4. Restaurants

Garden Club Restaurant

1144 Mission Rd, South San Francisco, CA, 94080
  • (650) 873-4910
  • Store is closed

Garden Club Restaurant Menu

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Visit below restaurant in South San Francisco for healthy meals suggestion.

Denny’s ( 10 Airport Blvd )
Burger King ( 814 Antoinette Ln S )

Visit below restaurant in South San Francisco for healthy meals suggestion.

Denny’s ( 10 Airport Blvd )
Burger King ( 814 Antoinette Ln S )

  • Susanna S.

    This place is definitely a hidden gem. Family style. Very friendly service. Why spend $$$ on food while you can get the same quality here but pay a lot less?

    (4)

  • Cinfonie B.

    Living in SSF and finally went to the Garden Club for dinner for the first was a very wonderful experience. Wow, it was so nice to be able to have a home style dinner. Starting with a fantastic minestrone soup then we had a shrimp cocktail salad and then your main course, finally having a choice of chocolate sundae ice cream, Spinoni sherbet or tapioca pudding. The service was outstanding and our waitress was very friendly and polite and answered any questions we have regarding the menu. This is now my first choice of a restaurant to go to.

    (5)

  • Honey D.

    I can't believe this was our first time in this restaurant. First, the food is so good. I had the lamb, which was so tender. The lamb was one best lamb I've ever had. My wife had the prime rib. It was very tasty! Both came with harty delicious soup and yummy shrimp salad. The staff was great. The restaurant has a friendly environment. Everyone seemed so happy with the food. Very wholesome place, and I can tell they are regular and local customers. Excellent Food, Great service at a very decent price. We gonna be their new regular diners :)

    (5)

  • Thi D.

    This is the most unassuming place ever; you'd never know they serve up ridiculously good prime rib just from looking at it. Everything about the Garden Club screams 70's--from the dark, wood paneled exterior with no windows, to the old-fashioned decor that reminded me of the interior of my grandma's house. It smelled like grandma's house inside too. But this was all part of the charm of Garden Club. We came here for a post Christmas family dinner. Although there were multiple items on the menu for the day's specials, it was prime rib all around for us. The meal started with soup, which came in a huge bowl and served to us by our waitress (who was the best waitress I've ever had). Then came the salad and a starter of stuffed chicken, which could've been the main meal in itself. Everything was decent--not the best in their categories, but good enough. We were here for the prime rib after all, and it did not disappoint. The prime rib was cut into think slices and doused in au jus. Each plate came with a side of mashed potatoes and veggies. I excitedly plopped a dollop of horse radish on my prime rib. No such thing has mild horse radish here. Man, that first bite pretty much punched me in the face--the horse radish is STRONG. It was awesome. My medium rare prime rib was cooked perfectly and the flavors were on point. The mashed potatoes were really good too. For dessert, you can choose between ice cream, sherbet, a sundae, or tapioca pudding. I went for the pudding and it was a yummy ending to a very hefty meal. For $22 a plate, you won't find a better deal. Garden Club is a great place for family and the waitstaff is awesome. You can tell our waitress loved her job and interacting with the customers; as a patron, that makes you feel really good. We'll definitely be back.

    (4)

  • Rick S.

    This is a hidden gem of a neighborhood restaurant, it has a very unassuming curbside appeal without any front windows or aesthetic signage. When you walk in, the front portion is like a local bar with some TV sets usually tuned into news, and you turn left and the restaurant area is there. The service is very friendly. The portions are good if not great, and proportionate with the pricing, which you get both quality and quantity, especially with their "full meal" dinners, usually enough to take home leftovers too. I've had their prime rib before as well as their fish, both were delicious in taste and satisfying in portions. The bread they give to open the meal is nice and fresh. Their vegetable soup is great, and when dining in a group they give a big bowl to serve individuals with usually enough for a refill for everyone too. It's a throwback styled restaurant, not one you'd probably take a first date to, but one you'd take your wife of 20 years to. The clientele skews older, but it's better than the alternative of children and their chaotic noise or rowdy teens and urban youth. It's a nice family restaurant I'd recommend. Parking can be tougher for front spaces if you're not able bodied to walk a little bit, but if you don't have a cane or a walker nor hip replacement surgery, then you'd be fine with any space in the area that's easy to access for a less than 2 minute walk.

    (4)

  • Kevin Z.

    The food won't blow you away but the surprising-ness of this place will. From the outside it seems like a 1980 bar that hasn't been renovated in years. When you first walk in the first half, you get a typical old bar style with all the original fixtures. But once you walk towards the end and turn left that is where the real restaurant is. It's not big to say, so it does make you feel cozy, almost like an old style diner. Nothing is to modern so it does not feel out of place with the outside of the restaurant. The most modern thing there is a tv that is maybe 28' where they play the sports games which was a nice touch. They have a prefixed meal per day which went with the feel of it all. (Go on a Saturday, that's when they have seafood). I ordered a salmon which was came with clam chowder, and shrimp salad. (Family style). I've never seen clam chowder like this before, it had vegetables and shrimps which was different, I was comparing it to the white chunky clam chowder san francisco is known for but overall it was tasty and I had 2 bowls of it. Next they brought out the shrimp salad, NOW that was a delicious salad, pletty of baby shrimp and a excellent dressing which brought the taste in the overall salad together. Then entree was salmon, vegetables and mashed potatoes. The piece of salmon was big but a bit dry. The entree itself felt like it was made for an elderly person, which isn't a bad thing, it just lacked flavor, but maybe they give it plain so people can season it as they prefer, either way it didn't excite me. The last portion was ice cream Which was a nice touch to the meal. I had an orange sorbet which was great to finish my meal. The price was very reasonable for the food only 50$ for 2 entrees, a family style soup and salad and ice cream for 2. Again this place isn't one of those fancy dinner type places but it is a nice night out with the family type place. I would recommend someone looking for a good homie place to go eat here. Overall great service, good food, ok style.

    (4)

  • Cecile R.

    the service started excellent in the bar until it was time to receive our meal in the dinint room and pay our tab. granted it was busy on wednesday night, my companion asked when our food was coming out and the waitress replied, "what about it", the food was delivered to us a minute later. when time to pay for our tab, if you have been there and know that you have to decipher the hand writing as we were splitting the bill. it took us a good 45minutes to figure out who had what. another companion even went up to the bar to try and figure out who owed how much. it was discovered we were overcharged and when we told our waitress - she was giving up on us. the bar help came over to our table not very pleased and in a not so appropriate manner scratched out the overage and left our table (she did return to apologize). sad to say, our visit was our last:(

    (2)

  • Myron L.

    I had the prime rib entree which was ok for the price. Should have ordered rare or as rare as possible since me and my friends prime rib all came out to be med well to well done. My brother was smart to get rare and got a tender piece. There are many other entree selections like rack of lamb, fish, etc: depends on which day u come. U get different daily specials. Overall. Great value for a full course meal. Soup, salad, entree, and dessert. Average $30-35 a person with tax and tips included.

    (3)

  • Louis D.

    So much food! I came here with my wife and cousin. Cousin lives in Daly City, and was familiar with the restaurant, although had not been here in quite some time. Menu items change daily. We came on a Sunday. First course came, along with bread. A large bowl of soup for family style serving. Sunday night soup is a vegetable soup, almost like a minestroni. This was followed by a bowl of salad, a pasta course (Sunday night is ravioli night and they were excellent). By this point we are all pretty much full, and then our entrees came. Wife had the leg of lamb, cousin had the veal cutlet, and I opted for the combination seafood - deep fried shrimp and scallops, and filet of sole dore.. We each ate about a third of our meals, and had to ask for boxes. (By the way, if you want to take home any leftover soup, bring a Tupperware type container with you). However, we still could not pass up dessert (included) - tapioca for my wife and cousin, and I opted for the Spumoni. The place was very busy, with a couple of large group. Still, I felt that the service was quite good. The bill was very reasonable for the quality and quantity of food we received. We will be back.

    (5)

  • Steph B.

    If I could give this place zero stars I would. I am blown away that this place has managed to get a four star rating! PLEASE PLEASE read this review before you go. I promise to be as honest as possible. First off, the curb appeal is non-existent. There are NO windows, and the building is outdated. When you walk in, you immediately see and smell a stinky bar. No one greets you. Once you find your way to the restaurant, if you can even call it that, you are seated and ignored for a good 10 mins. The server is not attentive and rude. On top of all of this, I was hoping that at least the menu would be good, but it consisted of pan fried steaks and chicken, seafood (no way in hell I'd eat that there!), burgers, sandwiches, fried food, and some split pea soup. NONE of this sounded appealing, but I was with a group. I decided to try the hot link sandwich. Terrible. Hot links were cold. I ate a portion...the rest went in the trash. Soup was served in a dripping soup bowl with a spoon and left on the table. Gross gross gross! Do not eat here.

    (1)

  • Meredith K.

    A lot of food and tasty food and comparable prices. My parents love it here...need I say more. They like to go on particular nights since they have entrees they only serve on those nights - rack of lamb, prime rib, stuffed chicken, etc. I've made it here a couple of times, seating is somewhat tight and your clothes do tend to smell afterwards so don't wear anything you need to dry clean if you know what I mean.

    (3)

  • Mary H.

    Went on prime rib night. Was disappointed after waiting 45 minutes. Maybe we came at an off night as service was slow as they had a big crowd, minestrone soup was mushy. Prime rib didn't have much flavor. I did like the raviolis though. I may come back for ravioli night. I don't mind going to Burlingame Prime and spending a bit more.

    (2)

  • Stephanie B.

    Large portions. Good food great prices Good.local hang out Always had good experiences here.

    (4)

  • Glenn H.

    This place is a classic. A throwback to the days of good solid food that was not fussy, and complemented that with fast friendly service, reasonable prices and value sized portions. We did a Saturday here at 6:30 PM. For a party of 3 there are no reservations taken (5 or more) and we waited by the bar for about 15 minutes before our table is ready. The place was reasonably packed with us waiting behind three others on the waiting list so this was not a bad wait on a Saturday. The store front needs some sprucing up as does the decor inside, but this feels like an old fashioned diner an Italian restaurant (complete with the red checkered table cloth) that does classic American fare. Our first-try dishes were Petrale Sole and their Prime Rib. Verdict: very good all around. Soup: a hearty vegetable soup with penne pasta that was more like a minestrone and was excellent. Salad: a mixed shrimp and garbanzo bean salad with a russian style dressing that was again hearty and good. No wimpy iceberg lettuce and shredded carrot fluff passing itself off as a salad here. Entree: the sole was large, perfectly seared, and very good. The prime rib was good, not terrific, but generous, medium as ordered, and pretty tender--It could have used a better crust because the exterior felt like it was kept in a steamer which took lots of crusty goodness out of it. The sides of chunky mashed potatoes and peas with Italian green beans were decent. Dessert: Tapioca was good and the ice cream sundaes were good. Overall: this is quite a value and the food is hearty, solid and beats anything from a standard diner. We will definitely return to try their other nightly specials.

    (4)

  • Diana W.

    We went there twice. Once on a Saturday night, once a weekday night. Their food was ok. Family style, quantity over quality. If u want plenty of food, it is the place. But their service was ... The first time we went there, we didnt have to wait. But the second time, there were lots of people waiting. The waitress told us to come back in half an hour. We were ok with that. But after we did exactly what she told us to do, coming back in half an hour, she told us we were called half hour ago and we have to wait for another 15 to 20 mins. It was she who told us to COME BACK later now she blamed us for not being there during the time she asked us to leave. I guess they have enough business to not treat customer well. Wont go back.

    (2)

  • Liana C.

    For $25.95: Prime Rib, bread, soup, salad, ravoli, and ice cream. That's a pretty good deal but the Prime rib was a little on the chewy side. Other than that, I think the price justifies the generous portions.

    (3)

  • Jerry H.

    Ever ate dinner at a dive bar?! I did. It was awesome. The food was delicious and the service was really friendly. We started off with the soup, spicy! Next the salad was filled with little shrimps, perfectly seasoned! Next, my prime rib was a bit overcooked. Next time, I'll know the better and order it rare. The little thing of ice cream wasn't bad. I was so full and happy.

    (5)

  • Teri O.

    I hate to write a bad review because the food was priced right and delightful. My complaint is with the bar tender known as, Susie. I tried more than ten times to call the manager (Alicia) and she is never around. I would have preferred to have spoken with her but half the time they do not answer the phone and when they do she is not there. I took my family, son and daughter in law along with my 7 year old granddaughter to eat at the Garden Club. This was the first time I'd ever been to this establishment. It was packed and people were waiting. There really is no place to wait but at the bar outside the dining room. My daughter in law and I sat at the bar. Susie stormed over like a freight train. She lamb blasted us like a long shore man, barking that if someone wanted a drink we would have to leave. Ok, I get it. Next thing I know some people are having their dinner on the bar counter and Susie is moving them food and all around the bar. Talk about off the wall! I found this woman 100% abrasive and down right RUDE! My daughter in law is six months pregnant. So of course I wanted her to sit down. I get it, you need to buy a drink. I promptly ordered two drinks one for me and one for my daughter in law. Susie shoved our drinks at us in a rude fashion with a complete contemptable attitude. Although, she did lay down a napkin first before she sat down the drinks. When I looked at our drinks she had omitted the cherries. Something my little granddaughter loves. So I asked Susie why our drinks didn't have any cherries in them? She rudely stormed off. She came back and plopped our cherries down on the bare bar. This time she did not lay down a napkin so they were on top of the bare counter. I told her that, I didn't eat cherries off of a dirty bar top counter. Needless to say this was not a great first impression. I am a conservative women in my early 60's. I do not look for trouble or treat people rudely or unkindly. Writing this review has been difficult. However, I can say this, I've had my cherry popped but never plopped onto a bare bar counter. The food is fabulous the wait staff very kind and attentive. However, the Susie in the bar is just downright disgusting and foul! This place would do well to get rid of the Susie monster who is not customer oriented in anyway. It disgusts me that she would treat a pregnant woman in such a despicable way. Get her a job down on the docks somewhere where no one has to deal with her foul attitude. She'd fit in well with the fish that stink!

    (1)

  • Barbara S.

    We found this place through Yelp and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of food and service of this restaurant. We had prime rib and ribeye and both were delicious. It's nothing fancy and the food is service "family style" but it was worth the wait. Call ahead and put your name down because this place was packed on a Sunday.

    (5)

  • Harold H.

    Rack of Lamb! Eight (not four) chops! The home made ravioli pasta dish (Wednesday and Sunday) is great, but try the stuffed chicken on Thursday. Only take reservations for five or more, but it is always worth the wait as the bar is an experience in itself!

    (5)

  • Cherylynn N.

    So the honeymoon phase is over. Things that use to matter in the beginning don't matter now. You once wouldn't dare to let him see you without 7 layers of makeup and your whore lashes on even at 9 in the morning. 6 months roll by... You start to pick your nose, burp, and even let one rip in front of them (I like to call it anal acoustics). Dutch oven time! *pulls cover over head* You no longer have to impress the other person with any Zagat or Michelin rated restaurants. I'm sure many fellas would be sighing with relief. In the outskirts of SF lies Garden Club. The cheesy name says it all. It's an old school dining establishment in a small, rundown plaza with tacky red and white checkered plastic table cloths, drab ceiling fans, and dated booths catering to the AAPR SSF chapter. Reservations are only taken for a party 5 or more. On the menu is a hefty four to five course meal for ONLY $17.95-$23.95 depending on your choice of entrée ( bit.ly/TPLb2m ), the price of one dish from a chef's tasting menu enough to feed one Olson twin. (The 5th ravioli course was not served on the Friday night we went.) Most food snobs wouldn't be caught dead here but I can still appreciate a good value. A good value, Garden Club is. We started dinner with a comforting bowl of Manhattan Style Clam Chowder which was filled with denture-friendly veggies ( bit.ly/Rp9nGe ). I'm not sure where the clams were but the "Minestrone" Soup was soothing nonetheless. Next, came the Dole packaged salad topped baby shrimp ( bit.ly/TjWQQy ). Not too shabby. Everyone needs fiber right? The highlight of the night was the gluttonous portion of meat. I had the Rack of Lamb ($23.95) which was a full rack crusted with earthy rosemary and slathered with enough garlic to make your breath hum all night ( bit.ly/Q22j3I ). Not that it matters because the honeymoon phase is over remember? The lamb chops were somewhat tender and very flavorful. They certainly were not Kokkari status but for the price, you can't complain. Mr. NSS had the Prime Rib ($19.95) which was a huge slab that Fred Flintstone would approve himself ( bit.ly/V05lXw ). Though requested rare, it was well done around the edges but medium rare in the center and it was pretty tender (not juicy). Certainly not House of Prime Rib or Broadway Prime caliber but it will satiate a carniwhore's appetite. With a choice of tapioca pudding, sherbet, spumoni ice cream or a hot fudge sundae to end dinner, I went with the latter. There's nothing more nostalgic than Dryer's vanilla ice cream, Nestlé's chocolate sauce and Reddi-wip ( bit.ly/PgEAvl ). Service was prompt, friendly, and very courteous which made it less awkward being around the AARP SSF chapter. As I was enjoying my sugar laden dessert and trying to not think of the impeding cavities, Mr. NSS starts reminiscing on the past. Mr. NSS: "Wouldn't it be funny if I brought you here for our first date?" *Cherylynn plays anal acoustics* Me: "Oppsie." *giggles* *Mr. NSS shakes his head in embarrassment*

    (4)

  • Kiwi J.

    This place is a hidden gem. Nothing but excellence in all aspects. I ordered a 5-course prime rib and it was perfect. Will definitely come back when I am around SF or for another date night. Perfect for dates and family. A+

    (5)

  • Denise M.

    Manhattan clam chowder - first time I've ever had this in my life. It was pretty good. Tomato based, but reminded me of a thicker minestrone soup. Shrimp salad - very simple, shrimp over lettuce with kidney beans and, I believe, a thousand island dressing. Veal cutlet - wonderful, but next time will ask for lemon and no sauce. Prime rib - deliciously tender meat, good flavor. Chocolate sundae - No biggie. Vanilla ice cream with chocolate drizzled on top. Vanilla ice cream I've never been to a restaurant that served in this style before. Very basic. Everyone gets the same soup and salad to start, you select your entree (which will determine the cost of your meal), and dessert. Friendly service. Crowded before, during, and after our meal. Good sign.

    (3)

  • Hannah C.

    Summary: REALLY wanted to like this place and tried to keep a positive attitude throughout my meal, but the poor quality of food, spotty service, bug on the wall, and price could not overcome the rare moments when food was decent and service was warm. All the photos of the menus are outdated: just tack on about $3 to the photos other Yelpers have posted and you should be up to speed. No reservations on parties smaller than 5, so come and put your name on the waitlist in person. The median age of the customer base was double... or maybe triple of mine, but everyone I chatted with was friendly and warm. That is, among the fellow customers and the rare times I caught the attention of the staff. I initially called to ask about the wait and was told 45 minutes for a party of 3 on a Thursday night at 6. Apparently, the Garden Club is the place to be, and the line at the hostess stand confirmed it. Once seated, we waited a good 15-20 minutes for our order to be taken, but in the meantime, our waitress plopped down a tureen of soup and started ladling. We never found out what the soup was, since our waitress didn't bother telling us and the menu said "Soup du jour." Our guess is hearty vegetable soup, and the vegetables were definitely hearty, but the orzo pasta was super mushy. I think the soup could have been tasty, if eaten 2-3 hours prior, but it lacked bright flavor and character... at least it was easy to gum and swallow? Next was our soggy salad drowning in dressing. Husband made an unfortunate reference to summer camp food, and it stuck. The garlic sourdough croutons elevated the salad somewhat, but the puddle of dressing on our plates was hard to overcome. Thursday's appetizer is stuffed chicken: garlic herb chicken thigh baked with a mushroom stuffing? Any description of what we were being served would have been nice, but alas, we were left to our taste buds to figure out what we were eating. I found this to be one of the tastier courses of our meal, but husband had a tough time with the high salt level of the sauce. And Angela K. didn't appreciate the sinew and gristle left attached to the thighs. :( After a long pause during which we saw all of the tables around us (who were seated and ordered LONG after us) receive their food, I finally got passive-aggressive and grabbed any passing staff member to ask about our food. When we finally got our entrees, the rack of lamb was the best by far. It was garlicky and cooked medium rare to order, and it was a lot of food! My scalone (fried scallop abalone patty in garlic) was... interesting. It tasted a bit like a generic Asian fishcake fried in garlic. :P But the huge downer was the much lauded prime rib, which was salty beyond reason. Husband couldn't take more than 3 bites. He's not the type to send back food, but since he's medically not allowed to eat too much salt and felt sick with each successive bite, we finally decided to flag down our waitress to explain that it was just too salty. She actually agreed that sometimes she herself found it too salty, but she had a bit of a communication issue with us because she kept asking over and over again "But how was it cooked?" We thought she meant the overall dish, which we said was fine other than the saltiness. Turns out, she meant rare, medium, well done, etc, but instead of explaining or rephrasing her question, she just kept pushing "But how was it cooked?" for a good 5-10 minutes. -___- She took it back and surprisingly returned within 10 minutes with a cut that was almost well-done (not the medium rare we originally requested). Why did it take so long for our food to come out before?? There was no au jus, since she said that the kitchen doesn't salt their beef at all (????) but that the au jus is the one that tends to go salty. She watched husband take a bite to make sure it was less salty. But when she left, husband confided that now it tasted super bland. And we realized that this cut was much smaller than his original piece and interestingly missing a chunk that looked exactly like the few bites he took before. Yes, my friends, the staff took our too salty piece back to the kitchen, cooked it some more, rinsed off the au jus, and sent it back. I hate to imagine what else they may have done to the meat :( We all packed our leftovers home and enjoyed some ice cream, but the final kicker was when they overcharged us by 50%. That's right, no "Sorry your service was slow and food sucked" discount. Someone didn't split the bills correctly and gave someone the full bill... in addition to giving other people split parts. Guys, I really wanted to like this place! It oozes small town charm and character, but I've definitely had better. Especially for the price ($25 / person for 4 courses of QUANTITY, but not quality food. I'd rather have In N Out any day). And I doubt I will be back again. At least I crossed this off my SSF to-eat list?

    (2)

  • Angel L.

    I've been meaning to try this place since I saw its rave reviews on yelp. Finally came by on a Saturday night at 6:30 and was seated for two right away. The exterior is completely dull and upon arrival you would never expect the interior to be so large and warm. As soon as you're seated, someone promptly comes by with hearty veggie soup and bread. Every employee we encountered was friendly, and after ordering a prime rib and asking for recommendations on our second order, our waitress suggested the lamb, and I'm glad we listened to her. Both the prime rib and lamb were perfectly cooked to medium, whereas most places in this price range always over or undercook the cuts in my experience. The shrimp salad that came with the meal was good, and was packed with shrimp. The orders themselves took quite long, but the salad, soup, and bread made up for that time (Just make sure you don't over-stuff yourself with the appetizers before the entrees come out!) I came with my father, who always orders the house red everywhere we go, but really didn't like it here (said it was too sweet?). He said he'll make sure to order something else from their wine list next time. Aside from that, to top it all off, the meals come with your choice of a variety of ice creams!!! Definitely a great place with awesome service and delicious food.

    (5)

  • Mike G.

    I'll make it simple. If you are a food snob and like to pay a butt load of money on a little bit of good that you need to take three years of French to pronounce then this place is not for you. But if you want a huge meal that is very good along with awesome Wedemeyer sourdough (like in other reviews, don't eat too much!) and you don't to break the bank this is the place. Went there last night (been going for years). Four of us, all got prime rib, $104 total.

    (5)

  • Tyler M.

    I LOVE THIS PLACE! Not only is it a great deal, but you will not leave hungry, unless of course you are a competitive food eater. Anyway, I have had 3 different menus, and enjoyed them all. I always order the prime rib (rare) and it is prepared to perfection. Exercise caution with the horse radish. I usually put a good amount on my prime rib, and when I took a big spoon full I was surprised by how intense it was. It was HOT! My sinuses were cleared out though. The service is great, drinks are good, and food is excellent. Not much more to ask for when going out.

    (5)

  • Derek S.

    Came by for dinner the other night and it was definitely an experience. The exterior makes the restaurant look very seedy and even shady. The interior is time travel...at least 20-30 years if not more...the decor is extremely dated...the restaurant is clean. Service amazingly was excellent. Our waitress was genuinely willing to help and wanted to take our order. Started off with the soup. It felt homemade and was fragrant and flavorful. Moved on to the combination shrimp salad and it was fresh and light. The dressing wasn't over-powering. The sourdough bread was decent too. Moved on to the prime rib and it was okay. The crust wasn't over-salted and the meat came out medium-rare as requested. The mashed potatoes and green peas were cooked...definitely felt like a home-cooked meal. The rack of lamb was the better dish of the two. Requested medium rare and the meat came out medium/medium-well. The lamb was flavorful and tender. Portions were generous and value was excellent. ~$25/person.

    (4)

  • Jeff G.

    Garden Club is a great reason not to judge a book by its cover. We went on a Friday night and enjoyed all this place has to offer. From the outside it looks like a run down bar. Inside though, it's a nice throwback to an earlier era where decor is simple and dated. The good news is that prices are too. All the meals are served individual with sides like bread, salad and soup served family style. You won't go away hungry. Portion sizes are hearty. I got lamb chops. My foodie date tried the sea bass. Both were pretty good with the chops taking the prize for the best entree at the table. The waitresses were friendly too. We left with less than $50 of damage for a very filling meal with dessert included. The menu specials change daily. I'm giving this place 5 stars. It's not the fanciest restaurant around but in a city where almost everything is trendy and pricy, its nice to find a place where you can sit down and have a nice family meal, surrounded by friendly people without breaking the bank.

    (5)

  • Robert J.

    A great value oriented dinner restaurant with good food and service. The Garden Club Restaurant is located in a small strip mall off of Mission Street near the South SF BART station. We arrived on a Wednesday evening about 5:20PM and walked through the bar area and into the dark dining room. The atmosphere reminded me of the Basque restaurants in Bakersfield with the red and white plastic cloths. We sat in some naugahyde booths that sagged in the middle. The restaurant quickly filled up with several large groups and families. Our waitresses was very attentive. We ordered the lamb shank basques ($18.95) and the prime rib au jus ($23.95). Both these dinners are complete and include soup, salad, and ravioli w/meat sauce and a choice of ice cream, sherbet, or tapioca for dessert. The soup was minestrone and was served out of a large ceramic container which was left at the table. We each could have had about 2+ bowls. It tasted good and was quite filling. Some sliced french bread was also served. The green salad had nice pieces of homemade croutons with kidney and garbanzo beans mixed in. It was also a very good salad, maybe a little bit overdressed. House red wine was $4/glass and the ice tea was about $2.50. The tea was strong and tasted old. Afterwards, we had a plate of round ravioli with a nice meat sauce. We ate a few pieces and saved the rest, awaiting our entrees. The lamb shank was very meaty and covered with a tomato based sauce. The prime rib was a big slice of meat and cooked to perfection. I especially like eating the edge which was crispy. Potatoes were boiled and sliced and the green beans (looked like canned) was on the blah side. We could not finish our meal and took it home. Our dessert consisted of chocolate sundaes which was also very good. This is a restaurant that is geared to families or those that want a good meal at a reasonable price. There is no head banging background music or loud talking yuppie types, only the din of people enjoying their meals. PS - American Express cards are not accepted.

    (4)

  • S L C.

    The food was delizioso , very old Italian feel to it. We went for lunch I had seafood combo w a salad and the bread was awesome . We will be going back with family. The waitress was nice but didn't ask if we wanted something to drink. That was minor though. As they say in Italian, tutti a tavola a mangotti .(Come to the table & eat)

    (4)

  • Ryan C.

    This place is a great deal. We came here New Year's Eve without a reservation for two. We didn't have to wait too long. The girlfriend got the prime rib and I got the rack of lamb for variety. You get bread, soup, ravioli, entree and dessert. It came out to $60. The prime rib was better than the rack of lamb but I was happy with the overall experience. The service could have been better but it was pretty packed.

    (4)

  • Ron L.

    I was at the Garden Club last Saturday and they wrote my name on the waiting list. The place was crowded. I stood there and waited for 20 minutes by the bar. There was not many at the bar so I decided to take a seat on one of the stools because I have a bad foot and it swells up when I stand for long periods. I sat there for about ten minutes then the bartender told me I can't sit there unless I buy a drink. Problem is that I don't drink. I told the bartender and she told me to get off the bar stool. I did and I cannot stand for another half hour to and hour just to wait for a table. So I left without saying a word. I think the staff needs to have better manners and treat their customers with more respect. I noticed my last few trips here the staff was not very respectful and treat us like cattle. Just because your business is good it can still fail if you don't treat your customers well. They also charge you tax on top of the service charge when you have a party of 5 or more. They said it was there policy. You don't have to eat here if you don't like it. I don't think I will be going back soon after last Saturday. Their Prime Rib is $23.95 and I went to Lucky Chances in Daly City for Prime Rib and it is much better grade meat for only $17.95 so I saved money.

    (1)

  • Mya M.

    Go early, as it will get quite busy for dinner especially on a Friday night. Our wait was only about 20 to 30 minutes and we hung out at the bar to kill some time. The bartender was very nice. The food was terrific, Huge portions and the soup is to die for. The service however is terrible. Waitress had an attitude but the food is so good its worth going. I suggest to go at lunch or early for dinner when its not so busy.

    (4)

  • Andy T.

    Great food, family style dining. The prime rib was surprisingly good.

    (4)

  • S.K. Y.

    14.04.07 First visit I see some potential ... This is what I considered a rough draft I WILL NEED A SECOND VISIT TO FINISH AND COMPLETE THIS FIRST REVIEW ... RIGHT THIS IS A SCOUTING REPORT ... ROUGH DRAFT Food ..................... 3 Portion .................. generous Service .................. 1-2 1/2 mixed more detail below Bread .................... 4 Freshly baked bread with crunchy crust and moist center Service was mixed ... depending on who it was ... the Hispanic lady was very nice and accomadating After 1pm Place was filled with white haired patrons May expained the softness of some food ... except the bread Minestrone Soup Heaping bowl to fill our empty bowl that layed before us The waitress fill out bowl when it first arrived The rest is for us to fill ... that was fine The pasta was soft ... intentinally or was it from sitting around? They could have the pasta sitting out of the soup. Everything was soft an very tender that u could make instant baby food It may have Bread Was the best thing. Tasted fresh ... out of the oven Filet Sole Tasty ... a little bit salty Home cooking style Looking for very basic diner type food with big portion I wanted to try the prime rib next time

    (3)

  • Jennifer C.

