Orson

04/07/2008 Posted by aforonda

2 of us went there for some late night (9pm) dining had reservations, was impressed with the interior design, very modern and mimimalist, the bar is really nice. The dining is quite cramped, not unique i'm just not a fan of having to sit directly next to strangers, you know the type of seating. We get seating promptly my date could barely squeeze in without knocking stuff over the table next to us it was so tight. We get water, wait for 15 mins and were never asked for our order! We looked around and were very unimpressed with the dishes, one appetizer was a fancy name for overpriced French Fries. It was pretty ludicrous so we got up to leave, as we were leaving the host said, "thanks for coming hope you enjoyed your meal". I almost bursted out laughing as he was the very guy to seat us 30mins before. I let him know why we were leaving and that they should review the service plan. Seems like a decent place for drinks but would avoid for dining.

Pros: Interior Design

Cons: Service is non existent

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

04/03/2008 Posted by MrMutt

The decor was very contemporary industrial, almost to a fault. I had to ask what the big piece of iron was in the middle of the entryway, thinking it had some kind of significance. Nope, just some hunk of construction junk. And, what's with all the wait staff wearing weird band things? Whatever, anyway, to the food. Neither my wife nor I really understood the logic behind the dishes. First, you get the sense the prices are reasonable, until you're told it takes 4-5 dishes to get things going. At $5-10 ok...at $7-17 each, ouch. And the mixtures of one thing with another, while it sounds all new age, really didn't taste all that good. Tempura egg with scallion bruillon...messy, tasted like it was undercooked, and just weird. Other things just didnt seem to go. Bone marrow? Beef tendon? Carrot and blod (purpose mispell) orange? It felt like it was trying to push the envelope just for the sake of it. And the portions, very small. Shot of soup is literally a shot glass with soup. Didn't even fill my mouth. Honestly, don't places give those as "chef's specials" or something? The other portions, even if we had liked the food, would not have come close to being filling or satisfying. All in all a wholly underwhelming experience. We ate at a place called Jack Kennedy's in Toronto last weekend, serving in the same style of small "tapas" dishes, and they did it right. Generous portions, tasty, good. Orson, I'm sorry to say, fell short. The silver lining is that if there were any place on the west coast where an overly pretentious (mixologist? try bar tender...), ultra-contemporary, overpriced oddity of a place with an "I'm not like anyone else" just like everyone else attitude could exist, its in San Francisco. Save yourself and eat at the Utah next door. It may be old and loud, but at least its genuine. If you DO decide on Orson, you'll probably end up with you and your appetite at Utah anyway, just $120 lighter. You've been warned.

Pros: Having spent that kind of $$$ on table scraps, I left feeling pretentious and superior

Cons: I also left hungry, broke and confused

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

03/24/2008 Posted by sanderb

I'll keep it to bullet points to avoid rambling: >>> 1)It's really really trying to be industrial/trendy to the point where our entire party (incuding me - who has approximate cold tolerance of a polar bear and was wearing a sweater) was cold. If you like "warm" restaurants (feeling/vibe and actual temp) don't go. >>> 2) The menus (there are at least 5) are confusing.>>> 3) You need to order about four $12-15.00 options to even be within sight of fullness.>>> 4) The service was terribly slow (though our waiter was pleasant). 30 mins for makers and water - the waiter brought makers on rocks after 30 mins then asked again what one of our party wanted, then poured water from pitcher into the glass. Also the cocktail menu was fairly unoriginal and the concoctions were generally dissapointing.>>> 5) The hostess was rude.>>> 6) It's in a terrible area of town.>>> 7) finally a positive.....The desserts are awesome!!! Or so we hear, we didnt try them because we just wanted to get THE HELL out of there before we went postal/froze to death!

Pros: thinking.....

Cons: service, food, ambience, location,

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

03/04/2008 Posted by etaw

I love Citizen Cake and am a big fan of quality over quantity when it comes to dining out. Maybe it's because half of the small plates we ordered never materialized, but my friends & I left at least as hungry as we were when we arrived, though considerably poorer. And while a couple of the items were quite tasty, many fell short of our expectations. I am sure the service issues will be worked out in time, so I won't go into them here. If you are a fan of uber-trendy, food-science food in an upscale setting, Orson might be just the place for you. For me, it felt like Vegas, and I choose to live in San Francisco, not Vegas. On the up side: the duck fat fries rock and the cocktails are both fun & tasty. The space itself is quite gorgeous as is the bar & the sculptural light fixture hanging above it. I think there is great potential, but I will not go back until I hear from someone I trust that it is worth a second chance.

Pros: Really nice space, great potential

Cons: Expensive, ambitious, food not appetizing

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

02/29/2008 Posted by kaydenandlogan

Came starving, left famished! My tab helped pay the rent for the month! Oh yeah, did I mention that I CAME IN STARVING AND LEFT FAMISHED!!!!

Pros: The owners are gonna be rich at those prices.....

Cons: but only if it can last a year

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful