Straits Cafe - Santana Row

05/11/2008 Posted by aubinit

Food isn't bad but there are better places in Santana Row. There is a lot of hype about Straights; truth is it's OK. There is ALWAYS a looong wait; regardless if they're busy or not. Prices are pretty steep and portions are pretty small..

Pros: Good Mojitos

Cons: Small Portions; Long Wait; High Prices

05/11/2008 Posted by mambo5678

The only down I can think of is dining at Straits with just one other person, for two people cannot possibly order enough dishes: the more you get to taste, the better the experience. There were six of us, so we tried, seriously, 12 different dishes, all fabulous! I wanted more of the Black Pepper Lobster and garlic noodles -- they were great!

Cons: We were there to eat; why waste a good dining experience hoping to find a date?

11/06/2007 Posted by cbtran04

The food was okay I've had better at other pan Asian restaurants. The one thing that I really enjoy is that the live music is great, but very loud. I was barely able to hear the person next to me.

Pros: live music, full bar

Cons: very loud, pricey

08/24/2007 Posted by dakara930

The food here is horrible and terribly overpriced, like a lot of the reviews say. I came here for lunch with 4 friends and all of us walked out with a stomach ache. The food was barely edible, there were pounds of sugar in a lot of the food (even the ahi tuna tartar!!). Their "curry" sauces were bland and flavorless. Curry should be fragrant & flavorful. Do NOT even visit this place!!!

Pros: Getting seated right away

Cons: Unfortunately, there was a reason for that!!!! Nasty Food!!!!!!!

08/01/2007 Posted by michaelbauer2

I've been a big fan of Straits for years...have been dining at their first location in the city (Geary/Parker, recently moved to SF Shopping Center) since the mid-90's. Though not necessarily the most authentic Singaporean cuisine (but certainly one of the better ones in the Bay Area), their service has been impeccable. Likewise at the other Straits location at Palo Alto & Burlingame. This one at Santa Row is just unusually bad! Food quality is mediocre, but the service is just horrifyingly bad. The waiters and waitresses seem so impatient and rude. The waitress will try to recommend some of the more expensive items on the menu (nothing wrong with that). However, when we end up ordering none of what she suggested, she literally snorted, and asked "That's it? Are you sure you don't want to try something better on the menu?" I'm like, what the hell! You could almost feel the 180 degrees change in her attitude. The 4 of us end up spending close to 80 bucks ordering some small plates of appertizers and some dessert. And we gave her a penny for tips. Chris Yeo (the owner of Straits): if you truly care about expanding your business, first take care of the issues in-house. This is not the right way to treat your customers. For the rest of us, stay the hell away from Straits, at least the one in Santa Row. Why should we pay to suffer from such bad attitudes?

Pros: nada

Cons: Overpriced, worst customer service

07/15/2007 Posted by truenuf

The wait staff was argumentative and unfriendly. For these prices I should be allowed to order whatever my heart desires and not get a goofy eye-roll! The food was acceptable, but the attitude did not aid digestion!

Pros: convenient location

Cons: poor service, BAD attitude

03/28/2007 Posted by dknyjunkie

I was a little skeptical at first about having dinner at straits since I'm not much of a fusion food fan. However, the menu proved me wrong especially their green curry and the lobster pad thai. It's one of the better that and indian food around here. The atmosphere is great and decor is on the better end of the restaurants business and is a very cozy place to have a dinner gathering with friends. The prices are a little higher than other restaurants, but you will definitely be happy with what your getting.

Pros: great food, great atmosphere

Cons: very crowded on the weekends

03/03/2007 Posted by ronpiccioni

Looking to have a good time while you go out and enjoy a nice meal? Through friends and colleagues, I had heard about the poor dining experience at the Straights Cafe - and being a person who believes in experiencing things for myself, I decide to take a few of my clients there. Biggest mistake ever!! Though the menu and food was not bad, it was one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had. It was quite embarassing taking your clients out for a nice meal, only to have the the dining staff not only argue with you and your guest, but also also mock and roll their eyes try to order additional items. For diners who don't mind an unfriendly wait staff, then this may be the place to try. For others, I would not recommend this place to anyone.

Pros: Live music attracts crowd looking to just enjoy drink

Cons: Poor service, dining experience very poor

01/24/2007 Posted by janehope

The food is fairly good, but the service was poor. The reservation was not correct and they argued with us about it when we arrived., The music is too loud. The service was slow. They actually asked us to hurry so they could seat the next reservation (yet we were late solely because of the quality of service). Overall..too bad for words. None of our large group will return...and I doubt they really care...

08/15/2006 Posted by dhoffmann

The quality and price of the food at Straits was good, but my friends and I could not help but walk away in disgust. The hostess sat us next to the kitchen, where we got the pleasure of watching the cooks make our food. Throughout the dinner, the chef's were looking at my friends and I in a perverted and digusting manner. Our conversation was interrupted by their continuous pointing and gawking. When my friend complained to the manager that the cooks were inappropriately staring at us and we couldn't enjoy our meal, he said, "Of course they were." Next time, we'll be sure to choose a more classy restaurant.

Pros: Food

Cons: Service