Skarzan F.
Yelp
I live here in SF. I've been to This place a few times and it's pricey. Aesthetically it is gorgeous inside. I love the lighting which others call romantic because it's well thought out ambient lighting which I appreciate. Service is high-end. Attentive and professional. On my recent mid-week visit my food was pretty to look at but not great. The fish was too salty and a bit tough, which I think means overcooked. The starter, fried green tomatoes were the best I've ever had. Wonderful! However being told by the server " the chef prefers to bring out the starter at the same time as the entree" did not portend well for the dining experience as a whole. Nevertheless a great appetizer even if I wasn't "allowed" to eat it when I wanted to. Actually this entire dictatorial theme started before I was seated in the dining room, so allow me to tell you a fable. A man walks into a bar (restaurant). It's full except for 3 seats in the middle. On the left are two young women animatedly talking.On the right is a young couple affectionally turned to one another. There are three stools... where does the single, senior man sit? Logically and socially he sits in the middle to leave space on the left and the right. Am I wrong? So, in the fable the gentleman sits in the middle, orders a fairly pricey whiskey neat. For a few minutes he enjoys the pleasure of the moment, happy in repose. Then suddenly, the bartenders can be seen conversing privately, their backs to the customers at the bar. Then a moment later the young, kind bartender approaches the patron and says, " the manager would like you to move down, to save two seats for other (potential) customers." The patron considers the odd request, seeing as it's a mid-week day at around 6pm and no one is waiting. The patron says, " well that's weird, but I tell you what, how about I just move to a table." The patron's instinctual yet silent calculation is, why would I crowd the two young woman to left, that seems awkward and unwelcome. Conversely, why would I sit next to the couple to the right being intimate? Hence I offer to move to a table before he actually wants to. End of fable.
I should add that the green tomatoes starter included a round hunk of cheese under each tomato. When tasted it had no flavor whatsoever as it was ice cold. When this was pointed out to the very nice server, he had a scripted response, to wit, " That's the way it's served." When I rhetorically asked the server to " name a cheese that is best served cold" he could only agree with the absurdness with a facial expression.
I moved to a table but never stop feeling insulted by the request to cozy up to other people who likely would prefer their privacy. The service is excellent, the food pretty good in balance, but the experience unpleasant based on a manager making a ridiculous request all things considered. This patron, as a resident of Santa Fe, will never be back.