Public School 818 Reviews

Varied menu of creative dishes. Decent portions. I had the shrimp and grits and asked for the less spicy option.. it came spicy and I am sure if the like spicy it was excellent. Server was awesome and tried to replace but I opted for “ no charge”.. good food, good environment good friends just not my type of dinner out on the evening.

I love the look, feel and vibe of this place. The bloody mary served with a fried chicken wing? WOW! The first one we had also came with pickled garlic. The second one's had carrots and a pepper, so the continuity was a bit off. The food was fun (most of it's fried so what's not to love?). But the service, while SOOOOO friendly, was just so slow. We went for brunch but should have ordered dinner

We love all the new American / gastropub style restaurants that have popped up all over Sherman Oaks though Studio City, but we’ve been hesitating on trying PS 818 as their dinner menu seems limited for vegetarians. Enter their brunch menu - savior to all! Both my wife and I had the Fire-Roasted Vegetable Hash and eggs which came with corn, black beans, carrots, adobo sauce, quinoa and more. It was sort of like a a deconstructed Huevos Rancheros than a hash but it was still satisfying and tasty. The individual veggies kind of lost their identity the way it was prepared but, as I said, it was still tasty. The quinoa added sort of veggie “grounds” (as in fake meat) like texture to the dish. One of us had it with mozzarella one of us had it without. It was served with crispy tortillas that could’ve used a little salt. (My wife also added avocado with hers. The coffee, which is made it to order, was excellent and served with the kind of crema on top (that foamy layer), you usually don’t get with a drip coffee. It was very bold tasting, just as I like it. We also had an order of french fries which were also cooked perfectly and served with a barbecue mustard, and what was called a “sriracha” catsup up, though, in practice it just tasted like catch up. Also the hot tea available was Harney and Sons which is a premium, really good brand of tea, and it’s organic. The Bloody Mary’s which we saw brought to other tables looked delicious, though they did come with a chicken wing attached. All I can ask for as a vegetarian is that my cocktails don’t come with meat in them. I’m sure they can make it without it but still…since we had avoided this place for a while because of the non-vegetarian centric dinner menu, seeing the chicken wing attached to the bloody mary did remind us why we hadn’t been here before. Overall the food we ate tasted good and we wouldn’t mind returning for brunch sometime in the future.

We enjoyed ourselves at this restaurant. Here's why. ATMOSPHERE : youthfully snappy and lively, dark enough to make things interesting but light enough to let you see the artfully assembled dishes in front of you. DECOR: pleasantly modern and somewhat minimalist, for a nice clean look yet still comfortable. FOOD: standard (kale Caesar salad with or without grilled chicken) to imaginative (shrimp with seasoned veggies atop cheddar cheese grits). Everything for our party of four was savory and well-prepared, with mostly unusual flavorings and pairings to make them interesting. Even the bangers and mash were more piquant, with bacon, Brussels sprouts, and caramelized onions. Good show! DRINK: respectable house wines served by the half liter and a quirky selection of beers and ales on draft (mostly from CO or CA, like School House IPA ) and in bottles (some international, like Belgian "Delirium Tremens"). PRICING: modest, considering the large portions and overall quality (basic Caesar salad $10, shrimp and grits $18). SERVICE: friendly and very fast, thanks to the accommodating server who knew we had tickets for a movie starting in an hour and gave everything a "push." Kudos! LOCATION: conveniently short walk from the Sherman Oaks Galleria, so you can dine here in combination with shopping or a movie at the Arc Light. BOTTOM LINE: good food and good times without breaking the bank.

Met at PS818 for dinner with friends. I'd heard great things about the PS310 and I couldn't wait to try this one. Although I had a reservation, there were plenty of seats both outside and inside right at the end of happy hour. Our waitress was very friendly and knew the menu items well. The crispy buffalo cauliflower was to die for and the PB & J sliders were divine. Their own version of the Moscow Mule was insanely delicious too! Great location if you're looking for an in-between place for valley-city dwellers. The overall vibe was very gastropub and cool. Highly recommend!

