if i could, i'd give this place 3.5 stars. Â i've been to this place a few times before. Â the food is typically good. Â the last time i tried the pacific louie and parmesan chicken with shrimp. Â both were delicious. Â the service is if-y here. Â it just depends on how busy they are. Â maybe they would be better hiring more waiters during busy hours.
Review Source:Decor is really corny. The food is basically what you would get if you made recipes from Applebee's with somewhat better ingredients. I didn't loathe my dinner, but I'm not willingly going back. If you have the misfortune of dining with someone who doesn't like flavor or excitement in their food, this actually is a better choice than the average national "bar n grill" franchise, so you could take them here. Alternately, you could buy them a plane ticket to Indiana.
Review Source:I mean it's fine right, typical franchise food, nothing special, they try to add that whole Cajun aspect with the jambalaya which is okay and there's happy hour that's cheap. Overall though it's not my favorite restaurant or anything, the food is not very creative. I went a few times when I had a 2 for $40 coupon which was a great deal, because at least I didn't end up paying that much.
Review Source:Stay away from this place! I went here tonight during happy hour and ordered appetizers and a Mai Tai. I took 2 sips and couldn't drink anymore. The drink was disgusting! I asked to order a Mojito instead and the waitress states that she had to ask her manager. This little troll who stood about 5 feet tall walked to the table and says that nothing is wrong with the drink. The drink was less than $5 so I decided to chalk it up and order a Mojito. He then says that he is refusing to serve me and my friend anymore drinks because we have continuously sent drinks and food back all night. Napoleon profiles my friend and I because we happen to be African American women, and the table that had given him and his staff trouble all night were also African American. I ask for the District Manager's information and he rudely replies, "Get it off of the website!" I was stunned. I am from Los Angeles and have never experienced such awful service at a restaurant. I get up from the table and find a gentlemen who has "General Manager" written on his shirt and explain to him what happened. I tell him the the bar manager refused to give me the information I had asked for and that he was incredibly rude for no reason at all. He then says that my friend has spoken for me and calls a security guard who looks like he suffered from polio as a kid to walk my friend and I out of the restaurant! I have never been so humiliated in my life. To be kicked out of a restaurant, a shitty one at that because I asked for another drink is insane. I will be contacting the corporate headquarters first thing in the morning and will never eat at this dump again. Tell everyone you know not to eat here! Horrible service, gross food, and even worse drinks! Deplorable...
Review Source:I do not know why I keep coming back... and after reading all the other reviews, I have come to the conclusion that this place is a shadow of what used to be here. I know that this Elephant Bar had been here for a long, long time and there has to be a reason for it, right? Whatever that reason may be, it is no longer true.
It doesn't matter if you sit at the bar, staring down the bartenders, or sitting at the restaurant: bottom-line, if you want service, go somewhere else. If you need something aside from your order being taken, go somewhere else.
After running out of water, and not having silverware for half my meal last time, I decided to just get take out this time. The food is 3.5-4 stars. It's what you would expect from any other Elephant Bar, just don't get your hopes too high that you're eating the work of some Iron Chef. The service though, non-existent. Being in the service industry myself, I tip what I receive. If you want a tip, work for it. This place though, I feel guilty giving them a tip, but I also know that that's the only way for some of these waiters/waitresses make ends meet.
This time, it took over an hour to get my order right in order for me to pick it up. I call in for a pickup and the lady tells me what I want is not on the menu any more. I'm pretty sure, since it is a staple item, that it is there. I tell her where it is on the menu, I even spell it. Finally, like magic, it appears. I'm quoted a time of 10-15 minutes for it to be ready. Knowing E-bar as I do, I give them a full 30 before I show up. Apparently, they did not get my order correct, but they did prepare my entrees. So, while my entrees got cold, they just started working on the appetizers. After an hour, I finally get my completed order. No apologies. Just "please pay here".
The appetizers were good, but both entrees had gotten cold (since it's been sitting in the window for 30 minutes, not including the car-ride home).
If you don't mind long waits for basic necessities, or if you're there just as a group to watch sports on TV, go here. If you are trying to go for date-night, or something with the significant other, go somewhere else: unless you like to be abused and neglected. Read other reviews by date. This place is not what it used to be.
