Roberto’s Tailor Shop

I got a tear on the sleeve of one of my favorite jackets, and I took it back to the retailer to ask what their tailor could do to fix it. The salesperson at the retailer told me that their tailor can only repair seam damage and that they couldn’t even show it to their tailor to ask for repair suggestions.
So I brought it to Roberto’s. After a little thought, he said he could stitch up the tear and then make identical stitches on the other sleeve so that it looks natural. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it came out great!
My friend brings all of her tailoring needs here, and now I understand why.

He’s really not that good. He lost a pair of my pants for almost a month, he’s not very friendly. He botched 3 of the 5 items I brought him; 1 being a $ 150 shirt which can’t be undone. In fairness, that’s partially my fault for bringing a shirt to him given how little confidence I had. I won’t be returning. That said, there are very few competent tailors in this town.

Took some suit pants here to be tailored. I don’t know much about suits, but I had gotten some suggestions from the place that sold me the suit about how to have it tailored. The guy did not listen at all to my questions and was extremely brusque.
When I returned for my pants, I was running late and didn’t have a chance to try them on. Got to the wedding in DC to find that they were the completely wrong pants. When I returned them and got my pants, he was not apologetic at all and just suggested it was probably my fault. So neither friendly nor competent.

Best tailor in SF in my view, hands-​down. I have been to a number of tailors in the city, but I consistently return to Roberto because he knows his craft very well and the finished product always looks great. I’ve been going to Roberto for five years now and I’ve seen how he can often fix things that other tailors say they can’t — for example, he was able to fix a tear at the elbow of a suit jacket.
If you have yourself a new suit, take it to Roberto and he’ll have that off-​the-​rack piece fitting as if it was made-​to-​measure.

I wish someone else had added this before the first time I went: Roberto’s is a little hard to find — go in the door of 110 Sutter (looks like an office building lobby), take the elevator to the 2^nd floor, and go down the hallway to the left.
I took a pair of pants there to replace a zipper that had broken, and they did a great job. A year later I brought in another pair of pants where the zipper always slipped down.
The second time, when I went back to pick up the pants 2 days later, they said the pants weren’t ready because they weren’t able to find the matching color for the zipper. I would have appreciated a phone call letting me know not to come in, but they were apologetic and I wasn’t in a rush for the pants so I let it slide. They called me two days later to let me know the pants were ready.
Each time the zipper replacement was $ 20. The pants weren’t very expensive to start, but this kept me from getting rid of otherwise perfectly good pants, having to buy replacements, and they did the work I could figure out myself if I wanted to — and better than I would have done. Which is exactly what I wanted.
As long as it is something simple I will always come to Roberto’s.

Summary: Save yourself some time and stress, and give your money to someone with more talent and a much better attitude. It took them 5 visits over 11 days to make basic alterations to a pair of jeans.
I’ve been here a couple of times before and won’t be going back. I previously had 3 pairs of dress pants hemmed and those came back fine after a couple of tries, so I decided to go there again with a pair of jeans given it is conveniently right next to my office and they just needed basic alterations.
The latest experience was awful. Similar to another Unilocaler, every time I walked in I always received the same blank stares from everyone (including Roberto) and no greeting from anyone until one of the employees came to the front to ask what I needed. It’s not a huge concern of mine but some basic politeness/​customer service would have been appreciated.
Here’s a rundown of the experience:
Visit 1 — Dropped the jeans off and asked for them to be hemmed and tapered.
Visit 2 — Jeans hadn’t been tapered, and Roberto explained it would cost me an additional $ 20 to get that done. I told him I’d already requested them to be tapered and so asked him if the tapering cost was actually in the previously quoted price ($ 20) already. He immediately got defensive and aggressive, stating that he «doesn’t work for free», «you wouldn’t believe how many people expect me to work for free» and «take them elsewhere if you want». I politely explained that I was just asking as his employee had been asked to do both and marked the jeans not just at the ankle but also the knee.
I was wearing the exact same pair of jeans that had been tailored perfectly by Nordstrom (in a single visit), so I asked Roberto if he could match them, which he said he could do.
Visit 3 — Jeans weren’t ready. Roberto apologized, said he hadn’t written the new «promised date» on my ticket so they hadn’t been worked on.
Visit 4 — Despite saying he could match the jeans to the pair I had with me during visit 2, they were way too tight around the ankle. After explaining this, he got aggressive again saying I told him to narrow the ankle to 7 inches. No, I asked him to match the other pair that fit me perfectly, he apparently just measured them wrong. Given his attitude during visit 2, I decided not to say anything about his measuring error and just asked him to widen the ankle.
Visit 5 — Picked up the jeans.