Went there once with friends and had a decent meal. Food was hot, service was good, but it was so loud our party of 6 seated at a round table could not hear each other. I went back a few weeks later for a business lunch (the location is fantastic if one person is in the Valley and the other is on the Westside) and it was similarly loud but this time the food was not very good and the service was worse. My lunch arrived lukewarm, and was not very tasty. I ate a few bites and left it, and I do not consider myself to be a very picky eater. Our waitress seemed to forget about us a few times and we had to wait to get water refills - basic stuff for a restaurant like this. Maybe it is better for dinner - I have only been there for lunch.

Friendly and attentive staff, fantastic food and a pleasant all round atmosphere . As a family we enjoyed it so much we returned for our second of two nights in Sherman Oaks. Highly recommended!

The food was amazing! And the presentation was as well. Very unique dishes and healthy options with a wide variety. The service was also very good. I would go back!

Had business dinner here. Good selection of beer and wine. Menu had good choices. Prices reasonable. Waitress (Megan) was friendly and attentive. Suggest the short ribs. Very good.

Great place to meet for Happy Hour or hang out on weekend. No reservations but the bar area is first come first serve. Bartenders are friendly and the food is good too. Huge selection of beers and descent wine list.

Visited here on 07/16/18 with my friend who was visiting from ATL. The service was excellent! This is the type of service that I remember getting from PS310, but better! It was busy because it was evening, but we were seated right away as there was a hostess at her post when we walked up. We were seated outside because it was a nice day. Our waiter came right away to get our drink orders and returned within a short time to initiate our orders. He was friendly, and offered personal suggestions about drinks to my friend. He even offered refills on water and my lemonade which I never got at the PS213 location, but I digress Anyway, our food came within a timely manner, and I actually recall the host coming over to out table to ask how was things and if she could get us anything. When I asked if our waiter left she kindly said no, she was just making sure we were good. Wow!!! Besides the food being great as usual; we got appetizers along with our meal (meatballs, chicken wings, cheesy bacon tots, beet salad, fish & chips, lamb burger w/ truffle fries) I think I found my new favorite PS location.

Right on the corner of Sepulveda and Ventura, easy to get to with a decent menu. Not a ton of options but the burgers are almost a must. Good place to meet up for lunch although it was a little loud inside. Happy hour had some decent prices.

The hotel recommended this place, so my friend and I decided to try it out. They have a very nice modern menu that my wife would love, but the only thing looking good to my friend and I was the buffalo burger. We decided to eat somewhere else. But before going we had a couple drinks. The service was excellent, the restaurant was clean and simple and the school theme is unique. The menu looks like a school notebook - very creative. My only beef was they didn't have a complete bar. I asked for a Washington apple, but they didn't have apple pucker. Disappointing for a place with a full bar...well 99% full. The place was pretty busy for a Wednesday night at 530pm. Would love to bring my wife her so she can try the menu.

This was a lot of fun for both adults and older kids. This is a great theme restaurant, and service was very professional.

I work in the area on Ventura Blvd and stopped in for lunch recently. The place has a both indoor and outdoor seating with a nice ambiance in both areas.Service was attentive . Unlike others opinions my food was great . There is a large beer menu and food consisting of pizza, burgers , sandwiches and salads. Unless you park across the street in Sherman Oaks Galleria , parking can be a challenge

I hadn't been to Public School 818 for a number of years, but needed a convenient place to meet a westside friend for lunch. We sat outdoors. Both of us ordered the Public School Burger and it was delicious. Cooked just right, very tasty. Our server was friendly and attentive. My only concern is that the tables are too close together in times of Covid.

First off, if you're in Texas looking for this restaurant, just stop here....this is a review for a restaurant in Sherman Oaks, California, not sure why it's listed in Texas... My sister and I stopped in for breakfast on a Saturday morning. I think we would have been happier if we were drinking mimosas but it was a workday for us. She had FIRE ROASTED VEGETABLE HASH & EGGS which was more like a chunky plate of veggies or a very dry stew. Very salty. I had the FRIED JIDORI CHICKEN & WAFFLES, the chicken was delicious but the waffle was more like a cake shaped belgian waffle, I prefer the light airy, crunchy belgians to the dense syrup devouring ones...The accompanying bacon red eye gravy was so salty that you need to be drinking with this dish...The egg was cooked to perfection! I think this is probably a great place for snacks and drinks before or after a movie across the street but not my choice for a meal. Who knows, I may give it another chance, if so, I'll let you know the results.... The Host and Hostess and waitstaff, VERY NICE!

