Posted on 06/27/2018 6:58:37 AM PDT by Simon Green
Souvla, a Greek restaurant with a devoted following, serves spit-fired meat two ways: in a photogenic sandwich, or on a photogenic salad, either available with a glass of Greek wine. The garnishes are thoughtful: pea shoots, harissa-spiked yogurt, mizithra cheese.
The small menu is so appealing and the place itself so charming that you almost forget, as a diner, that you have to do much of the work of dining out yourself. You scout your own table. You fetch and fill your own water glass. And if you’d like another glass of wine, you go back to the counter.
Runners will bring your order to the table, but there are no servers to wait on you here, or at the two other San Francisco locations that Souvla has added — or, increasingly, at other popular restaurants that have opened in the last two years: RT Rotisserie, which is roasting cauliflower a few blocks away; Barzotto, a bistro serving hand-rolled pasta in the Mission district; and Media Noche, a Cuban sandwich spot with eye-catching custom tilework.
Inside these restaurants, it’s evident that the forces making this one of the most expensive cities in America are subtly altering the economics of everything. Commercial rents have gone up. Labor costs have soared. And restaurant workers, many of them priced out by the expense of housing, have been moving away.
Restaurateurs who say they can no longer find or afford servers are figuring out how to do without them. And so in this city of staggering wealth, you can eat like a gourmand, with real stemware and ceramic plates. But first you’ll have to go get your own silverware.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
And for that you get the fine service standard of Taco Bell.
Ah, San Francisco....
Ah, the virtue-signalling Food section of the New York Times. The only reason I pick it up on Wednesday. I take it minimum wage hikes plus benefits have hit the restaurant scene in the purse?
The whole cook your own food restaurant thing is a scam. I think even dimwitted liberals will figure that out...maybe not!
Well, it seems you would be tipping yourself, though.
We call these “forces”... liberals
And as you leave you get a pile of human poo on the sidewalk to step in, for free.
I’m confident that the vast majority of diners at this restaurant will still leave a tip.
Has SF already preemptively setup a robot tax?
I think Canada has talked seriously about it.
I went to a Greek restaurant once in Toledo, Ohio. You entered from the alley through the back door directly into the kitchen and served yourself from the pots and pans where the food was cooking in. Very “quaint”.
LOL...never thought of it that way, but I once went to one of those cook your own food at the table places with my girlfriend. About 3/4 of the way through the meal, I had the proverbial sucker pop up over my head like in the old cartoons! THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF GOING TO A RESTAURANT IS HAVING SOMEONE ELSE COOK YOUR FOOD FOR YOU! Similar to buying crap Microsoft software and doing Bill Gates’ beta testing for him!
“Dinner for two (entree, side, dessert and a glass of wine): $76”
? They serve sandwiches and salads.
“And as you leave you get a pile of human poo on the sidewalk to step in, for free. “
And you get the aroma while you are eating.
Haven’t had an interest in visiting S.F. in 30 yrs.
Used to go often, as its beautiful on the outside.
Once, late at night, went the wrong way on Lombard....(age 18)
You got dumped?
Was it a fondue restaurant, like the Melting Pot chain? If so, that’s all part of the deal. It’s actually kind of fun.
Now if you went to a steak place and they had you cook your own food, that’s not right.
From their menu:
Lamb salad: $15
Fries: $5
Frozen Yogurt: $5
Smallest serving of wine: $13
Multiply by two people: $76
San Fransisco is like New York or Washington DC, a few square miles surrounded by reality.
Sometimes they’ll stumble over reality, but they always pick themselves up and keep going...
I ate at a place called The Grate Steak in Virginia a while back.
It had a 24 foot long charcoal pit in it where you cooked your own steak.
I think they are all closed now, though.
This is the new model for lots of restaurants—even here in Atlanta—..order your food from a counter, pick it up when your name is called, and bus your own table. I don’t mind all this EXCEPT when you sign on their iPad and the EXPECT a 20% tip. They want to make you feel like a cheapskate if you don’t go along with their suggestion. Grrrr
Seems like a bad idea...
1st kid that burns himself on the grill and you are sued out of existence.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.