Farallon

I am struggling with this review. The restaurant was highly recommended. We had a reservation and were seated right away. The man I am assuming was the maitre de asked us what we wanted to drink. We told him water and we wanted to order wine, and asked for black napkins as we were wearing black. We waited quite some time for water. The sommelier, who was very knowledgeable, came over to tell us about the wines. We asked our waiter what he recommended and we did choose a couple of those. We chose the dry scallops and bone marrow with sea urchin apps. The dry scallops were sitting on something that looked and tasted like mud. Awful. The bread was not good, it was hard. They did something pretty with the butter, but the bread was so bad. For our main courses we chose scallops with green curry and sable fish. I liked the green curry dish a lot. It had a lovely bite to it, and the scallops were cooked to perfection, as well as the shrimp and sticky rice. The sablefish needed salt overall, but the items were cooked well. So the negatives to this restaurant was service. Why do we have to ask for water repeatedly? The whole napkin thing, they just handed us the black napkins. I’ve been in restaurants half as expensive that would automatically know if you are wearing black you need a black napkin and then place it in your lap. Then after I filled out the tip (generous) and wrote a note that we should not have to ask for water, and signed the $ 300 bill… the waiter picked it up! Service 101! Tacky. They apparently read the small note and started filling our water constantly. Awkward. The only person who spent 2 minutes with us was the sommelier, and on reflection, he could run a reality show called the jaded sommelier. The rest were distant, aloof, my daughter is reading over my shoulder and said snobby. As we were leaving there were a group of young people chatting at the hostess stand. They stopped ever so briefly to look at us, but said nothing. By comparison, other restaurants at every other meal we had besides Chinatown, which is a cultural difference, said ‘thank you ladies’ and ‘have a great evening’ etc. I stopped and asked the young man up front who the manager was. I planned on maybe sending an email to tell him of our experience. Much to my surprise he said he was the manager. That actually made me quite angry. You turned and looked at me, and instead of saying ‘Thank you for dining with us’, you dismiss me? I gave him a bit of a what for. I wouldn’t go back. I hate that that was our last meal on this trip to SF! If we wanted brusque service we could go to Chinatown and spend a fraction of what we spent here and had what we know is fabulous food. I do nor recommend this place at all. I know my expectations were very high. The more I am spending the more I expect service wise. The three stars is food, so there you go.

Really good never had a bad meal here the menu is great and diverse the freshest oysters and great clams the Sea Bass was the best I ever had

It seems like nearly everyone I spoke to at the conference I attended this week ate here. My experience was slightly different as I was part of a group in a private room and limited menu but I really enjoyed the meal. I ordered the fish, which was tasty. I also sampled the steak but didn’t think it was anything special. Service was very attentive– they filled our wine glasses like water, literally, if I had a quarter glass of wine left they would top it off.
My meal was good and I enjoyed my experience here.

The restaurant setting is very unique and nice. Roomy sitting and not too close with other table. The royal platter of seafood was great except for the baby scallops that were very fishy. Caviar is excellent but serving them with blinnies would have been much better than the brioche. The bone marrow with crab was delicious and rich. We didn’t like the octopus carpaccio it was very blend and didn’t have a wow factor to it. The scallop sashimi was good but I think that the dry chili flakes over powered the scallop taste.
Our waitress was very kind and friendly and the staff overall were very polite.

Farallon may possibly have the worst valet service I’ve experienced. One valet guy and many hangry customers with their double-​parked along Post St, just one block away from the busy Union Square, calls for a disaster. Already running late for a holiday dinner in December of last year, we saved ourselves the trouble and parked in the public parking lot below Union Square. But aside from that issue which initially ruined the night, my dining experience at Farallon was quite pleasant.
The holiday party was held in the Beluga Room, which was spacious enough for a party of ~70 people plus a DJ station. The undersea themed room was fitting for Farallon, with walls painted with all imaginable sea creatures and their famous jellyfish lamps immediately outside the room.
Private functions held in Farallon’s private dining rooms have a set menu. We had two options to choose from for first course, entrée, and dessert. As Farallon’s specialty is seafood, I stuck with the fish options.
Hawaiian kona kampachi with radish, arugula, and almonds (first course) — The fish was delicious, light and fresh with a peppered crust, but the arugula was overpoweringly bitter and I wasn’t too fond of radish flavor either.
Cast iron roasted sea bass with potato purée, pancetta, and pomegranate reduction (entrée) — The sea bass was very moist and well-​seasoned, and the skin delicious and crunchy. The potato purée was very smooth and creamy, and the pomegranate reduction added a bit of sweet and tart notes to the dish. I was very pleased with this dish and highly recommend it.
Marzipan galette with pear sorbet, almond brittle, and pomegranate (dessert) — This was very light and enjoyable. The pear flavor was distinct and refreshing in the sorbet. The galette was flaky and the pear butter marzipan filling was good, yet not too overpowering with almond.
Overall, the dinner service was good and well-​timed in between the courses, and the open bar staff and waiters were friendly. The food was delicious, but overpriced. But you dine at Farallon for the undersea décor anyway. Just take into account the traffic time if driving here, especially on the weekend.