The wait staff were friendly and the food came on a timely basis. There is paid parking nearby. We came for dinner at 7pm on a weekday and the place was full.

LOS ANGELES - SHERMAN OAKS - Well balanced menu with fish and chips, salmon was really good, burgers were stacked high, lots to choose from and all good. Jeromy our server was on the ball and very sharp. We ordered cheese and antiposti to start along with the hummus platter & veggies, gotta to say it was perfect. Burgers was perfectly done and generous portions. Really well presented. Valet parking is a pleasure $4.00 and fast. Reservations were honored immediately and front of the house was on the ball. Desserts were interesting and can be shared. We had the ice cream cookie with bacon crumble. It was interesting and worth ordering. Only negative was the noise -very loud buzz and bar was crowded- so it is a happening place. We will be back and maybe ask for a quieter table in the back. We had a $60 bottle of Dry California Cab - it was perfect with the scene, Wine list was affordable and no sticker shock - waiter knew the wine list inside and out - a nice touch ! $125 for 4 without wine and tax and tip -

This place was recommended to me by my son who lives in Lake Balboa. It is is an ideal location right across the street from the Courtyard Marriott where I was staying and by the Galleria Mall, which is an ideal parking spot. Everything about this place reminded me of school with the menus being the old black and white composition notebooks. The decor throughout included microscopes and mathematical devices. My wife and I opted to simply try three appetizers, but this was more than enough to satisfy. I strongly recommend the Parmesan truffle fries. They are amazing. I also suggest trying the chorizo mac & cheese as it was very tasty. Lastly, we ate the meatballs; however, these were some of the best meatballs I have ever eaten. They were also as large as grapefruits. We enjoyed all of this with a bottle of Cloudfall Chardonnay, which is an excellent wine. We graduated without having dessert, but they have a nice selection of options. This place is worth checking out and even staying after school to enjoy all this education has to offer. Sara was our server and she did an outstanding job making sure we passed with flying colors!

I was excited to try the newest of local chain of Public School restaurants in Sherman Oaks, but was extremely disappointed! They Failed on all levels. The service was tardy. The food was like Cafeteria food. And the noisy patrons sounded like they were in detention. This is a place for under 25 year olds who are nursing a hangover. Needless to say, I'm transferring from this school ! :(

Ordered PS Burger, Cheddar and Bacon Tater Tots, Calamari, and Wings. Food was above average and affordable. They did not have Bacardi gold, they only have the dark Bacardi, but their rum well drink it is not bad and really cheap during happy hour. Staff are very attentive and polite.

Friendly and attentive staff. Food was good. I had the Cutting Board (meats and cheeses) and the PS Burger. Burger was cooked just right and tasted great with the sriracha ketchup.

Wait staff handled the chaos of a large group very cheerfully. Menu interesting, but ordered a shrimp and arugula salad that was underseasoned so a bit boring. Poke appetizer was good.

Food was good and the prices were reasonable. There is indoor and outdoor seating. I had the poblano and quinoa it was good but the guacamole was disappointing, the fish chips was a little greasy but hot mess sandwich was a hit. Nice selection of beers and ales. Fun school themed decor.

I really like the concept and good food. But something felt a little off; maybe cause we were sitting outside in the heated patio which was still cold, or maybe it was the table next to us talking recklessly loud, but over all the salad, app, and beer we ordered was good. Pizza was okay.

We finally ate late lunch at Public school after the movies at Arc light across the street . The service was really great ... we were a party of 12 ... and we got right in and had a terrific booth .. The vibe and decor of the restaurant is really fun.... The menu - Gastro pub - was awful .. to me... I had a salad that was tasteless and my family really picked at everything ... so I'm pretty sure - it was a NO ... all around . If you like Gastro pub food ..maybe this place would work for you ...but I'm not going back ... not remotely delicious to me.