My review is long overdue but I do remember coming to have drinks with my friend & we were treated really badly ... We went with a group of coworkers a time before & my friend kept trying to pay for her meal but was ignored for an hour so the group ended up paying for her bill because we had to leave , we could not get anybody's attention that night ... So we tried coming back another time which my friend did wanna avoid because of the last visit we had made ... The same bartender was there & was just very rude to my friend because of the situation ... He kept rolling his eyes at us and kept saying the rudest comments a customer service/bartender/server should make ... When it came time to pay the bill I did not give him a tip because in reality why would he deserve one ? Once he looked at the receipt to process in the computer he gave me the death stare and rolled his eyes at me ... Of course I'm tipsy and I looked at my friend asking " did he really just roll his eyes at me ?" She's like yea ... So me being me ... I went the f*** off on him asked to speak to the manager & I told her I would never step foot back in elephant bar with rude services from that guy ... She said he wouldn't be there the next time but I never did find out if he got fired ... So this place is a disgrace and not even that good .
Review Source:I have been here many times, more recently for their happy hour, which has great prices for appetizers! Yesterday (Wednesday), was $4 for a glass of wine, so couldn't resist. I tried the Riesling, and it was yumm-o!
Also some of my fave appetizers are the sweet potato fries, artichoke dip (although I wish it came with bread, not chips), and the flat bread pizzas. I have tried both the BBQ and the mozzarella, both are good but I think the BBQ is more tasty!
Try their cocktails, those are good too. The reason I couldn't give Elephant Bar 4 stars is because their customer service is inconsistent. I have been there when they are super busy, and not busy at all. Sometimes the staff can handle the rush, other times you are left at your table waiting to order with no water to sip, or no plates for your appetizers.
I'll be back though, for the prices is a nice place with convenient parking, also located near theater to go grab a quick drink with friends.
Nothing very special about the food here although I would say the drinks are pretty good. Â When I came here for dinner on a weekend, it was pretty busy. Â Our server was swamped but still really pleasant and kind.
I'd recommend this place more so for drinks than food. Â Everything is a little pricey so just be aware before your bill starts to really rack up.
Three hour time zone differences can sometimes make you see and taste things that just aren't there. Normally I'd give this place a good review, but the only good thing about it are the staff. Great people greeting you, seating you at your table and taking your orders.
Food wasn't the best quality, the Splenda had gotten wet, the veggies (green beans) didn't taste quite right, the steak was tough and had an odd taste too and the mashed potatoes seemed like something from yesterday. The breaded shrimp was over cooked and real dry - almost too difficult to get off the stick and the large prawns were flavorless.
The value wasn't there at this place, but the entire place was clean. I haven't gotten sick yet - so I will give it three stars as I am likely to go back again and check things out. It can't be this bad every day - can it?
I came here before watching a movie, and service was OK, we initially had one server who took our order and didnt come back with our drinks...we ended up with a second waiter who took real good care of us and made our dinner pleasant. a bit noisy, and crowded but it was friday.... and their food was good
Review Source:You had me at Jungle Colada. Try it RIGHT NOW and thank me later. I love Happy Hour at Elephant Bar. You can order a cheeseburger and beer for under $7.00. The selection of food and drinks is on point. It is hard to find a seat in the bar area but where isn't it. Service is good. Bar tenders tend to hook it up more if you sit at the circle instead of the booths! A+ on service and price.
Review Source:This review is long overdue. Â Apologies, Yelpers, for taking so long! Â It's so much easier to just check in and leave tips than it is to find time to sit down, and actually write a comprehensive review.
The entire family came here to get together for my oldest's birthday. Â I offered up other, better places, but she wanted something that was central to everyone's locations. Â Anyway, service was mediocre (if that), with drink orders being taken only after 30 minutes of being seated, food taking almost another 40 minutes from the time of order, and most of the food coming out lukewarm. Â I guess lukewarm is okay for a burger or a sandwich, but for soup? Â Who eats soup that is as warm as tepid bath water? Â Well, needless to say, the soup went back.
