The Stinking Rose

Recommends

dfwdean

Joined 4 years ago

The all Garlic appetizer is divine, the garlicky Rabbit was amazing. And the garlic ice cream for dessert sealed it.

Recommends

DukeSF

Joined 2 years ago

Rockin - if you love Garlic, go for it!. There are 2 kinds of people in this world:

1) People who LOVE garlic

2) Vampires

As a happy member of the former group, I love The Stinking Rose.

It's like all you can eat mussels - and garlic - and bread for $10 a head. Awesome. We always hit this place when we're in North Beach.

Recommends

Vasil Azarov

Joined 3 years ago

Garlic Paradise. We kicked off with cocktails to get us in a mood. Garlictini (vodka-martini) was strong, smooth and just perfect with a crunchy garlic-stuffed olive. My friend had a Vampire’s Bite – vodka, amaretto, midori and cranberry juice – definitely a winner for a girl “who likes it sweet”.

I order steamed clams every time I see them on the menu and the ones at Stinking Rose are phenomenal. I was so crazy about the garlic broth and started drinking it until it was gone… That’s how good it was! Rabbit was cooked nicely; the meat was tender underneath brown crispy skin and on top there was a generous heap of roasted garlic. The dish was accompanied with creamy garlic mashed potatoes and went very well with a spicy Rosenblum Zinfandel.

The atmosphere at the Stinking Rose is FUN! I couldn’t help taking pictures of the food and décor. I imagine this place is great for romantic dates as it has semi private booths with curtains as well as for casual “get together” before partying on the North Beach.

Recommends

DGifford

Joined 3 years ago

The Ultimate Comfort Food. This place has the ultimate comfort food. My wife had the musses-shrimp-crab combo and I had the lamb shank, ample servings beautifully prepared and presented and loaded with garlic. We loved it. It was worth the wait to get in and the weight we have to work off.

Doesn't Recommend

CSMobileUser

Joined 5 years ago

Indifferent staff, poor food quality. I have been a regular patron over the last 10 years but sadly the service and food quality have been getting worse until finally last week our visit was totally unacceptable. We had a reservation. The restaurant was almost empty but they insisted on seating us right next to the service galley. Our meal was punctuated by rushing waiters and clattering trays. The wait to order was too long and then the orders were not correct. The waiters had no idea who ordered what. The food qaulity was average and unfortunately the two people who ordered the ribs were sick all night. We won't return.

Recommends

little_ang

Joined 10 years ago

Loved it!. I went here for a date. Very busy place so we made reservations. We had drinks at the bar beforehand (a bit spendy) but were seated at our table promptly in the Chianti room which had wonderful ambiance. Service was professional and efficient but not overly friendly. We had a great appetizer Garlic Balsamic Marinated Tomatoes-ate every bite. My entree of Gnocchetti in a Gorgonzola cream sauce was delicious to say the least. They had great soft foccocia dinner rolls which were kept heated over a candle and perfect for dipping. The portion sizes were just right. On the way out when they boxed up my meal they added extra bread which was a nice surprise. However, I only give this a 4/5 stars because the other entree ordered was only okay and not nearly as good as the Gnocchetti. In the end, I would definitely go back and recommend this place!

Doesn't Recommend

farmlark

Joined 4 years ago

Dirty Utensils, Dirty Curtains. Usually I don't check utensils, but when I saw a speck of stuff on the knife, I wiped it off and got a black, yes black, streak on the napkin. The fork had the same black stuff. There was a hair on the water pitcher. The curtains, charming and romantic to some, were filthy. There was no light in the bathroom. The food was okay, but not worth the $18.95 for the 40 garlic chicken. I do NOT recommend this place. One star is too much.

Doesn't Recommend

JaegerSF

Joined 5 years ago

The Garlic Was the Least Stinking Part. My friends and I had one of the worst dining experiences I have had in the City at The Stinking Rose. First we waited over an hour for a table. Due to some miscommunication between the hosts we were passed up several times for a table that would seat our party of 5. After telling the hostess we were not happy they evicted the party they had just seated and probably ruined their dining experience for the night as well. Our waiter was extremely unattentive. After waiting 20 minutes for our waiter to show up and take our first and only drink order he pressured us into ordering our food at the same time. We also asked for bread several times and ended up asking a different server who very politly brought it to us. Now the food. I ordered a $20 porkchop that was overcooked and underseasoned. Not the worst I've ever had but for $20 that better be the best darn porkchop ever. After we finished our disappointing meal we had to ask for the check from a different person once again since our waiter was no where to be found. This place is an over priced tourist trap with some of the worst service and most mediocre food I have been to in San Francisco.

Doesn't Recommend

jaxandjill

Joined 5 years ago

Stinking may be just the right word..... My boyfriend and I are locals to the city. We love food and like to try out different restaurants in the area. We had a hankering for a really good bowl of spaghetti and "The Sticking Rose" caught our attention. The name itself sounded just interesting as well as the exterior deco. It felt really inviting. And the garlic with everything just sounded so yummy! We were greeted by the host and led to a small table by the window. It was a nice spot for the both of us. We were given menus by the host. It took almost 15 minutes for the waiter to come to our table. As soon as the waiter reached our table he quickly took our orders and seemed impersonal to our needs as diners. Though we had everything on the table including a white pitcher of water he just seemed to shove everything on our table. The service could have been better. We ordered the garlic steak with shrimp and pesto spaghetti. The food was not what we expected. The steak was too fatty and it tasted awful. We didn't take another bite of it. For what we paid, it wasn't worth it. The pesto spaghetti was too oily. The only good thing about the entrees were the generous amount of garlic! Don't be fooled by the name and all the decoration. The food and service are the "stinking" parts.

Doesn't Recommend

SimonD

Joined 5 years ago

Walked out after 5 minutes. Am not local and am in town or a few days. Was walking through the area which seems to have a good choice of restaurants, so I was hoping they would make an effort to be at least as good as each other. How wrong could I have been?

From the outside it looks OK. There were 2 couples in there eating already, so it couldn't have been that bad, could it?

I went in and was greeted OK, but she sat me at a table with no view of anything, just a wall - couldn't see the street or the chefs. I prefer to have something to look at while I'm eating, especially when eating alone.

Chose my food (40 clove chicken). Waited for the waitress. In the meantime a couple were seated, by the window. After a couple of minutes, waitress went up and chatted to them, completely blanking me. She took their order. She took another couple's bill. She completely blanked me on the way back to the till, hardly surprising given the greeter had stuck me in no-man's land. At this point I decided to quit while I was ahead and walked out. Some guy came over and asked me what was wrong, said I'd changed my mind.

No idea what the food was like, never will get to find out. Went to an Italian deli up the road, cheaper, better service, probably better food for all I know. From other reviews it seems I didn't miss anything. Given the massive choice in SF, this place doesn't deserve more than 1*.

Did I mention I don't like being ignored by waiters?