Joe's Of Westlake

Joe's will forever be my favorite restaurant.

I was about 12 or 13 when I first came here. I remember I ordered spaghetti and meatballs, it was delicious.

20 years later I came looking for the fabled charcoal flame broiled t-bone steak and I found it complete with a side of whatever pasta I wanted with whatever sauce I wanted. I never understood why people would order anything else here knowing that there was a charcoal flame broiler. Sure I did it once but being so young I had no idea how great an expertly cooked medium rare steak could taste.

Its been almost 10 years since I found Joe's again. The experience always set this place apart. We always specifically sat at the counter because that is where the best show was. Sitting on the left side of the counter we would watch the long time cooks prepare the chicken piccata, veal parmigiana, and chat it up with Don Mario, he was a long time waiter who took care of the left side of the counter. Then there was the right side of the counter where we would watch Neftal expertly cook all the proteins over the charcoal flame broiler, this was my favorite side of the counter. It was like sitting in front of your fireplace at home, of course with a great bottle of wine. It was even better when it was cold and rainy outside. Lucio another long time waiter was always gracious and efficient, he took care of the right side of the counter. Kim at the bar made great stiff drinks. No matter how much I would tip her she was always a little rude, whatever we still loved her.

I will always remember them and the great times we had there. We are so sad to see that the Original Joe's people bought them as we are familiar with their miniscule portions and hefty prices. If they do read these reviews I would implore them to KEEP THE OPEN KITCHEN.

I don't leave reviews on yelp anymore and have not done so in years because it is filled with self indulgent douchebags who have nothing better to do but find any little thing wrong with a place and trash them for it. Seems that their mommies and daddies didn't raise them right and I just wanna smack them............. I digress.

I find comfort in the fact that there are many native San Franciscans that feel the same way we do. We will remember you Joe's Of Westlake until the day we go to the great meatball in the sky.

Arrivederci old friend.

I may be biased since I grew up on Joe's of Westlake, but I stand by my review since they are still doing it this many years later. I'm not saying how many...

This is the Official Family Birthday Spot, since like before I was even born. So when it was my Mom's birthday, I asked her " Do you want to go to Joe's? I'll make a reservation for the family", not even asking where she wanted to go, I already knew and the answer was yes.

We made our reservation and we were seated after everyone arrived. We sat in the garden room which has larger tables for groups. We all stared at the menu, like we didn't already know what we were ordering. We ordered salads and mains, everyone getting similar dishes with small revisions on sides and starters. It's almost hilarious how we almost all got the same dishes, but we know what we like.

To start, we ordered either the House Salad with Thousand Island Dressing (homemade and delicious), minestrone soup or cesar. My brother in law went for the anchovies, old school style. http://goo.gl/vIFXv The house salad has lots of extras, but they lay down the dressing, so you may want it on the side. http://goo.gl/fZC0o

As a kid, I would always order the Meatballs with half ravioli and half spagetti, but as an adult I order the Steak ala Bruno for $18.99. I like my steak medium rare and love the nice cuts.

My beautifully large Steak Ala Bruno with ravioli: ttp://goo.gl/QjLEh, so good, my brother in law ordered one too, with penne. http://goo.gl/qUh70
The Hamburger steak is about a pound of quality beef, cooked to your preference. My step dad prefers this one over steak. http://goo.gl/daHZy
My mom, sister and dad went for the Calamari Steak, which was big too. This lightly breaded piece of calamari is as big as a slab of fish. http://goo.gl/UgLbf , http://goo.gl/ySl1d

After dinner, we all order coffee and ice cream for our cake. I order the Spumoni, because it reminds me of my childhood. http://goo.gl/XkAXd My nephew comes over and wants to try Spumoni and loves it too. It's important to pass down family food traditions as well.

I love Joe's for the old school blue plates and the family style charm. I love that the prices are still resonable and the food is delicious. The place is still fancy, although the interior is outdated and the menu is more old fashioned than gourmet fancy.

