Elmwood Nail Salon

Terrible service extremely slow and I got my nails done yesterday afternoon and they are already chipped and awful, and they charged my friends credit card TWICE!

Very bad pedi. Didn’t smooth out or file nails and only applied topcoat to a portion of my toe nails!

Nope!!! I walked in, asked for a fill, and was ignored from then on. I didn’t know how long my wait was, who was doing it, etc. I got up and left. Horrible unfriendly

This had been my regular spot for many years. The prices and service are reasonable. The staff are usually nice. I got frustrated yesterday when I tried to get a mani-​pedi, and they told me to come back in 30 minutes. So I did, and then they told me it was going to be another 20 minutes. So I left, and Unilocaled other nail salons in Elmwood and discovered Versailles. After trying them today, I think they will be my new go to spot. But Elmwood has served me reasonably well for many years! I also like that they do $ 10 kid mani-​pedis.

Bad business practices. They charged me extra for services that are included everywhere else I’ve been and didn’t tell me until I got to the register. When I explained (calmly, friendly) that I wish I had known that it was an added cost, she said, «Well, it’s done now, so you have to pay for it» (which I’d planned to, but was hoping she might at least be nice about it.)
When I arrived, I asked if they had a loyalty program of some kind, hoping that this would be my go-​to spot now that I work nearby. (They do have such a program.) This made it all the more strange to be treated badly.
This place seems resigned to accepting its own sub-​par reputation.
Other negatives: Terse, unfriendly demeanor, steps to minimize pain during waxing were simply skipped.
Go elsewhere.

I went very early on a Sunday… nobody was there.
I actually went because another nail salon botched painting my nails really badly.
They owner was super nice.
She was with another client but still let me get started cleaning the polish off of my own nails as I really didn’t need a whole manicure, just simply nails painted.
They look fabulous. Don’t waste money on the little designs — that isn’t their forte.
But for 6 bucks they paint nails very well!
They take a CC but they will tell you they prefer cash.
Thank you!

One of my pet peeves with nail salons is when you ask if you can be seen as a walk-​in, they tell you no problem and to pick your color, and then you end up waiting around for ½ an hour. That was my experience at this nail salon. At least I could wait in the awesome massage chair. But while it was nice to have my feet in the warm bath water, it wasn’t so fun when it turned chilly. When the pedicurist was finally available, she seemed to be the manager, b/​c she had a lot of tasks to do while doing my nails-​greeting customers, taking phone calls, replacing towels, taking payments… so my pedicure took twice as long as it should have. And to boot, because the pedicurist was so busy, she did a mediocre job at best! I left with uneven nails… yikes! I don’t think I’ll be back here any time soon!

This is the worst nail salon I have ever been to (I have been to enough bad ones):
1. They are unfriendly and often rude
2. They do a mediocre job.
I think that their location is what keeps them in business. Unless you are okay with having a nail salon ruin your mood for the day, I would not recommend this place.

This is pretty-​much my go-​to nail salon, as it’s so close to my Elmwood apartment. Overall, I’ve been pleased with the results. Usually I call to make a same-​day appointment for later in the day, though they also take walk-​ins. Manicure/​pedicure combo is $ 30, or $ 12 for manicure only/​$ 20 for pedicure only.
Today I went for a French manicure/​pedicure ($ 38 combined, $ 16 French manicure only, $ 24 French pedicure only), and the end result was decent, though not perfect. The employees are quite friendly, albeit a bit quiet, and as it was my birthday, the manager even gave me a bangle bracelet as a birthday gift! :)
My only complaint would be the length of time it took for the service – I was there for a total of about 1.5 hours, which seems like a long time. But I believe I caught them at a pretty busy time (late afternoon/​early evening); they said the mornings are much slower. However, their actual service was also rather slow. But I suppose it’s better than a sloppy, rushed job.
They do accept credit cards, though be sure to have cash for the tip!

This was the worst pedicure I’ve had. IThe only nice thing is that the location is pretty clean. But I’ve never experienced such a wimpy use of a scrubber. I actually had to bend over and scrub my own heels because she did such a quick job without any interest in removing the dry skin from my feet. It was more of a nod to the practice of exfoliation.
It was not luxurious or at all special in spite of higher price or fancy location.
Never going back.

I will not be going back to this place. That’s what I vowed after the first time, but a friend wanted us to go there together. Ok, I’ll try again. But the experience this time was worse than before. My friend had a friendly manicurist who gave her a nice long massage. I had two different people for hands and feet. The pedicurist did not massage above my ankles, and the manicurist not above my wrists! The manicurist, having given almost no massage and a very brief unenthusiastic preparation asked if I’d like to pay before she put on the polish. Fine. And will I please pay the tip at least in cash. Tip? I know, tip is assumed, but her attitude made me wish I were not with my friend so that I could have asked why she thought she deserved a tip.
The polish they used was old and gloppy, and even though I stayed a half hour to be sure it was dry, it started chipping within three days.
The first time I went there I felt like an intruder on their private conversations. There was no sense of customer service. And while it’s a pleasant space, I did not feel it was particularly clean. That was the last time for me!

