Bagdad Cafe

Two words… f***ing bomb! This place rocks. I left Lime on Sunday because the wait was too long and found Bagdad.

I need to be more cautious and not so eager when it comes to using Scoutmob because going to Bagdad Café was one of the worst experiences I have had with food. I came in and was acknowledged by the host in the very empty restaurant, yet was not said a word to. Finally, the guy directed me to a table, but already I knew it was going to be AT THE MOST a 2.5 star place.
However, I thought there was a chance I would be proven wrong. The menu looked appetizing and after walking around starving, I could’ve eaten anything at that point. I ordered the fried chicken with veggies.
As soon as my plate was placed, all I noticed were the strands of hair in my food. I was utterly disgusted and shocked that the server did not notice this himself. I immediately got his attention to bring him aware to the situation. Though he apologized profusely, the damage was done. I took one bite off my newly made plate and the chicken lacked flavor and freshness. I could not even take a second bag and doggy bagged it for my roommates who will eat anything (even trash).
Overall, Bagdad Café was horrendous. From the service to the ambiance to the food. I definitely won’t be coming back. Geez, thanks Scoutmob!

Bagdad Café is closed. Their Web site now displays the following message:
Bagdad Café, the Castro’s longtime 24-​hour diner, will close its doors
for the last time after one more late night of business on Thursday,
March 31^st. For the past three years, our management team has
worked diligently to reach an agreement with our landlord to extend
our lease, but unfortunately talks have not been fruitful and we will be
leaving.
It has been a pleasure to serve the Castro community, and we have
grown especially fond of our late night guests and regulars. We are
grateful for the support you have shown us over the years. On
Friday, April 1^st, a new tenant will take over 2295 Market Street and
begin transformation of the space and business. We wish them great
success.
Many thanks, and farewell from the entire Bagdad Café team. We
will miss you all!

My boyfriend and I walked from Union Square to this side of town to try out Eiji Restaurant. We arrived about an hour early to our reservation so we decided to stop off at a café and get a little appetizer. (Also give my feet a little rest)
We were VERY surprised of how tasty the Chicken Nachos were. We got a half order, and it was the perfect sized appetizer. My boyfriend ordered a Stella and I got a Screwdriver. WOWzers, the screwdriver was strong. I drank a few sips and was already feeling a buzz. As I drank more and more, the more drunk I started to feel.
Slurring and laughing over the delicious nachos, my boyfriend enjoyed my 4 o’clock drunkeness over one drink. I am such weak sauce now. I need to get out of the library and build up my tolerance.
The waiters were really nice and luckily, there was only a couple tables occupied at the diner. A pair of middle aged women sat 2 tables next to us and I saw them looking at me. I was a little embarrassed, but really happy at the time to care. :)

NO! The waiters do not run around in turbans.
Now that we have that out of the way; BC’s roomy enough for big groups while being open late enough with a diner style menu and mediocre food that you could call it a Castro Denny’s and noone would flinch. It’s sobering super bright inside and everything on their menu is around $ 10.
Had the country fried steak, with two eggs, some really dry inedible toast, and the most undelicious homefries I’ve had in a while. The cf steak had a thick gravy but was light on the flavor, very unsatisfying but it is what it is. BC’s is good for late night eats.

Oh dear god why did I come here? And why didn’t it show up on my Unilocal app search for «breakfast»??? I’m in the area killing time before an appointment and wanted to grab brunch. I never hang out in the Castro, but I know this area is home to a lot of great eateries and I’m really bummed I wasted my trip here on a terrible place.
I was looking for a brunch place that I could sit at a table and enjoy a cheap meal by myself without looking pathetic for eating alone on a Saturday morning. Bagdad seemed to fit that criteria and it was reasonably busy so I thought it couldn’t be that bad. If it would have come up on my aforementioned search, I never would have stepped foot in here. But I did and here’s my two cents.
The waiter came over and I’m guessing he is one of the rude ones so often mentioned in other peoples reviews. He was nice enough, but still rather curt when taking my order. I ordered a single shot vanilla latte, but was given a double shot plain latte. For breakfast I ordered a platter special of french toast, one scrambled egg with cheese and a few slices of bacon. The french toast was literally that. A french loaf that had been sliced, barely dipped in batter and pan fried. It was tough, especially the crust. Not good at all. The egg was ok, but I swear it was not a fresh egg, but rather eggbeaters or something. The bacon was just way over cooked and super dry.
Totally not worth it. I assume that the only reason this place is still in business is because it’s one of the only places in the entire city that stay open late. I think they are 24 hours on the weekend.

