10/09/08

Definitely Worth It

by EmilyMcCormick

Hi, my name is Emily and I am working with StreetSmart4kids to help spread the word about the Dine Out and Donate program happening now. On Citysearch, you can learn just about everything you need to know about a place, so I thought this would be the perfect way to let diners know that Isa is a proud participating restaurant in the Dine Out and Donate program. StreetSmart4kids' mission for the Dine Out and Donate program is to help raise support for the homeless/at-risk youth in our Bay Area. Now until November 16th, you will have the opportunity to support this cause when you dine at Isa--by simply including your donation with the check after your meal. For more information, ask your waitress at Isa.

06/26/08

excellent food and comfortable dining

by angel12083

I am highly recommend this restaurant. The food are excellent!!! I love the most are the crab salad and the foie Gras. The taste is perfect! The server is helpful and nice that know how we want. There is an outdoor dining which make me feel very comfortable and enjoyable. I definity will go to eat at this restaurant again! However, it's hard to find parking. this is the only thing I don't like to dine in to this restaurant.

• Pros: food and service
• Cons: parking

French tapas meet California cool at this appealing Marina hot spot.

by Contributor

In Short
The sleek, gray dining room is a nice match for the menu. Walk past the kitchen and dishroom to run smack into the spacious, tent-covered outdoor patio. Patrons sit around heat lamps and share small plates of baked goat cheese with tomatoes and pine nuts, or heartier entrees, like a potato-wrapped blue nose sea bass with capers, tomato confit and a delectable brown butter.

11/30/06

A perfect experience

by blkestin

We tried Isa on a recommendation from a friend and were both very happy with the experience and even happier that it is only a few blocks away from our apartment! We were seated right away in the back patio - a lovely setting that I wouldn't necessarily call "outdoor dining" but it has great ambiance. I don't know whether Isa made an effort to improve the service issues written about in a lot of the reviews here, but we had great waiter service - friendly, responsive, and quick. We had the prix fixe menu - 2 plates plus a dessert each for $30 each. We had the tuna tartare, the arugula salad, sea bass, and risotto and loved all of it. For dessert we had the creme brulee and the semifredo. Yum and yum. We will definitely return.

• Pros: Yummy food, back patio
• Cons: None

10/29/06

Romantic yet loud

by makeoutbandit

Went to Isa with my boyfriend and we enjoyed every plate that we got. The Seabass, risotto, and asparagus were our favorites. I went there again with my 5 friends this last month and were seated in the patio. It was breathtaking and the heatlamps helped. Our waitress was a bit slow at taking our orders and gave us a lot of attitude. In the end we enjoyed the food as usual. The bussers were attentive while the waiters/waitresses could use a dose of politeness.

• Pros: Ambiance, and food
• Cons: Service

09/20/06

Try a Weeknight

by traby

We went last nite (Tuesday) and it was still packed but we were able to be seated without a wait. We could have had a table but sat at the bar. Our server was pleasant and helpful.

The food was awesome!! the Spicy Tuna Tartare, Baby Arugula Salad, Potato Wrapped Seabass and Pan Roasted Fulton Valley Chicken were all excellent.

I will be going to Isa's again soon and highly recommend it.

09/15/06

Excellent food, great menu and a great time!

by rakeshtondon

We went there because we had heard about it from friends, and it not only matched our expectations - it exceeded them, by a mile! The food was fantastic - the lobster broth with prawns was the best soup ever. The foie was great, and so was the steak - I highly recommend it. However, the service wasn't too good because our server seemed to not have a great time while serving us, or maybe it was the fact that we weren't buying the bottles of wine like everyone else. Nevertheless, I think it's worth every penny and every SFer must make at least one visit to Isa to really understand what great food is.

• Pros: Excellent food
• Cons: Very bad service

09/11/06

Not a pleasant experience!

by jage14

We had made a reservation at Isa. What I did not know was to request the patio - there was obviously more space out there and hopefully NO mirror that flanked our table tucked away tight in front. We ended up waiting 15 minutes while 2 other parties walked in and were

seated (not sure if they had rsvn's or not) got shuffled around the bar while they squeezed more parties to eat dinner there. Once we were seated the NOISE plus the mirror were just too much. We paid for our wine and promptly left! We will not go back! And I second the comments about the less than pleasant hostess experience.

• Pros: patio
• Cons: hostess, ambiance, tight space

07/15/06

Great food, great service!

by lord_gravy

I went here Friday night, not expecting much. Party of three adults and a six-year-old. We were seated near the front of the restaurant. The dishes come out family style and we ordered asparagus soup (absolutely delicious and even my kid who hates veggies ate it all), Dungeness crab salad (plenty of crab), paired this with a bottle of Isabel (Marlborough) Sauv Blanc. Our server noticed that one of our party wasn't eating the salad. Turns out he was allergic to shellfish and she brought out an heirloom tomato salad with chevre on the house. It was excellent with firm consistency and a nice citrus sauce with basil accents. Other dishes we had were the halibut (voted best dish), potato wrapped sea bass (perfectly moist with cardboard-thin potato wrapped around the meat, duck (ok, but a little overwhelmed by the cabbage side), scallops (perfectly cooked). Restaurant was busy, but our server was always there when we needed her. The food came out with great rhythm and we had great conversation and great food. I wouldn't call this a place for that romantic couples evening, but it's great food and great value with a nice, bustling atmosphere. I think previous negative comments seem a bit harsh. Bill came out to $185 which includes two bottles of wine, not cheap, but food quality and service was worth it. If you want cheap, then go eat a bowl of pho.

• Pros: Great service, great food, great rhythm
• Cons: Can get a little loud

05/30/06

NOT WORTH IT AT ALL

by spolie

2 of us went there thinking this is the best small plates in san francisco, ya right.

frist thing his potato rapped sea bass that adish he got from daniel's in new york and when we got it it was so overr cooked the waiter saw it with out us saying anything to him. i known the portions are small plates but come on, 80$ later we went to in and out to fill up after we left. this place is so over rated. you know the saying " just say no". mybe the chef

should get back in his own kitchen.

• Pros: decor , service
• Cons: price , food, food