I love how it reminds me of my family and the food we grew up on. I love how we all can appreciate the charm of the place and the old school Italian dishes. I love how they are big, which allows you to have leftovers for later. I love the sauce and the crusty sourdough to dip it in.

For all of that, I will always love Joe's.

I'm a foodie and I can prove it!

Acquerello

Delfina

SPQR

Perbacco

A 16

Capannina

Quince

All are included on my favorite Italian restaurants in the City. But wait! Oh Hell, I have another favorite that will undoubtedly destroy my street cred.

Joe's of Westlake.

At one time in the not too distant past, I would have argued with you until I was blue in the face that Joe's flat out sucked. It was so sucky that I pretty much had this place blacklisted for years. But recently I have begun to sing a new tune. I not only can tolerate it, but I actually have grown to love Joe's. I even crave it.

Joe's is not only an institution, it's an experience. This place attracts an interesting mix of people. Everything from the elderly to the young hipsters. And they all come because the food is not only plentiful, but it's also really good. Do not expect a creative jaw dropping menu. Joe's is about the basics. Think Titanic portions of Italian comfort food. The chicken parmesan is the size of a Mack truck and the fettuccine alfredo ASS growing good. The steaks, believe it or not are just about as good as any you would you find at some of the better steakhouses and at a fraction of the cost.

I guess I have officially dumped my foodie status.

It's not often I go to a restaurant older than me. Of course, there aren't that many restaurants older than me anyhow unless you go to Ye Olde Whatever in Boston or thereabouts where Revolutionary War soldiers filled their muskets and had their way with the beer maidens. Joe's doesn't go that far back - just to 1956, and it looks it. The retro vibe is authentically mid-century if that "Mad Men" style excites you. Make sure you get a booth in the central area, and don't let them take you to the generic side room unless getting to the restroom faster is a priority for you. They say it's been "family-owned" since the beginning, but I couldn't tell if it was the same family. It doesn't really matter since most of the waitstaff looks like they came with the place.

At the spur of the moment, Jamie W. and I decided to drive down here to have dinner on Christmas Eve. It had a lot of available slots on Open Table, so why not? Assumed it would be a quiet evening but not so - it was gangbusters busy with groups of multi-generational locals anticipating their big holiday meals here. I particularly liked the cut of the jib of the seventy-something men wearing white turtlenecks that would have made Robert Wagner jealous enough to push them off his yacht (...did I write that out loud?). We got lucky and scored one of the middle booths where we saw the blue-haired women with their bedazzled red sweaters. The menu is pure Italian-American by way of the Rotary Club. No surprises as this is the kind of food you would expect their regular clientele to mangia.

We both had the $6.85 plates of Caesar Salad which were drowning in dressing with only a few croutons for contrast (see photo). Jamie went for the $12.35 Joe's of Westlake Fish & Chips which despite its exalted billing was not very fresh-tasting (see photo). It definitely had the tell-tale taste of something that's been in the deep freezer for a while. I had more luck with the $19.75 Roast Prime Rib of Beef, which was a nice-size slab nicely prepared, but the accompanying mixed vegetables tasted like they came from a frozen bag despite being lacquered in a pool of melted butter (see photo). They give you a squeeze-bottle of Beaver Brand horseradish, so you can go to town on spicing up your juicy meat.

Given it was Christmas Eve and all, we ordered dessert - like that was the real excuse. Jamie ordered the $4.75 Tiramisu, which was a flash-frozen square that again tasted like it was in the freezer since Thanksgiving (see photo). Shockingly though understandably, he couldn't finish it since he ran into an iceberg in the middle of it. I played it safer and and had the $4.55 Special Italian Spumone, swirls of vanilla and "green" ice cream with pistachios and what sort of tasted like cherries (see photo). I think the "green" was meant to be decorative since I don't think I tasted mint. It would be hard for them to screw up ice cream since it's supposed to be frozen. I can see why the regulars keep coming back - it's all about portion out-of-control.

