08/01/08

Hotel suprise

by deerbear

Had gone to this restaurant with a friend from out of town. Not so sure this was the place to empress, but its location was the best for the time we had. We were greeted fast by the host who got us a great booth, which I thought was the best table in the restaurant. The funny thing is that the restaurant was full and give any cash to inspire that. The waiter nice , his name was Brad or Brian and got us a great recomendation for wine from the wine buyer, who is also a waiter. The wine service was of a five star restaurant and did not make me feel uncomfortable or intimidated. The waiter explained the menu and offered other alternatives for my friend who had special needs. The food was great, freash and complimented with sauces and spices that I would not normaly think of. My favorit was the duck with the roasted veggies and my friend loved the tasting menue. I had the choclate granache cake and it was too small but rich enought to fill me up hundreds of calories(it was just enoght) The waiter was busy but met our needs and found time to chat with us and gave us a heads up. 50% OFF THE WINE LIST IN ALL OF AUGUST. Not kidding. Great wine list, oooh yeah we will be back. Had great company great service, food and wine. Thank you San Francisco.

• Pros: food, service, WINE
• Cons: the rooom looks used, like a 20 year old high end restaurant that need a renovation

11/06/07

Sleek decor and impressive dining next to the SFMOMA in the design-rich W Hotel.

by Joanna Currier

The Scene
The sophisticated, chic interior of this spacious hotel restaurant has been touched up with Carrara marble table tops, mid-century modern hanging lamps, and soft, taupe suede seating. Circular, high-backed booths cocoon couples in intimacy; long tables behind a low dividing wall can be arranged comfortably for large groups. Wood floors, streaming curtains from extraordinarily high ceilings, and windows with a view of Third Street give a wide-open feel.

The Food
Fine dining here under chef Paul Piscopo includes a menu of crowd-pleasers sweetened (often literally) with expensive ingredients. A colorful salad of mizuna greens is topped with candied walnuts and Humboldt Fog goat cheese. Seared Sonoma foie gras is served atop toasted brioche with pickled huckleberries and a splash of red-wine reduction. Pan-roasted salmon comes piping hot with salsify cream and citrus risotto. But be on guard: Desserts can be cloyingly sweet.

10/17/07

Nice Hang Out Place

by sallyvjj

I love the XYZ bar, the bartenders here are for sure lovely. Barry, Josh, Eric, Ann Marie are my favorite bartenders here. The small bites are good though. Calamari and french fries are things I want all the time here.

02/24/07

oily food, bad and unfriendly service

by ms_brightside

my husband and i went to the xyz restaurant for my birthday, and were very disappointed with pretty much everything! the waiter/somelier was sooo unfriendly! he didnt smile at us even once. seemed like he could hardly bear with us dining there.... the food sounded so good, but it tasted so oily and heavy ( we were happy not to order the 3-course menu), even my husband couldn't finish his dish. we tried to finish our dinner and move to the W bar as soon as we could. and the bar was perfect, both drinks and service!

• Pros: proximity to the W hotel bar!
• Cons: food and service

01/29/07

great meal, but a little rushed

by al04

Went to XYZ for the first time for Dine About Town. There were 2 options for every course as well as wine pairings, which were OK, not excellent. My appetizer was a beet salad which made me realize how great beets are! It was delicious and simple. Our entrees, braised short ribs w/ broccoli rapini and salmon w/ risotto were tasty but very heavy. Flavors were good but I didn't feel like it was something worth going to a pricey restaurant for. Dessert was excellent though, the semifreddo of banana bread and vanilla ice cream topped with candied walnuts was a great way to end the meal. Unfortunately, we felt overstuffed and there was little time in between courses to just take a break. There was a feeling of being rushed out of there (even though there were still open tables). Overall, very posh surroundings make it fun but food didn't live up to expectations.

11/10/06

nice atmosphere, good drinks

by msnicole

This place is on the second floor in the W. Good place to get drinks before heading out for a night on the town. Lots of booths to sit in and there is a live DJ there spinning some good beats. The bartenders were super friendly and helpful. Crowd was upscale professionals. Drinks were on the expensive side, 10 and 11 for martinis.

• Pros: nice lounge like atmosphere, good looking crowd
• Cons: pricey drinks, no parking

04/15/06

INCREADIBLE

by elizready

This place is unbelievable. My uncle hosted a huge birthday party for my aunt at XYZ. We could all order anything we wanted. It was a dream. I made a pig of myself. Everything was delicious--the appetizers, the main courses, the desserts (I ordered THREE!), the cocktails. The service was surprisingly quick for such a large party. It was probably a group of 25. I would highly recommend this place. I didn't have to pay that night, but if I did, I admit I would be a little bit turned off by the prices. But then again, I'd say this place is worth splurging on once in a (great) while. And adding to others' comments, VERY stylish place.

• Pros: everything
• Cons: prices

03/25/06

Great upstairs bar (but don't go downstairs!)

by fashionistagirl

Downstairs in the hotel, the service was not great so we decided to move upstairs and wow, what a difference. Amazing bartender. He mixed great drinks, was friendly and a great conversationalist, and really made for a great atmosphere. At his recommendation I had, for the first time, chartreuse, which is a wild liquor similar to absinthe that (i have now learned) is hard to find but totally fun to drink. XYZ has plenty of it, as well as some other fun and unusual drinks, and also has a great bartender and a fun crowd. So my advice to you is, head straight upstairs for a great bar(and bartender!), but definitely avoid the downstairs.

• Pros: great upstairs in XYZ
• Cons: not great downstairs in the ohter bar- go right up the stairs!

01/11/06

Very Sexy atmosphere

by sighren

I tried the dine about town menu with my husband. We really enjoyed the overall look and feel of the place. It feels trendy and very sexy, but with an understated elegance. My favorite part was the wine list, which was awesome. They also offered an optional wine pairing with the dine about town menu, which turned out to have some really interesting and tasty choices. I think this is a good place to go on a date, but maybe not with a big group. Oh, and the desserts were out of this world.

• Pros: Beautiful atmosphere, Great Wine list, Panna Cotta
• Cons: Valet is expensive, small portions

09/24/05

Lame, lame and more Lame.

by eman_resu

Had reservations, we knew we were early and the host rudely told us to go to the bar and come back down to check if they were ready. We promptly left and never went back.

• Cons: Rude Service, Rude Service, Rude Service