01/16/09

Epic Roasthouse The worest food I have had in months

by Evan4Food

Epic Roasthouse

From the outside Epic looks like it would offer guest?s a memorable dinning experience

We recently had a group of clients come into town for dinner. What better way to show them some of the best food in San Francisco but to go to an upscale restaurant with a great view of the bay.

We had a party of 8 on a weekday, reservations were fairly easy as we were able to book them that day.

Pulling back the large doors we entered Epic. We were met by some friendly host?s that lead us to the back of the restaurant. As I was making my way to our table I started to wonder if I was still in Epic or a Big Boy restaurant in Florida.

I had to delete a whole pargraph from this review as it was to long with to many bad issues

For diner I ordered the Whole Fish along with Truffle Whipped Potatoes ($9), Epic Mac and Cheese ($9) Truffle Cauliflower (9) spinach(9) & Brussels sprouts.

While waiting for our dinner to arrive the waiter had began to pull our wine glasses with out even asking if we would like wine with a dinner. ( we all wanted wine with dinner)

Once my meal arrived the whole fish needed to be de-boned. I wish the waiter would have told me this earlier as I would have never order this dish because the entire time I was pulling bones from my meal. The brussel sprouts & cauliflower were hard as a rock the Mac & cheese was taste less how can you mess up Mac and Cheese and spinach as just low quality.

For desert I ordered the cookie plate with a cold glass of vanilla bean milk. Thinking a cookie plate would have fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies not my Aunt Helens cookie assortment she bought at Sam?s club left over from 2 years ago.

This restaurant is *WAY* over priced for what they offer & the service was just plain bad. I have had better service at local fast food places. I eat out in San Francisco 5 nights a week and this place is just a poor waste of great real estate and our time.

I will not come back to this restaurant.

• Pros: Nice view great walking distance to Hotels and offices for business dinners
• Cons: Better meal at local fast food the food is just so poor i do not know how this can be with such a great looking building

12/21/08

Food is mediocore, service is average, prices outrageous, service charges should be illegal.

by gsallen

Too expensive, even for the good views of the Bay Bridge and Oakland. For better and less expensive food, try any of the Ferry Building restaurants. The Ferry Building places all offer abundant on-the-water tables, no ridiculous service fees, with benefit of cheap parking. Food is comparable in quality. Cost at Ferry Building is much less and servers over there are much more friendly. Enjoy the city, do not waste your money or your time on this fake palace with mediocore food, high prices and undisclosed service charges.

• Pros: Nice views - same as Ferry Building
• Cons: Way too expensive, undisclosed service fees, food is fair at best.

10/13/08

Sorry! not worth the money or the hype!

by DanaS415

I went here the other night with my husband. We had heard that the owners of Kuletto's had opened another restaurant(we thought it would be comprable to Kulettos) boy were we in for a surprise! First off, How can 1 cocktail cost $14.00?! I mean come on, haven't they heard how bad the economy is?! Besides that, my husband and I had reservations (we were kept waiting at the bar for 30 minutes!) so instead of "nursing" one drink we had to order another each, that's $56.00 on our bar tab alone! When we finally got to the table the waiter came over and was quite abrupt with us(maybe he had a bad day?) Anyway, our food came (I ordered the Lamb chop) and it wasn't even cooked in the middle(I was reluctant to have him take it back for fear of getting worse service than we were already receiving) I did anyway. I know it is supposed to be a little pink but come on! Dessert was so so, so to sum it up, save your money and avoid Epic, you are better off at Kulettos!

Old-school glitz, glamour and grandiosity abound at this dramatic destination chophouse on the water's edge.

by Gina Goff

On a patch of premium real estate on the Embarcadero's eastern side, Epic boasts incomparable, seemingly magnified views of the Bay Bridge from both the dining room and its 5,600-square-foot outdoor veranda. A moneyed crowd of bridge-and-tunnel baby boomers and power-broking suits soak up the scene: dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows, a bustling, partially exposed kitchen and a seven-foot-diameter flywheel-and-pulley setup that parts the dining room down the middle and reinforces the pump-house design aesthetic. The carnivore-pleasing menu, particularly the entree selection, is mostly traditional roasthouse favorites--think dry-aged New York strip with black peppercorns, coriander and coffee beans or beef short-ribs with truffle potatoes--but the kitchen does make an occasional foray into more adventurous fare with smooth duck rillettes served alongside house-made pickles and grain mustard gelee, crispy pork belly on a bed of wild-mushroom-flecked risotto, and tomato-jam-topped roasted marrow bones. Desserts are passable, though, with flavor combinations (i.e. caramel-and-sea-salt ice cream; blood-orange curd with toffee sauce) that sound better than they taste.

