Buena Vista Cafe

Sevice was great but the food and prices they charged for the food weren’t. The chef barely made an egg over easy when I asked for over medium. The bloody Mary was just so-​so. For $ 14 dollars I would have expected more since it cost more than my meal. The server is the only reason they got 2 stars instead of 1.

No no no. Airport food is usually bad but this sets a new standard. I can almost hear the manager and the owner laughing about how much they rip people off. Menu is bad, food is poorly executed, prices are ridiculous. Walk to another part of terminal 3 and let this rotting carcass die already. Yuck.

We were delayed (awaiting for our plane) in the United Airlines terminal when the first game of the 2016 NBA Championship Finals began. My b-​ball loving husband was drawn to finding a sports bar or restaurant that was featuring the game on big screen television and found this café.
The sign at the entrance stated SEAT YOURSELF so we went in to position ourselves at a table facing the largest screen. Our server, Lina, attended to us immediately after we sat, was pleasant and sort of soft-​spoken (or am I losing my hearing?). I suppose the quick attentiveness for this café is because people are who are here are usually waiting for their flights and may have limited time. The ambiance is open and has a full bar with counter and lots of seating options.
THE FOOD:
— Bay Wings: fried wings served with Buffalo Sriracha and Bleu Cheese dressing. These wings were tiny and so unlike the wings that we’ve been eating recently. However, they were fried well and were pretty tasty on their own (without sauce). There were about 10 wings per order. $ 13.99
— Avocado Burger: the hand-​patted burger was done medium (the way I like it for ground meat). It was served with bacon mayo, sharp cheddar cheese, butter lettuce, fresh tomato, red onion slices and a slice of avocado. There was a small side of coleslaw which seemed quite limp and freshly fried steak fries. This was an okay burger plate, I wasn’t looking for gourmet nor fast food. $ 15.99
— The Buena Vista Burger: a hand-​patted burger served with tomato, mayo, sharp cheddar cheese, butter lettuce and red onion slices. My husband also agreed that the burger was done to our requested doneness and was still juicy. This plate also came with freshly fried steak fries. $ 15.99
To accompany our meals, we ordered draught pints of Anchor Steam Ale and a Shock Top Belgian White. Both beers hit the spot with our meals as we watched the game. Lina came around often to refill our water glasses in this, now, crowded café.
All in all, we expected the food to be A-​OK and the prices to be on the high end. We spent about $ 75 for our pre-​flight dinner while getting to watch the NBA Championship game in comfort.

Do you want worse than Dennys-​like food, but pay 3 to 4 times as much? This is the eating establishment for you!

Grumpy bartender, weak drinks at fancy prices, lousy reception on the TVs over the bar. (Really, is there an excuse for lousy TV reception in the 21^st century?) Of all these sins, the grumpy bartender is the gravest. Don’t go to this place: if you go to this place the grumpy bartenders win.

The Caesar salad was 5 pieces of romaine lettuce uncut with grilled chicken on top. The chicken was tolerable. My boyfriend got the avocado burger, which was average, but the French fries were horrible — they were unsalted and bland. Definitely not worth your time.

Bartender was very nice but the food was HORRIBLE. I ordered the chicken nachos but soon realized that I had made a big mistake. The chips were soggy and the cheese was nowhere to be found. I basically paid $ 26 to eat chips and salsa with a pint of beer. If you’re in this terminal, definitely stay away from this overpriced restaurant!

Long wait for my flight. So I dropped in for a small dinner. The server was fantastic. Very attentive, running around to all the tables as quickly as he could. Good came out pretty fast, and there is a lovely view of the planes from the back tables.
Sadly, the food was not only expensive (expected at the airport), but really far below expectations. I ordered the crab cake sliders, that are supposed to come with greens. It does come with lettuce, but no dressing of any kind. The red pepper aioli looked like it was quickly, haphazardly squirted on. No French fries. It came with tortilla chips that were a bit stale. Crab cakes and stale tortilla chips? Any kind of tortilla chips? The cakes themselves were a bit over cooked. I requested some blue cheese dressing for the «greens». When it arrived it was very warm — I don’t think so.
Too bad — this place could has a lot of potential. Won taste my money here again.

Wow! 2 Bloody Mary’s and scrambled eggs which came with 2 of the thinnest slices of transparent bacon I’ve ever seen and breakfast potatoes that had been fried to make thing easy for the kitchen crew. So I couldn’t eat the breakfast potatoes since they are cross contaminated with gluten (my partner shouldn’t have but because he hates to waste food and has been GF longer than I have 5+ years). $ 60
Oh they brought an extra plate for $ 1 and I didn’t even want it or really had reason to use it. So here is the break down:
Titos Bloody $ 17.99
Kettle Bloody $ 14.99
Scrambled Egg Plate $ 13.99
Empty Plate $ 0.94
Tax $ 4.39
Plus tip
Spent $ 60 before 7am and had one drink and one bite of eggs. Freaking comical!

Coffee is more bitter than my husband’s ex-​wife.
Sub the breakfast potatoes with fresh fruit is $ 6.99 upcharge.
Typical crappy overpriced airport food.
Service…she takes your order and brings you the plate. That’s about it.

So Burger King has this chicken burger (about the size of a junior burger). It’s not bad. Not great, but not bad.
This place has the same thing, only they charge $ 14.99
.
*should have checked Unilocal

Grab a drink here maybe okay, but don’t trust the food! My very first one star review is here. If you don’t believe me, get a Bay shrimp salad and chicken nachos here. You will understand why I give a one star.

