Katie M.
Yelp
Hmmmmmmmm.
I have worked in this part of SoMa for the last 6 years and The Brixton's predecessor, Paragon, was a regular destination for team lunches. We were very excited to see The Brixton open, since it's a great space and location, right by the ballpark. Unfortunately, it seems like they are still working out the kinks (as most new restaurants do in its opening week). However, our experience was so... out of the ordinary... that I felt compelled to leave this review.
PROS:
- Beautiful space. They've renovated the inside to make it more open and more suitable for happy hour and sports events.
- Food was fine, I would happily go back to try some of the other menu items given its proximity to my office. If you're looking for a good burger, I would probably go to Marlowe or even Umami Burger instead.
- The bussing staff were very helpful and on point.
CONS:
- Service was something else. We got there promptly at our reservation time (noon; table for 8) and were seated right away. Our server was quick to take our drinks and appetizer orders but then it quickly fell apart after that. My colleagues waited 15 minutes for their ice tea and soda, which I presume should take much less time than say, a mixed cocktail. (We actually had to ask about the soda before we got it.) Our server never reappeared to take our main orders; at 12:25 we tried to ask another server to help us with our order but she said "Your server will be right with you" and then went on to her part of the restaurant. At the very minimum, you'd think she'd try to find the other server but she just went about her day. Our server finally showed up to tend to another table and then disappeared again. The hostess actually had to stop by our table because we were raising our hands like school children trying to get someone's attention. We finally ordered at around 12:40.
- Starters came out quickly but our entrees took a long time. There was a visible backlog and we saw other tables were waiting as well, even people who'd been working on their appetizers when we sat down. Our table ordered mostly burgers and steak. This food took about 25 minutes to come out, so we received it at around 1:08. One of my colleagues had a meeting at 1PM and had to leave before getting his lunch.
- Our server said she'd try to get a to-go cup for the soda above-mentioned coworker had ordered and left. She didn't come back. We went to the bar to ask for a to-go cup and they said they didn't have any. They still charged us for it. Cool. Cool cool cool.
- And to top it all off... The burger we brought back to the office for the colleague who left early wasn't even what he had ordered... It was missing the cheese.
- It's an $18 burger. Popson's does a much better burger (albeit without fries) for $8.65.
At least we got our bill quickly... but we preemptively went and handed our server our credit card to run it.
Look, I get it. They just opened. But our server never had a sense of urgency or promptness. Neither did the restaurant manager (guy in a grey suit who was expediting at the kitchen), or any of the people behind the bar, or any of the other servers - despite having seen all of us look around anxiously for our own server. Most people having lunch in this area will be heading back to work, hopefully within the hour. We left the restaurant at 1:20PM, meaning we received our entrees and ate them in the last 10-12 minutes, despite being there for 80 minutes. EIGHTY MINUTES. That's almost the runtime of an extended episode of Game of Thrones.
I'm willing to come back in say 2-4 months to see if things have improved and update my review, but I'm steering clear for now.