Bar Jules

CLOSED? Not surprised.
This is such an overdue review by the way. I came here like ages ago, but I still remember quite clearly about why I was never a fan of them.
Sure, they practice eco-​friendliness and local-​farm gestures on their menus, but come to think of it, many places in the city now do, and they are far better than this place. The downside about Bar Jules is that they priced their dishes too highly given the excuse that they practice slow food and farmed products. But, it got ridiculous when you spent $ 50 for two people for lunch that doesn’t even make you full.
I remembered a horrible vegetarian grain dish that costed us $ 16. Then a virgin-​cocktail drink that costed almost $ 6. Something else I forgot. Portions are too small for the price. I know quantity isn’t always quality, but there was not a pinch of quality in any of their dishes to start with anyway.
I hope they close to improve on themselves then re-​open with a new name to serve better.

This is an excellent place! If you cannot afford to go here then don’t! To give a place 3 stars because it’s expensive is ludicrous. The portions are also normal. This is not Denny’s! Great fresh food and professional service is what defines this restaurant.

The service was very attentive and the food was great but tiny in portion. It’s quite expensive for brunch. Too bad they are closing after April 5 Easter Sunday.

This is my favorite restaurant in SF. Many times we love to sit at the bar and watch the cooks making some of the most interesting dishes of any restaurant. Hayes Valley is a fun area of SF to visit.
I give this restaurant my highest recommendation

I had been wanting to try to this place for quite some time, and really wanted to like this place. I have to say I was disappointed. I stopped by for brunch, and ordered their lamb special. When it came out, I actually caught myself laughing out loud. The lamb was was ridiculously small. Like, two-bites-I’m-finished small.
This wouldn’t be a big deal, but it was fairly average in taste, and the bean salad it was resting on lacked any real flavor. On top of it all, this dish cost almost $ 20. I was still hungry afterwards so I went down the street to the convenience store to buy something else. So with the tip and the extra food I bought at the convenience store, I had a $ 30 mediocre brunch.
As with most people on Unilocal,I don’t mind paying extra for something good. But this dish left neither my taste buds or belly satisfied.

Bar Jules is super yummy down to the olive oil they serve with the delicious homemade bread! It’s even pretty vegetarian-​friendly, especially if you have a lovely server like Virginia. She was the absolute best, making sure that every aspect of my meal was 111% perfect without being pretentious or overbearing. BJ serves freshly bought food and changes their menu every day. How badass is that? Another thing I liked about Virginia and BJ is that they let you take your time eating and enjoying the food. There’s no rush or hurry, though the service is quite attentive. Definitely put BJ on your food radar!

Wow! This place was really yummy! I went with my boyfriend’s mom for a nice dinner. She ordered the beet salad, I got the celery root soup. We both ordered wine. We were served promptly and our waitress was super polite and they frequently refilled our sparkling water. We both got the burgers with cheese and bacon. The «little salad» was super yummy and the burger was the best I’ve had. I then ordered the Chocolate nemesis for dessert, which was one of the best flour-​less chocolate cakes I’ve had. Very subtle thin layer of crispy crust. It had a very romantic lighting, dim and lots of candles. The only major downside was how loud it was. Have to try this place for brunch next time!

I have eaten at this restaurant a number of times, lunch and dinner.
Setting: Casual café style, with a counter and an open kitchen.
Staff: Very professional.
Menu: Changes daily. Rather limited.
Food portions: Good, but could be a little more generous.
Food ingredients: Top to the line.
Food prices: Very high for the setting, but probably appropriate given the location. Last visit, with three diners, we had two chanterelle risottos, smallish non-​main– course portions; one Petrale Sole main course; one glass of white wine; and a dessert. Bill came to $ 115 with tax, tip and healthcare charge.
Wine: Seved in a very inappropriate smallish goblet-​style glass. Really awful way to drink a $ 15 glass of wine.
Conclusion: Generally like the food, although not always. Find the prices to be high. I respect the concept and the decision of the owners to charge whatever the market will bear. I would generally recommend this restaurant with consideration to above comments.

