True Laurel
Gibson
Basement Bar under Liholiho Yacht Club called Louie’s Gen-Gen room
Upstairs bar above China Live called Cold Drinks
The Progress has excellent cocktails in their front Bar area and you can order off a bar menu or a la carte from the full menu.
The Morris has a good cocktail program plus Madeira and Chartreuse and other interesting libations.
Another vote for Louie’s Gen-Gen room. Also try a Trick Dog and Smuggler’s Cove.
No one mentioning Whitechapel? They do a great job with gin-based cocktails.
thanks so much to you guys for the recs, wish I could have tried more.
Louie’s Gen-Gen room: probably our favorite cocktail bar of the trip. we went early on a Saturday evening so it had a chill vibe; the drinks were perfectly balanced and the food was delicious. The wine list was very interesting, I’m half joking when I say this but it seemed better than it needed to be, some interesting selections like chateau de breze, huet, etc. We made a reservation but I think they take walk ins, too. Btw, the food at Liholiho Yacht Club looked really interesting, as well.
Trick Dog: great drinks but it was absolutely crazily busy and noisy close to midnight on a Friday, granted I know it’s peak time, but still… would go back when it’s more sane.
Smuggler’s Cove: a rum lover’s paradise. very low key, pleasant vibe, good drinks with friendly service.
The Progress: ate there for dinner and had a couple of the cocktails, they were indeed very good, well-balanced. They advertised the martini as having been awarded one of the best in the US, which was cool. I liked the food overall, we had a lamb platter along with some small sides, the platter was huge, they say it’s enough for 2-6 people but I’d lean closer to the 6-ppl side of that. If anything, I think the veggie dishes were the stars for us, really fresh. The wine list was interesting but the bottle list seemed overpriced to me, they did have some interesting verticals however above my paygrade…
some other notes on restaurants, thanks to you guys for the posts previously, also read on food talk central SF which was helpful as well.
Petit Crenn: very cute ambiance, a lot of birthdays – seems like a popular spot for lower-key special occasions. Light veggie and seafood focus, very well done. Would definitely go back, and would love to try Atelier Crenn sometime.
In Situ: brilliant concept. the Nathan Myrhvold carrot soup was amazing, so flavor dense. the Massimo Bottura lemon tart was amazing. The cocktails were OK; the wine list was interesting, they limit it to only California selections.
Benu: special occasion and a splurge but one of the most amazing meals I’ve ever had. for someone who half grew up eating Korean food, this was a revelation. the small bites at the start were particularly amazing, I felt like they were a showcase for Corey Lee’s unfettered creativity in a way that some of the later dishes (like the “shark fin” soup and cod dish, for example) lacked. Loved the soondae dish, though, and the simple uni and caviar dish – so perfect in its execution and balance of flavors. The beverage pairing was very interesting and well-done; I could see how someone with a deep cellar might favor bringing older white burgs/rieslings, but I liked the pairings overall, especially the older dry verdelho Madeira with the shark fin soup (Yoon Ha had a great explanation for the pairing as a substitute for the decades-aged Chinese rice wines that would be traditionally paired but are harder to source), and the Gros Ventre pinot with the pork belly (hadn’t heard of the producer but loved the menthol/mint and herbal signature of the wine). A unique and special dining experience, I would definitely go back.
B patisserie: tried this on a whim after I had read about the James Beard awards. it was mother’s day and they were slammed, so perhaps not the best day to go, but the pastries were just so-so to me. Tasty but not exceptional. I would go back, though, and try more of the kouign amann.
I’m impressed by how many places you tried! Definitely check out Liholiho the next time you’re in town. The food is excellent and I’d choose it over The Progress.
Had a few meals;
August 1 Five; supposed to be modern Indian, very delicious but not even Indian accesnts discernible in half the dishes. I’d go back.
Boulevard- for me, a perfect restaurant (other than the crowds)) Nothing cutting edge but what they do is always consistently excellent. Best chocolate sorbet in the history of the universe! Scallop app and halibut entree pristine and perfectly prepared.
Commonwealth - the best dishes were great, the ones that missed were notable misses. Completely bland artichoke dish, a sea urchin dish was marred by granita, which killed the textural pleasure and didn’t add to the flavors. Monkfish, mushrooms, young hen, swear breads were excellent. We had a good table and the ambience was terrible, rock hard chairs, really poor wines by the glas. If convenient, I’d go more often, but I usually find the schlep to the mission from where I stay downtown a disincentive. A lot depends on your interest in innovation vs consistency.
Wise Brothers at the Jewish museum. For deli starved Bay Area folks , it’s great. For those who like to compare Langers vs Katz’s , it’s just a dry-ish but reasonably well spiced pastrami sandwich.
Campton Place - outstanding meal, Indian influences, very delicious. I thought it was Indian Cuisine, my wife did not, but still stellar food.
Anyone been to Mourad recently?
