Sakis Spin A Yarn Restaurant

I watched kitchen nightmares and of course living near the restaurant I had to go with my son and husband to try it out. My gosh all I can say is I WILL BE RETURNING it was so excellent. I got the prawn risotto & it was to die for! My husband got Filet mignon he said” out of this world «and they had a kid menu my son loved the chicken! The waiter was just the BEST. Because the place was busy he gave us a free appetizer and gave my son a free slice of cake with a candle!!! I thought that was just above and beyond great customer service. Love it

It was interesting that when we came in through the front door there was no greeting although there were only two patrons seated at the bar. I stepped further towards the bar and our waiter greets us with, «can I help you with something?» I replied,”.a table for 2…” Awkward. Then he waves us in and says sure come in and sit anywhere, okay we’re guests first of all, and we’re not just dropping in for a quick bite.
We started off with oysters Rockefe

Who else came here because of Gordon Ramsey?
Yeah well I’ve been living here all my life and only went to try it a few years ago.
My verdict. It’s just decent and overpriced. The atmosphere is nice and I’m sure they took advantage of the publicity. The prices itself is a regular steak house price. Like average $ 30 – 40 a person for dinner? I wouldn’t mind spending the money if it was GREAT food.
However I’ve had much higher quality food for the same price. I had their prime rib and it was good, but I’ve had better elsewhere. My mom really enjoyed the scallops here.
Dad had the steak. Even the steak at Texas Road House is much tastier or like I said. Same price elsewhere is much more worth it.
I wouldn’t come back here even though it’s so close by. It’s not a place I would feel confident in showing off to friends and family! However I might be interested in their brunch deal or happy hour

Bad quality food & slow service. Was there last Sunday to celebrate birthday. Although we made reservation in advance, the hostess put 5 of us in a 4 people table. The dining area was not crowded and most of the table was empty, but still squeeze us in a 4 people table. We asked our waiter for water, but we waited a long time & no one showed up with water, until we asked again after 15 min. We ordered the Spin-​a-​Yarn prawn. It was too spicy, and the prawn was not fully cooked. I had to sent it back for another plate. The Prime Rib has no taste, and was over cook (we ask for medium rare, but came in medium well), same as my rib-​eye steak. The steak had no flavor at all, no seasoning & could tell was not in good quality. With that price, I can probably have better ones at Outback. After our complaint to the waiter about the under cook prawn & overcook steak, he gave us a little discount. It was such a bad experience, and I will not go there again until the cook & service improves.

Not that great. The Prime Rib was luke warm and no meat flavor. The Pork Chops didn’t have any pork flavor. Just alot of flavor of the wood that it was cooked over.

Four stars for service.
Three stars for food.
I came on Sunday and they focus on brunch buffet. Nothing looks good, so I decided to order from the menu. They takes longer to prep because my order is first regular order of the day. I was almost full by the time the food came out. I order seafood linguine with white sauce. It is not worth $ 24. I don’t think I am gonna go back here.

Pros
Nice elegant atmosphere for special occasions
Rare old fashioned steakhouse in east bay
Waitstaff and hostess were very nice and attentive
Prime rib and lamb were great
Roasted garlic was good
Good dessert
Cons
Had to send back scallops
The menu was not updated and several items not available
Sides were eh
Overall a good place that I will give 4 stars because I think they are trying and I will give the benefit of the doubt but I am skeptical– could easily be 2 or 3 star if they don’t ensure the food quality for all menu items.
Had to send back the scallops– and I’m not finicky– they were vile– as in perhaps old. I have had scallops that were excellent and those that weren’t cooked well but still edible – these were not even edible. It kinda scared me that they tasted so bad and wonder if they are serving old seafood.
Offered to bring me prime rib but didn’t comp my meal. I’m not cheap so the cost doesn’t bother me– it just didn’t seem classy since I didn’t really have an option to order anything else that would have taken time to prepare as I didn’t want the rest of my party to feel bad eating without me. The inconvenience alone would have been an immediate comp and apology from the manager at a 5 star restaurant. Otherwise the waiter kind and professional about it though which is why it surprised to see it on the bill. Again, I have no issue paying for it because I ate it and it was good. I just thought it was tacky. They did bring an extra dessert so that is something.

Tried out the Sunday brunch $ 15 per person. I wasn’t too hungry so I didn’t get to try everything, but what I did try was nothing special.
We had a private room with reservations — the room was big enough and it fit 25 of us fine. People from other rooms do walk in on our side to get to the food — that’s kinda annoying.
They had many waiters/​waitresses asking us what we wanted to drink, then they brought the drink to us. Drinks are extra! I got an iced tea, B. got coffee.
I tried some cream sauced pasta, some kind of meat, broccoli, sausage, pineapple, watermelon, pasta salads. Nothing special and I don’t really recommend the brunch.