I've come here for lunch before, and it's been okay. Â I don't know if the server and the kitchen were having an off-night, or if the server is even there anymore, for that matter (this event happened in January). Â Whatever the case, I've not been back to the Emeryville Elephant Bar & Restaurant since this visit.
I have been to other Elephant Bar locations before and was always happy with the food and service, so when me and my friend wanted to grab a bite to eat before watching a movie, this place seemed like a safe choice.
We were seated immediately on a Friday night, which was nice. Our orders were  taken pretty fast and the waiter was nice. We received our appetizer (ahi tuna, pretty bland) which we shared. Then another server came and brought our entrees - two identical salads with dressing on the side.
He looked at us, looked at the salads and said "hey, those are the same. You could have shared one". I just stared at him when he continued with "these are pretty big". OK. So, you come to a table with two curvy girls and tell them they should have shared one entre salad? Really?
So, we tasted the salads and the dressing and I decided I preferred some oil and vinegar on mine, since the dressing was too sweet for me.
In the meanwhile, the wait staff had switched and we had a new waitress. So I asked her for the oil and vinegar.
She came back put two huge carafes of oil and vinegar on our table. I spotted that the oil had only about a quarter inch left and asked her to bring a bit more. She told me "it had looked like more in the back". Hm. Only after she left, I noticed that the vinegar carafe was totally caked with dirt. There was a fuzzy layer of dust around the mouth of it and the outside looked like it was brought right out of the kitchen, with the fingerprints and dried on food to show for it. Urgh.
When the server came back, I asked her politely to please bring me a clean one. She brought back two small containers afterwards (hey, I KNOW where the contents of those little bowls came from. Two words: fuzzy dust!).
The waitress seemed annoyed with me and didn't really look at me anymore for the rest of our stay.
So all in all, not a great dining experience. The food was bland. The only good thing was the cocktails, which my friend had two of. She liked them.
Ah well, at least they didn't poison us...
I wasn't planning to come back but I figured I was here so I'd give it another shot. I was with a friend who seriously can't seem to try anything new. I suggested we go to another restaurant but I somehow got talked into coming here.
Arrived at 6:55pm and by the time a waiter came by our table at the bar, he mentions that happy hour is over at 7pm so he gave us a regular menu. Now, most places give you the benefit of the doubt that you were there before happy hour ended and tell you they can place your first order w/ happy hour pricing. Not this time though. Fine, dinner is what we came for anyway.
At first glance, I noticed prices have increased and their menu has changed slightly. It's definitely a new menu print out though. My friend says his chicken tenders were no longer there, only the buffalo tenders, which he didn't like. I suggested he ask if they can make it anyway but I got the impression he was disappointed. I was hungry so I thought about my go to dish of mahi mahi which was still there, also $1 more. Anyway, there's a new picture and whoa, it's only one piece. I looked at the description, doesn't say. I previously got 2 slices of fish but the picture is now one slice. I was skeptical. The waitress came back and we said we needed more time.
Second perusal of the menu and I decided on chicken marsala, going to sub w/ brown rice not potatoes. It looked like a hearty 3 chicken breasts for $12.95. I had this before and I got 2 pieces so it looked to me like it was more this time. My friend ordered the philly cheesesteak.
Food arrived, philly cheese barely had any meat, fries portion, definitely smaller. My chicken marsala had 3 tiny, tiny chicken breasts, about the size of the upper part of the fork. I seriously wanted to get the menu again and look at the picture.
Toward the end of our meal, my friend said, he wasn't full yet. I had suggested desert but he was a bit put off and said to just stop at Starbucks. Now he says he doesn't feel like going back there. I totally agree.
I came here after watching a movie at the nearby cinema. Â The idea of having a global grill/wok kitchen is a cool concept. Â However, I think Elephant Bar falls short of being good at any one cuisine because they try too hard to make *every* cuisine. Â It's like trying to be a jack-of-all-trades without becoming a specialist in anything.
Elephant Bar is good, but not memorable.
First off let me start off by saying that I only come to this restaurant if I am in the area or if I feel like making the drive out here. It is located near the Bay Street mall right across from the parking lot and a furniture store. This place isn't usually packed but on those typical dinning out nights it can get busy, but very few times you will wait for a table.