Yes, I’ve found it consistently good. Strongly recommend the duck basteeya and the chicken to share and the honey dessert. Also Domaine du Pelican 
Just returned from a few days in SF. It’s been a few years and I realized how much I love it and missed it. Briefly, we ate at Cotogna, Rich Table & The Progress for dinner and two lunches worth mentioning at Zuni Café and City View Restaurant. What can be said about Zuni that hasn’t already been? Just a wonderful place with the best roast chicken and bread salad. Have to get it! And the 2016 PYCM Bourgogne was $70!!! City View has been my go to dim sum (over Yank Sing) for years. It’s well priced, very solid and delicious and the onion cakes are killer. Cotogna was excellent for our first night out. Very solid and nice wine list. Our NYC friends loved it. Second dinner at Rich Table was fantastic. The food is really well executed. I could eat here often. I also was very pleased with a $30 corkage policy (free if you buy off the list). The pork belly, porcini donuts, sardine chips, Tonnarell cacao & pepe with sea urchin were all standouts. But the place that I keep thinking about was The Progress. The food is just stunning. Service was excellent. 4 of our 5 dishes were amazing. The boquerones, charred summer green beans, squid ink noodles and roasted mushrooms were highlights in both flavor and presentation. One dish, the roast potato with soft egg was very good but not special. Had 2 half carafes, a trocken Riesling and Nebbiolo Roero that paired well. The food here is worth the hype imho. Beautifully thought out dishes. My only grip is they rushed things a touch. When I asked them to slow it done, all was good. We walked over to The Snug for a night cap. I won’t wait as long for a return to SF.
Commis - loved the superb tasting menu.
Good Mong Kok - probably the best Dim Sum in the world beating Lung King Heen Hong Kong , Tim Ho Wan and maybe Din Thai Fung Taipei for depth of flavors and value!
Mensho Tokyo - fantastic bowls of ramen beat the lines arrive at 5:00
Zuni - awesome chicken
Koi Palace - very good dim sum and high end Cantonese
Michael Mina - good
R&G Lounge - can’t get enough of the salt & pepper crab
Saturday arrival with a last minute lunch at Cotogna, expensive but worth it. Dinner at Boulevard: good dinner, maybe a bit older restaurant but a nice wine list. Ordered PYCM off the list and byob a bottle of Marie Courtin from Flatiron.
Sunday: Slanted Door lunch was good. Gary Danko late at night had good food and excellent service, need to plan better.
Following Friday at Perbacco, food was OK. Ordered a Isole e Olena Syrah off the list.
Saturday at Kokkari for dinner, bottle of CAI Riesling with a glass of sake after. Very good food at a reasonable price, not really interested in $300 omkase menus.
I think Mensho is good but nonetheless overrated, especially considering the ridiculous wait. I would strongly recommend either Nojo (similar style; chicken-based) or Hinodeya (utterly different; seafood-based) over Mensho any day; to me they represent the best of SF ramen
I went to rich table tonight, it was great! I think the portion sizes were a bit bigger then I expected and I was stuffed with two small plates and two apps. They comped my corkage which was nice! I often find that corkage on 375s is comped tho!
I can echo Michael’s experience as I was at Rich Table last week as well. We left happy and full with the choices we made with great service and a fun menu to explore. Highlights were the Salmon sashimi, aged beef wonton and pork belly larb with a lovely bottle of Brick House Gamay Noir and Rich Table Coffee (which my wife has tasked me with recreating as it was truly delicious).
Thanks eager to try these!
Waraku has terrific Pork based soup.
My wife and I spent a few quick days in SF this past weekend. Food highlights:
Tartine Manufactory - We went for lunch on the first day and brunch on the last. Bread and butter is worth the trip but also loved their squash and celery root soup and the lamb meatballs. We had tasty Gamay from Jolie Laide off the list.
Robin - Robin is a modern take on omakase. High quality ingredients with a very thoughtful preparation and presentation. Some of the dishes were more successful than others but overall we had a great time. Good sake list, nice hip hop mix in the background and good interaction with the chefs made for a fun night.
Zuni - Went for lunch on a Saturday. Its been a few years since my last visit and its still a great place to have a relaxing lunch. Started with some oysters, shared a pasta and then did the chicken. Started with a cocktail and then the 2007 PYCM Saint Aubin En Remilly was drinking great and perfect with the chicken. Food was on point as expected. Never a wow but always comforting. I have to add that we walked from the Four Seasons to Zuni and I know that is not the best stretch of town but the amount of trash, shit and piss we had to wade through for that 25 minute walk was eye opening. It felt much worse than the last time I did that walk.
Mourad - Met some friends for dinner at Mourad on the last night. Mourad was picked partly because it could fit our larger group. I didn’t know much about it ahead of time but I thought the food was great. Lots of starters but my favorite was the perfectly cooked octopus. For the mains the lamb shoulder tangia was really incredible. Cooked perfect, beautifully presented and tasted great. It was not a wine crowd so we were mainly cocktails but I also grabbed a glass of Alain Grailot St. Joseph off the list that paired great with the lamb.
Another fun trip to SF. We are already planning the next visit.
Anyone been to Uva Enoteca? A buddy got a gift certificate for dining there.
we won’t return for our annual SF trip. Harassed by aggressive mentally ill homeless, stepping around feces and urine, seeing more than one homeless person masturbating on the sidewalk—and defecating—not a pretty city any more. The decline is huge.
Agreed, it is getting difficult to enjoy SF. After dozens of visits, it seems to just get worse each time.