05/26/09

Great food and atmosphere

by CSMobileUser

Went on a Saturday night and did have to wait an hour but it was worth it. Sangria was good and helped past the time. There was four of us and five tapa dishes were more than enough. Chickenwings were delicious. Calamari tasty and the shrimp with I forgot what sauce

Sauce was so good we used the bread to finish sauce. Kitchen did not need to wash that plate.

02/26/09

Haight St is Cha Cha Cha-ing its way past the bar scene

by LindseyL86

With crowds of people outside and standing room only within, Cha Cha Chas has become the most popular restaurant on Haight St. While other restaurants only offer seating and food, Cha Cha Chas bar serves Sangria almost more popular than their Mediterranean menu.

?I?ve been coming here for 10 or 12 years and there is just such a San Francisco vibe here,? said Matthew Allred, restaurant manager in South San Francisco, ?plus the Sangria is amazing!?

While patrons eagerly await their table, they are ushered into the bar area where the center is an ice filled pit with glass buckets of Sangria made on site. Half empty pitchers adorn the tables between the bright red and zebra painted atmosphere. Mediterranean music bumps in the background. Walking past every other bar on the Haight, it is clear that this is the busiest of all and yet no liquor is served, only beer and Sangria.

?I?ve worked here for 23 years,? said Christina Schubeck, ?and it?s always been this busy?crazy busy.?

?Normally I like to go bar hopping but this place is honestly the best bar you could ask for?I?m staying,? said Heather Vega, first time patron of Cha Cha Chas and student at San Francisco State.

Cajun shrimp and calamari are just a few of the things that create Cha Cha Chas menu.Guitars hang on the walls and angels watch over the Sangria bar while customers ignore the norm of the bar scene for something completely unique.

?Everybody is different here,? said Kimberly Guess, a 43 year old massage therapist, ?and we love the sangria!?

The draw back for the normal bar crowd is that Cha Cha Chas still holds only restaurant hours, closing at 11pm on weekends and 10pm on weekdays.

?It?d be nice if they were open later but honestly, who cares? This is such an eclectic barrage of craziness,? Vega said, while gesturing to the crowd and wall decorations, ?any time in this place is a good time.

02/18/09

Sangria? YES PLEASE!!

by Bn2bwld

I had never been to Cha Cha Cha before... I will most deffinately be back. Walking in you are surrounded by the almost comical latin atmosphere. The place is alive with conversation and highly reccomend eating in the bar area. The 25 minunte wait was the perfect ice breaker, the pitcher of sangria probably helped too. When it came time to order I said "Bring three dishes of your choice." The food was great the price was even better.

• Pros: Great Staff, Excellent Atmosphere, Awesome food
• Cons: None

01/11/09

Saliva with your sangria? Sure, why not!

by TrughBTold

Food is good, although expensive (for a few cuts of shrimp and maduros). I was looking forward to their oh so popular sangria, until I realized where their main tub (where they filled up the pitchers of sangria) was located... in front of the counter just below all the mouths that place their request-- can you imagine the GALLONS of saliva in each pitcher??? Ewwwww... come on people, pay close attention!! So, I recommend the food, but NOT their sangria!

• Pros: Fast service
• Cons: Loud music (WAY too loud) and their saliva filled sangria?

09/21/08

so many choices and all of them are good

by anesejatina

+ atmosphere

+ attentive staff

+ sauteed mushrooms

+ cajun shrimp

+ plantains

+ spanish rice

+ pricing

+ handicap accessible

- available parking

07/17/08

Disappointed

by SaraLibre

I had no problem with them adding a healthcare surcharge onto my bill, because I think everyone should have health insurance. I was shocked to find out later that even though they gave out a card saying they're proud to be giving their employees health coverage, they're actually suing the city over it. I hate to think that they are using my money to take away people's health care .

