Borobudur Restaurant

Nob Hill resto allows diners a taste of Bali.. Touted in many circles as the best Indonesian restaurant in the city, it's worth pointing out that this no-frills Nob Hill spot is also one of SF's only Indonesian restaurants. Clearly taking advice from the Cost Plus school of design, the boxy corner dining room is sparingly decorated with beaded lamps and metal moon-shaped wall decorations. The real artwork, however, is on your plate: rich and vibrant red and yellow curries, blackened satay skewers, and greens in the form of sauteed spinach and flecks of lemongrass. Despite having impossibly hard to pronounce names like Tumis Kangkung Bawang Putih and Ayam Pangang Bumbu Rujak, the dishes here are legit, and worthy (whether there's competition or not) of the high praise.…

almost the only one in town. Since the Jakarta Restaurant on Balboa closed, this is the only one worth going to. It is good, but the quality varies from visit to visit, and if you have been to many dozens of Indonesian restaurants from coast to coast and in Europe you probably won't be that thrilled. I can go randomly into nearly any neighborhood Indonesian place in The Netherlands and will almost always do better, and places like Tempo Doeloe and Sama Sebo in Amsterdam are light years' different (better). That said, I love Indonesian food and still go there regularly. The satay is good, the Keroepoek is a favorite, the peanut sauce is only average, but the service is always friendly.

It is only that there is no longer a decent alternative in San Francisco that keeps us going there.…

A quick walk from Union Square. OK.... I'd rather be in Bali. But since I am in San Francisco and CRAVING a good satay, I head to Borobudur. The staff is friendly and the food is good. If you Love Thai and want to expand your horizons, I highly recommernd Borobudur.

Thank you…

to die for, literally - open staple in my dish.. it's a two star for me because of two contradicting experiences: one, the food (up until i stopped going there altogether) is reliably good. i grew up in indonesia, so i appreciate the authentic yet american friendly nature of the menu. overall, always been a great experience - up until i went there and felt an open staple in my mouth. what offended me is actually not the staple itself, which could actually have seriously injured me if i hadn't found it just in time - but the way it was handled. when i pointed it out to the waiter, he did not even apologize, did not even seem to believe me. he proceeded to give me a new dish to replace the one contaminated with the staple, but considering the gravity of the manner i would have expected more apologetic and appropriately concerned attitude. it could have been my last meal; i have never returned since.…