Orson

Surprised @ the emptiness on a Friday night??

by ChelleintheBay , Citysearch Contributor at Citysearch

I am shocked by the previous reviews. I found Orson to be a good dining experience for SF. It is not a place to go if you are in a rush, however. I began to understand this as our waiter explained every mouth watering dish. He had an understanding of how each dish was prepared as well as suggestions of what to try.(Jesse you were WONDERFUL!) One of our guest loves seafood & after hearing the way the chicken dish was prepared switched to it. The waiter also gave us a tasting of the soup of the day: chestnut...It was like having turkey chestnut stuffing in a glass!! Warm & DELICIOUS!! Its very rare that I will rave about french fries, but I have to say, the ones here were not normal. Just a flavour explosion w/ the bearnaise dipping sauce. The house made burrata w/ blood orange marmalade is hard to explain. The citrus and the creamy cheese literally melted in your mouth & you're filled with joy, plus longing for more. I shared the

charred escarole, roasted potatoes, scallion,

garlic confit, slow poached egg, feta pizza. I can say the mix of ingredients would scare most diners, but we decided to try the unusual combo. Yes, egg on a pizza has changed my pizza world!! It wasnt overly rich and the charred escarole gave it a smoky texture that kept us grabbing another slice. Also tasted was the perfectly curried cauliflower & the extra tender short rib w/ horseradish creme fraiche. When we realized that we were running out of time, our waiter brought us a sweets taster that was exceptional except for the snickerdoodle mini cookie. It was a little dry and tasted like pure flour. That was the only dislike over the whole dinner!

I am not trying to disagree with other reviewers, but I feel like I was in a completely different restaurant than they explained.

• Pros: Unique pizza combos, hazelnut soup!!!customers service
• Cons: out of the marshmallows for hot chocolate

Good food, SLOOOOOWWWWW Service

by hthayer at Citysearch

I went to Orson with a group of foodies who are always scouting the best burgers. We arrived and were seated without delay, but that hardly mattered, since it was nearly an hour before we had anything to eat! After being seated, the waiter ignored us for nearly 20 minutes. He took our (very simple) drink order and disappeared. Eventually he reappeared and took our food order, but that was proably 30 minutes after we sat down. Then he disappeared again. After another 20 minutes and several inquiries about when we might expect food, the hostess sent toast, which was good, but which we devoured in about 30 seconds. Finally the food arrived. The burgers, with the spicy sauce and the truffle mayonnaise were exceptional. And the duck fat fries were delish -- but a warning -- I adore salt, love it -- and these fries were even a bit salty for me. After the main course (and I was still starving, having waited too long for dinner) some folks at the table ordered dessert, and we waited, and waited, and waited. Then we waited more for the check. And waited. Two and half hours for a dining experience is fine if the experience is exceptional and is moving along, but if it is just famished waiting, that is not okay.

Nice decor, we liked the burger, but the service means I won't be coming back.

• Pros: Duck fat fries -- yum
• Cons: Hope you didn't come hungry

Crappy food and service

by rakeshtondon at Citysearch

If you want to go to a cool place for cocktails, this is the right place for happy hour. Their fries used to be quite excellent, but now I just don't think there is anything else on the menu one can order other than the fries. Do NOT order their hush puppies. It is the single most disgusting thing you would put in your mouth - its so dry that if you have more than a couple, it almost feels as if you're completely dehydrated after a night of heavy drinking with a dry throat and bad taste in your mouth. Their egg tempura is gone which I was quite upset about and nothing on their menu is worth trying. Don't waste your money on overtipping the waiters/bartenders as they all seemed quite cocky based on my 2-3 visits over the last month and a half. Save your dough and go somewhere else...

• Pros: Funky decor
• Cons: Horrible food and service

Disappointing

by fmedzonsky at Citysearch

Perhaps it is a bad sign that we were able to get a table for 8 @ Orson on short notice. Unfortunately, the evening lived up to the low expectations. First, when we made the reservation, the hostess failed to advise us that a party of 500 (!) would be sharing the restaurant starting at 10 pm that night. Our group was planning to hang out after dinner with drinks and chat, but that wasnt going to happen once the masses started lining up. But that would have been forgivable if the food had been any good. Alas, that was not the case. Each person had a starter -- exploding ceaser salad; arugula salad or mussels. The mussels were pretty good -- fresh and in a thai coconut broth. The salads, however, were not dressed (note -- undressed ceaser salad is not good) and were something you could easily get for half the price at any cafe. The most egregious aspects were the main courses. For $25, I received THREE scallops atop a squirt of sweet potatoes. I mean seriously. During economic times like these, how can you serve something like that with a straight face. The dish itself wasnt particularly memorable. The scallops were seared; the mashed sweet potatoes were virtually liquified. Beef short ribs with pappardelle did not fare much better. Again, for $25 we received a small chunk of an inexpensive cut of meat (mostly fat) with about 10 noodles and a few ribbons of carrot. I'm all for haute cuisine and right-sizing portions ... but if you are going to charge $25 ... at least make the food tasty. The only smart member of the group ordered a pizza. It was good and a good value. To give credit where credit is due -- desserts, which the chef is known for, were quite good. If you go here ... stick with pizza and dessert ... or drinks and then go to Zuppa or COCOs down the block.

• Pros: dessert, cocktails
• Cons: mediocre food, terrible value

Great Space, Fun Bar and exciting food...really great place to host an event too.

by drummerkate at Citysearch

WOW, I couldn't disagree with these reviewers more...Great wine, phenomenal food in an amazing space. Been several times and it keeps getting better. We took our friends last Friday and they, first-time Orson guests, were very impressed too. We're all coming back for the Pig & Whiskey dinner in October! Keep up the good work Elizabeth and team. So great to have a hot place like this in SF!

• Pros:  interesting and tasty food, great bar and lounge, visually stunning, music
• Cons: can be a bit loud