Tasty’s Creole Cajun Kitchen

Fried Oysters are to die for! She make parmeasan fries that are out of this world! Fabulous food and sandwiches!

Awww, I mourn the loss of a good sandwich.

I was asked why I would purchase a coupon for food where I could neither eat all of it nor, per coupon restrictions, take any home.
ANSWER: The coupon was a birthday gift due to my love of Cajun cuisine. I was willing to SAMPLE the different varieties, of my favorites, at the DUMP if that was all I could do.
Bottomline: After reading the other reviews, IT LOOKS LIKE I DODGED A BULLET.

The food was ok. The biggest shrimp po boy sandwich I have ever eaten though. Nothing special, would not go back.

Here you can find the most authentic New Orleans Po Boys in the city. Of course they are not as decadent or delicious as my previously reviewed Brenda’s of Civic Center, but this is more the real thing. The price is pretty cheap, and you can even pay a little more to get New Orleans po boy bread shipped in from New Orleans. Neato! What’s so authentic? The Po Boy is a simple and INEXPENSIVE (hence the name) sandwich with meat of choice dressed with mayo, ketchup, pickles, tomato, and shredded lettuce as requested. There is no fancy try at topping with a remoulade sauce (just mayo and ketchup as condiments.) Po boys are meant to be simple and cheap. I like to see them that way.
I don’t have too much to say about this place because there’s not too much to it. It’s pretty much a bar with a kitchen out the back that serves southern food.
Their hours are a little weird, and that’s what keeps me from returning.
The only other thing that comes to mind is that the food took a while to come out.

Scout mob and acute curiosity into the possibility of authentic Cajun delectables spurred this jaunt to Po Hill. First surprise was upon driving up 24^th I saw that Tasty’s is located in Jack’s, a dive a bar where I’ve enjoyed a drunken occasion or two. It would seem that under the opaque veil of night and intoxication I overlooked this little southern gem that is Tasty’s Creole Cajun Kitchen.
Be forewarned, I hail from Atlanta and hold a high standard for southern cooking. While Tasty’s offered some quality eats, not everything that graced our table was praise worthy.
Good:
Crawfish hush puppies were to die for. So f#$kin’ good. The aioli provided for dipping was pretty good and packed a bunch but mighta done well with a zest of lemon.
The beer battered fried chicken was the CHRONIC. Whilst I have a soft spot for chicken to that humorously Chappellean degree (refer to my Popeyes reviews), this chicken was beer battered to perfection. The breading tasted better than the chicken itself. I mean that little guy was not hand feed on some free range farm, so the ability to prepare it to the degree that I didn’t care deserves a nod.
The Bad:
The gumbo was ok. Granted good gumbo is hard to pull off but this one was a tad over-​salted and the quality of the shrimp, oyster, and andouille left something to be desired. Also the rice was a bit dry and didn’t soak the Gumbo very well as I would have like.
The Ugly:
Potato salad was way too salty and pepper with an overabundance of mayo. Nothing kills potato salad like too much mayo. No one wants to feel like their eat a jar of Helmans when they bite into a side dish.
My main scruple: the price was not right. $ 9 for a thigh and leg with a side of potato salad (no biscuit mind you) $ 9 for a small bowl of gumbo; and $ 8 for crawfish hushpuppies (maybe fair) ain’t exactly a deal. For a few dollars more (The Fist Full of Dollars puns aren’t intend) you can high quality fare at Brendas or Farmer Browns. If they’d provided larger helpings or a few more sides I’d think the price was fair.
A note on service. While service does not effect my rating (it’s all about the food baby), I make a point to comment on how I was treated for the benefit of other Unilocalers who expect a certain standard regardless of where they go (though if you’re expecting fine dining service in a dive bar you’re simply setting yourself up for disappointment). We were helped by an elder lady with an Eastern European bartender who communicated in an apathetic series of nods, twitches, and stares. Her entire demeanor seemed to communicate «I bring out the food. What else do ya want?». A sentiment affirmed by the fact that she only touched our table for the essential reasons: order, food, bill, change. Which is understandable as she is a bartender and that’s how bartenders belt out drinks to move onto the next costumer. They’re also accustomed to snappy orders as evidenced by her asking me «do know what you want?» multiple times despite my still holding a menu.
Like I said these things don’t phase me but sensitive Unilocalers be warned: Tasty’s eats come at the price of pretty bad service. They probably don’t even read Unilocal.They’ve got spirits and soul food under one roof. It’s a seller’s market.
PS: Bonus points for the cook peeking out from the kitchen decked in all black with a black fedora to boot. Love me some foxy black ladies who can cook!

