The blood mary I got was quite good (+ 1 star), but  I had to wait 5 minutes at the front door before anybody came by to seat me,  (ok, the waitress was the only one there, I though I would cut her some slack)  but then after she brought out the bloody, I told her that I was planning to order  some food from her as soon as she got a chance (hint, hint) because she didn't even ask if i wanted anything else.  Don't most waiters ask you if you want to order food at their restaurant?  I then had to wait for another 20 minutes for her to come back by my table and flagged her down to tell her I just wanted to pay and leave.  Wish I had the patience to try the food there.
Review Source:Good food, bad service. I have now been to Park Avenue a handful of times. The food is always tasty. I will not be going back any time soon though. The waitress is no where in sight and co-waitress is usually on the phone or texting. We look around the room and see other patrons looking around for their server. This place might be better off if it's self-serve.
Update: I have been back since then, the service was improved for sure, but I think it was really just the server who was special.
I had pretty low expectations for Park Avenue, having passed by it a number of times and been pretty judgy, but I thought--what the hell, maybe it'll surprise me. It didn't. While no worse than I thought it would be, the restaurant is certainly no better. Discussing with my dinner companion on the way out, we agreed that it's a perfectly acceptable place to bring that out-of-town not-that-hip friend who wants something reliable and to feel just a little classy. It hits those notes fine. If, however, you're looking for something to stand out in just about any way, you'll be disappointed.
I got the fish and chips (on the recommendation of the waitress), and while the "chips" were fine, and the dipping sauces pretty good, the fish was small and over-battered, and the batter itself was limp and soggy. Accompanying my meal was a gimlet with their house-infused cucumber gin, which was again fine while being unimpressive. My friend had the (non-house-infused) Manhattan, which was reportedly better--but it's hard to screw up a Manhattan too badly. The service was attentive to a fault; while it was nice that we were never left waiting, one might have also taken a cue and realized our conversation didn't need interruption quite so frequently.
Park Avenue seems to serve a specific function, to soak up the unadventurous, and hit that American (New) sweet spot that makes something like The Cheesecake Factory so wildly popular. There are better places along Piedmont, but if you have a serious hankering for that now-familiar kind of regular-food-with-a-twist place, then you probably won't be too let down.
THE BATHROOM: Who doesn't enjoy washing their hands with cold water only? How does the staff really have clean hands if so? Â The restaurant purposely makes sure the hot water is turned off. FAILED & cheapskates
THE SERVICE was horrible, looks like some family slave thing going on. The waitress were slow, was ignored for 10 minutes when we sat down, they look unhappy and not welcoming, and was never asked about a refill on my ice tea or water. FAILED
THE FOOD: nothing to write home about compared to Apple Bee's.
Simple tweaks could make this place great instead they are cheap & typical.
I predict this place will not last.
I cannot recommend it really.
Horrid, clueless service + mediocre-at-best bar food = "why bother?".
Waitresses, barely friendly but completely incompetent.
Owner or mgr. is very nice.
Decent place to watch a sports game if you can suffer through a lousy Bloody Mary mix, HORRIBLE veggie burgers and mediocre French onion soup.
The good: fries, a coupe of salads, veggie crepe is fair. Great location and decent environment.
I actually want to like Park Ave and support all neighborhood joints. This one tries my efforts! Sadly, I wish they were great!!! But no. Â :(
I have been trying out restaurants on the casual side on Piedmont Ave and had high hopes for Park Avenue because I like the atmosphere. The first two times I went were OK, nothing special.
However, on my third and final time, it sucked. My wife and I were seated and the server was not friendly at all. After she took our order a large crowd arrived and since she was alone, I feared we would be ignored. We were.
The calamore and green salad were good, the french onion soup was OK. The problem came when we did not recieve our fish and chips. We kept asking but could not get a more specific answer than "it's on the way". When I wanted to just cancel the order after waiting about 25 minutes since we ordered it, my wife said she wanted to still wait, so we did.
When it finally arrived it was not very good. There was not alot of fish, mostly breading. When I asked about the delay, the server blamed the wait on the way we ordered our appetizers.