    I followed the gist of the reviews and expected all old couples over 70 but actually, today on a Friday night, there were families and tons of Asians! The ambiance is of an old school diner with ducks errrrrywhere! It's okay, didn't bother me. It's about $20 for a main dish of your choice, salad, soup and dessert. A good bang for your buck if you like decent quality food and aren't picky/have an open mind. The salad was ok. Old looking shrimp with imitation crab and some beans. Meh. The soup (manhattan clam chowder) is a marinara base and barely any clams. The taste was decent. The prime rib was actually pretty good. At medium, it was tender and the horse radish is legit! Clears your nose in a second. Ayiyi! No sauces from the meat though. The salmon was actually really good!! They crusted it with garlic and with a side of money mustard. The salmon itself was flakey and moist. Not salty either. You get a side of canned green beans (yuck) and some get mashed potatoes (eh). The dessert, spumoni!!! Ice cream of pistachios (real chunks), cherry and chocolate. Man, never had it and it was good!!!!! Anyway, I wouldn't think of coming here again per say but it was a decent meal that made me full and the birthday boy enjoyed his time. Garden club, I didn't see a garden nor do I think I'll join your club anytime soon. Maybe when I'm 70.

    (3)

  • Jocelyn L.

    This restaurant has been my grandparent's favorite for years. I grew up coming here, and I remember absolutely hating eating here for family dinners. I used to order the Veal cutlets, which from my memory had sauce that tasted disgusting. I also remember thinking the service was slow. However, I tried the restaurant again yesterday for the first time in 13 years. For each day of the week, they give you a choice of 5-6 dishes that you can order, such as Prime Rib, Rack of Lamb, Veal Scallopini, Veal cutlets, Salmon, etc. I ordered the Prime Rib, which I think was around $22. The meal started off with minestrone soup - very good quality. I was kinda surprised how tasty it was. Not only that, they gave us another large bowl, which was enough to give everyone a second bowl of the soup! They weren't small Chinese-rice size bowls either, but a good-sized medium. Then salad a salad was next, also plentiful portions. It was a decent salad. Nothing too special about it though. The third course was ravioli - huge ones that were about the diameter of a baseball! I got full off eating one of them, although they gave enough for everyone to have 3 each O_O It was yummy too. Lastly, our entrees came. My prime rib was wonderful (medium rare) - very tender, flavorful, and just cooked well. Some of my family members ordered Rack of Lamb, which I heard was great too. The only complaint was the Veal, which was "a bit too dry." For dessert, we had choice of spumoni ice cream, a sundae or vanilla. It was alright ice cream, and by this time of the meal we were all stuffed. Definitely a great deal. The only thing that turns me off about this place is that it's full of the elderly crowd, and it feels like a retirement home. Also, the ambiance has NO WINDOWS which makes me feel like I'm in the middle of nowhere and never getting out. But, since my grandparents love this place and the food is decent, I won't mind going back.

    (4)

  • Ben P.

    Went for dinner. Good eats. Definitely order the prime rib or New York steak. Came with bread, salad, soup, entree, potatoes, veggies, and a dessert. Went home happy.

    (5)

  • Jen N.

    I felt like Belle in the scene from Beauty and the Beast when the living houseware sang "Be Our Guest". It was just dish after dish being served to us, one by one, given to us to eat and then taken away when we had our fill. You are served in this order: 1. Minestrone soup: I love it when pasta in stews are cooked to the point of gelatin, no kidding. 2. Salad: Something with saison is mentioned in the salad's ingredients. I don't remember much about what was in the dressing but the salad had the usual romain lettuce, with a vinaigrette dressing with shredded carrots and maybe cabbage? There are two kinds of beans in there too: one I can't recall and the other is chickpea. 3. Ravioli: A ton of ravioli that are big (not the ravioli the size of what's served in chef boyardee cans). Wow. You are truly spoiled now-- not only do you get soup and salad but also ravioli. 4. Main course: Of your choosing. People usually go for rack of lamb (ooh la la) or prime rib (for your inner bear who likes meat kind of bloody). I had the prime rib that was cooked medium well and it's still juicy and delicious. The au jus slowly dwindles away as you finish your prime rib. Wonder if you can order some more au jus on the side... 5. Dessert: You will be asked to choose orange sherbert ice cream, spumoni ice cream, vanilla ice cream (can be served sundae style) or tapioca. All are simple and deicious. So there you have it, a 4 course meal with dessert all for about $25 give or take. It's worth eating here, the food is delicious, filling and simple and the service is delightful (shout out to the nice and funny lady who was still working despite having a nasty fall the previous day!).

    (4)

  • Autzen H.

    This is an "Old School" south city neighborhood italian family style restaurant. We drive all the way from the Tri Valley to eat here! We've NEVER had a bad meal! Home cooked & family style at it's best! The Sunday specials are so good, it's hard to choose...Pork chops, breaded veal cutlets, rack of lamb or Prime Rib! And..... Alicia the owner is great! You'll see her helping, bussing tables, serving & talking to customers. This plaec is an A+

    (5)

  • Bruce L.

    Came here for dinner w/ bunch of my friends. Looked sketchy b4 we went in. Once you go in, you'll be at the bar, the sit-in section was right next door. Nice setting. Soup was okay. Shrimp salad was awesome. Had the prime rib for entree. and finally ended w/ the sherbet ice cream. Pretty fulfilling, since the Prime was pretty big. Would come back again, but would probably get the NY Steak instead.

    (4)

  • Geordie E.

    Awesome prix fixe selections. Changes daily. Mostly Italian/American main dishes. Comes with salad, soup, ravioli and desert. Selected the lamb shank, which was very good and tender.

    (4)

  • Mary L.

    This place has always been my little secret, THE place for my prime rib fix. I almost hesitated to yelp about this place for fear that if more ppl know, prices will go up. Unlike House of Prime Ribs and Broadway Prime, it is not the place for dates and business gatherings 'cause from the outside, it looks like a place where the Russian mafia gathers. Upon opening the door, inside is dark with no windows, iirc. You wouldn't even notice the dinning room 'cause the first room is a sports bar, and only when you go all the way inside, turn left, then you will see the dinning room. The wait staffs and patrons are mostly older people, 60s and up. You will see a young family or two sometimes during the weekends, but definitely hardly any young couples, except probably me and my boyfriend. This is all worthwhile, of course, because the food is amazing, and the prices are amazing. What's the catch? Because it doesn't have high overhead costs. And instead of having either soup or salad for fixed meals, you can have both. For Sunday fixed dinners, you even get ravioli on top of soup and salad. Soup and salad are served in big bowls, so there are always more leftover for seconds. They taste SO GOOD that you will want seconds. The prime ribs are probably equivalent to the big name places, but of course, no fancy presentations. As if this is not good enough, you also get a dessert!

    (5)

  • Greg C.

    Remember the movie Goodfellas when Joe Pesci shoots Spider in the foot because he didnt bring his drink fast enough or something like that? Do you know where they were? At the Garden Club. Well ok, it wasnt the Garden Club but it should've been because that's the old time Italian feel that this place has! I've been here many times and this place is a dive and deserves to be on Triple D. You go in thru the bar, which also has table seating to eat, and then you go thru this small door into the regular dining area. The place is kinda small, but i've never had to wait very long at all. Here's a tip for you....everyday they have a different small appetizer that comes with your meal......go on Thursday and they serve a stuffed chicken that is the best stuffed piece of chicken goodness that you will ever have. Ever. So keep in mind that this place is family style, so they start you off with the soup of the night and they bring it in this huge bowl if you have more than 4 ppl, and they leave the bowl on your table in case you want more. Then they bring out a simple salad with Italian dressing and then they bring out the stuffed chicken app. Usually by this time most ppl are startin to feel a little full. But dont fall asleep yet my friend because here comes your ginormous slab of prime rib that's cook to perfection med rare. The au gratin potatos are good, but the veggies are usually not so good. But who cares, i ate salad and that's enough of the veg intake for the day. then once you've gorged on your meal, then comes a nice little bowl of refreshing ice cream sundae or sherbet. Fuckin put my coat on and roll me out the door because that was one good ass meal. Now, I've read some reviews about the 60 yr old servers and I happen to like 'em. They're very nice and quick to bring your shit, so stop hatin on 'em. Best little secret in SSF.

    (5)

  • julie c.

    I came here the other night with a friend and wow the food is amazing and fresh. Come very hungry there is a lot of food Soup and salad to start then raviolis your main course and finally ice cream all for under $20. I couldn't eat my main course after all the great food so it came home with me and I had it for lunch the next day. Don't be put off by how it looks from the outside you wont be disappointed

    (5)

  • Steve K.

    Ok so I won't repeat what everyone has been saying except for the fact that this place is great! Lots of food for the $20 or so per person you will spend and the rack of lamb, which I sampled off my friend's plate, was delicious! I had the prime rib and it was definitely good, tender and tasty. I am definitely adding this to my list of "return to" restaurants. I do not suggest this place to anyone who is a light eater...

    (4)

  • kevin h.

    Good food, great price. When you first walk in it's a bit odd cause it looks like a 80's bar, and the entrance is a bar, with no windows. The food is set each day and served family style. It's about $20 and you get soup, salad, a appetizer (ours was ravioli), a entree and a dessert. I had the prime rib and it was delicious. The people were nice and it's a very friendly place.

    (4)

  • dominique l.

    wow this restaurant is straight up old school! outside looks very sketchy but inside you're welcomed to a restaurant that makes you feel like you belong in the 1960's or something! this restaurant isn't exactly "happening" considering no music is played, has an older dining crowd, and the waitresses are in their 60's. anyway, came here on a sunday to celebrate my boyfriend's brothers birthday. this restaurant has revolving menus from wed-sunday (not open monday or tuesday) and wow the sunday menu was delicious and TONS of food! we had bread (not warm, but still good) with butter, minestrone soup, a delicious salad with pinto beans, croutons, and italian dressing, and meat filled ravioli; all served family style! and by the way this all came with our entree order!!! everyone ordered the prime rib except for me, i got the leg of lamb. everything was delicious and the meals came with a side of veggies and potatoes! lastly dessert came out, which was either a chocolate sundae, sherbet, or tapioca. holy cow! such a good value this place! and the price? a whopping $97 without tip for 5 adults for a full course meal... each entree was $16.95 (there are other options that were a bit more expensive, like veal and rack of lamb) but wow... such a good value! we only ate half of the soup, salad, raviolis, and our entree! tons of leftovers for sure. be hungry if you decide to eat here!

    (4)

  • murphy f.

    I love this place. My family has been going to it longer than I've been alive. Yes, it's totally old school but it's nice to eat in a friendly family enviroment. They start with the best french bread you'll ever taste then they bring a big bowl of delicious soup (their minestrone is my favorite) There is enough for everyone to have a couple bowls. Once the soup is done, they bring an amazing seafood salad with shrimp (this is on Friday & Sat nights). I go just for the bread, soup & salad. I always take the actual dinner home because I'm full by the time we get it. I don't care too much for the main entree. There is nothing wrong with it. It's just "ok". But their soup and salad is AWESOME!!!

    (4)

  • John G.

    Had prime rib, was good. great salad and soup. Raviolli's were out of this world. Topped it off with a chocolate sundae. When i'm really hungry this is the place to go. where else can you get that much food for 20 bucks!

    (3)

  • Emily M.

    Wow, just - wow. The people at Molloy's recommended this place to us, since they don't serve food and we were starving. How to describe - it's in a sad, old, out-of-the-way strip mall. It has one of those plastic box signs which is lit from the inside by fluorescent lights. The sign is of a design that's at least 20 years old, probably more like 30 or 40. When you go in, you're in the bar. It's very very divey - with lots of duck decoys and stuffed ducks and a few old ducks, er... old men sitting around drinking. You go to the back of the bar and find the entrance to the restaurant. The serving positions are mostly staffed by older white women - kind of what I imagine you find in the off-strip bars and restaurants in Las Vegas (though I don't actually know because somehow I've never made it to Las Vegas). Very old-school and proudly working class. I felt like I was going back in time. That said, they were very accommodating and gracious, even when we walked in with a group of 10 people with 30 mins until closing. The food was - well - not what I'm used to. My parents were always very adventurous and talented cooks, so I never had to suffer through lots of meatloaf, casseroles, and old school styles of cooking and serving meat like a lot of my fellow whitebread friends had to. Which is not to say the food was bad. For what it was (big steaks, rack of lamb, or seafood served with mashed potatoes from an ice cream scoop and kinda overdone vegetables), it was edible and there was a lot of it. My dish was calamari, but it was a calamari STEAK which totally threw me. I think I had heard of such before, but all I really know of calamari is individual rings and tentacles on my plate. Not a big white slab. It wasn't bad, but I was thinking "WHOA, WTF?" at first sight. The steak I tried off someone else's plate was quite tasty, though and my boyfriend's salmon looked and tasted normal (and had lots of garlic, yum). I should have known what would have been good at a place like that and stuck with it. ;) So, if you want a very different experience and you like rack of lamb (with mint jelly!) or steak, go here! ;) Also, the whiskey sours are nice.

    (3)

  • Juliane N.

    I never knew you could actually get such good yummy prime rib at such a decent price! Garden Club is located in a plaza and have their own parking lot so no need to look for parking. The place isn't the best looking place but it looks more like a family style restaurant and a dive bar in one. I'm glad my friend asked me to go with him to his company get together here because if he hadn't I wouldn't of ever found out about this place. So for the food. Their meat is based on the days you go. Every day, there's a set menu that you can choose from. For Thursday, they had veal option, salmon, prime rib, lamb chop, NY steak, and some other ones. All entrees is served with soup, bread, salad, stuffed chicken, entree, and dessert. All for only $17.95! That is the best offer anyone can get. You would think the stuffed chicken is a tiny piece of chicken, but it's not. It's actually really big, bigger then my fist! Then the prime rib.. I thought it taste better then House of Prim Rib, when they're on their off days. Ordered it med rare, which is rare for me since I hate seeing the bloodiness but decided to order it that way for the first time. Man, it was sooooo goood and soooo big. I only ate just 1/4 of it and was full since they give so much food. It also came with a serving of so bomb ass garlic mashed potatoes and veggies.. Service could of been a little better but understandable since there were about 20 people with us. I can't wait to come here again and try the other days!

    (4)

  • Ivy R.

    This is for all you Westlake Joe's lovers out there. You think Joe's is great? Ok, the Joe's Special is pretty good, but overall, Joe's can't hold a candle to the Garden Club! They have the regular crowd at the bar, just like Joe's, and the majority of the people there have been AARP members for at least 20 years, just like Joe's. So what's so great about the Garden Club? They serve you in courses!! They start with a salad, then on to the soup, then an appetizer, then the entree, then dessert! I swear sometimes I think they would just keep bringing food out until customers exploded, but I think they know they would be killing off their repeat customers. I try to always go on nights when they're serving sole, as they do it right. Oh, and there's a parking lot, so there's usually no trouble finding a spot. Listen to me: go there and you won't be sorry. Bring some tupperware because they let you take home the extras, but they don't have soup containers. You'll want to take home the soup. Trust me.

    (5)

  • Ames K.

    divey, old school. yeah, those are definitely words to describe this place. but for what it's worth, u get what you pay for. they ran out of prime rib but that's cuz we got there an hr before closing and the place was packed. sweet old ladies that come by and call you sweetie and treat you like a dirty stepchild. u get bread, soup, salad, meat and veggies with ice cream to finish off your meal. we had double doses of veal. the veal cutlet with gravy was more my cup of tea cuz it's fried, the veal scallopini was a bit too tangy for me, but still the meat was very tender. so for $16.95 and huge ass portions, u get a second meal packed up for tomorrow. u know its a great deal, cuz there were plenty of chinese people there..LOL

    (3)

  • Michi R.

    Old school, old school, old school. This place is super old time. I remember going there as a kid with my parents. The employees are also old school, just gives the restaurant more charm. My boyfriend and I went there a few months ago and we ending up loving this place. The food is good, everyday is a pre-fix menu with a few choices of entrees like fish, steak, veal, etc. You get cold cuts as an appetizer, soup (really good minestrone), salad with homemade dressing, entree and dessert with coffee. The food is very home-style, nothing fancy, the service is good, but the atmosphere is the best part of it. The building has its old charm along with the bar and the dining room. I mean this place is really cool: it's not pretentious at all and the price is good for the portions, about $17-$20. Go here for a throwback experience and relax on a Sunday evening before the work week, you'll love it!!

    (4)

  • Kelly O.

    Dive Bar is right. First off the stars are not for the service which is honestly weird and erratic, its for the food. They have the most delicious vegetable/minestrone soup and a delicious French dressing. Go in with an open mind, for example I ordered chicken Marsala and what I got was some sort of tomato Marsala sauce which I did not expect but it was still delicious.

    (5)

  • Jo B.

    This is definitely a hole in wall. It reminds me of Pinole: people were old and white. But don't discriminate, their food is slammin and the price is right! Its a meal that you choose your entree. It comes with salad, soup, ravioli, your entree & dessert. I wasn't too crazy about the sole. Every night has a different selection, so try them all out.

    (5)

  • carlos m.

    The menu doesn't change much, the portions are o.k., I would prefer a little more, but you do get soup, salad, entree & ice cream. Most of the meat dishes are good portions but the fish not as much. The entree comes with vegetables but could something eles more to fill the plate. Sometimes it's full of families but usually it's the older crowd, I notice the bar next to the dining room, this could be a carry over from the regulars.

    (3)

  • Mauling W.

    House made soup, shrimp salad, lamb shops, and spumoni ice cream! All for $21.99! Oh yeah, unlimited bread too. This place was highly recommended by a very good friend. From the outside, you wouldn't guess this is a restaurant, looks like a bar. No windows, no advertisement, just word of mouth. Every entree comes with soup, salad and dessert. You have a choice of fish, seafood, steak, pork, or lamb. It definitely is a family oriented place. It looks like a place where locals have been coming since they were kids.

    (3)

  • Marisa L.

    What a throwback. G, his mom, and I heard about the fixed price, multi-course "family style" dinner served at this restaurant and checked it out on a Sunday night (note that hours on Sundays are a hard and fast 4-8:30pm.) We walked through a dimly lit bar that had a mounted duck above one of the bar booths and into the next room set for dining. It was crowded for "late" on a Sunday, but there weren't more than 15-20 tables, either. The dining room wasn't much brighter than the bar, and seemed appropriately decorated with fake ivy, a lit Christmas wreath, and faux window mirrors. A lot of food representing low overhead, but there was plenty to eat -- it wasn't *great* persay, but filling. We served ourselves minestrone soup and a simple green salad with vinegarette dressing out of common bowls brought to our table, and then had a surprisingly good meat ravioli with red sauce for our appetizer course. Entrees were pretty standard American food - we had petrale sole, a veal cutlet, and a seafood combo plate. Dessert was a choice of ice creams in tin cups. All this for $16.95 apiece. I'm torn as to whether I prefer the Hong Kong style places in the Sunset (which serve stuff like soup, baked seafood rice, and jello for $8-9) but I guess that old school restaurants like this had the market cornered long before they did.

    (3)

  • Tony P.

    Giant meals and good drinks, all for a good price! For twenty bucks you get a meal that includes soup, salad, sometimes chicken or ravioli, your main entree, and desert. Go here if you really want to eat!

    (5)

  • Poi L.

    5 stars to Arlene the waitress. One waitress heavy set waited on us twice acted like she was doing you a favor. She bangs the plates as if she didn't want to work. Ordered petrale too much garlic tried to kill the taste with tarter sauce it was very old stuck to the side of the container and yellow and off white. Salad dressing tart ask for it on the side. Lamb shank very salty. Stick to the meats and no tarter sauce. Within an hour after eating had stomach cramps, sweats, and bad diarrhea.

    (3)

  • Andrew B.

    I go to the Garden Club on a regular basis. This small Italian style place is like going back to North Beach 30 years ago. The bar is nothing special but the back dining room has twinkly lights and decor that was so typical of the places on Green St. and Broadway and that are now gone. The meal is complete, from soup and salad to the main course to ice cream (spumoni or fudge sundae). The help are nice people and the busboys are attentive. They refill water glasses without asking, they bring more bread immediately. Meals are good. I read the reviews and wonder about some people. I happen to be very well off. I don't look down on people and you would never recognize at how well-off I am. Its amusing for me to go to a fancy restaurant and hotel and see how the credit card crunch crowd dines out and think they are important. They like innovative food which means its piled high and looks like an artistic Motherwell-Kline on the plate. What is eating all about? A put down of other people because of what they ingest? Go to the Garden Club for a reminder of the old days when restaurants and customers were not pretentious. This is good food, the steaks are good, if you don't like something they will give you something different if you ask without "attitude". Drinks are plain and ordinary, not frou frou Cosmos with the latest fresh fruit juice from the Andes. Pay no attention to the detractors. The only disappointing thing is that when you leave the restaurant the only place you can head for is home or to Molloys Bar nearby for a fun but trashy evening.

    (5)

  • larry s.

    well my wife & i had been avoiding this place for awhile since my parents had brought it up. not sure if it was going to be good or not since my parents liked it & our tastes were quite different in the realm of american food. well we had to do a family dinner with some out of town family members & my parents made reservations for the garden club. well 10 of us all arrived & walked in, the place is very rustic & dark. there is a long bar on one side & a bunch of short booths on the other. walking in further the restaurant is located on the left, we walk in & were seated quickly. the waitress was very friendly, handed us our menus & we gander upon our choices for the evening. my wife & i decide on the prime rib & the kids decide on the new york steak. other family members ordered, prime rib, salmon, mixed seafood plate & veal cutlets. our server brings out 3 big basket full of warm bread for us to eat, followed by 3 big bowls of minestrone soup. a few minutes later 3 bowls of salad come out followed by 3 large plates of home made ravioli make it to the table. everything was really good thus far. dinner comes out & pleasantly surprised that the portions were quite large. the food was seasoned quite nicely & not over powering. the meat was cooked perfectly & to order. we all finally finish our meals & they ask us about dessert. my wife & i pass as we were full from dinner, the kids order the sundaes. generous portions of food for the price. the food is very good & the service is fast, friendly & courteous. this was a great find for family style dining which our family is always looking for. parking is not bad in the area, they have their own parking lot. the only draw back is for those who are looking for a larger menu selection, this is not it. the menu is limited to a few items, typically 5 or 6 different entrees depending on the day of the week. would definitely go back with the family for dinner again...

    (4)

  • Ed L.

    Since my wife had a girls' night out at Thanh Long I had a chance to come here with a friend. It was nice to see that there were booths available beside the family styled communal tables in the center. Settings at the table with two small plates and a bowl. First, they bring you get a big bowl of Minnestrone soup , then a nice green salad (both were good for 3 people) and finally 3 meat raviolis (for each person) with meat sauce. Thus the 3 pieces in the setting. Everything was pretty good and came quickly. I had the Veal Parmiagan and my friend had the seafood combo (2 filets of sole, fried scallops and fried butterflied shrimp). Along withe entrees with alittle overdone veggies and some potatoes. For dessert, we both had the tapioca. For $17 each, (which was 1/2 as much as my wife's crab dinner) it's a pretty good deal. Try it but come on an empty stomach!

    (4)

  • j k.

    Excellent proportions, excellent food, excellent service...need I say more? For $17.95, one can get bread, salad, soup, pasta, a good size piece of New York steak, and finally your choice of ice cream or tapioca for dessert. I can never seem to finish all the food. Great bargain.

    (4)

  • Chanli S.

    My family and I had lived in SSF for over 10 years and we never knew this place existed. One night, my father wanted rib-eye steak but we didn't want to drive all the way to the city for House of Prime Ribs or to San Carlos for Izzy's. I searched on Yelp and this place got highly recommended so we checked it out. When we parked the car, it seem sketchy. When we walked in and went through the dive bar, we were greeted by the waiter. It turns out this place is a family-owned restaurant for over 45 years. I was astounded by the long history. The food was good and it was a great deal. I would say that House of Prime Ribs is still THE BEST PLACE FOR RIBs, but for the price, The Garden Club is definitely 4 stars.

    (4)

  • Karen H.

    not my type of place at all. the price is worth it, but i'd rather pay more for better qualtiy food. i gotta admit the prime rib is good but everything else that comes before ur entree just tasted nasty. it's all old people every where and the atmosphere is dirty and old.

    (2)

  • spiritsf a.

    i dropped in for lunch the other day the food was fresh and plentiful the drinks are standard modest price i will go back again and again

    (4)

  • Aileen T.

    Friend and fellow Yelper Ashleisurely Z. recommended a trip to the Garden Club a few weeks ago. Ashley's a prolific travel blogger ( no-onions-extra-pickles.… ) who always knows the best spots for ethnic and old school food in the Peninsula, and the Garden Club did not disappoint! Thursday's menu came with these family-style starters: dense, warm sourdough bread, a giant bowl of minestrone (free seconds!), a perfectly dressed green salad with navy beans, chickpeas, and a garlicky vinaigrette, and a tender, perfectly stuffed chicken appetizer that I know in my heart of hearts that I will never be able to replicate, sniff. I was full to bursting halfway through the chicken so I took my giant slab of prime rib home- it was also tasty but paled in comparison to the starters, although the sheer size of it makes up for any shortcomings. The restaurant was full of old timers and newer South City families of all shapes and colors who appreciated a good value, and the ambience in the bar is right out of a 1963 dive- it was crowded by 6:30pm so I hope to go earlier next time and get a bar booth instead of sitting in the main room. Dessert was a choice between a sundae, spumoni or tapioca, served in those awesome mini metal dishes that looks like a tiny trophy. Everyone wins at the Garden Club!

    (4)

  • janie v.

    great rack of lamb favorite day is wed or sun home made raviolis so good.

    (4)

  • Pauline C.

    We found this place through Yelp. It took us a little while to find the place. It's actually on Mission Road (if u are on Old Mission Road keep going, when u see The Salvation Amy store and 7 Eleven turn left) behind Kaiser Hospital. The place does look fancy from the inside or out. We went there for lunch, as we entered the place 1st thing I thought was oh no it's very busy since everyone was sitting at the bar (8 of them- all Caucasians), a little girl lead us into the dining room in the back. She quickly brought us our bread (not warmed) and her father brought the water. In the dining room all the patrons (all look like regulars) and 2 waitresses were older. (older than 60yrs and white...we were the only Asians) Then the waitress brought us our menus...we could not make out the words, then she joked and said she could not understand the menu, since it made no sense. So I asked her what would she recommends she stated ,"the Petrole, the boss likes the lamb shanks and veal" We decided on the Petrole sole and Scolone, within minutes of ordering the waitress brought us a heaping large bowl of Minestrone soup which we only finished half- then she goes on to telling us a story of her mother and brother. Next came the main course, my sole was the size of my plate ( from my wrist to my elbow) I said WOW and she said , "you got the big one", the scolone was yummy per my hubby, he would have preferred it with a little more bite. It was very tender and had the taste of abalone and shellfish. We had more than enough rice and veggies with the main course. Dessert was a choice of vanilla ice cream, spumoni, or sherbet. We both chose the sherbet. Overall we enjoyed our dining experience, very laid back food was very good and the prices were very reasonable. Each lunch cost us $10.95 so the total came out to $25 with tip. We will be looking forward to returning for dinner.

    (5)

  • Stacy L.

    Garden Club will never disappointed me. They are able to keep up with excellent food quality for many years. They did raise the price of their menu compared to several years back but that's normal. In avenge, their prices arrange are still cheaper than most of the restaurants and come with a huge portion size. The only comment I have it's for prime rib, I would suggest people order either medium raw or raw because the meat would be just right . If you ordered medium they would over cook and became medium well.

    (5)

  • Jaymie S.

    Spotted this place on yelp while browsing around for prime rib in the area, and couldn't wait to try it! Came here with a friend on a Wednesday afternoon shortly after they opened and it was surprisingly pretty busy. Got a little confused at first as we entered through the bar and weren't sure where the dining room was, but some friendly bar goers directed us in the right direction. We had a lovely server who gave us some good recommendations as we were making our orders. I chose to get the NY steak ordered medium rare, and it was cooked just to my liking! Also came with a starter (soup or salad) and a side of veggies and potatoes. Definitely a steal for only $14! Was a little disappointed that the prime rib wasn't available at lunch time, but I guess that just means I'll have to come back again for dinner. Loved that the menu had a lot of options so there's a lot of things I'd love to go back to try, including some of the pastas. Overall it's a friendly little neighborhood spot and I'm so glad I came across it. I've lived in the area my entire life and I'm so surprised I hadn't heard about it until now. Another great discovery made thanks to Yelp!

    (4)

  • Michelle N.

    This is the ultimate cash only place. Where else can you get family style salad, minestrone, bread, ravioli, prime rib, and dessert for under $35 a person!!! While the prime rib or a fish main course dish ordered might taste saltier than usual, it always hits the spot. Really, I scarf down the ravioli because it is so freaking bomb that I hardly have room for the main course. I often just cut it up and take it to go for the next day. Expect to wait 15-20 minutes for a deal like this...if you have a large party, you can make a reservation. DATE TIP: Not the place to go if you're pretending to be "hip". The restaurant is filled with seniors you'd find at a Canasta Club or Asian families getting their grub on. If you want to impress a gal by how pleasantly full she'll be, this is your new spot.

    (5)

  • Evelyn K.

