Cable Car City Pub & Cafe

Questionable is one word I would use to describe Cable Car City Pub & Café’s business practices. Another one would be ‘oblivious-​tourist-​trap’? As mentioned in another review (at least) they included a 18% gratuity (for a party of 3…) on our check. whatever. But where the deception lied is that at the bottom of that check they gave us a «Suggested Tip» table basically trying to cheat us — non-​suspicious customers — into tipping an additional 20%, 18% or 15% on top of the 18% already charged. C’mon CCCP & C! Charging the tip up front if you have to because foreigners aren’t aware of etiquette is one thing, totally understand, trying to take advantage of folks on vaca by charging them the tip twice is another. Hopefully an honest oversight on their part.

The boyfriend and I stopped by here on thanksgiving to watch some football as we came up here for the holidays. Called a few different places and they were not open so we settled for this pub/​café. The stars are based upon good service only. We ordered the calamari for an appetizer and two chicken wraps.
Calamari– they do not give you nearly enough for what you pay for. We asked for a side of cocktail sauce which they did not have but the server made us some by mixing ketchup and horseradish, which was super cool of him!
Chicken wraps– I customized mine by mixing in buffalo sauce and upgraded to garlic fries. The boyfriend got BBQ sauce in his. The chicken tastes really dry even with all the sauce in it. The menu also stated that avocado and bacon were going to be in the wrap. But that was nowhere to be found. After I received my plate and realized I just paid an extra 2 dollars for a few pieces of garlic thrown on top, I was upset. Usually when we go places and get garlic fries, it’s tossed with a good amount of garlic or garlic oil with some seasonings on top. Maybe I was expecting too much but it’s not worth the extra 2 dollars in my opinion.

It was an okay experience. Super crowded, as it would be on a Friday night, so the service was slow. Overall though, it’s a chill place to hang out with friends.

Awesome spot, I’ve been coming here for years and still LOVE IT. Bar staff are awesome! Christy, Mia, (Beth and Liam arnt there, they got other offers cuz they are Awesome, but still come back to kick it) damn near have my drink poured b4 my butt hits the seat, Ivy and all the wait staff are friendly, attentive and energetic, and Fosco keeps it all running smoothly. menu changes alot so it doesn’t get too boring, but sometimes they take things off that I grow to like. :(but the chefs are great) they take directions on special orders very well.
There is a huge group of us regulars and if you’re in there more then 2ce we will probably remember you (you’ll remember uncle Darrel). they environment is chill. I’ve had work meetings and family get togethers on the table side, but I’m usually at the bar where the action is. if I’m tired n just need a drink and not wanting to talk, they leave me alone, if I’m chatty, there is conversation to be had, and if I wanna turn up, we turn up. oh, buy if you want quiet and peaceful on a 49ers or Giants game day, go elsewhere. it Is City Pub after all.

Awesome place to go good drinks

I love this place !! Happy it’s 4 to 6 pm and 10pm to close !! $ 15 pitcher beer, $ 4 pint beer, $ 5 glass of wine, and 5 well drinks !! Love it

Great location!!! Make sure you go there during their happy hour. 15 $ Pitchers, 4 $ beers …

Your run of the mill touristy diner. Nothing special.
I think I had a glass of OJ and some chicken tenders here. The chicken tenders had the soft texture of tofu that got all of us thinking we were eating vegan. It was also deep fried in batter typically reserved for fish for some reason, but all in all it was still decently tasty for what it was.
Honestly, I would have never come in here at all if it wasn’t for Santa Con. It was simply perfect in terms of space (lots of it!) and location (close to Union Square) for my large group of 50 Santas to meet up before we headed off to our Union Square to Polk Street Santa Con pub crawl. It was a good thing we decided to meet here too since all of the other bars along the way were way too crowded.

We happened to find ourselves here after leaving the SF PRIDE festivities. It was a nice place to pull up a chair and have a quick bite. The only unfortunate thing was that everything that day was to be served in disposable containers. Seemed like a bit of waste since we were still eating in. We missed being charged a cover by about 20 minutes, though we weren’t sure why they were even charging as the place never got full.
We had the nachos, which were very tasty. It seemed like a pretty hefty portion, and every chip had topping on it. We weren’t disappointed by the quality of the dish overall.
Service was spotty and slow. There was only one restroom per gender, and the wait was very long. Restrooms were dark, dingy and dirty, and I sort of felt more disgusting coming out than I did going in.
Not a bad place, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing to go here again.

It was ok. I had the fried chicken and it had a slight sweet taste which was different. Not bad or good, but different. We didn’t want to walk too far and wasn’t sure where else to go since this was our first night in SF. So basically, it did the job of filling us up after a long day of sight seeing.

We ended up here because I wanted a beer and was with the kid. We couldn’t get into the ideal pubs in the area, and others were too busy. It kind of feels like a college bar atmosphere without the crowd. In fact, it was pretty dead. Not bad bar food and they had only one good draft beer. Wouldn’t be my fist choice, but not bad.

Food is very good and portions are large with reasonable prices. Good for watching a game but if not the atmosphere is okay. Great service!

I have never written a negative review, but felt inclined given the shady bill we received.
The first bill that the waitress brought out had all of the line items for what we had purchased and also had gratuity included for our party of 2. I thought that seemed a little odd, but ok. It was calculated at 17%, which was less than the 20% I would normally tip, but again… ok. All good.
She rang the bill up and then came back with another check. This time, the check showed the total she had charged from the first bill, but asked for a second tip, meaning that if I hadn’t noticed that gratuity was included the first time around, I would have tipped her twice.
We’ve eaten here on numerous occasions when we were out and about on Market, but I never noticed this before. Who knows if this is happening to others, but I figured it’s worth putting a heads up out there.
I’ve never experienced this in the past but will certainly be on the lookout from now on.

