (3 courses + glass of house wine for $20!), glad I took her up (first-timer at Kookez) - zinfindel was the house wine of the night and very smooth/fruity, not to mention generously poured. Both my brother-in-law and I had the house salad and seared salmon, served with perfectly lumpy mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus. My sister went a la carte with the chicken enchiladas (flavorful!) and a side of steamed veggies. Dessert was a housemade vanilla cupcake, perfectly paired with housemade chocolate ice cream. Both the service and food were impressive tonight - will definitely be back. Being a long-time Miss Milie's fan - glad to see its former space being put to good use!

• Pros: Service, Food, Early bird special
• Cons: Parking might be tough during peak hours

01/13/07

Mediocre

by jcopeland1

We live in the neighborhood and wanted to support the latest restaurant. We dined in once and to go once. It's just not that good. The kitchen tried hard to please but the food was uninspired and the service was below average. The second time we ordered the ribs. I had my mind set on some tender fall off the bone fat melted into the meat pork ribs. These were not close. I can't see this place staying open for more than one year.

• Pros: close to my house
• Cons: food & service

10/27/06

Great food! Great atmosphere! Personal Service

by cdriscoll86

Took my wife and daughter our first day in SF. Had a disappointing flavorless lunch in a Monterey Mexican place and a long drive back to SF. The excellent food and service at Kookez made the day!! The vegetable soup was anything but bland....great! Our entrees were perfectly prepared and flavorful.

Didn't realize this when we were eating dinner but they make home made coconut cake...my favorite! Due to a local special event the owner did not make the cake that day.....but there were plenty of other desserts to choose from! The mango sherbet was excellent. (It was nice to see a local establishment involved in the community.)

A definite recommend!!! Don't miss this unique new restaurant!!! You won't be disappointed!!! We will certainly visit Kookez again!!!

09/23/06

Worst Brunch In a While

by pbruso

Was hoping to relive the joy of Miss Millie's, but found a poorly managed, uninspired, overpriced disappointment. "Peach" pancakes were over-spiced normal pancakes with about half a peach on top, potatoes were cold, orange juice was good though. Don't bother.

08/29/06

Good Eats with Awesome Ambiance!!

by delilah

Where to start...where to start....well, let's start with the friendly and prompt attention that my partner and I received the moment we walked through the front door...not to mention the 'homey' atmosphere that Kookez exudes. Our server was a wonderfully fun and charming young lady that took the time to make sure that all of our needs were met...from refilling our water glasses to making sure that we wanted for nothing...and mind you, the restaurant was rather busy, and she never missed a beat! As for the food....all I can say is yum! We started with an order of the Skillet Shrimp...which was absolutely incredible. I had the house salad which was a very tasty mix of pears, cranberries, walnuts and a cranberry dressing, my partner enjoyed a homemade bowl of the vegetable soup, which was served piping hot. It wasn't long after we finished our starters that our delicious dinners arrived. I had the Tri-Tip which was topped with this blueberry chutney that is to die for....Kookez should find a way to bottle and sell this stuff. My dinner companion had the BBQ Shrimp and Dip...WOW, talk about some good old southern cooking. He even mention that is could quite possibly rival that which is served at Mr. B's in New Orleans. Of course, as stuffed as we were at this point, we still had to delight ourselves with some homemade Grandma Lori's Chocolate Cake...served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream...good heavens talk about decadent. Overall, I would have to give Kookez a double thumbs up and oodles of extra credit points. Service A+, Food A+, Atmosphere A+. I HIGHLY recommend trying this new hidden little secret of Noe Valley!

• Pros: Great service, incredible food, wonderful atmosphere...
• Cons: None that I can think of!!

08/28/06

Probably the worst dining experience of my life

by krinehar

I'd like to say that I can look back and laugh about this absolutely horrendous dinner, but I'm still bitter about forking over $80 for terrible service and absolutely inedible food. After being seated, my two friends and I waited ten minutes before speaking to our waitress. Ten minutes later came the bread, which tasted like a stale $.79 grocery store loaf. Fifteen minutes later, our salads came, both of which were missing various ingrediants. Oh, and then the wine came. Then came the "Hearty Vegetable Stew," a completely flavorless, parsely-clogged vegetable broth with a couple potatoes floating forlornly and an inexplicable lemon wedge to garnish. I tried to dip the disgusting bread in the broth, but this proved revolting. My friend's tri tip was burned and dressed, completely absurdly, in blueberry chutney. The three of us briefly considered asking for dinner-sized portions of the garlic mashed potatoes, the only edible thing on the table at that point, but ditched the idea and decided to leave. We reported to the owner that the food was unacceptable and offered to pay for our wine, but she looked at us dumbfounded and refused to give us our meal for free. When I complained about the soup, she actually said to me, "I don't know what you're talking about. That's my favorite soup." Wrong answer, lady. Sadly, this woman's ability to bake tasty chocolate chip cookies and dream of opening a restaurant, as descibed on the front of the menu, do not translate into a fine dining experience. Maybe Kookez pleases some, but I suggest you avoid this place at all costs.

• Pros: none
• Cons: many