Great bar food, great happy hour! HH is from M-F starting at 4pm, food is until 6:30pm and drinks are until 7pm. They have food ranging from $4-$7 and $5 drink specials. I tried the Ahi Tuna Tacos, Naked Chicken Wings, & Chorizo Mac & Cheese. I really enjoyed the Mac & Cheese my favorite. The wings were really crispy and good, but a bit salty. I'd pass on the ahi tuna tacos. The shell was a crispy she'll but the ingredients weren't fresh. It probably taste really good with fresh seafood. There are darts, beer pong, giant Jenga and shuffleboard so you're not bored while you're there. And there are TVs so you can watch some sports. The place is decorated as if you were in school with varsity jackets to the locker room to the menu. Biggest downside to the place is parking. Valet is $4 in the parking structure or street parking.

This is a great place to watch sports. While I only had cocktails, the food looked amazing. The service was great and the prices very reasonable.

This is a large pub with great atmosphere and a great patio. It's a bit generic but great for groups and has a great happy hour menu - lots of good snacks (edamame hummus and flatbread is my favourite) although the "sliders" was just a burger cut in 4 pieces, so that was a bit weird - and good drink specials.

Is it the staff??? YES Is it the food??? YES Is it the alcohol??? Yes please. Our first time there we had the best waiter ever and a few days later the other guy was just as good with recommendations, with attentiveness and with smile. The food was just creative and yummy. Everything I love about food. The cocktails were just too interesting not to try a few. We went again and we will definitely go again. Thank you PS818

Bloody Mary pizza was delicious, as was the Public School IPA. It might be noisy but the vibe is friendly and the food excellent. Recommended.

What a fun place, exciting menu and interesting great beers! Wish I were able to go back tonight for more fun.

Dropped in for an early dinner and made it in during happy hour. The wait staff was helpful and energetic!

Drinks were good Food was good Service was excellent Buffalo cauliflower is a must Tried the PB and J hamburger was unusual and very tasty

If you are looking for nice Decor and wide choice on the Menu This place is for you. The Menu has a wide variety from Fish to Burgers to Chicken Great selection of Beers.

Its a great casual restaurant with cool decor. The food was very tasty. The home made tots were awesome. Crispy chicken sandwich too. Nice bar and beer options. Staff friendly.

this new restaurant just opened this year around the corner from our office and decided to try it ; they made it look like CheescakeFactory that is just across from it; but it doesn't even come close; sure its a different cuisine and food is really good but forget about service; prices are average; i tried fish and cheeps and was very impressed with quality and presentation; definitely coming back for more;

OMG!!! What a hip place to hang out~ SUPER crowded and great vibe! Lots of outdoor seating area. Love the cute electric fire pit. They also have ceiling heaters to keep you warm. They have TV all over the restaurant (indoor & outdoor). Perfect place to watch sports! What a fun theme~ The menu looks like a "notebook". Happy Hour is called "Recess" here. Restroom is called "Lockers room" here. All the decoration are related to "school". Super creative! The Service: Service is excellent. Our server is super attentive and polite. Constantly checked on us. It took a while for them to serve the food. I think the kitchen must be overwhelmed with the crowd. The Food: Brown Bag Fries - mustard bbq sauce, sriracha ketchup. Fried to order. Very crispy! $5 worth it! Kale Caesar - with Roasted Chicken. The kale they used are so tender. Love the Caesar dressing, not too much. I am so glad they used "roasted chicken" instead of "grilled chicken". The roasted chicken without the skin are amazingly tender. All white meat. Sometimes when it is grilled chicken, the meat tends to be too dry. Love this dish! Tuscan Chop Salad - soppressata, burrata, kale, chickpeas, tomatoes, red onion, crispy prosciutto. A little bit under-dressing, feel like just eating raw vegetables? Not much taste. Love the cripsy prosciutto, great texture eating with other vegetables. The Parking: Valet parking

Brand new restaurant in a great center of the San Fernando Valley location, but what a disappointment. So very noisy. Food tends to be on the spicy side, even though I requested my meal to be mild. Seems to do a great bar business. The theme of being in school is a cute idea, with "homework" on the doggie bag, "recess" on the signboard, etc. but doesn't fit with the menu and style of restaurant. I probably will not return.