Wow, that’s too bad on reading upon the bad reviews. I’ve always had a good experience here, it’s my go to spot on a lazy Sunday brunch day. It’s unassuming yet the service has always always always been great if not on the point of family like. My coffee cup is never empty, my ice tea is always refilled, the food is comforting (I usually have the french toast and I’m sorry Linda but the french toast here is pretty damn good), and there are no boisterous loud kids hanging out in the front such as the Lime (although I love the Lime for an occasional beverage, don’t get me wrong, it’s just gotten ridiculous on the weekends).
It’s a nice little spot where I find parking close by, walk around after my brecky and all is well. Good little breakfast spot with good service and location.

Only been here once, right before a show at Café Du Nord. But the Bagdad Café will always hold a dear place in my heart, because this is how it went down…
Me: You know what sounds good right now?
Jordan: What?
Me: A Philly Cheesesteak.
Jordan: Oh yeah.
Me: Wouldn’t that be great if the next place we went to had them!
Jordan: Let’s check here.
(looks at menu —
)
Jordan: Aw yeah! I don’t believe it!
Me: Let’s do this! Philly Cheesesteak here we come!
Thank your, Bagdad Café, for making my dream come true.

I’ve been dying to write a review for Bagdad café for many years now since my last visit and this is why. A couple years back, a group of my buddies and I (total of 6) walked into Baghdad for after midnight eats. When we walked in, there was no host/​hostess or waiter that stopped by to ask, how many people were dining? All this one waiter did was eye us up and down and walked off. We chalked it up to be it’s a busy Thursday night, etc etc? But then a slot for 6 opened up, we weren’t seated. There was NOBODY in line. We waited and finally asked a waiter, is this self-​seating? There’s a table for 6 right there. He eyed us down said he was with somebody else right now and left. So we waited and waited. Then a group of 4 men came by and just sat in the slot for 6, one of their waiters came by right away and served them. At that point we were pissed. WTH?
At the point, we were waiting for 30 minutes, somebody took our spot. And we had no where else to go because everything was closed and we were really hungry. Another 10 minutes pass, and another slot of 6 opened up and we just sat down, thinking well if those people sat down like that, it might be self service and we’re being ignored. We sit and sit… and 20 minutes later, nobody even comes by to place water down. So we flag down a waiter and we’re like, «What’s going on? we’ve been waiting for an hour now, we’re not getting any service.» The waiter replied and I still remember to this day what he said because I’ve never in my life felt this disrespected or insulted. «We’re refusing service to you. So you can sit here but we’re not going to serve you.»
I was just appalled! We weren’t drunk. We weren’t causing trouble. I don’t know if it was because we didn’t fit a certain criteria to dine there. Bagdad Café, I didn’t know you were such a elitist establishment that we needed to be apart of one of your criteria to dine there. When asked what were their grounds for doing so, they just said, «We’re just REFUSING to serve you. That’s it.»
Well you know what Bagdad Café, I’m REFUSING MY BUSINESS to you! It’s the worst service I’ve ever experienced still to this date. I wouldn’t recommend you to anyone. In fact, I ‘d give you negative stars if I could.

In a Grey Goose «happy» comatose, my friend had to drag me to the car, yet I somehow managed to Unilocal Bagdad Café on my BB just to view the highlights (chicken nachos and desert fries)…a sign of a true Unilocal ADDICT!
After a night of clubbing at Sens on Sat, 5.22.10, my friends and I were figuring out where to eat. One of the boys suggested Bagdad, so away we went.
We arrived (group of 6) arrived at 2:30 AM and BC was pretty packed. The waiter said it would be a 15 – 20 min wait unless we wanted to sit at the counter. Uhh, there was no way I was capable of waiting that long before KTFO, so the counter it was.
FOOD:
*BLTA w/​Desert Fries ($ 9.25 +$ 1 for Desert fries): The BLTA was good, but then again anything w/​crisp smoky bacon and buttery avocado is. The bread was toasted and the lettuce and tomato was fresh. But, for $ 9.25? Totally OVERPRICED. Apparently, on the way there I managed to read the desert fries as «dessert» fries. I asked one of our friends what was the «dessert» fries b/​c he comes here often. He gave me a puzzled look, chuckled, and said «D-​E-​S-​E-​R-​T» fries are fries w/​special seasoning. They were essentially shoestring fries with a mixture of paprika and cayenne pepper. It was blah. It was served room temp and was dry and stale; hence the «desert» name?
*Chicken Nachos ($ 9.95): Although two of my friends liked it, I thought it was EECK! Since when do nachos don’t/barely have cheese? The nachos were served in a 10 inch platter and probably a 2 inch diameter had some melted cheese on it. The lime-​marinated chicken was dry. It tasted like it was marinated in the lime for hours on end and was sour as opposed to being citrusy. The tortilla chips (Costco bought?) were SUPER SALTY. It seemed like they added add’l salt to it b/​c it tasted like I was chewing on a packet of salt. I normally like salty foods when I’m drunk, but even this was too salty to stomach. I agree w/​Luis C, you’re better off w/​getting $ 1.99 nachos from 7-​Eleven.
We each had a burger, sandwich, or entrée which was around $ 10 and shared the nachos, yet our bill came out to $ 20/​person (including tax and tip) which I thought was quite pricey.
SERVICE:
Our server, Jorge was a sweetheart and came to check on us several times to make sure everything was ok; hence the 2 stars. The owner/​mgr that looked a meathead seemed like a total douche. He had a sour face the entire time and was very cold and demanding to his hard-​working staff.
The food did take a while to come out; about 20 mins or so.
AMBIANCE/​DÉCOR:
Very simple diner-​like décor. Lighting is BRIGHT, BRIGHT, BRIGHT! There’s seating for 6 at the counter w/​a view of the kitchen to the left and about 20 – 24 at the dining area.
PARKING:
Street parking which is easy at the wee hours in the morning. Beware that there is street cleaning at 2 AM on Market Street, so make sure to park on the side streets.
Perhaps it was an off night, since my other friends liked BC. But, I really think it was from their alcohol-​impaired judgment. J/​K!

I’ve been here twice with mixed results.
First time on Halloween evening (NOT my idea) when the drunk jerk sitting next to me managed to knock his entire glass of coke on the floor next to me. He got coke all over my skirt, my boots, my favorite dry-​clean-​only coat, and my bag. Luckily for him all of these things are black and it was my friend’s birthday otherwise words may have been exchanged. The staff barely did any clean up and no one offered me a rag to clean up the syrupy mess. The NY Cheesecake I had was delicious though… service 1.0 stars, food 4.0 stars, atmosphere 2.0 (drunk jerk 0, cool unique costumes of non-​jerky diners 4.0)
Second time after an impromptu hiking date. This time we sat outside on a lovely sunny afternoon. Most of the food was good… I ordered the roasted turkey with rice (instead of fries). BIG mistake. the rice was like a hockey puck… It seemed like they had cooked it adequately to begin with, then had refrigerated it, made a scoop of it and microwaved it to dried out oblivion. The turkey was tasty and tender and the gravy and side vegetables were good. I wasn’t going to say anything about it because the other 75% if the plate was edible but my date casually mentioned it to the server when he asked for the check. End result… the server gave us a big discount on the bill… food 3.0 stars (bumped up from 2.0 for the discount), service 4.0, atmosphere 4.0

Open 24 hours only Thu-​Sat.
6am-​midnight on Sun-​Wed.
It’s one of 3 diners that are open late night, along Market street — Bagdad Café, Sparky’s, and Orphan Andy’s.
A little pricey since most sandwiches, burgers and salads are above +$ 10. Also $ 10 for nachos is high, for nachos go to a 7-​Eleven instead. In my limited experience (if possible, I avoid this place), food was unremarkable, cooking takes a long time, and there’s nobody around when you need them.
Instead, I recommend Starbelly (before 11pm) next block on 16^th street, MUCH better food.

We went here New Year’s Day when we could finally get our lazy, hungover selves out the door — at 1pm. Yes it was a holiday and the workers were probably hungover but the whole experience was still pretty unacceptable.
We sat at a table outside and after waiting almost 15 minutes without seeing anyone I walked inside myself and got menus. Then another 20 minutes passes without our waiter coming over. We asked another waiter if we could order and she said she wasn’t our waiter and would go get him. 10 more minutes passed before he came.
I ordered a mimosa and it tasted like orange juice with a splash of 3 week old champagne in it. There weren’t even any bubbles. Then our food took about 30 minutes to show up preceded by the typical «are they growing the chickens and hatching the eggs back there?» comments.
The food was mediocre at best. The salad came without the avocado and was rather tasteless. The mango pieces were so miniscule they added nothing to the salad. By the time we got our burger the bun was already mushy and it tasted like something you would eat at a bad camping barbeque.
The only good part of this whole experience was the onion rings. And it sucks too because I remember coming to this place a few years back and it being a lot better. So we had to walk up and get our bill ourselves and pay at the counter because God knows we weren’t going to wait another 20 minutes for the server to bring it to us.
As we were walking away we look back at our table and a man wearing a mask was sitting down eating our leftover food. Pretty strange.

