Cortez--CLOSED

08/10/09

Great place to dine

by Meerkats at Citysearch

I don't typically write long reviews, but the food in this place is simply awesome. I have eaten at many different fine dining restaurants in San Francisco, and this is one of my favourites :) I love that their chef's tasting menu is not that pricey and it comes with wine pairings, how many michelin starred restaurant offer that in less than $100? it's such a good deal

i've also just heard from a friend of mine, she has this fundraiser deal from the restaurant (insider deal), you can get the 5 course chef's tasting menu at $90 with tax and gratuities included. Normal price is $75 without the tax and gratuities, so it's about a 15% discount. Not bad for a michelin starred restaurant! this deal only works if you present the coupon at the time of your meal.. you can contact her at cortezsanfrancisco@gma... and ask her for more details.. I've already gotten a pair for myself when i tried the restaurant out! =)

• Pros: Best Deal
• Cons: can't think of any yet

04/30/08

best small plates in sf!

by abowles0602 at Citysearch

My parents came into town for the weekend last friday and i took them to Cortez. this was one of the best dinning experiences i have had in San francisco to date. we walked in and were emediately greeted by a lovely hostest who sat us promptly with our reservation. the service was amazing all the food came out in a very timely mannor. the food its self was amazing. my parents loved that the menu had small plates and entrees as well. i had the green garlic ravioli. it was great! my mother said she would recomend the faro dish to anyone, and my father raved over the hanger steak. to finish the night we pick two of the many deserts to choose from and they both held true to the rest of the night, AMAZING. i recomend the molten chocolate cake. all and all it was a great experience and i will return often. THANK YOU CORTEZ!

02/15/08

Another valentines dinner, another lame experience

by philippage at Citysearch

Why do I bother? After previous Valentines night dinner debacles at Shanghai 1930 and other alleged ?romantic? SF eateries, we ate last night (Feb 14, 2008) at CORTEZ. Now, wasn?t Cortez (Hernan Cortes) the murdering invader who brought disease and oppression to 16th Century Mexico? And didn?t his most famous victim, Aztec King Monteczuma spawn the euphemism ?Monteczuma?s Revenge? for an unpleasant stomach disorder? I digress. The ?special? dinner last night was a $350 melange of unprofessional service and poorly-executed food. It started badly, with us being kept waiting 20 minutes before we were shown to our reserved table, and went downhill from there. The Chef?s canapes were untidy and unpleasant, Jersualem Artichoke & Lavender Soup was reminiscent of an elderly Victorian?s handkerchief, the Scallop and Uni caused Monteczuma to stir, the Beet salad tasted like a shovel-full of earth, the Kurobuta Pork Belly with pickled red onion marmalade clashed with everything we?d already tasted, and so on. The wine ?pairing? was a joke, seeing as not one of the 5 wines arrived with its advertised companion. When we were served our Muscat (supposed to be with the scallop) along with our Beet, we complained and got marginally better attention, but that just meant glasses were piling up around us. I know I'm comparing this tasting menu and wine pairing with the much-missed Elisabeth Daniel and the still-here-still-great Farallon and Coi, but the chef and staff at Cortez have to be prepared for such scrutiny. We left before dessert, but after paying about 3 times what the meal was worth. My wife has told me to send her this review so that next year, just before Valentines night, she can play it back to me and convince me that we?d be better off dining at home that night rather than put up with sub-standard food, shabby service and a slapped-together, overpriced experience at one of San Francisco?s most overrated restaurants.

• Pros: Parking
• Cons: Everything else