Tasty.
Opening line was easy. Finding it not so much. Louisiana themed. In San Francisco. Hispanic neighborhood. Inside a bar. Of course.
Effort was well worth it. Small pulled turkey po’ boy was packed with meat and cabbage. Two hands required. And a napkin. Delicious.
Traditional New Orleans bread available for an extra cost. Unfortunately today they were out.
Split the Creole Jambalaya with chicken, sausage, veggies and rice. Large portion at a not so large six dollar price. Large on taste too.
Each bite of the mac-​n-​cheese was a delicious guilty pleasure.
Brunch no longer offered (still listed online).
Worth a visit for some Southern culinary hospitality.

Delicious Cajun food in a dive bar? Sure! Don’t be deceived by the lack of sign outside, go into Jack’s and sit at a table, they’ll know why you’re there.
We were feeling ambitious, so two of us split:
Fried chicken
Seafood gumbo
Catfish hush puppies
All three were really fantastic at pretty cheap prices. I think the hush puppies were my favorite given that the order came with 6 large ones and, despite being sickeningly full, I’m still craving more.
Our server reminded me of a female version of the Soup Nazi — «No gumbo for you!», but it’s not like you eat at Tasty’s for the fantastic atmosphere and 5 star service. She gets the job done and that’s all that matters.
Important note for fellow thrifty eaters: Tasty’s is 50% off (up to $ 10) on Scoutmob for the next several days. If you can’t go this week, check in on Unilocal and get 20% off any lunch entrée.

Okay. It’s not the best atmosphere in the world. it’s in a dive bar. I had to do a double take to find this place because it’s located inside Jack’s, which is the name of the bar. That was definitely not what I was looking for. When I walked in, there was an awkward silence. Weird? Yeah, you’d expect some type of background music and a greeting of some sort. but despite the bad feeling, I gave it a shot. And what I found was a bland $ 20 seafood platter that was definitely not very fresh… The shrimps were tiny, oysters had sand, and fish was not fresh. I had sweet potato fries as well but again, under seasoned. It’s a good try but for the location and quality, I definitely don’t think it’s a good value. I really wanted to like the food at least but it fell below the par. Won’t be going back.
(I’m super tired right now so I’ll rewrite this review in depth later. I just wanted to write something down to recall later)

3 ½ stars.
Came here because of a Scoutmob coupon and was pleasantly surprised despite the dingy bar atmosphere. I had the fried catfish po’ boy and was quite pleased to discover that the fish and bread were both fresh and that they didn’t drench it in mayo. The half sandwich was plenty large for lunch.
My friend had the daily special, a cajun burger with steak fries, and said it was average. Not amazing, not offensive. His one complaint though, as an Alabama native — the sweet tea. At $ 3 for a highball glass that is mostly filled with ice, it was overpriced and not nearly sweet enough or authentic. Perhaps they’re trying to tone down the sweetness for the average SF palate???

Very strange location, it being in a bar, 1 block away from SF General Hospital. Couldn’t find this place at first because we didn’t expect it to be in a bar, and it’s only sign was a banner that was obviously sponsored by Budweiser.
The food, however, was surprisingly good. My catfish poboy was larger than my mouth, and the battered fish was hot and flaky. Others in my group enjoyed their sandwiches, as well. Great place to grab quick lunch away from 24^th, especially if you’re working/​interning at SFGH.
If you sign up for their email list, get a free drink chip for use during happy hr w/​karaōke.

Absolutely awful experience on Sunday! Knew it was a dive bar and wasn’t expecting anything fancy. That being said, we waited 15 minutes before heading to the bar to order since no one ever came to our table, once there we were told «Wait, I’m busy» and the woman walked away. Another 10 – 15 minutes, finally gets to taking our order but then she told us we could only order food first and she’d come back to take order for drinks (another 15 minutes).
Things continued to go downhill — our group of 3 ordered Po’ boys and in addition to being mediocre at best, each person’s order came out 15 minutes after another and one of the orders was wrong…
To finish things off, she brought the check and stood over us and asked us for her tip because she was leaving soon — WTH! When the last order came out (yes, the check came before all the food), we asked for a to-​go container and she brought us a dirty one!!! When she brought back the change, she asked for her tip again and stood over us waiting — that was the last straw — told her we were working on it & left.
I will never go to this place again — Queen’s Po-​Boy on San Bruno I’m sorry I strayed :(

