Fresca

My crab/​avocado sandwich had NO AVOCADO! The excuse given was that «we have
no avocado today». A Mexican sporting event was blasting out on the over-​head
TV screen. So, they won’t see me again. Food and service very amateurish.

The food is good but not great. Was in Peru last year, and found much better quality and variety.
Also the noise level is too high in general. Would have given 4 stars if the quantities were a little larger

Went there for an early dinner. They were very accommodating for a party of 3 and a baby. The wait staff was friendly, quick and helpful with the menu. Everything we ordered was pretty good. The ceviche classic was excellent, if not served exactly like you’re used to. I had seared steak with onions and tomatoes and enjoyed it immensely. The other two in the party had halibut and paella. I tried both and felt they were excellent choices as well. Throw in a couple of drinks, and you have yourself a perfectly enjoyable evening. I would definitely returns to try some of their other offerings.

Maybe I’m just a judgmental asshole. But when I see a Mercedes with 1FRESCA license plate and a handicapped placard. It’s turns me off.
Food and service seemed very amateurish. Not worthy of a return trip

This is a quintessential Now Valley gem!!! Who knew that you could find fine Peruvian food in Noe Valley (on 24^th St)???

What can I say, Fresca’s food is outstanding. Peruvian food made with love and condiments. The chicken is pretty good and it’s offered at a very good price. Ceviches are very delicious, (wish the ceviche portions were bigger) the service is very good too. I like the ambience, also the pisco sours are to die for… Every time I eat in one of the Fresca’s I leave super satisfied and happy with my choice of food.

We got there early on a Saturday night, and the hostess was very kind and seated us in the window. Then we waited for 20 minutes before anyone came to our table. They were not busy at all (it was early) and there were staff people on the floor, so I don’t understand this.
Our drink order was finally taken, and it was another 15 minutes before we were brought any drinks. How long does it take to open a bottle of beer? When it was finally delivered, I asked the waiter to take our food order, since heaven knows when we would have seen him again.
The food was OK. But $ 22 for a plate of rice and french fries with a few pieces of beef (the lomo saltado) was not a good value. Desserts were fine, but it is poor service to deliver things to the table without knowing who ordered them and then asking the diners to sort it out for you.
Then another long wait for the bill, when we were clearly finished and ready to go. We were standing up and could not get anyone to bring us the bill! I would think the management would want to turn over the table on a Saturday night.
And by the time we left, the noise level was uncomfortable. We had to raise our voices to have a conversation.

Ordered Tequenos but had to send it back because it wasn’t warm enough. Waited about 7 mins to get the reheated one, turned out they just REFRIED the dumplings — and it was too creamy, could barely taste the stuffing.
Had to cancel this dish in the end — not impressed…

I must say, one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. We came here for lunch. Lots of things going on in one place. Lively atmosphere… I don’t know if it’s like that all the time but it was a very busy lunch hour.
Service was attentive, the menu had a lot of variety. And the place was clean. I would like to come back and try more options on the menu, but for now… It will remain just a book mark :)

Sunday brunch at Fresca is a treat. Along with the usual Fresca menu of latin-​inspired dishes, a parade of heavenly benedicts and/​or scrambles are available for ordering, along with pitchers of sangria.
Although it’s a Peruvian restaurant, the dishes at Fresca are more clean, modern and fusion-​y rather than hearty and traditional. Still, Fresca makes an excellent ceviche. We got the sampler ceviche, which came with octopus ceviche in black ink, coconut ceviche, and two other scrumptious varieties. Pretty expensive (about $ 30 – 40 for 4 little portions), but really good. Almost as tasty, and definitely less expensive was the stacked smoked salmon benedict, topped with hollandaise sauce, pesto, a perfect jumbo poached egg with a side of fries and fruit.
We went to the Noe Valley location, but it appears there are a few more locations around San Francisco as well. Definitely recommended!

I haven’t been to Fresca in over a year and they have gotten much better! New chef maybe?
Let me start by saying that I’m half Peruvian so my bar is high for this cuisine.
Here we go:
The ceviche was spicy, but perfect. Perfect amount of citrus and beautiful presentation.
The causa sampler was also great! I loved all 3 of them. You could taste all the ingredients and they worked perfectly.
Note: we devoured them before I could take a picture.
The Lomo saltado is good– a little salty, but fine.
The Pescado al lo Macho was very very good! We are every last bit.
Lastly, the bar tender was on point today. The pisco sour was awesome!
I would need to come back and have an equally amazing meal before I believe this was more than luck given my previous meals here.

Tasty Peruvian food, good portions. Like sitting on the sidewalk tables on warm afternoons.

This place is really good. I had the crab wontons and lamb meatballs and it was delicious. The margaritas were excellent as well. It’s a big place and can fit a large group.