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06/09/08

great views, good food

by pinays

this steakhouse on the bay has beautiful views of the bay bridge and the san francisco sky line. the big windows on all the walls ensure that diners have something pleasant to look at. the ambiance was definitely leaning towards the romantic although groups can enjoy the same without any "romantic pressures" at the upstairs bar called quiver lounge, where it was loud and crowded but still blessed with the same views. word of warning, it was really dark in the restaurant and i could barely see the menu. but the darkness was necessary to truly enjoy the night views.

the service here was fantastic -- at least after waiting 20-30 minutes even though you had a reservation. that being said, the staff was apologetic. once we were seated (at a perfect corner location with perfect views no matter which seat you take at the table), we were attended by an attentive wait staff who gave honest recommendations.

i started off with the squid salad with chilies, beans and tomato confit. the ingredients tasted fresh and crunchy and the squid was tasty.

for my entree, i had the pork porterhouse with coffee bean sauce. i thought the sauce was too rich but that the pork was definitely yummylicious. there was a nice fat cap, which in the dark, could surprise you. but, the meat next to the fat cap was rich and delicious.

i tried my friend's pork belly risotto. the pork belly was definitely very fatty but the crunchiness was perfect. the server warned us about the fat cap though so that was fully disclosed.

for the sides, we tried the truffled whipped potatoes (rich and creamy), sauteed spinach (great), grilled garlic brocollini (great) and mac and cheese (crunchy on top, creamy below).

we also tasted a medley of dessert - a chocolate cookie, an oatmeal cookie, i think a cinnamon cookie and a peanut butter fudge, which was so sinfully good.

this place was great.

03/20/08

Can't even cook a lamb chop.

by GaetanoSF

Another Kuleto extravaganza - overdone restaurant and bar, expensive and mediocre food, sketchy service. It took over an hour for our entrees to arrive after our salads. The meat was cold and overdone. There are no sides included with the entrees, they must be ordered separately at ten bucks a pop. My side of broccolini was limp and tasteless. We didn't bother to stay for dessert, couldn't wait to get out of there. Has there ever been a Kuleto restaurant that has made the top 100 restaurant list in the bay area?

Nice location but don't waste your money. Wait for a better owner/chef to take over.

• Pros: NIce view and location
• Cons: everything else

03/11/08

employee healthcare is a wonderful idea

by cbunyea

obviously, if people are going to be upset about a doller upcharge on their bill for employee healthcare, they are cheap bast*rds who DO care about saving A DOLLAR! and obviously, never worked in the service industry. Thanks to all restaurants who are responsible enough to take care of their staff, its a rare occasion.

03/05/08

Interesting All the Way Around

by dtw

After being so excited to try Epic, we had a truly interesting experience. Initially myself and my wife sat at the bar upstairs for a cocktail and presumably charcuterie before dinner. We were certainly judged by the bartender's standards of our worthiness and deemed unworthy by appearance alone so we were not able to enjoy either at the bar. When another bartender suggested to our bartender that we may want to take a look at a menu our bartender did oblige. Moving to a bar table for dinner, our charcuterie was delicious, the whole fish was prepared impeccably well and de-boned impressively table-side and the duck's temperature was perfect. Our server's missing knowledge was humorous and certainly did not support the tone that was used to describe the menu. Awkwardly, the wine director's stocking of wine over my wife's shoulder seemed unnecessary at the time as we typically go out to dinner to relax. Nevertheless, the restaurant is worth trying. By the way, kudos to Epic for the 4% surcharge for healthcare. I hope that all restaurants and other businesses continue to bring to light to the consumer, how businesses are being penalized and repeatedly bare the burden of an entire city's mission.

• Pros: Beautiful Bay Bridge views
• Cons: Weak Service

03/05/08

Overpriced, Awful Food

by diner123456

One would think a steakhouse would know how to cook a steak--no so at Epic. A steak ordered rare was way overcooked and the quality of this $46 New York strip was mediocre, at best. The mashed potatoes tasted like those fake potato buds (I'm not kidding) and were so salty they were practically inedible. Three varieties of bread were offered--one was fine--the others terrible--and this from someone who loves bread. The lag time between ordering and our salads coming out was at least 45 mins (why, we don't know); and again the wait between salads and entrees, endless. We were so anxious to leave (after 3 hours!) we skipped dessert. Don't go. Spend your money elsewhere--even if it is an expense account dinner--the food is so bad--and the service non-existent, it's not worth your time.

• Pros: Views of the bay
• Cons: food, price, service

02/23/08

Great Steaks, Great Bar, Bizarre Service Charge

by Matt9910

I recently had a great meal here. Wonderful Filet, started with the baked oysters finished with a wonderful dessert. When I got the bill I was a bit taken back by a service charge to provide the employees with Healthcare. Don't get me wrong, I am all about providing healthcare to your employees, but with two multimillion dollar restaurants side by side I think this is something the owners should do on their own. If the owners cannot afford it then make my steak $44 instead of $43. Do you really think that people dining here cannot afford another dollar on each menu item. This would have made it a nonissue and wouldn't look as if the owners are nickel and diming their patrons. All in all it was a good meal. I just thought the service charge was a bit bizarre. They have the same service charge at Waterbar as well. I think it is 7% on top of the bill.