Three Restaurant & Bar
| Address: | 50 E 3rd Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401, USA |
| Phone: | +1 650-344-9444 |
| Site: | threesanmateo.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 8:30AM–2PM 8:30AM–2PM 8:30AM–2PM 8:30AM–2PM 8:30AM–2PM 9AM–2PM 9AM–2PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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Samantha Berg
I came in here on a Friday evening with my boyfriend. We were looking for a casual but cozy spot to grab some dinner and this seemed to fit the bill. Upon being seated we looked at the menu and we were both a bit confused. It was hard to tell the personality of the place - the menu had everything from meatloaf to buffalo chicken pizza to lamb kabobs. Im not sure either of us knew where to start. Most of it sounded quite unhealthy and heavy so we had a tough time deciding what to order. Ambiance - 4 stars. The place was actually quite cozy inside, a mostly modern interior full of chalkboard style menus on the walls. The crowd was fairly mixed, some younger folks, some older folks, a few families. Hot chicken wings - 4 stars. Actually some of the better wings Ive found in the Bay Area. Good size, plenty of meat on the bones, and the sauce actually properly stuck to the wings. Solid kick too. Id order these again. Eleni’s chopped Thai salad - 2 stars. Citrus, peanuts, cabbage, Romaine, peanut dressing. Honestly, this salad lacked any kind of flavor or texture. It was all one note, basically just cabbage and romaine with peanut dressing. I ate out the few orange slices and some of the peanuts but left most of it in the bowl. This needed spice or personality of some kind, even just ingredients beyond lettuce and peanuts. Service - 3 stars. Nothing bad, nothing to write home about. Overall, I was disappointed by my experience here. While the menu was certainly varied, the lack of options that seemed lighter or healthier was discouraging, and my salad didnt deliver. I dont see a need to return.
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Johnny Wang
*** In Short *** Solid brunch food, easy parking, AND accepts brunch reservations. Take that, SF! *** In Depth *** Honestly, after four years of dealing with SF restaurants not accepting brunch reservations, coming across a place that does immediately biases me in their favor. That said, even aside from that point, Three had some genuinely enjoyable dishes! My friends and I got a little greedy and ordered their: * Bacon Bitz - Less bacon, and more braised and fried pork belly in a sweet and spicy glaze. Enjoyable, tender, albeit a little on the sweet side. * Potato Pancake & Smoked Salmon Benedict - This dish was a little less memorable than the others, not because it was bad, but just because its flavor profile didnt pack as much oomph as the others. That said, the potato pancakes were more like croquettes, and enjoyable if youre into those. * Fried Chicken Buttermilk Waffle Sandwich - You know, chicken and waffles, but in sandwich form. While I wasnt a huge fan of their waffle preparation, the bacon and chicken definitely went a long way to redeem it. * Breakfast Pizza - Bacon and fried eggs on a pizza is hard to mess up. Tasty. ***Accessibility Info*** Venue - The particulars are a little fuzzy now, but I remember the front of the restaurant being fairly accessible. I seem to recall a bar, which of course would be standard high counter top height, so theres that. For food, youll be fine. Bathroom - Didnt try them.
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Vera DeVera
*Great restaurant for a date* If youre looking for a lively setting and a hankering for new American fare, Three hits the spot. The walls at the front of the restaurant are punctuated with chalkboard art and a bright, inviting bar. We were seated near the window and the server set down a cup of sweet potato chips (versus a traditional bread basket). I had the spaghetti with seafood that was perfectly seasoned with the right amount of salt, butter and garlic. Sometimes other restaurants fall short on portions of the seafood to pasta and seasoning ratio but this dish was spot on and satisfied my craving. My boyfriend is vegan and Three has a special menu for vegetarian/vegans, which he appreciated. For dessert, I had the baked Alaska and he had the chocolate cake. The baked Alaska had too much ice cream and too little cake, which made it off balance and hard to eat (it was too rich). The chocolate cake was great and I will have to go with that next time. We tried to come back for lunch the next day but their kitchen closes at 2pm, so thats something to keep in mind when youre looking to have a late lunch in San Mateo. All in all, we would come back for more!
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Maria Myers
The food and ambiance was nice, but the service was horrible. Our server greeted us by asking us if we were ready to order drinks...no warmth, no smile, nothing. She disappeared at the end and never returned. We had to flag someone else to take our payment. The disturbing component to all of this is that she is one of the owners. We left a note on one of the credit card receipts expressing our dissatisfaction. She returned with a scowl and said that our bill had been taken care of. We never complained about paying for anything. What we wanted was some personable attention, a warm smile, and perhaps a sincere apology for her downright rude behavior rather than just comping our bill. Instead, we received a apology with a attitude. We will never return. Great job Elini. Way to make your guests feel welcomed.
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Stacy Nygard
Here now. Disappointing. Took over 15 minutes for someone check in for drink orders. Took another 15 to come back for dinner orders. Food came quickly enough but French onion soup was almost cold...you could see cheese was not melted, forgot chili aioli sauce asked for on the side, and roasted potatoes are under cooked to the point of being inedible. Asked for water, had to ask again, finally brought waters but didnt leave the half full carafe even though every other table has at least 1 on their table. Busboy cleared plates more than 10 minutes ago yet still havent seen our waiter again. Check just arrived and noticed the pinot noir he chose for me was the most expensive on the menu. Such a nice area, was excited to dine out in San Mateo, and bummed this was our experience.
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Liz Cantu Davenport
One of the most delicious restaurants I have been to in a very long time. My husband & I started with dessert first. He had a delicious chocolate mousse and I had a fantastic carrot tower. Those are both of our faves and we were not disappointed. Not at all. We knew after the first bite that this place will be one of our faves. Our lunch was tasty too. I had the prawn spring rolls. They were fresh, flavorful, and crunchy. My husband had the burger and fries. It was mouth watering. He said that they didnt try to make it to fancy which often looses the classic flavors. No flavor was lost here. Perfect bun to absorb all that juice! Enjoy this place. Bring friends. They can handle a crowd! Or just bring someone who likes to share.
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Matthew Wirgler
I will start with the service being excellent. From start to finish, this place was great. Let me explain: I order a drink at the bar. They have cider on tap (the kind that isnt super sweet) which is awesome. Bar tender was an awesome guy. We talked about infusing Vodkas. Sat down at a table to eat. Sweet Potato chips. AMAZING. I couldnt stop eating them. The perfect combo of sweet/salty that blows away all sweet potato fries Ive had in the past. Chips are where its at! I ordered a salad and Bacon Blitz! The Bacon Blitz is actually 3 large chunks of pork belly with a spicy-maple sauce. It was an amazing combo that made me wish I had ordered three of them! A great complement to a simple salad. 5 stars, all the way.
