Lure

Ok Im so behind on reviews the place that took over this has closed also,. And from the sound of it, the current concept is on its way out. Cursed space? I really liked lure. Asian fusion usually fails in being pulled off but the Lure folks I thought did a good job. I went then, with who is now my ex and we had a really good spread of small plates. As fine dining goes in downtown there’s not much going on and there’s now one less in the mix.

Big ups to Chef May for creating some truly well done and balanced dishes without copping out and making things sound trendily fusiony just to cash in. I’m pretty critical of chefs who do fusion just to do fusion. The flavors don’t complement each other terribly well half the time but people eat that ish up cause it’s «exotic»
my cod with ox tail was well done with the consommé and brandy really adding an interesting bite. The guinea hen was a good sort of savory and though some bites were slightly dry on the roasted portion it was still well done. Pork chops were very moist
if you go this fall get the autumn mushroom pot pie, when she says it has the flavors of autumn she really means it.
the dessert was some sort of fudge thing that was really intensely sweet. split it with several people or your teeth will fall out. they might still fall out. i’m just sayin

First time here was a great experience.
Got a table with no reservation and were seated right away
Prix Fix Menu very reasonable $ 32
Ling Cod-​delicious, flavourful and moist
Salads are very large
Tempura apetizer-​delicious
Chocolate espresso terrine dessert-​decadent
Sticky toffee bread pudding also decadent and very very sweet
The chef has a great attention to detail. She seasons her food very well. Some who may not like salt as much as I do, might not enjoy every bite like I did.
Only small negative was two servers… very snobbish and not warm at all. Wee bit uptight.
I will definitely return for more delicious seafood creations.
***I am so sad that LURE has closed. Does anyone know where the chef is now?***

Great salad, mussels were plump and juicy (like Plouf’s in the the city).
Service was attentive. Fish and Chip special was overbatterred, but tasty. Desset, basically miny eclaires was fair

This is one of those places that should be great, but something is amiss. I’ve been a few times and will probably give it another chance, because it isn’t a bad place.
The service is good, but sometimes the way the servers and host interact with you seems superficial — as if they want to behave as normal human beings but someone told them to act cheerily pretentious.
It’s pretty small, so don’t go with a group much larger than four — especially if you’re claustrophobic. I sat at a table for two and felt like I was sitting in my friend’s lap.
The décor is nice — dark tones with lots of silver accents and very low light (maybe to distract your growling stomach from the small portions).
All that being said, the food was good and I’ve enjoyed myself every time I’ve been there.

I came here about 3 months ago randomly on a weeknight, after hearing from a friend that it’s good.
Maybe it was what I ordered. but it wasn’t great. Their hamachi appetizer with orange slices and some unknown sauce was ok. but I don’t know. The texture was good, but the ingredients overwhelmed the flavor of the fish.
Duck? Never again. Dry, small, bland.
Yes the 3-​course prix-​fixe is cheap. but just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean you should put such an uninspired, bland dish on it. I just did not think it was worth the price.

You’d pass by a hundred times and never know its there. But you’d be missing out.
Its a small upscale trendy place with pretty high prices but pretty effin good food. Been there twice — maybe thrice… And everytime I got the green curry mussels appetizer — holy carp! — so good. Lil salty after 2 gallons — but dag yo — so good.
They tend to start you off with a little free taster from the chef — always something interesting and tasty. Menu is limited but everything we’ve had is great.
Menu changes but the monkfish was great and the trout was amazing.
Its a good time and a 5 min walk to the movies or billiards or wutevers. Go there for sure, but bring ur wallet — you’ll spend $ 60 per person easy if u get beverages…

*UPDATE* Lure is out of business. Alas.
Wow. We stumbled onto this place on Unilocal looking for a nice evening out without the kid, and the reviews made it look good. Once in the place we we *blown away*. It’s a small, fairly dark modern space that is a joy to look at, from the black furniture and the walls (one red backlit panels, one white sandy waves) to the small elegant bar and the kitchen enclosed in frosted glass (the sliding door alone is a jewel).
Everything we ordered was delicious: the fig salad with burrata, the steamed mussels (what gives it the ‘bite’ besides the ginger?), the salmon cooked just perfect, the monkfish wonderful, and two excellent desserts: ginger crème brûlée (the day’s special) and a pavlova with fresh fruit and english cream.
I was initially going to subtract a point for our somewhat over-​attentive perfectionist waiter, but his attention paid off, he knew the menu well, and my wife enjoyed talking to him, so five starts it is. Best evening out we’ve had in years.