We went here for my brother in law b’day and had great experience. Apitiazer was little blend but main course was delicious! Restaurant owner came to serve us on our table and our waitress was very nice and time to time he came to check if we needed anything else. My family loved this place and their service… will definitely go again.
One thing I didn’t like was because of food being really good we over feed ourselves and couldn’t walk after. :D

I feel duped!
I brought some friends of mine for Sunday All-​you-​can-​eat brunch, on November 8, 2015. I did my research and made a reservation for a party of four.
Their website and Tri-​City Voice newspaper ad said the price of the brunch was $ 12.95. But when we got there we found out that the price was $ 15.00 and does not include any drinks! Are you kidding me? Not even coffee?
This is a cheap way of attracting customers and making money. The food was ok but there was no dessert and even the danish and pastries were all dry.
I will never recommend this place to anyone. It would be nice if their ads, and website showed some transparency about what you get for the correct price you pay.
I have been coming to Spin-​A-​Yarn for over 20 years. This experience has been extremely disappointing to me and my friends.

Our impression of this restaurant was good at the beginning. Made a reservation day of for a party of 5 within an hour of arriving and informed the hostess it was for a birthday and if they could do something special. Hostess confirmed they would. Once we arrived we were greeted and seated promptly-​so far so good.
The server then asked for our drink orders telling us even though they do not have a cocktail drink menu, they have a full bar and can make any drink we wanted. Two people from our table ordered a Bellini and a Mojito. Server came back to tell us their bar does not contain the ingredients to make those two drinks.
Please don’t tell customers you can make any cocktail when you obviously can’t.
Next while ordering one of us wanted the fennel citrus salad on the menu. What were we told? They don’t have fennel and no other options or recommendations were given in place of the fennel salad. Perhaps you guys should UPDATE YOUR MENU.
Our server may have been new because while he was going over the special of the day another server cut him off while standing at the hallway to tell him the correct way to pronounce the name of the dish. This could have been handled in a much better way, I question the training given to employees here.
On to the food, we ordered calamari and crab cakes which both were pretty good but the portions were small.
Our filet mignon, salmon and prime rib entrees turned out well. Only comment here is one person wanted their prime rib medium but both prime ribs were the same-​medium rare. Seafood soup you can order as an option is delicious but the salad option came with blue cheese which was not mentioned to us when we asked what was in it.
Had some leftover prime rib to take home, the server was kind to help box it up for me but I came home only to find I was not given any horseradish sauce or au jus which was disappointing.
Our server didn’t even acknowledge the persons birthday we were celebrating at the end of the meal so we left with even more disappointment.
Gordon Ramsey couldn’t even save this restaurant so I would get steak elsewhere. I also noticed the few customers that were dining while we were there were regulars and if you have a special event to celebrate for don’t tell the hostess because she won’t relay the message to anyone else.

The bread was so good the ribeye was a little simple for my taste but anyway was fresh and delicious I ask medium rare and medium rare i got the yougurt with with the forest fruits was perfect the waiter was very nice five stars for him.

Tonight I learn not to judge a restaurant by its cover.
We took our parents for their birthdays, along with our 3 kids. Never been here before, and on arrival, my wife and I both got worried, «what is this dated restaurant?»
Calamari was fried well, and tastes fresh. The prime rib was cooked just right with perfectly sautéed veggies on the side and flavorful smooth mash potato. Kids meals were well great too: Mac’n Cheese, Chicken Strips (real chicken, not the processed nuggets) & fruit bowl.
Must say that service was on point throughout the evening. My parents are light eaters, and the staff split the plate for them, which was plated in a two complete settings, which looked like they had two orders instead one.
The only recommendations I have are: to improve the wine list, and choose a different music playlist. ;-)
This is definitely a neighborhood gem!

My Lady took me here for our Anniversary dinner and I tell you it was amazing. I had the Prime Rib and her the Rib Eye.
Perfect ambiance and great service. Thank you Keith for being attentive!
Highly suggested!

3 stars for the brunch buffet and 4 stars for the shrimp risotto!
I came here for brunch on Father’s day and it was WAYY too expensive for what it was. On a normal day, however, brunch is pretty decently priced. The food was just okay but the mimosas were great! Our server filled up my glass every time it was empty heh.
I went again for lunch and got the dinner menu Shrimp Risotto. Once again, pretty pricy (especially for lunch), but it was DELICIOUS!!! The risotto was cooked perfectly with a cream sauce, and the tomato sauce around the risotto balanced out the creaminess with a tang. The shrimp was also cooked well and didn’t taste overcooked. I thought the capers made the dish a little salty, but it was still very good.
Cheesecake was also very good and came topped with berries.

