3.5 STARS
What initially drew me to Hashes & Brews is their morning cocktails I saw on the menu:
-4 Alarm Fire Bloody Mary
-What the French, the nostalgic Cinnamon Toast Crunch but as a cereal cocktail
Oh yea!
One will set both ends on fire and the other lactose rich one will have me playing anal acoustics!
Sorry, TMI...despite my food intolerances, I still enjoy things I shouldn't and pay the price later.
But, as many who've visited Hashes & Brews already know, they don't have their liquor license yet.
Per the manager, the beer and wine license should be coming any day now while the full liquor license will come later in the year.
For now, customers will just have to enjoy a boozeless breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Sister restaurant to Campbell's Hash House, Hashes & Brew's menu is overwhelmingly large. Breakfast: basic egg breakfasts, waffles, pancakes, french toast, benedicts, scrambles, hashes, omelettes, burgers, sandwiches, and salads. Dinner: burrata, nachos, crab cakes, sliders, hashes, sandwiches, burgers, ribs, pastas, grilled fish, pork chops, steak, etc.
Breakfast is served until 4 pm. Hashes are served all day.
Let's start with the positives...
Service alone, it's 5 stars. Everyone from the owner, the manager, and our server (young Filipino guy with tats) were fantastic on a busy Saturday afternoon. Super cheerful, gracious, and attentive with lots of positive vibes. We were one of two tables in the dog-friendly outdoor patio and never felt neglected. The owner personally checked up on our order, made sure the heat lamps were the proper temperature and the music projected to the outdoor speakers.
As for the food, I prefer quality over quantity like Morning Wood, another newly opened brunch spot in San Bruno: http://bit.ly/2nffGSq but I can see why Hashes & Brew is popular with the San Bruno crowd: fair prices AND huge portions.
The execution of the food at Hashes & Brew is just not there yet (2.5-3 stars). I realize this more of standard diner fare but I think more care can be put in to making sure simple things like scrambled eggs are fluffy and moist, not dry and the fried chicken doesn't come out looking like coal tenders because people eat with their eyes first right?
I ordered the Chicken & Waffles: Buttermilk waffle w/ housemade fried chicken ($12.75): http://bit.ly/2ndr6Gv.
It was ok, not good in the hood like Auntie April's chicken & waffles in Hunter's Point but this is not a soul food joint. The waffle was large and crispy. Not a light, fluffy waffle - it had something that I couldn't put my finger on that gave it more of a heartier texture (cornmeal?). It was topped with 3 large fried chicken tenders that looked burnt but didn't taste burnt. They were quite dry though (as white meat usually is) but a drizzle of maple syrup and dash of tapitio took care of that.
My friend ordered the Basic Breakfast: Sausage w/ scrambled eggs, hash browns ($11.45): http://bit.ly/2nj0mDN and a side of bacon ($5.35).
The links were flavorful and juicy, and the bacon was nice and crispy.
The eggs and hash browns need work. The scrambled eggs were dry, not fluffy and moist. The hashbrowns were also dry with an off texture. Both looked and tasted as if they were cooked ahead a time and left sitting. The hash browns were lacking an even golden brown crust that's deliciously crunchy and buttery.
Can't forgot about Tater Tot: http://bit.ly/2rHLcgE - they were kind enough to make him an unseasoned, grilled chicken breast ($5.45).
Overall, the breakfast here is not really my cup of tea but when you don't have the patience for 2 hour waits and rubbing elbows with hipsters at Plow, Mission Beach Cafe, Griddle Fresh, or Zazie in SF, a basic beezie breakfast will do especially with such easy, plentiful parking.
Hashes & Brews' excellent customer service and dog-friendly outdoor patio will have me back for dinner though! 3.5 stars rounded up. read more