The restaurant is clean and kept up well. The dinning areas are nice but I mostly sit at the bar area , especially when happy hour is going on! The bar area is also clean and every time I have gone there with my boyfriend or with a friend, we always got really nice bartenders and waitresses.
The food isn't anything special but what can you expect from a large chain restaurant. The burgers are good , the fries are better than fast food places , the salads, appetizers, and of course the alcohol are all decent.
Happy hour deals are literally the best! You can get one burger with fries with a large beer for $5! And cosmopolitans/lemon drops (which are my fav) are only $4! Awesome! The chicken bowl is by far my favorite thing (and healthy too) Â to order to eat here, happy hour or not lol
Good place to eat, also if you are lucky enough, you can sit in a really nice area where you can see the bay bridge and parts of the city's buildings.
I would only recommend coming here during happy hour. Their meals during regular hours I feel are a bit pricy for the quality of food. They are definitely trying their best to change up their menu and make it a bit more fancy, but their dishes are strictly mediocre. The dishes my sister and I tried were the garlic bread for starters, cob salad, and shared the korean tacos.
The garlic bread's crust was a bit too salty, so the marina sauce that came a long with it did not make much difference than a higher concentration of sodium.
The salad was ok, the greens were fresh but we had to add a little salt and pepper on salad since it was extremely plain. The bacon and the blue cheese dressing did not do it justice.
My favorite has got to be the korean tacos. The meat was soft and marinated perfectly. The salad that came a long definitely complimented the bbq flavor and gave it little extra sweetness in the meal. I will definitely come back for the happy hour menu tacos!
Service was perfect, our server was attentive and always making sure we were enjoying out foods at a timely matter. We gave him a little extra tip in cash to appreciate his efforts in serving us.
Party of 2 seated @ 8:30PM
On a scale of 1-10
Food = 8
Drinks = 8
Service = 0 (meaning really bad since my scale ends at 1)
We were seated to the right (when walking in) and pretty much forgotten. Ended up leaving @ 11pm. There was a party of about 10 next to us that ended up walking out & not paying because the service was horrible & they were forgotten too.
Good place to eat! I come here frequently and get the same thing every time! Ha ha I get the lettuce wraps and split them with a friend they are super yummy and a great thing to have as a meal or just as an appetizer. Â The main meal I always get is the Ahi Tuna salad and I add extra seaweed and avocado!!! Yummmm!!
occasionally I'll switch out the lettuce wraps with spring rolls which are also a great appetizer.
I really enjoy this place a lot! I see a lot of bad reviews and stars, but this is a good place to go on a date or a family gathering dinner! My family and I would always come here for valentines day, because here in elephant bar has a wide varieties of culture food! Each platter and meal has its own unique taste.
I would really recommend the dessert! When I first bought a mud pie, it was really huge and delicious! Once the waiter brought it to our table all the kids and family members were in shock and screamed with full of joy! That made other customers look at our table and order the same thing!
The waiter and waitress can be quite slow, but the food is all worth it. The location is really convenient because you can park your car in the Bay Street parking lot which doesn't cost that much! After your nice meal , you can definitely got walk around the malls on Bay Street!
First off, I'm not a picky eater and having waited tables, I am very forgiving when it comes to poor service. With that being said, I still had a bad enough time where I felt compelled to leave this review so others don'e make the mistake of going to this place.
Timing issues:
-Sat at a bar table with no menus until we hunted down our waiter
-Waiter was very nonchalant about his consistent lateness Â
-Our drinks arrived well after our artichoke dip
Food issues:
-Artichoke spinach dip had a strange alcoholic flavor but no other spices.
-I ordered a side of salsa so I could eat the chips with something other than nasty dip
and couldn't stand the salsa either because it was pure salt and processed crap
-My friend ordered a fruity drink that was far too weak.
-I ordered a long island iced tea (knowing this would be hard to mess up) and it was far too strong. I had to mix it with water.
By far the worst experience of eating at a Bay Area restaurant I've ever had. Congratulations!
Pros: Pretty good food, decent prices and lovely aesthetics and environment.