11/19/07

Worst dining experience EVER - Mission Street location

by reese797

I have never been treated worse at any eating establishment in my life, including McDonalds. We had a party of 14 under my name and checked in with the host twice before our actual reservation to let him know we were in the bar. He was clearly strung out on something and didn't seem to have any clue what he was doing. When we saw a large party get seated, we checked on our table and he stated "There are two parties of Marisa for 14?" with a dumbfounded look on his face. The host attempted to then seat us at two small tables and 8 chairs for 14 people, then another that only sat 10. When numerous attempts to speak to a manager (or anyone in charge that would help us) failed, we took an empty table nearby. The manager proceeded to YELL in my face that we were hustling them (because we asked for some free sangria to make up for everything), then said we could either keep the table we took or one pitcher of sangria (for 14 people). At that point, we didn't want to give them our money so we left and went to a Taqueria down the street. Never once did I raise my voice, yet I was attacked by the manager. Between the strung out host and the rudely inappropriate manager, I will never eat at this establishment ever again and urge prospective diners to STAY AWAY!

10/06/07

Authentic Latin Food

by xtinajohnson

Great, authentic Latin food. Compairs very well to Latin food I ate in Miami. The quesadillas and their salsa were especially tasty. Be prepared to wait well over an hour for a table. Put your name on the list, and go get a drink on Haight.

• Pros: Menu, Ambience
• Cons: Parking, Wait Time

09/17/07

I used to love this place, but it's gone downhill.

by lovediningallover

I decided to give Cha Cha Cha's one more chance, because I had at one time really liked the place. I thought that maybe it became good again, but I was wrong. <br><br>

We got there when it opened for lunch, and although there were only four other customers (two at each table), service was horrible. The waitress finally took our order, and then we waited... and waited... First she was outside, then back inside. She played with her hair, scratched her tattoo, and then started filling up bread baskets (no glove, no washing her hands - just grabbing bread pieces and putting them in bread baskets). I found myself with no desire for the bread she never even bothered to bring to our table during our wait.<br><br>

As we waited, I could see some of our food up on the "warming" shelf. I looked for the waitress to ask her to tell her to go ahead and bring us what was ready, but she was no where in site.<br><br>

Another server ended up bring us our food, and a basket (yech) of bread. <br><br>

The calamari was lukewarm, and the dipping sauce sub-par. The fried potatoes were overcooked (dark brown and dry) and not even hot. The aioli sauce (that I loved in the past) was bland and gooey on the top (refrigerator burn?) The two dishes were almost inedible. The plantains were good. But a half plate of plantains does not a lunch make. And at NO TIME did the waitress come by and ask how things were. She had taken our order, and then we never saw her again until she finally brought the bill.<br><br>

I can easily say I will not go back. The food was mediocre the time I went before this last time, but I really, really wanted to give them another chance. But now they are even worse.

• Pros: Get there early and there is no waiting in line.
• Cons: You will still wait due to poor service, Food has gone way downhill.

02/18/07

We love this place!!

by dianaestelle

This is one of my husband and I's favorites...although it is loud and the wait can be long, the food is great and the service once you are seated is relatively quick and friendly. We have eaten both the entrees and tapas, but I think the tapas are better. The chicken is delicious with a sweet and slightly hot sauce atop a bed of rice, the calamari is cooked just right and has an enormous side of delicious dipping aioli sauce that is gently mild in flavor. The chicken quesadilla is enormous and definitely doesn't disappoint....I would say it's almost more of a very large soft taco or burrito with all the good things they stuff inside of it. The black bean soup is delicious and so are the fried plantains, but don't get both at the same time, as the plantains come with a side of blackbeans that are almost identical to the soup. Don't be fooled by the menu calling the items "tapas" - the portions are fairly large, and if you're like us and just can't decide on two or three items, you'll be taking lots of leftovers home...which isn't so much of a bad thing!

• Pros: large selection of tapas, sangria, fun atmosphere
• Cons: parking, crowded and noisy, waiting area by door isn't sufficient - may have to wait outside