The Office Bar & Grill

Excellent burgers and a great menu selection. Service was a little slow but overall a really great experience.

I've passed this place a few times and never really realized it,  until I actually went. I happened to find it on google and was surprised how close it was to my work.   On the outside, it looks simple, but once you enter, it's inviting.

     Upon walking in, the restaurant is divided in half. The right side is kind of an open outdoor seating area - it has a roof and walls but open where you feel a breeze. You can basically watch the cars coming by.  It's really comfy and cozy.  Some seating areas have a fire pit and old school ball park type seats.  Inside, they have booths, seating area at the bar, and high stools.  I can imagine this place being pretty packed on a Friday night. Watching a game or whatnot.

For this visit, we ordered:

1.  Firecracker shrimp - I was surprised the shrimp was huge.   It felt like a two- bite shrimp. Crunchy and flavorful.

2.  Slider Trio w/ garlic tots -  Garlic tots are definitely the way to go.  They hold a lot of flavor in each bite.   For this, I chose the buffalo chicken, angus burger, whiskey pulled pork.  All were solid choices.

3.  Corn Ribs -  Easy to eat, but oh, so messy.   It is like an elote but packs some heat.  It definitely had me able to breathe.. IYKYK

4.  Pub club  -  Ginormous and meaty.  The chicken was juicy, and the bacon was thick.  As big as the sandwich was, you got a perfect bite each time.  The fries were surprisingly good as well, m

5.  Fish tacos - Very flavorful. The fish was light and flaky. The coleslaw and pico de gallo gave it a refreshing and crisp crunch.  It's best to eat it right away.  Huge serving, and it is best to share with someone else.

6.  Skirt steak -  The steak was tender and perfectly seasoned.  Veggies paired well.

7.  Churros -  Surprisingly good.  It wasn't too sweet, but it was perfect for dipping in caramel sauce. It also went well with the ice cream.

8.  Chocolate Brownie - Not your ordinary brownie.  When we got home, I warmed it up and added the chocolate drizzle and ice cream.. Yummy comfort dessert.

   Overall,  I highly recommend this place.   When I entered, the gentleman who worked there was super nice and helped me to pick the perfect items for our first visit.  I will definitely be back soon.

I rarely leave negative reviews, I don't like the idea of hurting someone's business and having worked in the restaurant industry I understand things happen. But holy hell...don't waste your time here.

I used to be a regular at The Office but moved further up the peninsula so I don't get down to San Carlos as often. I went down today and tried to order lunch for pickup - bad mistake. I called and someone picked up, I told them I wanted to place a to-go order and they said "Okay, I'll have to place you on hold real quick". It was almost 1pm, so no worries, figured they were busy. After holding for 15 minutes I was pretty sure they forgot about me, tried calling back 5 times over the next 20 minutes or so. At this point, hungry and figuring they were too busy to answer the phone, I just drove there intent on placing my order in person. When I got there it was a ghost town, maybe 5 customers in the whole restaurant, it was mostly empty. I stood by the host stand for several minutes, trying to make eye contact or flag someone down, nothing.

I tried so hard to give these guys my business and they just clearly aren't capable of something as simple as a pickup order at lunch time. Went down Laurel to The Refuge and was very happy with my decision.

So long The Office, I'm done.

Location: 1748 El Camino Real, San Carlos, CA 94070
Atmosphere:
The Office offers classic American food that can be enjoyed around firepits in a partially enclosed outdoor space. The food is mediocre but the vibe is fantastic. There are two different bars, and the Office offers fun events such as live music and trivia.
This is a great place for happy hour, dinner, or casual drinks with friends- fur friends and human friends.
Go-to orders:
Boneless chicken wings
* Jalapeno poppers
* Buffalo chicken salad
Insider tips:
* Happy hour with $2 off select drinks and cheaper food options
* Great for casual dates, happy hour with friends
* A little loud and chaotic - don't expect calm, fine dining

This is such a cozy and welcoming get together spot. They have fireplaces, heated outdoor seating, and a lot of open space. Also bocce ball. The food really exceeded my expectations, the brussel sprouts were so good! Cheesy bread was also a hit.

Service can be kind of slow, but the place is more casual so it is. expected. Would love to organize a happy hour here!

This is a fun spot to get together with friends after a day at the corporate office and hang out at the social office!

They've got a good menu and large selection of beer. You can sit down and start a tab on trivia nights (Monday 7p).

There's a heated by fire pit outdoor space or some tables inside or at the bar.

Parking is street and the staff is friendly but don't expect too much chitchat. They're often busy!

Been coming here for like 10 years back when they used to serve chili. It was bomb. Bring back the chili!!

Came here many times with coworkers like 3 jobs ago and maybe 20+ times since. My friend who recently passed would only go to Cask and here, and the time I thought I forgot my candles for her bday cake they were ready with matches to sub bc they didn't have candles and did so much to make what was her last bday really special =)

Came with a group for a staff holiday lunch and holla to the dude serving us he was almost a one man show! Was feeling the pressure myself bc I recommended this place and after running an anonymous survey of where the team wanted to go we landed here bc my cute nice pretty boss likes this place as much as I do =) Shenanigans!

Ahh always a great time - but let's catch up to current...LOOK at this turkey club sandwich! Everybody at my table was like "....oooooh hey whats that?" Loved the fresh CHONKS of avocado. "What did you have for Lunch?" "A RAINBOW"!