Lure is the type of establishment you would expect in SF, NYC or Chicago, not San Mateo! It’s trendy, modern, elegant, upscale. Driving by you would barely notice the metal sign that protrudes from the wall at a 45 degree angle. You would walk right by it because of the frosted glass cubes surrounding the front door. It’s discreet and minimal. I LOVE it :)
At about 5pm on Friday, we decided to have date night. After a rushed shower and searching Unilocal for a worthy dining establishment, I made a reservation at Lure at 6:15. We get there and are greeted by two very friendly wait staff. It is completely empty inside. I explain we were trying to catch the 7:05 showing of Star Trek, would that be a problem. The waiter looks around and says «well… I’ll try my best to find you a table ;) «
Not only did they get our dinners out quickly and in time for us to make the show, we were able to have their 3 course pre-​fixe!!! that’s service.
I am a carbivore who is on a highly stricted no-​simple carb diet. this place is not good for those of us. We were presented with fresh HOT baked sourdough bread. It was perfectly crisp on the outside and just soft and flaky enough on the inside. yum!!!
My DH decided to have the prefixe which consisted of Corn fritters, generous portion of petrale sole and a blueberry and peach cobbler with vanilla bean gelato. Did i mention the prefixe is only $ 32??? holy smokes that is a good deal! Originally I was hoping to get to SF to catch the end of Dine about town, but with this special, i’m glad i spared myself the drive on a Friday night! All of the prefixe courses were good. I had the soft shell crab entrée $ 28. it was also delicious and consisted of not one, but two, juicy crabs :) lilftkd is in heaven!!! the crab came with 3 different sauces and fresh white corn (i guess that was the theme of the night)
i did notice that the sole, crabs and the tomato it sat atop were also crusted in a sort of corn meal and fried up. they were all tasty, but i wasn’t expecting so much of the corn meal. another overriding theme for the night. despite devouring all foods yummy, we do try to be somewhat healthy. perhaps the tomato did not need to be fried up as well.
all in all, we were very serendipitiously pleased with our meal. the service was great, servers VERY polite, they even had rock salt on the table in stainless steel dishes. who woulda thunk that a trendy seafood restaurant would be nestled on 2^nd avenue just a block from the theater?
we will be back another night when we can really DINE and savor the flavors. I can’t wait to try other dishes. Lure is a winner!

Oysters– Excellent
Mussels– Superb
Cavier Blini– Loved it
Monkfish Cheeks– slightly overcooked so a little rubbery, but the presentaion was excellent.
Drinks– Excellent
Service– Wonderful
Stars– 4, because of the overcooked Fish, but I will return!

Hidden and easily missed within downtown San Mateo, Lure is a seafood restaurant that specializes in fresh organic ingredients, a stylish environment, and a subdued and dimly lit atmosphere that would fit as well in SF or NYC as it does in San Mateo.
MY and I were taken to Lure by Wei H. who discovered the «hidden gem» while continuing his food travels throughout San Mateo. We weren’t disappointed.
Seafood-​centric food is the focus of Lure and we started with a duo of appetizers and then moved on to our main entrees. The Rubicon red wine that WH brought matched smoothly with the cuisine and I have to say I was happier with the wine service than I was at GD. Our cuisine:
Steamed Mussels — a generous portion of mussels were infused with a delicious curry sauce. Very fresh and with a hint of an ingredient I would later find out was lemongrass. I prefer oysters or clams to mussels, but this was good.
Chicken livers — pan seared and placed over polenta, this was our one non-​seafood choice. The livers were slightly decadent but I thought the polenta, sour cherries, and greens did a good job of balancing it all. It’s greedy, but I wish there were more than the 4 – 5 livers we found. Livers cheap!
Branzino — I was told this was a seabass and I expected the prototypical round filet. To my surprise, a whole fish was brought out that was pan seared. The flavor tasted quite different than sea bass but was good. I particularly liked the fresh greens, fennel, and citrus pieces that accompanied it. A good value, given the large portion.
Hawaiian prawns — MY had the prawns and they’re a very popular dish here. Large, succulent and juicy, it’s easy to understand the «lure» of this dish. :) My #1 prawns are still the Tamarind prawns at Vung Tau, but the version here was delicious too. The prawn heads were notably juicy and «suck”-worthy.
Overall, we had a wonderful meal here and found the service top notch. The ambiance was perfect for a classy night out and the food paired perfectly with our mood. We shared a dessert (trio of sorbet) and it was the perfect palate cleanser and ending to our meal before the popcorn, candy, and soda of the movie theater: Star Trek… highly recommended!
Lure gladly accepted American Express.

