Specialty’s Cafe & Bakery

Agree with the previous post. Not prepared for the launch rush hour. Going down hill. Not very clean kitchen and you could see it while waiting for a looping time. IPad ordering stations were broken too.

Not prepared for the lunch rush. Staff is at least 30 minutes behind on online orders.

I’ve had it with this Specialty’s location. I typically like this chain, but this was the 3^rd time in one month that there was a problem during our visit. There are three ways to order, online, at an iPad order kiosk in the store or at the register. We typically order at the iPad kiosk, this visit was no different. We should have known when we walked in that something was going on as there were hoards of people (30+) waiting for their orders. We figured there would be a wait, but didn’t expect to wait 45 minutes for our order.
We also discovered that their online order system was taking precedence over the in store orders, as our friend who asked us to pick up his order, which was ordered 15 minutes after ours, was ready minutes later while we had to wait another 30 for our order.
There were 4 peoples meals on our order. After 25 minutes of waiting we received 1 meal only. It took another 20 to get three more and then I had to tell the guy we were still missing a sandwich, bag or chips and 2 cookies from our order. When asked what was going on after about 20 minutes we were told rudely that they were short staffed, no apology for the wait or any further explanation. After the first 30 minutes I finally went up to the counter at which time at least 3 people requested refunds which were not immediately handled as the only person who could apparently authorize a refund was the manager who was on the line trying to help the crisis. After we finally got our food and asked to speak to said manager, we were told again, rudely, that he was busy and couldn’t talk and was out of business cards. We were incredibly frustrated. The food was fine, which is why I’m giving them a star at all, but this behavior from staff and lack of communication with customers mixed with the insanely long wait, were not at all worth the food, which is not cheap.

Food is good, but you should never have to wait 30 minutes for only 4 sandwiches. Prepare your staff as necessary.

Not bad, just got a melted cheese sandwich and a mixed green salad. For some reason I saw that my sandwich was out sitting there waiting for the salad, so the sandwich wasn’t very hot. Only complaint.

Always fast with online orders and friendly staff. Once they were behind with my order because their system went down and the manager gave me a cookie on the house.
All of the sandwiches are good (especially the turkey, Apple, Brie and bacon) and I like how I can customize my orders online.
Their baked goods (especially their cookies) are the best!

i asked for the spicy thai with extra cucumbers. instead they gave me an onion salad. so much onions i couldnt eat the stupid salad.

I had a vegetarian cold sandwich and it was pretty nice! Very convenient location since I was there for a meeting!

O out of 5 STARS. Disgusting, and unsanitary. As i was eating a tuna sandwich, i felt something strange only to spit out a BIG PIECE OF PLASTIC that seemed to a bag or some container. This is completely disgusting and utterly irresponsible for a food establishment. DO NOT EAT HERE. AND STAY AWAY. The Management didn’t know what to do or how to handle the situation, completely oblivious.

5 stars for the salads and sandwiches. The small size salads are pretty big — enough for me and a coworker to share. It’s nice that you can customize the salads online in case you’re not a big fan of onions or whatever. 4 stars for the few times the cookies have been overbaked and hard. The San Mateo location has better cookies. Sometimes they’ll have chocolate almond morning buns, if you see one snatch it up cuz they don’t always have them and when they do they go pretty quickly.

I was very excited when they first open because I work in FC. I use to come here at least twice a week for breakfast and coffee. However after experiencing terrible customer service, I am never returning. Their cashier Thomas is just unprofessional and seems very unhappy about his job. I don’t expect someone to love their job, but at least try to act like you like your job when there are customers around. A customer was questioning why it takes so long to get his drink, he complained that they are short staff and he has to clean the utensils and started to complain about having to multitask. His attitude is just terrible. Another time I asked what kind of bread comes with my sandwich and whether or not I get to choose, he told me I don’t get to choose and it is just a regular plain slice of bread. I received my sandwich and it was inside a ciabatta. I guess to him all breads are plain slice of bread and he has no knowledge of the items that they are selling, or he just didn’t feel like explaining to their customers. Long story short this place will not get anymore of my business and I hope their manager will read this post and start hiring their staffs more carefully.