    This place is off the beaten track. It's in SSF, so if you can imagine a place in SSF off the beaten track in SSF, this place is definitely it. I was wondering were all the Italians in SSF went. They are the original founders of SSF. Seeing them brings back memories of Paradise Valley & Grand Avenue when it was run by SSF Italian Families and the other families who were around during time of Bethlehem Steel. Probably, a bit of Sign Hill (side) history no one knows. This place seems to be one of the only last haunts for them. My husband found it four years ago when my son was 6 mos old. The establishment is as family style old school as it gets...meat & potatoes, fried seafood, soup, salad, ice cream. The only problem with any family run "family style" establishments is that in every family there is a major head case. We all have one person in our family who we dread seeing on Thanksgiving. We had great experiences at this place until last year when my mom asked the "Betty Davis" with the Hair Bob waitress if we could get a container for the extra soup. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of going off on my mom on her 70+ birthday. Tonight, we were so happy she wasn't our server. Still, she managed to give me a lecture about my purse on the floor. Okay, that's the only negative thing I have to say about the place. Basically, except for scary Betty, I like the place. I don't expect delicate food, I expect hearty food from this place, and they deliver that just fine.

    (5)

  • Fanny H.

    I'm currently in a food coma after eating a 4 course dinner! Oh my. What a great place to eat family style! Yes, the restaurant itself seems like it's in the middle of no where, but its really close to Costco and the car dealerships in Colma! I definitely recommend getting a reservation! My friend called in the day of and was able to get two booths for 7 people. Unfortunately they didn't have any large tables available for us. Call early if you can! We arrived on time and got seated right away. Thank goodness! Cause the line was long and there were a bunch of people waiting! Right when you walk in it kinda looks like a bar.........haha. You have to walk in further towards the back to check in with a waitress. After you check in, the place looks more like a homey restaurant! The food came fast! The soup, ravioli, salad, and prime rib (medium) were superb! The prime rib was delicious and cooked to perfection! It was nice and tender. I guess desert varies day by day because we only had 3 options: chocolate sundae, tapioca, and strawberry ice cream! I really wanted to try the spumoni, but maybe next time! My friend did not enjoy the tapioca and thought it was too sweet! The chocolate sundae consists of vanilla ice cream drizzled in chocolate syrup and topped with whipped cream. All together the total was $33 per person! What a steal! Where else could you get a 4 course PRIME RIB dinner for $33 bucks!? Great bang for your buck! I'm definitely coming here with my family next time! :).

    (5)

  • Nicole C.

    Wow, why have I not heard of this place sooner? This place is at the corner of this mini plaza in South City. My family called in to make a reservation for 5 and they said the wait would be about 20 minutes. You walk in and see a bar on the right side but on the left side (other side of the wall) is where all the tables are for dining. The employees here are great at communicating with you and really friendly! Our waitress was Vanessa and she was very knowledgable of the specials for tonight as well as what exactly each dish was. I ordered the Prime Rib medium rare 'family dinner' and it was soo perfect and juicy! Delicious! The family dinner combo comes with complimentary minestrone soup that can fill up to about 6-7 servings - pretty good! You don't even need to add pepper! Then comes a salad then some ravioli (that contains beef). But be careful not to over indulge on the appetizers because you might not have room for the main course! That definitely happened to me... But no worries, left over steak sounds delicious and was delicious the next day =] Though warming up it up was a tricky situation since I didn't want to cook it... Nonetheless, I loved my experience here. Would definitely come back here again - it's worth the price!

    (5)

  • Felicia F.

    5 stars for food and service from our waitress! My parents, being Chinese, is all about food that meets 3 criteria: cheap, delicious, plentiful and this restaurant meets all 3. We got the lamb, prime rib, and petrale (?) with shrimp salad, minestrone soup, and ice cream- all beyond excellent and under $100! Can't wait to go back to try their ravioli, which they serve on certain days.

    (5)

  • Henry Y.

    If I could give this place a zero I would. The unprofessionalism that my wife and I received here were unbelievable. I can't believe my wife and I were treated so poorly here, I want people stay far away from this place... At the beginning we had to wait 15 minutes for our server Yvette get our food ordered. She was very short with us and took off. Never asking if I wanted anything to drink besides water. I didn't see her for another 15-20 minutes. I wanted a refill on my water. I decided to order a diet coke because it took so long to get my water refilled. After our main meal we didn't see her for another total of 25-30 minutes. I had to asked the other server from the other table to find our server. She was kind enough to say she will go look for Yvette our server. Waited another 10-15 minutes. I asked the host twice to see what was going on and where is our server. After another 15 minutes she finally arrives and asked if we were done(not one apology for her absent).... I immediately asked for the check and opt out on the dessert that came with our meal. (Absolutely no service recovery) We had our bill slammed at our table after my discussion with the host about the poor service. Yvette got right in front of our face saying that we are the only individuals that complained about her service. I then asked her what service did she provide as my drinks aren't refilled and you were no where to be found. I asked for the owner or supervisor. None were available(On a Friday).......It blows my mind away on a Friday night that they didn't have a single "supervisor." It was upsetting that our table made a seen with our loud arguments. I gave the host my credit because I didn't want to be in that hostile place arguing over the bill much longer. I have never had such poor and hostile service in my life. I am done wasting anymore time on this...

    (1)

  • Ellen W.

    This is the place to go if you are looking for the cheap, quick escape out of the uber trendy and hipster San Francisco city life. The vibe here is total old-school, rustic, small town, checkered table cloths fine dining. The wait staff and hostess are really sweet. I feel like I'm on a cross-county road trip and we just stopped by a local diner to fuel up on a hearty meal. They serve an awesome dining experience of 5 courses for a sweet price. For $26, you get a whole rack of lamb, stuffed chicken appetizer, soup, salad, and desert. Oh and the bread and butter! Can here on a Thursday and our 5 course meal went as follows: -- Bread and butter: delicious! Sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese while you're at all. -- Soup: minestrone was hearty, full of veggies, and yummy -- Salad: fresh and chickpeas were delicious! Dressing was tasty too, but get it on the side -- Stuffed chicken with wild rice: this was amazing. The chicken and was tender, juicy, and flavorful. -- Rack of lamb: the best entree choice. Juicy and garlicky. Mash potatoes were good too. I didn't care for the mint jello, used to offset the gamy taste, it tastes like sweet toothpaste. -- Prime rib: the 2nd best entree choice. Cooked wonderfully, tender, and flavorful. Yummy! -- Steak: a bit tough but still seasoned right and delicious -- Chocolate sundae for dessert was awesome. The food is definitely good here especially for the price. However, the service is really slow. There was like 15-20 min pause in between each course. The whole meal took almost 2 hours. The 3 waiters and hostess are super sweet, but also super busy running around keeping track of everyone's 5 courses in the entire restaurant.

    (3)

  • gswfan ..

    PRICE: 5 course meal range from $19.99 to 26.99, would have been easily twice this price in other restaurants. FOOD: HUGE portions. Family style. Big bowl of soup, salad, the stuffed chickens (all VERY good) are included before your main entree. and wrap up with a dessert (choose between ice cream, sundae, sherbert, tapioca). Rack of lamb is EXCELLENT.... very generous, with about 8 pieces (many restaurants give only about 3)... Prime rib is very good and flavorful... one minor suggestion, go for medium if you normally like medium rare... they seemed to undercook rather than overcook, and the meat actually tastes better when it's more well done. Combination seafood -- mostly fish, and mostly fried. Not my cup of tea. SERVICE: when I tried to make reservation a day in advance, at first the guy told me they only have 5pm time available. Then I told him i have 5 people, and he immediately changed his tone that i can book anytime i want. When my family showed up at 7pm, they led us to a well-reserved table with all utensils nicely set. The wait time between "courses" can be long, but can be good if you like to chat with whoever you are eating with. the whole meal took 2 hours. Huge portions, but I end up eating the whole thing, i think it's because the wait time in between helped me digest a bit ;) OTHER: good parking, no wifi, and yes do make reservations especially if you have over 5 people.... or else expect to wait a bit. definitely will be coming back

    (5)

  • Carrie L.

    Came here w/ reservations on a Friday night and was seated right away! The place was packed, so super glad we didn't have to wait. On the menu, they give you day to day specials on different soups. The soup of the day was supposed to be clam chowder, but I guess they ran out and gave us minestrone soup instead, which was still very tasty! The soup comes out family style (in a large bowl), served with bread and butter as well. Tried to stick to one bowl, but couldn't resist and opted for a second one haha. Then the seafood salad came out and i definitely did not expect it to look the way it did. It was filled with shrimp and imitation crab and the perfect amount of dressing! (There's also a bowl of cheese for you to add to anything for all you cheese lovers) Honestly at this point, my stomach was already pretty satisfied, but the real meal has yet to come out. The waitress came by our table a couple times to fill waters and told us that they were waiting on the well done rack of lamb to finish and she'll bring them all out at once. I ordered the medium rare prime rib which came with a side of mashed potatoes and veggies. The potatoes were a bit salty and the veggies kind of looked like they were canned or frozen, but the true winner was the prime rib! It was so juicy and delicious! They gave us horseradish on the side which in my opinion really elevated the dish. I don't normally enjoy horseradish but for some reason my tastebuds were really enjoying it. I was also able to try the steak which was also really good, very tender and full of flavor. My dad got the well done rack of lamb and I'm not a lamb person so I didn't want to try it, but he really enjoyed it. He said the flavors were good and not dry at all. The only thing was that they didn't wrap the bones in foil when cooking so it got all burnt, but that wasn't really a big issue. FINALLY, we get to dessert and I got spumoni (strawberry, pistachio, chocolate ice cream) and it was so refreshing! My sister got tapioca pudding which was WAYYY to sweet so we ended up sharing my spumoni and got to try some orange sherbert which kind of tasted like baskin robbins hahah Overall, it was a really great experience. I mean where else can you get soup, salad, prime rib, AND dessert for $25 a person?! I'd also recommend not sharing dishes because there's an extra charge of $10-11, I mean might as well order your own and box it up to bring home!

    (4)

  • LL C.

    came for a birthday. service friendly, portions are huge, food delicious, prices fair, parking easy, whats not to love?

    (5)

  • Eric D.

    This place is my go-to for a good old fashioned family dinner. When you're waiting for a table, stop by the bar and grab a few drinks because the bartender is super friendly. My daughter was waiting along with me, but they hooked it up with some cocktail cherries to soothe her impatientness. For the price, the 5 course meal (depending on the day) can't be beat. I'm personally down with the rack or lamb and/or prime rib. But after the soup, salad, and raviolis, you might not have room for your main ... Just do it and you'll have a great time. Bring your significant other ... bring your family ... or just bring yourself and order at the bar. You'll be pleasantly surprised. Sidenote: They have Dre Dog on the Juke...

    (5)

  • Matthew D.

    The Garden Club is a little piece of old South City. If you grew up in this town like I did, you have seen lots of places come and go since the '70s. This joint has been here, seemingly unchanged, since then, and has always been known to serve you up well whether you're eating or drinking. If you love old-fashioned bars, look no further--order up your Manhattan or Dubonnet in style, then head over to your table. They have very specific menus for each day of the week that the restaurant is open (Wed. to Sun). Service is stellar. The food? Absolutely the best quality. Their steak tops what you find at many steakhouses. The pasta is at level Nonna. Growing up Italian, I am used to the familiar taste of my mother's sauce (and if you're Italian too, you know that Mom's sauce is always the best). However, eating the ravioli at this joint is like going to the house of another Italian family for dinner down the street--really great too, just a little different. It tasted like pasta from someone else's Mom. Sometimes things don't change and that's a good thing--especially here. Mangia!

    (5)

  • Nettie S.

    b-day treat frm sissy w/ immediate fam on sun... she originally thought of coming here for mother's day, but "the adults" wanted to stick w/ chinese...she hasn't been here in a while & i nvr have at all...a "good deal" spot... THE FEEL & STAFF | in a lil strip plaza in ssf...there was a group of chinese-speaking folks who was standing outside aftr being finished (my peeps like "good deals")... u walk into a dark, local [american] dive bar...huh, where's the resto??...no hostess stand or food in sight...i asked the old lady bartender...she said "in back"...still wondering where, i wandered...there was a crowd of ppl waiting in a doorway to a room on the left...i made my way thru & tried to find someone to check in with...another old lady told me she'll be back...we had reso & got seated shortly...at a long table w/ red & white checkered plastic tablecloth...lined w/ paper placemats... funny, we ran into a couple separate ppl who didn't notice us... lil weird mix of staff...seemed like old american ran...with a young, hip waitress...& amigo bussers... the filipino waitress was very nice throughout...she was apologetic for things they didn't have that we asked about...i.e. vegetarian dish, togo soup container, etc... THE FOOD | yea, def. a "good deal" spot...20-27 bucks for a 4-5 course prix fixe (depending on day)...plus bread...where else still does that these days?...it's been a lllong time since i've been to a place like this... family style, big portions of... 1st: Soup de Jour 2nd: Salad de Saison (shrimp salad fri & sat, but no 3rd course) [3rd]: Ravioli with Meat Sauce (wed & sun) / Stuffed Chix (thu) 4th: Entree choice, w/ potato & [frozen] veg: - Prime Rib au jus $25.95 - NY Steak $24.95 - Rack of Lamb $26.95 - other 4-7 daily entrees $19.95...ex. Combo Seafood (watch out for oil squirts!), Veal Cutlet w/ Country Gravy (eh, skip it), Calamari Bordelaise, Salmon/Sole, Roast NY/Lamb, etc... 5th: Dessert choice...ice cream (spumoni -cherry/choco), fudge sundae, sherbet (orange), or tapioca THE DRINKS | we had Save Me SF "Calif 37" Cab, $6 gl [$24 btl]... house wine avail: $4 gl, $10 1/2 carafe, $15 full TIP | i heard later to bring your own tupperware for leftover soup...cuz they give so much...i guess u could've put it in a flat togo box if u really wanted... IN CONCLUSION | good deal for reg. eats... reminds me of Americana Grill in the Outer Richmond, but Americana is way better...sis thinks it's like the old Joe's of Westlake...yea, kinda, but not as classy...so, sort of a hybrid...

    (3)

  • Jesse S.

    The garden club . Thursday night hang out . Ordering at the bar for a couple of drinks. The bartender is easy on the eyes. And she Makes a mean drink. No other reason is to come here and talk and decompress from work. This is that type of place, they do serve food here but that's not why you come here. It's because of people. People that work like any other person and is social enough to have a couple of drinks and talk. Having a place to come and talk is important , having friends is the best.

    (5)

  • Kenneth C.

    Get the prime rib, medium. Good stuff. You also get tomato soup, salad, and raviloi as appetizers. Definitely a good fill up. If you have to bring left over prime rib and need to warm it up the next day, follow this: 2min low power half power (50%)

    (5)

  • Kelly V.

    Worst ever... We read a review of best bang for your buck but never dreamed it would taste soooooo horrible. Tasteless down to the wine. And really it wasn't that cheap, considering we weren't able to eat even a quarter of the food,

    (1)

  • Jamila W.

    After hearing about what a great deal this place was after going to HOPR, I was excited to try it out. Tried to make a reservation on Saturday for Sunday, but it was completely booked, so we decided to just arrive early. Got a booth near the back, but the seating was really small, I felt squished and lightweight claustrophobic. As far as the food goes, the minestrone soup and ravioli were the best. My prime rib was alright, unfortunately not even close to HOPR.. But for the price you pay, it is worth it. ** TIP: bring your own container for the leftover soup, cuz they take it away even if you're not done (which is served in a big bowl family style)

    (3)

  • Ed U.

    It was Valentine's Day, and Jamie W. was called unexpectedly out of town that weekend. So I did what any red-blooded man does by himself. I ate meat and lots of it. I heard about this place from the prolific Cherylynn N. who suggested it in response to the disappointment I expressed about my dining experience at the karaoke-screeching Val's in Daly City. No one was singing here, at least on purpose, and the vibe was a bit more downscale as it's part of a strip mall in South San Francisco close to the BART station. Actually that's how I got there on Saturday night with Mission Road particularly desolate at 7:30PM. I caught a glimpse of the timeworn sign from across the parking lot as it read 'Garden Clu' since the last bulb has burned out sometime ago (photo: bit.ly/1FRFwzW ). Everyone enters through the vintage-1960's-style bar on the right (photo: bit.ly/1FmwEP0 ). You sign your name on a list managed by a middle-aged woman with a beehive do and a little too much eye makeup. No cat's eye glasses though. I took a peek at the dining room, and it was bustling with large parties much like a Rotary Club banquet (photo: bit.ly/1DPymKm ). The hostess gave me a bit of small-mouth for coming all alone when she had booths to fill. There was a moment of panic before I got seated where the hostess walked around the bar to tell people they were out of the Prime Rib. Had I driven there, I would have considered walking out since that was the main reason I came, but a cooler head prevailed especially since the walk back to the BART station was a lonely one. When my name finally came up, I was surprised I was given a booth all to myself. The menu was pretty simple, a choice of ten entrees, most priced at $19.95, which changes slightly every day (photo: bit.ly/1a9KhIb ). The starting soup and salad is the same for everyone, and you get a dessert at the end which dwindles down to whatever they have left by the time they get ready to close. With the prime rib out of contention, I ordered the premium-priced Rack of Lamb at $26.95. But before I describe that, let me tell you that I first had a big melamine bowl of Hearty Vegetable Soup chock full of chopped celery, carrots, onions and potatoes (photo: bit.ly/1JFxhdd ). I was able to ladle up at least two individual bowlfuls and the start of a third before the salad at last arrived. It was a luncheon-style Shrimp Salad covered with the baby shrimp you see by the bagful in the frozen seafood section of Safeway. They were mixed with kidney beans and drenched in what tasted like a French dressing (photo: bit.ly/1MO4kuv ). That was plenty already, but then came the Rack of Lamb, eight chops prepared medium rare with a bit of a crust on the edge. It was accompanied by a vegetable medley the Green Giant knows all too well as well as mashed potatoes that tasted a bit like they came out of the box (photo: bit.ly/1LAvrI4 ). In a mid-century operation like this, of course, it came with mint jelly, but I've never seen it that intensely green in my life, quite close in hue to Lime Jell-o (photo: bit.ly/1LAvVxZ ). I have to admit it was quite a treat to have that much lamb, and I didn't have any problem shoveling it in my mouth to gnaw on as others gawked at my barbarism. I ended my dinner with a serving of Tapioca with a dollop of Reddi-Wip on top (photo: bit.ly/1JFwWal ). I wasn't looking for bananas Foster or cherries jubilee, so that was just fine. I was pretty stuffed and just in time as the restaurant was closing. As I faded into the darkness of Mission Road to await my BART train back to the city, I was thinking that one day I'll come back with Jamie, and we'll be able to take over a booth guilt-free. FOOD - 4 stars...sure, it's like attending a moose lodge banquet but damn if that rack of lamb ain't tender and delish AMBIANCE - 2.5 stars...well, it's like I'm having to split a ketchup soup with Doris Day in one of her weaker comedies SERVICE - 3 stars...the hostess warmed to me eventually but the waitress was on the snippy side and forgot my Diet Coke from the bar TOTAL - 4 stars...the restaurant that time forgot

    (4)

  • Jerry A.

    It pains me to write a negative review for this place, almost as much as it pained me to leave a 10% tip. I really, REALLY want to like Garden Club. The food is pretty good and the setting is enjoyably funky. But lordy, THE SERVICE. We had called a day ahead to make a reservation for five. They had a hard time fitting us in, so they must have known there would be a full house on this night - more than two waitresses, a waitress helper, a busboy and a hostess (who does nothing to help) could handle. Long story short: We were seated at 5:40 PM and did not get out until 8:20 PM, when I finally chased down our waitress (who had taken my credit card at 7:45 and never returned) to demand my check. Avoiding eye contact seems to be a practiced (and necessary) skill for this group. Some of the problem is obvious. Wait staff take your order by hand on old-fashioned restaurant checks (like a coffee shop), then at some point they go to a 10-key calculator to total it up. They have to do all the math, including the item pricing ... time consuming and plenty of room for error. After you present your credit card, they go to the single card terminal, which doesn't work very well, and run it. GC, you need to upgrade your order-taking and payment processing at least to late 20th century standards. After that you can work on your people skills.

    (1)

  • Jessica S.

    Don't let the plain exterior and darkly-lit bar throw you off; this place is a gem worth visiting: walk into the bar and enter on your left. Arriving from a long day of two work shifts and little sleep the night before, I was last in my party to arrive and the waitress, taking care of my table, made my night with her genuine energy and smile. My friends and I unanimously decided on the prime rib dinner (one medium-well, the rest medium rare). Like many Yelpers state the slab of meat was nicely seasoned, however, and perhaps that's how med.-rare is, my prime rib was a tad bit chewy and, at times, found myself sawing at the tendons. Nonetheless the meat was flavorful and the au jus sauce kept the prime rib nicely moist. The sides of veggies and mashed potatoes were average--veggies taste subpar, and the mash was standard, but that's not what you come for. Come in for the generous slab of yummy meat and you'll find yourself a happy, satisfied camper!

    (4)

  • Leslie Y.

    We finally got the chance to head over to SSF, parked right in front..... Friday night and there was a line, we waited about 20 minutes and were seated..... We ordered prime rib, lamb chops and NY steak.......everything was very good..... Sure is a great place to take the family, it is very old school there....don't expect any new décor or fancy people, you won't find them here.... Set meals are the greatest, and who can deny free ice cream, although we did, we were way too full....

    (4)

  • Ammie A.

    Garden Club is all about moderate priced, delicious, traditional home style cooked food that would leave you full. The menu presents you with a selection of entrees daily and specials. Whatever it is that you order, starts you off with a warm soup and the waitress leaves the bowl on your table. (They only serve one type of soup each day). You can opt to consume all that soup or leave more room for the salad and entree. Oh I forgot to add they bring warm bread before the soup. It's Friday so we had the Manhattan clam Chowder. Unfortunately I'm allergic to shellfish so my husband got lucky & secured the soup to himself. He's had several clam Chowders in his lifetime & he said there wasn't enough clams in the soup. This was then followed by a shrimp & crab salad on a salad plate. There was an abundance of shrimp that topped the plate & some crab shavings underneath. While I had the same salad plate except without the shrimp toppings. My husband loved it!!! By this time I was feeling isolated that I wasn't given the option to choose a different soup nor salad. I guess you're out of place on Fridays if you have shellfish allergy. Then came the massive prime rib. It was delicious!!! But lots of salt. Juicy, tender & the au jus floating around. Small amount of mashed potatoes on the side and some green peas and sliced snow peas. At 7pm the restaurant was full. I only saw one waitress and the drinks weren't constantly being filled. I didn't bother to get her attention considering she has her hands full. The reason I'm commenting is because we ordered a glass of Sprite & she never checked if we wanted a refill. Overall, service wasn't too bad. 15 minute wait to get seated & 10 minute wait for the food to arrive. Food was great!

    (4)

  • Bobby L.

    I recently came here with a friend to try it out because I've heard so many good reviews about this place. In my opinion the place reminded me of one of those old German houses based on the decoration. When we got there the place seemed fairly packed. When you walk in through the front door the first thing you will see is a bar. When you walk to the back of the bar where the restrooms are, you will see the entrance to the restaurant. If you didn't already know this, there is a sign in sheet there, but no one really tells you about it, so you have to walk to the doorway and inform the lady that you're there and how many people are in your party. My friend and I waited roughly 30 or so minutes before we were seated (got in around 6:00 PM). I was surprised about how many Asian families and elderly people were here, especially it being pretty much in a small neighborhood in South San Francisco hills. After we were seated, the service seemed relatively good. Our waitress Lauren I believe, was very responsive and perceptive of when we were ready to order and really good about bringing us water and checking up on us. For that reason I gave this establishment an extra star. Now onto the food. My friend and I both ordered Prime Rib Dinner which was $25.95. the soup comes out Asian style where they give you a bowl and a ladle and you can serve yourself, one of those typical tomato based soups, which was okay. The salad, despite having a ton of baby shrimps and artificial crab, had equivalent of a large leaf of romaine lettuce and a few beans. Please please please ask them to put the dressing on the side, as they drenched ours in thousand island to the point where it was pretty much unpleasant. The prime ribs ordered as medium rare, came out as medium, but the outside of the prime rib was tender. The sides they came with were so-so, mashed potatoes and what looked like that mixed veggie frozen bag you buy from the grocery store (Corn, Green Beans, and Carrots). My friend also ordered the rack of lamb to go for a friend, I managed to try a tiny piece of the meat, in my opinion was way BETTER than my prime rib. Being medium rare, it was perfectly cooked, tender, moist and very juicy. If I were to come here again it would definitely order that over the prime rib. Overall I give the food about 3 stars for the quality and price that I paid for the meal.

    (4)

  • Aloha G.

    The boyfriend wanted prime rib for dinner but didn't want to drive far. He's always seen this place but never really looked into - until recently. We came here on a saturday and was surprised at how small the place is - but it was cozy! We were a party of four and the 3 ordered prime rib while I ordered the Salmon. From what the boyfriend, who is the biggest prime rib fan ever besides bacon, says - the prime rib was delicious. My salmon - was just like any salmon, nothing too much to rave about. I enjoyed how the soup and the salad was served family style. The shrimp salad was really good and the soup was great. I docked one star because they dont offer free refills for soda and our waitress wasn't that attentive to our needs - we literally waited 15-20 mins for our check. But other than that, we will be coming back and i will try the veal cutlet. But my favorite thing about this restaurant is how family owned and ran this business is. Seeing a family work together in the kitchen is one of the best feelings in the world.

    (4)

  • Helen L.

    This is my 600th review. It goes to garden club. I love their garlicky rack of lamb. If I had my last meal, this will be on top of my list, especially on Wednesdays with their ravioli. Love the friendly service and I have grown to love their decor.

    (5)

  • Steven W.

    Don't let the outside if this restaurant deceive you. I came here due to the Yelp reviews. When I saw the exterior of this place, along with the area it was located in, I was on a heightened alert level. I walked inside and friendly patrons pointed is to the restaurant area, which is a bit confusing at first (you have to walk past the bar area to check in). The ambiance felt like I was at my grandma's house, perhaps even the smell, too? We had to wait approximately 30 mins for a table, as it was a packed house on a Saturday evening. It was an easy wait. My wife and I sat at the bar and chugged down a few drinks. I felt like I was on the set of the Cheers television show. The bartender was a bit rough around the edges, but was friendly and attentive. Dinner did not disappoint. Prime rib for my wife and the rack of lamb for me. We will come back again.

    (5)

  • David C.

    The bar tender was fantastic. However, our waitress was rude and mean. There were eight of us in our party and we ordered various drinks. Never once did our waitress,(redheaded older lady) ever ask if we would like a refill. We had to flag her down to ask for another round, and upon ordering more we received eye rolls. When we ordered our food, it seemed like a huge inconvenience to be ordering salad without shrimp. She gave everyone at the table evil and rude looks while ordering our meals. She didn't even want to take a dinner order for two of the people sitting at our table. Needless to say, we will never be going back. Due to having a party of 8, the gratuity was already included. If we could have deducted that, we would have. We have never been anywhere that had such poor service. My prime rib was good, but the menu said it came with vegetables... I'm not sure u can call frozen peas vegetables. I've never been to a place with a price point as high as Garden Club that offered frozen peas as the vegetable. All around terrible! If you plan to visit for the bar only, you may leave unscathed. Drinks were fresh and conversation with the bar tender was awesome. But don't count on any kind of food. There are no appetizers, and they don't let the bar tender bring out even bread to snack on. Note to the establishment: If you are going to serve alcohol, you might want to have even peanuts to snack on.

    (1)

  • Kiwi F.

    We chose this place for a family birthday celebration, all the reviews on Yelp seemed positive. The minute we drove up I thought - ugh, this is the restaurant? It was a kind of a gross strip mall. We entered and quickly realized this is not the place for a special birthday dinner. The tables were crowded together which made the room stifling. It looked like the whole place was dirty. I won't even comment on the decor, which is a comment in itself. Then the food came. Oh wow, you get soup with your meal. Uh, you get watered down soup, which is essentially a broth with some veggies and a few pieces of pasta floating around. For the amount of money you pay for your meal, you could really get a much better quality meal at a nice place, I mean anyplace is nicer than this place. When we received our food my son turned to me and said "I am not eating this". I said why not? He said "I just heard the guy behind me tell the waiter there is a fly in their salad". I told him to eat around anything that looked like a fly. Worst part was this was for someone's birthday - and he did not even eat his whole meal. Seriously - with all the restaurants out there - why come here? Even you locals - venture out, look around - there is a whole world out there. Explore a bit, and get yourself a better meal.

    (1)

  • Jenna H.

    Don't let the exterior deceive you as everyone else mentions. This place is located in a small little strip area behind the BART Station. FOOD: you have to order from the preselected menu determined by the day. Still, that gives you about 6-8 options to choose from! With prices from $22-$28 per entree, it really does come out to average about $25 for a four course meal per person! +Bread and Butter +Soup: We had minestrone-- So good! more than enough for about 2-3 helpings per person in your group. **Bring a container to bring the leftovers in--They have boxes for food, but not for liquids/soups!** +Salad: Ours was lettuce with garbanzo beans, kidney beans, red onions, and Italian(?) dressing. +Meat Ravioli (approx 2-3 raviolis per person) +Entree: I had the rack of lamb. Medium Rare. Also served with mashed potatoes(instant) and veggies(frozen). Surprisingly I wasn't bothered by the instant/frozen combo. It all worked well together, especially eating in a place that feels like your grandma's kitchen. +Dessert: Fudge sundae. Scoop of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and whipped cream. ATMOSPHERE: The clientele is clearly older. Nothing wrong with it, but my family was definitely on the younger side with the average age of patrons around 55+. Definitely NOT somewhere where you'd take a first date. However, everyone was so nice and the service was fantastic! The young server/waitress was super pleasant and so nice. I would absolutely mention that it's better to have a reservation, or else you might find yourself waiting a good 30-45 minutes.

    (5)

  • Tony M.

    Oh Damn! When you come to this place make sure you bring your appetite with you. I didn't know what to expect even though I read some of the reviews. When you first come in the first thing you'll notice is the bar. Not exactly what I was picturing but the dining room is separate from the bar. My family and I were seated 5 minutes after checking in with the nice lady. Even though they were busy a basket of bread and butter and a glass of iced water for each of us immediately followed. Our order was taken not long after: I had the Rack of Lamb (I recommend having it) my wife had the Prime Rib (a little salty for my wife but delicious) and my son had the New York Steak (he likes it medium rare and it was cooked to perfection... he left maybe a bite or two so I can safely say he liked it). Prior to eating our main entree, a bowl of minestrone was served. Once we were finished with our soup salad followed (simple but delicious). Then, to my surprise, a plate of meat Ravioli came after... OMG! We limited ourselves to a piece or two in order to make room for our main entree. Ravioli tasted great and we took the rest home. The end of our meal we had several choices for dessert. My wife and I had Spumoni (Italian ice cream, which I also recommend) and my son had vanilla ice cream.

