Michael Mina and other San Francisco, CA Restaurant Reviews

We decided to book this restaurant after seeing a show about Michael Mina and his creating this restaurant on the Canadian Food Network. Booking was easy on www.opentable.com, and I was very impressed when they actually called us long distance to confirm our reservation. At the time of this writing, it is one of the top 10 restaurants in San Francisco, so I guess they want to make sure all their bookings show up.

Located in the Westin St. Francis, the restaurant is decorated in very muted tones -- white and pale blue from what I can tell (it was pretty dim in the restaurant) and is very minimalist. I have read terrible reviews about the decor, but I really didn't mind it at all. The staff are not snotty and are quiet, very professional and discreet -- none of this "hi, my name is ..." I found it quite amusing they wore wrap around aprons with sleeves, sort of like lab coats, like my Dad used to wear running his grocery store.

Our waiter was very serious and deadpan at the beginning of service, but by the end was very cheerful and warm , I guess he decided that he liked us after all? Overall, the service is excellent, and it should be if you are eating food at these prices.

I think I may have had my first celebrity food sighting -- I am 99.9% sure Steven Spielberg was sitting beside us and I didn't have the nerve to ask.

Favorite Dish: The menu can be very confusing, but the wait staff do a good job at explaining how to order.

Basically, there is a price fix menu of $88.00 per personof three courses, and you do have a choice of which appetizer, entree and dessert you would prefer.

We decided to go for the gusto and ordered the $121 tasting menu (yes, that's PER person) not including wine pairing. There were seven courses, and I did find it a bit too much food. My husband ordered the seasonal tasting menu, and I ordered the classic as the waiter suggested, so we could share around. I do think the classic is a better deal, but be really, really hungry -- highlights include : Lobster pot pie, hamachi tuna tartare, and the roasted foie gras with Maui gold pineapple.

If you can manage to go here, please do as the service is excellent, and the food is an amazing experience.

Michael Mina also personally sent us a note of congratulations on our anniversary and thanked us for coming to his restaurant, which was a really nice touch.

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Theme: Other
Comparison: most expensive
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter
Address: 335 Powell Street, San Francisco
Directions: Located at the Powell St. entrance of the Westin St. Francis.

There is a dress code; no jeans or runners.
Website: http://michaelmina.net/

Having read that Myth is one of the hottest restaurants in town at this time, we decided to make a reservation, again through www.opentable.com.

The decor is sort of a cross between 70's wood and 60's modern and works very well with the bare, exposed brick walls. Candlelight abounds with use of candle "lanterns" that glow beautifully. There is a skylight in the room as well, and the natural light is a welcome addition, as I do like to see what I eat.

Service was very fast and efficient, though I found our server a tad impersonal. However, either the owner or manager, an elegant elderly gentleman, greeted us and was extremely gracious and kind when we entered the restaurant. He took the time to thank us for coming at the end of our meal.

Favorite Dish: The menu is set up so that many of the dishes can be eaten as an appetizer or a main course. I had the scallops on pureed potato ( a very yummy and smooooooth mashed potato) with corn, and the scallops were seared and very flavorful.

We had the braised beef cheeks for an entree, and I insist you do the same ; silky short-rib textured meat, with the tender gelatinous flavor of ox tail. Very satisfying.

The meal was overall very good in value and quality, but we felt that it wasn't really fabulous and it's not like I'm already planning to go back. I think I was just a little disappointed, after reading all the hype. If you don't get a reservation, don't be too heartbroken, as I feel there are many other restaurants in San Francisco that will give you the same quality of food.

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Theme: Other
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter
Address: 470 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco
Website: http://www.mythsf.com/index.html

The night before leaving San Francisco, we wanted just simple, plain food. I must admit I was just tired of fine dining, as our gustatory tour de force of San Francisco was coming to an end.

Taylor's Refresher is located in the Ferry Building, and unlike most businesses there, are open until 9:00 pm every night. The interior is modern and sleek with stainless steel stools, concrete flooring, and white subway tile walls. This is high class fast food, and service is impressively fast for the quality of food they have.

There was a huge line-up at supper when we went, but the line moved extremely fast, and there is plenty of seating inside and out, no problems there.

