Cliff House

Recommends

Susan L.

Joined 1 year ago

I Love the Atmosphere. When I feel like a treat I come here.

Susie

San Francisco

Recommends

Jim7

Joined 5 years ago

Fantastic view. Ate at the Cliff House "Bistro". Had the Macadamia Nut crusted Halibut ($23), Fish & Chips ($17), and Fruitti de Mare ($24) a pasta dish with scallops, crab meat, mussels, and rock shrimp. All were excellent, served hot. Service was superb. Start your dinner early to get the spectacular sunsets; you are just south of the Golden Gate on Pt. Lobos; stunning location. About 30 street parking spots in front; no underground parking.

Doesn't Recommend

maduha

Joined 5 years ago

Just visit, don't eat. After looking at their website, I was excited to visit this restaurant when I recently visited SF. My boyfriend and I both were very disappointed and with all the other fine restaurant options in the city we wished we would have just visited the Cliff House and moved on.

The food was very overpriced for the quality and the sides weren't even editable. It?s not hard to make green beans and rice but the taste was so bad (or under done) we only ate the chicken and left with disappointment. Even thought the view is beautiful, there were so many tourists outside, many on skateboards and plenty looking up at you as you ate, you started to only look at the people and forgot the Pacific Ocean was there for your enjoyment.

I'll never bother to return to this restaurant, it wasn't even worth the drive to visit.

Recommends

coupleswtnight

Joined 5 years ago

Well...We did get our table even though we were an hour late.... Like the title said, we were an hour late to our reservation... and we still got a table. The hostess said that we can have the next available table next to the window next thing you know SOPHIA told us that we can't have it after 20 minutes. Which was okay, but we didn't even get an apology of any sort and she was VERY rude. VERY rude. ( And if you're reading this Sophia, you are very rude hostess!). In terms of the food, the Ahi Tuna appetizer was great. However, my girlfriend ordered the Bouillabaisse and she didn't like it. It just looked like the chef threw every kind of seafood all in a broth and served it. The broth was very salty and the salmon in it was too fishy. I had the ordered The Grilled Maine Swordfish with crab and potato it was "ehhh" (7.5/10). To end the meal, we ordered the Organic Pear & sun dried Cherry Crepes with some tea. It was great except the fruit was a bit sour. Therefore, our appetizer and dessert was better than our entrees. Parking can be a pain in the butt however being next to the ocean makes up for it. Overall, like everyone said the ocean is the main attraction of this restaurant too bad the food just doesn't compliment the view.

Doesn't Recommend

neecez

Joined 7 years ago

Great View, Poor Service, below average eats. As a resident, we all know the wonderful places to eat about town. Last night, we did not want to travel too far out of the neighborhood and ended up at the Bistro in the Cliff House. For 2 years we have said, we needed to try it. Poor tourists, this is a less than average portrayal of everything SF cuisine has to offer. The wait was very short for a Friday night. We had wine in the adjacent bar and they did have a decent wine list. I started with the French Onion Soup - nice on a cold night but, not the best ever. My friend had the Belgian endive salad with pears - many pears, too many! The salad could have passed for dessert since it was so super sweet and drenched with too much dressing. Next came the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and veggies. The meatloaf was very dry. My friend called it the driest meatball ever. And the mashed potatoes were not so mashed. The topper to the entire dining experience was the poor service. Have you ever had a waiter tell you everything not to order? Or call the food ordinary? There's always a first. The service was very slow. However, our busboy (is that the correct term these days?) was very good.

Recommends

inkognitoinboulder

Joined 6 years ago

wonderful!. my husband and i are honeymooning in san francisco and the wine country. his office gave us a pretty hefty gift certificate from the cliff house. we were skeptical at first because the locals didn't give this place good props... but, we were pleasantly surprised. we showed up early, around 5 and were seating right next to the window. we ordered a bottle of wine and two DELICIOUS meals. the view was incredible! the waitress was lovely and so friendly. we spent the entire day in golden gate park and dinner at the cliff house was a great cap to the day. it was a WONDERFUL day! we'd HIGHLY recommend cliff house and not just because we're tourists, the food is actually VERY good!

Doesn't Recommend

dfwsloan

Joined 6 years ago

Snooty service and average food.. Living in San Francisco for over a decade now, I took my grandmother from Colorado to the Cliff House for lunch today. We went down to the restaurant, where my grandmother told the hostess she was looking forward to their clam chowder. The hostess had the nerve to tell us that if we were just having clam chowder, then we would have to go to another part of the restaurant. Now, keep in mind that this was at 2:00 on a Monday afternoon and the restaurant was over half empty. Although I was planning on having more than just clam chowder, I was insulted and asked her if she was serious about making my grandmother go somewhere else for clam chowder. She repeated the exact same sentence, "you'll have to go upstairs for just clam chowder," but this time with a tone that told it all. You are not welcome at this restaurant if you don't appear ready to spend serious money. I swallowed my mouthful of opinion about her attitude and went upstair to avoid a scene in front of my grandmother. To make it worse, the clam chowder was absolutely average. No chef in San Francisco has any excuse for making terrible chowder, but the cliff house skirts a fine line with theirs. The service was poor by any standard and the food was poor for San Francisco standards. In a city like this, you can do MUCH better.

Recommends

baychick

Joined 6 years ago

Lovely!. This is a great place for Sunday brunch! The food is fresh and delicious - I often get a veggie omelette with a side of fruit and fresh-squeezed OJ. Their warm, flaky popovers are to DIE for, especially with the butter and marmalade (and considering other places start you off with boring, dry white bread). People really go here for the ambience, however, because the view of the ocean is beautiful and on a nice day the tables are bathed in light. However, there is often a fairly long wait for a table, especially if you want one by the window. Still, I'm a big fan and definitely recommend the Bistro for a tasty and classy brunch!

Recommends

lisasf4

Joined 6 years ago

friendly, unpretentious service/great California cuisine. Unknown to many confused and misdirected visitors, there are TWO restaurants now at the Cliff House. Be sure to make your way downstairs to SUTROS' for a more refined and relaxing dining experience accompanied by an extensive, almost all Californian wine list. Our meals have always been delicious (two visits so far) and we look forward to returning. On our second visit we dined at the bar (full menu is offered there) since the restaurant was booked (it was the weekend), but the view and service were just as good (very gracious staff). We look forward to future visits with friends and family.

Doesn't Recommend

lunasent

Joined 7 years ago

Don't let the great view fool you. I was looking for a place for wedding reception. I have been there before for dinner and the view was great. I called the person up and ask about there banquet. My experience with them for regular dinner is that they are pretty short-staffed. So I ask the banquet manager about the number of server provided. She was very defensive and told me if I am concerned about their service, I should not come there. She promised me to sent me some info but I never got it. I am glad that I found another place with a much more attenative staff.