This is my favorite little haunt in San Francisco, and for San Francisco, a foodie town, that is saying something! For me it’s the perfect balance of food, atmosphere, and service.
Let’s start with the food. I’ve never seen or met the chef, Jessica Boncutter, but every time I come I feel like I am in the home of a very good friend who knows my taste buds and preferences inside and out. I think if there are less than stellar reviews in some cases it’s because the menu changes every evening, and for those who prefer lots of choices and a less daring approach, this may prove too risky.
That would not be me. I love the fact when I go, I don’t know what’s going to be on the menu, but inevitably there is something that clicks. The entrees are not cheap but they are not skimpy scaled-​back minimalist portions, but large enough to share. For two, it’s plenty to share two appetizers and one entrée in most cases.
Atmosphere: There is usually no wait at the bar without reservation and with reservation they are usually not overbooked to the point they are trying to usher you out the door to squeeze in the next party. My theory is that because of its name (is it a bar?) and slightly ‘above’ the beaten path location on Hayes, people underestimate or overlook it. This and the subtle lighting and understated décor give you the feeling you’ve discovered a charming little gem that you might want to keep to yourself. (Unlike me!) I see that some reviewers have mentioned the noise level, but I think they may have addressed it because the restaurant was full and it was not a problem for us.
Service: Finally, the staff is super-​friendly, and accommodating, and Emily, who was our waitress my last visit, treated us to dessert (Chocolate Nemesis) just because. Nice!

Very average and mostly bland food. Unreasonable prices. ($ 16 for a blah scramble at brunch.) Self absorbed waiter who didn’t check with us once, and then dispatched a wrong check at the end. I will not be back.

It feels like a university town eatery, but with better food. Read my friend Liz S.’ review as she aptly sums up my sentiment about this Hayes Valley gem.

Food is great, well, the entrees I had anyways. I got the burger (with bacon) and I tried the hanger steak and eggs with my cousin. While they both tasted great, the portions were a little sparse for the price. Not fond of the side salads that everyone seems to be so fond of, or we were unlucky and had some wilted, watery leafs. Menu is on the boards, very inconvenient to look at when its crowded, and tack on the trouble to decipher some of the words written in cursive. It might overwhelm you as there are two menus in different sides of the walls, but its possible they were the same? Service is a little hard to reach despite this being a small joint. Decent place but nothing spectacular in particular.

Without a doubt the food here is stupendous even at their price point, but I can’t give any more than three stars and almost gave it just two because the atmosphere is just terrible. It is so incredibly loud in there and I know the owner is aware of it and has her own concerns but nothing has been done. There are so many reflective surfaces and with so many people packed in such a small space you basically have to yell at your dinner mate to have any sort of conversation. There are things that could be done, they make attractive acoustic tiles now, they could opt for fabric wall hangings to help absorb sound rather than paintings, but nothing has been done and ultimately the noise distracts from the very appealing food. If you’re lucky you go on a warm night and can just eat outside.
I appreciate that they change their menu on the regular, I can’t list how many restaurants I’ve wound down on patronizing just because I got bored with the same old menu.
I’ve never had a problem with service as others have mentioned, but I’ve always gone with a regular/​friend of the owner so who knows what would happen if I attended alone. Ultimately they have their atmosphere issues to take care of before this place can really be top notch.

Excellent service, huge wine selection, and what might be the best burger in SF. Manu is always changing, but everything is amazing.

Came here today with my girlfriend. Food was good and ambiance was nice. One waiter working which is all they need for such a small place. Two person team in the kitchen.
Why the bad review?
Paid in cash, but my change never found its way back to my table
Who was this Waitress criminal? ~ the fashionable, dirty blonde, red lipstick, not so easy on the eyes girl with the scowl mask.