    (5)

  • Denise C.

    Busy place! The food is absolutely amazing for the price. Me and my two friends finally met up here to try this place. We had to wait about 30 minutes, but well worth it. We wanted to know what was the most popular dishes. The waitress said prime rib, the rack of lamb and NY steak. We decide to order all 3 and shared. We were first served clam chowder soup. It's the red kind (was looking forward to the white chowder), followed by a seafood type salad. We all shared the entrees, which came with potatoes and veggies. Dessert is also included. I was disappointed that they were out of spumoni, but the chocolate Sunday made up for it. Our waitress, Yvette, was very pleasant and patient with all the questions we had asked her. She was very prompt and came back a few times to check up on us to see how we were doing. She actually made a few jokes and made our experience entertaining. We will definetly be going back soon. Next time we will come early to beat the rush. As I said, this place is busy. Great service, great food and you can't beat the prices!!!!

    (5)

  • Maggie L.

    Called to make a reservation. when someone finally answered, she was not friendly and told me to call back tomorrow.

    (1)

  • Jacquelin P.

    I just want to start off with the fact that the food here is AMAZING! You get 4-5 courses for less than 25 dollars. The first time I went here was Mother's Day, I basically picked this place because all my other prime rib places had closed down (Black Angus, Carrows, Hungry Hunters and Gullivers.) My husband waited to the last minute to make reservations so the only one we could get was at 7PM. When we walked in the door the first they said they were out of prime rib and veal. I was pissed. The only reason I wanted to go there was no longer and there wasn't enough time to make another reservation. I was practically in tears. I am a very picky eater so there weren't alot of options for me to order something I liked so I got the steak. I was pleasently surprise by how well cooked it was. We were started off with a salad that I wasn't crazy about. I don't really like garbonzo beans or kidney beans so I picked around those. The salad dressing was really vinegary but still good. Next we had the soup which I thought I would not like but I did and the more important thing was that my younger son LOVED the soup. He's even pickier than I am and spent the whole night eating bread dipped in soup. For that reason alone I got over my pissy attitude. Ravioli's followed and I tried a few bites. They were packed with meat and again my younger son was in heaven. He especially loved putting the parmesean chease on it. When the food finally got there I was startving. Everything was really good. The steak was perfectly cooked. The veggies were clearly frozen which was kind of disappointing and I think that if they were to use fresh veggies this would be the best loved reseraunt on the pennisula. Last was dessert and we got a choice of ice cream, spumoni, sherbert or tapioca. My husband and I had the spumoni which was good but not home made, kids had the sundaes and parents in law had tapioca which they said wasn't very good. I also liked that they had Roy Rogers and Shirley Temples on the menu. I hadn't see that since I was a kid and my Nana took me to italian resteraunts. Two weeks after I made my husband take me back and try the prime rib, it was everything I wanted. One of the best Prime Rib's I've ever had. A few things I think would make the reseraunt better: Heat up the bread, it's good bread but would be better being warm. Change out the salad dressings for something not so vinegary or at least give customers a choice. Give customers a choice of what potato they want. Hubby got mashed and my son and I got some weird tasted roasted potato which we didn't like. We weren't offered a choice. Chit chatting with customers is awesome, but when there are other customers waiting over an hour just to get their food and the food is sitting on the counter waiting to go out to the customer stop talking and do your job. The hostess' job is to chit chat, the waiteress' job is to serve. Ask before taking a plate away, my son was still eating soup and they took his bowl away. Be consistent in charges, if one night you don't charge for refills, don't charge the next night. List that soda refills cost more. This is an amazing resteraunt, with amazing food.

    (4)

  • Jennifer A.

    This place is definitely a neighborhood joint with a lot of regulars. It has a big bar and friendly service from people who have probably been there for ages. All the staff treat you kindly and with a smile. They make you feel welcome in that neighborhood kind of way. You'll see older gentlemen at the bar who come in for a shot and a beer, watch the game, chat a bit, then hit the road. You'll see families and couples, and people who just want a friendly vibe. We were told that there were 5 people ahead of us and a 45-minute wait, and this is on a Sunday night. So I asked to eat at the bar where we sat immediately. As for the food quality, it was mediocre. Perhaps I'm spoiled by the San Francisco city ways of awesome restaurant decor and really pleasing tastes, yet, this place didn't match up. You won't leave here hungry. They'll make sure of that. The dishes come with a Minestrone Soup, Salad with red bean, bread, dish of the day and a dessert option. I thought the ravioli were okay at best. The veal was alright and the rack of lambs was cooked well. The soup, salad and bread were fine. We didn't have room for dessert, so despite it being free, we passed. I'm not sure I'd go here again, because the food quality wasn't up to my standards, but they sure are nice to you if you do go here. One thing that I did think was odd was there was a kid serving drinks from the bar, maybe he was about 10? He had an apron on. I'm pretty sure the drinks were juices, but didn't know for sure.

    (3)

  • Fiona L.

    I've been here twice and usually it's always crowded at whatever time you come. I never came here for lunch, only dinner because of it's worth it complete set dinner. First off, don't let the looks fool you. Although the exterior and interior could use some remodeling, it's what makes this restaurant a "family-like" style place. You definitely feel like you're at home. BEWARE: if you're planning on fancy dining, I wouldn't recommend you come here. They have different specials depending on what day. Usually the top two dishes people tend to order is the prime rib or rack of lamb. I've tried other dishes such as the salmon, veal, and seafood combination, but those were not very good.. Basically, just stick to either prime rib or rack of lamb. The meal comes with soup and salad. The soup is either minestrone or potato vegetable soup. I tried both and I enjoyed the potato vegetable soup more. Their salad is either shrimp or vinaigrette. I tried both salads before, too and I liked both equally. Keep in mind that since it's family style, soup and salad is BIG. There is plenty for seconds. ***If you come on Thursdays (only Thursdays), they throw in each person a stuffed chicken. It's very moist and yummy! The sauce they use is pretty bomb. I think after the soup, salad, and chicken I was already full ... Rack of Lamb: Cooked to perfection. Nice amount. Seasoning is nice as well. Prime Rib: Very very good. Cooked to what you asked. I usually order medium rare and boom, comes out medium rare. Thick and big size. Entrees come with veggies and potatoes (mashed or sliced). Oh boy, portions are so big that usually there's left to take home. I hope you leave room because there's also dessert. I can't really remember all the options, but I usually order the spumoni ice cream. So so good. Overall: For the price, it's very reasonable. You leave with a satisfied stomach. The place can get pretty loud though (one part is a bar). Also, you may feel a bit crowded for the tables are close together. I would definitely come back here again.

    (4)

  • Kathleen U.

    Hole in da wall/being in another era! Garden club is located at the corner of a somewhat secluded and run down plaza. Walking into the restaurant there is a bar/waiting area to your right with televisions and to the left is the dining area. The wait on a Sunday night was 45 minutes to an hour. And they are pretty much on the dot with estimating the time. There is a set menu for each day of the week. The menu doesn't change as much, just a couple different dishes here and there. Less than $30 for a full course meal is a deal in my book. First, comes bread. Soup, salad and meat ravioli (Sunday) and then main entree and to end the whole meal with dessert! Nothing great about the bread. It isn't even toasted. The salad has a great amount of dressing and it's flavorful. The soup was a minestrone kind of soup for Sunday night. I liked the soup because it wasn't salty at all. I eat my soup pretty bland. By the time, I got to meat ravioli I was getting a bit full. I was only to eat one meat ravioli so I can save my stomach for the entree. Boxed up the meat ravioli to go. I also noticed around the restaurant that my table wasn't the only one taking the meat ravioli to go. For entree, I ordered the prime rib with a side of mash potatoes and peas. Prime rib isn't anything like broadway prime, but it satisfies the carnivore in me. I loved the mash potatoes! It had enough fluffiness to it. I sampled my boyfriend's entree which was the rack of lamb. It was amazing. Usually lamb there is a distinct smell and gamey-ness. But Garden club cooked it to the point that there isn't much smell and barely any gamey-ness. The dessert options were sherbet, vanilla ice cream or mint chip & chocolate ice cream mix together (there was a name for it, but I forgot). I got the mint chip & chocolate and I didn't like it very much. Again, taking food from my boyfriend, I loved his sherbet. It was cooling and refreshing and I ended up eating all of it! Definitely will be back because this place won't be breaking the bank and provides delicious food! The only downside is the wait, but it's worth it. They only take reservations 5+ people.

    (4)

  • Al L.

    I was looking forward to our meal at Garden Cub on a recent Wednesday. Located in a strip mall, the restaurant is nondescript from the outside with no windows and just their signage. Entering, there is a bar with some dining tables on the side and the main dining room is located in the next room. With booth on the sides and tables in the middle, every single table was filled with patrons from the young to the old. Shortly after being seated at 6pm, water and baskets of bread with butter were brought to our table as we went over the menu. Our waitress came by in about three minutes and asked if we ready to order. We stated that we just started looking over the menu and were not quite ready. Now ready to order, she didn't come back for about another 10 minutes. After our order was taken and placed, our waitress was taking the orders from a table nearby and we heard her rattle off the specials of the day. Hey, we didn't deserve to hear the specials? Though we were going to order from the traditional family Wednesday menu for Wednesday, it would have been nice to hear the specials of the day. First up in our family dinner was a large tureen of "soup de jour", which the waitress dropped off at our table. The soup could be described as a minestrone-like soup and was large enough for each of us to have two bowls. The soup had plenty of vegetables and could have been richer in taste/flavors and the pasta in it was a little too soft. ( yelp.com/biz_photos/gard… ) Next was a bowl of "salad de saison". The lettuce was mixed with some red cabbage and topped with croutons, red and white beans, and a French dressing. The salad was pretty good. ( yelp.com/biz_photos/gard… ) Then came a platter of ravioli in meat sauce. The meat filled raviolis were large and had a good texture. The large portion allowed each person to have three and I would say, they were delicious. ( yelp.com/biz_photos/gard… ) The entrees: Prime rib au jus with mashed potatoes, green beans and peas. The beef was tender, but it was more medium rare than rare, that I had ordered. ( yelp.com/biz_photos/gard… ) Rack of lamb with mashed potatoes, green beans and peas with a cup of mint jelly. Impressed that they gave the entire rack consisting of eight chops, which was topped with minced garlic. The lamb was ordered medium rare, but it arrived medium well. Could have imagined how it would have tasted medium rare. ( yelp.com/biz_photos/gard… ) For dessert, we had a spumoni and a tapioca. Both were pretty good. ( yelp.com/biz_photos/gard… ) Garden Club is the epitome of the traditional homestyle family dinner restaurant. You get large portions of food, atmosphere is busy with adequate service. Our waitress was void of personality and would just come by and plop down the salad/ravioli dish and without a word and leave. When she brought the entrees, it was done with haste that she was unaware that some au jus from a plate spilled onto the table. When comparing to other homestyle restaurants that I've dined at, I've had better experiences at Valencia Pizza and Pasta and Basque Cultural Center.

    (3)

  • Will I A m.

    Wow...that's all I'm going to say. But yelp needs more so: Service 5 Prime rib 5 Rack of lamb 5 Bread, soup, salad, ravioli, entree, ice cream You leave here happy, stuffed and wanting to come back

    (5)

  • Roger W.

    This place is like a hidden gem! I read the reviews, and thought there had to be a catch for a 4 course meal for only at most $25 a person, so I had to check it out. Booking reservations was not an easy task, I tried multiple times where the line was busy, just kept ringing, and finally was able to get someone but they said the reservation books aren't out until after 3:30PM. Finally, I decided to forgo the reservations and just drop in and wait. We arrived around 7:00pm, and had around a 30 minute wait in dinner rush, which wasn't too bad. When we got seated, it took a while for the waitress to come because the one that was supposed to tend to our table forgot about us. So -1 star for this minor hiccup, but then the rest is golden. The vegetable soup was really generous (me and my partner ate two bowls each), and the bread was soft and complimented the soup nicely. The combination shrimp salad was surprisingly very tasty. We ordered the prime rib and NY steak, which were both amazing for the price we were paying. And then to top off the night, a scoop of spumoni which had pistachio chunks of heavenly goodness. So despite the service and the wait, I definitely will be back again. You can't find this kind of meal for this price easily around this area, it's crazy!

    (4)

  • Nessy Z.

    Garden Club serves Breakfast every Saturday morning starting at 8 AM. Breakfast portions are huge, food is fresh and yummy!!

    (4)

  • Melissa P.

    Found this gem tonight! 5 stars in all categories: -Customer service (friendliness and genuiness ) -Portion -Taste/quality -Price A 5-course meal for $25 at most! (Plus tax and tip)

    (5)

  • Angela L.

    This was such an intense dinner. I ran 5 miles in order to prepare for this feast. My family and I made reservations for a Sunday and boy are we glad we did! The wait is wild! Old timers get there, I'm assuming at 430 and chow down before the usual crowd of deal seeking Asians head in. Minestrone soup was okay. Salad was surprisingly good - especially the garlic croutons. Raviolis were delicious! The pasta part was cooked to perfection. It stood out more than the meat filling. I had rack of lamb which was really great, especially with the garlic on top. it was $25 for an entire rack which would have cost the same had you bought it in Safeway raw. 3 Family members had the prime rib which melted in your mouth Combination Seafood - the sole was pretty good, didn't care much for the other fried things Veal cutlet - heard it was good NY steak - plate was completely clean! Ice cream - Sundaes, Spumoni, Orange Sherbert, and tapioca. All were good! I'll definitely come back again, just not soon.. trying not to gain 50 lbs :)

    (5)

  • Jing L.

    Came with family of 6 for the first time. Food portion was reasonable for the price. However, our waitress had an attitude because we had to wait for other family members and occupy the table for 20 minutes. I felt bad so I called the family members to ask them what they wanted so she could have the kitchen to get things ready. However that was not enough to earn a smile from her and she was giving us an attitude the whole time. But she was good about adding that 18% after tax as gratuity on the bill. The place gets crowed during dinner and food was good. However, I felt that I was not enjoying my food and worried about her attitude when I called her for any help. Never mind. I am not returning. I would take my 18% to someone who at least smiles to earn that $$!.

    (3)

  • Chris O.

    It's a step back into the 70's, all that is missing is cigarette smoke and old Italian gentlemen lingering about. Its linoleum floors, laminate tables and old Italian chotskis will bring with it nostalgia or make you want to turn around and head back to the city for high ceilings and reclaimed wood tables and small pieces of raw fish on a large plate. I like Garden Club, it reminds me of my Uncle Johnny's house in San Mateo, minus his resin race horse trophies. If you've ever been to the old Italian Restaurants like Vanessi's, Capp"s Corner or the Little Joe's that used to be in the Tenderloin....this is it! The food is very much the same as it was in the 70's, dover sole with a butter caper sauce, rack of lamb with mint jelly (old school, right?), thick minestrone, ice berg salad with house dressing, over cooked and under seasoned veggies and of course, spumoni ice cream. I must say, they do meat very well. It's a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the city.

    (3)

  • Jae W.

    Cheap prime rib dinner? CHECK. I came here with a group on a Saturday night without reservations and they sat us pretty quickly (maybe 5-10 min wait?). Honestly, the experience was a blur because we had just come from drinking at the beach. I won't lie I was a little buzzed, but all the food was amazing for the price. It's obviously not as fancy and on the same level of House of Prime Rib, but for what you're paying, you're getting a LOT of bang for your buck. The slab of prime rib is huge!!! Like seriously, no joke, probably similar to the King cut (maybe more) from HOPR but for half the price. The dinner also came with salad and soup (served family style), sides, and dessert! I'd be down to come again when I have a craving for meat, but I'm surprised I finished because it was WAY too much food!!!! But then again, I had the drunchies and couldn't stop eating until there was no more. It's a small place and nothing fancy in terms of decor and stuff. I wouldn't celebrate a special occasion here, but if I just felt like prime rib for dinner, this place will suffice (especially because there's a parking lot and it's only 5 minutes away from home).

    (3)

  • Michael E.

    I got the prime rib. The clam chowder soup was ok. The shrimp salad was pretty good. I liked the shrimp and crab bits and the dressing. The prime rib was good. The vege's that came with it were pretty meh.

    (4)

  • Donna L.

    A group of over 20 went for dinner there last night. It was only my 2nd time there. The bartender makes a good martini but she's gotta use a bigger martini glass! We started out with a hearty minestrone soup - it was really good. (Tip - Bring a container to bring home soup leftovers with some crusty bread!) The salad was okay - a little too dressed for my taste. It was my first time having the stuffed chicken - it was excellent! I could have stopped there but then came my rare prime rib. It was a good chunk of meat but I had to cut off a lot of the fat. My hubby had the rack of lamb medium rare. It looked more like medium but was still tender. I would have said something but he was okay with it. you get more bang for your buck here especially since I went to House of Prime Rib last month and paid double the price.

    (3)

  • Maya S.

    Ambiance: Casual, loud and you feel like you're eating at someone's house. You have to walk through the bar to enter the restaurant. The restaurant is basically a medium-sized rectangular-shaped room. There are booth seating and larger group tables in the center. I saw a mix of folks - old, young, families, groups of friends, couples and solo diners. Food: Dinner starts with sliced sourdough bread and butter. The entrees for Saturday night are paired with minestrone soup and shrimp salad, and all dinners come with veggies and mashed potatoes, and end with dessert. Although the pasta in the minestrone soup was beyond overcooked, it made the soup hearty and overall it was flavorful. There's Parmesan cheese on the table to top your soup. The shrimp salad was one of my favorite things of the night. Plenty of shrimp with a dressing made of plenty of anchovies. However, it was a bit overdressed. I ordered the prime rib au jus, medium, which was tender and tasty. The mashed potatoes and peas weren't much to rave about but I liked the larger wide green beans, which taste like something my mother grows in her backyard. I had the chocolate sundae (scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce and whipped cream) which was a small and simple but a sweet way to end the meal. The other options were vanilla or spumoni ice cream, orange sherbet, or tapioca pudding. I also tried the NY steak with garlic topping as well as the lamb. Both were superb! Service: Friendly but our waitress said she was getting more bread for us and our bread basket never returned. Also, we were parched by the end of our meal and it took a while to flag someone down to refill our waters. Reservations are for parties of 5+ and you can make them by phone. I'll be back to try the ravioli!

    (4)

  • Will V.

    The host was great and ambiance is cute. But I did see something that bothered me. The cook was handling his personal phone and when he noticed me watching, he placed the phone away and continue handling the food. (Didn't wash hands after handling his phone) I think it's safe to say he probably uses his phone when he uses the restroom. In which case that left me a little disgusted. Must we remind primary food handlers - you have to keep you hands clean at all times. If you touch your phone - simply take the few seconds to wash your hands again. It's that simple. With that said, I'm not sure if I'd return. So conflicted right now.

    (3)

  • Phillip D.

    Came here for a dinner with some friends I hadn't seen in awhile. You would never know this place existed in South San Francisco as it sits at the corner of a low-traffic, pretty deserted strip mall location. I would say its definitely a locals joint and feels like a mom and pop shop. When you first walk in you immediately see a local dive bar. You must go through there to get to the restaurant which is adjacent to the bar (a little odd but didn't bother me). I love that it feels very homey and the service is very friendly and efficient. I will say they have the whole dinner process down to a science. They essentially have a pre-fixed menu (approx $21-$25) where you get soup (we had vegetable soup), shrimp salad, main course (most people get the lamb, prime rib, or rib-eye, and a choice of dessert (spumoni, sundae to name a few). I think for the price you pay, it's a pretty good deal. You will definitely be full. I personally loved their salad. It was different and was very flavor. I definitely like their soup next. I had the sundae for dessert and was satisfied. I actually chose the steak for the main entree which came with veggies. I would say that was the biggest disappointment only because I expected a wow factor. Don't get me wrong it's pretty standard but I was having high expectations so I wasn't "wowed". One of the main reason I gave it a 3 vs 4 star is that I didn't like that because the place is so popular, once you are done eating each course, they immediately take your plates away and are making sure you are out by the time allotted. I totally get that it's a popular spot, but I definitely don't like to feel rushed for dinner. After I had one last bite of my salad, someone's right there to swoop in and take it. Overall, the food is good but don't expect House of Prime Rib. I would still go back but perhaps not in a large group.

    (3)

  • Rock L.

    After driving by this place for years and not even knowing it was a restaurant, I finally had the opportunity to go in with a friend who always goes there. I always thought it was a dive bar inside witch gives true meaning to the phrase "never judge a book by its cover". Ok....I can give you the play by play of the night...witch is quite interesting as this is a pretty interesting place. But I'm not. I will tell you that this place is awesome. At first I thought it was kind of pricy but at the end I felt like it was worth more than I paid. Off you want to impress someone I recommend this place. If you want a really really really amazing dinner...go here!! Hands down the best Italian restaurant I've ever been to.

    (5)

  • Christina L.

    Since we came on a Wednesday, our 5-course meal consisted of Minestrone Soup, Salad, Ravioli, Entree, and Ice Cream or Sherbert. Seriously, a good deal for a 5-course, like home cooked, meal, accompanied by fresh, yummy sourdough (I think from Ray's Sourdough). $35/person (including tips for our delightful and attentive waitress) for our party of five. We each chose the prime rib as our entree, 2 of us had a beer, and I had a glass of wine. I enjoyed the soup. The salad not so much. The ravioli, on the other hand, with its hearty meat filling was a carboholic's dream with the thick, like homemade dough. If I come again, I will probably just order the ravioli dinner, since the prime rib was just mediocre. My orange sherbert was okay. I might not have enjoyed it so much because I was stuffed to the brim . . . . I'm not chomping at the bit to come back, but I wouldn't nix it if someone suggested it again.

    (3)

  • Vee V.

    Not at all what I had expected as I pulled into the parking lot. Loads of smokers standing outside what looked like just a bar. Thought i went to the wrong joint. Walked in and still a bit confused not knowing where to go. Finally a nice lady asked if I needed help. Party of 8 and she knew exactly what I was referring to. The dining area is so cute, like travelling back in time. Everyone is smiley and happy. Of course, cuz their food is pretty awesome!! Servers are GREAT, shout out to "Vanessa!!" It's Wed on the menu, I wanted to try the ROL but opted for prime rib(RARE please). $25 bucks for entree, I thought was pretty decent. No idea it came with big chug of veggie medley soup, large salad, yummy ravioli and a big scoop of ice-cream. HOLY moly! Hey it's not the cleanest looking joint but the food and the nice smiley faces make up for it.

    (4)

  • Angela D.

    This place looks SUPER SKETCHY - no windows, in a rundown strip mall with liquor shop adjacent, and looks like it needs a makeover. Don't be afraid though because the food inside is so good! We dined and dined til our bellies were bursting! Family style dinners come with bread, soup (minestrone), salad, ravioli, and dessert! I opted for the prime rib ($21.95) and it was as delicious- a huge slab of meat that comes with potatoes and veggies. This place is seriously the best bang for your buck and their raviolis are super addicting. Come here with an empty stomach and leave happy and full!

    (5)

  • James L.

    You come here for a bargain and the prime rib. I am not much of a beef eater but people say to get the prime rib. For the price, it is as good as House of Prime Rib and you get so much more for a bargain. You get soup (which was bland), the shrimp salad which was fine, and then the entree comes out and you get the prime rib, mash potatoes with mixed veges (frozen kind), and then ice cream. It is not the best meal I had but the prime rib was good. The place is like a dive bar so the atmosphere is not what you come here for, just some good cheap eats.

    (4)

  • Doris L.

    Come in on a Wednesday night and it was busy.. You walk in and bar to the right some tables to the left and another room of tables. We waited bout 20-25 minutes or so.. They have 2 TV's that help pass the time in the bar area. Bill came out to about $55 bucks for two with no drinks other then water. In order: Bread (butter on table) Soup (minestrone) Salad (maybe it was french dressing. It was tart so didn't eat it all) Ravioli (enjoyed) New York steak: Friend wasn't a big fan of it. Alot of fat that he cut off and it had a hard blacken crust on both sides. He said he would take it home, cut it up and make fried rice with it. haha Prime Rib: It was pretty big, flavorful, med rare. Good amount of Au Ju on the plate. Next time i will ask for it on the side.

    (4)

  • Ric C.

    Located in a strip mall near the BART station, it has been operating for about 51 years according to our waitress. The Garden Club has a separate bar area in addition to the main restaurant area. It's pretty dark when you first enter and pass through the bar section. It's like stepping back into time as the decor really does seem to harken back to an earlier time. No industrial standard blueprint like the chain restaurants, a real mom/n pop type operation which seems to be fed by mostly neighborhood clientele. We went there for lunch recently, the menu is pretty limited but the portions quite generous. We had the scallops and prawn plates, they gave 12 scallops and 6 prawns. Each were the standard pre-breaded deep fried offerings, with boiled veggies and rice pilaf. They came with a soup or salad and sour dough bread. The main entree was nothing special but for $9.95 each, they were ok. The server was very friendly and attentive, no problem there. Judging from what has been written dinner is the better bet by a long shot. The rack of lamb looks like a winner. Would Stat away from lunch, focus on the dinner. Will make a run at dinner one day.

    (3)

  • Michelle H.

    It's the meal of your life! This is exactly what came to mind when I was inviting a friend to go to dinner. Of course all of the food you get is amazing but the whole experience of going there and enjoying all of it with loved ones makes it an adventure every time. You get so much quality, delicious, food, from start to finish for a ridiculously low price. I always get the prime rib there for $26. But with your entree they give you soup, salad, warm sourdough bread and butter, extra side dishes (wed nights they give you raviolis too!), then your prime rib with mashed potatoes and veggies, and THEN on top of all that, they give you ice cream!! You choose between sherbert, ice cream sundae or tapioca! All of this for$26 and it is all delicious! The service is very friendly too. I love going there!!

    (5)

  • Erica B.

    The food was surprisingly good and you leave feeling very very full. You cannot judge a book by its cover. The favorite of the night was the prime rib, it was more flavorful than the one I had at Alexander's in Cupertino. Service was friendly, a great family place, not a place for a romantic dinner though.

    (4)

  • Polly L.

    Wow lived in SF all my life and didn't even know about this restaurant. I think the interior is super cute and it really makes you feel like you're at home! The workers are super cute and sweet! Came on a Saturday and the wait was around an hour or maybe a little less (they don't take reservations for tables less than 5 people). Got the prime rib and it was so good except the soup and salad just filled me up a little too much. I brought the rest of the prime rib home and heated it up, still really good!!

    (4)

  • Kyle I.

    I love that this place is right near where I'm moving. I've been here about 3 times already and it's one of those places that just makes you smile and go to when you're 10 years old, 30 years old and 70 years old. It's a bar/ restaurant and is always consistent with its service and quality of food. They have pre fixed menus depending on the day - you get to choose from like 4 or 5 different items and they'll always have the standard NY Strip, Prime Rib and Rack of Lamb available. Definitely go there hungry. We went last night at around 730pm and I'm still full 18 hours later. Ravioli and soup is fantastic and all their meals come with ice cream or sherbet. Love this place.

    (4)

  • B B.

    I don't understand the great reviews. Prices are wayyy too expensive for the horrible food. Even cooked rare the prime rib was incredibly tough. They serve frozen veggies that were cooked to death. The "seafood" salad could be good if they didn't add imitation crab to it. This place used to be a gem...so sad how badly they've gone downhill. My family will never come back.

    (1)

  • Jason C.

    I remember growing up eating at my best friends house. His mom, Italian-Amer -- I'm sorry, Sicilian-American -- made the most phenomenal food. Home style steaks and chops, pastas, sandwiches, nothing fancy, but care, flavor, quantity and love stuffing you silly until it oozes out of your pores. Then she feeds you dessert! I walk into this dive bar in a foul mood, but with hope that all the positive reviews must be onto something. Not my usual neighborhood, I was just randomly in the area. I get to the back to be seated and the hostess cracks a friendly joke. The waitress cracks another friendly joke as I sit down. Red checkered tablecloth. Massive bowl of solid, robust Minestrone soup plopped in front of me. The place is busy, 5 PM on a Sunday and families at every table. A competent salad follows, then the second big surprise, three large, totally awesome ravolis. My bad mood is long gone. I'm pretty full by the time the prime rib rolls in. It's not a monster cut, it's about 8 oz, maybe a bit larger. Nicely prepared - no it's not as good as like the House of Prime Rib or other top tier prime rib places. But I think of my best friend's mom, and I imagine her cooking up enough prime rib to feed a family gathering of 30. No, not fanciest, but does it matter? It was like family love, all over again. Of course I eat it all, and the potatoes and veggies it came with. Yes, there was a bit of a delay between the salad, ravoli and entree. Yes, my iced tea didn't come until well into the meal, long after I assumed they had forgotten it. And no, $30 bucks total isn't cheap for the food you're getting. But it's the right price, and it was worth every penny. In the grand scheme of things, one of the best restaurant meals I've had in the last year or so.

    (4)

  • Elaine Y.

    The amount of food you get for the price is amazing. You would go in depressed from hunger and leave depressed from over eating. This place is packed. The wait was around 20-30 minutes. One side is a bar for the locals and couples and the other side is more of a family dine in. I ordered the none other famous prime rib. $25 for a fat piece of prime rib that will make anyone's stomach explode. The flavor is not bad, I wish they have better variety of side vegetables. The whole dining experience also comes with a family style soup, salad, meat filled ravioli and dessert. Not bad, will come back.

    (3)

  • Pai-Wei L.

    Ravioli, 5 stars. New york steak, 4 stars. Friendly waitresses and good service, 4 stars. Soup, bread, ice cream, etc., 3 stars. Prime rib, 2 stars. Long wait line, 1 star. Overall, somewhere around 3.1415926.

    (3)

  • Regina T.

    Great family restaurant. Huge family style portions, and if you bring your own Tupperware, you can bring home any leftovers!

    (5)

  • Christian C.

