Colibri Mexican Bistro

Doesn't Recommend

zerosearch2007

Joined 6 years ago

Small dish (mini-size), not good taste, pre-charged gratuity. I followed CitySearch to this restaurant for Lunch during this Labor Day holiday. This restaurant has a 5 star rating??? Joke!!! I have to say this was the worst Mexican food I ever had. The size is so small, and the taste is well below average, and be careful they pre-charge you gratuity for a group of 4 adults and 1 toddler for lunch!

The lunch menu is not that big. We ordered from the Especialidades (lunch Special or house special?):

Mole Poblano, at $13 I got 3 pieces of chicken meat cover by a type of black sauce, and a cup of rice. To illustrate how small this meal was: The chicken meat is slightly bigger than the chicken nut you can order in Wendy's. The rice is worth of two bites. The chicken meat did not give a fresh taste, and the sauce on it was not impressive at all.

Camarones Con Chorizo: This was jumbo shrimp covered by black sauce. The size was not large enough that my mother didnot feel she had enough food.

Tilapia a La Veracruzana: We ordered two plates, one for my wife and one for my dad. The size of the dish is ok, but the fish fillet appeared to be oil boiled. I tried to feed some fish to my kid and he was rejecting it after 3 or 4 tries. We recently started feeding him whatever we ate. Typically, he is excited whatever new food.

Before our dish we were served with bread (or you may say tortilas?). The bread was kept warm and tasted good. So we requested more to fill the stomach.

We got our bill with the gratuity of over 16% pre-calculated in the total amount. I wasn't shy to show it to the lady who picked up the bill. She was quick to remove the gratuity without say anything. It is hard to say whether the pre-calculated tip was a mistake or typical.

I left 10% tip, in thinking that the waitress might be new to this restaurant and the pre-calculated tip was a mistake, but the food was really NOT recommended.

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lyss61

Joined 6 years ago

Beautiful space. Colibri is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. It's a gorgeous space and has delicious drinks. The food is great too! I've been there about 4 times and have had fantastic food each time, although the last time I went our service was terrible (the waitress left because her shift was over and didn't tell us or pass our table off to another server!). A little noisy and distracting (they have black & white mexican movies playing at the bar), so not a great date place but definitely fun! Make reservations because this place fills up fast.

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uniwhirler

Joined 8 years ago

The Colibri (the hummingbird) is gourmand Mexican. This is not Tex-Mex!. Yes. it's true! There are lots of lovely places in San Francisco to do brunch but the restaurant Colibri is a must vist. First of all, the decor is stunning. The bar is eye candy. and the staff are warm. The food is oin par with on that excellence. Their brunch is affordable. Skip the alcohol. if on a budget and make sure you have an open table reservation for the points. This is not Tex-Mex food. This is gormand Mexican.

we hadn't been here in a while and today we are so happy to have made it back. Their quesadilla appetizer is an delicious original and comes with several sauces; a brown sauce, a green chil and a pineapple. Try the carne grilled asada cactus and problanio dish. There's no way you can go wrong. You'll need a box fior leftovers. My friend had the chorizo and eggs which was also very good. Their Bloody Mary is a spicy welcome surprise. We'll choose Colibri for brunch often. Colibri is spanish for Hummingbird! Don't miss this buzz.

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daniben

Joined 6 years ago

Best Mexican in San Francisco. This place was amazing. The food is authentic Mexican with wonderful flavor and personality. I loved it and will go back again very soon! It is great for 2 people but if you can round up a group then you can order a bunch of stuff and eat family style, which I recommend since everything is wonderful.

I hope this place keeps up the good work and continues to be such a stellar place to eat, drink and be merry!

Fun decor as well!

Danielle

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soyoungie

Joined 6 years ago

classy mexican food. Been eating here for the past few years, and it's always a pleasant experience. The guac. is freshly made to your ideal spiciness and the stuffed chicken is smothered in the most delicious sauce. The "catch-of-the-day" is also always good.

