Patrick B.
Yelp
Beyond bad.
It had been a while since my last visit. Back in the day, pre-COVID, before the explosion in the number of homeless people in our city, "Blakwood" was warm and cozy with a friendly staff, good food and wifi. It was a nice place to spend an afternoon or pop in before a walk in Runyon Canyon.
Not anymore. There has obviously been a change at the top. The first thing you notice is that the menu has shrunk - dramatically. What used to be a pretty inventive list of breakfast/brunch dishes, covering all the basics, is now a a few breakfast burritos which are delivered to the restaurant in a van, the kitchen staff having been fired.
I arrived shortly after the restaurant opened, a few minutes past 7 am, to be informed by a barely civil person behind the counter, that I would have to wait 30 minutes for my vegan burrito because the food is not delivered until 7.30. So I got a coffee, paid for the burrito, and waited. The bill was in the low twenties and with the $5 tip (for nothing but rudeness) this came to over $28.
The oat milk latte was hot and tasty like it used to be. This turned out to be the only good thing about my experience.
I took out my computer and noticed that both my computer and my iPhone needed charging. I looked around to discover that all of the outlets had been covered. I asked the lady at the counter who told me there was no longer any wifi so why did I even need an outlet (ha ha). She said there may be an uncovered one near where I was sitting and she was correct. After getting down on my knees and trying a variety of chargers, all to no avail, I realised that the outlet was not working. When I informed the lady she just shrugged.
My burrito arrived and it was barely edible. I noticed that there was only two people seated - myself and one other person and then I realized something:
Blackwood!'s new modus operandi is to provide minimal service, overcharge for bad food, expect a sizeable tip for nothing, and then, be-bye.
I have experienced bad service. Who hasn't? But this was utter contempt for the paying customer. What's more, they don't even try to disguise it.
So, I asked for my money back and got a refund saying that I would never be back again.
Numerous restaurants have closed in this part of Sunset. Backwood will be next. Good riddance!