4 corners

This is closed — reopening as Lightening Tavern. Hope the space has new owners, it’s been three different things in less than three year. s

My first time visiting the restaurant, the food was pretty good, drinks were ok etc. but it was so dark I could barely see what I was eating! Maybe we were in the wrong area?
Also, just my personal opinion for $ 11 maybe the nachos could have a little bit more ingredients? When they said «Small bites» they really weren’t lying!

I frankly have nothing bad to say about this place. As a matter of fact, my first birthday dinner after moving to the city (2 years ago) was at this place (formerly Unwind), so I’m rather attached.
Don’t let that cloud your interpretation of my review though, because objectively, the place is fab and perfect for a quick meal in the trendy cow hollow.
Cute, clean décor, and especially love the patio area on a sunny day. The revised menu (since management transfer around Aug ’11) is pretty encompassing and everything on it is delish. I’m especially happy with the friendly and accomodating service.
Highly recommend the fried oyster (with mango habanero sauce… yum), grilled calamari, and fish tacos (which they were out of today! But a peripheral understanding of Kitchen Confidential will have you glad for this, as it means they aren’t serving Friday’s fish).
Also, special callout to the chef Eric and an incredible spicy salsa he made for us. I’m frankly a sucker for anything spicy (Indian sensibility), but the salsa was so good that I took home the scraps and plan to maximize utility with it tomorrow (Eric, if and when you read this… we will back for it…) Highly recommend if you are looking for some spices.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, GUMMY BEARS greet you at the front door — and to be clear, they are fresh and delicious and my roommates and I couldn’t resist two large handfuls… each.
Enjoy!

What a disaster. I’m sad to say our experience at 4 Corners was really disappointing.
I didn’t want to spend a lot of money last night on dinner. In fact, I recommended we get a burrito at La Canasta down the way and chill out at my friend’s place. She brought up a good point, though; we hadn’t tried the new restaurant that replaced Unwind. I told her that I would go check out the menu and if it looked good, we could go for it.
Well, the menu looked fantastic. There were items like an arugula with roasted winter squash, spiced pepitas, and goat cheese, yucca & squash fritters with creamy lemon cumin sauce, queso fundido, with charred poblano chile vinaigrette, and mini chorizo corn dogs with housemade sweet mustard & smoked paprika ketchup. Don’t those sound fantastic? They weren’t.
Everything was mediocre bordering bad, at best; there wasn’t one thing that I was excited about eating. The salad was mostly greens with a bland dressing, the yucca fritters were mushy and so were the corndogs and the queso fundito was not very fun at all; it had an odd consistency and whatever cheese they used didn’t go well with tortilla chips.
The service was also lacking. It took forever to get our food and to get our check. The kicker was when our server came and asked us if we wanted another glass of wine. We said, «Nah, no thanks.» She comes back with two glasses of wine and we look at her a little quizzically. «Didn’t you say you wanted another glass of wine?» We both shook our heads. She says, «Oh, I could have sworn you did! Well, do you want them anyway?» We both kinda just shrugged and said, «Well, we won’t let it go to waste. We’ll drink it.» She left and then came back a few seconds later saying, «Just to be clear, if you drink the wine I can’t take it off your bill.» Really. REALLY. I mean, come on. We had her take them away to… throw out? Pour back in the bottle?!
Not worth the money, not worth the calories… dare I say I’d rather go hang out at Bar None.

I came in at lunch and was one of only three customers in the restaurant. I waited 10 minutes for the bartender to acknowledge me. Once I put my order in, the real waiting began, more than a half hour for an Ahi appetizer. The food: Meh. The fish was not seasoned properly, and it was served on something that seemed packaged rather than homemade. The portion was tiny, but the price was not.

Been here a few times since it changed from Unwind. The food is fine, not good, but fine. A little overpriced for the quality. The service is TERRIBLE. Incredibly rude actually. Awkward, uncomfortable, almost as if they forgot they are in the service industry. And to think they still expect a 20% tip. Will not be going back.

Our group rented out the back patio area for the Super Bowl and had a blast. Working with Kai (the owner) before the event was very easy and during the event, the team behind the bar did an awesome job of getting drinks out quick and putting up with our ruckus (William was the lead server and worked his ass off). The space was perfect — covered patio, 6 tv’s, seating area and our group of 50+ fit comfortably.
The food was also awesome — the tri-​tip nachos and chorizo corn dogs were on point. I’ve also eaten there a bunch before and the burger is awesome.
Overall — the day couldn’t have gone better. I highly encourage dropping by if you’re thinking about hosting a private event, or if you just need a good meal on Union.