    Great food, great service and close to home. The Decor is a bit outdated, but I think that's how they like it and "some" of the customers do too. Will definitely be back!

    (5)

  • Eric S.

    Love this place. A real hole in the wall dive. The first time you go there and walk into a dive bar. You wonder where the restaurant is. Walk towards the back a little and its to the left. You get soup, salad (shrimp salad on Friday and Saturday) appetizer on certain days, entree and dessert for a very good price. See photos of the menu that have been posted. To me the best day to go is Thursday because of the stuffed chicken appetizer.

    (5)

  • Edwin C.

    Tiny little gem with a terrible location: a nondescript strip mall on a quiet thoroughfare in the heart of residential South San Francisco. The restaurant itself is a little dated and attracts mostly an older crowd from the neighborhood, so it may not be for everyone, but the food -- mostly large chunks of meat and fish -- is consistently well-prepared, the servers are friendly and the ambience is cosy-casual-comfortable. Most people recommend the prime rib but the steak and fish are good and (most importantly) filling as well. Great value for money.

    (4)

  • Jenny F.

    This place is wonderful for a multiple-course meal without the fine dining attire. You come in and enjoy the soup, salad, entree, and dessert for an reasonable affordable price. I have come in with smaller and bigger groups, and Garden Club has been able to accommodate for different group sizes. Staff are quite busy during their prime time hour, so do not expect to be doted on by them. One more extra staff would easily help for a more attentive dining service. Otherwise, the staff is friendly. My favorite order is the new york steak with garlic butter. You would have to specifically order with garlic butter to get the sauce on top of the steak. Soup is warm and comforting while the salad is good. I would come again and keep ordering the new york steak as my entree.

    (5)

  • Richard P.

    Feeling like a piece of juicy, tender meat for lunch, I stepped into the Garden Club during the SF Giants parade in SFC. Restaurant is located at the south end of a strip mall. Parking is open with no restrictions. Pulling open the door, I was met with an on-sale cocktail lounge with the bar facing south. I continued walking east until I came to a doorway on the left, stepping into the restaurant dining area. This configuration reminds me of the back east restaurant-bar, where a patron can have a few highballs to loosen up the appetite, so one does not have a heart attack after consuming Garden Club's wonderful meat. Many of the old restaurants on Broadway near Columbus in San Francisco had this set-up before they went out of business in the 1970's. Bar in front, restaurant in back. I am happy to report I did not have any highballs during my luncheon meal. As I stepped into the dining room I was met by a woman waitress about my age (60), who greeted me with a warm smile & friendly salutation as she led me to a table where she cleared half of the table since I was alone. Napkins, by the way, are red cloth, but I did not see any candelabra. They might bring 'em out at night during dinner in order to make the affair a bit more romantic. A young Latino male, sporting a pencil mustache à la Clark Cable, wearing immaculate bus whites, & a ball cap, brought sliced sourdough bread along with a small dish filled with individual pats of real sweet butter between tiny sheets of wax paper. Afterwards, the woman waitress returned taking my order of a New York Steak sandwich, medium, with french fries. The bus person looped back with a large tureen of vegetable soup, which was out of this world. It was so good, delicious, chowdery, but still soupy, and not overly salty like a lot of soups are, my portion of soup was one of the best soups I have ever eaten. It was so good, I wanted to ask for another tureen, but since this was my first time, I did not want to embarrass myself with my voracious appetite. By the way, the tureen is more than enough for one person. My steak sandwich was perfect. The meat was juicy, tender, melting in my mouth. The New York steak strip must have been 12 oz in size. It was cooked to perfection and tasted heavenly. Some of the best meat I have eaten in a long time. Why not five stars, you ask? Well, the french fries were puny, like little sticks. I expected "home" type of fries. Those little sticks called french fries does no justice to the plate. Secondly, I did not hear any option for pasta as a "comes with" dish. A small bowl of ravioli would have been really nice. I recall the waitress mentioning Polenta, but I did not hear or recall anything else other than the french fries. Did not use the lavatory, so I cannot comment on its cleanliness or ugliness. At the east ends of the dining room & on-sale lounge are flat screen television sets. Garden Club is an old school bar-restaurant that serves a wonderful lunch that will make your cardiologist shake his/her head in absolute disgust. Dr Oz would be stunned at such a meal. This place is not safe for vegetarians or vegans. You will not get any tofu in here, either. Total check was under $15. And they do accept major plastic. I highly recommend the Garden Club in S San Fran...!!! Visit details: 103114, Friday, at approximately 1330.

    (4)

  • Ray Y.

    Great place to bring the family came here after a rosary service for my friend Ross it was fairly crowded for a thursday must be the folks that normaly go to westlake joes good to see the locals support the hometown places

    (5)

  • Daisy R.

    I was highly disappointed with not only the overdone food but also the very unprofessional staff. We booked a reservation for dinner and majority of us ordered the prime rib. 3 out of the 4 prime ribs ordered were overcooked. My prime rib dish was ordered medium and it came out well done. My cousins husband is a vegetarian and we had called ahead of time to make sure they could accommodate him. They told us they would. When it was his time to order he told the waitress he was vegetarian and he called earlier but the waitress told him no, sorry, no accommodations. He told our waitress that they said it was possible over the phone and she told him, well sorry no substitutes. After 5 minutes of back and forth options the waitress told him he could just eat a salad which he was charged $12 for. I asked the waitress if she could take the prime rib back because it was too far overcooked and very tough. The waitress told me that it might be a bit more cooked than I would like but they would still charge me for full prime rib dinner if I returned the food or not. The manager then came over to the table, an elderly lady presumably the owner and began yelling at me that she has owned the restaurant for 30 years and that's how they make medium. I have also worked at a steakhouse for 3 years and I know medium is not cooked all the way through and tough. I kept a cool demeanor with her and told her that it's fine if that's how they cook prime rib but as a customer I was not happy and didn't want to eat it. By this point the entire restaurants attention is at our table. I've never been to any restaurant were professional staff yell and fight with their customers about sending back a plate of food and still make them pay for the full meal. Are their morals with money or serving happy customers? The owner was very hostile along with the wait staff. Afterwards we could see the elderly owner at the kitchen gossiping with the cooks and other staff pointing at our table, glaring and giving dirty looks. This was by far the worst dining experience I have ever had. My experience at the garden club was unenjoyable, unprofessional, embarrassing and I still left hungry. Do yourself a favor and find a better restaurant where the restaurant actually care about their customers.

    (1)

  • amee m.

    Based on so many positive yelp reviews, I took my parents here on a whim. Definitely bang for your buck!!! Food and service were as expected and good. We ordered the steak and prime rib, and they were cooked to our preference. The decor is dated and has that old school dives bar sort of feel that reminds me of the South. We'll be back!

    (5)

  • Ally C.

    Quantity over quality here. The bread was a little hard but the soup and ravioli were both good. They serve you so much before your actual entree that you're practically full by the time it comes. The food was good but nothing amazing. I ordered the prime rib for $24.95 and it was huge. It came with some mashed potatoes and vegetables. At the end, we had the choice of tapioca or spumoni. Would've given this place 4 stars but downgraded because the service wasn't very good (Thursday night). Kept asking for water and getting ignored. We were there when the restaurant closed and were trying to get boxes and the check so we could leave, but had to wait around for that too. (Ended up grabbing some boxes ourselves.) I mean with the restaurant being closed, you think they'd want us to leave. Overall I think I'd give this place another shot, but I'd have to know that the service would be better.

    (3)

  • Erich D.

    At first glance, you'd think this place is just a sad local dive bar from its dated exterior and yellowish fluorescent-lit sign with a pistachio-colored liquor glass on it. There's no way there could be good food in here, right? I had heard some good things about it for a while now but was very skeptical based on the location and appearance from the outside. A perfect example of the old adage, "Never judge a book by its cover." I was very pleasantly surprised by the Garden Club. If there is one thing you must try it's the prime rib dinner. For $22 you start off with a large bowl of soup, then salad, a starter (which on the day we visited was stuffed chicken), a prime rib plate served with sides of mashed potatoes and veggies, and ice cream for dessert. Everything leading up to the prime rib was decent, not exactly memorable, but the prime rib plate was really good! To be perfectly honest, this is one of the better cuts of prime rib I've had in recent memory. Thick, juicy, flavorful and with a well-seasoned crust on the exterior. The mashed potatoes and veggies were also really good on this plate. I'm a big horseradish lover and for those of you who enjoy it as well, you'd really like it here. Just beware that it is quite ridiculously strong and a little goes a long way. My sinuses were getting some big shots up the nose and into my eyes. Whoa! I left uncomfortably full, mainly because I ate everything and decided not to save anything to take home. It's a ton of food for your money. Definitely coming back here and bringing more friends to this place whenever I'm looking for some very good and affordable prime rib.

    (4)

  • Ali C.

    It's definitely a family restaurant. We had the prime rib and chicken picatta special. Both came with minestrone soup, shrimp salad and dessert. And the entrees were pretty big. I liked the prime rib though it's not the best I've ever had. The chicken picatta was ok. Dessert selections were spumoni ice cream, chocolate sundae, or tapioca pudding. Good place to go if you want to get full on hearty comfort food for a moderate price. It would be nice if they warmed the dinner bread. Service was friendly.

    (3)

  • Gessa C.

    One of the oldest restaurants I've ever been to. Prime rib is so good. Family style, Frozen vegetables in a bag, my favorite expect for lima beans. Kind of reminds me of Cafe Bakery. I'd splurge and hit up HOPR first but this place is pretty awesome for less of a wait. Much older crowd. Everyone is nice and super friendly. It's just very old and the booth seats are sagging on one side I kept falling in. Besides that I would come back for a prime rib fix anytime!

    (4)

  • Charmaine L.

    ambiance: like a glorified soup kitchen food: hefty portions cooked homestyle. comforting and satisfying must haves: prime rib and rack of lamb price: the value for the amount and quality of food is tops service: extremely friendly and homey most meals include: bread, soup, salad, entree, dessert (all for around $20/pp) it's a great deal for good food without the fancy fluff.

    (4)

  • Ladyreyes R.

    Excellent! Good service, great food, and at a steal! Had the $19.95 prime rib dinner 4 course meal! Yes 4 course! They give u 2 helpings of minestrone soup and a lovely bay shrimp salad with their house dressing, delish! Then the main course was a 20oz prime rib with chopped grilled potatoes, and french style green beans YUM!. Then your choice of a sundae, tapioca, or sherbet. Cant wait 2 come back! My dad had everything the same, except he got the rack of lamb which was very good and loaded with garlic! Get out there!

    (5)

  • Ramona L.

    Excellent food looks like different people here now maybe the next-generation is running the restaurant now But the food is really good like always We had the salmon and the prime rib and both was excellent Have a good appetite and be with family and friends

    (4)

  • JJ w.

    Had to waited almost one hour for the table. Soup was ice cold, bread was burned, no butter on the table.....my wife ordered R. Lamb also was burned

    (1)

  • Vikki S.

    Just ate here last night, after recently finding out about this hole-in-the-wall. It's all family-style, and there is a limited choice of entrees. We had salad, soup, bread, meat ravioli, and we all chose the prime rib. You get good-sized portions and the price is really good for all that food. I can honestly say this is probably one of the best prime ribs I've ever had. The meat ravioli was really good too, but I'm a meat and potatoes girl. The cut was at least 1" thick and so juicy! Good serving of veggies and mashed potatoes came with, but the veggies never got touched. It was really hard to hold off eating all the other stuff we were served while we waited for the entree, but absolutely worth it. Also, had to save room for the included dessert! The staff is really friendly, our waitress was very attentive, there's a bar there that had some of the folks singing, and the ambiance is nice. Small inside, but cozy rather than crowded. We went in for my roommate's birthday, but I'm planning on being back here again very soon! Definitely a tucked-away treasure.

    (5)

  • Jennifer C.

    Prime rib and steak still very good. Beware of the fried mixed seafood (shrimp, scallop, fish)! We bit into the scallops and got mouthful of water inside the fried batter, yuck! Also the fried fish tasted like a fried egg. We could barely see the fish inside the heavy egg coating. Also had the scalone. : ( We will stay with prime rib and steaks from now on. Raviolis were great too!

    (4)

  • yolanda c.

    Food was fantastic! 4 course meal for a great a great price that you feel not only full and content but you get your money's worth. My husband got the prime rib and it was big and Juicy so as much as I love house of prime I can come here when I don't want to pay $50 and be able to find parking . I had the rack of lamb and though I'm not a fan for lamb and more of a beef gal it was delicious and I was expecting to get only 3 pieces but I think I got like 6-8 and I didn't taste that gamy after taste .you get your house soup and a yummy vinaigrette salad with crab and shrimp that was so refreshing and coming from me who doesn't eat seafood it was good. I didn't want to stop eating. And best of all I get my scoop of ice cream to finish my perfect meal, I couldn't be more happy and can't wait to go again! My only negative was that you have to go to the bar for your drinks but it's ok good way I burn some of those calories and the place is a bit small but a nice gem outta nowhere and well the customer service is just ok but who cares as long as my stomach is happy and my face is. U gotta try it but just make sure u leave room for met to eat there too!

    (5)

  • Clara P.

    My first time here. OMG reminded me of the restaurants in San Francisco when I was growing up in the 60's they are long gone but thank God this one is still going strong The service was excellent I like that the servers were mature and know their job not like some places that ignore you. Bread is sourdough and it was never ending but don't eat too much you'll get full. The soup was a minestrone tasty, salad was simple, lettuce thin Bermuda onion kidney and Chechi beans tomatoes croutons light dressing then we were brought a stuffed chicken breast with a creamy buttery sauce I could have been satisfied with that lol Then came our entrée we ordered the veal scaloppine tender and delicious with mushrooms and capers served with mashed potatoes and peas and Italian green beans. ....I'm not finished yet lol ice cream sundaes and nice cup of strong coffee Do I recomend coming here ...........if you want good service good food and more bang for you buck YES YES AND YES!!!!

    (5)

  • Christina L.

    After a long day of buying and moving furniture, dining at the Garden Club was a nice end to an otherwise hectic day. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: --They take reservations for parties of 5 or more (gratuity is included) -- There is a split charge plate of $8.95 (in my opinion, understandable) --Your dinner entree comes with a ton of food! On Sunday, the prime rib was accompanied by minestrone soup, a salad, a plate of 5 ravioli in meat sauce, and of course, butter and bread. Did I also mention dessert? The options were sorbet, ice cream, and tapioca (or maybe all 3?). I was in a rush, so we skipped it. --The entree also comes with sides. I didn't mind the potatoes but I didn't touch the peas. This clearly cannot compare to House of Prime Rib but it's a great place to go if you're hungry. It's a casual, Italian family style place. Since it's from walking distance from my new apartment, my boyfriend and I will definitely be back soon.

    (4)

  • Albert L.

    Looks can be VERY deceiving. From the outside, it looks like one of those rollerblading 70's club. Me being born not prior to that era, I claim this based off all the retro movies I've seen. I was skeptical that I was at the correct location, having followed Apple Maps (pre-update) and all.. but this is the Garden Club. Open the large piano-like door, you are presented with .. a bar. (dafuq??) Okay, fool me once, right?.. The actual restaurant is beyond the bar, to the left. It's strange, but once you step foot to the other side, it's quite the 180 cultural surprise. Italian checkered linen tablecloth, Tuscan interior design, and Christmas decorations still up. It felt very cozy, with casual family's having dinner on a Sunday night. Speaking of Sunday night, the WHOLE MENU is pre fixe according to each day, and best of all, it's FAMILY STYLE. (see Sunday's menu: yelp.com/biz_photos/gard… ) -- EATS -- Soup de Jour -- 4 STARS It looked like Progresso chicken noodle soup, minus the chicken, but add in a ton more noodles, celery, carrots, and diced tomatoes. Needless to say, it was delicious. It was simple, warm, hearty.. and I had me 3 bowls. Salad de Saison -- 4 STARS I don't like salad, but it had garbanzo beans in it. I like garbanzo beans. Win! Ravioli with Meat Sauce -- 4 STARS These were some HUGE raviolis! If I weren't mistaken, I would have thought this was an entree. Soft, saucy, meaty, cheesy, goodness is what it is. I was stuffed.. Prime Rib au jus ($21.95) -- 3 STARS Being a HoPR (House of Prime Rib) veteran by now, I guess I had high expectations but for half the cost, it wasn't too bad. As usual, I request my meat Medium Rare so I can truly enjoy the natural tender and flavor of the beef but I was a tad disappointed with the unexpected tough chewiness.. potatoes and green beans are also served with the entree. (choice of dessert included but I was too stuffed to even bother) -- VERDICT -- I like what they do here. From both the restaurants and patrons perspectives, using low cost materials and ingredients to keep costs down in striving to offer a start to finish whole course meal for a low set price for wary is a win win for everybody. The food isn't drop dead to die for, but it'll fill you up for sure, without sacrificing taste nor cash. I was stuffed way before my Prime Rib even got to the table simply because their Raviolis were so addicting. And keep in mind, I average 4 meals a day so I can put away a ton of food! Simple, cheap, hearty family style eats; it's what it's all about at the Garden Club.

    (4)

  • Karl D.

    Certainly the definition of "don't judge a book by it's cover". This place doesn't look like much from the outside, and feels a little sketch. Aside from that, the food is pretty damn good - the flavors and the quantity. I've been there twice now and I always get the prime rib. It's something like $20 which includes soup, salad, stuffed chicken thigh (this changes depending on the day), the PRIME RIB and ice cream. Seemingly the best deal in town when it comes to a piece of red meat. If you like RARE meat, but are like me and don't order rare at a place that's not a steak house, don't be scared to order rare here - they do it right. Not to mention, always great service when I've been there with very friendly servers. The place is a bit small, so it's best to make a reservation.

    (4)

  • Erica T.

    Prices went up from $19.95 for Prime rib to $21.95. This time I decided to order the prime rib (medium rare). The slab seems a bit bigger than the last time I was here. Their steak knife SUCKS! It was too flimsy to cut anything. I stuck to using my regular table knife. The food tastes still the same; however, service lacked a little. I went on a Friday night and it wasn't that busy, but the service was extra slow. Overall, still a good price for everything you get. Will come back again.

    (4)

  • Patrick C.

    I've been wanting to try this place for years and finally got a chance to. Pulling up into the parking lot did NOT impress me. The place looks like a local dirty dive bar for biker clubs only. Parking lot had plenty of space but no bikes...so we proceeded... Let me just get straight to the food...probably the cheapest prime rib meal anywhere in the Bay Area. Looking at $20 for soup, salad, ravioli and the prime rib....and everything was awesomely good!! I also tried their lamb chops and those are even more tasteful then the prime rib (my opinion). I definitely will be back for a wholesome meal in the near future.

    (4)

  • Gors P.

    what i ordered... prime rib with seafood salad, vegetable orzo soup and spomuni ice cream place was located in a delapidated strip mall and at the entrance door you'll think it was just a neighborhood bar but all the way at the back was a dim lighted, homey italian like restaurant. they give you lot's of food at a reasonable price though quality wasn't there. all the food they served were quite like a real grandma will serve you... edible, bland and lot's of it. prime rib was flavorless and tough, vegetable orzo soup was good and hearty, seafood salad was with lots of tiny shrimps and fake crabmeat in a creamy liquidy dressing and spomuni ice cream tasted like (or was it) one of those neopolitan ice cream that sells for $5 a gallon at your nearest grocery store. ambiance... ok service... good (nice and accomodating) cost...$$+ (inexpensive)

    (2)

  • Jocelyn J.

    3 stars for how much food they give you for the price. I didn't care for it much. The main course of salmon I ordered was just plain gross. The veggies are out of a can and are pretty gross as well. My fiance loved the prime rib and I think that is what most people go for. And the huge amount of food they give you....soup, salad, main, and desert. crazy.

    (2)

  • Julie F.

    It's still a deal BUT the food is just okay to me. We came back and we didn't drink (last time we were here we were really drunk) and had the prime rib again and got to try their ravioli. The raviolis were delicious! Prime rib was good, just not super tasty. And also as I was eating the mashed potatoes I took a big bite (after already eating some) and the potatoes were so hot it burned my tongue and roof of my mouth. That one "hot spot" just tells me that it was nuked. Probably all of it was. Ugh.

    (3)

  • Todd Y.

    Great food. Place feels like going to my grandparents and having a great family dinner.

    (5)

  • Judea E.

    Well, I would have liked to write a great review, but unfortunately, I never could get anyone to take the time to take my reservation. The woman on the phone was rude and made me call back 3 times because she was too busy to talk to me! Maybe it's because they are great. I'll never know though because I don't patronize places who treat potential customers with such curt and rude behavior. Common courtesy goes a long way in my book. Maybe being cheap in cost gives them the right to be dismissive. I'd rather pay more and be treated courteously...

    (1)

  • Sal M.

    First time there , but won't be the last!!! Very good family style. Started with the soup , was very good, reminded me of my grandmothers. Then salad and then stuffed chicken with barley and all u can eat sourdough bread . Then got the veal with veggies and potatoes , then a little Sunday . I was stuffed and well worth it. Can't wait for a Sunday and try prime rib.

    (5)

  • Ron L.

    Came here last night for a birthday dinner. Not my first choice, but after having a meal there the experience was actually rather nice. The place is more of a dive, but the food is decent, the price is right and it is just packed with people. This place is about lots of food for about 20 to 30 bucks. They start you off with salad, soup and bread. Shortly after that a piece of chicken appetizer just so you can get a warmed up for the main course. I had the rack of lamb and it was an entire rack! Not just the 3 or 4 pieces that most more expensive places serve. Cooked perfectly and delicious. The side and garnish was nothing to rave about, but good enough. Then at the end they top it off with a scoop of ice cream. Leaving this place I was officially stuffed. Yum!

    (4)

  • Kay F.

    I came here last night with my family. It was Friday night so it was clam chowder! The clam chowder was not good, it was tomato soup that tasted like potatoes and there were barely any clams! Minus the clam chowder, this place would've been 5 stars. I had prime rib and it was really good! I have had better, but for double that price! I had a pretty big slice and it was tasty! We will definitely be back! The shrimp salad was also delicious! I don't know what kind of sauce they used on the salad but it was really good!

    (4)

  • hugh l.

    First timer today n the food was great! Had prime rib rare and my friend got the lamb chops. Prime rib was very good, very close to hope and it was huge. The chicken appetizers was delicious..loved it. Sides were not all that but who cares ..Haha. They give u ice cream too. Dinner for 2 came out to 56 bucks. Super deal here.

    (5)

  • Daniel B.

    So my mother called earlier today to see if we would need a reservation for four people for my sisters birthday. They told us no just to come in and we would be fine. When we arrived we were told that we could not be accommodated. When we explained the conversation that was had over the phone they said we still couldn't be let in. Thanks garden club for ruining our families plans.

    (1)

  • Rick W.

    I have been here several times and have always had excellent meals until today. We had the fried Prawns, 2 people had the blackened Catfish and I had the NY Steak. Everything was fine except for my steak. The cook must have searched for the worse cut of meat he had.because 1/3 of the steak was gristle. The good parts of the meat were cooked perfectly and it was tender but the bad parts really ruined my lunch. I will never order a steak there again and stick to the fish dishes. Since the lunch was mostly good I gave it 3 stars.

    (3)

  • Norman S.

    Extremely filling food for a reasonable price. I don't think the flavors are exactly out of this world, except the prime rib is really good, but you get a LOT of food for the $25-30 you're spending. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as viewed from another perspective), the sheer mass of food prevents me from eating here too often. Recommended: Prime rib, medium rare.

    (4)

  • Sandra C.

    Came here on a Saturday and had a wonderful experience. The wait was not to long and although the outside can be a little sore on the eyes the inside is homey and comfortable. We had the prime rib and the new york steak both were perfect cuts of meat. The only drawback for me was the shrimp salad, not to say it wasn't good just not for me. Had a strange mayonnaise ketchup sauce? However, for all you get for the price I don't mind overlooking the salad. Overall this is a great place and will definitely be coming again!

    (5)

  • Vivian L.

    This place is an establishment and I'm glad I was able to go. We went on a week day night so it wasn't packed compared to a weekend night. It's a great deal for the amount of food that you get. The waitresses are old school and really nice. It's a family style place so you share the bread, salad, and soup. The appetizer changes depending on the day of the week. When we went, we got stuffed chicken. By the time the prime rib came, half of us were full and had to take it home. They don't skimp on the food, there's plenty of history there, so go check it out!

    (4)

  • Nicole L.

    love this place! it has great pricing, great food, and great service. I love how they give you soup or salad in the beginning! i ordered the lamb, and my friend ordered the prime rib and it was so yummy. i did not have any complaints. i also enjoyed the ice cream that comes with your meal. i can't wait to go back! i like how they change the menu every day. (i'm writing my first 5 star review - no complaints)

    (5)

  • Victoria M.

    My husband and I are regular customers of the Garden Club. The food is great. Very old school Italian. The only issue I have is a server named Toni. She is very rude, ghetto and steals customers from other servers. Just last week we saw her yell at another server saying, "They're MY customers". When she waits on us, we barely give her 10%.

    (2)

  • Mike C.

    Don't want to eat chain food? Shopping in or around the Hickey Blvd. Costco and looking for dinner? Well, this is THE place to go! After seeing the 'City of Colma' sign and driving down a couple blocks on Mission Road, you'll see a small strip mall with a Domino's and laundromat. On the far right corner space, you'll see a spot that looks like a 1960's bar that your dad or uncle would likely be getting an after-work drink. It reminds me of dining in central Wisconsin when I used to fly there annually for work. When I arrived on a recent Friday evening, I waited for a Bentley to back out of a space before seizing a front door space... different demographic from what you'd expect here! Upon entering, you'll see the bar with the Giants' or A's games going. The hostess gave us a choice of bar area or dining room seating so we chose the latter. Arriving just after 6 pm, it was just a little over half full. Grabbing a takeout menu from an earlier meal here, I knew that the Friday specials were Combo shrimp salad and Clam chowder. After short deliberation, I couldn't stray from their signature prime rib, medium rare please. First came the soup, which disappointed one in our dining group as he expected a New England version (white, thick, and creamy). It is more of a Manhattan style, but, more accurately, it is basically a Minestrone with chopped clams. The meals are served family style as our waitress ladled soup into our four bowls. There was enough for seconds for everyone. Next came the shrimp salad, also served family style. It was nicely dressed and it was a great plus that the shrimp weren't those tiny bay shrimp that I don't particularly enjoy. A short while later, our entrees arrived and, no, we were not disappointed. My prime rib dinner came with vegetables (combination of string beans, cauliflower, and carrots) and potatoes (oven roasted chunks). Our waitress kindly offered us horseradish which was a good mix of the creamy and spicy versions, adding a nice punch to every bite. My friends enjoyed their respective meals (rack of lamb - generous portions with a small container of mint jelly, prime rib, rare - delivered as requested, and salmon - tender and still moist). For dessert, we all chose Spumoni, a rarity these days with the current gourmet ice cream trend (Basque Cultural Center only other that comes to mind). The prices have gone up some in the past few years as the prime rib meal is now $21.95 and the rack of lamb is $23.95, but, considering the portions and food quality, it's still a bargain. The dining room had a mix of work friends, young families, senior and middle-aged couples. No, this is not special event spot, unless you're throwing a dinner for those grandparents who want to ensure that you get BANG for your BUCKS. For a simple family dinner, it more than does the job here.

    (4)

  • Gale H.

    A walk back in time. Complete dinners: soup, salad, (family style) , bread and butter, yummy ravioli , entrees like prime rib and big portion of juicy salmon, from $17.95 to $21.95! Place not updated from the 60's...old time bar, run down exterior... Time warp ambiance, BUT friendly service and good food for the price!

    (4)

  • john C.

    Good food ( had the prime rib, it's was juicy), good price, but felt a little rushed when it came to the service. Overall good for a 5 course meal.

    (4)

  • Anthony X.

    So, I was kind of sad that when I went inside I didn't see old school Italian mobsters playing cards in an empty restaurant. Looked like a mob front from the outside. Maybe Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro was just off that day. That being said, don't judge the front of this place by it's appearance. It's a cool little hole in the wall that's been there forever. By that I mean I've lived in South San Francisco all my life and driven past this place for 3 decades and have only recently gone inside. Now, to correct a couple things: I've stated "divey" as the description of this place but I mean that in a very endearing way. It's good food, good customer service without all the pomp and circumstance. Also, I mentioned that they don't take reservations... that's only true with small parties. If you have a large party (I can't remember how large) then they will take your reservation. A quick confirmation to what everyone else is probably saying about pricing: per person meals run about 23/person not including drinks. Sodas aren't bottomless. Alcoholic drinks are through the roof and I don't recommend purchasing them as my White Russian drink was poorly made. I didn't feel that was enough to warrant a 4-star rating though. Now. Let's get to the good part. I love steak. I mean, I LOVE steak and this place has it in spades. Their prime rib was fantastic but I'm getting ahead of myself. Meals are inclusive to 4 courses: soup, salad, entree, and dessert. The soup and salad (which are very good) are served family style with enough to feed everyone in the party and then some. The dessert is just enough to satisfy you after a big meal and satiate your sweet tooth (or teeth if you've got many like me). The entree (to which I've only had the prime rib) has (for the past 3 times I've been there) been fantastic. When I say medium rare, I want to satisfy the werewolf in me and I've never been let down. It's a huge portion of dinosaur with veggies and potatoes in case a fat slab of meat didn't quite fill you up. Words can't describe what your taste buds should bask in. Let me talk about the inside atmosphere for a second though. It almost deserves a 4-star rating as it does feel like a throwback from the 70's. The dining area is small and so are the booths. The booths are really only meant to accommodate 4. There are no windows and the noise level is moderate to loud. It's not a "first date" kind of place. All that being said... it works for this place. I don't know how but it adds instead of subtracts. It makes you focus on the most important thing... the food. My sister-in-law is a SF snob foodie. She wants the hipster ambiance with the cool kids and their pumped up kicks and iPhons. She turned her nose up at the place until she ate the food. I'll say... she has gone back since and greatly enjoyed herself. One quick note: I will eat prime rib anytime of the day. While Garden Club is open for lunch, they do not serve prime rib. They do serve a pretty good cut of non-prime rib steak though on the lunch menu. Also, bribery to get them to cook prime rib during lunch hours also does not work.