I love this place. My best friend and I have been coming here for years and know the ladies very well – they are sweet and have always been more than helpful. A few years ago the main lady gave me her personal foot cream for a toenail problem I was having which cleared it right up.
I have had no problem with the pedicures I receive there in terms of chipping – mine stay on for 2 – 3 weeks easy but I do allow for proper drying time.
However, my favorite part is the waxing. Joelyn does the best bikini/​brazilian wax I have ever had – she is VERY fast, thorough and creates the least pain i have experienced. I would highly recommend her.
The language problem doesn’t strike me as that much of an issue b/​c it becomes a great place to relax and NOT have to have a conversation in the middle of a hectic day or week. Lastly, they do prefer cash as I’m sure they are charged for credit card use and, frankly, who doesn’t prefer cash? They are very sweet, hardworking ladies – I highly recommend.

I have been here a few times over the years mostly because of the location. It is a nice looking place and they have comfy spa chairs and lots of colors of polish.
But I just don’t think it is a great pedicure and it is just not as relaxing as other places. It is slightly more expensive than other places, but looks a little nicer and I rarely have to wait.
I like that they have a frequent customer card and they let me put tip on my card when I didn’t have cash.

Maybe I’ve watched too many gangster movies in my time, but when a place that accepts credit cards tells me «no, cash is better,» and frown as I insist and hand them my card — I worry. Is this place a front for something? An elaborate scheme to launder money? Maybe they’re just trying to hide their assets?
I thought these possible story lines through as I sat down for my mani-​pedi, glancing back and forth from manicurist to pedicurist, wondering which one is married to the boss, the underboss, the consigliere. No, that’s probably the woman at the front. The others are probably with soldatos.
All of a sudden all eyes were on me. The seven manicurists in the room facing me. «Was I talking out loud?» I thought to myself. The woman doing my pedicure looked up from my toes and asked me something in Vietnamese. «Excuse me?» I asked.
«Do you understand what we’re talking about?» she asked in broken English.
«No, I don’t speak Vietnamese,» I replied confusedly.
A loud sigh was uttered throughout the room. Seems they had their own questions they were discussing about me, as well.

As a Socal native, I struggled for a bit during my first year here in Berkeley when it came to looking for a decent nail salon. At Elmwood, service was better than the salons I had tried, and the paint lasts for weeks.
I noticed that a lot of reviewers noted that their manis/​pedis started chipping after a couple of days or less. That’s usually a sign that either there are too many coats on your nails (which has never been the case for me at Elmwood), or you just didn’t wait long enough before leaving. If you wait about 30 min for drying time, your nails will last for weeks!
So all in all, five stars for the following:
*Good service; although there’s sometimes a language barrier, there’s a young woman there who translates which is nice…
*Very clean all the time
*Decent prices
*Paint stays on for weeks
*Attention to detail
Oh, and one time the meter on my car ran out, and one of the employees ran out to put more money in for me. That was really nice of them: o)

French mani + pedi = $ 38
I figure that’s considered a medium on the nail salon price scale but now, a mere 10 hours later, I’m already having chipping problems with my fingernails =(Quality is mediocre, it doesn’t look that great or nice and yes, I suppose on a good day I could do it myself.
Definitely gonna have to try somewhere else next time =(

After my – meh! – average experience at the Nail Spa down the road, I gave this place another shot recently and was pleasantly surprised.
I walked in on a sunday afternoon and was helped immediately. My $ 20 pedi has lasted two weeks now and still looks decent. Service was fast, efficient and friendly. I used my credit card to pay but tipped in cash. No problem.
The girl who did my pedi was very considerate when it came to how much to trim my nails. I hate it when they just trim according to how short they think you like your nails.
I’ll definitely go back and hope the service continues.

I have had nothing but positive experiences here. I prefer simple, no-​frills manicure/​pedicures with strong massages and quality polish application. My polish always lasts at least 5 days on my fingers, and 2+ weeks on my toes.
Also, I’ve had my brows done here multiple times and have been very happy with the results. Cleaned up with a nice arch but not pencil thin.

I really don’t like this place. The only thing I enjoyed was the soak that my feet were in and the massage chair. Other than that, nothing too much more.
Service requested: Mani + pedi
The ladies were relatively okay. Not too talkative, but with the language barrier, it was tough. I tried to make small talk with my moderate Vietnamese, but not too much luck with that.
I really didn’t like that they reused a lot of their tools before cleaning them. Maybe it’s because I’m so used to a higher level of hygiene. I noticed that they reused their files and buffers. As for their tools, I don’t know how well they’re cleaned, but I wouldn’t trust it too much. I go to T&T Salon and they package all of their tools and the files and buffers are all new. Nothing is reused unless it goes through a rigorous cleaning process. But enough of them, this is a review for Elmwood.
The services offered were quite slim. I was looking for special lotions, special scrubs, but they offered none of those. I didn’t like the nail shaping they did; it didn’t follow my natural growth at all.
I feel as if I could have saved the $ 30 and done the whole damned thing myself. I knew I should have listened to the other reviewers.
[edit] I forgot to add that as they didn’t even remove all of the previous nail polish off! I can still see some of the darker color near the beds and underneath the fingernail. Definitely a shoddy job.

They were nice and the french pedicure seemed fine.
It’s elmwood, so I would assume it would be a bit more expensive.
The place was super clean and well laid out.
They take credit cards, but make sure you have cash to pay tip.