Let’s get this out in the open… this is not a true blue «restaurant.» This is a dive bar that serves really good gumbo and jambalaya. We had no idea from the description on our online coupon, however, and took our toddler with us.
There is no getting around the lack of charm when it comes to the surroundings, however. And had I known it was a full-​fledged dive bar, I would not have brought my young son. Understandably, they didn’t have highchairs available.
That said, I had good food here. The gumbo and jambalaya were both excellent. I had the po’ boy, which wasn’t the best I’ve tasted but it was enormous… easily enough to feed two. The étouffée wasn’t quite ready to be served, so we missed out.
We had gone the month before for their brunch, which was was far less satisfying and, I believe, overpriced.
Aside from the regulars that looked slightly annoyed at the sight of us, the service was very friendly and we felt welcome.
About the online coupon deal that states «dine-​in only.»: Although I understand the need to tip the waitstaff and get people in the door, it seems silly to force people to «dine-​in» when you don’t provide places for every member of the party to sit. My kid had to sit in his stroller and eat his food, which was a good foot above him on the bar table.
It would have been nice if they had given us a break about their steadfast rule. We even offered to pay full tip on a take out order, but they wouldn’t make an exception. Unfortunately, we won’t be back any time soon, not because we wouldn’t want to, but because we simply can’t.
(My husband’s suggestion? A take-​out window, like Little Skillet does so well. I’d be there every week!)

I’m honestly shocked at the poor reviews… this place was super accommodating (we called in 10 min before they closed & they stayed open for us).
We ordered: seafood gumbo, roast beef po boy, crawfish hushpuppies, red beans and rice.
All were deelicious. This bar reminds me of The Corporation in New Orleans (aka the best po boy i’ve ever had in my entire life, omg). Tasty’s is definitely comparable… the po boy rolls were crunch & chewy though the «dressing» was different.
We ordered enough for 3 people (at least) and gobbled it all down. Paid with our Living Social coupon (total was $ 8) and left a $ 12 tip. A great meal for $ 20.
I will be back for brunch…
Users like James Y piss me off and make the whole Groupon experience craptastic for users. Generally, these are for TWO people so that you can try a bunch of different stuff and hopefully come back. It’s not for one fattie to come and take advantage of $ 30. In fact, the fine print SHOULD say for two — if it doesn’t, it should certainly be changed. I’m all for a great deal, but I don’t believe in screwing over the small businesses.

Hubby and I went here yesterday after having a creole food hankering for weeks. Parking was a breeze and the environment was very neighborly and friendly. Service was attentive.
I had the gumbo with cornbread (would get again) and hubby had the beef po boy with New Orleans bread (he ate the WHOLE thing!). Finished off with both pralines and bread pudding. We’d come back.

After languishing about the house all morning studying statistics (bleh), I had the irresistable urge to laze about over a big fried (of course) meal in the Mission. I had picked up the Living Social deal for $ 30 worth in food and drinks.
Ordered an Abita Amber, ($ 4) which automatically meant love, bc this NOLA favorite is few and far between in our lil corner of CA.
Disclosure, we went at 4 in the afternoon, and the ‘regulars’ were going strong. and a bit odd. But everyone was friendly, and chatty with me, which was a nice change up from the normal elitist ‘ignore you til you want to curl in a corner and cry’ attitude encountered when you wait by yourself in a bar.
My friend showed up, we got menus, and it was on. The bar-​lady didn’t seem to have a full grasp of the menu choices, and what we could/couldn’t do with the platters, etc, but again, her friendliness overwhelmed that minor frustration.
I got a half fried shrimp/​half fried catfish po’boy. Due to a miscommunication with the kitchen, I ended up with TWO FULL PO’BOYS! omfgnomnomnom With my garlic fries, I had way too much food for any normal person. The fried seafood was crisp, tender, and garnished with a lemon. I got my sammies ‘dressed’, which in NOLA speak means shredded lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and mayo. The french fries were undercooked, which was unfortunate, because they had great potential. ($ 13.50 for a whole po’boy, $ 3.50 for garlic fries)
My friend ordered the Seafood Platter, which included fried shrimp, catfish, and oysters. It also came with an order of garlic fries. Looked pretty tasty. ($ 17.50)
Overall, this place is a total dive, but in an endearing way. The service is slow, if you are in a rush, you should not even attempt a visit. But if it’s a lazy, sunny, perfect Spring day, this is the spot.

