San Francisco Saloon

Jeff Thisted _{on Google}

May 4th, 2021

Great place for a beer and good food. The best buffalo chicken tenders ever!!

Matthew Hoffman _{on Google}

Dec 30th, 2020

Great service

Won Kim _{on Google}

Jul 12th, 2021

A few of years ago (2015 or so), someone I went to school with was working near the San Francisco Saloon on West Pico Blvd. and invited me to join him for lunch. I almost didn't go.
A little over twenty years ago, when i first got to Los Angeles, I went there twice with a friend, in 1997-1998. Both times the young service staff made a big show (and by that, I mean laughing and pointing at my friend and I from a distance) of refusing to serve us. The friend I went with at the time is caucasian half French and half Swedish. I am of East Asian descent (Korean). My friend had eaten there before, and never had a problem. We could only assume it was because of my ethnicity.
I had literally been in LA for a little over a week. It certainly didn't make me feel welcome.
The next day I called to talk to a a manager. I was always told they were not available. I went a second time with the same friend (he liked the place) earlier in the day, to see if I could talk to a manager. Utterly ignored again.
So when I met another friend there a few years ago, the experience was quite different. It was crowded, the service brisk and efficient. This friend is half Salvadoran, half Irish and definitely looks more Latin than caucasian. He said he's never had a problem there.
I don't know if there had been a change in management or not, and certainly the young bartender and servers who were there in the past had moved on. But the memory lingers.
Was there a change in management? I don't know. But I think twice about going there, still. I probably wouldn't have, that third time, if the second friend hadn't asked me to meet him there.
If there is anyone out there, who worked there in the late '90's early 2000's I'd appreciate hearing from you. What the heck was going on there back then? (I only bring it up now, because a Korean friend related a.similar negative experience at Taverna Tony's in Malibu, and it brought the memory back. I can't say it was pleasant.)
I realize that this all happened quite some time ago, but clearly, it still rankles. If the same owner/operators are managing the SF Saloon today, what was going on back then? What was up with the phone? Why did no one get back to me? I left messages.