What a great meal. The atmosphere was the first thing I noticed, followed by the excellent service. Next on the list was a perfectly prepared cocktail. We ordered the tasting menu and were blown away by the presentation of each dish. The flavors did not disappoint either. Everything was well balanced and the varieties of textures were refreshing. Thanks for a great meal and I look forward to coming back in the near future.
Great restaurant with beyond excellent service. We sat at the counter to watch the chefs in action, it can be mesmerizing watching the care the chefs take with each dish.
We had the 4 course dinner with wine pairing. Everything was delicious. The wines they chose to pair each dish were perfect.
The highlights for me were the lamb loin, black cod and the citrus dessert. The dishes and decor of the restaurant change seasonally. So these dishes may not be here next season, however I am confident that anything AQ puts out will be delicious.
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I wouldn't have known about this restaurant if it wasn't for my friend's friends who were visiting from Europe! I got there right when our reservations were due (8 PM), but being the punctual one that I am (and everyone else being super tardy), I ended up sitting at the bar for about 30 minutes. Thank goodness the dapper bartenders were super nice and chatted with me for a while.
We had about 10 people, but we were separated -- which was an unfortunate thing.
We were there during their spring 2013 menu. So there might be a chance that this review might not be useful by the time you read it -- so I'm not going to delve in what we ate. I can tell you that it was pretty delicious, but I think a lot of the food was too hyped over.
However, service was impeccable here. My friend and her friends were celebrating the fact that they were going to graduate from their masters program. They actually gave us a complimentary dessert to celebrate. We really appreciated it.
Would I go back? Probably. Would be interesting to see what else they would serve in the other seasons!
Great menu, somewhat more fancy than it should be.
If you order right this restaurant can surprise and delight you. Unfortunately there are some poor choices on the menu which were not interesting or well prepared. The wine selection is okay - nothing spectacular. Overall it's worth a visit but feels like it doesn't suffer from over-modesty.
This was an exceptional, and relatively effortless, dining experience. Upon entering the sublime and seasonally attuned space, I could tell that I was in for some culinary perfection. The service, presentation, and courses were fabulous. The cocktails were inventive and reminiscent of summer. I've been to other pricy fine establishments in SF and not had such a warm and delightful time. Thanks for being classy and down-to-earth friendly AQ!
We simply loved this place. Elegant, spare decor in a brick building not too far from seedy 6th Street. Perfectly executed service with a smile. Amazing cocktails and wine list. But it's the food that's a real star. Inventive combinations and flavors. Yes, the portions are on the small size but that gives you an opportunity to try all sorts of dishes. Can get VERY noisy.
Ammmmmaaaaazzzzziiiing Cocktails. Fantastic wine list too. We didn't stay for food but they have really really great cocktails. The service is top drawer, they will make you anything you desire but do yourself a favour and order a watermelon margarita. Very impressive.
One of the few consistently good places in the city that offer a 4-course pre-fixed menu with 4 choices for each selection (and hence not too limiting)! Menu changes every season (Literally, the first day of each season).
Decor = Awesome
Food = Awesome, Visually Pleasing, + Wine Paring highly suggested!
One note to consider: It gets very hot inside the restaurant with the open kitchen layout. I'd suggest to the hostess to be seated in the front or back near the windows.
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MY husband and I went here for our anniversary and made an excellent choice. A note signed by the chef was on our table when we arrived at our table, and the service the rest of evening was stunning. We started at the bar while waiting for our reservation time to come up, and my drink was one of the best speciality cocktails I've had in the city. The seasonal cocktails were all named after winds, and had delightful descriptions of the wind as well as what was in the drinks. AQ had quite and extensive variety of whiskies on the menu too.
We had the seasonal fixed price menu and mostly ordered different things, though we shared the spiced roasted duck — which was amazing. Additionally I had brussels sprouts, monkfish, and the chocolate dessert. The chef added a risotto course in the middle of dinner, which was an excellent anniversary surprise. If ordering the seasonal fixed price menu, I strongly recommend the wine pairings.
I had the pairings, and every wine I drank was a perfect match. Given that it was a paired menu, and the portions were relatively small, I had to remind myself to take drinks to enjoy the complementary tastes. For most of the evening the wines were French, though there was a delightful California Cab with the duck. The sherry with dessert was a beautiful complement to the dark chocolate.