The server never once asked how were were doing or if we needed anything else. I do not plan on returning to this restaurant.
Stopped in on my way to see a movie across the street and found a very attentive bartender. Ordered a glass of wine and a bowl of bisque. It was delicious. Stopped in a again and had some very good cocktails. I saw a lot of dishes being served that I want to try next time. It all looked good. It's one of those friendly, neighborhood spots where everyone is familiar to each other and not afraid to start up a conversation. Kinda nice.
Review Source:We decided to come back here again, this time with the baby in tow. Â
We were seated promptly and then everything kind of sucked after that.
The Calamari we ordered to start was the best part of our meal.
When the waitress came over to take our order the phone started to ring and she shays "Oh sorry". Â Then she just walks away while I was mid syllable with my order.
Another woman came over to finish the order. Â I go the Reuben and my son got Scrambled Eggs with Cheese.
My Reuben was so greasy and it just completely fell apart while I was trying to eat it. Â When my sons Eggs came up they were Cheeseless and she took them back. Â Which I never like doing but she insisted.
The cocktail list they have is very good but I was so distracted with the bad/ackward service I cant remember them.
It is a baby friendly restaurant but this just wasn't our day to be here.
I usually never write reviews on yelp but this was definitely necessary!
I have a bad milk/gluten/wheat allergy that is usually easy to get away with while eating out.
I drink sprite and she gave me carbonated "soda" water. Ew gross.. thats not the same.
When I ordered the Salmon with egg scramble, I asked if the eggs were made with milk and she took about 2 mins of " um,hmm, not sure. I'm like 99 positive they aren't.."
So I said well I'm allergic to milk, wheat and gluten so please no food that carriers those items
She said, " fine I'll just ask for that"
Then proceeded to ask me if I wanted wheat or sourdough bread?
YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!
I'm ALLERGIC! NO, no and no.
Then she came back 2 times and already forgot out order..
I continued to get soda water.
They took forever to get my boyfriends bloody mary. They gave it to him after he received his meal?
When does that ever happen!
When I received my meal there was two wheat toast on my plate..
I'm allergic that should food shouldn't be near my plate!!
Btw I'm now I'm in bed with horrible cramps and sick to my stomach because THERE WAS MILK IN THE EGGS!
Great. You made my saturday brunch absolutely horrible
The food was okay, but service ruined it.
It could have been worse, someone that has a stronger allergy then mine could end up in the hospital... DONT GO HERE.
This place is located right next to my favorite nail salon (Aveida), so I had it on my "to try" list for quite some time now. Â What a MASSIVE disappointment!! Â The place was pretty much dead, except for a few people sitting around the bar. Â Mind you, we got there at 12pm (primetime for lunch). Â We came in and were "greeted" by a rude/irritated looking waitress. Â She seated us and clearly was not happy to be there. Â Her attitude immediately made me dislike the place, but we were starving, so decided to stay.
After she seated us, she disappeared for quite some time and finally returned to take our order. Â Once we placed it, it seemed like a decade before it finally came out. Â The food wasn't bad, but definitely not something that I would want to go back to have. We ordered a Grilled Chicken Sandwich and a Burger.
Rude service, mediocre food....no need to ever come back.
My friend and I were in need of a drink since the Tiki bar down the street was closed. Long story short we should've just gone to Cato's.
We walked in, looked around, the waitress looked at us, grabbed two menus, said "this way" and literally threw the menus on the table for us as she kept walking into the back area. This place wan't exactly busy, there were maybe 4 other people in there total so it's not like she could've been in a rush to get orders in. We didn't see any beers/drinks on the menu and decided to sit at the bar instead.
We requested two snakebites (cider and Guinness, the latter floated on top of the other) and the bartender said she could do that. She dumped a bottle of cider between the two glasses and slugged Guinness straight into it, no spoon to float it, and not even on the side of the glass to avoid too much head. She immediately encoutnrered this problem about 2 seconds in, stopped, walked away and let it sit. Came back, slammed the glasses a few times, poured another inch of beer. Walked away to let it sit. Came back again, spooned off the head, topped it off again and like the other lady basically just threw them at us and walked off. Eventually we asked for a refill and the 10 minute process to get new drinks repeated itself.