I'm for real a picky Club B!tch loved and judged them my whole life, and The Office makes the best turkey club on the Peninsula. Hands down. No argument.

It's funny bc I heard servers and chefs hate club sandwiches bc they always look so delectable and when someone sees one being served like five other people order it. Def got my tables attention =) But they suck to make its a labor of love for sure.

So thanks The Office for doing what you do!

PS Seasonal Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale (prob top 3 best beers ever) on tap! Yay!

The Office Bar & Grill San Carlos CA Sun 10/1/23
©
Hello, October! Sunday Football! 4th straight win for the San Francisco 49ers 16-35 over Arizona Cardinals! Wishing the winning strike to continue throughout the season! Love ya guys!

Engineering team dinner few months back!
International arrivals, my Brazilian guys!

The apps! The foods! We occupied couple of corner tables on the terrace outside! Bocce, Patio, and Music!

Fire pits! Craft Cocktails! Beers on tap! Music, live! It's your neighborhood hangout for sure, come on out! It's comfortable here!

We had a whole bunch of guys who just arrived fresh off the plane (or should I say tired off the plane LOLz not that fresh) & so greetings & introductions took up the time! Then, orders were taken for food and drinks, and everyone talks at once LOLz!

I took a handful of photos, was mostly preoccupied, we had some shared apps, Baked Mac & Cheese, Chicken Wings with Whiskey BBQ sauce & Original Buffalo, Firecracker Prawns, loaded Potato Skins & Calamari Fritte. All finger licking rapidly disappearing foods! Magically gone from the plates into tummies! Yummerz!

A funny story, our waitress had a hard time communicating with my Brazilian boys, describing which dishes consisted of which ingredients... until I heard her accent and asked her what it was. Turned out, she's from Brazil! What are the chances? What a coincidence! She happily posed yet a little shy!

Another funny story... I couldn't locate my corporate credit card few hours later, mentally traced my steps & realized, here's where I used it last time! Drove back at Midnight when they were closing down, described my predicament! The girl went in to search & sure enough my card was found! Whew! Happy they let me in to look for it ~ even though the place already closed down! What a relief!

Baked Mac & Cheese!
Panko topped Mac & cheese served in a skillet with your choice of flavor: Blue cheese & Buffalo chicken, beer cheese with caramelized onions & bacon or Traditional 4 cheese

Boneless Chicken Wings!
1/2 lb of chicken breast served with your choice of sauce: Lemon Pepper, Whiskey BBQ or Original Buffalo

Bone-in Wings!
Bone-in wings served with your choice of sauce: Sweet & Spicy, Lemon Pepper, Whiskey BBQ or Original Buffalo

Firecracker Prawns!
Lightly battered & fried prawns drizzled with house made sweet & spicy sauce topped with green onions & sesame seeds

Loaded Potato Skins!
Crispy fried potato skins topped with cheddar cheese, bacon & green onion & chive infused sour cream

Calamari Fritte!
Lightly fried with artichoke hearts & red bell pepper served with house made Tartar sauce

*There's a piece of you that's here with me
It's everywhere I go, it's everything I see
When I sleep, I dream and it gets me by
I can make believe that you're here tonight
That you're here tonight!

[ Review #787 w 6 pix on Oct 1, 2023 ]

Firecracker Prawns!
Chicken risotto! Mmm!
Finger likin' chickin' Wings!
Hydrate!
Our friendly Brazilian waitress! She happily posed yet a little shy!
@The Office Bar & Grill San Carlos CA

My girlfriend and I came to The Office on El Camino after shopping at the nearby Trader Joe's. It was a Monday night, and the place was packed with people for a trivia thing. Maybe it's our fault for coming on trivia night, but if you were there to just hang out as we were, it wasn't ideal. Looks like the management didn't or doesn't plan ahead for such a crowd. We waited ten minutes at our table just to get menus. Drinks took a long time to arrive, and food even longer. You know that feeling where you've already started, but you wished you could leave? That's how we felt.

Dropped into the office on a Friday evening at 8:30 with a friend. Had olways driven by, so first timer. Loved the casual and warm/inviting atmosphere. Super friendly and welcoming staff. My friend and o sat by their fire pits watching basketball, sipping a few glasses of wine..

Bonus that they had a really nice acoustic singer entertaining us. Just added to the ambience.
Food wise, we, had very delicious buffalo wings- my friend is a wings expert and gave them 2-thumbs up. The burgers looked amazing as well.

. Big shout to our server and all the service folks for going out of their way to be friendly and take care of us. Pitcher of water,, changing fire temp and seemed like nice people with positive vibes.

Food was delicious and I'd like to go back and try this burger... or anything else on the menu.

Sorry no pictures. Here's my assessment of my 1st time here.
Food was all good. Service was better than expected. Our server Tim was on top of it the entire time.
Here is what we had.
Calamari fritta , lemon pepper chicken wings were cooked just right except for one thing. The Calamari, artichoke and bellpeper only had two little pieces of artichoke in it. I love artichoke so I was just slightly disappointed to get only two pieces. Otherwise the appetizer was delicious. We also ended up having the caprice salad and it was tasty.
Atmosphere is chill and like I said before the service was better than expected. Looking forward to coming back and trying out Mac and cheeses , Brussel sprouts or maybe one there buggers. 5 out of 5 stars from me .