I genuinely like this Specialty’s. The food has been consistently decent and it’s fast. Granted I literally only ever order the hot pastrami and Swiss.
I work nearby so it’s always super convenient to order online and pick it up at the specified time. The workers are friendly and it’s generally a very nice atmosphere.

Okay — overall I really enjoy Specialty’s food, but the service just plain SUCKS at times, especially when you order online/​to go.
I probably go to Specialty’s 3 or 4 times a month. Overall, the food is really good. I love their sandwiches, love their salads, love their baked goods. Everything is well done. However, I dinged them because their service can be horrendous & they do make mistakes, often.
First mistake I experienced was when I ordered a salad — I asked for dressing on the side, but then I never got any to begin with. This was on a to-​go order as well, so it was clearly marked what I wanted and how. I didn’t discover till I had gotten back to my office. Salad without dressing isn’t that great, so I had to turn around & go back for dressing. I was annoyed!
The next time a mistake happened was when they gave me a sandwich that wasn’t even mine. I had ordered a turkey sandwich, but instead I got a caprese. Didn’t notice it until I got back to my office, either. At that point, I couldn’t bring myself to go back & ended up eating that sandwich instead. But still, I WAS ANNOYED.
Considering these mess ups have already happened twice to me in less than 3 – 4 months I’ve been going here, I can’t imagine the number of times they mess up for other people. Go, but always, always, ALWAYS check your order before you leave. Or else you’ll be like me!

I work down the street from here and usually get coffee in the morning. The lines aren’t too bad, and the service is OK. The guy who usually mans the register is pretty rude though. I don’t know what his deal is. He is rude, doesn’t communicate well, and is pretty short with his answers.
On the other hand, the salads are very good! Cookies are your typical cookies, but on steroids. What i like is that, they will send you «warm cookie» alerts through out the day when they are freshly made. I’ll update my review on my next visit.

Food is good. Service is atrocious.
Nobody else in the dining room but it took 20 minutes to receive our food at all. Food was wrapped to go even though we ordered for here. On top of that the order was wrong and had to be remade. Heard a conversation between an employee and the chef who remarked he «had been there since 6 AM» and «didn’t care». Will definitely not be returning to this location in the future as spending over half an hour for a sandwich with nobody else in the restaurant is ludicrous. I’ve experienced better service at the San Mateo location in the past and would recommend that one over this one any day.

So I really just didn’t like the service I received. My mom ordered a salad that took more than twenty minutes to make, which was extremely irritating because there was no line and it simply shouldn’t take that long to make. The cashier irritated me as well because he was so laid back, which is no problem, but just gave off a really lazy vibe and brushed my mom off when she asked about her food.

another sandwich place in foster city. now so many to choose from. this place, ikes, corner street, safeway deli. id say they all pretty good. i know my company caters specialties a lot. now they close by. everytime they come its always solid. i like the chicken and the roast beef. all the meats fresh. great cheese selections. the cookies are always delicious. snickerdoodle is my fav here. order online and pick it up otherwise it can get crowded.

Today was my first time visiting this Specialty’s location. Its much smaller than the San Mateo location but it was quite cozy, which is my preference. I tried the Spinach, Berry & Goat Cheese salad and a hearty vegetable soup. Both were delicious. I also like their Caprese sandwich. Maybe next time!

I was so happy to hear a Specialty’s Café opened in Foster City near my office. I went right when they opened and got a salad and iced tea.
I love being able to order online and customize my sandwich or salad. Their cookies are awesome! The peanut butter cookie is my favorite.
I’ll definitely return to Specialty’s soon!

They opened today. I requested faster internet and they responded.
60 down and 11 up. Lots of electrical outlets here. Plenty of seating inside and out.
Outdoor seating is covered by the building.
Parking entrance is in the back of the building and there is lobby access connecting parking and the front entrance. A little strange but you can figure it out.
Peet’s coffee served. The menu is designed for nearby office workers. That’s OK with me.
Week day hours and they close at 5PM. Bummer.