Nirvana

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Gina Goff

Joined 9 years ago

Specialty cocktails and inexpensive Asian fusion cuisine make this noodle bar a Castro district favorite.. In Short
This eatery aims for a serene atmosphere with dark wood furnishings, earth-toned accents and Buddha sculptures permeating the main dining area, but achieves a livelier vibe due to the perpetual crowds of neighborhood locals vying for seats in the back room or heated garden patio. Laid-back servers deliver specialty cocktails like appletinis alongside heaping entrees, such as mango-glazed chicken with banana leaf sticky rice and Burmese noodles with a choice of tofu, beef or chicken.

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jhh1981

Joined 7 years ago

Amazing back patio. I had lunch here for the first time. The food was great, but the open back patio stole the show. It felt like I was eating in a Thai jungle ;) There service was a little slow, but the scenery well made up for it.

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velasf

Joined 7 years ago

Nice, relaxing, a little escape within the city.. I had dinner at Nirvana last weekend. I could not make up my mind because they have three dinning rooms and I wanted to seat in all of them! The food was spectacular. I had Buddha Vegetables or something liked that, covered with this delicious, out of heaven sauce. Meat was tender, exotic to taste, and definitely well marinated in some Asian herbal sauce, I think. Coffee was good, drinks okay. It was the ambience that absolutely made quite an impression on me. Flowers, candles, and Buddhas everywhere. The red painted walls as well as the soft jazz make you feel you are somewhere else. The patio is well heated. Servers are friendly, respectful and some of them very cute. I'll bring my visiting relatives next time. (Oh God they are picky!).

Doesn't Recommend

asteroid420

Joined 7 years ago

Godawful Experience. My last 2 visits here have been awful. The previous visit, the waiter spilled a drink on my boyfriend. The food was so good, however, that I wanted to go again. The last time, it was busy but we were seated at the bar waiting for out table, where we pre-ordered food. But as we were notified our table was ready our food was served to us at the bar. Then the bartender dropped a glass on my plate as I was eating, shattering all over the place, absolutely ruining my evening. Both times meals were comped but that does not make me want to ever go back. I highly DO NOT RECOMMEND Nirvana to anyone.

Doesn't Recommend

marthaakers

Joined 7 years ago

Nirvana is going down. What have they done to this place? I agree this place is so different ,it used to be such a fun experience eating here!, I heard that they have fired all the CUTE Nirvana boys...too bad because the food and drinks are soo good!

Who ever is in charge of this place needs to realize that they are making this place go DOWN!

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almartinsf

Joined 7 years ago

Different PLace. Different place My friends and I have come to this Restaurant for a long time; we came in tonight expecting an amazing experience, like it was before, but we came to a very different Nirvana the food was the same, but the ambiance that it was before is not there, the staff is still really friendly and cute but not what it used to be, we sat in the second room in the back which was really nice but little crowded , our server was friendly and funky, he was really busy it seems like he was serving the other room in the front part, the drinks took so long and not as good as before, the owner or manager kept asking us if everything was ok every 5 min, really annoying!, the music was like some bad Latin jazz.very bad experience, my friends decided to not come back!C-

Doesn't Recommend

plutodrive13

Joined 8 years ago

vegetarians/ vegans beware. as a vegan this used to be one of my favorite restaurants. they offer pleanty of vegetarian dishes and can even make some of them vegan upon request. however, when dinning there last night i found that they not only no longer offer vegan dishes upon request, but the waitress also informed me that they put shrimp in ALL their dishes!! doesn't that even make their "vegetarian" dishes not vegetarian? and isn't calling a dish that contains shrimp "vegetarian" false advertising? when questioned about this the waitress simply said that she was sorry and hoped it wasn't a problem. well, no, it's not a problem but i will never eat at nirvana again.

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navicular

Joined 8 years ago

Never a bad meal. My wife and I eat here often. The food is very creative with a twist on all the Pacific Rim dishes and ingredients. Great vegetarian options for my wife. Never had a dish we didn't enjoy. Service is casual but good. Patio out back is wonderful. Value of food is oustanding. Drinks are fun but beware they will double your bill. If you don't order drinks you could get out for under $20 depending on what you order. Weekends can be a long wait and parking is tough so plan accordingly.

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gfuss

Joined 8 years ago

Feverish Fun. An institution, this place is a trip -- go for the experience (and the food!). They'll hustle you in and out, will order for you whether you like it or not, and there's a wait, to boot! But it's fun, if taken in stride. Good comraderie. Amiable, underdneath the gruffness. And solid, good food.

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ripzippy

Joined 11 years ago

Very friendly and cute staff.. This is one of the few restaurants that I have ordered specialty cocktails at and enjoyed. The drinks are creative without being odd combinations. The food is very good for it's price. I tried one item that was a bit too fishy for my taste but, it was loaded with a lot of different types of seafood so, that should have been expected. It's a fun space yet, also romantic due to the small tables intimate seating. The music goes from exotic to electronic depending on the mood of the crowd. They seem to be in tune with what people want from day to day.