We had a late meal here upon arriving to LA. Excellent beer selection and everyone in my party loved their meal. My friend who had the Bangers and mash said it was the best he'd ever had! Everything was very fresh and tasty!!

This is a place i like a lot in Culver City. The service here and the food was not up to the standards i find at that location. They have opened fairly recently so i have hopes it will improve. The calamari was pretty gross, insanely thickly fried and tasteless.

Met friends here last night for happy hour. First time I've been to this restaurant. The service was good, nice big tables for a group. Good prices for happy hour; but the food was just so-so. We got the pizza, calamari, burgers and wings all to share. Nothing really stood out; but it wasn't bad either. So just three stars.

Nice menu and with a large variety of beers to chose from. Very friendly waitstaff. The meal was very slow in coming but was very tasty and nicely prepared. I'd definitely go back.

The Skinny: Decor - all funky retro school stuff Service - terrific Coke Factor - Mexican in the bottle Food - A minus! So we were supposed to go to the Cheesecake Factory and the wait was 2 hours. Ridiculous! We spotted this place across the street and made a bee line for it. It was busy but we still got a table for 8 very easily. Our server was super nice and when we asked if they could turn the speaker down in our dining area they did. The vibe is retro school and the menu is kind of all over the place. We ordered: Crostini (free) - excellent bread with olive oil and herbs White Bean Hummus - this was just okay, the pita was great Margherita Pizza - excellent crust, good sauce to cheese ratio, yummy, large size to share Bison Burger - very delicious and I have never had Bison, comes with good fries, you won't want to share :) We were all pleasantly surprised about this place, I would totally go back!

The food was great, the atmosphere was really cool, but the service was awful! Other members of our group went at a different time and described the sam experience.

This is one of several... done by Grill Concepts (Dailly Grill, The Grill on the Alley, etc). They take a chef driven concept and make it a chain. Well done.. .but still chain like. The beers are all corporate driven... wine list the same.. Food pretty good but not soulful.

Nice menu of mostly pub grub with a flair. Drinks are good and sandwiches and salads are available as well as some nice entrees. Portions are large.

I went to P.S. 818 with a group of about 10 people. It was very cute inside and we liked the school touches throughout the place. Of course, all of us were teachers, or retired teachers, so maybe that's why we appreciated all the little touches, like the napkins that looked like lined paper and the menus that looked like notebooks. Even better was the food. I had the shrimp and grits and LOVED it. My friends enjoyed their dishes, from salads to pizza and more. The waiter was also very gracious and offered to have separate checks for all of us. The only negative of this place is that there is no parking except valet parking.

Tried Public School for the first time tonight. The whole experience was great! The food was delicious and service was great. We started with the chorizo mac and cheese. It was excellent. The buffalo wings was good. The braised short rib was so tender a knife was not needed. The horseradish mash was creamy with a kick. Fish and chips was as one would expect, crunchy fish and thin cut fries. They have a vast selection of beers. Bojon, our server, was great. He offered his opinion on the different menu items and was attentive. He did not steer us wrong. Next time, we'll try the chicken and waffle as well as the bison burger as he recommended. Thanks, Bojon!

This was our first visit to a Public School restaurant/bar. The chain describes its restaurants as gastropubs focused on fresh, local ingredients and craft beer. The interior is very casual and relaxed. Service was a bit inconsistent, requiring us to flag down our server more than one. But, it is ultimately about the food. We started with a number of appetizers for the table. None were bad and none were great. Our table then ordered numerous sandwiches, tacos, and pizzas for our main courses; including my "What Came First" chicken and egg sandwich. The overwhelming reaction from our group was: "It was meh… it's OK."

We went for Recess (happy hour, 4-7pm M-F). They offered a good selection of beers and food at reasonable prices. The beer from El Segundo Brewing was great. The sliders were good, as were the truffle fries. The fried cauliflower was just OK. I would not order it again. Our waitress was very friendly. My major complaint is the bar. It's in chaos. It took almost 15 minutes to get tastes of two beers. The waitress kept coming by to tell us that the bar was backed up. After ordering two beers we waited some more. Our food was delivered before the beers arrived. For a restaurant with a good happy hour offering they need to do much better behind the bar. We'll try it again and hope they improve the bar service.