FOOD - 3 stars...old-fashioned Knights of Columbus lodge kind of eatin' with the prime rib the stand-out if they don't run out
AMBIANCE - 4 stars...sue me, I like mid-century decor...it has that retro-kitsch- cool vibe
SERVICE - 3 stars...veteran servers a bit on automatic pilot
TOTAL - 3 stars...is happiness a thing called Joe?...if you like big portions, sure

Hey young world, you know the movie out in theaters right now called "Walking with Dinosaurs"?

Well coming to Joe's of Westlake is a similar experience. Except instead of "walking" you're eating, and instead of dinosaurs it's the seventy-plus Geritol drinking crowd in an old "Knights of Columbus" styled restaurant stuck in the 50's. I've been here throughout the years but with this dinosaur of a restaurant coming to extinction on January 26th, I felt the need to eat here one last time and write about it.

I'll start off by saying I love this type of Italian American, hearty, meaty, heavy sauce covered entrees. Nothing pretentious or foo foo about this food. For a reasonable price Joes offers all the different cuts of steak. Also every type of pasta is served with it. We ordered two of the most popular entrees:

Steak a la Bruno: this is a tender cut of steak cooked to order served with rigatoni. It very tender with a nice char on the outside. The rigatoni is drenched in a tasty meat sauce.

Chicken Parmigiana: the dinner portion is two chicken cutlets served with ravioli. It's the traditional hearty dish that you can't go wrong with. It's not the most exciting dish in the world but satisfactory.

Service is on cruise control at Joe's. The staff is about the same age as the clientele so they aren't too excitable. Just going through the motions at this point.

So in less then a month Joes of Westlake are closing their doors. I know some are bummed about it but I've met the Duggan Family before and ate at Original Joe's. When they reopen the doors I imagine the menu isn't going to change much at all except they may add a few entrees like oxtails, and they'll probably give Joe's a needed remodel. So even though we won't be "walking with dinosaurs" anymore, soon we'll be eating in Jurassic Park.

I still really love Joe's of Westlake.

From the moment we entered the door, we were greeted and from that point to the end of our meal we were helped by a total of 4 men and 2 women.

Man 1 warmly greeted us and asked where we wanted to go. We said diner.
Woman 1 and 2 told us that there was a wait in the diner area but called the cascade room to have us seated right away
Man 2 in the cascade room gave us another sincere greeting and brought us to our table, untucked the chairs and everything like it was a fancy place (when does that ever happen?)
Man 3 took our orders and got them back out within 10 minutes!
Man 4 kept the water and fresh bread refills coming nonstop.

I ordered the Ravioli with meatballs. It was amazing as expected.

I still have to say from my last review, however:

--ROFL:ROFL:LOL:ROFL:ROFL--
______|_____
L / \ old people \
LOL == transport []\
L \______________\
| |
/------------------/

Counted 28 old people just from looking around. hahaha

The only downside: a little bit more expensive than say Pasta Pomodoro or your other average Italian chain. Average tab runs from 10-25 dollars. My pasta was 14 dollars, but well worth it for the most part. That being said, this place is good for special occassions.

I have been to better American dining cuisines than this, but the perk about this place is that it offers big group reservations, which is super convenient when bringing family gatherings along.

From the bat, you can tell that this place is old school with its worn down furnitures and so worth.

Their food is alrighty - their mixed veggies, pasta and ravioli were overcooked and mushy. However, their lamb chops were flavored well and tasted great.

Our waiter did an okay job servicing, but could have have been more upbeat.

I would only go here if my family goes and that is exactly what I did!

While not bad overall, this place feels like a pricier Lyon's or Sizzler's (what Peppermill used to be). I'll have to come back at another time to get a different perspective.

Went for first time, for breakfast, and was not overly impressed. The foods were average and some of us had leftovers (that's not because of portion size either). Then again, I might be a tad bias because the "odd" service we got. At first, I got the feeling we were back in the '60s. Then, the hostess would not seat us unless my friends are all there (we got there before they did, still, the place was probably 20% full at the time). To top it off, service was slow (to order anything, to get the foods, to get the check).

