Orson
San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone: (415) 777-1508
Fax: (415) 707-6508
- Cross Street:
- Bryant Street
- Hours:
- Mon-Sat 6pm-11pm
Editorial Review for Orson – by Sarah Inez Levy
In Short
Menus entitled "Tease," "Explore," and "Explore Deeper" set the tone for an evening at Orson, celebrity chef Elizabeth Falkner's third restaurant. In a dramatic, historic warehouse space that plays with the contrast between light and dark, modern and classic, diners enjoy inventive cocktails and edgy but refined small plates that encourage gastronomic exploration. Desserts are a continuation of the experience, with sweets such as "invisible dessert" taking the pastry kitchen to new heights.
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Insider Tips
On the MenuShareable plates, including housemade charcuterie, pork-belly-stuffed rice dumplings and paella with squid ink gel, are standouts on the dinner menu. Inventive dessert selections, like the "invisible dessert" made with transparent ingredients, abound, as well.
Know Before You GoThe Bar menu is served Mon-Sat 5pm-12am, and the bar is open until 2am Thu-Sat.
Fun FactArtwork includes abstract paintings by Falkner's father, Avery.
The ExtrasThe Citizen Cake Kiosk, an outpost of Falkner's popular first restaurant, offers takeout during the day in the Orson space.
User Reviews for Orson
04/07/2008 Posted by aforonda
2 of us went there for some late night (9pm) dining had reservations, was impressed with the interior design, very modern and mimimalist, the bar is really nice. The dining is quite cramped, not unique i'm just not a fan of having to sit directly next to strangers, you know the type of seating. We get seating promptly my date could barely squeeze in without knocking stuff over the table next to us it was so tight. We get water, wait for 15 mins and were never asked for our order! We looked around and were very unimpressed with the dishes, one appetizer was a fancy name for overpriced French Fries. It was pretty ludicrous so we got up to leave, as we were leaving the host said, "thanks for coming hope you enjoyed your meal". I almost bursted out laughing as he was the very guy to seat us 30mins before. I let him know why we were leaving and that they should review the service plan. Seems like a decent place for drinks but would avoid for dining.
Pros: Interior Design
Cons: Service is non existent
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
04/03/2008 Posted by MrMutt
The decor was very contemporary industrial, almost to a fault. I had to ask what the big piece of iron was in the middle of the entryway, thinking it had some kind of significance. Nope, just some hunk of construction junk. And, what's with all the wait staff wearing weird band things? Whatever, anyway, to the food. Neither my wife nor I really understood the logic behind the dishes. First, you get the sense the prices are reasonable, until you're told it takes 4-5 dishes to get things going. At $5-10 ok...at $7-17 each, ouch. And the mixtures of one thing with another, while it sounds all new age, really didn't taste all that good. Tempura egg with scallion bruillon...messy, tasted like it was undercooked, and just weird. Other things just didnt seem to go. Bone marrow? Beef tendon? Carrot and blod (purpose mispell) orange? It felt like it was trying to push the envelope just for the sake of it. And the portions, very small. Shot of soup is literally a shot glass with soup. Didn't even fill my mouth. Honestly, don't places give those as "chef's specials" or something? The other portions, even if we had liked the food, would not have come close to being filling or satisfying. All in all a wholly underwhelming experience. We ate at a place called Jack Kennedy's in Toronto last weekend, serving in the same style of small "tapas" dishes, and they did it right. Generous portions, tasty, good. Orson, I'm sorry to say, fell short. The silver lining is that if there were any place on the west coast where an overly pretentious (mixologist? try bar tender...), ultra-contemporary, overpriced oddity of a place with an "I'm not like anyone else" just like everyone else attitude could exist, its in San Francisco. Save yourself and eat at the Utah next door. It may be old and loud, but at least its genuine. If you DO decide on Orson, you'll probably end up with you and your appetite at Utah anyway, just $120 lighter. You've been warned.
Pros: Having spent that kind of $$$ on table scraps, I left feeling pretentious and superior
Cons: I also left hungry, broke and confused
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
