04/25/09

In my hood

by djraoul

I love the atmosphere and the food. The also have an intimate upstairs area. I would also check out their other restaurant called Local which is a bit more casual.

• Pros: great food
• Cons: make reservations, walk in could take a while

05/15/08

Horrible service, disappointing management and mediocre food

by Kibert

A friend of mine took me to this restaurant, having heard great things about it. Recommendations were sadly WRONG.

The food was mediocre at best; the wait staff was slow and unresponsive. After a $100 meal (for two) and generous tip (work was paying) we were asked to leave to make room for people with reservations. Then we had to ask AGAIN for our leftovers (for the dog), only to have them open several packages to identify which was ours.

As we were leaving, I asked to speak with the manager, who when I explained our experience didn't even offer a "sorry".

I do not have a single good thing to say about the experience.

02/17/08

Mediocre food, terrible service

by ewilkin

I had heard great things about Oola so I was really looking forward to trying it out. Huge disappointment. Not only was the food over-sauced and overcooked (I had the ribs and they were fatty, over-caramelized leather strips), but the service was some of the worst I've experienced in San Francisco. For example, we ordered a bottle of wine and after reminding the waiter twice and waiting 30 minutes, they brought and poured us the wrong bottle. They forgot my friend's appetizer (soup), and when they finally brought it out they forgot the spoon which took another 10 minutes to get. The profiteroles were hard as a brick FROZEN (they don't even make them there). The waiter was rude to top it all off.

In short, save your money and do not eat here.

• Pros: Easy valet parking
• Cons: Food, service

01/23/08

Good Restaurant

by edelwice01

Great food! Very nice place but you have to wait forever for a table even if you did reservation in advance.

One more good thing about this restaurant is the bar menu-the best martini!

12/17/07

Overall good food, HORRIBLE service

by sparty

We went recently for a friend's birthday and had reservations late on a Saturday night. The host was bland to say the least and we waited for at least 20 minutes for our table. After being seated, we waited another 25 minutes before seeing a waiter. No drinks other than water. We selected from the wine list - and our top three choices, all mid-priced, were unavailable!!! The waiter took our drink and food order at the same time and everything came out at once. It was exactly 50 minutes from reservation time to ordering. The ribs were great and the tomato tart was good. The ambiance was neat though slightly on the too dark side. You can get a better burger any where for cheaper. It was unfortunate that the service was way below expectations and there was no compensation or apologies from any of the staff especially with so many other choices in the city.

• Pros: Ribs
• Cons: Service, availability of wine list.

07/12/07

OOOOH LA LA!! Best dinner I've had in a long time!

by canna

I went to Oola last night for dinner with a close friend. We were greated by the hostess and seated very quickly. The chef himself came out and brought us a treat, some oyster and caviar shooters...Mmmm. We had the ahi tuna, which was so delicious with bamboo shoots and tiny potato chips that added a delightful texture, followed by a dozen Kumamoto oysters that we didn't waste any time demolishing. The confit of duck was our main course dressed with bing cherries. The duck was succulent and literally finger licking good! The wine list was incredible, a very educated Sommelier assisted in the chosing of our wines and we were blown away by the accuracy of the reccommendations. I will definately be visiting again soon.

06/17/07

Mediocrity at its finest!

by nohimbo

Dear, Charmless Hostess.

Next time you wanna get rid of a couple who just plunked down $112 on dinner--to free up the table for 'someone with reservations' (Oola-LA!)--maybe wait 'til they've put the pen down after signing the bill. I mean, entering, ordering, eating, and vacating the premises in under an hour seems reasonable, oui? Especially on a SUNDAY night!

Oh, and the food? Awful. Soggy, sickeningly-sweet, over-spiced...need I say more? A truly lousy evening all the way around.

Evidently, there must be an endless supply of idiots lining up for this type of dining experience. No need to entertain the concept of 'repeat customers.'

Is it any wonder restaurants fail more often than they succeed?

• Pros: I guess it's not Denny's
• Cons: Denny's has decent service

06/15/07

ok customer service, small portions over priced

by melgarejoasm

I went there for late dinner. They were very polite and sat us upstairs in a "VIP" area. We were sit right by a door where they use it for storage area. During the hour and a half that we stay there 2 couples of associates came in that area and stayed there for 20 mins or half an hour. That made me and my wife feel unconfortable cause when they walk out was a funny look. We were ok with the service, the food was ok, little too much sauce in every dish that we order, in case the Foie Gras. I really like the creme brulee, but still was overpriced. I definitly wont came back neither send my friends there. The only thing that seems to be good about it is that they opem late night.

• Pros: late night good creme brulee
• Cons: over priced, over served in all sauces

11/27/06

Great late night food.

by tiffbd

This is a great place to come late when you want to hang with friends and grab something light with a few drinks. It gets a little too packed on the weekend and I don't like standing there with my friends doing the I don't have a chair sorry to look over your shoulder dance. I go during the week late and really enjoy the environment.

• Pros: Late night dinning

11/24/06

Just average

by tf2001

The atmosphere was nice (we had a private table upstairs) and the service was attentive, but I didn't think it was worth all of the fuss and certainly not the $70 it cost for my portion fo the bill (my entree was way too salty).