by Sflady S. on Love the ambiance of this place. My friends and I went on a Wednesday for their free jazz and prefixed menu. I had the mixed green salad, fried chicken, and brownie ice cream. The food was great. The glass of wine that comes with the menu taste a bit watered down. I thought it was because I ordered a Rose but my friend's Sauvignon Blanc was pretty tasteless too. The waitress was a little inattentive but she was probably busy. Anyways I would go back to this place again for a group gathering. Can't complain to much for a 3 course meal that is delicious for only 35 bucks.
by Ta Breman on A few years ago I would have given Great American Music Hall 5 stars. I have seen so many shows here I couldn't count if I tried. My experience on New Years Eve was not great. Maybe my expectations were higher because it was NYE. I dunno. Getting tickets at will call was a simple painless task. It was when I took my first sip of my Pabst Blue Ribbon beer that it started going downhill. I was so excited to sip my cold beer, until I put it to my lips. I don't know how long it's been since they changed the lines... but my beer tasted like ass. OK, I don't know what ass tastes like, but I'd imagine it's pretty close to the beer I was holding. I really wanted my favorite beer but had to change to another brew. There's a $10 minimum for paying by credit card but most people have more than one beer or drink so I can't see that being a serious problem. GAMH is beautiful inside; very intricate, very intimate. The sound is great. Unfortunately it's not well taken care of. There are two bathrooms; one is a single person bathroom downstairs and the other is upstairs with two stalls. Both bathrooms were disgusting. The downstairs sink was filled with puke no one bothered to clean it up and the upstairs bathroom was out of toilet paper. For such a pretty place one would think it would be maintained a little nicer. I was knocked into by moshers countless times. There was no control by the security at all. I mean... I know it comes with going to a rock show, but I just want to enjoy a band up close without getting socked in the face. Me and three other girls had to move countless times so that we were safe from flailing arms and head bangers. The place isn't big so this was pretty obnoxious. I walked to GAMH from BART (and back) and it was pretty convenient, about nine or ten blocks. Not a bad walk at all and honestly kinda refreshing. You have to walk through the outskirts of the tenderloin, but you also get to walk past City Hall, which I love. Parking has never been an issue for me when I traveled by car. Hopefully I just happened to have a bad experience with GAMH and it'll be better when I go back because I really do like the place. It's definitely not bad to the point where I wouldn't go back, but I was mildly disappointed.
by D.A. A. on I only go there when I need to remind myself of what "middle America" looks like. Also, a fashion student might want to pay a visit to write a term paper on the fashion trends among midwestern women. Whoa, what a place! It is just like the MacDonald's in Time Square, only with servers. The food is no better than what they serve in fast-food joints, and the people are there, primarily to take pictures of their NYC vacation. How do I know all this, if I hate this place so much? Well, it is because I have friends and relatives from out of town who INSIST on going to Tao because they somehow think that it is the "hippest" place on earth (closely followed by Planet Hollywood, I am sure). If you have the option to do so, AVOID THIS PLACE. If you love looking at overly excited women with unfortunate dresses and frosted hair, Tao is the place for you. The food is horrendous anyhow, so it won't matter. Also, I just don't believe them when they call their beef "Kobe." Has anyone investigated them??? Their Kobe beef has the texture of the regular supermarket beef... Either they are lying about the "breed" of the beef they serve, or they have incredibly bad chefs who don't know how to prepare Kobe beef.
