The Buena Vista

Irish coffee was perfect!

I had heard about this place when did the Tullamore distillery tour in Ireland. The Buena Vista goes through hundreds of bottle so Tullamore whiskey a day! You will understand why you try the Irish coffee. They even offer it Togo if you are in a rush.

The buena vista is located near the pier so you can walk around after grabbing a bite here! The service was amazing here. Everyone was so friendly and kind upon entry!

The Irish coffee had the perfect whiskey to coffee ratio and the cream was just perfect on top. Took me back to the one I had at the Tullamore Distillery.

The garlic fries were something else! Sooooo good!! I couldn't stop eating them. I will definitely be back again for some more!

My girlfriends and I stopped in at this cute little bar before our dinner reservations Friday afternoon. When we first walked in, there was nowhere for all three of us to sit, so we waited for a table to open. When a table finally opened, we headed to it and asked one of the servers if we could sit there; she said yes. Then, all of a sudden, someone else (not sure if he/she was the manager) told us that the table was for five people, but we ended up staying at the table and inviting a few guys who were standing to sit with us. Bam, the issue is solved!

Our server was great, friendly, quick, and fun to talk with. For being a small place, it wasn't too loud, and it seemed like most of the patrons there had been there for at least two hours.

MY MAIN ISSUE with this bar was the billing. I was overcharged three times and only noticed it the third time. We ordered two espresso martinis and a beer, but each time I paid, they charged me for four espresso martinis and one beer, totaling twelve espresso martinis and four beers. They even charged the guys who bought us a round for the same drinks. When I raised this issue, the staff member became frustrated and refused to serve us further. They only resolved the billing issue for one of the overcharges, I wasn't going to argue with them, so I decided it was time for us to leave.

BE CAREFUL and ask for the itemized receipt--twice, they didn't give me the itemized receipt, so I didn't catch the overcharges until it was too late.

I grew up in San Francisco and never knew the history of The Buena Vista. Recently, I took a small trip with the family, and after doing some research, I decided this was one of the must do things while there.

We got there early and got a beautiful seat by the window overlooking The Bay and Cable Cars.

Wife and I ordered Irish Coffees (of course!). Absolutely delicious. While I'm a whiskey drinker, I've never had a yearn for it in the morning. That has now changed after this visit. So good, we each ordered a second one.

Breakfast was fabulous as well. My Son loved his crab omelet, and my Wife had Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict for the first time. She thoroughly enjoyed it. I went the touristy route and had the Clam Chowder in Sourdough. Really creamy and well-seasoned. They didn't skimp either as the soup alone was filling, and Im a big boy.

An absolutely fabulous way to start our day in the City, and we can't wait to go back.

We were staying across the street at the Argonaut and having posted a photo to friends on social media of our view, and a friend immediately messaged saying you got to try the Buena Vista. It's right up the street. They have the best Irish coffees. I felt like an idiot being a native northern California not knowing about this place and the Irish coffees. Delicious ...they even offer Irish coffees kits to go. We had breakfast, which was great, and had fantastic service ...with an a great view. We sat and watched the cable cars come and go in the roundabout. Definitely will return... I can see how this place would get very crowded though especially on the weekends! we came mid week and I thought it said they opened at 10 and they opened at nine ...so when we got there and they were somewhat busy, but we were able to get a table pretty quick.

Got some drinks and food from this classic place on Fisherman's Wharf and thought it was meh. It seems more like the experience is the highlight than what is ordered. The Buena Vista is one of the city's oldest restaurants. Has to be relying on the tourist factor to stay in business. You can find much better and cheaper food elsewhere just saying.

Coffee drinks are what they're known for basically. It's about $13 for the Venetian Coffee. That's a lot for a basic coffee with a splash of cheap liquor. As for the food it's not any better. It's about $9 for the Garlic Fries. These are one of the few vegetarian choices it seems. A lot of the rest of the menu is seafood, which isn't surprising because this is near the piers of course. The service is also pretty slow and it took forever for our basic order.