Favorite Dish: They have all the usual stuff, such as meat loaf, mac and cheese, and shakes, and we decided to go with burgers and shakes. The burgers seem pricey at about $7.00 apeice, but they are very large, with excellent quality meat and egg buns. Don't miss out on the fries tossed in Garlic Butter and Parsley mmmm. They also have one of the best chocolate shakes I have ever tasted, very rich, very chocolatey (my hubby said it was too much chocolate, but you and I know that is impossible!!!) and thiiiiick.

You know you've hit a good place to eat when you are already planning to return someday. Taylor's ... watch out !

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Theme: Diner
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: (866) EAT FOOD
Address: Ferry Building, Embarcadero

Seasons Restaurant is located on the 5th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel, and has wonderful views of Market Street. The service here is top notch, and a couple of times the personable manager wandered by just to chat, which was a really nice touch. The decor is like the rest of the hotel, modern and elegant, with of course, real silverware and linen tablecloths.

I think the best meal to have here is lunch, as breakfast, though convenient and excellent, is overpriced ($23.00 for eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee?) and the dinner menu seems rather limited.

Favorite Dish: The two lunches we had here were extremely enjoyable. If you are patient and not in a hurry, you can get a table right by the window, the best times seem to be around 1:00 pm.

Most items on the menu highlight California cuisine. I highly recommend the Cobb Salad -- chunks of chicken, tomatoes, avacado, celery and bacon tossed with romaine lettuce hearts and a buttermilk blue cheese dressing. The open-faced crab sandwich has a generous serving of freshly-cooked crab and freshly-made potato chips. The Chunky Chicken Soup is a MUST TRY. Totally tastes homemade. Every meal starts with a basket of great artisan bread and a cheddar cumin flat bread (delish with the Chunky Chicken Soup)

My big thing was the ice tea. I had it almost every day in the restaurant or Living Room lounge -- it becomes an event. They serve you a sky-high glass filled with ice-tea ice cubes (to prevent dilution) give you a long silver spoon, and present you with a dish of lemon wedges and a little pitcher of simple syrup. No peasant packages of sugar for you!

Dessert is excellent as well.

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Theme: Other
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 633-3000
Address: 757 Market Street, San Francisco
Directions: Located on the 5th floor lobby of the hotel. It can be tricky to find, so just ask one of the hotel employees.
Website: http://www.fourseasons.com/sanfrancisco/vacations/dining_130.html

Located in the Ferry Building, DELICA calls itself a Japanese delicatessen. Instead of cold cuts and sandwiches, they sell cold and hot Japanese-western fusion food and bento boxes along with bottles of green tea drinks.

Like any other delicatessen, you order at the counter, or pick out what you want from the refrigerated display case, and eat out or in.

Favorite Dish: You simply must try the crisp, fresh, hot creamy crab or shrimp croquettes wrapped in Panko crumbs; my favorite are the shrimp. The Wasabi Potato Salad is deliciously piquant with wasabi and a sprinkling of shelled edamame (soy beans).

The Bento Boxes are your best bet as you can sample a little of everything. Our bento box contained: a cold shrimp croquette, a chicken and tofu cake, cold seaweed salad, the Wasabi Potato Salad, teriyaki chicken, and I think one section was a lotus root and burdock root salad. Everything was fresh and delicious, washed down with a bottle of icy cold green tea.

We also purchased bento boxes for our flight home; eating our boxes midflight, you should have seen the looks of jealousy on the other people's faces, ha!

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Theme: Japanese/Sushi
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: Ferry Building, San Francisco
Directions: They are located in the interior of the Ferry Building, which is located on The Embarcadero and the foot of Market Street
Website: http://www.delicarf1.com/

You can't beat the Firewood Cafe for value, good food, and great atmosphere. Roll those all together, and the Firewood Cafe is an awesome deal. The interior is funky rustic, painted in cheerful colors with comfortable wooden seats and tables.

The menu is written overhead of the counter, you step up and order, then sit down and your food is brought to you. Service is fast, pleasant, and efficient and be forewarned, the portions are huge! You may want to share, as besides the food, you get a great big salad included.

Favorite Dish: The choices are simple, fresh, italian food. Thin crust pizzas, roast chicken with potatoes, pasta, and salads.