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whirlwindx

Joined 6 years ago

Guacamole made in front of you!. Before I start, I should say that I am an Englishman visiting San Francisco. If a native of SF, treat this review with caution!

We decided to go to Colibri based on recommendations on this website. It seemed very busy, especially for a Sunday night, but they found us a table for 2 in a few short minutes. The waitress was very attentive and friendly. I had the homemade guacamole, which was unbelievably good. It is made fresh in front of you, as spicy as you like it, and served with nice and fluffy homemade tortillas. Quite an experience!

My girlfriend ordered some cheesy mushroom thing. It just looked like a bowl of melted cheese to me, but I am assured it was enjoyable.

The main courses were generally well conceived and expertly cooked. I had a lamb shank wrapped in banana leaf. The lamb was exceptionally tender, it seemed to jump right off the bone! The tomato sauce was a little overpowering for me, but being English I tend to avoid anything with too much flavour.

My girlfriend had chicken breast on a bed of mashed potato. Being Irish, she needed her potato fix, and the mash was good and creamy. The chicken was very tender, and the sauce was a little sweet and complemented the chicken well.

We like wine with our meals, and it was great to see top quality local wines on the menu. We went for a Sonoma sauvignon blanc, which was rich, clean and fruity. If you like tequilla, this is the place to come, as everything is nicely categorized with something for every taste.

This place was amongst the priciest meals we had, with 2 starters (sorry, appetizers), 2 main courses (sorry, entrees), one dessert and bottle of wine coming to just over $100. However, I would recommend it as it is Mexican food with a touch of European class.

PS one of the reviews here complained about portion size. We felt that the portions were ample for our European stomachs, but you may be left hungry if your idea of a light meal is sticking your head into a bucket of friend chicken.

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margiemanalo

Joined 6 years ago

This place rocks!. This place was awesome. We had a great waitress who was attentive. Our food was served in a timely manner. They had compliment of tortilla and three different salsa's. The mango salsa to die for. I'll keep this restaurant a secret because it's a gem. Will always come back for more. Friday is busy so make sure to book ahead of time.

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jordanmc

Joined 6 years ago

Best guacalmole in the world.. I have been to Colibri several times and have not been disappointed once. Everything is good, ranging from their top shelf margaritas all the way to the most amazing guacamole ever. I highly recommend the lamb shank and also the chicken tostadas.

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marcuslav

Joined 6 years ago

authentic and up to date. I like to go to this place with my girl. It's nice and classy and the service is good. They got some pretty interesting stuff on their menu. For the most part they are all good.

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stevosf

Joined 7 years ago

Do you want top shelf Mexican? Well, dine here it ROCKS!. So I?m writing another review here on CitySearch, I?m either really board or I actually have something to say. Hmm yes I do have something to say. So I met this girl on Craigslist and we arranged to meet for dinner. We decided to try this little Mexican place she had heard of in Union Square called Colibri. So we walk in and this extremely nice blond hostess greets us with a smile and takes us to our booth by the kitchen. The whole restaurant was packed and smelled of amazing aromas. The server came by and asked if we?d like to start with some margaritas, now me being a whiskey guy I was a little hesitant but she said that they had tequilas that were aged in oak whiskey barrels and I said ?Lets do it?! She brought me ?a shot? is this beautiful stemware, I was a little surprised but, she said sip on it and enjoy the taste. WOW, I had never thought to drink tequila like this and it tasted great. CHEERS! We went on to start with the freshest guacamole I?ve ever had and it was made right in front of us. I ordered the Pechuga Ranchera. Wow, what a great dish. It was tender, moist, and full of tasty flavors! My date enjoyed the Chili relleno, also saying it was amazing. Our entire experience at Colibri was a great one and the date was great too, if you were wondering. I?d highly recommend eating here. I?LL BE BACK!!!