Roe
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (415) 227-0288
- Price:
- $$$$
- Cross Street:
- Between Second Street and Third Street
- Hours:
- Mon-Thu 5pm-11pm, Fri-Sat 5pm-1am
Editorial Review for Roe – by Michael Peck
The Scene
Design-wise, the emphasis in the ground-floor main room is on patrons seeing themselves and others from a variety of angles: Large, rectangular mirrors dominate a long brick wall lined with plush, dark dinettes. A tiled bar backed by more mirrors commands the opposite side of the space, providing plenty of scoping opportunities for table diners and tipplers in the adjoining lounge area. Depending on the hour, the crowd ranges from after-work professionals to a clubbier set dressed to dance, enjoy a drink at the bars (one on each floor) or, again, just plain see and be seen.
The Food
Chef Alvin San's international menu leans toward Southeast Asia, from the trio-of-seaweed starter and the yellowfin tuna wellington entree to the green-tea-and-Coke ice cream float dessert. Alas, the seaweed, which comes in three different flavors, doesn't rise very much above the standard offering you might find next to an appetizer at a more moderately priced Japanese restaurant. And while the aforementioned wellington is somewhat adventurous in concept, in execution it comes in at about the same level of flavor as the more staid Niman Ranch ribeye, which is average at best.
Hits: The service is friendly and attentive, and dishes such as the quite tasty spicy-crab-and-tuna-roll starter demonstrate what the kitchen is capable of.
Misses: The standard for that roll should be applied to the bi plates, which aren't enough of an achievement to merit the higher-end prices.
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Insider Tips
When to GoLooking for restaurant fare rather than nightspot bites? Get there before 11pm, which is when the menu is pared down to more limited late-night offerings.
ParkingThere's no valet available, so head for the attended pay lot on the corner of Howard and Second Streets.
The ExtrasThe Eastern influence doesn't end with the food; the cocktail menu includes such drink names as the Buddha's kiss (Ketel One Citron vodka; orange liqueur; pomegranate, lychee and lemon juices) and Burmese tea (wasabe vodka, cucumber, Zen Green Tea Liquor).
User Reviews for Roe
01/10/2008 Posted by serrafina
I was going to have a 40-50 person birthday sit-down dinner at Roe Restaurant and then transition into the Prive Bar & Lounge, but the general manager was NOT forthcoming on the cost of the party. Due to her dishonesty, miscommunication, and extreme lack of rapport building/sales/people skills we were compelled to change the venue for my party last minute. Be warned that there is a 2,000 dollar "room rental fee" even though you will be paying an arm and a leg for dinner per person. Also the corkage fees of 18 - 25 dollars per bottle with a MAX of 10 bottles for the entire party is completely UNREASONABLE. You "lose" the room by 9 anyway so that they can transition the floor into the club so what kind of a "rental" is that?! $2000 for 2-3 hours of a space that would otherwise not be utilized anyway during those hours of operation if it wasn't for your private event?! We found this completely unreasonable and due to the fact that she did not tell me any of this information beforehand and led me and my family on to believe that the cost was just what you paid per person for the banquet menu (including just salad, entree, and dessert) plus service charge and booze was NOT professional or honest. Just be very very careful and have A LOT of patience when you go to Roe to "hash out the details," which the general manager said would "only take five minutes." She'll be running around, behind a bar washing glasses, or not talking to you anyway so good luck. THE DIFFERENCE: We're going to have my party at a restaurant (Fandorin) where it's $75 dollars per person for all you can eat cold and hot appetizers + choice of lamb or chicken shishkabob + all you can drink vodka and wine (half are included in the price and half you can bring with NO corkage charge) + 5 desserts + refillable soda, etc... PLUS a live band... and NO room rental fee! -- now THAT'S A DEAL!
10/16/2006 Posted by bar21bie
OK. i went there twice. the first time was just my boyfriend and me for dinner on a friday night. we had amazing service and an amazing food. the food there is to die for and is highly worth the money they charge. HOWEVER. the second time we went there was for my birthday with 6 people on a saturday night. the waitress was rude to us from the very start. she was making stupid jokes and discouraging us from odering what we wanted. she was trying to convice us to order the $50 item or the curry chicken even after we told her what we wanted and told her that we dont like curry. then she tells us that they are OUT! of two of the 6 items on their menu. those two items happened to be what my group was going to order. she was laughing about it and said that they were out of it even the day before. i got a little heated and called the manager. the manager was very rude herself and did nothing about the problem. we ended up leaving and my birthday was ruined! this is a 4 star resturant. how the hell can they run out of their two most popular menu items on a saturday at 8:30 pm when they open at 8????? i will never go back there again no matter how good the food is, its not worth it, especailyl if they dont have any food left.
Pros: food
Cons: parking, service
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