After reading so many great reviews on this place I was some what let down. The interior of this place is beautiful. Staff was friendly service was slow even after we asked them to pick up the pace. Almost every item Unilocaled about it no longer in the menu. Our dishes were good but nothing to rave about. Not sure if we will be back

Review only for happy hour at bar
Health Score — 98 —
Food — 4 stars — happy hour oysters (6 for $ 7) were fresh and delicious. House made hot sauce was a winner as well. HH Wine selection was decent too.
Service — 4 stars — bar folks were pleasant and attentive.
Ambiance — 3 stars — good central location to downtown. Décor made me think of Disney’s the little Mermaid or 20,000 leagues under the sea meets art deco. Cute but campy.
Overall Guide
5 Stars — have already made next RSVP
4 Stars — definitely returning
3 stars — would return but not first choice
2 stars — would only return if friends insisted
1 star — nope

Alas, the great Farallon has fallen!
Party of 9 reserved for my birthday. The food was very inconsistent. Dismal even. Oysters good, caviar mediocre. Other fruits de mer (despite the gorgeous presentation) lacking, sadly.
FIVE entrees sent back for being raw, cold, or worse. We don’t do that! It was embarrassing– I think everyone was cynical and it was so late into the night at this point
BUT Service was great, (aside from being seated over an hour late). Really nice hostess, servers, busser, sommelier, maybe manager?
They were very gracious about taking back the food. They offered (we accepted) after dinner drinks on the house. So one star for the most beautiful restaurant in SF, one for service. $$$$ for perilously bad food on a Saturday! So unfortunate.
I need to find a new place for special occasions.

I just had dinner last night at Farallon with 3 other girlfriends to celebrate our friend’s birthday. I had picked Farallon for the occasion as we were staying nearby at the Clift and the birthday girl loves seafood. Prior to last night’s dinner I had visited Farallon once, however, only for happy hour. Remembering the beautiful décor, I had been wanting to return.
For dinner we shared (2) bottles of white Argentinian wine which was excellent — Alvarinho, Casa do Valle, Vinho Verde, Portugal 2014 at $ 38/​bottle. Their wine list is very extensive and ranges from bottles at around $ 35 and up. Score! A nice restaurant with decent priced wines.
For dinner I had the Green Curry — last night’s version had a stick rice, Dungeness crab, prawns, and scallops. Absolutely delicious. Enough said.
Overall, great experience. Good service, beautiful atmosphere and great food.

I love this place: the decoration is amazing and so original !
I particularly like the happy hour at the bar: very good oysters and cocktails :-)
I recommend !

My husband and I decided to come here since we were craving for surf & turf. The reviews seemed mixed bag, but thought we give it a try and make our own judgement.
Bottom line I’m giving a one star for these reasons:
*The cocktails came 25 minutes late; it was nothing to brag about
*Had a dozen oysters but where was the horseradish, and tabasco sauce? It only came with champagne vinegar with herbs? Eewwww.
*Our main waiter never bothered to check up on us. Why. because we look young & didn’t deserve equal treatment as other hoity toity folks? We both were impeccably dressed.
*Water glass was filled after we finished our water. Why do we have to wait until we finished our water? I can understand the water shortages in Calif., but seriously!
*The Mains were disappointing. Lobster was masked with too much bearnaise sauce and it was overcooked. The dish looked like it had a lot of lobster meat. However, the lobster shells disguised it where it made you think you had a lot on the plate.
*Desert — Very disappointing. Can’t say much about their homemade sorbet and lackluster carrot cake. Cake tasted like wholewheat masked with icing. Never had carrot cake that tasted dry.
*WARNING: DO NOT USE THEIR VALET SERVICE. THEY DINGED OUR BMW REAR RIM. CALLED THE RESTAURANT AND THEY ABSOLVED THEMSELVES. SO NOW WE HAVE TO CONTACT THE VALET COMPANY AND DEAL WITH IT.
***ONE STAR FOR WASTING $ 400 DINNER ACCOMPANIED BY A CURB RASHED-​RIM WHICH WILL COST $ 500++.