    (5)

  • Lisa N.

    Full bar. 5 course meal for $20. That's solid. (Def not the best 'anything' I've ever had, but for the price it was really good.)

    (4)

  • Alli Q.

    This is my grandparents favorite spot. You get a ton of food and it's pretty delicious. It's also a good place to come for big groups and families (provided that you make a reservation in advance. It gets pretty busy). But you'd never guess any of this from the outside so don't be afraid when you first come. I think it's family run or at least run by a pretty tight group that are always there. We are usually here on Saturday's (the menu is a bit different everyday). Here's a general outline of our typical monstrous meal at the Garden Club: Bread Minestrone soup Shrimp/Bean salad Entree (usually includes potatoes and veggies) Ice cream I recommend the prime rib or the rack of lamb. But you'll probably be full before your entree even arrives.

    (4)

  • Brenda A.

    Talk about VALUE! Once you get over the fact that it looks dumpy on the outside (the sign is yellowed from being so old) and also not too impressive inside (a bit musky, maybe due to the fact that there are no windows), this place is great. It offers generous portions and friendly service, and the taste of the food actually rather satisfactory. Of course, don't be expecting your $24 five course dinner to have $$$$-equivalent tasting prime rib, but it's still pretty juicy and tasty. They start you off with piping hot sourdough bread. Next they serve soup, salad and ravioli family style, and the portions to share are so big. It would be quite surprising if you weren't already half full by the time your entree comes out. The meal doubles as my lunch tomorrow. The dessert at the end was a nice finish. This is probably not the ideal place to take a love interest if you want to impress them, unless your person finds your economical choices and frugality sexy. Most definitely a place to take your love interest after you have a buncha kids. I will return.

    (4)

  • Rina C.

    the course meal here is really good price. there were some flaws but I am willing to over look it since it's cheap. -big bowl of soup to share for two (temp not hot enough) -shrimp salad (lots of shrimps) -lamb is so good that I didn't care about the manner and just grab it and chew on the bones (love it that it come with mint jelly) -spumoni ice cream to finish it up is great! Will come back again!

    (5)

  • Jason Y.

    All I can say is that this place is pretty sweet. Even though the atmosphere feels a little old and lacking like a cafeteria, I didn't come to this place for that reason. I came for their $20 four course meal. It's always nice being able to have some tomato bisque, shrimp salad, prime rib, and dessert. Even though I have read that the waitresses are old and rude to Asian customers, I never got one sense of that when I was here. Maybe it's because I didn't come here looking like a bum in the first place like many others have when I was here. Once again it brings me to the utter amazement of how so many so called 'foodies' and yelpers are pretty much sloppy bums who consider themselves a self proclaimed expect when it comes to food and ambiance.

    (4)

  • Shirley N.

    I have to confess. One friend mentioned this place awhile back. Said cheap and plenty. Well. It wasn't until a couple of other friends did a check in on FB that it peaked my interest. A friend and I came for lunch today. Told our server it was our first visit. She said dinner is better but that lunch is good too. She suggested we choose from the specials rather than the standard menu. I ordered the chicken enchilada and chile relleno combo. Two enchiladas and one relleno with beans and rice. Very very hearty. Came with vegetable soup. Lots of veggies in the soup. I could only est half my meal. Got a doggie bag. Great sourdough French bread. The place is located in a strip mall. Red and white checkered board table cloth. You enter through the bar and walk to the back into the dining room. No windows. Kind of a hole in the wall place where the locals go to eat. Tab inc tax and tip $15 p/p.

    (4)

  • Meg S.

    Service is great, very old school and a family style place! My favorite is their Sunday menu!! I wouldnt change a thing about this joint ...

    (5)

  • Dyann M.

    Took visiting family to dinner last night. Food was excellent. Had a wait time of 45 minutes, however great personality of bartender made the time go by quickly. Recommend this place to everyone looking for a great spot for dinner & make sure to stop for a cocktail with their nice bartender Susie.

    (4)

  • Bill L.

    Sunday night arrived early (430pm). Three of us. Was seated promptly. Ordered the new york steak, leg of lamb, and the petrale. we bypassed the scalone - a combination of scallops and abalone. The traditionals were all fine - soup, and salad. Opted to boxed the ravioli so we could eat our main dish. The steak and fish were all demolished. The leg of lamb was too good and too large. We walked very happy and will be coming back and ahead of the crowds. Note: the hostess had an off night. we asked her what scalone was and she simply told us to ask the waitress; we also noticed she kept customers waiting in the bar with a number of tables open - these were not reserved.

    (4)

  • Miranda S.

    My favorite restaurant of all time, incredibly good food and family service :) My favorites are the prime rib, minestrone soup, salad de jour, stuffed chicken and chocolate sundae!

    (5)

  • Harriet W.

    I can't believe this place isn't that well known!!! But anyway, came here with my boyfriend and his friends since they were raving about the cheap and pretty damn good prime rib!! So from the outside, it looks pretty shaddy, like it'd be a strip club inside..... BUUUUT it's not what you think. Lol Delicious food awaits inside! So don't hestitate to go in! haha So for around $20, I was served a big pot of soup for 4 people (enough for 2 bowls each person to go around), and the soup changes every day of the week. Then they give you a dish of shrimp salad to share also, no worries, it's also enough for everyone to share! Remember, sharing is caring, so don't grab your fork and claim everything. Oh yes, they also have some bread too, but they're not toasted or anything, but I'm not complaining with everything else that comes with our meal. When you guys are done, they'll finally serve you your main course! I got a prime rib in medium, and the sauce was sooo DELICIOUS! And so were the potatoes on the side, nom nom nom nom. They had a serving of string beans on the side too, but I'm like a kid and pushed it aside, since I'm picky about my veggies. The rack of lambs looked pretty damn good too, but none of us in the table got it. So maybe next time. Also, they serve you a scoop of ice-cream or vanilla tapioca in the end, your choice. Man, that was the best $20 spent. Ever. if you don't feel like spending $60 on prime rib at other places like House of Prime Rib, I suggest Garden Club, the BEST alternative. I cannot wait to go back again.

    (5)

  • Doro C.

    The atmosphere might look a little like bingo club, but don't let that fool you!! Unlimited bread and soup, then off to the salad/stuff chicken (depends what day you go), then to the prime rib, and last, the dessert..... O___O !!! OMG GOOOOODDD!!! P.S... I came here 2 times last January... and still wanted to go more!

    (5)

  • Emilio G.

    Good tasting family style American Italian cooking. Meals include soup, salad, ravioli and desert. You get a choice of seven entrees. None were vegetarian but our server asked the cook if he could make something. They prepared pasta on a cream sauce. The serve staff was very friendly and attentive. Only complaint was my green beans came out of can. We were all happy and would come back.

    (4)

  • Sihing Andy H.

    This place is the best!!! If you do not like this place, you are either not human, or a vegetarian.

    (5)

  • Peter L.

    Garden Club jadeROCKs for good food, and price! Came on a Sunday when the Chinese took over!!! I had read many reviews where "the customers were mainly/all older White folks", but on this night older Chinese folks stormed the place! The Sunday set menu is Soup, Salad, Ravoli, Entree and Dessert! Excellent service - the staff was VERY friendly, quick and efficient. Water filled throughout dinner. I did notice the older female waitress, who was doing the center family tables, wasn't as "nice" tho. Started with Sourdough and Bread Minestrone soup - A HUGE bowl of soup came out first. Pretty good if you were eating thru a tube as everything was on the really soft side. Easily 10 servings! yelp.com/biz_photos/Gq9h… Bean Salad was decent, but a bit over dressed. Croutons stole the show on the salad! yelp.com/biz_photos/Gq9h… Beef Ravioli - 14 or 15 OM*G HUGE raviolis with meat sauce came out.. This could have been an entree for two ALONE! Delicious goodness! When the waitstaff came to pick it up he kindly asked if we wanted to box up the left overs! Hell yes! A great lunch the next day! yelp.com/biz_photos/Gq9h… Rack of Lamb - $23.95 - Garlic crust was excellent and the meat was not gamey at all. Delicious. My sis even "had a little lamb" :P yelp.com/biz_photos/Gq9h… The Prime Rib - $19.95 - was juicy and tender! Easily 12oz-14oz of meat! yelp.com/biz_photos/Gq9h… Seafood Combo - $17.95 - was a fillet, 2 deep fried shrimp and 6 deep fried baby scallops. Fillet was very good, but the deep fried crust was too hard. yelp.com/biz_photos/Gq9h… Entrees cam with potato and canned green beans - it's fine, but I'm not there for the sides :) For Dessert - choice of Orange Sorbet (great way to end the meal), Spumoni (BIN liked it but I thought it was weird), Tapocia Pudding and Chocolate Sundae (Nom Nom Nom) yelp.com/biz_photos/Gq9h… We had plenty of left overs as NO ONE was able to finish their entree! Skip the Seafood, but GET the Prime Rib and definitely the LAMB!

    (5)

  • James M.

    For the price, this place is a great spot. I would say the food is high end home style Italian food. The vegetable soup was very hearty and tasty. The shrimp salad had tons of shrimp an imitation crab, but there was just a bit too much dressing. The rack of lamb was very good, yet a touch more done than requested. Prime rib was decent yet a bit tough. The veal scaloppini was a good pick. All the entries were large portions. The staff were all extremely friendly, just attentive enough, and quite accommodating. The place was full. Don't come expecting gourmet, but rather good food and a whole lot of it for a very reasonable price. I would go here again.

    (3)

  • Andi I.

    COME HUNGRY!!!!! Friend took me here for random dinner I wasnt expecting much from the place because the place looks so run down. There's a bar on one side and the other side is the dining area. I felt out of place, like i walked into some bar I wasnt suppose to enter $19.95 for 5 couse meal!?!? WTF!!?!?!? How does this place make any money!?!! I rememeber getting... unlimited bread salad veggie soup stuffed ravioli prime rib (Pretty damn juicy) ice cream for dessert. Gluttony to the max Havent been back in a while because i personally dont ever want to eat that much anymore. But holy crap! What a meal!! dont expect some 5star dining type of quality food but IMHO, it just down right good eating

    (4)

  • Quality A.

    This is one of the hardest things to write. I try to write only positive things or if its a bad experience then I try to write nothing at all. But the line is crossed when I experience bad service all together. That night was tonight. I brought my mom here for an early Mother's Day because of scheduling conflict so I thought that it would be a nice experience to take her here and enjoy some prime rib. The place is dingily lit and you have to walk through a dark bar area to get to the dining room. It was only my second time here and I didnt know we werent suppose to wait near the dining entrance and this older blond screams at me flailing my hands around for me to back out of the dining area and to get back into the bar. she treated me as if she was a police officer dealing with a criminal than a waitress dealing with a patron. To make a long story short, two old crones that were serving that night, a blond and a sarcastic one with purple tinged hair were short in answer, poor in service and played a lot of passive agressive waitress games with us. My prime rib was not cooked well done it was cooked medium throughout and there was no crust at all. My moms had a crispy outer crust and was cooked better than mine. The waitress with purple hair asked me three times what i ordered for dessert and still got it wrong, the smirk on her face made me think she did it on purpose. In this age of digital reviews and cutting edge technology places that enjoy the money flowing from tech to feed us and make a profit at the same time...its sad to see that this decrepit fossil of a restaurant if I can call it that survives today, especially with the crappy way that these crones treat their customers. Sure they were nice to some, but if they dont like how you look or dress or talk, or a hair might be laying across their arse the wrong way- then they will have a bad attitude like they did with my mom and I tonight. And that is BAD for business especially for tech writers like myself who love to give good reviews for a living. Unfortunately, this place is a major FAIL and largely because of the crones that serve the food there + the decrepit cave like conditions of the restaurant. Im sure Gordon Ramsey would tear this place down and fire the staff if they did not change their evil ways. If the crone waitresses dont like people, and especially diverse people that dress nicely and are well mannered, perhaps they should retire and let some fresh faces provide service with a smile and candor. The Garden Club ruined my Mothers Day 2014, and so let this be a testement of the bad service we recieved today. This place is a real bad dump. Go check out other diners around the area, some place with class becausr this place is not the spot.

    (1)

  • Dick T.

    Since finding this gem, we've eaten here four times in less than 2-months for dinner (and we've lived in South City for 15-years!). Yes, you walk into a bar not realizing the restaurant is towards the back wall and then to the left (you'll sign in with the hostess). The dining area is dark and old but they're been here for over 40-years. You can't beat the price but you can't compare them with The House of Prime Rib or other fine-dining establishment which will undoubtedly charge you 2X-3X more. We love the service and food. They are super busy so have all of your parties there before seating. Meats are done extremely well (prime rib, veal, lamb), free bread, salad, soup and dessert (desserts are just a quick treat - nothing to brag about) but they're all included in one price. Stop whining about the negatives (neighborhood, 18% tip on large parties, etc.) or pay 2-3 times more elsewhere. Reservations are for 5 or more people.

    (5)

  • Linda N.

    Ok, I must admit, the 5 course meal for $17-23 really caught my attention. When entering Garden Club, you might look puzzled and wonder if you walked into the wrong place. It's a bar on one side and restaurant on the other. There are booths on the sides and picnic table style seating in the center of the room. Bread- I think it was soudough; It's a filler so I didn't bother Soup- Big bowl of soup with veggies; enough for seconds (among 5 people) Salad- lettuce, beans, chickpeas, topped with a load of shrimp Prime Rib dinner- While everyone asked for medium rare, I asked for medium. I wanted it pink but when it came out, it was slightly pink only in the center making it very difficult to chew. The entree included sliced potatoes and what looked like frozen veggies Ice Cream Sundae- Can't go wrong with ice cream but I felt like it was missing chopped almonds or something Overall, an ok meal. It was super disappointed with my over cooked meat. My bf saw how disatisfied I was gave me a piece of his meat...prime rib that is.

    (3)

  • Alexander T.

    The restaurant is located in a strip mall next to a 7/11. Not exactly the nicest looking places. But wow. The prime rib dinner is amazing for the price. The portions are enormous. For around 23 bucks I got bread, an huge bowl of soup, a salad, a pasta dish, prime rib with mashed potatoes/vegetables, and a choice of dessert.

    (5)

  • Rod W.

    First time there. The booths are too small for a party of 5. When the soup arrived right away I was feeling rushed to eat. The soup was taken away pretty fast. The salad was good but could use some beets and the dressing was more vinegar and too tart. I ordered the Veal Cutlet with no sauce. It came out too brown and when I cut it and turned it over the other side was completely black! The Hostess saw it and asked if I ordered the Blackened Catfish! Needless to say she took it away and I ordered the Prime Rib medium rare. It came out just right but the sides of mashed potatoes and green beans were not of equal portions. I got a little scoop of mashed potatoes and a huge portion of veggies. One of the biggest downfalls besides feeling rushed to eat is there is NO FREE REFILLS on soda!!! At $2 a glass it should be free soda refills like many other restaurants. Overall it was good and I would go back but the wait time is pretty long.

    (3)

  • LZ T.

    Love this place! It's very homie. It's open Wednesday - Sunday. Make sure you get here early for dinner because the wait can be long. They serve you each course at a time. You can't go wrong with any of the food on the menu. I mean everything is just really down home good! Since I am a meat lover, I always recommend the prime rib or the New York steak. Service can but slow but just sit back and relax, you're food will be coming. Oh yeah, home made ravioli is to die for only on Wednesday and Sunday only. By the way, don't judge this place by its cover. There's no window here and from the outside, it looks like a really old school building.

    (5)

  • Morris C.

    I've been here twice now, once for dinner and once for lunch. They don't provide prime rib for lunch. =( So I had the prime rib for dinner, and I thoroughly enjoyed every piece of it. I'm not too much of a fan of the whole marblized meats so I cut off the large parts of the fats. The portion of it is huge, it covers a lot of the ovular dish. I ordered the stack of lamb ribs for lunch and though I was impressed by the quality of it, I was not impressed by the quantity. The size was very small for providing ~6-7 pieces of ribs, all attached to a small piece of meat, served with mashed potatoes and carrot with an ~ok-good split pea soup. I would recommend the prime rib and NY steak (I heard it was good, served with mashed potatoes and fries) if possible. If they took away their TVs, you'd feel like you're in an old school italian-esque diner. pretty cool feeling to be in an un-modernized restaurant! WARNING: There is a green jello they provide after the stack of lamb ribs. it isn't lime, it's very spearminty. it felt like swallowing toothpaste, but I'm sure the intent was to minimize the smell of garlic breath. Enjoy! Morris

    (4)

  • Bennett G.

    A really bad dinner. The prime rib was chewy. I thought I was chewing gum. And so much salt , I started to choke. This place has no concept of a restaurant business. So if you want high blood pressure , just eat here..

    (1)

  • R S.

    great place! The food is great here the portion size is well worth the price. I had the prime rib, i asked for it to be medium rare but it was a but more on the medium side which was fine because the tenderness and flavor well made up for it. The waitress and staff was just as great.

    (4)

  • Dao L.

    Good food for the value. ~$26 for essentially a four course meal: soup, salad, appetizer, main course and small desert. It is fixed menu depending on the day. Tried the steak - only average. Lamb is good but the most popular and best dish is the prime rib.

    (4)

  • Stephanie C.

    Wow, I can't believe people actually like this place! The food is terrible as well as the old fashion atmosphere...if you like frozen veggies, and old fashioned food, you'll love it but Gordon Ramsey would have a field day at this place.

    (1)

  • Jer W.

    I went here with my friends on 3-1-14 6pm'sh and waited at the bar, ordered a heinenken $4, we waited until one of the booths were available. I ordered the prime rib au jus, shrimp salad, huge bowl of minestrone soup, also include bread/butter, Italian ice cream, they were all good with large portions. Service was attentive.

    (4)

  • Ken K.

    On the outside, Garden Club looks like a dark seedy bar...like a transplant off the Vegas strip from the 1950s. When you walk in, there's a long bar to the right. On a Saturday night, the bar stools are all taken up....by retirees, like they just walked out of a Vegas casino...or some wiseguys that are reminiscing about their former glory days. Walk a little further down towards the end and there's the bright modest dining room. And inside you'll be treated to a super value multi course family style down home American meal (with an Italian American slant). Reservations are taken if you have a party of 5 or more. Otherwise on a weekend, you need to beat the grannies to it once they open the doors for lunch or dinner (dinner starts at 5). We got here a little after 5 and the bar and dining room were already 70% full. Mind you, not everyone eating is a retiree, but if you are towards there in age, this place will make you feel at home (and if not, the vibe will make you feel old but comfortable). The best thing is that everyone gets the same thing (other than the entree), so it's not like Ultimate Fighting Championship where you have to strike down the granny and A$N zombies at Kome Sushi Buffet to score the sea urchin sashimi gold nuggets for leveling up. Our server was also very very up there in age, fast efficient, and no nonsense. Bless her for carrying on this tradition for years. Within minutes of seating come the menus, and after that the room temperature chewy sourdough like bread, with self help butter on the table (which looks on the sad side along with the powered parmesean). Then comes a big bowl of vegetable soup (similar to minestrone) with a mild spice kick...the good part is that the soup is not watered down like other places. It's family style so scoop your refills as needed. The soup, should it have a bit of a vinegar accent with more pepper...might almost remind one of the Hong Kong style Russian Borscht at some of the older HK style western restaurants...but not quite. I hear the ravioli (which comes with the meal) is splendid, although it is on certain days of the week only (Wed and Sun?) Then comes your entree, and while the green beans and scalloped potatoes aren't high end by any means, but delicious enough. The prime rib is tastier than say Sizzler's despite the general quality of the meat (the marinade/salt rub and au jus tasted very good), and even better than those cheap prime rib meals at some Chinatown HK style western restaurants, and the salmon meuniere is grilled very well where the inside is still moist and you can still yet taste a bit of fish fat. If you approach all of this with a budget minded framework, the value you get is literally laughable (in a great way). It's like you hit the jackpot. I'm not a retiree, but I certainly feel like a grey haired winner coming here....not that I am looking forward to retiring.

    (4)

  • BellaLissa B.

    Hi there, So in this episode, we find our friends back at The Garden Club for FRIDAY dinner. They open for dinner at 4:30 so being the Smarty Pants I am known to be I made a reservation for 5:00pm and skipped out of work "early" at 4:00pm HA! Funny thing, when I called to make a reservation on Thursday morning for Friday afternoon the man who answered the phone told me I would have to call back later because he didn't know if someone else (maybe the regular person who takes reservations) had other reservations pending...and I would need to talk with her ...no reservation. so guess what, I did call back "later" and guess what ...no answer. Okay I thought, I'm going to call back really later, like tomorrow. So Friday morning I called and made a 5:00pm reservation ..this one kept trying to make the reservation for Saturday at 5:00pm but finally AHHH we connected on a spiritual level and she penciled me in with one WARNING ..."you will be seated at a booth with a chair" ...okay I'm good with that (same as last time Lady). We arrived right on time, gave the door person my name proudly and they told me they were sorry but they didn't have the table ready...(the place was pretty sparse) we thought ...okay we will wait. (My niece helped herself to a candy bar left on a table in a Halloween pumpkin...kids!) YAY our table is ready now. We were led to the very last most cramped booth in the back of the restaurant. Well what the heck, we came for the FOOD right? The waitress came, she was serious and in a hurry. We ordered a couple of glasses of wine and had made our choice for dinner but she ran away while we were still talking...okay....now I'm getting a ....little um...um. okay. So she came back with the two tiny glasses of wine and we made our order, my sister wanted to split a plate with her daughter who is 11 years old...point of info, they charge 8.95 to split a plate...might as well order right? Okay I guess that's a pretty standard thing BUT the waitress did not tell us that up front. and it makes the next item even more ridiculous ...see if you agree. My sister doesn't eat fish or seafood, the soup of the day was "Manhatten Clam Chowder" so she very politely asked if there was a non-fish alternative explaining that she doesn't eat fish and the waitress snapped a quick NO and shook her head no for emphasis while not even looking up ....now ...I'm not happy because there is ALWAYS something they can and should do to make their customers happy, NO is not the answer you want to hear when you are paying for a service and food. The saving grace is that the soup they brought, in spite of it's name, didn't have a clam in sight of if there was a clam in there, it didn't change the nature of the soup which was a very very cooked down minestrone. In fact I told my non-seafood eating sister to try it and she ate some without detecting any clam whatsoever! So in a way it worked out..of course ...if you DO eat seafood, you would wonder where the clams were, but suffice to say I was happy that we could all enjoy a bowl of soup. The salad of the day was going to be served with these little shrimp all over it, so we asked the same waitress if she would be able to bring a separate salad without the shrimp...I held my breath because I KNOW they put those shrimp on after the pile up lettuce on the plate...she said she would bring a separate plate without shrimp for my sister...whew. So..for the sake of having a nice dinner out, my parents are getting older and the entire object was to take some time and have a nice dinner to talk and break bread together I just ignored that but I knew I would write it out here later. hee! Oh forgot to mention the bread which was fresh and great, they brought that before the soup and the guy who helps the waitress was smiling and very friendly, a joy. salad with little shrimp (along with the one without shrimp for sis) came along and ...okay, it was fine, no complaint we are chatting and eating...what's with the gnats??? gnats gnats gnats very annoying and to be quite honest when I see those I am always suspicious of what is going on or not going on in the kitchen. Not happy with gnats. The food was served, I got grilled salmon, my dad got fried catfish, my mom got fried prawns, my sister and her daughter split a plate of veal. potatoes so overcooked mush, vegetables were peas and green beans mixed ..appeared to come right out of one of those industrial size cans, drab and very lifeless. You get lots of them though. Salmon okay, 4 fried "prawns" veal and catfish meh. Tab came to about $100 + tip which my father picked up and he is generous, I did not ask because we were taught that if you are not paying, it's none of your business. I have to say I was very much less enamored this time around, in my opinon, service was atrocious, bordering on rude most certainly SLOW and not in a good mindful way, more like "I think they forgot about us"

    (2)

  • Heather L.

    After seeing all the pics of the food on Facebook, I decided I needed to try this place. I forgot that I went there years ago and back then it was horrible. Upon arrival I told the hostess we were here for our reservation. One of the servers told her to give us a table that was being set up but she said no. I really didn't know what to think because it didn't feel like a real restaurant to me. If felt more like a dive bar with a room for people to eat in. There are no windows in the restaurant. Okay on with the review. We were seated after waiting a good 15 minutes. We sat down and pretty much got served our giant bowl of vegetable soup for the table to share. It was okay but not great. After a long wait, we then got our shrimp salad which was heavy on the dressing. We all thought it was pretty good. We had to ask for bread which we didn't get too much of. There was a long break until we got our meals. Three of us had the prime rib and it was good. The veggies that came with it were not impressive. Mashed potatoes with no gravy also came with our meal. My brother in law enjoyed his rack of lamb. My mother in law was not happy with her veal scappolini. She said it was way too salty. Next came dessert with choices of ice creams. The noise level of this restaurant is not inviting to me. The other patrons were loud with screaming children and obnoxious adults making rude comments. So if you're trying to impress someone. This is not the place to be.

    (3)

  • Monelle A.

    I have a special place in my heart for South San Francisco, but let's be honest. You're not going to find any Michelin-worthy restaurants there. That's why i was surprised to see a a 4-star reviewed restaurant in a plaza where the flashiest thing is the large Salvation Army. From the outside, it looks like one of those dingy, neighborhood dive bars where regulars show up at 9am. My bf and I were really intrigued by this place and decided to check it out. Upon entering, we found ourselves in a dim, sparsely occupied bar. Tip: Don't stand there like an obvious newbie until half the bar points you in the direction of the dining room. Walk through the bar and you'll find the dining room on the left. For a sunday night, it was packed and there was an abundance of *ahem* older patrons with blue, white, and grey hair. Hmmm, this was going to be interesting. The decor was Christmas... in April. I guess they save time by leaving up the Christmas decorations year-round? Garden Club offers a set, multi-course menu: soup, salad, pasta, entree with steamed veggies, dessert for about $24-25 per person I don't remember the salad, but the minestrone soup was served family-style and was delicious: a rich tomato broth with veggies. I could've left at this point and felt satisfied from the soup and sourdough bread alone, and the pasta and entree were still to arrive! Cheese ravioli in a tomato sauce came next and was plain. Reminds me of something from a Chef Boyardee can. My boyfriend and I both had prime rib. It was pretty good, but nothing to rave about. House of Prime Rib is still king for prime rib. Dessert: ice cream / sherbet / tapioca. Nothing you couldn't get at Rite-Aid. Overall: extremely good value for what is included in the meal, but the food did not have any WOW factor and was largely unremarkable.

    (3)

  • kyra d.

    Garden Club get rid of your cranky waitresses and hire me instead! After the search for a good steakhouse that's accessible and affordable, we've finally found Garden Club. Definitely love their New York Steak Dinner, $20 bucks for a whole course of soup, salad, ravioli and ice cream, what a great deal! The only downfall is that you have to get to deal with waitresses who are cold and stiff, just like their bread. Seriously, the servers here are as cranky as can be! We do love this place but don't want to deal with servers who think that you are in their mercy when you dine here. I thought of calling to have my NY Steak for for pick-up to avoid the ladies but I believe they purposely had their phone off the hook. NY Steak Dinner hands down good! WAITRESSES, EPIC FAIL!

    (3)

  • R R.

    Came here with my girlfriend at 6pm on a Thursday night. I loved my overall experience here! Our waitress, Cara, was very attentive and polite. She was constantly checking up on our table to make sure everything was okay. I would definitely recommend this place to others because the prime rib is to die for! Our entree came with minestrone soup, bread, salad, and stuffed chicken! So you definitely get your money's worth when eating here. Thank you cara for your great customer service!

    (5)

  • Ben L.

    at first i was hesitant being with 2 year old twins. i didn't know if they would accommodate to our needs and if we would bother the regulars. to my surprise they had everything set up for us before we got to the table. a booster seat and a high chair was waiting for my twins. i got the veal which was delicious until it sat a while and the breaded outside became a bit harder than i liked and we sort of shared each other's food so i also had salmon, prime rib and the new york steak. out of all those things i would definitely without a doubt recommend not suggest but highly recommend the PRIME RIB at medium rare. it was very tasty and tender with juices running with each bite. the mash that come with it is okay but the veggies can be improved upon. maybe instead of palin peas have some sort of spinach. overall it was great food with great friends. thanks K/G for setting it up.

    (4)

  • Karen W.

    Great family style dinners for under $20! And you get soup, bread and butter, salad, entree and dessert! The service is friendly and quick and since we were celebrating a birthday, they acknowledged the birthday boy with a candle in his dessert and singing Happy Birthday.

    (4)

  • Natalie W.

    Doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's one of the only few family-style American/Italian restaurants left that serve you many courses for only $20 and up! The prime rib is so juicy, delectable, and SO WORTH IT. You get a huge bowl of soup to share, salad, and on Sundays and Wednesdays you get ravioli! I love ravioli, and these are really good. At the end of the dinner, you get a scoop of ice cream. I always get Spumoni! You get all these for only $20! If you want a bargain, delicious food, and welcoming and homey service, come here :)

    (5)

  • Tracy Joy K.

    Given an extra star for their wonderful service :) When I came here, we were anticipating to wait for a long time but after around 20 minutes we were seated - while you wait they welcome you to sit at their bar area. There is truly an "old feel" to the place but the atmosphere is one that is welcoming and dare I say comfy. For 19 dollars the amount of food that you get is great, soup, salad and bread are served family style and for a group of two it is plenty. Our waitress was very happy to keep filling our bread --- almost grandma-like. I ordered the prime rib and thought the portion was good-sized and enough for a nice leftover the next day. The vegetables weren't anything special but I did enjoy the soup and salad that we were given to start with. Top it all off with a humble dessert and this full course meal is definitely worth it. OK taste with 5-star service :)

    (4)

  • Phuc B.

    food was good, cheap too!

    (3)

  • Mariah O.

    I have come here for dinner with my grandparents for many years. Every time I leave extremely full! You get so many courses throughout the evening. It all begins with some basic warm bread, then delicious minestrone soup, then their unbelievably tasty salad, then you all get homemade raviolis (yum!) and then your actual entree. I usually get the steak, and it's always pretty good. And of course, it wouldn't be the Garden Club without dessert; everyone can choose their dessert, whether it be a mini sundae, cannoli or something else you desire. My grandparents know everyone that works here, and they are always so nice to us. The customer service is great. The place does really well and I hope they stay in business for a long time. GREAT prices for a TON of food!!