Cons: The wait for the food, bill, and pretty much everything after being seated was pretty long. My friend and I began joking around about how the kitchen staff must be growing their food from scratch. But all in all, it was a good experience since I wasn't in a hurry and I would go again when I'm in the area.
My husband and I have tried this restaurant a few times (thanks to gift cards from the family) and it has been consistently poor service with all levels of staff: managers, hosts, waiters.
There was a surprisingly long wait for a table when the restaurant was less than half full. Â It looked like they had too few waiters and for some reason had 3 hosts who did very little at all. Â Maybe they were training them but that seems strange for a Sunday evening.
They were "out of mojito mix" - what exactly is mojito mix? Â I know what goes in a mojito and there is no mix. Â That is a BAD sign. Â
It was 8pm on a Sunday night in mid November and 50% of their special drinks are mojitos. Â That seems ridiculous to run out of the ingredients for mojitos. Â (rum, sugar water, etc).
I ordered a strawberry lemonade, giving up on a cocktail, and the waiter never offered to refill it even though it comes with free refills. Â When I finally asked him for a refill, he asked if I wanted more water. Â I asked for more lemonade.
It was hard to get the waiter's attention, and I wish he had checked with us to see if we needed anything. Â Often we had to request basic things like silverware and it was very hard to find him or catch his eye to ask for what we needed. Â
Food was alright but not great.
When we left, I saw all three hosts did not even say good night to us. Â They were doing nothing but standing around at their station.
We were nice to the staff, and gave a good tip that they didnt deserve because we felt bad for them, but decided afterwards that we ought to tell the family no more gift cards for this place. Â We'd very much rather go somewhere else. Â
I am honestly baffled as to why service could be this poor at this restaurant.
I've been here a couple of times and have been underwhelmed with their food. Kinda bland, kinda run of the mill, kinda meh...
The bar is ok. The last time I went was last week. Me and a friend sat at the bar for some drinks. We ordered a side dish of sushi rolls ( i think it had some fried shrimp or chicken or something inside) and sweet potato fries. Well, there was a hair in the sushi , so we sent back. We understand it happens sometimes and they were very apologetic and even gave a free refill of my friend's wine. Despite the hair, i still found the flavor of the sushi to be uhhh, not very good. The rice was mushy and the flavors were off. In a way it was good we could send it back and not be charged for it because it was awful tasting.
The service here is actually good. No complaints about the staff but if you're going to a restaurant, the main draw is the food. And sorry to say that it is not up to par.
Why I don't go to places like this.
I had a miserable meal here last night (Saturday). Â The wait wasn't so long, the waiter was really nice. That's it for the good points. Here was the problem:
* it was so dark, I couldn't read  the menu. I had to use light from my cell phone to read the menu. For crying out loud...
* calamari appetizer - limp, tasteless and old. It was old calamari (you can tell, fresh calamari is light butter). it was sad
* I had the ahi tuna rice bowl - this was a disaster. the rice was undercook, it was supposed to be sushi rice - nope just bland undercook long grain rice. It was supposed to have marinated cucumbers - nope, just regular cucumbers from the salad assembly line. The ahi had no flavor - but this was the least of the problems.
I let my BF have it for allowing his out of town friends to drag us to this uninspiring chain and made him take me to Dim Sum this morning - so I could get the taste out of my mouth. Yuk, but nice waiter who admitted it was his 2nd day on the job. The regular cook must have called in sick.
After spending some time held up in a massive, outrageous line at H&M and pining after things I couldn't buy at Fossil, the evening of shopping with my boyfriend was coming to a close and my tummy got a-rumblin', so we decided to try out the Elephant Bar out of curiosity.
We were seated after a short wait and quickly decided what we wanted; it was a busy night and the wait staff was beyond slammed, but our waitress made an attempt to serve us as fast as she could. We ordered the macaroni and cheese appetizer and I got the Pan Braised Rock Sugar Beef with Pappardelle Noodles (yeah, I just had to Google that, I couldn't remember what the hell that was called for the life of me) while my boyfriend got the Jambalaya.
