Welcome Home Restaurant

Sorry to hear this place has closed… one of my first waiter jobs was at this restaurant. I worked there from late ’88 till ’92. I was one of the only straight employees there, me and a sweet old lady who cashiered and hilariously bitched about the drama queens. To this day I have many fond memories of the customers and employees that made this greasy spoon a true SF experience. I give Welcome Home a big RIP, as I did about 15 of it’s employees back in the bad AIDS days.
You will be missed!

There’s very few places that caused me to cry when I heard of their closing. This was one of my go-​to places get there right off the plane when I would arrive in San Francisco back even in the days I would stay at Beck’s.
Each and everytime I went in there, I was treated like a dear friend. I tell ya, though the portions Id get from these folks is what caused my weight gain years before. I’ve had many great meals at different time of the day and they well all tremendous.
I miss it so.
So those who live in and visit the Castro, patronize the local restaurants. You may never know when they might be gone!

Randomly came across this little spot while walking around. There breakfast was good.

CLOSED 06−11−07
awww… went by welcome home yesterday (my default breakfast haunt for the last 10 years) — they’ve closed for good :-(
this was a really sweet little place. good food. fair prices. the people that worked there were the best part though. always nice… knew ya by name if you were a regular and all that.
I hardly had to even order. just sat down, and my coffee and a mimosa would magically appear.
gonna miss it. hope something worthwhile opens in its place. hope for the best for everyone who worked there too.

Excellent pancakes, the price isn’t too crazy, and a really pleasant atmosphere. Tasty mimosas, too!

The smallest and most overpriced breakfast in the Castro. Haven’t tried dinner, but based on the quality and price of that breakfast, I won’t go back. Had to get a sandwich afterward on the way home.

I love this place … great menu choices for a guy like me who appreciates meat and some veggies with a bit of a southern fried preference a la pork chops and fried chicken and salisbury steak.
32 oz. bottomless soda … $ 2 … a very good deal in San Francisco.
Fried chicken for $ 12.50 or so is half a chicken with a light breading, some veggies, and potato (fries or mash and gravy or, maybe, another option?) … oh yeah, and a biscuit with butter ‘n honey on the side to slather on if you’d like.
They have a Reuben for under $ 10 … nice. Other tasty items on menu I want to try include salisbury steak, meat loaf, and Phily Steak Sandwich.
Great, friendly service … and easy going feel with some sweet music when I go there. I hear Level 42 mixed with Chris Isaak and Sixpence None the Richer … love it.
April 14, 2007 update — Went for another late dinner. The folks here could not be any nicer. Boosting it up to 5 stars from 4. Nice folks at restaurants are such a rare blessing. ANd the food is very tasty too!

They serve breakfast all day and that makes them a-​okay in my book! The pancakes came out warm and buttery and definitely hit the spot. This might disturb people of a more delicate sensibility but I love dipping hunks of pancake into my sunny side up eggs. Altogether now… grooooossss. But I’m telling ya, it tastes fantastic! My eggs were cooked perfectly, yolks weren’t overdone which is a huge pet peeve. All in all, a nice spot for a quick bite before the movies.

Dorothy… Dorothy…Land sakes, there’s a twister a-​comin’!
After a long day of milkin’ the cows, shuckin’ the corn, and sloppin’ the pigs, a man develops an appetite somethin’ fierce. And I don’t mean doin’ somethin’ creative with a hoe… er, I mean a pitchfork… behind the barn. That’s why a gentleman farmer is likely to find himself in the Castro dining at Welcome Home… especially if Auntie Em is too busy lookin’ for Dorothy to make any vittles.
I’ve been here a number of times over the years, but I noticed they spruced things up a bit lately with a couple of big Monet prints and designer lamps. I knew it would be a matter of time before they succumbed to the metrosexuality of the surrounding restaurant décor. Fortunately, the menu hasn’t changed much. Today I went for the special, the $ 9.50 Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich with fries. Gee, I haven’t had anything deep-​fried like this since… uh, yesterday. Tasty stuff.
The staff is always friendly… especially with each other as they may be deep into conversation as you tap your fingers on the table waiting for some service. That’s ok since it’s such a homey place… and where else can you get 4 Pigs in a Blanket for $ 6.99. So set a spell… kick yer shoes off… y’all come back now, y’hear.
FOOD — 3.5 stars… homey food will remind you to get your chores done before supper
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… its corn belt décor has been updated to Castro-contempo…ah well, bound to happen
SERVICE — 4 stars… friendly like two pigs in a poke
TOTAL — 4 stars… rounded up because Auntie Em can’t be around to make you a home-​cooked meal… unless you go to the tranny bar down the street