    (3)

  • Joe C.

    Yes its cheap for what you get. But if what you get is MEH than its not worth any money. Add that to what seems to look like a senior center cafeteria, not the best dining "experience" we've had. We went past the bar and straight to the dining room as mentioned by other Yelp reviews. A server greeted us at the entrance and said it may be a wait. I glanced inside the 1/2 empty room and gave her a strange look. I guess there's a lot of regulars and the tables are all reserved? She then saw my look and said..oh..unless you want to take that table right there. Uh..sure? Its a normal 2 person table..and we're...a couple...I don't get it. First impression, we feel hella young. And usually we feel old...LOL Avg age was prob around 67 and we were the only ...um...nonCaucasian..haha. Definitely sticking out like a sore thumb, we order the Prime Rib and the Lamb chops. #1 - "Clam Chowder" What a travesty. One..it's Manhattan chowder so its tomato based..you could of mentioned that in the description. Even the old guy next to me was like..i thought it was chowder!? Didnt find any clams in there..but a lot of veggies. Healthy I guess? #2 - Shrimp Salad. The shrimp is the tiny shrimp that you find in ghetto buffets and the sauce is so tangy it made me squint. The lettuce too is boring. #3 - Prime Rib. We ordered it medium but only the center was medium while the edges were well done. It was thick and large however it caused it to be chewy and un-juicy. #4 - Lamb. Best thing of the night. Well seasoned, cooked well, and tasty. #5 - Sides. Canned green beans?? Seriously? No REAL restaurant would ever serve such a travesty. This solidified the feel of a cafeteria...really pathetic and insulting. Potatoes were tasteless and boring. #6 - Ice cream/Spumoni. Can't really mess this up..but by this time we were eager to hit the road. If you want a 5 course meal that will get you full, go for it. But if you actually want a MEAL and a place where you feel like you get what you pay for. This is NOT the place to go. GHETTO.

    (2)

  • Greg H.

    I came here with my family for dinner and at first I was pretty skeptical that this was the place we were having dinner; every time we go out together it would be an Asian owned restaurant but not this time. This time, there were old white people everywhere. I almost felt alien walking into this place; in the front it's sort of like a Midwestern pub with tacky Christmas lights and wooden furniture. Not to mention the actual dining area which made me feel like we were eating in a small town of Nebraska. But like most things, you should never judge a book by its cover. For what you get served from the menu, you get a lot of bang for your buck. For about $20 a person, you and your party are in for one beastly traditional American feast. The minestrone soup --incredible. The salad --refreshing. The ravioli --awesome. The main course? (prime rib) --legendary. My cousins and I were quite full after this ordeal and just as we thought we could say no more. The waitress came back and asked everyone, "What would y'all like for dessert? We have vanilla ice-cream, chocolate sundae, tapioca pudding, and sorbert." Everyone pretty much wanted the chocolate sundae. Overall, my family and I had a very good experience of this restaurant. Although the interior and the atmosphere makes the place almost makes it seem like you're in North Dakota, it all adds to the experience of a homey like feeling. You're there sitting at a picnic clothed table, together with family about to eat a huge American dinner.

    (5)

  • Roni L.

    Sketchy old school italian american eatery. Did i mention sketchy? They serve a family style meal on most days consisting of a pot of minestrone, big bowl of salad, huge plate of meat ravioli, entree of you choice and a small dessert. Can't beat the portions. Regulars take a tupperware bowl to take the minestrone home in... Not a bad idea! The right room is the bar. The left room is the dining area, which you enter from the back of the bar area. Didn't get bar drinks, probably old school drinks... Wine list is small. Service is efficient. They're not there to be your friend, but were friendly enough to us. Food was quite good. Minestrone was delish, thick and loaded with veggies. Salad was a little overdressed and oily- next time will ask or dressing on the side. Raviolis huge and awesome. Entrees good. Wife had huge steak with garlic, a little greasy; may have been garlic butter. Prime rib looked great but i opted for the lamb rack- perfect. Definitely beats most big chain restaurants in value and quality.

    (4)

  • A. Z.

    Came here for lunch. This restaurant was a surprise. When you first walk in it's a dark bar. Go further in to the left and you will enter a brighter lit room w a lot of biddies hanging out and enjoying their meals. The food was shockingly good and has a home cooked feel to it. Menu is a bit confusing though because there were a lot of different options that did not quite go with one another on a menu so it took me awhile to decide. Fresh bread and butter brought to each table. I had the split pea soup which was thick and just the right amount of salty without overdoing it. Boyfriend got the salad which was fresh w Italian dressing and beans. Salmon and petrule fish was not dry at all and came with a unique tartar sauce that might have been mixed w mustard. We liked the petrule the best. The outside was a little crispy but inside was the perfect smooth texture you expect fish to be. Both fishes were fishy like some places so they must have been fresh. Service felt a little abrupt when we talked to the waitress but she was overall fine. Will be back for dinner to try the prime rib and ravioli that everyone keeps talking about.

    (4)

  • Peachie Y.

    Prime rib was delicious.

    (4)

  • T L.

    Let me tell you when first walking in, it will not feel like a place of dining. But more like a old school bar that has not changed in 40 years. Word of advice the dining area will not be visible, just walk all the way to the back and whalla you'll see it. Like the bar the restaraunt hasn't changed much over the years. We ordered the prime rib that included a shrimp salad, soup, and dessert for $20. We got our minestrone soup (not bad) we even brought a container for the left over, a hint my wife got from her coworker. Then came the shrimp and imitation crab salad, it was ok I recommend getting the dressing on the side. Finally PRIME RIB! 3 of us ordered med rare that came out medium and the 1 person that ordered the rare came out med rare. Word of advise order rare if you want med rare, med rare for med and so on. Overall the rib was good just not cooked to our liking. Spinoni for dessert was on point! This place is not House of Prime Rib or Alexander's but if you want good food for a good price and service with a smile check it out.

    (3)

  • Ivy P.

    I came here on a Sunday night around 8:05pm with my boyfriend. We were seated quickly, and the server was extremely friendly. I ordered the prime rib, and my boyfriend ordered the rack of lambs. The food was pretty decent, but it could have been. Soup, salad, ravioli, entree and dessert for a little over $20 is not bad at all. The prime rib was soft, tender and juicy, but the outer skin was a little rough and tasted a little char. But that's okay, for the price that I paid it was a steal. The rack of lamb was really full of taste too. I absolutely loved the ravioli, maybe I should just order that by itself next time. Would most definitely come back here again.

    (4)

  • Emily K.

    Great value. Dinner for two: prime rib, rack of lamb, soup, salad, and ice cream for less than $50 plus tip. I will be back.

    (5)

  • JP P.

    What a hidden gem! Great good especially the shrimp salad! Love the free parking, the old homey Italian old Skool ambience and fast great service! Reservations for parties of 5 or more-you better make reservations because it was so busy!

    (5)

  • Allison T.

    Great recommendation from friends. After running the Nike Women's Marathon I couldn't think of any other way to treat myself. Came here for with several friends and good thing we got here when we did...this place was packed! We got an insane amount of food.....a 5 course prime rib dinner for $19.95..what a deal! We were given bread and butter and once we ordered the food just kept coming. We started with a minestrone soup, a salad and then a ravioli appetizer...most of us were pretty full after our starters. Then came the the meat....amazing! Perfect balance on the crust...I ordered it medium rare and it was perfect. It also came with mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables. To top off this amazing dinner..we had a choice of sherbert, ice cream sundae or spumoni. How in the world was I able to finish everything that night..I am still wondering. I definitely will be back here again...and possibly have my birthday dinner here. Wonderful service and a great dinner..only thing is they don't stay open too late so dine early!

    (4)

  • Karin E.

    Love it!!! Don't come here if you're looking for something fancy and expensive. Prime rib, lamb, and catfish dinners are great. Service is great. Love this old school family style restaurant. Would definitely come back.

    (4)

  • Trudie S.

    This place is awesome. Reminds me of dinner at grandma's after you pass the bar of course. The food is good and the portions are a great value for your money. The meal is prefixe with the main attraction being the prime rib, but the real excitement is the home made ravioli. It is incredible and I think the best that I have ever had. Will be coming back.

    (4)

  • L F.

    Someone had mentioned this place and from reading the reviews, I decided to try this place. I was ready to see a bunch of old folks. Instead I saw a bunch of Asian folks, getting a deal for their meal. A meal is a meal, you are their for the food, not for the people eating around you. It's located in a strip mall and it's a run down bar/restaurant. When you first walk in you enter the bar and the restaurant is located to the left through a doorway. Looks like a cafeteria with booths along the wall and the middle of the restaurant are long tables for larger parties. This place is not updated but don't judge it's covers by the books. Went on a Sunday and the dining room was already full at 5:45pm. They told us it would be a 30 minute wait. They only take reservations for 5 and more. There are three booths in the bar section and one was empty so we asked if we could sit there and they said sure. I didn't mind at all. As soon as we sat down a bus boy came with silverware and place settings and bread. The bread was cold but soft. The dinner menu is a set menu. It's a 5 course meal on a Sunday. Some days it is only a 4 course meal. Today it was Minestrone Soup, Salad, Ravioli, Entree (Which you choose from the list on the menu) and dessert. Since many people talk about the prime rib and rack of lamb we got that. Soup: Minestrone Soup. I was expecting them to give us two small bowls of minestrone soup, but instead they bring out a big bowl and the waitress serves your first portion in your soup bowl and leaves the remaining on the table, if you want more. Salad: The same thing with the salad, they bring out a big bowl of salad and you serve yourself. That was enough to feed 4 people. If you don't like your salad drenched in dressing ask for it on the side. Forgot to do that. Ravioli: I thought it was interesting they would serve ravioli when already they give you, soup, salad and dessert. For a party of 2, they give you about 6 ravioli's. The table behind us had 3 patrons and they were given a BIG portion of ravioli. We ended up taking most of it home because we didn't want to fill up on that when we still hadn't had our entree. Entree: Prime Rib. They give you a generous portion of prime rib and it's not a thin piece either, it's a pretty thick piece for only $19.95 . Rack of Lamb was $23.95 and they give you about 7 pieces of lamb. The rack of lamb had great flavor. The entrees were served with green beans and a stack of potato slices. It was a bit salty. But can't complain for a five course meal. Dessert: Yout get a choice of Vanilla Ice cream, Spumoni, Sundae and Sherbert. We had the spumoni and that was good. Everything is generous portions, so you don't need to worry about going hungry. Service was great. People complain about the waitresses, our waitress was friendly, always came by with a smile. She had our water glasses filled up. And always checking up on us. We had a young waitresses, maybe that made a difference, but who knows. The bus boys were always picking up our plates after we were done and the waitress was ready to bring out the next course. Our courses were brought out back to back without it feel like we were rushed. Overall, I would def go back for the deal!!! People want a good meal for the price but they complain about service and ambiance, etc....go somewhere else.

    (4)

  • Vince W.

    Delicious, deal, awesomeness!

    (4)

  • X. Y.

    I met a former classmate at this restaurant. I chose this place because I saw an average rating of 4 stars on Yelp so I figured it must have been a good spot for a bite. The waiter was nice and polite. I ordered a petrale. The meal came with a minestrone that was discrete. I didn't finish my soup and the petrale arrived. It was well presented, with some green vegetables and rice (I'll never understand why fish has to come with rice in the U.S.A. - it certainly doesn't in Italy - I believe this restaurant is somewhat Italian-American). The meal was good. The petrale was tasty and well cooked. I did not walk out dissatisfied. For the amount of food and the price, I would say the combination of the two is above fair. All in all, the meal was about $10 and the beer I ordered, a Miller Hi-Life, was $4. With tax and tip, you can easily get away with $18-20. The place itself is not particularly fancy, either outside or inside. From the outside, it looks like the latest place you'd want to get in to have a meal. It doesn't look horrible but it definitely deserves a lifting. The inside has two sections: a bar when you enter and a restaurant as you walk a few feet after turning left. The bar area looks like a typical American bar with a counter. It's got TVs and people can watch sports. The restaurant area is the one where I sat and, honestly, it's really old-fashioned. If the outside deserves a new face, the restaurant does too. Aside from the fact that the wall is half-covered in wallpaper and half is bricks (horribly painted in white), the tables and booths are very casual and for some reason reflect the typical distorted stereotype of the Italian restaurant. Overall, the restaurant evokes mixed emotions. It's comfortable but it needs a new look. I would recommend it for the food but probably not for the ambiance.

    (3)

  • Judy J.

    The Garden Club is now serving breakfast from 8:00am- 11:30 on Saturday's. A YUMMY YAHOO !! What a new gem in South San Francisco. We've always enjoyed the GC for dinner but breakfast... IT'S THE BOMB! Fresh ingredients, large portions, great service (thank you Vanessa) and prices are not too high, (similar to other breakfast restaurants in the area). Improvement notes... The coffee was not "hot, hot", will make sure on our next visit to ask for a cup from a fresh pot. Also, fresh juice offerings would be a plus as well. "Need to be open on Sunday's also.... This is a big breakfast day" * Pancakes are freshly made and fluffy not bricks. They are especially good with their whipped butter and warm syrup. Short stack is enough for two to enjoy * Eggs are perfectly cooked each time and I'm picky * Hollandaise Sauce for the Eggs Benedict is perfect. Not too much lemon * Omelets are large and filled to the brim with ingredients * Pico de Gallo tastes so fresh and a good size portion * Home Fries were done just right. Lots of peppers and onions mixed in the moist potatoes * Hash browns need a little pick me up. Simple and plain Need another try * Toast was perfect for me but others may want it toasted a bit more. Not burned but a bit more time in the toaster * Service was wonderful. Vanessa really makes you feel at home. She is friendly, helpful and accommodating. She wants to wait on you and make your visit rock! She talks to you about the menu and if you don't see what you are looking for, tell her and she just may work her magic with the chef (who is also very accommodating) Breakfast with Vanessa =) We will definitely go back and bring friends with us. So take a trip down to The Garden Club and join Vanessa for Breakfast. You'll be glad you did !!

    (4)

  • Lester W.

    Woweee!!! This is quite the deal....maybe the best deal you can get for a prime rib dinner. The portions are huge and there is no way you can leave this place with an empty stomach. The low, low price of $19.95 starts you off with a soup, a salad, and ravioli. You'll probably be close to full by the time you finish these off...but then you'll get a huge prime rib, mashed potatoes, and some type of veggie dish. They will then finish ya off with some type of ice cream dessert. They have odd hours and are not always open for dinner so make sure to check to see if they are open. They get pretty crowded and have a full bar in the main entrance room.

    (4)

  • Jason W.

    Cheap 4 course meal for 18$! say what? Gotcha on that first line huh? anyways, this place gives you a nice rare piece of prime rib perfectly seasoned. they also start you off with a huge salad bowl, huge soup bowl (i think russian bortsche), then the stuffed chicken and ravioli after! id say the only downer about this restaurant are the desserts, which are cheaply made (either vanilla ice cream spamoni tapioca and some other cheap stuff you can at a grocery store) and the veggies which are straight out of a can and barely salted. honestly you are really coming more for the great price and an awesome slab of meat! the ambience is straight out of a horror movie with an old fashioned bar, old pictures, checkered table cloth, and the geriatric patients serving you your din din. i'd hit up this place often since it's right near my workplace, but they have obscure dinner hours. never been here for lunch though..need to try that soon. enjoy the post!

    (4)

  • Victor L.

    SOOOO UNDERATED!!! Love the Prime Rib here! For the price you pay... you get a whole lot of food. Yeah the service is so-so and slow but what do you expect? The House of Prime Rib? HA! You have to take it in for what it is and not be too uptight. Enjoy the food and the atmosphere. The folks here are chill! Coming back again for the ravioli!

    (5)

  • Ronette B.

    Had a wonderful prime rib dinner. Everything was delicious from the soup, the salad, the flavorful prime rib and can't forget about the spumoni ice cream. Old school family style :) .Lots of food for the reasonable price. Highly recommend.

    (5)

  • Tony L.

    This place is definitely a good value and the staff is super friendly. The prime rib, steak, seafood, etc are all great. The best part is the huge portions. Oh, and the shrimp salad is excellent also.

    (5)

  • Annie C.

    This place was ok, but not really anything great. Food was mediocre. Service was good.

    (2)

  • Maribela B.

    Great food!

    (5)

  • Karen T.

    So my mother chose this place to go to for her birthday, I've never heard of it. We pull up to the place in the middle of no where in this little plaza and I was skeptical. I was also thinking how the hell did my mom find this place? Walked in and it was a old bar then a dining area on the other side with old plastic flowers as decor and a open kitchen. I felt like I was transported to a family diner in the 70s. The waitress was a older lady super nice called everyone honey and darlin which was cute. The whole staff was super friendly and attentive. So I ordered the prime rib cooked medium. All of a sudden we get a HUGE bowl of yummy vegetable soup, enough for 2 bowls for me alone. Also sourdough bread, yum. Then a salad with croutons and beans and yummy vinegarette, again enough for 2 plates for me alone. Oh dang more food! HUGE raviollis with meat filling and meat sauce. Ok now I'm done with my free starters I'm too full to eat my prime rib, well no I'm a big eater I ate my whole prime rib and it was so good! I would like it a little more rear but I'll remember for next time order medium rear for a medium done. The crust was the best, nice and salty! the sauce was yummy! And the side of spiral potato was bomb with crunchy edges. Wow I guess long story short if your mom brings you to a sketchy place you gotta trust her it's good and of course CHEAP! $17 and some change for the prime rib meal. Oh wait, wait forgot the Free dessert too, choice of tapioca, chocolate sundae, vanilla ice cream, spimoni, orange sherbert, or uh I think that's it. Burp!

    (4)

  • Shelley L.

    Parking is always available since the lot is so big. I always come for dinner and Price are reasonable. I usually order the salmon with garlic. This dish is $18 but it includes: soup, salad, appetizer, entree, and dessert. It's a great deal. So far I have only tried their stuffed chicken and ravioli for appetizers. The stuffed chicken is really yummy, but he sauce scares me at time because it's a gelatinous yellow goop. It is tasty. The ravioli is usually a little over cooked but very large portions. I always ask for the salad dressing on the side because they have a tendency to over dress the salad. The servers that I usually have at very old but they are very nice people. Service can be slow at times, but it's still good. I never been here on the weekends, but the weekdays are still pretty crowded. The dessert is usually vanilla sundae,spumoni, tapioca, or sherbert. I order the vanilla ice cream only. The whip creme is out of a can and the chocolate sauce is the cheap stuff you buy at Safeway.

    (3)

  • Brent P.

    had lunch with my date (claudia) today.. nice old fashioned italian bar and restaurant very good meals

    (5)

  • Earl G.

    Having a drink here is like stepping back into time into the twilight zone. You literally step in here and overhear conversations about about Frank Sinatra, Sandy Koufax, and American Bandstand. The old school furniture and people inside haven't changed, only time and additional wrinkles have happened. Think your grandparent's furniture and that's what you get inside here. While they don't have any beers on tap, it's mainly domestics over here. One constant is that you can't teach an old dog new tricks and it seems that every old schooler at the bar was drinking a longneck Bud. Probably the same thing they drank back in their hey-day. Harmonious

    (3)

  • Damien S.

    Great food. Warm inviting atmosphere. The Shrimp and crab salad was wonderful. For our main courses we had some of the most juicy flavorful prime rib you could ever want. The staff was very attentive and made sure our dinner was great. I highly recommend The Garden Club Damien Silveira, The Cuisine Connoisseur #CuisineDamien

    (5)

  • Jayme N.

    Walked in and it looked like an old Italian restaurant/diner with a bar in one if the two rooms, with a few old men catching up. The place had a home-y feel and brought out a warm feeling as did our sweet waitress. She has enjoyed working here for decades now and let us know how happy she was when we ordered their prime rib...Oh bless our hearts! The large prime rib was really good, I would just order it medium next time as medium rare was more chewy than I expected. It came with sides of yummy golden mashed potatoes and peppered squash. The vegetable soup was good and I've never had a shrimp salad like that before with a sweet mustard-mayo like dressing. Definitely enjoyed their Spumoni ice cream too. It's a large meal so make sure you save stomach space for this place cause they enjoy filling you up. It's good to know how well they handled our large party of about 16 people and just kept those plates coming one after another, so we didn't have to wait very long for everyone to get their dinner.

    (4)

  • Jenny L.

    I LOVE this place! My boyfriend's friend took us here. We were really skeptical because it's in a random area and it doesn't look like a restaurant on the outside. It looked more like a bar. I heard the place has been around for awhile. Everytime I come here, there's alot of older people. I think they come here pretty often. Alot of them are usual customers. I get their specials. It comes with soup, appetizer, and main entree for a decent place. They have different soup everyday. Their soup is so good! I just wanna drink all of it but I have to save my tummy for the other items. I feel bad because we can't finish the huge bowl and they don't provide plastic cups for it. She said we are more welcome to bring our own container if we wanted to. We always forget though The appetizer is good too. I really really like their ravioli. It's the riight portion. The meat is good and the tomato sauce is yummy. I always get carried away with it. They also have the stuffed chicken. I never had it but my friend says its good. I usually get the salmon and my boyfriend gets the prime rib. He says the prime rib is good and my salmon was delicious. I heard sometimes the prime rib is a hit or miss. It's been mostly hits for us. The main entree never changes but the appetizers and soups do. It gets really busy around 5-7. It's dinner time. I suggest you go early to get seats or else you'll be waiting for awhile.

    (5)

  • Pia L.

    Not bad, decent food, good price for a 4 course meal for 20 bucks or less. You get dessert at the end. Prime rib was good, potatoes homemade, and beans down points because it was from a frozen package from the store. And the restaurant was nice, has a hometown feel, hidden too.

    (3)

  • Cathy M.

    Definitely a must try for everyone that's on a budget and who loves good old fashioned meals. You basically get a 4 course meal for $17.95-$23.95 depending if you get the basic choices offered on the menu or if u want the higher end stuff like prime rib or rack of lamb. I ordered the prime rib and it did not disappoint at all. From the outside, this place looks like a strip club because of the name and because it's located in the cuts. When you walk in, you immediately see a bar and you have to keep walking past the bar where a young girl greeted us to get seated. You enter what looks like a scene from Good Fellas with the white & red checkered table cloths and Italian Mafia type atmosphere minus the mafia of course. The waitress served us with a bowl of tomato based clam chowder which was served straight out of a soup bowl. The soup is enough to serve 4 people and was very savory and hearty. Next was the shrimp salad which was a generous potion of shrimp on top of butter lettuce with a zesty citrus dressing. And then the star of the meal which was the prime rib. A huge, juicy cut of meat with an au jois sauce, with mashes potatoes and green beans with a side of horse radish. I was so full that I could only finish half of it. For dessert, you had the choice of ice cream or sherbet and I ordered the spumoni ice cream. I was definitely impressed with this place, the cheap prices, the ambiance and the generous portions of food that you get. I can't wait to go back to try the rack of lamb. 2 thumbs WAY up!!

    (5)

  • Hei C.

    Ordered a prime rib tonight along with a glass of zinfandel. The rib came with salad, stuffed chicken, soup, and dessert. Rib: asked for medium rare; I think it was more on the "medium side" than the "rare" Wine: so so Service: excellent. The servers are warm and funny. The whole set made me completely fully. Probably better to share with one more person. I think it is also a good spot to hang out with friends when there is any spot game.

    (4)

  • May G.

    I heard this was the place for a good prime rib dinner. I called the restaurant at 6 to see if they took reservations and was told only for parties of 5, and that the wait was 30 minutes. We were 5 minutes away, we were seated right after we arrived, there were 3 empty tables and nobody waiting like I was told. The fancy beers with $4 so I told my husband to order a cocktail from the bar. Would you believe a cranberry & vodka costs the same as a "fancy" beer? The first course was hearty vegetable soup, I drank a few spoonfuls of the broth and that was enough. The shrimp salad was awful, maybe 10 pieces of lettuce, room temperature fishy stinky salad shrimp, imitation crab, pieces of soft cheese, garbonzo beans, kidney beans, and enough mystery dressing for 5 salads. It was way too salty. The prime rib was just ok, I ordered rare so it should've been tender but it wasn't. There was a lot of fat, and definitely not a choice cut of meat. It was served with sliced baked potato, and a combo of peas and a some sort of flat green bean. It was a mixture of old stuff that was in the steamer for awhile mixed with some new stuff from a can. We decided on chocolate sundae and it must have been the best party of the dinner. The staff was ok, busboy was more tentative than the waitress. It was really annoying that she just hung out at a table with 2 obvious regulars. She had this irritating loud high pitch voice and I was a little done with hearing about her son's house, 49ers, blah blah blah. The restaurant was packed by now and still she carried on and on and on. I will not be going back. For $64, I could've bought an entire prime rib and cooked it myself. I'm sure their food is always consistent so I really don't understand anything above 2 stars.

    (1)

  • Gruber T.

    Dinner with father he heard about this place people talk about their prime ribs good so he want to try it out. First time here. When walk in small little place and vintage classic. Customer Service was okay, took a little bit time to be seat and service. We order the dinner special for Wednesday. Father order prime rib and I order new York steak. Good course meal come with vegetable soup, side salad and ravioli all was delicious. Prime rib came out good portion but when seat it was to chewy most of the meat, not all the way cook but good side potato and peas. The new York steak it was okay little flavor. Wouldn't come back here don't recommend.

    (2)

  • Winnie C.

    Worth the extra star(s) for the soup alone. Fresh veggies. Pipping hot, as much as you want. Our dinner came with a shrimp louie salad. Next time, I'm asking for dressing on the side. The entree was pretty good and tasty too. They've got Spumoni ice cream!

    (5)

  • H E.

    Great value. Decent food. Friendly service. Very dated and worn down decor. Where else can you get $19.95 complete prime rib and/or NY Strip steak dinners. These dinners come with a family style cauldron of minestrone soup, platter of shrimp louie salad, loaf of sourdough bread, your entree, and a cup of ice cream for dessert (choice of orange sherbet, spumoni, tapioca, or chocolate with whipped cream). You'll definitely leave very full. The prime ribs and steaks (much tougher, lacking the depth of flavor from aging, etc...) are a far cry from Peter Luger's or any notable steakhouses (Harris, House of Prime Rib) but at 1/3rd the price of their steaks (not including their extras), you will leave satisfied and still able to afford groceries for the week. Best steak "bang for the buck" in Bay Area.

    (3)

  • Christian C.

    Restaurants like the Garden Club are my favorite. I have been living 5 minutes from this place for about 6 years thinking it was just a bar, only to find it on yelp while craving for a steak dinner. Garden Club is a quaint little whole in the wall with an old school vibe. It has friendly people, great service, and even better food. Its also family friendly even with the bar right next to the dining area. The staff were very friendly to me and my little brother. What more can I ask for? Can't wait to come back and try the rest of their menu.

    (5)

  • J H.

    Don't get me wrong. I love the food and the price is amazing for all you're getting. I even wanted to tip them 30%, but changed my mind towards the end of the meal. My boyfriend and I ate here 3 days ago. The older lady that helped us wasn't very friendly, but I just thought that was how she is. Then, as we were eating, we noticed that she was much nicer and friendlier to the other guests. Maybe because we looked young? Or maybe because we were Chinese? Not sure, but she didn't smile at us once throughout our 40 minutes there. I felt unwelcomed and found myself trying to please her with my friendly pleases and thank yous. No one else seemed to have this problem. I was super disappointed because I really saw myself as being a regular there, but I just felt too awkward.

    (3)

  • Karen S.

    GARDEN CLUB...You're a throwback to another era, but your food is yummy and portions are large!!! FIVE STARS!!! Ok, so this is definitely a favorite of my parents so it's definitely on the "Top 5 Venues for family dinners", at least in my fam!!! So you walk in, nothing fancy, this place is in a strip mall on the backroads of SSF. Bar to your right, booths to your left...you can just hang at the bar (very inexpensive/strong drinks/sassy bar-man) and drink the night away...or you can do that in one of the booths and order food...which you might do if you show up, no reservation and your in a group of 4 or less) And you can eat in the bar if you're into that sort of thing... The dining room...oy vey, where do I start? Looks like a restaurant one of the "5 Families": would hang out in...that's a compliment from a food perspective because they do know their food!! The minestrone (which is not a super fave of mine) is delish...tomatoey broth, lots of veggies/pasta/cubes of tasty meat) You could seriously fill up on just the soup and the free bread!! Did I mention they serve family style??? There, I just did... In this bad econ, for about $24-25.00 per, you get soup/salad/entree/pasta/veggies/coffee/ice cream and yummy sourdough bread/salted butter, can't shake a stick at that!! That evening, I had their Rack of Lamb which was superb!!!! One in the group had Prime Rib...tender/flavorful, seared...delish! The Raviolis were popular, so was the Veal Parmigiana, etc... The waitresses are sort of bossy/old school in lace aprons...very authoritative...but you'll kind dig that!! (Think "Flo" on the old sitcom "Alice"...you wont hear them actually SAY "Kiss my Grits" but it's definitely implied!! The average age range of partons in this place usually hovers between "AARP" and "MediCare" but frankly, the food is yummy, the portions are generous and the vibe is always lively...you'll have fun! Bring "the party" with you and really, it doesn't matter where you are, eat up, drink up, have a blast, the END!!! Apres dinner, either have a nightcap there OR venture down the road to Molloy's in Colma as this isn't exactly a Mecca of night clubs...though the neighboring Laundromat seemed to have quite alot of activity...something to "Tide" you over...bwaaahhhhahhahaaa!

    (5)

  • Harrybobo L.

    This quaint little Italian restaurant is located in a non-descript strip mall in San Mateo and features all meals in family style portions; you share everything except the entree. Fresh sourdough bread with pats of butter is dropped as soon as the diners are seated. Shortly after piping hot soup is served and then salad. Most of the patrons are elderly that arrive at 5pm as soon as they open! We had veal cutlet with whte gravy, prime rib and petrole fish. We were are pleased with our entrees and were also served desert in the form of Spumoni. Great food and great ambience!

