04/19/09

Great place!

by junip2

Love the fact that they use sustainably farmed ingredients. My sister was telling me that they get their lamb from a CA farm whereas even Whole Foods imports their lamb from New Zealand.

I tried their basic Chicken dish last night and honestly did not have high expectations since that's typically a standard dish at most places. But it was actually the best thing we ordered -- expertly prepared and included some vegetables that were tasty and colorful.

• Pros: high quality ingredients, solid execution

07/12/08

warm service, welcoming atmosphere, wonderful wontons

by unclebad

Every plate is better than the last at Chow. The service is friendly, and the diner ambience is strangely fun without being kitschy like so many other diner knock-offs. Just a few steps from the lively corner of Market and Church, Chow fits into the neighborhood perfectly, yet the atmosphere and vibe inside of Chow welcomes you even if you are a uniquely white, middle aged, straight guy without any piercings or tattoos, as is my current predicament., And that's why I like this place. Here at Chow, everyone is at home. I feel like George Castanza at Monk's hanging out with my friends Kramer and Elaine, all the while enjoying equal parts of goat cheese fondue, home made wontons, Argentinian Albarino, and a good heapin' helpin' of SF diversity. (If I were Darth Cheney's gay illegitimate son, this is where I'd bring Dad for lunch to show him that San Francisco values are actually pretty cool. Don't worry -- I'd make him leave his guns at home so nobody would get accidentally shot.) Hanging out and enjoying a meal at Chow is why so many of us don't live in Kansas any more. Thanks, Chow, for being a piece of that, and your wontons are wonderful!

uncleBad says eat at one of the window tables and enjoy the street circus outside while you have a great meal at one of San Francisco's coolest hangs.

• Pros: great place to hang, love the food

03/11/08

Always a good time

by msimmons111

I have been going to Chow for years and I always have a yummy meal there. The service is consitant and overall pretty good.. I enjoy pretty much everything on the menu and it's always affordable....

• Pros: good food, affordable

02/16/08

Great food for a reasonable price

by sweetfe2

The staff at Chow are so nice, they make every dining experience that much better. The food is made of high quality ingredients and all the meals are very reasonably priced. The apple pie is to die for! Great value for friendly and delicious meal.

• Pros: Warm friendly staff and tasty high qaulity food
• Cons: It can get a little noisy

01/09/08

great atmosphere & tasty food...

by ashleigh_vi

Great for a reasonably priced sit down dinner. Great beers & great food selection...it took me forever to find something to order because it all sounded so good. I ended up getting the eggplant parmesan, and it was delicious! The parking can be awful, we were there on a Tuesday night around 7:00 and had to drive around the block a few times before we found a spot, but it was totally worth it. Fast & attentive service, definitely reccommended.

• Pros: Atmosphere, Service, Food, & Value
• Cons: Parking

09/29/07

Friendly staff and good food

by sfgirl23

My fiance and I just ate at Chow and were very impressed. They have a gazillion staff members, thus, you get great, thorough service. Everyone had a smile on their face, which can be quite unusual in SF. The food was pretty good. If you're in the mood for a salad, go for the "Spinach Salad"-mmm....Great neighborhood place!

p.s. The staff members are all pretty cute, too!

• Pros: Plenty of room; friendly, cute staff; tasty food; cheapish
• Cons: The bathroom is awkward and behind a table...

09/26/07

I Heart Chow!

by finnagaldur

I'm kind of a Chow fanatic. Its my favorite neighborhood haunt. They have yummy food thats comforting yet healthy. Much of it is organic. They are also vegetarian friendly and will substitute the meat in a dish for avocado or veggies or whatever. They have great beer, which I love that you can get either small or large. The staff is super friendly (and more than a few of them are quite easy on the eyes!)

08/31/07

Fancy food, Great value

by atsugari

I went because of Racheal Ray's review of the place, she was right it is delicious. I ordered the Crater-lake bleu cheese with pear for $6.50 and it was delicious I didn't expect them to pair it with walnut bread or toasted walnuts it was like I'm inside an expensive restaurant and paying $20 for this stuff. Next I had the lasagna and it was so fresh and delicious, normally I dislike lasanga because of the intense tomato sauce flavor but they used fresh spinach and tomatoes to combine flavors and it tasted great. The customer service was excellent they gave us plenty of time to think on our menus and refilled our water constantly. Thanks Chow and Racheal Ray for this euphoric experience. It was yumm-o!!

• Pros: Delicious freshly made pastas, gourmet foods, great value
• Cons: I wish they had one in Oregon where I live

07/24/07

Good food, good experience...

by dkmarcus

We stopped into Chow on a Monday night at around 530pm, on a pre-concert excursion to the City. We were seated immediately. We weren't sure who the wait staff actually was, but the bar keep offered to take our order. The food came quickly. The mussels were excellent, fresh and tasty with lots of sauce for dipping fresh bread. Our Thai Chicken Salad was tasty, crisp and very fresh and colorful. We were in and out of Chow in about 40 minutes which was great because we had a time limit. We had 4 small dishes, 2 shorty beers and the tab was under $40 (sans the tip). After reading mixed reviews on this site about the food and service we were at first hesitant about Chow. We had a really great experience! It was just the right amount of food and very fresh. We will definitely go back!

• Pros: Fresh food, casual, small plates/good value
• Cons: Parking

07/20/07

Poor Service

by olddaddy

This food is good but the service is poor. I may be old fashioned but both quality food and good service go together.

When I entered, the place wasn't full of customers. I had to ask what I think was the lady tending the bar. In any event, I sat down and waited for service. The waitress was too involved with conversations with friends and other employees to care. When I was directed to a table and sat down, I had to motion to I think might have been the Manager/Owner in order to get any attention.

The great thing about San Francisco is that there other Restaurants to go to.

• Pros: Food's good- the short ribs and a small salad with coffee and water is enough.
• Cons: Poor Service-no attention