Had a great brunch here today! Wasn’t too busy either which is amazing for this city… don’t know if it was just today but there wasn’t even a line — and the food was awesome.
The menu changes daily but it has enough variety that everyone can find something. I had the scrambled eggs with parm and fava beans that was served with salmon and toast — salmon could have been maybe warm or more incorporated into the dish but was tasty nonetheless. My friend had the poached eggs with asparagus and morels on toast — very very good! Gotta love morels… We also couldn’t resist the look of the griddle cakes which were so amazing! Had a nice crisp outside with a soft inside.
Would definitely recommend and go back here :)

My sister took me here on a recent trip to SF. We stopped in for lunch. We arrived toward the later part of the afternoon so around 2:00pm on Sunday. I wanted to order their soup but they already ran out for the day so be sure to go early if you want their soup!
We ordered their Grassfed Beef Burger to split. It’s one of the best burgers that I’ve ever had! Thick and juicy and just perfect!
Definitely going to make this a stop again next time I’m up in SF. Good food and just a nice environment to sit and relax and enjoy the afternoon!

A very delicious lunch — I began with the turnip potato soup that maintained a great balance of spice and flavour and joined that with the grass fed beef burger. The prosecco was a recommendation by the amazing server.
Josh delivered impeccable service — and paired with the boutique seasonal based selections, provided a very world class dining experience.
I’ve discovered my favourite best kept secret and look forward to discovering everything this smart designed establishment has to offer :)
Thanks Bar Jules!

This place started off as promising but ended up being pretty disappointing. They were very nice and let us make a reservation for 5 ppl when they usually only do reservations for 6 or more. They also let us move our reservation a half hour later when our friends were running late. The place itself is also very cute and sunny.
It was all downhill after we were seated, however. We ordered coffee and regretted it after the first sip — so bitter! We even tried to improve it with sugar and cream but there was no way to fix it.
The menu on the wall is pretty limited and all the items are pricey. My friend and I got the fusilli pasta with crab and peas but there were no peas! My friend that arrived later also ordered the dish and there were magically peas in his, so I’m not sure what happened to ours. It was decent but not worth the $ 20 price tag. I also tried some of my friends chicken sandwich and the bread was soaked in grease. So unappetizing!
Bar Jules is cute and friendly but I will definitely not be coming back.

I had heard such good things about Bar Jules and though the food was good, it wasn’t remarkable in any way with the exception of the dessert we had. The meal wasn’t worth the nearly $ 200 after the tip for both people.
Almost $ 200 got us :
1 pumpkin soup (more like a chicken soup with farro and chunks of pumpkin), eh
1 wild mushroom risotto — good but not great
1 braised lamb shank that was tender enough but should have braised about an hour or two longer as it was still slightly too firm
1 rock cod with english peas and baby carrots — also good but not great.
4 glasses of decent white burgundy in very small glasses ($ 50 total)
1 lemon tart — excellent
Everything is fresh, everything nicely cooked and the ambience is charming (though the wood bench seats along the wall and window are ass and back killers — definitely not for luxuriating), but beyond the exceptional lemon tart dessert, nothing else we had felt inspired or special. Most of it was pretty forgettable. On the whole it’s good, clean, simple food, but just average for the prices being charged, and ultimately I’d rather take my $ 200 elsewhere, or cook at home where I, and most of America, could replicate this meal half blind. I’d stop in for a glass of wine and a salad for lunch sometime, but wouldn’t go out of my way to spend an evening here again or recommend it to friends. In S.F. there are just too many great restaurants that can make $ 200 for two a more interesting and special evening.

Ate here with a group of friends for a holiday dinner. A cool neighborhood restaurant with a counter and open kitchen in a hip area of San Francisco. You will see fresh organic vegetables and meat/​seafood dishes with influence of California cuisine. Staff is very friendly and welcoming.
Reservations are a must because it’s both small and popular. Bar Jules has a cozy dining room, friendly service, casual menu, and simple dishes. The menu highlights seasonal ingredients, so it changes regularly, which is why you just look at the chalkboard for the day’s plates instead of a printed menu. Menu changes everyday if I’m not mistaken because I wanted the steak tartare I kept reading about but alas it wasn’t on the menu.
We tried the salmon, roasted chicken, and pulled pork that night. Food was good nothing exceptional though. Presentation was pretty but I was still hungry after dinner. It’s a fun and inviting place for a small group of friends amidst the charming vibe of Hayes Valley.

