Hot Johnnie's Smokehouse - Reviews

As a long-time New Yorker, I don't say this lightly, but I don't think there is better pastrami outside of NYC. My experience at the restaurant was exceptional, with the food, service, and atmosphere all receiving a perfect score of 5. The quality of the pastrami was outstanding, truly rivaling that found in New York City.

My experience at the restaurant was a mixed bag. I tried the marble rye, which was quite disappointing in terms of both taste and portion size. I'd rate it 3/5. The brisket was dry and lacked flavor. However, the apple coleslaw was pretty good.

My experience at the restaurant was fantastic, especially with their vegan options. I loved surprising my partner with a vegan treat, and the vegan Ruben and vegan Pastrami were soo good. The food, service, and atmosphere all received a perfect 5/5 rating.

I had high hopes with the great reviews, but the food was not good at all. The only thing somewhat enjoyable were the chips. Plus, the staff needs a little more training as there was an order mixup & a lot of arguing back & forth between employees.

What a cool place! The food and service were sooooo goood🤩🤩🤩🤩. I highly recommend it! Shoutout to Johnnie - amazing dude!

I had a pickup order for a spicy fried chicken sandwich. While the sandwich itself was decent, I was hoping for more pickly pickles, but they were sweet instead. Upon pickup, I realized I didn't receive my side order and only noticed later. After contacting them via email and providing the requested information, they issued a full refund, which was a positive resolution to the missing item.

My experience at the restaurant was great. The food was good, and I particularly enjoyed the Dutch crunch pastrami, which was delicious. I also enjoyed the ping pong table out back, adding to the fun atmosphere.

During a rare Sunday/Monday getaway from Florida, we visited San Francisco's famous Castro. While the gay scene felt lacking, we found a great sandwich and friendly staff at Hot Johnnies. This experience was the highlight of our trip. The rest of our time in the Castro was disappointing; bars seemed afraid to change, and while most employees were friendly, the bartenders clearly favored regulars. Many bars were old, outdated, and frankly dirty. We would return to Moby Dick's, Cafe, Baux, Blind Butcher, and Cafe Mystic. However, Badlands, The Edge, and Last Call had rude staff. Our worst experience was at Last Call on Monday night, where a bartender was unhygienic, hugging people and then making drinks without washing hands. Our best experience was the sandwich at Hot Johnnies, which we discovered after seeing one at Moby Dick's. We appreciated Hot Johnnies' idea of offering delivery to nearby places.

My experience at this restaurant was disappointing. The food was mediocre, and the portions were small. To make matters worse, our order was incorrect; the sandwich we ordered did not include the extra ingredients we had paid for. Overall, it was a bad experience, and the restaurant’s high rating is misleading.

I discovered this place from a random TikTok and made it a personal mission to try it next time I was in the city, and it was totally worth it. Four of us each got something different and shared, and it was super yummy all around. The pastrami is thickly cut but still moist. The house made chips are simple but crunchy and pair well with any sandwich. The patio out back is covered and a nice spot to chill. Everyone was super friendly and offered suggestions. I will definitely come back next time I'm in San Francisco 🎉