Sociale

Recommends

tchnan

Joined 7 years ago

What a Great Neighborhood Find a True Gem!. What a fun night we had at this neighborhood restaurant. A hidden gem. Loved the alley way walk to the open air dining area. The freshly prepared meals-try the fried olive salad, the whole fish, the papparedelle duck pasta. To put the cherry on the meal... treat yourself to the Espresso milk shake and doughnuts-to die for yummy!

Doesn't Recommend

MellieB

Joined 5 years ago

Mediocre Food, Major Attitude. "Mediocre Food, Major Attitude.

On the recommendation of some friends, my husband and I decided to join another couple for dinner on Saturday night at Sociale. After all the hype, it was a true disappointment --- mostly due to the major 'tude of the hostess and the wait staff. When we arrived, we innocently asked if we could sit outside and were shot down with a glare and quippy retort that was so patronizing we almost checked out at that moment. It didn't get any better -- our server never checked on our table once, our busperson literally threw the steak knife when setting the table for our main course, and kept hovering and hovering to clean the table without ever letting us complete a course. The meal was not better -- I had the chicken, my husband the steak, our friends the fish soup and the pasta. All were lukewarm when served and the plates not well presented. The bright spot was the chocolate chip cookies dessert but the Nepolitan was not even worth one bite. My advice to Sociale -- slow down, think about your clientele, smile, invite them in, and don't think that just because you are one of 2 good restaurants in the neighborhood that you are sustainable. Folks will go elsewhere to spend their dollars, especially in this economy."

Recommends

wprestonwalters

Joined 5 years ago

Great atmosphere/food/service. Went there for a Friday night dinner and had a blast. Would really recomend for a date spot on the patio

Recommends

sknell

Joined 7 years ago

A Chuck E Cheese for Yuppies. Wow, I've been trying to figure out how to describe this place. All that comes to mind is a Chuck E. Cheese for Yuppies.

I'm going to give it two separate ratings. One for food and one for the atmosphere. For atmosphere I'm giving it 1 star. I've never dined anywhere in the city where half of the diners were under the age of 3 and took over the patio. It was bedlam. There were kids screaming, running, and overall going crazy while their yuppie parents talked on their cell phones, ate boar meat ravioli and sipped their wines. Not to mention the wonderful aroma of dirty diapers. They might as well have just set up our tables at the Laurel Heights pre-school. Just as the kids started thinning out then came the dogs. One tried to attack a fellow diner as she entered. The poor lady was freaked out. I know you have to book the patio well ahead of time but I can't imagine why. It's hell out there. Dining out is half atmosphere and half food. In this case the atmosphere completely ruined our experience.

The food alone would be 4 stars. We had a very solid meal. The salads were outstanding. I was a little worried when we received the entrees because they were in large bowls and the portions looked small but it turned out to be just the right amount of food. For the price there are still better options in the city but it was good.

Service was good although the hostess was more then a bit cold on arrival.

Definitely not someplace I'll return to but it did give me plenty to talk about at cocktail parties.

Recommends

drewzak

Joined 6 years ago

A perfect dinner spot for 2 or 3 couples. Warm and comfortable.. Every time I make a reservation at Sociale, I'm worried that I'll be disappointed. This is because, my previous experiences there were so wonderful, I can't imagine that this restaurant can continue to impress the same way. Sociale has been on my short list for special occasions with small groups: my parents visiting, a friend's engagement celebration, my own engagement dinner.

This remains an easy choice for a quiet, upscale and reasonably priced dinner out.

Recommends

page17

Joined 7 years ago

Best ambiance in San Francisco. Without a doubt, one of the best restaurants in San Francisco. The intimate setting is perfect for a first date or dinner out with anyone you want to impress. I personally love sitting outside amidst the twinkling outdoor lights. Indoors is equally satisfying. If you're visiting during the summer, don't miss the burrata and watermellon salad.

Recommends

dvliao

Joined 8 years ago

Best kept secrets!. Oh my goodness, this is one the city's best kept secrets. I've rarely heard anyone speak of this place but a friend who is an extremely well-versed, well-connected foodie, brought me to Sociale. It's in a quiet, unexpected neighborhood in the Presidio and set behind storefronts. A beautiful courtyard for those who want to dine al fresco and a warm, inviting dining room.

We had the most incredible entree: duck meat pasta with English peas in a red wine reduction. Sounds simple and it was simple but the flavors were divine! We ended up ordering a second plate b/c it was just that good. We're still talking about it months later.

Recommends

jamies78

Joined 7 years ago

WOW!!! How could I have missed this place all these years?. I went there this past saturday night to take my out of town folks for a nice dinner, and what can I say?! WOW!!! IT'S a beautiful hidden gem in Laurel Heights; as soon as we walked through the door we could feel at home already.

We had reserved a table on the patio, but the hostess told us there would be some wait since there was another party sitting at the table. She told us not worry since she would take care of us. We waited outside and we would have never thought we would receive some delicious Bellinis AND fried olives (stuffed with fontina over a bed of mixed greens) just for the wait!

We got our table in the beautiful heated patio and had for appetizers a watermelon burrata and tomato and radicchio fritto, although this last one I could easily forget about... the burratta was so soft it melted in my mouth (I came to know later it is housemade) the rest of the meal was absolutely delicious! I cannot recall our waiters name, but he was great, he was there everytime we needed something and really knew his stuff.

Sociale's ambiance is sooo cozy, the decor is warm and welcoming and the staff is absolutely friendly and professional.

I can't wait until we go there again!

Doesn't Recommend

kelly_johan

Joined 7 years ago

HORRIBLE SERVICE!!!! BLAND FOOD!. I'm an avid Citysearch reviewer/reader and should have listened to some of the reviews for this place before going this past Saturday night. Hostess was horribly rude from the getgo, made us wait to be seated even know we could see that our table was ready. I asked for a chair so that my 82-year-old mother could sit while we were waiting and was given a dirty look and a rude "we don't have any". Right, you don't have any extra chairs in a restaurant!!

We brought 3 bottles of wine for a party of 6 and were told their corkage limit was 2. That was fine, but we are big wine drinkers so when we went to order another bottle off the menu (which is very limited with not-so-great but extremely expensive selections)...we opted for one of the least expensive ones. The sommelier acted like we had just committed a crime and was snooty to us for the rest of the evening. He didn't even use the correct wine glasses either!!

The food was painfully slow to come out of the kitchen and when it did - what a disapointment! We had the fried olives and even know they're fried, they lacked taste. Needless to say all of the other food was boring, not always hot and again, overpriced.

I've lived in the city for 15 years and have eaten at more restaurants than I can say. I love Citysearch as I've found it's usually right on with my restaurant experiences. This is definitely a place that needs to train their staff better and get some flavor into their cooking. Would definitely not recommend going here. The hostess was even rude as she was ushering us out the door.

Recommends

kamdesai

Joined 8 years ago

Very Romantic...but not much else. The spot is incredibly romantic and the outdoor space is very unique to San Francisco. The food on the other hand is nothing special. I wouldn't say it was horrible, but for the price we paid we were very dissapointed. The appetizers and desserts we had were really nice but the entrees and pasta dishes were bland and somewhat boring. Stay away from the lamb (tough and hard to cut into).

Great wine selection...making it a nice romantic date spot.