    (4)

  • Sophia C.

    Do you like food? Lots and lots and lots of food? Do you like Guy Fieri? I mean really really like him? Hint hint wink wink. Well put on your pearls young lady and bring Guy Fieri to this divey old skool dining establishment. You get a huge tureen of soup chock full of veggies, bread , salad piled high with shrimp and a flintstone side of hunka hunka meat for $16. Whoa!

    (3)

  • Angel L.

    Go if you don't want to make too many decisions and want to be filled! I felt like I left the Bay Area and entered a small town restaurant in the middle of no where. A group of friends and I came for dinner. It looked shady from the outside and when you enter you're sent to a Midwest bar area. The dining area has red & white checkered table cloths, and more than half of the patrons are friendly older Caucasians with a splattering of other kinds of families. Our server was very nice. Set menu, you just choose your entree and dessert. Salad and soup are served family style. Soup was DELICIOUS. Initially I wasn't excited about clam chowder, but when it came out I found that it wasn't cream based. Nice! Shrimp Louie Salad had lots of shrimp =) Entrees: Veal entree was good. Nothing outstanding, sort of like a pork cutlet. Lamb Shank was GREAT- tender and good flavor Egg battered fish fillet was like eating breakfast... good Dessert: tapioca pudding- TOO sweet, and it was topped with whipped cream spumoni- always good =) orange sherbet- CRAZY looking color, like a carrot Go if you don't want to make too many decisions and want to be filled!

    (3)

  • Nghi Thu H.

    All I have to say is, come on a Thursday- try their stuff chicken! You won't be disappointed, and you will be back! They have a set menu- you will probably be full from the ginormous soup and salad and appetizer the entree becomes your lunch for the next day! I have been here a gazillion times, and will be back a gazillion more!

    (5)

  • Teri C.

    Garden Club isn't a bunch of seniors with a green thumb, inside you'll find a bar and a pretty busy restaurant on weekend nights. Their weekend prime rib dinner special ($17.95) is what brings my family here to chow down. For a pretty decent price, you start off with bread and butter, soup, salad, pasta raviolis, and then your slab of prime rib (with a side of veggies and potatoes), and then dessert to boot! The soup is your vegetable minestrone and they bring it out in a big bowl for your table. They start ladling the stuff out, and you can help yourself to more if you want. Then comes an individual side salad with kidney beans and garbanzo beans. Next to arrive is a plate of meat raviolis. If you ordered one of the dinner special, you get three raviolis to yourself. And now here comes your slab of meat. I prefer mine bloody rare and that's what comes out. It's a generous portion and you'll be busting your pants if you finish this up. (Of course, this isn't like your House of Prime Rib kind of meat, it's a lower scale obviously from the price you're paying, but it'll work.) Your side of veggies will probably include string beans, carrots, and cauliflower. A few slices of potatoes might also come with your meat. And finally, for dessert you have a choice of ice cream flavors or rice pudding. Not bad for under $25/pp, right? I like to think of Garden Club as where middle class Americans come to eat on a special occasion. You'll find patrons of the seasoned variety, along with their families, enjoying weekend dinners here. The staff here, they've been around for awhile and they probably aren't leaving either. Other notables include the rack of lamb dinner ($21.95), which is another favorite of my family's. It comes with about six or seven racks and are chunky suckers. They are tasty morsels and seasoned quite well. This place isn't for everyone. If you're looking for high-end, white glove service...don't venture out this way. But if you want simple food for a decent price, check out the Garden Club and one of their dinner specials. (Of course I took pictures of our dinner!)

    (4)

  • Rudy R.

    This place is actually quite good! While the outside doesn't look like much, you get HUGE portions! The prime rib was great, all their steaks are great. Love the soup, love the salad. Go there hungry and don't fill up on bread, cause you'll have plenty of food given to you. The waitresses and owner are absolutely fantastic and will answer all your questions delightfully! Go here and get there when it opens, cause it fills up quickly!

    (5)

  • Stacey L.

    My aunt suggested the Garden Club for Christmas Dinner this year. When we drove up in the parking lot, we were a little hesitant at first. Even after walking into the bar we pondered if we were at the wrong place. We soon found out that the restaurant was towards the back and in the next room over. The food and prices were superb. A feast for the kings at under $20 per person. The night started off with bread, family style soup, salad, stuffed chicken. Let me tell you after the stuffed chicken I was completely full already. I almost forgot that I had a main course of veal still coming. The evening ended with a vanilla sundae. It was a full house and the service was well prepared, prompt and highly efficient. It made the night just that much more enjoyable. We'll definitely be back. What a great find. I would have never found this place on my own.

    (4)

  • Allan A.

    I ordered the rack of lamb. My wife had the prime rib. My son got the veal. Prime rib was the better choice. The food wasn't that bad but the service was horrible. Our server kept ignoring us until we got the attention of another. For some reason, the original server avoided us even when we had eye contact. Would I return? Probably not.

    (2)

  • Sabrina Z.

    I usually come here with my family. It's not exactly suited for a younger crowd-- it reminds me of my grandma's house, but nonetheless the atmosphere is so welcoming! Everything is family style which is really nice. They serve you soup, salad, and another entree before you get what you ordered. The soup is so good that people bring their own tupperware to bring it home! the portions are a good size, and they supply you with enough boxes you can bring the leftovers home. The last time I went here I ordered the salmon which was alright. It wasn't anything really fancy. My brother hated the seafood plate he ordered. This place isn't really known for their seafood. My parents and aunts and uncles ordered prime rib, which was by far the best dish anyone had ordered. It was delicious! The kids menu is pretty much nonexistent. I hope your kid likes prime rib. After the main dish you get a choice of dessert. It's usually tapioca pudding, vanilla or chocolate ice cream, sherbet or spumoni. It's simple but a great way to finish the whole meal. The waitresses are really friendly too. You can tell that they really enjoy working there. I really enjoyed this place and would visit again.

    (4)

  • Foshow O.

    I've eaten here a few times and every time so far the foods been very salty.

    (2)

  • Julie T.

    A lot of good food for a good price. You basically get a legit 4-course meal for $17.95-19.95 that includes veggie soup, combination shrimp salad or ravioli with met sauce (depending on what day it is), an entree with potatoes and veggies, and ice cream for dessert. Went today and got the prime rib for $19.95 and finished with the spumoni ice cream. I had lots of leftovers too. Because I live 5 minutes away, I will definitely be back. The service was fast and attentive, too.

    (4)

  • jason g.

    Thanks Frances U for this referral. Wow!!! How can I best describe this place. It feels like a bar that time have forgotten. It's a total dive bar with a side door to the next room that they turned into a dinner room from Wednesday thru Sunday. The food is not great but their is an allure that is definitely there. What you may ask??? I just don't know. When I was growing up there was this restaurant in Chinatown that served up the best prime rib I have ever had. Sun Wah Que on Washington St. It was one of those old school restaurants with a very cool vibe. That was a treat back then. It came with soup, salad, prime rib and dessert for 5.95. That was then and this is now. Fast forward time and you land here, the Garden Club in South San Francisco. Note, this prime rib should not be compared to high end to even casino prime ribs because you would be comparing apples to oranges. This prime rib is more of a banquet style prime rib where if you order rare or well done..........it will be medium rare. If it looks too rare they would just flip it to the other side( or at least that is what I would do.........hahahhaah). It is not pretentious nor would it ever blow your mind. It is a simple dish done right. The allure is their family style approach on wholesome Italian meal. We started out with their version of clam chowder which is a tomato base (minestrone) with clams. I thought it was good. It came in a big bowl in which our waitress was nice to ladle a scoop for each of us. Next the shrimp salad. Very old school dressing which is probably a mix between an italian/thousand island dressing. I enjoyed it and it also came on a big plate to share. Next came the prime rib.........Not exactly House of Prime Rib but it's how mom would make it at home, with love and time. It was probably a little too dry for me. Probably needed some more au jus. I had the sundae for dessert. 17.95 Oh......one more thing. If you can hold it and not use the restroom..........that would be a major plus. Don't say I didn't warn you. Sometimes it's not all about the food. Sometimes it's just the company you are with and the experience and memories that you get when you come visit this hole in wall restaurant.

    (5)

  • Robert H.

    Update. Some positive changes made here. Back to normal. Found some things a little salty(?).

    (4)

  • Taco Y.

    Ate dinner here Friday 02/15/13 with the family. Five adults one toddler. My 2nd time here. The food was delicious both times. They have specials everyday. Sunday special is delicious Ravioli. They take reservations only for parties of five or more. The meal starts with water and bread when you are seated. The waitress next asks for drinks from the bar. Drinks come and orders taken. As part of the meal the ist course is either minestrone or Manhatten clam chowder. Both taste similar. Second course is salad. Had the shrimp salad on Friday, lots of bay shrimp. Third course was your meal. I had the New York steak medium rare with garlic. Garlic is fried in olive oil and has no garlic bite or odor. Steak was perfectly cooked, a little chewy and tasted great. The rest of the family ordered rack of lamb, salmon, prime rib, and petrale sole. All said their dishes were delicious but all but me took left overs home. Final course was a selection of sherbet, spumoni, vanilla ice cream, and tapioca pudding. The price is very reasonable for the amount of tasty food you get. The staff was friendly and set us up with a high chair for the toddler. Waitress was attentive and refilled water glasses frequently and checked to see if everything was OK. The location and atmosphere is like a neighborhood bar/restaurant. They are located in a small strip mall. Bar is at the entrance and looks friendly. The restaurant entrance is located at the back of the bar. I'll be back when I have the urge to eat a carnivores dinner.

    (4)

  • josh m.

    Garden Club is a well kept secret, and at the same time, no secret. Amazing how a place with no promotion, only word of mouth, be as busy as it is. Old school? Definitely old school feeling. Funny how the one reviewer mentioned Goodfellas. It has that old Italian feel. So, after living in the neighborhood for a year, I decided to find a local "watering hole" for the rare night I am not in the city. I went to a dive close by, but as I walked in, I immediately turned away. Two hard core bikers staring at me like I didn't belong, and a bartender pointing me a block away to the nearest ATM. I then decided to try the local elks lodge, (as I am an elk in the best lodge ever #3 SF), to get turned away due to a cashed out bar. I said to my friend, "hey, there is a place around the corner from my place that looks like an old lady's bingo spot called Garden something, let's see what it is". When we walked in, we were greeted by the most awesome bartender babe named Noe. Immediate crush, only to find she had a boyfriend. I thought, what the hell? I needed a drink. They take credit card during restaurant hours too. An hour later, all the south city elks who closed down the elk bar walked in. Turned out, Garden Club is their after elk bar hours top off. I thought what are the odds of that? Garden Club has been my place since. And, I find, i have found myself "not in the city" as much. Hmmm. The food? I have had the prime rib once, and the lamb once. Absolutely amazing, and very good prices. You can't beat the garden club with a stick. It's a must to experience. Be warned though, in a year, I still haven't quite figured out the opening and closing hours, A's the bar stays open after the restaurant closes, but closes earlier one night, and later the next. Safe to say, if you want to drink, be there by 9. Either they close the bar at 10, or midnight.

    (5)

  • Enoch K.

    Ah the Garden Club! Think Italian Family Style, huge 3-4 course portions, entries are great, prime rib, rack of lamb, steaks, all courses including desert for under $25 each, with many under $20. Salad is pretty standard, Cesar is better on the days they serve that, as well as the minestrone nights, but the meat ravoli is awesome, the stuffed chicken a 2nd place in my book. I've also had a good potato vegetable soup one time that was almost as good as the minestrone . Entries have been awesome. The prime rib is red and bloody earlier in the evening, and more med as the night goes on. Worth going early for rare, but either way it's boneless prime rib awesomeness. The other entries I've sampled are great, the rack of lamb rare, and dover sole were good choices. Hey, it's a working class place. You go thru a bar to get to the restaurant, and sometimes you can hear the 49ers fans from the bar, or even glance up at the tv they have in the far corner of the dining area to check the score(politely), but it's a workin' class type of setting and decor. However, they represent traditional American Holidays in decor in the dining room which is a nice touch, and service is diner style, polite, and regular. I've seen parties as large as 12-18, from ages 1-91. For under $20, where do you know of to get a 3-4 course family style dinner, even for a huge group, in San Francisco? Dude, the Garden Club. I love them. East Coast New Englanders will appreciate it if you lived in Boston or Northeast N.E. I had my 40th B-Day dinner for friends there, and all walks of life came away happy, and most have returned the the Club solo.

    (5)

  • Tasha L.

    Ravioli was good. Prime rib needs to be aged longer. The waitress was very brisk. Seem a little racists. Cater more to the Caucasians. Not that great for the price.

    (2)

  • Tracy F.

    2nd time here. A dive with great food, you have to walk through the bar to get to the restaurant. Great service, 4 courses for $20. Love the Lamb Shank.

    (5)

  • Theresa M.

    My gah! As a high school student, I passed by this place everyday when I drove to school. Was always so curious about it. A year ago, my co-workers and I had dinner there before our Christmas program and WOW, it felt weird being in there. A complete dive, there were lots of OLD SKOOL South City folk. Wow... I really stuck out like a sore thumb, I believe. Their food... plentiful. With every entree you order, you get a stuffed chicken, salad, soup, and a dessert. Yeah... really. It is really decently priced and the food is OK. This year, we went again before our Founder's Day school performance. I think it will be a tradition and I don't mind it at all. =) Oh wait... their cranberry vodka tasted like Robitussin cough syrup-- the nastiest thing I've ever tasted. But, other than that... I enjoyed it.

    (3)

  • Jen M.

    Oh boy....I SO wanted to love this place. I've lived in SSF for 6 years, about a 5 minute walk away from the Garden Club. Finally went tonight and was so very disappointed. :( Friday night was clam chowder and shrimp salad night. The clam chowder was NOT the creamy soup I was expecting....I'm pretty convinced that it was minestrone with some chopped up clams thrown in. Don't get me wrong....the minestrone was delish, but it was most certainly not clam chowder. Salad was just okay. I ordered the New York with pepper sauce. The sauce was more like a gravy and the flavor was way off. Meat was just okay. My husband got the seafood combination which he said was good, but everything was fried. Dessert was a scoop of ice cream. I want to try it again, and order a different main dish but it won't be for awhile. I will say that the dive bar intrigued me...I may want to go back just for the bar one of these days!

    (2)

  • Regina C.

    this place is so old timey! i feel awkward being chinese and walking into this joint. hella older white people who look at you oddly because you're not white. it seems they've forgotten they're in south san francisco, a city with tons of asians and mexicans. but i dig the old school vibe and the staff is always crazy nice. the meal with bread, soup, salad, RAVIOLI, your entree, coffee and ice cream for a reasonable price is awesome. who's grand idea was it to give you ravioli as a starter course? amen to that person!

    (4)

  • Angelina F.

    I wasn't sure what to make of this place from the outside. I came here with my boyfriend and his grandparents. I was pretty skeptical about it and at first glance it does look like an "old people restaurant" but it's actually quite nice. The inside is not fancy at all and the menu is pretty limited. Basically you pay $16.95 for Soup, Salad, (sunday night is Ravioli night) Ravioli, a main course of your choosing and a small dessert. The food is descent and theres a lot of it so come hungry!!! I had the leg of lamb and it was pretty tasty. The seafood combination is fried sole, scallops and shrimp. Its a very home-y type place. There were a lot of families there and it seems that they are all regulars. It makes sense though because I've been by this place before and I NEVER would've thought it was a restaurant... I think I'll be back for sunday night ravioli

    (4)

  • Miranda E.

    This place is really funny. It's dinner at grandma's down to the lukewarm coffee and iceberg lettuce. Everything you get will be generously sauced. Your dining companions will be celebrating. You will get sherbet at the end. Go!

    (3)

  • Alex H.

    great deal. You get so much food for the specials and the pribe rib was realy good. Its a plac you would never know about unless you have been here before. We were brought here with a friend and now we definitely wil come back again.

    (5)

  • Mimi W.

    Great food awesome price just a little to salty. Customer service fast and good interior looks a little outdated when u walk in but soon gives it a warm familiar feeling. If ur on a budget n want a fam nite out definitely come here

    (4)

  • Bert K.

    Inside you will find a tired looking bar area, keep walking to the dining room. The weekend prime rib dinner is good value with giant portions of soup , bread and salad that will fill you up. The actual cut of prime rib is a fair cut of prime rib, but the other stuff they bring you, comes in large portions: lots of minestrone, lots of salad, lots of bread, both of which are more filling then quality. Its a marathon of cheap eats, the food keeps coming and coming. $25 including tip, w/o wine is cheap for the humongous portions , it's practically unlimited food. The place is adjacent to the bar they co-operate. Decor: eh. Location: older looking strip mall along Mission blvd.

    (3)

  • Kimberly S.

    Friday night... what's for dinner? How about we try that Garden Club place in South City? OK I say... well that was a mistake. Maybe it was the time of day (5:30 pm) or the choice of food from the limited menu? This is literally a restaurant attached to a bar - not the other way around. It's loud with the regulars screaming and laughing in the bar area. I had the NY Steak, smothered in garlic (and I mean SMOTHERED) and he had the fish. OK, so the meal starts with the saltiest Manhattan style clam chowder. It's more like vegetable soup with some clam scrapings in it. I couldn't finish mine. The salad shows up next with an incredibly vinegary/mustard dressing. It's supposed to be a seafood salad - they have real shrimp, but FAKE crab... 'scuse me? Fillers ain't fish. Then the entrees are paraded past us and around the restaurant because the waitress didn't realize where the dishes went, I guess? We were one of maybe 6 occupied tables. She comes back and puts them down - not asking if we want refills on the soda or the iced tea. He had to ask for a refill - but turns out there are no refills, you get charged another $2 for a glass of ice and a shot of soda! grrrrrrr. So... the veggies on the side are mushy... the steak had no flavor except for the garlic - it was so odd. I like my steak rare, and that usually means I don't need to saw relentlessly at my steak to cut it. Not so, in this bizzaro world. this was the toughest rare steak I've ever encountered. The fish. OK, get this. Picture Fish n' Chips style fish - you know that fried flavor.. So, now, take the breading off the fish and wash it. That is what the fish tasted like. Again, odd... The menu is really limited. It's a silly looking thing, to boot. You get to pick one of 5-9 dishes, 3 of which you can pay like $1 - 2 more than the standard $16.99 pp... you get 1 soup and 1 salad choice -whether you like it or not and your choice of a dessert (read, ice cream or tapioca). Our bill came to $43 and change. Not Worth It. This place came highly recommended by a lot of people. Well, it sure couldn't have been for the food, service, decor or parking. I will not be going back, but I can say I've been there.

    (2)

  • Daven D.

    A little history lesson, from one of the waitresses. The bar in the Garden Club used to be one of the hottest bars in SSF. Where the restaurant is now used to be a TV/TV repair shop with lots of windows. But the fun/fights from the bar kept breaking the windows. Eventually, the windows were replaced with walls, now with fake painted windows and mirrors instead. With that said, the ambiance in the restaurant reminds me of a dinning hall in Italy during the medieval times(I don't know why). Food is good here. Good portions, and friendly service. The best part about the family style dinner is you only have to pick the entree. Soup (made fresh everyday) and salad is served family style, and desserts for everyone at the end. Everything is fresh here, from the fish to the meats to the grated Parmesan cheese. As mentioned, the portion is good here, and to-go boxes are provided. However, they don't have containers for the left-over soup. But they encourage you to bring your own container to take the soup :). There is a Seven Eleven few steps away to buy a container if you forget. This will be a regular dinning spot for us as it's only a 4-min walk away . And of course, I will be bring an empty Tupperware for the yummy left-over soup.

    (4)

  • W J.

    I've been here before and enjoyed it, but this time was a bad experience. The waitress was very cold and unfriendly. I thought she may have been having a bad day, but as I watched her, I saw that she was friendly to two of her tables, and cold to her other two tables. Could it be a coincidence that the two tables she was cold to were Asians? Also, why did she tell the non-asians customers what the specials were, but only abruptly asked the Asians "What are you having?". My wife and I both ordered the prime rib and it came out rather tough. For $20 a plate, you would think it would be more tender. Anyway, the attitude of the waitress alone made it a negative experience. This was the first time we got this particular waitress, and if we ever go back, I hope we do not get the middleage waitress with the dyed red hair!

    (1)

  • Marie S.

    As others before me have said, and I must repeat. This place is a dive; it is a hole-in-the-wall filled with whole-in-the-wall-loving people, and those afraid of streetlights and public spaces. It is ugly as sin, delightfully grungy, and looks like nothing's changed since the 50s, literally. Thing is, if you feel like taking a flashback tour of US Italian-esque joints from the mid-1900s, this place is a solid bet. And you better believe they could cook back then! You will not be able to finish everything. You have to pace yourself. No matter what main dish you order - though I highly recommend the prime rib, is it superb - you'll get a bowl of soup, a bowl of salad, and a starter dish that is a meal unto itself. Everything but your main dish will be served family style, but there's more than enough. Share a bottle of vino and you are all set. Oh, and don't forget the desert that comes just when you think you're about to burst - somehow you'll have to find room. I have been to many a steak place, and this place is more fun and more food than one of those fancy joints you have to wear a jacket to. Live a little, have some fun with friends, and make the trip out to the manky strip-mall that hides this gem away from unappreciative and snooty eyes.

    (5)

  • Richard S.

    Here is my update on the Garden Club.... My girlfriend and I decided to give the Garden Club another try...We just enjoyed a couple of drinks and decided to stay for dinner...We both decided on the fish entrees 16.95 you get bread..salad....soup and a tasty meal...Make no ''bones'' about it.....this place is 100% better the anything Nicks restaurant in Pacifica can serve...all at a reasonable cost which Nicks cant touch....We were both very happy with the vegetables and fish..it also came with a serving of potatoes ...It's a great value!....I definitely will be returning here for my seafood cravings.....The Garden Club is cool....Stop in before your meal and get order a beverage which is happily served by the wonderful bartendress they have!

    (4)

  • Fabrizio L.

    Must try. I stumbled in this restaurant by accident. Don't let the outside fool you. Great food for an increadible price. A must see. We did not know what to expect. They brought us soup, salad, raviolis, and the main Entree, plus a Sunday. The hostess was great with my 2 year old son. Try it.

    (5)

  • Will C.

    The best deal around. I ordered the prime rib. Came with soup and salad and spumoni! free bread and butter! for about $20! This place is like the best kept secret.. Check it out!!

    (5)

  • Mari E.

    My grandmother used to love going to the garden club with her friends. My mother and I were a couple blocks away from the joint so we thought we would try it out. Food was nothing to write home about and the Service was terrible! The lady was very rude! The server brought us a big bowl of soup which hardly got touched because our food came soon after. My mother politely asked the lady if we could take the soup to-go.In a rude tone the server says, DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO PUT IT IN?!? Like seriously! This is 2010! Havent you heard of to-go containers? Would not waste my time or money going back.

    (1)

  • Angel P.

    $25 with tax and tips include soup, salad, bread, big prime rib with 2 sides and dessert. Even it is not too expensive, quality of food is not bad. Worth to try. Will go back again!

    (4)

  • B F.

    Considering the price, I was quite pleased with tonight's tasty prime rib dinner. The restaurant may not look too appealing from the outside or even on the inside since the bar seems to keep the small dining area hidden, but it does serve decent meat. The service from the elderly women was great too. I went there with a party of 13 people and most of us ordered the prime rib or garlic-covered ny steak meal. Pre-meal freebies: sourdough bread and salted butter The bread wasn't heated but it tasted fine and there was plenty of it to go around. First Course: minestrone soup & salad Soup was simple and went well with the bread we had. The salad was unique because this was one of the few restaurants that actually baked their own croutons. The Italian dressing that was used was very mild too. Second Course: ravioli We were fortunate to come on a day where they served us humongous ravioli. It had a meat filling and very light tomato sauce. I honestly thought the ravioli was an upgrade from Chef Boyardee, but not that much better. Main Course: prime rib / ny steak The prime rib came on a plate with scalloped potatoes and sliced green pea skins. I would have to say that veggies were terrible and made the meat look more watery than usual. The potatoes were good and the meat was cooked to my liking which is medium-rare (closer to rare). Although it was tough to cut with the knives we had, the meat tasted good. The steak was special in that it was clothed in a garlic spread. The strong garlic flavor made it tough to tell whether the meat was good, but it tasted fine. Dessert: ice cream / sherbet / tapioca I had the spumoni ice cream for the first time which I found out was a tri-flavored (chocolate, berry, mint) ice cream. It was pretty tasty. Overall, I enjoyed eating at the restaurant and thought the food and service was great for the price.

    (4)

  • Alfred L.

    I've been coming here quite frequent now for the past few months and it's been nothing but spectacular. Awsome service and food. I can almost guarantee you will not leave being hungry after the 5 course meal. The lamb chops is to die for, as well as the prime rib. The ravioli and stuffed chicken is superb and mouth watering. This is the place to get stuffed on a budget!

    (5)

  • Andrew T.

    The first step into the Garden Club can be a little bit shocking. You might think you're in the wrong place. But just relax, take in your surroundings, and notice that towards the back of the bar there is indeed a door to the small restaurant. While the whole place is a little grungy, the food here is pretty good. They also give you your money's worth. or maybe more. Each day has preselected dishes that you can order. It was a Thursday, so I decided to try the Prime Rib. They brought tons of appetizers for us. A giant bowl of ministrone soup, salad, and stuffed chicken! By the time our entrees came I was already 60% full. So much food, definitely worth it.

    (3)

  • Freckles H.

    Good food and even better prices! The prime rib is a generous piece and the flavor is pretty good. You get bread, soup (decent), salad (basic), ravioli (yummy), prime rib (good), veges, potatoes, and ice cream (spumoni is good!). All for the low price of $17.95!!! You just can't beat that! I tried the fillet of sole, really good as well! They don't serve dinner all the time, so check their dinner hours.

    (5)

  • Danielle E.

    Wow. I shouldn't judge this place on first impression, but I am. I called about 10 minutes ago to make a reservation for my dad's birthday next week. The woman on the phone abruptly said, "Honey, we don't make reservations for only four people. " I then asked for an idea of how busy a Tuesday night would be and if we should arive early to avoid a longer waiting period. She said, "honey, I can't tell you. Garden Club, please put someone on the phone with some customer service experience. Working for a member based organization I know how important phone etiquette is. It can be your first impression toward potential customers. I will still give this place a try becuase that's where my dad wants to go. I will write an update.

    (2)

  • C T.

    Bar/resturant w a different layout. You'd never expect a resturant there given the name and it looked like a dive bar judging from the exterior. The resturant entrance is actually through the bar, in the back and on the left. Food is decent but not the best. The steak I ordered was cooked to temp, it just lacked a bit of flavor and was a bit gristly. Best time to go would be when they have their prime rib dinner. Svc could be a touch better. Parking should not be an issue. The restaurant was full when I did eat there but found parking easily. For family style dinner i'd rather go to basque cultural center closeby.

    (3)

  • Rebecca S.

    What a nice find. Was looking for a place to eat lunch after visiting a Colma cemetery. Went to Malloy's and they recommended the Garden Club. It sure wasn't what I expected. Almost turned around after pulling into the dumpy 1960's era parking lot, then the dark bar. But when we walked into the dining room everything brightened up. It's typical Italian with red and white checkered tableclothes. The food was very good. Not great, but good. I had petrale which was a generous portion and cooked perfectly for $8.95. My cousin had pork loin, which was again a perfectly cooked generous portion, topped with lots of delicious gravy. The mixed vegetables were a little overcooked, but nicely seasoned. The hearty red house wine was excellent. I'll be back.

    (4)

  • Sean F.

    Great place for lunch.....come hungry though. Portions are HUGE

    (4)

  • Mark T.

    I really love the food here and the staff. The prime rib was out of this world when we went last Friday night. Loved the seafood salad and the soup. Grew up right up the street from here and my parents and I have been going here for several years. It had been a long time for me though since I'd been but everything is still fantastic!

    (4)

  • jun a.

    I am reluctant to share our favorite restaurant to enjoy a good traditional and inexpensive dinner. The doorway into the restaurant is through a (dark) bar and some might step back to check out for another doorway - you won't find one. At the rear left hand side of this bar is a well lit entrance to a large room which appear to look more like a mesh hall, nothing fancy. And no well dressed maitre d to greet you either, except for one of the waitress (or waiter) who will stop by their busy routine and direct you to a table. You might see a lot of Seniors - the ones that made this country great and you know you are in a good place. And if the place is packed you might share a long table with the other patrons. They serve you outright freshly baked sliced French bread with water before you get your drink. The dinner starts off with home made soup served on a large bowl, good for about three servings, each. Then comes a hearty salad plate and your choice of dressing; then a starter which is a mini meal by itself - I would recommend holding off this meal; then comes the main course and there is quite a selection of traditional dish, served piping hot and a lot of food. One time i made a mistake of having the starter as well and this course ended unwillingly in a doggie bag. The feast finishes off with a choice of their ice cream dessert. All this for under $17, plus cost of your drink, tax and tip

    (5)

  • Jeff P.

    This place was highly recommended. I dont think so , This pace is horrible . food was crappy , the service was even shittier , the whole place was dark , dirty and shouldn't even serve food. the bill was way to high and the best yet there menu was the worst . they had like three item to choose from. food was poor under cooked and they used shitty spice's and nasty produce. the whole restaurant look like some one put old used restaurant seats , table and booths stuck them in a dingy whole in the wall and call it a f-in place to eat, So don't waste your time or money

    (1)

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Map

Opening Hours

  • Mon :11:30 am - 2:00pm

Specialities

  • Takes Reservations : Yes
    Delivery : No
    Take-out : Yes
    Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
    Good For : Dinner
    Parking : Private Lot
    Bike Parking : No
    Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
    Good for Kids : Yes
    Good for Groups : Yes
    Attire : Casual
    Ambience : Casual
    Noise Level : Average
    Music : Juke Box
    Alcohol : Full Bar
    Happy Hour : Yes
    Best Nights : Thu, Fri, Sat
    Coat Check : No
    Smoking : No
    Outdoor Seating : No
    Wi-Fi : No
    Has TV : Yes
    Waiter Service : Yes
    Caters : No

Garden Club Restaurant

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