Anyplace that creates a «sausage in a blanket» — aka link sausages wrapped in pancakes — is ALL RIGHT WITH ME!
Love it. The name is totally deserved.
I also love their ice. I know, it’s weird to love ice but it’s those pellets that turn anything into a slurpee-​like delight.

It’s not fancy, it’s not gourmet, it’s not snooty. It’s the comfort food you want, served by real people. They serve breakfast anytime, and have grits on weekends. This is a good stand-​by diner in an unexpected location.

Just say NO. Actually, I’d start screaming, «NO NO NO NO NO, PLEASE GOD NO!» if someone got me to go in this place. To be fair I haven’t eaten in this place in years because the last time I did it was so unpleasant.
Whoever made the decision to put the kitchen in the front and the dining in the back, started off the cursed chain of decisions that keep this restaurant in the «strongly undesirable» category.
I don’t doubt that if you can get past the ancient decour, the layers of dust, and you’re lucky the food may or may not kill you depending on the chef that day.
This place needs a major overhaul. If you really just want diner food head up the block to the Cove.

OMIGOD! Their MAC & CHEESE is the Bomb! We loved it so much that we had a 2^nd round. The rest of their dishes were done well. I had the salmon and it was really good. Comfort food .
Gotta go back for the Mac & Cheese.
Update:
Went back the other nite with friends and the Mac & Cheese is STILL awesome! We even got a 2^nd round AGAIN.
Can’t go too often or else I may gain an extra 20 pounds.

No kidding, I have a friend who eats almost every meal here. Good variety, low prices. Omelets and burgers are great, salads are huge. Nothing fancy, just comfortable.

Yes, the interior is a schizophrenic free-​for-​all of The Waltons go to Operation Desert Storm, but this is a good place, especially on a rainy day. And at nights you might get served by Annie, who has curly hair and laughs in a way that makes you feel like everything on Earth is perfect. All the servers are great, actually. Especially the old timers who work brunch (Annie is young and new, btw).
The food is above mediocre and has heart. The place is a little too windowless for me when it’s nice outside, but there are plenty of times it hits the spot. In truth, though Annie works nights, the place is pretty deserted at dinner. It’s comfort food at that time, and kinda fatty. The brunches are better, but I hope the dinners start working out and taking off.

There’s something about lard on a noodle that has never exactly appealed to me until I tried their mac n’ cheese here one happy hour evening! Now I’m hooked and think about it all the time!

Welcome Home gets my vote for best onion rings in the city. The kind of place you go to with friends when you’re miserable and you want to stare at the table, and eat delicious onion rings and a super thick chocolate milkshake. The décor is weird and melancholy in a pleasant way, like an interior of a Wes Anderson film. Maybe the corners of your mouth inadvertantly curl into a smile, or a smirk, or maybe just a grimace. The onion rings will not string out of the rings. I hate it when that happens.

Best burger I’ve had in the city, better than the «joint» and burger meister. Yummy fries, shakes with real ice cream, Sweet service and a very cozy atmosphere. Couldn’t have found a better place to escape this week’s rain for lunch. Good «diner» coffee too!

So like last Tuesday was effing cold. And windy, and fally, and reminded me of what the frig fall should be like. We were friggin starved by the time we got to the Castro, and we wanted sushi, but my appetite was waaay to mid-​westerner for sushi, basically, if i ate to fill myself, the bill would have been upteen bucks. First, coffee. They askled which ROAST i wanted. French or Columbian. (!) At a dinery place? Wow! And it was actually very good. We wanted something filling and warm. The wifey got a reuben, and i got this sweet turkey plate with all the t’gives fixins. I was a little disappointed in their gravy (salty and looked like butterscotch pudding) and their stuffing could have used a spice other than pepper or thyme. The best part, is the fabric on the walls that looks like its sprouting little golden pubes.

Hey, any place that serves grits and plays country music is okay by me!