Has a pretty nice location close to the water, which is the best thing about it. It's often crowded even at non peak hours it seems. There's pretty expensive cocktails and food, and there's not much to get for vegans and vegetarians.

I think coming here for the novelty and the Irish coffees are cool, but that's about it. The location of the place is prime and I liked the overall ambience. The old timey bar and memorabilia on the walls is interesting, but the food and service leaves something to be desired.

First we were told to wait at the door to be seated. After 5 minutes of awkwardly standing there, the bar man told us to check out the back room. Which we did but was full. The waitress, an older cranky woman, told us to wait until til someone got up and then claim the table. So we were left there to awkwardly hover over the guests finishing up. I wish they had a better system.

It took awhile to get even our drink order on, let alone food. I don't really do caffeine, but I tried the Irish car bomb. It was tasty! I like how they had different types.

What I wasn't impressed with was the food. No one at the table was particularly satisfied. I personally got the crab cakes which were alright. I liked the fry on them and the texture. I upgraded to sweet potato fries and they were eviscerated! Shriveled and dry as a bone. My husband got a patty melt with an added patty. He described it as decent. What was shocking though was that they charged him $8 for the extra patty!!! We expected an up-charge, but $8??

I've been there and can say that now, but I won't be back.

So first of all the place is old, smell and unorganized. Walked in at 9pm Saturday night where it says the place close at 12 am. Tables empty. It cleaned and everyone yelling at each other. Someone came and sat us down for two minutes and another comes and tells us THE KITCHEN IS CLOSED. At 9pm Saturday night at the most busy place in fisherman's ward.
Do your self a favor, bunch of places open late at this place, so anywhere but here.

The wife and I were in San Fran visiting the kid who is going to an overpriced "institution of learning", to learn what, we hope to find out one day. Up to her to make some money when she gets out, but sorry I'm here to talk about the Buena Vista.

We had the day free as the kid was working so the wife and I cruised around SF to see some sights and grab some food. The wife knew about the world famous Buena Vista and their famous Irish Coffees. So, after some hilly rides on the cable cars we ended up just a short walk from the BV. We went in and it was packed. It was, after all, a beautiful Sunday afternoon in spring and was likely the first sun the folks in SF have seen for a couple months.

Amazingly, as we ventured toward the back of the place, squeezing past others, a couple started to stand up from the bar and we nabbed the two spots and thanked them for saving us a couple seats. So down we sat and started to figure out the situation. A very friendly bartender comes up and asked what we wanted. Per his suggesting we started with the tradition Irish Coffee. It was a sight to see as he put down about 10 Irish Coffee mugs and proceeded to add booze, coffee and sugar making the perfect Irish Coffee. They were delicious but as the wife was ordering another, I didn't want another one. Since they had Guinness on tap I grabbed one of those. If you go, at least start with the coffee, it's what they are world famous for!

We chatted with the cool bartender, chatted with some folks next to us at the bar and had a great time. After a nice buzz, we decided to head back to the hotel. The line for the cable car was stupid long, so we grabbed an Uber, went back to the room and took a quick afternoon nap before getting up and exploring more of SF. We somehow avoided the homeless, the drug zombies and needles. So, a good day in Frisco.

Go. Drink Well. HAVE FUN!

Came to the Buena Vista cafe on a Saturday morning around 11am and the place was bustling! We came with a party of 3 and they sat us at a large table which we shared with a couple.

I'm not normally a coffee person but I had to try their famous Irish coffee. I forgot to take a picture but it was really good.

I also got the garlic fries which were amazing! It had a pretty big portion, lots of garlic flavor and parm on the top. Probably the best garlic fries I've had in the city

The Buena Vista really is a special place! What's not to like when you get a fresh crab cake Benedict and two Irish coffees from here.

Ive never had an Irish coffee quite like this- even in Ireland! The cream on this drink is where the magic happens. They make these drinks fast and they pack a punch to boot.

Long time patrons and employees give this place a timeless feel. You really feel like you are in the heart of San Francisco as cable cars buzz by throughout the day!