I don't know what we did to deserve the evil eye and angry treatment but either someone in back was making their Sunday a living hell and it was taken out on us or they just don't value their customers. I will not be coming back either way to find out about their food or mixed drinks because everyone in there was so rude to us.
No food, just drinks. Came here after dinner on a Saturday night and the place was relatively quiet. The place is pretty well-lit so it loses points for me in terms of atmosphere. The Olympics were playing and a bonus for the bartender to actually turn up the volume. I do like that you can write on ypthe counter with the chalk provided. But not so sure how I like the dust flying into my drink.
Bottom line: not a place I would make a point to go back, but it works for a drink for me after dinner.
Chris You are Awesome! You makes THE best Cocktails!!!
(i almost didn't want to post this because it's like my secret spot)
You don't have to have a password to get in
You don't have to go over the bridge!
Come try it yourself! Try the Thai Cocktail! and Many other great ones!
Thursday nights live music!
My friend lives just down the street off of MacArthur and Piedmont Ave, so we landed here after walking around Piedmont Ave searching for a place for dinner tonight. Â A friendly waitress seated us immediately, took our drink orders and brought them right away. Â I could see she was being attentive because as soon as we were done looking at the menu, she was right there to take our order.
We weren't in the mood for a full-on dinner so we ate light. Â He had the Split Pea Soup and I had the French Onion Soup....and all was very good. Â She checked on us frequently to make sure we were OK. Â
I'd like to come back and try more substantial menu items in the future. Â It's a very cozy, and nice little place. Â Outdoor patio seating available too. Â
And they're credit card friendly. Â Always a plus in my book!
FIRST AND FOREMOST: We've been walking past this place forever and never took notice.
THAT SAID: We've noticed it all right, and now they can't get rid of us.
YOU GOT YOUR CHUMMY BAR: K keeps calling it the Cheers of Oakland and I agree. Within minutes of sitting at the bar, we end up engaged in conversations with people on both sides of us. Once, long after midnight, we sat and argued social politics with a few folks. It was kind of smarty-pants, the way people who've been drinking can call up facts (real or imagined), but totally convivial. Bartender/owner Chris runs the joint like it's a big family get-together at his house.
YOU GOT YOUR MIXOLOGY: Walk in and Chris makes immediate contact. And let me tell you here and now that makes an enormous difference to me. There's little I hate more than being ignored by a bartender. It's their effing job to notice you. Ugh. But I digress. Chris is great.
He knows the drinks, he knows his stock and better yet, he pays attention and genuinely seems to want his customers to have a nice time. We ordered a couple beers which we couldn't finish before a movie. He put them on ice and had them waiting -- cold and topped off -- when we came back. By now he knows I like tequila, and always has some interesting recommendation or at least an excellent margarita.
YOU GOT YOUR EATS: We've had a couple terrific meals there. A niçoise salad was lovely, with seared tuna and a warm, runny poached egg that creamied-up the vinaigrette. I told Chris I don't like a bunch of soggy bread in onion soup, and it came out exactly the way I like it. K got crispy chicken which actually *was* crispy outside and moist inside.
I've seen the brunch menu and it looks great. We're actually pretty eager to try it out.
YOU GOT YOUR ENTERTAINMENT: Great live music or an excellent R&B soundtrack, sports on TV. Bar stuff. One night an extended family parked themselves in a back corner of the restaurant to watch a Giants game. They had a table of appetizers and drinks and it was clear everyone -- including their kids -- was having a great time. How cool, I thought, that a place is so comfortable that a family could just hang out.
SO HERE'S THE THING: We've never sat at a table, so I can't speak to anything but the experience of being at the bar, which we totally love to do. Chris is a personable, professional and engaging host. Clearly he cares about his business and is trying to see it succeed. So he does his job really well, provides a simple and well-executed menu and pays great attention to his customers. I think that should do it.