The bartender was pretty cool though. He was friendly and when we told him we had to wait for our friends to show in order to get a table, gave us a funny look like he's never heard of that (a wtf look).

Do you know that fairly recent (early 2006) Coca-Cola commercial with a tag-line 'Free refills. It should be a law.' Well, if Daly City decided to incorporated that law, Joe's of Westlake would be breaking it. Perhaps in efforts to stay true to their old fashioned theme, they charge for refills. I hate to start a review of a restaurant on a mundane issue of refills, but when I pay $2.25 for a Diet Coke, I wish to get more than one small cup. I had to drop a star just for this.

I actually liked their back to the future 1970 look with dark brown tables, ceiling, and counter with waiters in nifty tux & red bow tie, nevertheless, the food did not match my liking. With that said, I could see how others may like this place, especially those...how can I say it without offending anyone...highly mature folks. No offense.

FOOD: Had their fried fish which was at the top of their lunch menu as a permanent special, but it came out soggy and oily. Cheese burger was pretty good, but I personally is not a fan of using baguette as buns because it becomes so difficult to bite into without making a mess and bread it self is so filling that I become full eating just half of it. Streak fries were ok, but again, it was soggy. Perhaps their deep fryer was not set at the right temperature on the day I went. Their fruit salad is made of canned fruits.

Very weird place....strangest vibe..like a time machine. Going back to the 70s...but in a mafia mob movie...an old school italian run joint...I could picture people lightin up cigars and talking w scruffy voices... Ha

Waited 10-15 min for our name to be called...not too bad. This place was packed and I'm still not sure why? The legend I assume...the history..

The food on the other tables as we walked to sit down, all looked the same color..brick red/brown...like enchilada sauce..no matter what people had ordered..it was odd ...haha

The menu really didn't intrigue me..it was plane Jane status to me. And some very odd rules..many many things only on fridays and no substitutes etc.. I was tempted to get fish (being that that's the only meat I eat), but after I saw someones plate which looked like a buttery tv dinner w canned veggies, I immediately switched to just a small salad and side order of pesto pasta to play it safe. Talk about boring...

But hey, the ceasar salad was pretty good..vinegary ceasar, not creamy, which I prefer. The pasta a la pesto side order was large and was very good pesto..! Yum!

Others with me a "dinner salad", the weirdest thing we'd ever seen in a restaurant...iceburg lettuce w a few canned veggies (lima beans, kne beet, soft carrots, soggy zucchini, one tomato) on top cut in weird squiggly designs ....all three of stared in shock, like what the hell is this?? Hahahahhahaa sooo weird!!

He also ordered pork chops w meat sauce ravioli (talk about a heart attack) and they were said to be a little overcooked. And also the hamburger steak (never knew that existed...just a hamburger in the shape of a steak?...) w meat ravioli as well. Looked inedible to me, but he said it was ok..he only ate half, the portions were so large.

Wait staff was dressed in funny little suits and put me back into my time machine movie playing in my head... They were very attentive but not chatty at all. Straight to the point. Not used to that. Don't you want a tip..? Ha

This place honestly scared me hahaha yet sooo weird I almost wanna go back for an adventure lol I did not feel like I was in 2010 or daly city lol ...the desserts looked good though...I'll stick w pesto and dessert next time ;)

What a place..!! ;)

Don't be alarmed by their service, wait staff may come off rude, but they are old pros and are actually all very nice. They're just hella old school, bow ties and jacket...blunt and to the point.

I've been coming here since I was a kid and even till this day, I still feel like the youngest one in the restaurant. Older folks in this establishment mainly, but it's always so homey. I love it when I see retired couples here for an early dinner or an entire family with 3-4 generations together for a family celebration. Not only does their tasty food keep people around, it's the memories people have shared in this restaurant that makes it so classic and such a big part of Westlake history. I love the lounge-y vibe it processes. In fact, this restaurant was the "go-to" spot when my parents were in their teens!

Order a bowl of pastina, some fried calamari, and my all time favorite steak a la bruno and you'll be a happy camper! Come early or be prepared to wait, they draw a pretty busy dinner crowd.