The food here was really good but the service was just ok which affected my overall experience. Our waitress was nice but didn’t offer too much help. We wanted to order a starter but she was off before we could mention that and we ordered steak but was never asked how we liked it prepared. Luckily it came our perfectly and was really tasty. The dessert was my favorite part of the meal as I had the lemon panna cotta and it was a mazing!
I’d come back to try some of the other items as Bar Jules is a cool spot in a great neighborhood.

3.5 stars.
Came here for dinner this past Saturday night around 8:15pm. There was a bit of a wait, so we walked around the neighborhood for a bit, and when we got back, there was still a wait, so we sat outside at one of those little pink tables to chat. While we were outside, the hostess came out and gave us two complimentary glasses of champagne. Yay bubbly! That was a very nice gesture, really appreciated that.
I think we were finally seated a bit after 9pm. Sat at the bar, which gave a nice view of the chefs cooking. Our nice, hipster waiter, perfectly outfitted in those glasses and a plaid shirt, was pretty friendly. They didn’t have a lot of things on the menu that night, including the mussels, which I had wanted to try, but I guess that’s because it was a busy Saturday night? And probably also because their menu changes every day, and they’re using fresh produce and meats, so they probably just use up their entire supply every night.
Anyway, started out with the butter lettuce salad, which was fresh and yummy. It came with some thin slices of apple and tasty cheese. Very well put together and cleansing, I liked it. Then we ordered the 1) pork leg stuffed with fennel and chile, with potatoes, braised cabbage and baby carrots and 2) the wood grilled hangar steak with wild mushroom risotto. I liked the pork, but it was a tad bit dry. All the accompaniments were quite tasty, though! The hangar steak was pretty good, but it was more on the rare side and we had ordered it medium-​rare. The wild mushroom risotto was fantastic, loved every bite of that! As for both dishes, they were alright — the sides on the plates were much better than the mains. We also ordered a glass of wine each, and I enjoyed my glass of red. Earthy, yum.
We also split a slice of that chocolate cake, which was dense and awesome. Probably my favorite part of the meal, after the mushroom risotto, and that’s saying quite a lot because I generally don’t like desserts!
I noticed that it took them quite a while to cook our meal; I usually don’t notice that too much, unless it takes longer than normal, and here it did, so it stood out to me.
Overall, I liked the service (nice touch with the comped bubbly), and everyone was very friendly, which always adds to any dining experience. The space was nice, pretty casual and chill. The dishes were good but not mind-​blowing, so I’d consider coming back here if I saw something else on the menu that enticed me, but it’s also one of those places that can really add up price-​wise if you have an entire meal with all the courses and some drinks. I think it’s more expensive than it should be, and the main entrees were fairly good but not crazy amazing, so that’s where it loses some stars.
Generally, A-​ok, in Unilocal terms.

Bar Jules is a tiny little neighborhood restaurant. The night’s innovative menu is concocted of fresh local foods is charmingly scrawled on a chalk board every night. There are about a dozen small tables tightly packed into a louder than expected space but beautifully done space. It’s busy and fun and you’ll feel like you’re in Europe.
The service is totally first class despite the small space. They know how to take care of their customers and take the time to answer questions and help make selections. There’s always a vegetarian plate available though not necessarily on the board. Everything I’ve ever eaten here has been exquisitely delicious. The presentation is gorgeous and you’ll savor every bite.
There are fantastic people watching opportunities out the picture windows facing Hayes or in the restaurant itself. And despite it being busy, you’ll find yourself feeling relaxed and wanting to linger for dessert.
Things to note: It’s very loud and at peak hours can be difficult to talk. It’s so small that at certain hours you probably won’t get a table. After the rush, you can get a table but they’ll be out of most of the food. In other words, go early and beat the rush.