CHEERS: I'll know things are right in the world when I walk in and everyone yells "RICHARD!"
What makes this place great is Chris, the owner and bartender. He is a truly gifted mixologist and it's just a shame that homemade alcoholic infusions are no longer allowed in bars. Still, he's got mad skills, and is a great guy to boot.
In other news, the food options are tasty (especially the salads), the service is friendly, and there's chill live music. Additionally, if you bring in a movie stub from Piedmont Theater right across the street, you'll get a discount on select beverages. All in all, a great place to spend an evening.
It's been awhile since I came to the Grill, but again the bartender (a.k.a., the man I think is the owner) was awesome. This time I'm pregnant, so martinis and cosmos are out, but I am here for the food instead. Same bartender, same awesome tude, same cool, cool feel.
Tonight was the burger with chedder -- that was enjoyable. I am officially in love with the garlic spinach (sososososo good), and REALLY wanted to test the hummus. (Next time.)
I'd suggest a visit, especially if you live in the area. Make it your official spot.
This review is based on the excellent service and drinks that Chris, the owner, provided to our pub crawl group, which had now grown to 30 people!
I called ahead to let him know that we'd be coming, and asked if he could provide us with drink specials. After an exchange of phone calls and text messages organizing the logistics, our group showed up at the appointed time.
We were professionally greeted upon arrival by Chris himself, who was our host for the afternoon. $4 beers and $4 shots!
Chris prepared all the drinks himself, one of which was a seasonal peppermint cocktail that several of the girls raved about afterward.
I would definitely bring back a large group for drinks to this establishment.
We've been in twice and decided never to go back because of the unfriendly atmosphere and deplorable service.
We stopped into this place about a month ago when we were strolling through the neighborhood for a couple of drinks. Unfortunately, there were no seats in the bar area, but plenty through the restaurant so we were seated at a table. The waitress was rude and seemed upset that we only ordered drinks (keep in mind this is a "bar" and grill) and pretty much ignored us once she dropped off our order. After waiting quite awhile for the tab, I ended up figuring the bill and just left enough cash on the table.
Today we went in after a showing at the theater. We were persuaded to give the place a second shot after the advertisement for $1 off "drinks and appetizers" with our ticket stubs. We walked in and weren't even greeted with a "hello" or a smile. After ordering a drink and an appetizer, the waitress (the same one as our first visit - does anyone else work here?) followed with "that's it?" Again, she seemed annoyed that we weren't ordering enough even though this time I did make a point to sit in the bar area. She dropped off our food and a few utensils. When I pointed out our two ticket stubs for the $1 off, which had been sitting in plain sight on the table since we arrived, she said it only works for the appetizer. When I asked about the latte, she said it was only for beer and wine. She was quite curt through the exchange as well.
The food was OK, but really feel the customer service needs to be improved tremendously before I'll return.
**After double-checking their advertisement, it does clearly state "$1 drinks and appetizers"
It's all about the meatballs here.
The desserts was a mix bag. Not sure why the creme brulee was replaced with caramel sauce instead of a hard top. Bad blow torch?
Get the apple pie a la mode. The NY cheesecake I heard was not so much.
And apparently the Sidecar can make a girl's ovaries happy!
Subpar service. Â Forgettable dining.
The bf and I came here after we couldnt decide what to eat for brunch. Â The line at Fenton's, as usual, was monstrous. Â The groups seated outside Park Ave appeared to be enjoying the standard breakfast fare so we decided to give the restaurant a go.
Inside, the restaurant was empty; save 2 older couples. Â After flagging one of the two wait-staff available, we managed to be seated. Â Dining ambivalence setting in (the feeling that envelopes you when things are looking sketchy and you want to go but, for some reason or another, you can't and you don't), we look over the menu. Â As I write this, I can't believe we stayed.