12.01.11
Stumbled in here thinking it was still Unwind. HH specials aren’t as great, but the bar was nearly empty, there were college football games on, and we had some time to kill before the Unilocal event down the block.
I like wine on tap. Maybe just the concept. They have $ 5 wine on tap weeknights until 7. Sold!
Next time will try the apps.

This place is terrible. Avoid it at all cost, trust me you’ll thank me later. There are far too many better restaurants/​bars in the area to be wasting your money and time here. The food tastes like sewage they picked up from the dump, the service is unprofessional, and the owners are some of the most uptight, intrusive, cranky, mean people I have ever met. It is impossible to have a nice comfortable meal here simply because of the people running the show and because of the uncomfortable environment, not to mention the low quality of the overpriced food. DO NOT EAT HERE.

This place is a good find. I love that you can go out back to eat and that it hasn’t been too crowded during the few times I’ve been there. The food is pretty good too.
It’s pretty stereotypical Cow Hollow, you know. .. trendy, yuppy, slightly different but still a very similar atmosphere to most of the other places in the area.

I’ve read the previous reviews and I have something to say to those of you complaining about the prices of food. Have you been to other places on Union Street and seen anything much cheaper? The Marina is expensive. Rent is expensive and food is expensive. That’s just the way it is…
My absolute favorite thing on the brunch menu is the Pumpkin french toast. I wish it were even more pumpkiny because I LOVE pumpkin, but it still really hits the spot. The marscopone cheese and the berry sauce on it are seriously delicious and there is a perfect combination of tastiness in every bite. ORDER IT!
I’ve also tried the baked eggs and the Frittata. The baked eggs are a bit more filling than the frittata because of the sausage on them (wish the sausage was a little more spicy though).
Both dishes hit the spot although I would recommend the baked eggs over the frittata.
I LOVED the abundance of fresh arugala on my frittata. This made the dish. I felt as if my frittata could have used some salsa on it or perhaps some pepper jack cheese sprinkled on top.
I’ve also tried the tri-​tip nachos and the burger. Both are very yummy. I would choose the burger over the nachos though because there is more food and juiciness involved.
Their new cocktail list is also refreshing. I’ve had the Kaimosa (Mimosa with fresh grapefruit juice) and another one with Gin and orange bitters– the name is escaping me at this moment. I LOVED the gin cocktail. I felt the flavor combinations were refreshingly unique too. I am interested in trying more of their signature drinks soon because some of their ingredients are uncommon and inspiring.
Overall, everything I’ve tried here is yummy.
Go in and check it out :)

Invited here for a brunch double date and we were very surprised at the makeover.
The back area has huge skylights and is a great place to come with a group of 4 – 8.
The burger was solid, so were the ahi tostadas (smaller plate) but the duck confit flautas were awesome (especially on a Sunday morning while still recovering from celebrating the 49ers NFC divisional win over the Saints Saturday). just what the doctor ordered.
There are some very creative tequila cocktails here I’m looking forward to trying out.
Definitely on the list for group brunch spots (especially since it’s not overly crowded, likely on account of the new name and makeover)

350^th Review… is negative?! Yes. Because I want to bring special attention to exactly how unacceptable this restaurant is. The place makes me really concerned about the safety of its patrons.
When this was still «Unwind» (owned by the same people), I had some food I really enjoyed once. The second time, the bf found a cockroach on the wall. He politely pointed it out to the waiter, who whisked it away (like it happens all the time.) And offered to comp us dessert… you think we’d want to eat after seeing a cockroach?!
When this opened as «4 Corners» I thought that perhaps it was new management so we decided to give it a try. The bartender told us that the owners had always wanted to do the southwestern concept (or maybe they had one too many cockroaches?) and that it was the same owners. We were willing to give the place another chance though. We stressed «no seafood and no nuts» because of the bf’s severe allergy. The bartender had a long conversation with us and assured us that neither dish (vegan soup or nachos) had either but she would make a note to ensure we were ok.
The soup came and after one sip the bf said he felt funny. Then when the nachos came he had a bite then stopped because he said he really didn’t feel ok. I pawed under the mound of cheese and found whole CHUNKS of fish!!!
The bartender spouted some excuse about the guys in the back reading «no fish» as «add fish» but really?! Who is running the show back there? If they get this wrong what else is going on back there? You know, other than the cockroaches and attempts at murder?
The owner came out and started apologizing and offered to make another meal. There was no way he could eat at this point. The owner seemed genuinely concerned (as he should be!) I carry around the bf’s allergy medicine so we were able to leave without an ambulance. There was no way we were going to pay for this food or ever coming back. This is the first time I have EVER walked on a bill in my life.
Part of why we go to more upscale restaurants is because one pays more to know the kitchen isn’t going to kill your bf or have creepy crawlies running around. Not at 4 Corners.