Was going to give it 3 stars, but…
Wife and I came here as our diet’s over reward. We pulled up out front, handed the keys to the valet and went to enjoy the evening.
Cocktails were slow coming. Bad start. I liked mine and she liked hers. I didn’t like hers, and she didn’t like mine. That’s ok.
6 oysters. They came with a champagne vinegar only. We had to ask for horseradish and tabasco.
We had the egg drop soup and sturgeon for appies. Each of us liked one of them.
We shared the lobster and the fillet (i.e. make your own surf and turf). Fillet was fine. Lobster was doused with bernaise sauce, so much so, that you could hardly taste the lobster (or tell that it was overcooked).
Desert (carrot cake) was so healthy-​tasting it felt like it came from Whole Foods. We didn’t come here for that; we go to Whole Foods when we want it to taste healthy.
The bill was just over $ 350 with an 18% tip.
The next morning we noticed the valet had curb-​rashed ¹⁄₃ of the rear rim. I called the restaurant to report this. They didn’t return my call. I called again a day later. They gave me the phone number of the valet company they «contract out». So now it’s my problem.
So now this 1 star review is their problem.

I came here a few years ago and it was amazing! The tuna sashimi was so tender it felt like we were eating air. The service was also top notch. We went to Pinot Days at the Metreon and walked to Farallon afterwards with a group of 8 people on our reservation.
The service was solid again but something seemed to be different this time. The dishes seemed a lot smaller overall and the food, although good and made well, didn’t live up to the super high price. I know this is in a tourist area so maybe that is it but it seemed like a VERY expensive meal for what we got. If I’m paying 50 dollars for a steak, I would like a slice with a certain proportion.
I always try and not ding a restaurant simply because a waiter was slow or if a dish was not as hot as I would like it. I understand it’s tough to be 100% all the time BUT, I will speak up if a policy set by the owners affects my experience.
One other thing that bugged us is that we had 5 bottles of wine for the large group and when we sat down we were told we could only bring in two of our own bottles. Even if we paid corkage on them, they would only allow us two bottles thereby forcing us to buy their marked up wine.
Not a great experience and i likely won’t be back as there are so many options these days.

We wanted a good meal… celebrating our anniversary… and wanted to try something new.
So glad we found this new favorite.
We split the crab rissotto. Oh my… wanted to order another one but had already ordered our entrees!
We also split the tuna/​scallop appetizer and I had the tuna entrée.
Hubby got the beef tartare.
And it being our anniversary we shared three desserts… carrot cake whoopie pie (not your average carrot cake!!), cheescake, and toffee cake with dates.
Over the top fabulous.
Would order the exact same things next time… well maybe one extra dessert.
Service was also excellent… we will be back before our next anniversary!!!

My all time favorite restaurant is Farallon. I highly recommend. We have been coming to Farallon restaurant since it opened in 1997. Yes that’s right … a really long time but never disappoint us. My husband and I don’t have dinner at Farallon
as often as previous years but now we try to make it at least once a year for my birthday weekend. This place is great not just the food but the décor is breath taking. They have a pretty awesome extensive wine list. We had our dinner paired with wine. Dinner was amazing last night! No complaints here.
The staff is wonderful and as always we were greeted immediately. Thanks to all the staff and a special thanks to the awesome Executive Chef Ryan Simas for always taking care of us and making my birthday celebration another awesome experience. Farallon restaurant is great for any special occasion or simply just enjoying an excellent meal.

My hubby were strolling along to Union Square and decided to pop in. We had heard this was a great seafood spot and noticed it was still happy hour (awesome for holding happy hour daily and until 630!!) so we popped in. We sat at the raw bar and were greeted immediately. The server was extremely nice and fast and overall the service was excellent. We ordered a dozen oysters and it was only $ 14 and two cocktails also only $ 7 each. Such a fun and delicious happy hour. Quick, tasty, and didn’t rob the bank! We will back to try more soon!