According to Unilocal,I’m the Duke of Spin-​A-​Yarn from the dozens upon dozens of Unilocal «Check-​ins» I’ve made here, so I feel that I can finally update my old original review which was made many blue moons ago!
First, you are not going to find a much better location to sit out heavy traffic on either Hwy 880 or Hwy 680. Come in, order a drink or three — Happy Hour is from 4:00 pm thru 6:00 pm M-​F.
To boot — if you are feeling a bit hungry, there is the ever changing FREE Happy Hour chow — just help yourself (and be sure to leave some for me!).
If you missed the Happy Hour Food, or are just a little more hungry, give their Burger or Steaks a try — you won’t be sorry!
I still can’t rate SPIN a full «5 Stars» because I would like to see a Bar Food Menu implemented that is not as pricey as the regular full Dinner Menu!
When you are there just for drinks, and don’t intend to bring a date, meet your mistress, or ??? and you don’t need a full «5 Star» meal — then why not cater to us who want some of the traditional appetizers, but don’t want to refinance our home just to pay the tab?!
Saki is the owner, and he is an AWESOME man — if you see him in there, please don’t tell him about my review, I don’t want him to blush. ;-)
Bön Appetite!
~ Eric

We were skeptical checking this place out but we had a nice experience. We watched kitchen nightmare and was intimidated, but decided to give this place a chance since it was close by. The prime rib, carpaccio, clam chowder were delicious! The happy hour from M-​F 4 – 6 ($ 2 off drinks) was good because they serve complimentary veggie platter, pasta, and potato salad. The waiter was nice and the owner walked around the restaurant.

It’s always a hit or miss here, some nights are good, some others aren’t that great (in terms of how the food comes out) which is why I’m giving it a 3 and why I’m not doing an in depth review.
Because when its not great, I’d probably give it a 2.5 to 3 & when it’s good, it’s really good. Sometimes a 5, or 4 to 4.5
But, service is always slow so expect that.
Reservations can be made, but it’s not ever really necessarily.
I love the ambiance and dim lights here. It’s quite cute.

Though I grew up in Fremont and have driven past Spin A Yarn countless times, the dim, isolated feel of the restaurant never lent much sway in attracting me inside its doors. My mom had heard from one of her friends that the steak here was good, so my family and I stopped by for a late lunch one Tuesday afternoon.
The interior was incredibly dim, and the lighting was interestingly orange. The entire place had the feel of an old home converted into a restaurant, complete with long hallways and separate rooms through archways. The booth our server showed us to bore obvious wear and tear, with the faux leather seats peeling. I noticed a distinctly musty smell reminiscent of older homes throughout the restaurant, and that didn’t abate throughout the meal.
Our server was very friendly, but the service was less than polished for a place that attempted to uphold the caliber of perhaps past splendor. It took more than ten minutes for him to bring us even water, and there were maybe two other tables in the entire restaurant. He checked on us once after the food was served, and that was barely five minutes after we had started eating. It took twenty minutes of waiting before we could flag him down again for our check, and then another while before that was taken care of and brought back. I can only hypothesize that his disappearances were due to the kitchen being short-​staffed and thus requiring more hands in the back.
Complimentary bread and butter:
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I do admit I’m not a huge fan of baguettes unless they’re within an hour of coming out of the oven, but these slices were some of the hardest I’ve had to date. I appreciated the abundant butter packets, but they did little to alleviate the bread that was hard enough to cut teeth on. The bread itself didn’t taste old, so I’m not sure why it was so incredibly hard.
French onion soup:
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This rendition did the notorious soup no favors. As you can see from the picture, the cheese was barely melted on top and the soup itself was painfully salty (perhaps they used salted beef broth but treated it as unsalted?). It also jabbed at one of my pet peeves, as it was served lukewarm.
Side salad with vinaigrette:
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Aside from having to pick out one or two rotten leaves from the salad, I was a little irked that the one slice of tomato served in this salad was very obviously the unripe end. I understand that it’s a small detail, but at these prices, I feel that it’s not to much to ask for attention to these kinds of details.
Filet mignon with mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables:
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We asked for the filet mignon at a medium rare, and it came bordering well-​done. The meat itself was tough and dry, with the outside layer tasting like it had been crusted with something hard. The mashed potatoes were fine, but the grilled vegetables were incredibly bland. The prime rib, which was what I really wanted, wasn’t available for lunch, but I don’t know that I would be brave enough to try it after tasting the filet mignon.
Lamb chops with mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables:
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I thought these were cooked much better than the filet mignon, but they were still a bit dry. The gaminess was very, very apparent, but I actually like my meat gamey so I didn’t mind. The mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables were the same as above.
Shrimp risotto:
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This was probably my favorite out of the three entrees, minus the capers (I dislike capers on principle though because they’re just little sodium-​bombs to me). The risotto was cooked well, not too raw and not too mushy. The shrimp were succulent if few, and the sauce veered on the sour side with some excess tomato, but it was a nice contrast to the creaminess of the risotto.
I had no idea that this restaurant had been on Kitchen Nightmares until after dining here, which is an interesting tidbit that speaks to the well-​meaning feel I had throughout my visit. Unfortunately I don’t believe I’ll return, as the quality, price range, and service really don’t match up in my book.

Some family chose this spot for dinner, easy to get a table for a party of six. We shared several appetizers and the soups and salad that came with the meal. None were memorable except for the burrata — definitely recommend that. I wasn’t impressed with the entrees, but there weren’t awful either. Portions are large though.
TLDR: Meh.