Great, creative atmosphere. The doggie bag says you have an Incomplete and you need to finish the assignment at home! Very good "21st Century" food without being too foodie. Parking is a little awkward but worth the trouble.

Had dinner at this location with friends and dined on the patio. A nice place to visit with lots of traffic along Ventura Blvd and Sepulveda.

I've only been here once, but will totally go back. I went here on a date and had a great time. Nice atmosphere, great food. I had a salad with roasted chicken, and some chicken tortilla soup. Both dishes were a solid 9 out of 10. I definitely recommend trying this place!

A popular place with nice outdoor heating with Heaters of it is cold outside. All of food was good, friendly staff, what more do you want. My only negative was that the couple beside us had a dog at their table, not my thing when eating food.

Seven of us for lunch on a busy Friday afternoon. We picked Public School 818 because it offered good food for all ages and paid our parking, a real benefit in the Valley. While the menu is limited, the burgers were well prepared and the portions were very big. The salads were huge. Try the kale salad with either salmon or chicken. Especially liked the selection of beers on tap.

Came here while I was in town on a business trip. Everything about this place is great! Our server was friendly, knowledgeable, and funny! The food and drinks came out pretty quick, even though it was a busy Friday night. I will definitely be back!

Popped in for dinner this evening before hitting a movie across the street at the Arclight. Three of us were seated immediately on the patio as requested. A bottle of water and three glasses arrived quickly and drink order was taken along with an appetizer of crispy cauliflower. Bother the drinks and the cauliflower arrived pretty fast. Entree order was taken.... Shrimp & grits, fish & chips, and a margarita pizza. The deep fried cauliflower was OK - nothing special. The shrimp & grits arrives in this cool small cast iron frying pan... but the pan was COLD.... Makes absolutely no sense to me why the pan was not heated a bit which would help keep the entree hot... which would be a good idea cause the entree was not hot... just warm, which was too bad. It had some good flavors but I could not get past the temperature of the food. The fish & chips looked good. The fries were really good and the fish was OK. My friend enjoyed her pizza and was pleased that it had fresh ingredients on it. All of us asked each other if we would order the same dish again and all of us responded no. Then we decided that while it was an OK place we really would not go out of our way to return. It was not bad but it was also not memorable... We might try again and order differently.

Came here with a friend for a late lunch to try the DineLA menu. We both ordered the edamame hummus and both thought it excellent. I've never had a hummus with edamame and I'm a fan! And the flat bread that came with was super delicious as well. The only bad thing was the portion was so huge (it's the same size as on the regular menu) that I took two bites of my entree and took the rest home. I figured bangers and mash would taste ok reheated whereas I could not replicate the crispy, yet soft bread as a leftover. My friend ordered the hamburger with spicy coleslaw and said the slaw was definitely spicy! Parking was free for 90 min in the parking structure next door with validation. I did not know this and parked in the city lot across the street. At least there are options.

It really just didn't work for me. I had heard some good things, but in the end, I kinda felt over salted and all little sick. I showed up with a couple of friends and we decided to sample a few things. First of all, I have no complaints about service. Everything was great...attentive, sense of humor, fast with good suggestions. The wine list was interesting and had some nice selections. We were able to get a table outside and the weather was great - the the experience portion worked out. Now the food. The Tater Tot things are really good, but we worked our way through most other items on the small plates and they were really just ... eh. The charcuterie board was fair at best. I've had much better for roughly the same price. We finally moved on to the short rib. To be honest it was bland as hell. I mean really bad and not worth finishing. I would definitely look elsewhere. There are some good restaurnants in the area.

The theme is great, and the food is even better. I loved seeing the periodic table on the wall and the telescope on the shelf. They really committed to the theme and the food was fantastic. I had the burger one night and the short rib the other. Wonderful. And the tomato and watermelon stack was sublime. Highly recommended.

