
Tad's Steakhouse
38 Ellis St, San Francisco, CA 94102
About Tad's Steakhouse - steak house in San Francisco, California
Steakhouse open since the 1950s serves burgers, sandwiches, pies & more, with counter service.
Customer Review Summary
Tad's Steakhouse offers a cafeteria-style dining experience with upfront ordering and payment, lacking traditional table service. While the steak, especially the famous Tad's steak, and sides like baked potatoes and garlic bread received praise for being affordable and decent, multiple reviewers noted issues with meat quality, cooking accuracy, and greasiness. Salads were described as basic and occasionally wilted, while some dishes, like wings, were deemed too oily. Service varied, with some enjoying quick breakfast options and friendly staff, while others felt unwelcomed and found the ambiance lacking. Overall, experiences ranged from satisfactory to disappointing, contributing to mixed reviews on whether to return.
Key Features
From the business
- Identifies as Asian-owned
Service options
- No-contact delivery
- Delivery
- Takeout
- Dine-in
Highlights
- Fast service
- Great beer selection
- Great cocktails
- Sports
Popular for
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Solo dining
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible entrance
- Wheelchair accessible restroom
- Wheelchair accessible seating
Offerings
- Alcohol
- Beer
- Cocktails
- Coffee
- Comfort food
- Happy hour drinks
- Hard liquor
- Late-night food
- Organic dishes
- Private dining room
- Quick bite
- Small plates
- Wine
Dining options
- Breakfast
- Brunch
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Counter service
- Dessert
- Seating
Amenities
- Bar onsite
- Gender-neutral restroom
- Restroom
- Wi-Fi
Atmosphere
- Casual
- Cozy
Crowd
- College students
- Family-friendly
- Groups
- LGBTQ+ friendly
- Tourists
- Transgender safespace
Planning
- Accepts reservations
Payments
- Credit cards
- Debit cards
Children
- Good for kids
- Has changing table(s)
- High chairs
Parking
- Free street parking
- Paid parking garage
- Paid parking lot
- Paid street parking
Customer Reviews
Rating Distribution
P
Cafeteria-style steakhouse with a full bar. You order, tip, and pay upfront. If you want table service, don’t come here. They have plenty of options and they are all more affordable than most steakhouse(including the one right across the street). We ordered tads famous steak and Pj's Fat Burger. The stake comes with a salad(wich was drenched in dressing and made it hard to eat/enjoy the salad. In addition it has garlic bread and I chose the baked potato with butter wich where good. My friend really enjoyed The PJ fat burger and the fries.
Byung In Lee
Tad's famous steak was cheap but delicious. Counter ordering is rare in American restaurants. The meat was cooked well and the baked potatoes and salad were delicious. However, the wings were too oily.
Kimmy Eddins
I was really craving steak and came across this place on Google. Was reading the reviews and they seemed pretty fine. So I decided to go ahead and go. Upon arrival, I didn’t receive the warm welcome like I usually would at any other restaurant. I was just told to go and pick a seat. It seemed like this restaurant is more like a cafeteria than an actual restaurant, as you have to go up to the register yourself and order your food and pay there before you even get to eat. I ordered dad‘s famous steak with the baked potato and it came with a side salad, bread, and a drink of your choice. I then proceeded to ask what’s on the baked potato and she said only butter. It was about five dollars extra to add any toppings. I found that kind of weird because usually when you think of a baked potato and at least comes with sour cream and cheese on it. For that whole meal, it was about $38. I asked for my stake well done and it came back very pink and bloody. I had to send it back to the kitchen and it came back very charred, unflavored, full and very, very greasy to them putting a lot of butter on it. And when I cut into it, it was still pink! Very unsatisfactory and ruined my appetite for steak that night. My friend ordered the exact same thing, but she ordered her steak, medium rare. Hers came out, damn near, not even cooked. Very bloody and we did not even eat the steak at all. There was no flavor in it. The only thing we really ate was the salad, baked potato, and the bread. In my opinion is not worth $38 at all. Then they give you a little Side container of hot sauce not even a real bottle at this supposed to sit down restaurant. I don’t think I’ll be coming back here as the service was not all that. The salad was a little brown and it was basic cafeteria school salad. The steak looked like it was frozen because it had the same char and shape as my friends and everyone else’s.
Madeline Klein
Service for breakfast was quick and portions were a good size for the price. The hashbrowns were especially good- very crispy on the outside and nicely soft in the middle. I’ll be back another day!
Chrisanne Rhodes
Born and raised in Texas and living all over the great state, I have tried steaks from all the major cities. I have always tried to enjoy a steak or two outside of Texas on my travels. I was told to give Tad's a try. I asked them what they are know for and they told me Tad's New York Strip is the way to go. I was for it medium rare, and they brought it to my table in less than 15 minutes. The staff was very friendly and helpful and the restaurant was clean and well cared for. That is about the best of what I can say. The steak, even though I made the picture looks good, the taste and texture were not. The steak tasted like it was originally frozen. It dry and tasteless. It had the quality of a very low quality stake and had a lot of fat on the edges. The potato was good, and the salad was okay too. I don't think I will be back.
S. Burkhart
Typical Diner atmosphere and food. The flavor of the steak was good...meat quality not so great. The scoop could have been instant potatoes & the gravy was actually not horrible. Reminds me of childhood dinners, like moms - Ha! Overpriced for what you get. Staff were nice, place was clean.
Herb Potter
Outstanding food and even better service! Definitely a must visit when you’re town. We had the breakfast sandwich and the spicy omelette and both were delicious.
Marina L.
I came here for the steak🥩 😋 whenever I wanna spoil myself...Great place for kids and the prices are decent for being close to Powell Street! But every time I come here, I am never disappointed‼️
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