Croce's Restaurant And Jazz Bar

Doesn't Recommend

comquest

Joined 11 years ago

Visitors Beware. As a fan of the late Jim Croce's music, I looked forward to trying this restaurant, owned by his wife Ingrid. We could not have been more disappointed. It was obvious to us that Croce's caters to regulars only and could care less about visitors. Service was abrupt and unfriendly, ambiance was so noisy that holding a conversation across the table was impossible. The menu is gimmicky and very 80s, and food quality does not match high prices. My rack of lamb was delicious but the two sides that accompanied it were bland and inedible. French onion soup was the best choice. Our waiter seemed more interested in turning the table than serving us. Visitor beware. Gaslamp Quarter offers much better options that this.

Doesn't Recommend

annie789

Joined 6 years ago

Worst Restaurant Experience Ever!. I dined at Croce's with my husband on a kind of busy Monday evening. The weather was perfect and we sat at an outside table. It took a while to get the attention of our waitress the first time. Then when she did finally come over, she was so overwhelmed she couldn't even look at us in our eyes as she rushed through the night's specials and ran away from our table. When she came over again, we were finally able to give her our drink and appetizer order. The appetizer came out before our drinks, which struck me as odd since there were two bartenders behind the bar, which had no customers. Our main courses took FOREVER! We were close to just grabbing the bill and leaving. When our food finally did arrive, my risotto was way undercooked and my husband's dish was too hot, as it was probably left under a food warmer for too long. By the time we saw our waitress again, she did offer us another food option, but it was way too late! And the worst part about the whole experience was the way the non-busy waiters didn't jump in to help. They would rather complain about how slow their sections were while they were standing next to us, the cutomers! The restaurant manager did take the risotto off of the bill and the music was great! But the overall dining experience was terrible. Just awful!

Doesn't Recommend

erinhfox

Joined 7 years ago

DON'T EAT HERE. Three words to describe Croce's: overrated, overpriced, and snoody. We waited over 30 min for a table after being told by the owner that it would be a 10 min. wait. We waited 45 min. after ordering to get our mediocre food. And, when we asked for some bread for the table, we were told that they were out of bread! I spoke with the owner about our negative experience and told her I would appreciate some drinks on the house. Her response was as follows: "I'm sorry, but can't you see how busy we are?" Adding insult to injury, she sent over a dessert we didn't want, and refused to give us any drinks on the house.

Recommends

Amy Eddo

Joined 7 years ago

Traditional and contemporary Latin jazz add rhythm to the Gaslamp's beat.. In Short
The Gaslamp's longest-standing attraction, this classy music venue features contemporary American and Latin jazz in a setting reminiscent of another era. A soulful, multisensory experience, guests enjoy late-night dinner with a side of rhythm and blues, washed down with a glass of wine from an award-winning list. For live tunes and delicious eats every night of the week, follow the music to this jazz bar's doors.

Recommends

mixoplixx

Joined 8 years ago

User review by mixoplixx. The food was phenominal and so was the service. Best meal ever in San Diego!!! Music was a happy reminder of the past. We will be coming back.

Doesn't Recommend

peatwo

Joined 10 years ago

A bar, not a restaurant. Croce's has a nice bar, just don't order the steak! First, I will say that the chicken dish was done to perfection. Cooked perfectly with the juices sealed inside. Unfortunately 2 of us listened to the waiter's recommendation that the "Prime steaks" and I believe he said "the lamb" were the signatures. I've eaten prime steaks country wide and have never seen a $32 8 ounce NY- the size of Morton's LUNCH version and cut thinner (typically 18-20 oz Prime NY cut is the norm for $32- not including 2 small sides that accompany Croce's version). Difficult to cook med-rare let alone rare as I had asked. The filet was a little better, but close to the same. When I questioned the size, "Angus certified" was Croce's response(?). If their response was "Kobe beef" I might have bought their excuse. But I forgot to ask- "then where's the flavor?"