Went with some business associates for lunch and we all enjoyed our food. The restaurant is actually located across the street from the offices of my business associates and they go there frequently. For me it was my first time, and I can see why they like it. You can sit indoors or out. Apparently, most people surprisingly prefer indoors because it's quieter - as you do get street noise being on the busy corner of Sepulveda and Ventura Blvds. I ordered the Crispy Chicken Sandwich and was very pleased with it. The combination of the slaw and sauces combine very well with the chicken. Public House has a great selection of wines by the glass. I found that the Albariño white wine went very well with this sandwich.

Appetizers are were great, beyond ordinary. Pizza was real good-again added a few ingredients that aren't the norm. Overall selection on menu good. Service was over the top-engaging and prompt!

Went to a late lunch here and had a burger with the shaved brussels and kale slaw. The burger was above average and the brussels/kale slaw was a nice change of pace. Service was average. Just as the other reviewers have said - this place is in CALIFORNIA, not Texas as Tripadvisor has it listed.

Parking is $ 4.00, Really good food...Had the Salmon and it was better than anticipated, tortilla soup was amazing

The food was fine. I had a beet salad. My nephew had the skillet chicken (hold the polenta, he told them). My boyfriend had a barbeque chicken salad. As far as drinks, I had a glass of wine ($11). My nephew had a beer. My boyfriend had a top-shelf margarita. So, hold that thought. He asked what tequila they had and the server told him. He asked for the don Julio, that sounded good. "Is the 1942 OK?" asked the server. "Sure." Now, back to that thought. We live in Texas. We know tequila. I was so excited to visit with my nephew that, when the check came, I just looked at it, thought it was a little pricey, and paid it with a nice tip. After leaving, I realized that I hadn't paid attention and didn't take the print-out of each of the prices and, by the way, why did this cost me $121? I looked up the prices on the on-line menu. In the proces, I discovered that, although my nephew had asked for the polenta to be held on the chicken, he was supposed to get vegetables. And just how much was that top-shelf margarita? No one had mentioned the cost. So, I went back. I was told that the margarita was $46 just by itself. Seriously? I took a photo of the bottle to check how much that bottle really costs. The manager came over to talk to me. First of all, where were the vegetables on the chicken plate? "Well," she told me. "The menu is misleading. The vegetables are really reduced to a gravy on the chicken. The polenta is the main part of the dish. I was surprised that it was asked to be held off the plate." Did the server ask, "can I get you something else?" or even mention that, without the polenta, it would be just a piece of chicken in a skillet? No. What happened to "vegetables" actually meaning vegetables? Misleading? More like a lie. Vegetables "reduced to a gravy?" Give me a break...and some real vegetables!! Meanwhile, back to the drink. I suggested that, perhaps, the server could let customers know that the cost of their drink choice might be higher than they realized....Or, perhaps, just give the information of how much a shot of 1942 don Julio costs. "Oh no," the manager informed me. "In a place like this, customers are offended if you tell them the price of their drinks. They know what they want and they don't want to be told." The Public School is not at that level. There are prices on the menu for EVERYTHING, every dish, every side, even the glass of wine and the glass of beer had prices listed. And, trust me, The Public School is OK, but it's not even almost at that level, period. Customers who don't care what they spend on a drink would not choose to dine at The Public School. Please, someone out there, tell me that you would be "offended" by information given to you by your server, including, not just the price of your very expensive drink that you might have thought was expensive but did not know it was more than the cost of all the meals at your table combined, but that your vegetables will be invisible, so you might want to order something else with your chicken. By the way, the manager informed me that the bottle of don Julio 1942 costs them over $200. I hate to let her know this, but she really needs to find a different distributor. That particular bottle can be found for $119.95. How many shots are in a bottle? Hmmm...

I had a meeting with some clients in the area. We decided to try out this restaurant. The server was more than helpful in explaining the menu and the drinks (it is a bar that serves many different types of beer, which are designed to fit with the food selections. The food was quite good. I had a first in having kale/brussels slaw. In my next travels to the area, I would definitely go again.

I love this place - Great inviting atmosphere - always great service and a menu with many varied choices.