Fresca is underrated. Especially this one on 24^th. I’ve been coming here for sometime, both here and the lower Pac Height version, both are good.
Its traditional Peruvian food is great to share, as it’s huge in proportion. Peruvian food was very in in the early ots, for those who could remember. La Mar’s opening in the Embarcadero had made Peruvian food hip, I used to attend their wine pairing chef’s table special, ¹⁰⁄₁₅ years ago, when ceviche was quite an in thing. But I believe Fresca had been on the scene before La Mar’s big entrance, and it has first introduced San Franciscans to Peruvian food, and from that aspect of it, it was more of a pioneer.
On this particular outing, the girlfriends and I were celebrating the holidays. We’ve been friends for nearly 2 decades. Once hip professional Marina and SoMa chicks, always will be, in some ways, I suppose. Because even though time has passed, youth had been preserved in our collective memories. As youth, we liked dining here, and therefore, it holds a special place for us.
For chicken, the stew is very good. Pork shoulder dish is huge and require a mandatory split between two people, that’s for sure. The fried whole fish is spicy and creamy. Pork chops are more continental to me, somehow, and is good if you want to stay off on the sauce.
We always get a few tapas dishes to start, and wine is always good, as are their cocktails.
I don’t understand what makes a restaurant a three or fours on Unilocal.I think this has always been a solid 4. I suspect some of it has to do with how long it’s been around and whether it’s popular among a certain set of clientele. For me, it holds somewhat a sentimental value, more importantly, it holds greater sentimental value with my lady friends. We grew up together, as young 20 somethings, we had gone to every party in the city together, crawled all the bars on Union Street, drank more bloodies than we can count every Sunday morning on Chestnut street, and cried over and over again for those boyfriends who broke our hearts, and yet, here we are, middle aged and more self assured than ever, still gathering in the same spots as we once did, on occasion. But now we are talking about Under Armor undies for the boys, the latest princess obsessions for the girls, and for some of us, middle and high school curriculums for the children who now need to wear deodorants.
Somethings change, somethings don’t. This restaurant is one of the few city stables that still bonds us all.

Welcome to my favorite Fresca location… I finally learned my lesson and asked to move to the back of the restaurant and not get seated near the front windows. Only at this location have I not been frigid and cold.
Sitting in the back, you can sorta see the flames coming out of the kitchen too!
The tiraditos here are spot on and pack a punch with flavor, and the pork shoulder just slides off the bone. Do yourself a favor though and don’t order a side salad as they seem pathetic compared to anything else you can order on the menu.
Also FYI, all the drinks here are on the sweeter side.

Overall pretty good. The steak dish was just ok, the steak was way overcooked.
The paella was very good. Monday night special was $ 1 oysters, good.
The deserts were good. I will definitely come back, I’ll just remember to order the steak medium.

TIP: Go during Happy Hour.
This place is too expensive for me to have lunch here, let alone dinner. That being said, Happy Hour here is the best! Pork sliders are good, quinoa salad is pretty good, a fresh green salad for $ 5 —and the CEVICHE PUERTO is the best I’ve ever tasted. It’s tangy, fresh & spicy– tiny tender Bay scallops, fresh prawns & calamari. I don’t care for onions but these are delicious. And fresh halibut. All for $ 7 between 3 & 6. Also they have late night HH Fri/​Sat 9pm to 11 pm. If you have stayed away because of the prices, the Happy Hour is for you. The service is better as well– less people.

TLDR — Solid spot for a quiet brunch in Noe. Good food but nothing amazing.
Came with a friend for brunch on a Sunday around 10:30am. We made reservations beforehand because well, it’s SF, but it turned out we didn’t need to. The place was completely empty when we got there, which might make it seem like the food’s not good or something, but for someone like me who hates lines and waiting, it was perfect. By the time we left around 11:30, there were a few other people, but it seems like Fresca might be more of a lunch or dinner spot rather than brunch. Good for a quiet brunch though!
My friend ordered the Crab Omelet ($ 16), which he said he enjoyed, while I ordered the Linda Mar Omelet ($ 16), which was tasty but a little heavier than I would’ve liked for an omelet. Both came with potatoes. The Linda Mar didn’t specify so on the menu, so when the waitress brought out my order and I saw the potatoes that I didn’t know I had and that I didn’t want, I asked if I could substitute for a side salad instead. She obliged, probably unhappily and probably annoyed at me. Otherwise, service was rather lacking. The waitress didn’t seem very friendly even before I bothered her about the potatoes, and no one was particularly welcoming in general.
–LINDA MAR OMELET ($ 16) — ⁴⁄₅
[seafood and shellfish open face omelet, «chupe» sauce, jack cheese, avocado]
Pretty solid. The omelet was cooked nicely with the cheese melted inside and was topped with a decent portion of seafood (shrimp, octopus, scallop) and a few slices of avocado. The waitress described the chupe sauce as a tomato sauce, but it reminded me more of a sauce you’d find in a Spanish seafood stew or paella. It was pretty flavorful and light in consistency, but made the omelet pretty heavy because of all the oil in the sauce.

I hadn’t been to Fresca in ages and I think I forgot how solid it is. I wasn’t feeling ceviche so we got the albondigas (lamb meatballs), empanadas and the adodo de chancho (pork shoulder).
The pork shoulder was my standout favorite, though unfortunately I’d already eaten so many appetizers that I barely had room. The pork shoulder was incredibly tender and flavorful. The lamb meatballs were also delicious which were juicy and packed with flavor. The empanadas were okay but I found the empanada «dough» to be a bit on the dry side.
On a Sunday night, it was fairly quiet though most restaurants in Noe are. There was a large (10 – 15) party in the back so I think they can accommodate pretty large groups.

I love this Noe Valley location more than the Pac Heights location because of how spacious yet homey it feels.
Fresca is a solid bottomless brunch spot to spend chatting the afternoon away with a bunch of girlfriends. The food is 3 stars at best, the mimosa quality is 3 stars at best, the ambiance is 5 stars for some boozy afternoon fare and the service is 5 stars. Regardless of not having the most foodgasmic brunch experience here, you’ll definitely have an incredibly fun experience with a surplus of booze and the ability to be loud with your friends. The ambiance is vast enough to allow you to completely be yourself without feeling judged by waiters and fellow patrons.
The actual quality of food is a bit better during dinner though — I recommend the lomo saltado. And the sangria pitchers are fun during dinner as well.
So definitely consider Fresca in Noe for your next bottomless afternoon!
Happy Eating, Unilocalers!

Chicha Madura and ceviche yum!