Short version: I took my car for a hand wash and wax at Auto Spa Bistro for the first time today,…read moreSaturday, June 21, 2025. I left a happy customer. Therefore, I plan to return for my next wash and wax. Will I have the same experience next time? I hope so.
Long version:
Based on today's experience, I give Auto Spa Bistro a solid four stars.
I researched this place before bringing my car here. On both Yelp and Google, reviews are all over the place. On Yelp for example, Auto Spa Bistro currently has a 3.2-star average rating with 162 reviews. Reviews are polarized with mostly 5-star and 1-star reviews. So, I knew I was taking a roll of the dice. Today, I got lucky.
This place has been around for a while. The first Yelp review was posted in March 2012. The business has stood the test of time. I've lived in the neighborhood since 2001. This place is often busy on the weekends when the weather is nice. Knowing this, I showed up around 9:15 AM, shortly after they opened (9:00 AM).
I pulled my car into the lot and was seen immediately by John and manager Mike. Mike told me that a hand wash and wax (outside only) for my car, a mid-size sedan, was $100. That was consistent with what I saw on Auto Spa Bistro's website for 2025 prices. I agreed to the $100 wash and wax. John worked on my car.
The payment process was interesting and consistent (at least, partially) with what I read in reviews. First, John wrote "$50" on one of those paper restaurant "guest checks" and told me to pay inside. Then, he said I could tip when I paid inside or tip later via Apple Pay or Cash App. I asked if he had Google Pay or Venmo and he said no. I agreed to Cash App since I wanted to see the finished product before tipping.
Inside is a small bar and lounge. I wouldn't really call it a restaurant, though they do provide sit-down service. You're either at the bar, high-tops, or sitting in lounge seating. They have a lot of TVs. There was only one person working inside at the time of my visit: Nia. She was the bartender/server and took everyone's initial payment at the bar. Kind of funny paying for a car wash at a bar. She printed out two receipts: one went back to her and the other, stamped "paid," went to John. Nia was very nice.
I read in some reviews that you're not allowed to sit inside unless you order food or drink. That wasn't the case this morning. Other customers and I sat inside without ordering anything. However, this may have had to do with the time of day and how busy they were. Maybe they restrict inside seating during peak times. I also spent time waiting outside on the patio. You can watch them wash cars from both inside and outside. However, if they're doing more detailed work like waxing, they'll pull your car to the side where it may be out of view.
John finished my car in just under an hour. He did a great job. I was impressed with his combination of speed and thoroughness. I'm very particular about my car. I used to detail it myself for many years. I've also had many different detailers work on my car over the years, so I know the commonly-missed and difficult spots. John is up there with the best to have worked on my car. The only spots he missed were certain corners on my wheels. All the other detailers have missed these spots as well. Not a big deal. It's a nitpicky thing. Overall, my car looks fantastic.
I want to mention two things I really appreciated about John:
1. He used "black shine" on the bottom molding/trim of my car without me asking. This is something that I used to do myself, but got tired of asking detailers to do (cumbersome). When I walked up to my car and saw that he had done that, I was so happy and taken aback a bit. It showed he has an eye for detail and he's considerate.
2. I had the oldest, crappiest car on the lot: a 2001 Volkswagen with about 305,000 miles on it. If you've driven by this place, you know they wash a lot of fancy cars. Not mine. Other cars during the time of my visit included two Porsches, a Lexus SUV, one of those giant, nice-looking pickup trucks, and a recent-model Corvette. Yeah, my old car was outclassed and stood out like a sore thumb. I say this because John still treated it like the other cars on the lot, with care and priority. I really appreciated it.
Another thing I appreciated was after John was done washing my car, he pulled it into the shade to do the wax job. Cars shouldn't be waxed in direct sunlight because the heat causes the wax to dry too quickly. They used carnauba wax, same as me. I was curious how they were going to handle the wax portion and they "passed." Again, as someone who used to do this myself, I appreciated all of this.
When it came time to pay the outstanding balance and tip, I was confused. I ended up paying one of the other workers $75 via Cash App (he and John agreed to settle up). So, $50 went to the business inside via credit card and $75 "to John" outside via Cash App (remaining $50 for the service plus $25 tip from me).