3.75
INTERESTING CHIC SPOT… FUFU FOOD, you know the small cute plates that don’t really fill you up.
I decided to meet up with my girlfriends last minute. came here nearly closing hour and tried. On my way here i was admiring all the other eateries in downtown San Mateo and was pretty thrilled to try this spot. I came at a late hour and the kitchen just closed but was able to share what my girlfriends have ordered; though i wish i had a chance to order.
Order: Venetian White wine, Fingerling Potatoes, (not on the online spring menu) Dandelion Greens, and buttermilk canna cota with blood orange compote.
* Venetian White Wine ($ 10) — a glass of that was SO good. I was drinking my wine because it was sweet and settle and not bitter. I also got a quick buzz.
* Fingerling Potatoes ($ 4) — very light, soft, and tasty. felt like diet food but it was good. Reminded me of finely made papa-​fritats but in a ball shape rather then squares.
* Dandelion Greens ($ 6) — first time every trying dandelion greens. its actually good has a hint of bitterness at the end; but very very very light. it would be nice if they serve this with some bread & butter, i had to ask for it and thought it went well together.
* Buttermilk canna cota with blood orange compote ($ 8) — i cant tell you what its called but it was creamy and had a japanese fruit and finger cookies inside. It was tasty. The blood orange compote tasted like mandarins. I felt the dessert was way overpriced for what you get. it was good but i’ve had better dessert.
— service, on point. except when they said they’d see if their cook can try to cook me something (they were near closing but they never came back to me to say if they can or not, i just assumed they cant since they never bothered to tell me)
— prices, pricy for the portions they give. i felt like i was eating a jenny craig meal
— ambiance, very chic and cute. DIM. i wish there was more light so i can actually see how smaller my portions were
— food, tasty and interesting.
I would not mind going back but I think i’d eat at the HotPot spot around the corner first.
Until the next review…

So disappointed, I didn’t even get to eat the food. My boyfriend made reservations to come here and they placed us right near the kitchen! Come on, seriously? Reservations for a table by the kitchen? No thanks.
Take one star off for placing us near the kitchen.
Take one star off for making us wait a long time to get a better table.
Take one star off for the host talking down to us like we were nobody.
And lastly one star off because the restaurant is extremely small and really quiet.
I would take off another star because it was supposed to be mine and my boyfriend’s anniversary dinner, but there’s no such thing as 0 stars I guess.

Dined on a Friday night — they were incredibly understaffed. The waitstaff they did have were sweatin’ and literally running around the place. I expect that sort of frantic pace in the kitchen, not the dining room. Our server was out of breath when he came to take our order.
Normally, I like to see waitstaff hustle a little bit, but this was a frenzy and it made it hard to enjoy the dinner. As for food, read Ames K review because I had the same items and felt the same way! All the plates sound wonderful in theory, but in practice.
Used to love this place so much, but they’ve taken a turn for the worse. Also, when they’re full, the dining room is incredibly noisy, so not a great date spot. Try going on a weeknight, when they’re less crowded and maybe you will get a different/​better experience.

3.5
My boyfriend and I ate here for my birthday on August 1. The place was pretty cool. The waitress let us choose our seat and we chose one in the front window. My boyfriend loved the pink wall that had a fish scale pattern on it. He thought it was a nice detail.
The waiters were all really nice. They brought out our food and drinks very quickly, but were not rushing us at all. I loved the free «amuse bouche» that they gave us. It was a rice crisp with dried seaweed and sesame seeds. I must admit that when I first saw it, I thought there was no way that I was going to eat that thing, but decided to take a small bite just to be nice. It was so unexpectedly delicious and flavorful! I could have eaten an entire meal just of those things.
Next up were the corn fritters. They came with two dipping sauces– a chimichurri and spicy aioli. The fritters were good, but just a bit too salty. For the entrée, my boyfriend, who doesn’t really like fish, got the flat iron steak. The fries were good (and salty), but the steak was a little less than thrilling. I got the whole fish, I think it was trout, that was topped with maple syrup crumbles and pancetta that was served with a ramekin of spoon bread on the side. It was all really delicious, but again just a bit too salty. I realize that pancetta is salty, but they clearly added salt to the dish, which it did not need. They did a good job of removing most of the bones from the fish although I did get one bite that was mostly bones.
For dessert, we got the mocha crème brûlée, which was lacking in flavor, and so went mostly ignored once we had a taste of the mixed berry cobbler that I ordered for dessert. The cobbler was divine.
Overall it was a great experience and I would definitely go back. I would have given it four stars, but for the overly salty food and the crème brûlée. Service was outstanding.