The menu said the beef would be "fork tender" and indeed it was, but it said nothing about said meat also somehow managing to be dry. First few chunks were ok, but the last few may as well have been used to turn into jerky. They were the no bueno. But the noodles were fantastic and so was the delicious gravy everything was tossed in. The macaroni and cheese was very tasty (and only $3.50!), but the addition of croutons was unneeded. My boyfriend liked the Jambalaya and said, though it wasn't the best he'd ever had, it was still tasty.
We shared the Apple Blueberry Cobbler, and man, was that good - super hot, moist, and fresh, with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream right on top.
So while the food was overall pretty good, I'm not really sure how I feel about the Elephant Bar. It's ok, and it's got a fun atmosphere, but it's nothing to make a special trip to unless you happen to be nearby and there's nowhere else you're dying to eat at. I will say that the prices were much lower than I was expecting and the portions are pretty decent as well. Not bad, but not superb either, just the right amount of satisfying.
I've been here a couple times for dinner, and once for happy hour. The menu has a wide variety of entrees, and the portions are all pretty big. I've never had a problem with the food or service, but there's also nothing that really stood out.
As for the time I sat at the bar, the bartender was really friendly and helpful, and they have a pretty big happy hour menu! Got a mojito, and then calamari and a quesadilla to share with my bf. Unfortunately, the food portions were not as large as I expected (compared to their regular entrees), but it all tasted pretty good!
My man doesn't mind shopping with me, because we both like to get in and out. Mid way through our day at the mall, we decided to take a break for some food and a drink. Although we don't eat at many chain restaurants, he'd never been so we had to try it out.
Two days before my birthday, I got carded buying my habanero lime margarita. It put a smile on my face but even more so - the Margarita was really good. He ordered a Mojito and we both sat back and decided on what to order.
We like to share small plates, so we decided on one appetizer and one lunch plate with side. We ordered the Quick-Fried Soy-Ginger Calamari, which was not bad and a decent portion.
He was all hung up on a French Dip sandwich, so we split that with the Macaroni and Cheese as the side. It was pretty good and too much to finish, even for half. Most chain restaurants have large sized meals, so it's best to split it anyways.
Overall it was okay, no complaints. The service at the bar was great and I got to watch the Giants game as we enjoyed lunch.
Went this past Saturday on 06/30/12 and was informed by the waitress that because I could not decide on whether I wanted a large order of strips or a small order of strips that I was having "First world problems." Check that flippant shit at the door. I don't come here to hear what your views on the world are. I'm supposed to be made to feel ashamed because I didn't know what size strips I wanted? And for the record, she didn't know what world I came from nor what world I belong to. And what does that have to do with the price of tea in China or the price of strips at the Elephant Bar??? Â I can't say enough bad things about the Elephant Bar except don't go there.
***UPDATE*** After sending off an email, the GM called me and said that he takes these matters very seriously. He apologized for my experience and said this would receive his immediate attention.
2.5 stars because I ate my food, LOL not the best of restaurant chains but a wanna bee Asian fusion eatery? Meh..Way to americanized and I can only handle so much of the taste of microwave food. I did not choose to eat here but when your celebrating a good friends bday? it makes it ok. Right??
Thank the lord I ordered some happy juice LOL I had one of their signature HH drinks-Lemon drop martini
For the eats: Three Cheese Mac-HMM tasted like kraft from the box, I can cook it way better LOL
Quick seared ahi tuna- Why did they name it "quick"? because it wasn't fresh, because it tasted old, because because because?
Fresh whole milk mozzarella with/bruschetta tomatoes-I actually liked this appetizer, can't go wrong with tomatoes, chips and mozzarella.
Warm & Spicy artichoke dip- Where was the spiciness? This was decent, I make a mean spinach dip BTW! LOL
Pacific Cove crab and shrimp louie salad-HUGE portion, but I wasn't woo'd out.
Overall-I am not here to bash the place, but step it up! Maybe I'm too picky? I did notice a lot of patrons in the restaurant though, or maybe I'm just speaking out loud............
Elephant Bar at Emeryville is like many other restaurants in the chain, good food, good drinks, spacious and roomy restaurant. Since we did not have a reservation we sat at the bar. Our bartender was kinda grouchy and she poured a fizzy drink without fizz...nothing to worry about, but still.
If in the area I would return.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
