Sotano Grill

At the Bar is the place to be! Jason takes care of your Mixed Drink orders with care and a little creativity, while Janna can pour a mean Beer. All for 2$ on a Tuesday. Then there's Karaoke and mexican food... common, what more do you want? O'and did I mention it's Union Square, so don't expect cheap food unless it's from a street vendor. Cheers! Pros: 2$ Tuesdays Cons: It's Union Square, Don't expect cheap food. more

1st review I've written. My wife and I ducked into this place on a Friday night and were expecting mediocre Mexican food. Instead we got mediocre mexican food plus rude service, plus strange ambiance and no complimentary chips and salsa. What kind of a Mexican restuarant charges $3.00 for chips and salsa when you are ordering entrees and drinks??? To start, we were not greeted as we walked in and we seated ourselves. There was a Kareoke man/employee trying to get people to sing but he was the only one who did any singing - love ballads. Finally a drunk college student put him out of his misery and added to the entertainment. It was the highlight of the night. The people at the table next to us were served meals they didn't order and then we witnessed their waitress, when notified she'd mixed up the order, take the meals behind the bar for a few minutes and then bring the same two meals back out to the correct table. The people at the correct table also witnessed the antics. The owner guy paces back and forth through the restuarant, giving strange glares to the patrons and throwing their receipts at them. After my wife had taken about 6 bites, the waitress came by to try to remove her plate. It was obvious that we just started eating! My wifes shrimp quesadilla was in a huge puddle of grease. I ordered chili verde and it was a super small portion and the rice that came with the meal tasted like Uncle Ben's....so it did live up to our mediocre food expectation. We overheard a lady who walked by who whispered to her friend that this was the weirdest place she had ever been. Boy was she right! The aura of the place was just plain creepy. If you like overpriced (for what you get) mediocre mexican food, rude service, getting hard looks from restuarant owners, kareoke love ballads sung by employees, being rushed out, paying for chips and salsa and pure weidness you MUST GO HERE!!!! I've lived in SF 6 years, freqent diner, worst restuarant I've been to. Pros: Decor Cons: Everything else more

The Sotano Grill WAS one our favorites in SF - we had our wedding rehearsal dinner here in 2004, as we wanted a place where we could get some good casual food with a bar. We live in the Central Valley and come to SF for weekend visits about every other month. Our last visit before this incident was disappointing, as the food and the service were both way below what we were used to, but we went back this past weekend because we liked the Sotano, and everyone has a bad day now and then. more

I liked the food. Growing up with home cooked mexican food I feel like a good judge to say it's not 100% authentic - but it's still good. The prices were decent, about $9-$14 a plate. My biggest complaint is the service. I've been three times. The first was for a quick bite to eat. We happened to be next to a large group who were having a great time with the karaoke. So a week later when a large group of friends wanted to do something fun, we went to Sotano's. There were about 16 of us and we were just having fun karaoke-ing, not being rowdy by any means, but we felt unwanted by several of the staff members. The third time I went was what stopped me from going again. My roommate and I called ahead to ask if they do take-out, to which they said yes. The restaurant was fairly empty so we waited by the bar for our food. I was venting about my day at work and the owner kept passing by us giving me a peculiar look, like he was annoyed. When we got our food - and this I'm not joking - he THREW my receipt at me! When we got up to leave, he grabbed both our arms and walked us out. We thought maybe he was maybe being nice but he proceeded to give us some harsh advice about not judging people, but in a judgemental way. Maybe he overheard the wrong parts of my venting session and thought I was a bitter person? (I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt) So we get home and open our food only to find out it was the wrong order! So we reluctantly called and walked back to get the right one. When we walked in, he didn't even acknowledge us, quickly motioning another server to give us the right order. A simple ""sorry about that"" would've been nice. I don't know, it's just strange all around. more

I love this place! I have taken everyone I know here. The owner is so funny and provides a great atomsphere! The happy Hour drinks could be stronger, but the food is great and the service makes it worth it! more

The cook needs to be fired. I had the soup and it seem that they just put some water and black beans in a blender and pressed the button. The caesar salad I could have done at home. I will never order from here again. more

My boyfriend and I came to check out the place since we live in the neighborhood. Good margaritas, decent food, but terrible service. It took a while for someone to come take our drinks order. Once we got our food we were given the bill right at the beginning of the meal. The waitress had bad manner and was so rude I couldnt leave the place fast enough. I recommend coming here if you want to be treated like youre not welcomed. Pros: Margaritas, Chips & Salsa Cons: Rude waitress more

They'd be wise to change the house music and dim the lights a bit, but otherwise this place is well worth an evening out. With good food and late-night dining, it's perfect for before or after the theater, plus boasts some of the best chips and salsa in the city. Live music tends to perk the place up starting around 8:00. And if you're lucky, the owner will come to your table and share some words of wisdom before you leave. *Also notable for margarita happy-hour. Pros: good food, friendly service, location Cons: (non-live) music, atmosphere more