We had a wonderful meal at Lure with my parents, when they visited from out of town. It was the first child free meal we’ve had with them since the children have been in existence, so that was a good start.
We did not have a reservation, since the initial plan was to go to Sushi Sam’s, but the wait was too long. However, they were able to accommodate us, which was great since they did end up filling up. The atmosphere inside is lovely, very modern and elegant. The service was amazing. However, it’s all about the food, right? The food was terrific. We started with the Crudo Tasting – a sampling of raw seafoods, and at our table we had the soft shell crab, porcini ravioli, and salmon. The soft shell crab was delicious, I was in heaven. All of the rest of the food was really good too, but oh, that soft shell crab… yum.
We’ll definitely be back on another date night, and I’ve already recommended it to a bunch of friends.

Hubby and I headed to Lure after spending 2 hours at our insurance agent’s office listening to her talk about death and life (insurance that is). On the way to Lure, I found myself pondering the uncertainties of life and how expensive it is to insure it. Wait, am I insuring my life or my death?
Anyways, all that pondering dissipated when I walked into Lure. Maybe it was the mood-​altering lighting… maybe it was the cool, modern décor… but I felt like I’ve entered a special place.
The menu wasn’t extensive, but that didn’t make it any easier for me to decide what to have. Everything on the menu looked enticing, and as the waiter was bringing out food to neighboring tables, my indecisiveness intensified. I can’t wait to come back and try the whole menu.
I enjoyed every single dish we had that night. For starters, we had the corn and shrimp fritters which were fried to perfection. Crisp on the outside with tender morsels of shrimp and corn on the inside. Hubby decided on the steak frites just to see how a seemingly seafood-​centric restaurant does steak. Hubby polished off the steak and proclaimed it better than Bouchon’s. I had the trout which was dusted with a perfect blend of seasonings that complemented the freshness of the fish nicely.
Hubby usually has the privilege of choosing dessert. 9 out of 10 times, he’d go for the dessert that has chocolate. That night though, he let me choose and so I went for the blackberry peach crisp. However, when our dessert came, the waiter also brought out a sample of their chocolate profiterole for my husband. How thoughtful is that?!! That gesture sealed the deal for this 5-​star review.

Lure definitely has the cool factor going for it. Cool atmosphere, cool interior, and cool seafood cuisine. The walls have this backlit thing going while the enclosed kitchen looks like a lit cube.
The food is pricey, but you are paying for very fresh seafood. It’s very good, but it just didn’t blow my socks off. If I can’t remember it, then it’s not worthwhile. Your best bet is to go with a group and share, a la family style, so you can try everything. A good point to note is that they have an emailing list to update you on seasonal menus.
It can get kinda busy near dinner time, so reservations are recommended.