As forgettable as it was, here's what we ordered:
Salad Nicoise, $12.95 - The seared ahi tuna was far from seared. Â Where's the pink?! Â For the price, the salad was scant and their self-professed "house favorite" vinaigrette couldn't save this ho-hum concoction. Â For a good Salad Nicoise, try La Note in Berkeley. Â Ti Couz in the city has a delicious seafood salad that makes Park Ave's SN downright blasphemous.
Avenue Burger, $7.95 (extra .75 for cheese) - Stale bread to go with your overcooked beef patty. Â For a great burger, try JLS's Chop Bar and SF's 4505 Meats.
Cup of split pea soup, $3.95 - While I'm sure one can argue it *can* be done, how difficult can it be to make a decent split pea soup. Â This was probably the only item halfway decent.
Though foot traffic was slow, service was spotty. Â We had to flag our server several times for water and I had to ask for a basket of bread while I watched them cater to the other couples. Â This couple won't be back.
My family and I wandered into the Park Ave Bar & Grill tonight after discovering that the place we'd planned to eat was overrun and a wait for a table was pretty much forever. Â Â Normally I'm wary of places that look half-empty, as the Park Ave B&G was, but all I could think was "at least we can sit down."
As we walked in, the music was pretty overwhelming. Â There was a live combo of older gentlemen playing, and they were pretty good; the saxophonist was particularly good. Â The only problem was that they were LOUD. Â That was offset by the fact that there was a familiy nearby with adorable small children who danced to the music -- who could stay cranky watching that???
The food was excellent. Â Sweetie and Son had the rib-eye steak, and were happy. Â I had the beef stew, and was more than happy: it was tasty, perfectly seasoned and served with garlic mashed potatoes that were the real deal, right down to the lumps. Â
Service was a little odd; our server was anxious to please and occasionally awkward, but all in all, he did a fine job.
So yeah, we'll be back. Â i plan to find out if there are nights without the live music. Â They were good, but I like to chat over dinner without screaming. Â Except for that (and all it would take to fix that is to take breaks, guys, or just tone it down a notch) it was perfect, a real find.
I don't know if I can right a whole review on this place but I went there for a business meeting and all I had was a Trumer (which they served in a glass that I was intrigued and intimidated by and the Asian Ribs. Â The ribs were ok. Â They were probably baked and slathered with bottled hoisin sauce but they were alright. Â
This place used to be a Round table pizza when I was growing up and after that it was the place that time forgot. Â It is a local restaurant with normal diner/bar and grill food. Â I just don't know when I would ever want to go back with all the other great restaurants out there to discover and limited time. (ONE LIFE!!) Â It's not enough time!! Â Dammit!! Anyways if you have time and are close and tired of the other fancy-smancy places than check this joint out. Â The bar is kinda cool and they have TVs. Â Who knew?!?
Oh yeah one last thing. Â The service was pretty good and prompt given there weren't many people in the joint but still. Â She brought us our food and we had papers all over the table so she scooted another table next to ours and put the food there, no complaints. So...........
So today It was my co-workers last day at work and a group of us took her out.... 3 of us had the Ravioli stuffed w/ meat and the party girl had salmon w/ veggies. Overall I think that the food took too long for us to get it. I had a Mohito and the gals had girly drinks..
apetizers- fried calamari ( ok )
Cajun shrimp coctail ( 5 shrimps vs 6 of us ) we had to draw sticks
Fried onion ( ok )
6 drinks + 6 dinner orders and the 3 apetizer 170.75 + tip.
A bit overpriced. for the quality.. I betcha because they have to pay a high rent.... don't get me wrong, the place is clean and the server was cool but it was a bit slow and they brought 1 basket of bread for 6 of us. " Dude can you please bring us another loaf? " Â ugly look but he got it.. WTF????
When Park Avenue opened up we stopped in at the bar - we  were impressed!  Friendly people and the food looked wonderful.  So we came back a couple days later - they have an outside area so we could bring our dog!! -  what a great find - good food and we can incorporate it with a dog walk!!  As the months passed we returned with friends and for a quick weeknight meal - always had a wonderful experience. Â
About a year into it - the food started being a little funky - over cooked  - flavorless - but we stuck with a burger or a salad, who could mess those up? Â
Six months later - we stop and order a hummus appetizer plate  -  I didn't know that a dead roach was to be used as a garnish!!  The wait staff swept the plate away without comment - like this was a common thing???  Our new motto - never eat at this place again - but the bar still makes a decent drink and there is draft beer.