I sell menswear for a living. I have met and worked with many tailors in the East Bay and SF. I have done a lot of legwork and experimentation to find the best ones. Roberto’s is the perfect combination of excellent work, good value, convenient location, efficient turn-​around and craft. He is a stand-​up person — quiet, hard-​working, a Dad and kind. Honestly this is your place…

To be completely fair, let me say first that this review is mostly colored by the very negative experience I had interacting with Roberto, as well as the expectations that had been set by the person referring me to him and his advertising on his business card.
I had a suit stolen two days before my interview in the city and needed a quick replacement. I ended up buying one from the nearby Jos A Bank (not the best, I understand, but it happened to be on a massive sale day — 70% off — and I just needed something ASAP). The manager of the store referred me to Roberto’s Tailor, saying that he could have the minor alterations that I needed done «whenever» and as quick as «done in 2 hours.» This sounded like just what i needed, and looking at the Unilocal reviews (4.5 star average) I was sold and went with it.
I brought my suit to Roberto at 11am on a Tuesday and was not greeted when I entered the store. After standing awkwardly for a few minutes, one of the nearby workers got up and asked if I was picking up, despite me holding a giant suit bag in my arms. She asked me to get changed in broken english and immediately sat back down to her other work. After I was in my dress shirt and slacks, she hesitantly came back to me and asked what I wanted. I told her I was sent here by Jos A Bank and didn’t have enough experience to tell her exactly what I wanted. She didn’t really understand what I was saying and got Roberto.
Ah Roberto. I’m sorry, but this guy is a dick. He didn’t introduce himself when I did, didn’t shake hands, and looked visibly annoyed that he had bee interrupted to see what I wanted. I told him I was sent from the store and didn’t exactly know what I needed to look best in the suit — I knew I needed the pants hemmed, and the jacket sleeves shortened (these were glaringly obvious), but on top of that, deferred to his expertise. He gruffly said that he doesn’t make recommendations, and again impatiently asked what I wanted. I simply told him I didn’t know, and apologized for my inexperience. Only then did he have me step up to the mirror, and asked a few basic questions — «This?» «How’s this?» and immediately chalked me when I started to nod. After spending literally 3 minutes with me, he asked if I wanted anything else, and when I said I don’t know, he walked away. One of his workers then asked when I needed the suit by. I had already explained that my suit was stolen and I needed this replacement ready as soon as possible, and that the main reason I came to him was that the suit retailer and his business card said he could have it done in a couple of hours. I asked if I could have it ready by 3, or 3:30pm and was laughed at. Out loud. And then told it would be 6pm. Why even ask if you know the constraints I’m working under and that’s the earliest you can make it? I had to inconvenience a friend to pick it up.
The end price ended up being $ 100, twice what I was quoted by the retailer that supposedly works closely with them — and they only take cash, which I think is strange for an ‘established’ business, in a downtown SF high rise.
Now, purely in terms of the end results, I can say that my pants were hemmed and my jacket sleves were shortened to the correct length. The jacket sides were brought in, and it looks okay. I’d give him 2 or 3 stars based simply on he did what he said he would (although it twice as much as I was quoted at the retailer). Worth mentioning here is that my jacket also came back with a very noticeable new stain on the left sleeve (I was able to get it off)
Overall, the entire visit felt extremely uncomfortable, as if I was inconveniencing him by asking his advice or simply bringing him my business. It was surreal. Had I not been under extreme time constraints (interview was early the next morning) I would have left within 5 minutes of entering his office space and found one of the cities many other tailors. It’s very odd to me that he has such a high star rating on Unilocal,but many of those reviews are also over a year old. Hope a new updated review helps.

This is the type of tailor you want! Quaint, hard workers, quick turnaround! I just dropped off 3 suits, all to be tailored, with 2 day turnaround, was not a problem! Great people working here, and very hard!

Roberto himself is Excellent. Every man and woman should have such a tailor. Makes suits too.
Update 8÷22÷14:
Made me a bespoke white dinner jacket. Beautiful. Perfect. Refined. Bond.
And, mind you, I am a Brioni man…

I Work around the corner and noticed my shirt was missing a button. I gave Roberto a quick call for availability and was able to stop by immediate and was in and out in three minutes with my button replaced. Really fast and great service.

I brought Roberto an off-​the-​shelf suit that hardly fit me with complex and unconventional diagonal stitching. He remade the suit to fit me perfectly! He’s pleasant to work with, fast, and affordable. I’ll bring all my future tailoring here and have recommended him to my friends. Thanks Roberto!

Didn’t keep original bottoms of pant legs when hemming, even though I asked for it and they agreed. There was lots of styling as part of the design in the original that is now gone.