I sense a «You’re Kinda Loved On Unilocal» sticker on their door pretty soon.
Lure’s location can be easy to miss. The previous tenant was some Middle Eastern (?) restaurant that never saw much light of day or customers for that matter. The amount of «window shopping» space you see walking by outside is so small, giving only a tiny glimpse of the restaurant, but when you come inside during nightfall, you then realise the larger depth of the restaurant and also a nice warm luring vibe to it, comlemented with dimmed bright red/​orange like lighting.
We scored a 2 seater small table around 6 pm on a Wednesday night, and were told that we needed to give up the table by 7:30 (apparently they were going to be packed like sardines in a crushd tin box). However despite the seemingly snobbery introduction, we were never rushed throughout the meal, and in fact the bill took quite a long time to arrive (also when the place was 95% full).
The restaurant is not small, but it is also not that big. However with Chef May Yong in the kitchen with seemingly an assistant, one wonders how she could crank out the variety she has on the menu, from appetizers, to entrees, to dessert. One probable theorem is not having any soups available, and appetizers relying mostly on elegantly plated SF Bar Crudo style sashimi and oysters on the halfshell.
Lure is definitely a seafood themed restaurant as noted in a majority of the appetizer and entrée selections. The menu seemingly changes according to the season, as the printed ones did say Autumn on the title.
The complementary amuse bouche was an in house made slightly sour cream cheese with scallion (strong flavors mixed inside) of a greyish green tone on a crunchy mini toast/​crostini. This was such a simple and refreshing and delicious take on the tried and true gooey French custard or fish paste thingamajig inside some half egg shell in attempts to «bring a smile to the mouth». Never had cream cheese this great, even though the color seemed a bit unusual.
House bread was warm small wheat sourdough delivered per piece to the table.
The seafood crudo platter ($ 24) was a trio of what our waiter introduced as «Italian style sashimi» of two very large pieces of hamachi with a little caviar and tangerine oil, artic char (orange flesh like salmon) with an interesting pesto like sauce with finely diced cubes of avocado, and 6 mini pieces of kanpachi that was a bit on the stringy side but elegantly topped with alternating caviar and what appeared to be a light flavored wasabi tobiko.
Pan roasted seabass with celery root pancakes with a raisin, lemon, and almond pesto that tasted like fruitcake. This was actually $ 28 vs $ 27 on the online menu. The seabass was a bit overcooked, a tad bit too salty and dry, but decent flavor.
Hokkaido scallops — with butternut squash purée and deep fried kale (done to the point that it was über über crispy and small, that’s the best way to eat this über nutritious but overall horrendous tasting veg). The scallops were a tad bit well done but the flavors were there. If you’re a huge fan of Hokkaido Scallops and if it is über fresh, then it is best eaten raw with no condiments or sauce (unlike Sushi Sam’s around the corner who may or may not sear it, dunk some salty sauce and yuzu tobiko over it to mask potential fishy flavors). $ 27
Dessert:
French butter pear and Frangipane Tart with Green Cardamom Ice Cream — $ 8. First of all even the waiter had to ask WTF is a Frangipane and Cardamom. Felt like taking the SATs all over again! The tart was a sizeable slice, but unfortunately way too strong in almond flavors (almost drowned). I like roasted almonds or slivers of them on the side but too much is a turnoff. The Cardamom ice cream was a nice touch, and tasted like ginger.
Darkest Chocolate Pudding Cake with Chantilly and Raspberries — $ 8 — holy dark chocolate Batman! This was an efffin HUGE slice. Well not Claim Jumpers Monsterous huge, but given the modest dinner portions, I would have thought dessert was smaller. Don’t make the mistake of ordering two desserts, get one to share first.
Cappuccino — $ 4. I’m deemed a wimp in Italy. Caps are morning drinks. Espresso is supposed to be the after meal drink. My Italian friend explained it best… after a nice fresh pasta starch coma, the after meal espresso gives you a jolt to stay awake. The cap was rather disappointing, and didn’t seem to have the thirds down (aka ¹⁄₃ foam, milk, espresso). The espresso wasn’t strong and didn’t appear to be Illy’s (didn’t ask though). They didn’t bring any sugar, although a small portion of sea salt was at the table (doh). Despite the lackluster cap, it was enough to keep me awake & write this at 4 am.
Total damage, close to $ 120 with tip. Great to have a place like this in San Mateo. You can spend that much easily at Sushi Sam’s nearby with a run down interior where you feel rushed. That’s not fine dining tho.

I have been back to Lure twice now and the quality and uniqueness remain AMAZING.
Most recently I went to check out the Summer Prix Fixe menu and it fabulous. Three courses for $ 35, no one should be complaining about prices on Wednesdays. And it was delicious.
The first course was a beautiful heirloom tomato salad, with goat cheese and a tasty dressing that was sweet and had depth, turn outs the base was a reduction of nicoise olives.
And then the entrée. Perfectly prepared, crispy, soft shell crab. on a bed of corn and edamame and light fluffy gnocchi. Its hard to find good gnocchi at an Italian restaurant, it was a happy surprise to find them at a seafood restaurant.
And then there was dessert. Tender mocha meringue and ice cream. Simple and delicious.
We ordered prosecco to go with our dinner and could not resist the ceviche of the day made with coconut milk and ginger. We were not disappointed.
I had an AMAZING meal here.
Starting with the raw appetizer sampler which was so good I became completely absorbed in it and did not notice that the people next to us had spilled salad dressing on my dining companion’s new leather brief case.
I was sad when they were out of caviar pancake, but it presented my with an opportunity to make a bolder choice, an egg salad sandwich. OH, but not just any egg salad sandwich, one made with toasted bread grilled with TRUFFLE oil and served with beautiful aparagus, and yes MORE TRUFFLE!
My friend said it best, if you can take an egg salad and turn it into ecstasy, thats talent!