Once again Farallon came through! Food is just too good here, and the **real MVP** once again goes to all of the fantastic servers who helped us out during the night. Special shout-​out goes to Farallon for:
1) Carrying and storing my awkwardly large duffle at bag check and then dropping my luggage in my cab as I was leaving
2) Keeping me on-​time to make my 6:59 PM Caltrain even though we sat down around 5 PM and ate a ton of food, but because our waiter hit that *double-​time* for us I was able to be about that Weekend #BabyBulletLife

This was a great place for seafood although the prices were a little high but they had a great happy hour. This place is located in Union Square. We dined here before going to see a play.
Most of the drinks and plates were $ 7 for Happy Hour. Happy hour was a little crowded though and it was hard to get a table. Luckily we had reservations for dinner and were seated at the bar to enjoy discounted HH. We enjoyed some champagne, seafood bisque, and raw oysters on the happy hour menu. The service at the bar was much quicker than trying to wait for a server during happy hour to get to you. The bisque was well prepared and smooth in texture with a nice rich flavor profile. The oysters were a little small but delicious. I tried a few different types including the Drakes (on HH $ 1 AN OYSTER), Blue point $ 3.75 each, and Kusshi $ 3.75/each.
We arrived a little early to our reservation so they seated us at 5:30pm. Our waiter David was very friendly and offered up suggestions for what to order. We tried the ½ chilled Maine lobster which comes with Lemon Aioli, Avocado Mousse and Salsa. All three of the sauces paired nicely with the lobster but the Avocado Mousse was by far my favorite. It was creamy and smooth with a little spice. The lobster comes de-​shelled from the tail and the claws are cracked so not much work for delicious meat which I appreciated. The cost was $ 24.
For our main entrees we tried the Ono with fennel and Shallots and the Arctic char on top of smoked bacon, cauliflower purée and brussel sprouts. The Arctic Char was perfectly seasoned and perfectly cooked. I did ask for it to be more medium than medium rare though. All fish is cooked medium rare here unless otherwise specified. We also tried the lemon hair pasta which was a special. It was nothing special but the flavor profiles were nice.
For dessert I had the Éclair– presentation was beautiful with the choc curls. The dessert was nothing special although it was good and had the right components to make a well thought out dessert.
For two people with drinks we spent about $ 196 for 2 glasses of champagne, seafood bisque, oysters, lobster app, 2 fish entrees, side of pasta dessert and a bottle of sparkling water.
The presentation on all of our dishes was on par with the prices and quality of seafood we received. The plating was beautiful and well though out. I will for sure be returning the next time Im in Union Square.

Haven’t eaten at Farallon for awhile and I’m afraid things have changed but not for the better. This is my 2^nd poor dining experience recently at a prior «favorite» restaurant and I don’t like the trend.
My GF and I were seated in an odd alcove in the main dining area surrounded by large tables. This was fine until those tables were filled, after which the noise in the dining room became almost deafening when combined w/​the noise coming from the kitchen. My GF and I were able to carry on a conversation w/​o shouting but the noise coming from throughout the room was distracting and not conducive to an intimate setting. I prefer to be seated in the balcony over lobby, which is much quieter, but it was not open this evening.
The other problem w/​the table we got was that our waiter also had to serve several other large tables near us — I counted 2 tables of 8 each — which understandably distracted him from taking care of us. We were not ignored but because our waiter was almost always busy elsewhere we were served by a variety of other servers that reminded me of a wrestling tag team. Our water and champagne glasses were constantly filled but it was amusing to see who would be doing the job next.
As for the food it was a huge disappointment, which was a first for me. My GF wasn’t hungry and only ordered a kampachi sushi and a lobster salad. Those dishes were ok but the portions were so small that it wasn’t even filling for her. The portions were so small that I would have thought that I was eating at the old Michael Minna at the St Francis but for the noise and the less than elegant plating of the food.
I ordered the scallops for an appetizer and the snapper filet for the entrée. The scallops looked good but they were WAY to salty. Didn’t want to make a fuss and ate them anyway. The snapper was also WAY too salty and also had a vinegar dressing in the dish which was as startling as it was unappetizing. The dish also had a mound of finely chopped mushrooms on it which I had to dissect in order to figure out what it was. My GF liked it but I found it tasteless and incompatible w/​the fish. For desert we shared some sorbet which was ok.
The final amusement of the evening came when we were about done and our original server mysteriously appeared and then tried to fill our glasses w/​some wine belonging to an adjoining table. We were having champagne and the champagne glasses were still on the table but he still tried to pour a regular white wine in them anyway. He should have known the difference on sight. Stopped him in time.
Not sure what to make of this experience. Maybe it was just a bad night but at the price of $ 250 for a modest dinner for 2, I’m not inclined to give them a 2^nd chance. $ 200 dinners like $ 200 theater tickets unfortunately are the norm now but my expectations for dining and entertainment at these prices are now also much higher and, at least based on this experience, Farallon unfortunately longer meets mine.