Roberto and his staff are miracle workers. He was first recommended by the staff at Saks Fifth Avenue’s designer couture department, which means you know that he had to be good. I bought a very nice dress for a wedding on a Wednesday and dropped it off at 6:30 PM (they close at 7) and it required some pretty heavy alterations. Roberto and his staff were so kind and accommodating and had it ready for me by Friday afternoon so I could catch my flight out later that evening. The fit was perfect and quality was excellent. I was thrilled, and pricing was incredibly reasonable.
This most recent time, I was flying out for another wedding and realized that I needed some alterations done on a silk dress. He remembered me from the previous alteration work and absolutely came through AGAIN. I dropped off on a Wednesday night at the end of the day, and got it back Friday end of day. Even better was the fact that I was caught in traffic at the end of the day and called in a panic knowing that they could potentially close before I got there, and the kindly Roberto told me not to worry and that he would be there to make sure I got my dress back. What a guy!
I really love this business and absolutely trust him and his team with the finest of my clothes. I’ve given him some pretty difficult tasks to pull off, and on two separate occasions has he absolutely delivered for me under extremely tight deadlines. They are simply the best at what they do and I am absolutely happy to continue to patronize them.

There is no other way to put it, Roberto is simply amazing! After searching for 4 years in the city for a great tailor that isn’t completely overpriced I found Roberto. He has since worked on multiple suits for me, even going so far as taking old suits of mine and disassembling them to bring them back to life. Not to mention, he is an overall nice guy.

From the moment we spoke on the phone till he finished my alterations, his service was impeccable. I called in asking for same day service and he was more than happy to help me on a Sunday. Overall very happy with service! I’ll definitely recommend Roberto to anyone!

Roberto’s Tailor takes care of me. I have had several of my pants and jeans altered and fixed by them!
Thank you for my shirts, love the slim fit! Gracias Roberto!

I started going to Roberto’s when I moved to the city nearly three years ago, as his shop was right around the corner from where I lived. Despite having moved twice since then, I still go here because it’s a) close to where I am in general (live, work, play) and because he does some amazing work.
I’ve dropped off a range of clothes to get repaired, and every time he’s done amazing work. Whether it’s hemming a pair of pants to altering the hemline on a shirt due to an unrepairable rip, I’ve been 100% satisfied with the end result. Recently, I dropped off a pair of pants and a corset. The pants required patching the hole/​rip where the belt loop had pulled out: you cannot see the patching he did there at all, and I feel very comfortable that this will hold out in the long run. For my corset, I was very leery about whether it could be fixed or not: the hem had come out near the bottom and the boning was sliding out. Unfortunately it was a very very tight hem and there wasn’t a lot of material to work with in regards to repairing the hole. I’m not sure *how* Roberto did it, but he did… the boning is back in place and there’s no sign anywhere of where the hem had pulled out!
I would highly recommend Roberto for both the speed and the price (both repairs cost me a total of $ 18, a very reasonable price for essentially saving $ 400 worth of clothes). As an added bonus, he is a very sweet and friendly guy and I always leave his shop with a smile.

This place is great for emergency or rush alterations! I came in with a suit I needed to have hemmed– pant legs and blazer sleeves, along with the hips/​thighs taken in. I came in on a Saturday and the suit was done by Monday– perfectly done I might add! Most places I contacted would have taken a week– and I needed this suit in a couple days.
It’s a bit pricey, but for the rush job that was done and the quality of the sewing… it was worth every pretty penny!

Okay, I wrote a review for this guy a long time ago, and made the mistake of putting it both under The Custom Shop and under Roberto’s Tailor, and it got removed.
But my review is 100% honest, so I’m going to try again under only Roberto’s Tailor so that consumers can get a more balanced picture of his work.
I took in several pairs of pants and some jackets to get altered by him.
The pants:
My pants got hemmed, but the threading on a few pairs of slacks fell out within a couple of washings because it was so loosely held together at the hem. And I mean VERY loosely hemmed at the bottom.
My jackets:
I had two velvet jackets, one tweed jacket, and another jacket from Ann Taylor altered to fit me better.
The tweed jacket came out beautifully.
My two velvet jackets came out meh. Basically, the sleeves on those jackets were too long for my arms, and Roberto offered to cuff them up and sow them in place as cuffed.
When I came in to pick up my jackets, I saw how uneven the cuffing was done on them. Roberto saw as well, but pretended not to notice and tried to hurriedly get me to pay. I finally spoke up and told him to redo it because it was so uneven. He then agreed and redid it.
I do not like that kind of behavior. If you see that your work is shoddy, and try to hurry the customer out of your shop instead of offering to redo it (or do it right the first time), that is not professional behavior.
I picked up my jackets after he redid them, and the cuffs on my black velvet jacket were still a bit uneven, but it wasn’t as bad as before, so I let it go.
Again, the sewing was very loose at the cuffs, and within one year, the threads fell out. Not only that, my sleeves were unevenly cuffed.
He also cinched my jackets in at the waist to give it more shape, and that part turned out nice.
Overall, the workmanship is hit and miss, and his sewing in some parts is too loose, causing the threading to fall out in a short amount of time. Go to him at your own peril.