I think your best bet is the roast honey dijon chicken. You can get a whole or half; I can only imagine the whole for family take-out as my husband and I had to share the half. The chicken is fall-apart tender, and juicy. Comes with a generous serving of potatoes, and caesar salad. For pastas, the rigatoni with sausage and cheese is total comfort food.

There are a couple of locations at the SFO International Terminal, departures level, past security, so no worries about having icky food at the airport. However, I found the airport locations are very limited in their menu.

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Theme: Italian
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Address: 4248 18th Street, at Diamond Street San Francisco
Directions: Other locations:

101 4th Street, Suite 103, at Mission Street

Boarding Area A, International
Terminal, SFO
Website: http://firewoodcafe.com/page/nsp3/Home.html

Poggio is located in the historic Casa Madrona Hotel in Sausalito, and it was the perfect place for us to stop for a bite to eat, with it's sidewalk patio convenient for people watching and enjoying the sunny warm weather.

The restaurant has elegant, simple decor with it's dark wood, crisp white linen tablecloths and rattan chairs and velvet banquettes. Service was excellent; the staff were very welcoming, and our waitress knew the menu very well, helping us with our selections.

Favorite Dish: The pasta dishes are great; I had a meatballs and pasta (I forget what the pasta was called, but it was thick, long, and twisted). The meatballs were tender and flavorful, and the tomato sauce obviously simmered for hours. My husband had grilled wild salmon, and it was done perfectly medium rare.

If you are looking for nice restaurant in Sausalito with a lovely atmosphere, this place is it; we had a marvelous time enjoying our meal and watching the world go by.

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Theme: Italian
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 332-7771
Address: 777 Bridgeway, Sausalito
Directions: About a 5 minute walk from the ferry dock in Sausalito. Located on the ground floor of the Casa Madrona Hotel.
Website: http://www.poggiotrattoria.com/index.html

Misjudging the distances on the map we had of the Union Square area, we nearly walked for almost an hour from our hotel near Union Square to reach Citizen Cake. We were on a mission ... for cake ... we blithely ignored the ominous signs of policemen running into one store near the seedy civic area and the numerous homeless camped out nearby, plus the boarded up stores covered with graffitti. We were looking for dessert and we were going to Citizen Cake!

Favorite Dish: We did not stay to eat, but got some sweet stuff for take out. I must say that overall, I was disappointed. A local warned us that Citizen Cake was overpriced and overhyped, and now being there once, I sadly agree.

I had a Rocky Road cupcake -- a small, deep chocolate cupcake covered in a crown of marshmallow and chocolate with pecans -- though very good, not good enough to justify the cost of $3.25 . A lemon square we purchased was well-meaning with tart, delicious filling, but the crust, though rich and buttery, was limp and soggy. We've had much better in our hometown of Calgary, at Charlie's Bakery.

Perhaps because it was after lunch, we found the selection fairly lacking, and made off half-heartedly with a few chocolate chip and chewy ginger cookies, the cupcake, a lemon square and a black currant gelee candy. All for the cost of $21.00. The desserts were good, but the "wow" factor was missing. They weren't worth walking almost an hour for. The staff seemed bored and not that friendly.

I would say drop by if you are in the area, but don't go out of your way for Citizen Cake.

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Theme: Dessert
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 861-2228
Address: 399 Grove Street, San Francisco
Directions: In Hayes Valley
Website: www.citizencake.com

Romantic little restaurant for those "special" occasions. (We're talking one of those roller things to take the crumbs off the table). The staff are very attentive and do everything they can to make you comfortable. No "attitudes" here. The homemade raspberry sorbet is *out of this world* good. They also have a wine store down the street (sorry, dont' have the address). Conveniently located near public transit.

Favorite Dish: I had the duck confit with crispy duck garnish; yum!!! Just everything on the plate was perfect, indescribeable!

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Theme: American
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-563-4755
Address: 3127 Fillmore Street
Website: www.plumpjack.com

Restaurant Name: La Cumbre Taqueria

We would often argue about where to go to eat, but we would always agree on this place. To tell you the truth, I don't know what else they had to offer, because we would always share a La Carnitas Especiale -- a burrito about the size of your head. Of course, for dessert, you have to have a churro, hot out of the fryer. If you are lucky, there's sometimes a little mariachi band and for a few moments you think you are in Mexico.


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Theme: Mexican
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-863-8205
Address: 515 Valencia Street