I’d never had Cajun food before and I was always curious. So when you tell me there’s a hole-​in-​the-​wall-​place sitting inside some Dive Bar offering Cajun food in some neigbhourhod I’d never been to, I was sold.
Arriving on a Saturday afternoon I walked into an empty bar, mentioned I was here to try the Tasty’s menu and was seated against the wall. Based on feedback from the other Unilocalers, I opted for the Jambalaya and some fried oysters. I thought everything was to its namesake, pretty tasty, though I definitely agree with the other reviewers that the food was on the salty side!
Would I go back? I think so. Prices were pretty reasonable and the owner seemed friendly and earnest. Did you know they fly their bread in from Louisiana for their Po’ Boys? That’s pretty cool. :)

Let me start my saying I’m a pacifist. I have no malicious intent of wanting to wage a foodie war, but…
The food is just decent. Up until I moved to San Francisco, I have always lived within a 6 hour drive of New Orleans and visited countless times, so while not an expert, my tongue knows cajun tasty.
We got the ½ and ½ seafood poboy, oyster poboy, jambalya, honey lemonade and sweet tea. The jambalya was supposed to have chicken and sausage in it. It was MIA. Very MIA. Oh, plus the rice was crunchy, like it was undercooked.
Po boys were o.k.; they could have used more spice in the remoulade, but the bread was very fresh and soft. You should also know we waited an hour to get our mainly fried food. The drinks, while good, were expensive for what you got. $ 3 for one of those very narrow glasses, which after ice probably amounts to ¼ cup of actual drink.
Because I miss Southern cooking so much, I was willing to give lots of leeway to Tasty’s. Even with the hour wait, if the food was good, I would have called it even, but I can’t imagine going back unless I was desperate for some cajun/​creole.

This is a great find in the neighborhood, and a good deal to boot. I walk by Jack’s several times a week while taking my dog for a walk, and I’ve watched the presence of Tasty’s grow over the last few months. This weekend, with glorious weather, I finally took advantage of the outside seating for some Creole brunch.
The food was very good — I had the sausage and biscuits with gravy, and my wife had the crawfish omelet. Like most restaurant food I try these days, I found the food a bit heavy on the salt, but that’s probably because I barely use any salt in my own cooking. That being said, I all but licked my plate clean, and also polished off my wife’s left-​over omelet (with potatoes and a roll). The service was super friendly, and it was a perfect sidewalk meal.
Unfortunately, due to SF regulations, we couldn’t enjoy any alcoholic beverages while seated outside. I’ll have to go back to try the Bloody Mary, and I definitely need to try out the Po’ Boys. I tried one in the closing days of Yat’s, and was underwhelmed, although that may have been due to the kitchen closing shortly afterwards. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Tasty’s.

I can’t believe it took me over three years to try Tasty’s Creole Cajun Kitchen at Jacks Club. I went there for brunch for the first today and I am more than impressed; I am absolutely in love! I see a beautifully delicious friendship developing over the next couple of years, and I am still kicking myself in the ass for not having tried it sooner.
I have lived two blocks from Jacks Club for over three years, and truthfully I think I avoided going there because I thought it was just a little too stabby – and my misconception almost made me miss the best Creole and soul food in San Francisco.
In a neighborhood awash with almost nothing but Mexican fast-​food, Tasty’s is a breath of fresh, delicious, spicy deep-​fried air. Today I had the pork chop and eggs brunch special and I almost cried, realizing what I had been missing the last few years.
The fried chop was perfectly cooked and seasoned, and the country sausage gravy that covered it… Hallelujah! I would take a bath in that stuff, so long as someone provided me with a spoon and a pile of biscuits and pork chops. If Tasty’s sausage gravy had a vagina, I would f*uck it. Seriously, it is that good.
As an added bonus, you get a free cocktail refill when you order a brunch special on Saturday or Sunday. I had two Bloody Mary’s that were spicy, flavorful and well-​balanced, and my wife had a couple Champagne Bellinis that were rather generously poured. So, we had two brunch entrees and four cocktails for less than $ 40.
I am so happy that I found you, Tasty’s at Jacks! The food is delicious, unique and inexpensive. Erma (the owner), was cooking and bartending, and she is super-​friendly and dedicated to her Creole cooking. I will be back and back often, and if you live in the ‘hood and you don’t give this place a chance, you damn well better regret it.