It was Monday Night, the FORTY NINERS were on TV and we were in the Marina with every bar was packed. The first bar we went to, was wall to wall packed, pretentious and there was no where to sit. As we approached a place that welcomed us the sign that said Happy Hour. Well hello there…
I grabbed the HH Menu, we noticed the first item said Fried Oysters and it was HHK approved. I never tried fried oysters before. Yay, a new place and new things to try.
We took a seat on the covered patio in the back. The game was everywhere. Haha, other bar. We scored a perfect table and ordered some drinks, first up — he ordered the Blue Moon and I ordered the Lagunitas IPA.
We chose appetizers as a pre-​dinner meal from the HH Menu. The Fried Oysters, Grilled Calamari and the Queso Fundido. All half price of the regular menu during Happy Hour. The three were actually quite filling.
My favorite hands down was the Grilled Calamari. It was really fresh, sauteed perfectly. I could have had that for dinner. The fried oysters were good, but I still prefer them raw. The fundido was okay, the chips were good — but I thought I’d be more wowed by the Chile Verde on top.
For my second drink I ordered the Buckshot, a bourbon cocktail with lemon, peach brandy and angostura. Actually well balanced and not too sweet. He ordered a Peroni. I think I won with my selection. They have quite the drink menu at two pages long.
it was a great score and come to find out a new restaurant with excellent service. Another great Happy Hour find in the city! How else with a girl with expensive taste like mine get by? Lol.
And… GO NINERS!

Great food and cocktails! Just thinking about the burger makes my mouth water. The ahi tuna tostadas were a great start and you cant go wrong with tri-​tip nachos.
I’ve been back several times since it changed from Unwind to 4 Corners and I love the sleek new look as well as the refined menu. I’ll be back for more!

We came here for happy hour, $ 3 drafts and ½ priced apps.
We tried:
Yucca & Squash Fritters — completely inedible, so greasy even my boyfriend couldn’t eat them
Mini Chorizo Corn Dogs — if your into corn dogs these were pretty decent
Adobo-​Spiced Pulled Pork Sliders — My boyfriend enjoyed these, I on the other hand hate anything drowned in BBQ sauce
Cornmeal Crusted Fried Oysters — This were ok
Special grilled Calamari — These were pretty good, but you have to take into account I was starving because I didn’t eat anything else.
Queso Fundido — This was good, needed a little salt, but honestly it’s a warm bowl of cheese how could it not be good?
Verdict for the regular price of these dishes and the quality of food I would never come back here again or recommend this place. Unless maybe they only wanted drinks…

Was really excited to try this new restaurant, sadly I was disappointed. This place is way overpriced. New atmosphere isn’t great. Ordered cerviche, queso, ahi tostada and tri tip nachos — everything was just average and very small portions not worth the $$$.

Limited, overpriced menu, with uncomfortable seating. Drink menu is pretty good, so if you are just looking for a beer or a glass of wine it is ok. The food is ok, but pricey for want it is. If you are willing to spend 20+$ for entrees, there are better options in the area. Seems like a place that is searching for an identity. Is it fine dining, a place for drinks, a locals place, a sports bar… not really sure… the place that tries to be everything probably does not succeed at anything unfortunately.

Awesome new spot on Union, been there twice in the past week! I ordered the tri tip nachos both times, best nachos I’ve ever had. Love the communal tables, and the back patio sun room is a great place to watch sports.

Yummy new southwestern restaurant on Union. Great drinks and Tri Tip nachos! Check it out, its a great addition to the area!