4 stars for service, 3 stars for cocktails, 2 stars for food.
I often stay at the Westin nearby and figured I’d stay close to the hotel by checking this place out. No reservations so we sat in the Jellyfish lounge which has beautiful jellyfish-​like light installations. I liked how our server came around many times to take our orders and check on us. We even got bread service twice (carb heaven).
The food left much to be desired. It was pricey and average at best. We had the squid appetizer, lobster roll and sliders. Squid was well cooked, not greasy. Lobster roll was well sized but didn’t taste remarkable. The sliders were the most disappointing since it was two small sliders lukewarm and a paltry amount of fries.
My sense is that this place caters to tourists and business people who have the money for the seafood and raw bar. Such a shame that they can’t follow through with the food quality.

Great service. Great cocktails. Nice wine selection.
Seafood was fresh and delicious. Add good company, couldn’t ask for more!!!

Had business dinner with three of my colleagues. Order the «super deluxe platter» and ordered fish and steak dishes. As with most upscale restaurants, service is first rate. The taste of food is delicious, with just enough flavor to accentuate the Mahi mahi. The tuna was also delicious.
Atmosphere is has good mix of old fashioned charm with touch of contemporary lightening.
The only issue is of value, our 4 entres and large platter came to $ 400 before tip.

Incredible experience from start to finish!
First of all, our server Mark was on top of everything the whole time and Luke the sommelier was awesome!
We enjoyed 3 different French wines during our meal. Bubbles from Taittinger, a Clos De La Rue (Exquisite Chenin Blanc) and a late harvest Muscat.
We couldn’t believe how many different oyster selections they had and the differences in flavor for each region they came from.
My wife’s petrale sole and my branzino were cooked to perfection. They were both lovely paired with the Chenin Blanc. We can’t wait to come back for this experience again.
Make reservations in advance. We were seated immediately and were provided with a really nice table in the back.

I made reservations (which is crucial if you’re ever wanting a table) for a date here; knowing, that the WiFi sucked. It was a very romantic spot for the two of us with absolutely no phone interruptions which has its perks.
THE FOOD–
was amazing, they really pulled-​their-​own so-​to-​speak. The presentation of every dish that came out looked spectacular, and photo ready.
The neighborhood is a little sketchy (I wouldn’t recommend wearing an Alaïa), but the décor of the inside was magnificent! It hasn’t changed since the last time I came. I truly love this restaurant, it’s one of the best Seafood «fancy» restaurants in San francisco that won’t max out your card.

I haven’t dined at Farallon for dinner, but I have been there for their Happy Hour and they have a pretty decent selection of bar bites. When you enter the restaurant, it’s hard to not be amazed at their Disney-​like ‘Under The Sea’ décor (
). For me, it just makes me hungry for some seafood, and if that’s their goal, they’ve succeeded for the most part.
The Happy Hour offerings like most places are offered only at the Bar and Lounge area at the front of the restaurant. Here’s what I had:
$ 6 Sliders w/​Fries for Happy Hour –
$ 6 Half-​dozen Oysters for Happy Hour (2 orders) –
Both are really good deals if you’re looking for a cheap dinner. The best deal is the Sliders w/​Fries. They’re not the best sliders I’ve ever had, but they’re pretty good regardless and the fact that they come with Fries is always a plus. The Oysters were pretty much decent for $ 1 oysters. Still a good deal though, and why wouldn’t you want to have oysters with the underwater décor? It’s brilliant!
So if you’re in the Union Square area and are looking for some cheap eats, I suggest giving Farallon a try during their Happy Hour. I hope to go back there to try their dinner some day. It looks like really solid restaurant!

Das Farallon ist eine Legende. Toller Service und ein phantastisches Essen! Die Weinkarte ist wie immer in Amerika unglaublich groß — und sehr teuer. Hier bekommt man aber einiges für sein Geld geboten.