10.31.14 this was our home base during the SF Giants championship parade. Despite the debauchery, the waitstaff & bartenders remained attentive to our party of 11.
$ 2 cover with in & out privileges allowed us to toggle between the bar and the parade route with easy access to clean restrooms, above average bar food, and pricey but generous shots!
Huge windows facing Market & Cyril Magnin span the width of the pub, providing perfect views of the parade route when we needed to come in during the rain.
TV’s throughout the pub to watch
live parade coverage along Market all the way to the Civic Center at the end of the route. We all enjoyed lunch inside as the parade commenced and the crowd continued on to the Civic Center.
Conveniently located right above the Powell St. BART Station, you can get sauced and not worry about how to get home. We’ll be back!

I like the location foremost and it is a large capacity place. I sit at the bar or when with folks at the plentiful tables. I was at a convention at Moscone Center when I remarked that there was no regular bar or pub with happy hour prices near Powell, that is when I discovered Cable Car City Pub. I now consider it one of my spots to go to to get liquored up economically. I like that there are televisions going for the sports fans. I have only eaten some fries here and they were fine.

Hilarious, not-​so-​little café in the center of all the action for the area, opens early and stays open late. My kind of place! Sure, it’s got a great misfit group of characters inside and out, but that’s all the fun of San Francisco!
They had pickle backs for my whiskey, Modelo all served cold. I’m that easy.

Wanted to catch Monday night football while sightseeing. Saw this place on Unilocal and it looked iffy because of reviews.
Came in, sat down, service was prompt. Food was good. Had Nachos w/​Chicken & BF had San Fran Burger both were very very tasty. And the TV set up is pretty sweet.

A totally normal pub. Huge space. Good for a big group — pretty empty on a weeknight. Prices were good. Food was as average as average can be.
TOURISTS — DON’T GO HERE! GO SOMEWHERE DELICIOUS WHEN YOU ARE IN SF!

After a long flight from Pittsburgh to San Francisco, we wanted something quick to eat, but still a step up from McDonalds. We stopped for a drink at a Tapas bar and realized that the menu was a bit less than appetizing so found ourselves here at Cable Car City.
The atmosphere is… a little unsettling. There were some shady looking people hanging outside the place as well as inside, which made it a little uncomfortable. I also thought it was weird that we arrived for a late lunch and the place wasn’t very full. Considering the location, I thought it would have been packed!
On to the food… it was good and just what we were looking for… sandwiches and burgers. I got a chicken wrap and fries that satisfied me. It wasn’t anything amazing, but still good. I also ordered a cider beer that was on special. Can’t go wrong there! I think I may have paid about $ 15-​$ 20 for my meal and drink. Service was a little… meh. We started one with waiter, then he disappeared and another waitress took care of us. Both were friendly and answered our questions, but didn’t come over very often to check on us.

Surprisingly decent place… just minus a few things.
My hun and his parents all went on a shopping excursion in Union Square this past Saturday, which just happened to be the infamous «Drunken Santa day». So, you can imagine how chaotic it was, let alone including all the holiday shoppers already drenching the streets. Well anyhow, we arrived around noon, and were all quite starving. Not wanting to settle for food stands or be subjected to walking long distances just to find a Unilocal worthy place, with a quick glance across the street, I just happened to notice this place which stirred up just enough interest for all of us to want to check out.
We really weren’t expecting much with it being located in a somewhat touristy section right next to the mall, but to our surprise, everything was fairly decent just minus a few things.
It was open seating, so we were able to seat our-self’s at a nice large booth. The environment seemed slightly unorganized, not to mention there were quite a few abandoned dirty tables that needed a little tlc… perhaps it was the reminisces from all the jolly santas :) but anyhow, we were greeted by a server several minutes after seating and asked for our drinks. I was in a jolly mood my self, and decided to start my afternoon here off with a good o’l hot Irish Coffee. Everyone else (all the non drinkers) opted for diet cokes/​reg cokes.
Everyone received their drink within a fairly decent time, I however, had to wait quite a bit longer… much longer than I should have. Though when it arrived, the moments of anticipation were behind me, for It appeared whip smacking delicious… and turned out to be just so :)
For food, I went with the cobb salad. This particular salad came with blue cheese and blue cheese dressing, that I ended up swapping our for Ranch dressing on the side instead. My huns mom went with a chicken pesto wrap, and both my hun and his father, went with the club sandwich. The club sandwiches come with your choice of fyr’s or a salad. Everyone went with the fry’s. We also ordered a small order of Onion Rings… because I waned just a few… to compensate for the salad I suppose…:)
Food arrived with in a decent time. My salad was presented far more appealing than I anticipated, and had me eager to dive in and start devouring it. Everyone else club appeared average in presentation, however, they all LOVED it. My salad ended up tasting deliciously awesome. Generous portions of fresh avocado, well cooked, well seasoned chicken– nice crispy bacon… very, very tasty. Only little minor thing is, that instead of giving my Ranch dressing, they fave me a little cup of Mayo… I mentioned it to our server who apologized and immediately brought me the Ranch. The onion rings were also quite tasty. Tad greasy, but still quite enjoyable.
The only down fall for this place was how horrendous the bathrooms were. I mean, I am guessing it was hit by a tornado of Santa’s, but come on, no bathroom should be left that dirty. I didn’t even use the restroom after seeing it. Just washed my hands.
Overall, this place seemed to have been a little hectic this day however, we really enjoyed our food. The service was friendly friendly minus a little forgetfulness with some things, and I also felt the prices were certainly fair. Can’t say its a place I would recommend going out of your way for, but Id say its worth checking out if your close by. I just hope they keep up more on the cleanliness issue.