Omg!!! Do not come here!!! I can not stress this enough. This place is a waste of money. I’m surprised they are not a one star. Yuck! This place is gross. Save your money people and eat at the food court or anywhere else in this airport. It’s got to be better than this.
First things first I landed after a long flight and was eager to get a decent, yes decent meal because I know I’m in a airport and my expectations should never be high when dining in situations like this. However this place blows my mind how terrible it is.
It’s a seat yourself type of establishment which is fine cause I have a connecting flight and not a lot of time. The service is terrible!!! The waitress walks up to me and just says «ready?» Ummm hi I’m fine or at least welcome me to your establishment. You are about to charge me an arm and a leg for lunch. I ordered a turkey sandwich! I’m in America right? Last I checked turkeys and chickens are not the same. Yes, I know turkeys are like chicken, but bigger however the taste is completely different to me. Hello??? It’s two different birds!!! She brought me a chicken caprese sandwich. I didn’t have time for the kitchen to remake my meal so I had to eat it. Oh you gotta love traveling. The sandwich was cold and the fries were luke warm and disgusting. I also got a ramekin of cole slaw and it’s the most disgusting cole slaw I’ve ever had in my life!!! Then to top things off she drops off my check as I’m eating and asks me to pay. I put out my credit card and she comes back in a timely manner, but I’m not done eating my shitty meal. She then comes over and asks me to fill out my credit card slip cause her shift is over. Ugh she shouldn’t have even got a tip, but I gave 10%. That’s terrible for me people! I like being a generous tipper, but only when the service is up to par. If I’m ever in San Francisco airport I will never eat here again. Touché you got my hard earned money this time, but you will never get it again.

Found this gem on a 3 hour layover… wonderful bartender named Kat Rice recommended the Irish whiskey which is the BEST I’ve ever had! This café is known for them and for good reason. I highly recommend stopping thru for a quick drink on your way to wherever you’re going.
Ask for Kat if she’s available!
Friendly staff, conveniently located, clean atmosphere.

We were looking for a sit down place to have lunch before our flight home. It was decent. I had the Buena Vista burger. It was a good burger. My companion had the Caesar Salad with Dungeness Crab added. His salad was decent. I think he also had the clam chowder in a bread bowl. I just remember tearing off pieces of bread… carby goodness.
Service was good. There were some outlets for my dead phone too. I just thought it was a bit pricey but that happens if you’re in an airport and looking for decent food.

I’ve just come not to expect too much from airport bars/​restaurants over the years, so maybe that is partly the reason for my 2-​star review of Buena Vista. Service was friendly and prompt, but just because I’m having a beer at 0800 on a Thursday, doesn’t mean I need to be asked multiple times if I want a shot. NO! As for the beer: had a bit of a funny taste, maybe indicative of tap lines that have not recently been cleaned. Lastly, you know you’re gonna pay airport prices for the food/​drink, so be prepared.
Cheers!
RS

Stopped by this café desperately searching for a quick bite before my 15-​hour journey back to Brazil. Only reason I picked it is that it was convenientely located close to my boarding gate and I had no more than 30 minutes to spare. I asked the waitress how long it took for a sandwich to be ready and she said 8 minutes, which seemed like a pretty good deal. Her mood was a bit spiteful though, but sometimes one just has to take it as it is — and being from Rio, I am pretty used to moody staff.
I ordered a chicken caprese sandwich and it did come out quite fast — so fast that it wasn’t actually hot, but only warm instead. But it tasted nice, so that’s ok. The price was pretty outrageous though, as for the so-​so sandwich with not so good fries and a coke I paid over 20 USD. Definitely not the sweetest deal, but better to eat here than to starve for hours and hours.
Like most airport restaurants, I’d say this one is quite unremarkable, but at least it was quick. So yeah, I’ll take it.

I have to say, I was pretty impressed with this restaurant considering it’s at the airport. It’s expensive for what you get, but that is impossible to avoid at the airport. I ordered a hamburger and fries, and I have to say, it was pretty tasty. My dining partner ordered a breakfast tortilla (for dinner) and she said her was very good as well.
Our flight was delayed, so we are clearly having some drinks and food and waiting it out, no rush. Our waitress kind of forgot about us and we didn’t really care since we were not in a rush. Although, when we did need the check, she was hard to find.

Stopped in to grab a quick lunch between flights. I chose a seat on the left side of the bar next to the large windows. The bartender was extremely friendly and attentive. After looking over the menu and noticing what a lot of the customers were ordering I decided on the grilled chicken sandwich. The grilled chicken adequately filled the fresh bun and the mozzarella and fresh cut tomato along with the dressing was very good. I am not usually a fan of airport food but this was a good sandwich and the service earned them the fourth star. I would dine here again and take the advice of everyone and try the Irish Coffee, Solid choice for an airport meal.

I’m surprised I’ve not written a review of this place — given all the times I’ve visited it over the years.
Buena Vista Café is located in Terminal 3 of San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
It’s a combination bar, restaurant, and café — with a small to-​go counter as well.
I’ve eaten several times: I’ve had their Caesar salad and soups over the years.
I’ve also hit the to-​go counter several times to pick up bottled water before boarding to take on the plane.
The bar is a good place for a cocktail or a beer — and there are TV’s at the bar.