Whats that called when you’re so thirsty you imagine cool water sliding down your throat?
Oh yes, dehydration.
Grabbing a seat I ordered a big glass of ice water. And the waiter kept em coming to my thirsty little paws.
To wash down the water, I ordered a meal I’d been craving for a few weeks, biscuits and gravy.
Now, not many people know I’m originally from a small town. And even fewer know that my mom owned a restaurant. But I am and she did. And we had the best biscuits and gravy in those parts.
So when I say I love Bagdad’s biscuits and gravy, you get my drift.
The biscuits were fluffy and just the right size serving. While their gravy was light and healthy tasting but still had the biscuits and gravy basic feel. It was biscuits and gravy without the heaviness and regret.
Thanks for doing it right guys, I’ll be back!

Stopped in after the Elite Unilocal event at The Café for a bite to help soak up all of the free alcohol I couldn’t sweat out of me on the dance floor!
Jackie G and I sat at the counter and the help was very friendly and the food came out in record time. My BLT hit the spot and the fries were to die for. Super crispy and just the right cut.
Bonus points for them in that after we left and walked around the Castro we had to go back to use the bathroom and even though the door was locked they let us in and even gave us water to go. Enjoy!

I hadn’t been here in a while, and it was a short drive from the Triple Crown.
Food is as good as I remembered it — I forgot how generous their portions are here — but the service was excruciatingly slow and there weren’t many people in the restaurant at the time either.

3.75 Stars
Your typical American fare with offerings such as country fried steak, breakfast, sandwiches, fries, etc. I have gone here numerous times when my friends and I don’t want the usual late night chain restaurants. Bagdad Café is open late or I believe is open 24 hours but it is nothing special. The food is alright and nothing blows my mind here. Service is very good but the food makes you go eh. Way too much gravy on the country fried steak to very soggy and bland french fries. Other things I had in the past I do not quite remember because it was forgettable. If anyone can recommend what’s good here, let me know.

Mediocre food at best. (I ordered pancakes with eggs and sausage) The pancakes were dry. Not even saliva was enough to get it wet so it’ll slide down my throat. (hmm…that sounds really dirrrty for no reason). But, I was hungry so I ate it anyway. (no comments on the eggs or sausage, you can’t really mess those up)
A huge plus for being centrally located in the ‘Stro. Sit at one of the tables next to the big windows for prime people watching — that’s how I found my friend Kevin. The last time I heard from him was back in 2005, when he left me a message on my phone saying: «sorry, I haven’t been been able to get back to you. I dropped my phone in the toilet»
So, I guess, thank you Bagdad café. I wouldn’t have found my long lost friend without you.
Why the heck is Bagdad spelled without a «H» anyway???

I came here with some friends for a late night dinner. The place is not super nice or clean, but the food was pretty good.
I ordered a turkey burger meal, but I would have to say the service is not very good. I selected the salad instead of fries on my combo and the serving size of the salad was huge. I ordered my burger with out sour cream and they still put sour cream on my burger.
I tried to get the waiter to refill my water and bring us more napkins. The server never came back to give us either. After a few tries with different waiters, we finally go our napkins and water.
The restroom is quite dirty as well.
Overall, I would say they have good food, but the place is like a hole in the wall and the service is not so great.

Does anyone remember the Mojave Desert movie «Bagdad Café»? Me neither, but the chorus from the movie’s theme still haunts me…
«I-​I-​I-​I-​I-​I-​I am calling youuuuu
I know you hear me
I-​I-​I-​I-​I-​I-​I– am calling youuuuuu…»
Sorta how I feel when I need service at this place. Like I’m in a desert. Parched. Water… water! What do you mean it’s not your table? Yeah, service is definitely not their trademark. I had not been for a while since I was never that thrilled with them, but recently, I took a look at their sleek-​looking menu and thought maybe things were looking up.
Not particularly. It’s not worse for sure, just still on the humdrum side. I ordered the $ 11.95 Herb-​Roasted Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Vegetables. Not an exciting dish, I know, but I thought I’d see what they do with it. Not much. It reminds me a bit of Marie Callendar’s Frozen Dinners. Not a bad thing since I have a stash of those in my freezer, but… hey…did you feel that?
EARTHQUAKE!
Yes, I was here the evening we had a rolling tremor. My life flashed before my eyes. This chicken tastes great. I love the waiter. I love the vagrant staring at me through the window. Gosh, I’m just lucky to be alive… gee, don’t they clean under these tables?
OK, I’m over it. Yeah, it was decent.
FOOD — 3 stars… decent, nothing more… until your life flashes before your eyes… then it tastes like ambrosia, I tell ya
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… still looks the same to me… not too crowded tonight because Lance Bass is signing copies of his pamphlet-​sized autobiography at Books Inc.
SERVICE — 2.5 stars… I-​I-​I-​I-​I-​I-​I– am calling youuuuuu…
TOTAL — 3 stars… think I’ll just go to Asqew Grill across 16^th