So - after a movie at the Piedmont Theater - we stop in at the bar with our movie ticket coupons. Â The beer was old and the Irish coffee??!! Â I suspect the "coffee" was used to wash dishes before being served!! Â Â
To the owner(s) - fire your cook immediately - clean up your kitchen make it spotless!  Start simple and revamp your menu.  There are no other restaurants on the avenue that allow dogs - and in this dog obsessed neighborhood you could pack that patio every day!  You have an extraordinary opportunity to do well and you have messed it up!  Shame on  you - clean it up or sell this place to someone who knows how to run a decent restaurant.
As a fan of the burger/sandwhich/soup/salad fresh pub food option for dinner (especially before a movie), and as someone thoroughly sick of Barney's, I found myself satisfied with Park Ave Bar and Grill. Â The food was just about as good as Barney's but with a little more variety (at the expense of having an expanse of burger options) and at a slightly better price (unless you count the pasta, which at $15 a plate will never entice me). Â Drink specials seemed creative, and again I appreciated the variety as compared to a restaurant like Barney's.
I ordered a salmon burger ($9.95) which was HUGE and came with a ceasar salad. Â The bun was dotted with rosemary, just slightly buttered so as to be crisp around the perimiter, chewy on the outside and soft on the inside. Â Details like good bread impress me. Â The ginger relish was less of a show-stopper than the menu would have me believe - that was easily remedied by some ketchup and, ahem, Grey Poupon.
For a bar, the atmosphere was quiet and clean. Â The layout was open and simple, slightly sophisticated but nothing like a Coco500 in the city or anything fancy like that. Â If you're only looking for a drink or 4, this might be a nice place to have a night cap, but wouldn't make much of a fun evening destination.
Uncomplicated, but better than I'd expected. Â Businesses in this particular location seem to have a hard time making it, but I hope this one does.
Overpriced.
Last night we wanted a light late dinner after an event at the City Club. We got two onion soups, two salads (one of which was a side salad) and one cocktail. The bill with tip was $49. Fifty bucks for soup and salad (and an average cocktail)?!? 20 hours later I still feel vaguely ripped off, particularly since the soup was too sweet (ick), the beets in the salad were bland and rubbery (my boyfriend is convinced they came from a can), and the salad dressing was, in a word, uninspired.
I've been there once and can't see going back. Honestly, I'd rather go to Nation's-- where I know I'm going to enjoy my food and spend under $20.
What a burger, what a burger, what a mighty good burger!  In my previous life -- before I decided to try to eat healthier -- I was a  bit of a burger connoisseur.  That said, the thought of eating a burger at just any old place is repugnant to me.  Yet, when I stopped in the Park Ave Grill and this adorable man (have no idea of his role) suggested we try the burger, I capitulated...calories be damned.  The meat was well seasoned, and the chipotle aioli was a nice touch.  I thought the service as excellent...attentive waiters who were patient and comfortable making recommendations, re: wine v. beer, etc.
Overall, a very nice experience...definitely worth a return trip sometime...if nothing else, to see the "adorable man", again...smile
We had an enjoyable time at Park Avenue last night. We didn't have to wait to sit down which was great but it was pretty busy. Â The ambiance was nice though we sat pretty close to the guys next to us which I don't really like. He was chewing really loud with his mouth open--do I sound crazy?
The waiter was prompt and gave good suggestions. I had a peach cosmo to start but it took a very long time to arrive. It's OK though because the waiter was really nice. I didn't care for the cold, sesame seed bread in the basket but the french onion soup was tasty. Â My boyfriend had pork medallions and I had veggie pasta. Both were very good but not great. For dessert-apple betty that was quite tasty. Â All in all everything was fairly decent and I would definitely go back. Â 3 stars for now and possible more after our next visit....
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