Throughout the evening the sommelier was an active part of the meal — not just presenting wine, but fully participating in helping the serving team. Our designated server was quick and friendly, but everyone on staff was fully participating in everyone having an outstanding experience. An addition piece of the outstanding experience is that both of the restrooms were non-gendered.
We plan to return in seasons other than winter and look forward to just as good an experience!
Very Very good, and the service was very nice and friendly and helped with the wine list. He even offered wines that were off the list because they went better with the menu for the night. The way you want to go is with the testing menu if it is your first time at the restaurant. Simple ingredients that, when crafted by AQ chefs, lead to unique dishes that have seasonal appeal that makes me happy.
Lovely space that they redecorate for every season. It's thorough. I remember noticing when the bar and chef countertops changed from Summer's wooden decks with little beachy windows changed to Autumn's gorgeous, rich copper. The staff even changes their attire. Truly beautiful food. Tasty, inventive cocktails. Back during this year's Spring menu I had a gin, lemon, champagne and *spring pea* cocktail there that I adored.
When one of my dearest friends moved to San Francisco after college he lived on this very block. I'd drive down to visit him and he'd come meet me at the parking garage because he didn't want me walking alone in his neighborhood. Ah, the Tenderloin. So that this restaurant is right where it is... pretty amazing.
The four-course dinner was delightful with several choices. The server was attentive and made sure our water glasses were constantly filled. The best dishes were the Lobster Bomba that was fresh and tasty, the Monterey Squid & Cucumber with perfectly balanced flavors and textures and the local Swordfish that was immaculately tender and flavorful. The Chocolate and Sweet Corn desserts were just average; the latter was ambitious with too many competing ingredients. Despite a call, a reminder to the hostess upon check-in and a mention to the waiter, a special birthday treat for my friend was forgotten until I expressed my disappointment to the manager at the hostess stand; she did bring it when we were ready to leave and apologized.
Walked in and was surprised by the decor which was on par with many popular NYC restaurants. Coat check was nice and something I don't always find in New York restaurants. My dinner (short rib) was very good as was the wine. I will note that others at my table were disappointed with the trout. Great place to entertain clients and ,if I am ever in the area again, I will certainly come back.
Great tasting menu and artfully crafted cocktails. Seasonally selected farmers market fresh ingredients make for a constantly changing but consistently delicious menu. Awesome decor and great staff. The wagyu steak dish was freaking incredible.
A.Q. might be in a less-than-desired neighborhood, but it's well worth the trip. The decor is very simple and beautiful. You can even dress down to go to dinner (after all, that's the San Francisco way).
The menu is very simple and changes to reflect the season's offerings. The serving sizes are very small, so order a bunch and share family-style. That way you can try out all the dishes without expanding your waist size too much.
Rumor has it that they even have a whiskey tasting room in the basement. If I disappear for a few days, don't call the cops. I'll most likely be at A.Q. tasting whiskey while enjoying all of their desserts.
We were just passing by and decided to stop in for a quick drink, and it turns out that we were in for quite a treat. We sat at the bar and Ethan was our bartender, and I have to say he was one of the best bartenders I've EVER had in my 30 years of drinking. He was so interested in the types of drinks we liked and even created some custom, not-on-the-menu drinks for us that were AMAZING! Not a huge fan of the Mexican Piano because it had a torched bay leaf and I don't smoke, but everything else was fantastic. Didn't try the food, but it looked good and I would totally go back to try it out. The place was packed and reservations are highly recommended. As is AQ.
I wanted a "San Francisco" dinner but didn't want to hit the usual suspects. AQ was newish, and came highly recommended. We were there late summer, so that is the menu and decor we got. Our waiter was great - we didn't really know what to order (we wanted EVERYTHING) so he helped pare the menu down for us and suggested dishes that worked well together, based on our preferences. Then at the end of the meal when we asked him to take a photo of us, he lead us down to the wine cave and snapped a photo of us looking like fat whales. Which we are. I plan to go back every season when I move back to CA!
Delicious meal with the highlights being the Striped Bass on heirloom peppers with a chroizo marmalade and the cucumbers with scallops. As a special treat we had the Pappy Van Winkle 23yr old which has to be one of the smoothest bourbons I have ever had. This is a sit and enjoy your meal restaurant so don't go if you are in a rush.
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