Originally Posted by
rjque
Some of the hotels have better restaurants than others. The St. Regis, for example, has Ame, which I think is just fantastic and can be very creative. The St. Francis has an expensive but apparently very good steak house. The Westin has some generic Italian place that Michael Bauer (the newspaper critic) loved but my friends all tell me is just OK. I have no idea what is in the Hilton or the FS.
You should also consider Fifth Floor, which just got a glowing review from the local critic. See:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...FDRP1IEK2A.DTL. It is probably still an easy reservation, too.
I agree with the recommendation for The Rotunda, but I've had some friends tell me they don't like it much. I like it for the "ladies who lunch" atmosphere. The food is fine but not amazing.
I haven't been to Farallon for many years, but I remember it being just OK. Lots of blown glass in the dining room, which I think is done as a fad, but that's not a reason not to go there.
Also, not mentioned yet, but the Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton is probably best avoided right now. I had a mediocre experience there recently, and so did Michael Bauer. Not OK at those price points, IMHO.
I agree with this post. I would add that AME can be hit or miss. My first time there, it blew me away. The 2nd & 3rd times I've been to AME, the food was simply mediocre.
The steakhouse in The St. Francis is fantastic. It's not a true steakhouse, but rather, it's steak done in fine dining style. It's really a great place, but incrediblye expensive.
The Rotunda is a nice place to go if you're a lady who lunches, agreed.
I've been to 5th floor about 3-4 times now, and the last time I went--around 4 months ago--it was fantastic. It's a very nice place with very good food.
To the OP, if you read this thread, which you've essentially duplicated by starting your own new thread, you can find additional suggestions:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/san-f...on-square.html