Zuni Cafe
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415) 552-2522
- Price:
- $$$
- Cross Street:
- Gough Street
- Best of Citysearch:
- French Fries 2008, Hamburger 2008, French Fries 2007
- Hours:
- Tue-Sat 11:30am-12am, Sun 11am-11pm
Editorial Review for Zuni Cafe – by Meghan Healy Luecke
The Scene
Tucked into a narrow corner building shaped like a slice of pie, Zuni is ideal for people-watching. Expansive gallery windows, exposed-brick walls and a coppertop bar set the scene. The quieter second-floor loft is perched above an open kitchen, where chefs buzz from the old-fashioned brick oven to the sparkling oyster bar. Although most of the tightly packed tables seat a dapper business crowd, Zuni also attracts the occasional affluent family with well-behaved children.
The Food
French- and Italian-inspired classics come with a twist; here, "meat-and-potatoes" means perfectly cooked Grimaud Farm guinea hen on a bed of buttermilk spuds, juicy seared carrots and crumbled house-made pancetta. A major draw is the fresh and richly flavorful oyster bar, with exotic choices from British Columbia to Cape Cod. All-ricotta gnocchi, cured anchovies and oven-roasted chicken for two are some of the popular standards on their daily rotating menu. All meat is organic, and the legendary Zuni burger is seasoned 24 hours in advance--with nothing but salt.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
When to GoIf you seek their signature burger, plan to go for lunch or go late; it's not on the dinner menu until 10pm.
Know Before You GoThe friendly, laid-back attitude at Zuni means you should expect to wait a while for food and even aperitifs; also, reservations are encouraged.
Save MoneyKeep in mind that Zuni charges a $20 corkage fee.
User Reviews for Zuni Cafe
08/12/2008 Posted by MelissaFromIL
My husband and I chose to go here after noting the 5-star review on CitySearch... Wish I had read the review right before mine first! We had reservations for 10. We were seated where I thought was a terrible spot - in a hallway-like bottleneck right across from the waiter's station, looking into the kitchen. My husband thought it was neat to watch the food being prepared, but I would have much preferred a seat by the window, especially since we had reservations! Our waitress was friendly - when we saw her, which was hardly ever. You'd think that being by the waiter's station would mean she's be around frequently, but nope. She took our orders, and about thirty seconds after the food was served (by someone else), she asked how it was. Our menus, bread, salads, food, and drinks were all brought out by assorted mute staff. Had anyone cared to ask how the food was after we actually had a chance to taste it, my husband would have said his pork was amazing, and I would have said my "baked" salmon was raw. Literally. It was cooked through about 2mm. If I had wanted sushi, there are plenty of other places I could have gone. I picked around the green bean salad seasoned (too) heavily with cilantro, my husband finished his pork... and 20 minutes later someone cleared our plates. Didn't ask how it was, nothing, just grabbed the plates and silverware and took it away. To summarize, if you choose to go, get the pork, and don't expect any kind of service from your waitress.
07/26/2008 Posted by gregmor1
A recommended SF resturant on our visit we were anticipating a great culinary experience. Our reservation was at 10 pm due to their high demand but the host were very accomodating to seat us at 9:30 since we got there earlier than expected. We had a slight wait at the bar where the atmosphere was very uninviting. Bartenders ignored us and the cocktails we did have were poorly executed and the wait was long at an uncrowded bar. I asked if they had a specialty cocktail and she threw me the menu and walked away neverr to return! Once at our table, again the service was not friendly or hospitable. Seemed to be a bother to serve us. No friendly greeting or suggestions on the menu, only that the chicken (their signature dish and was so raved about by a friend) would take 1 hour to prepare. You wouuld think being a signature they would have a better grasp on preparation and demand. Another signature the ricotta pasta was also unavailble after we placed that order. We settled for an uneventful duck substitue for their steak special again unavailable after placing that order, and halibut (which was passable at best). The oysters were good and fresh. Their "specialty" caesar salad was bland and watery. (boring) Desserts were pretentious uninspired and limited. We passed on them. Be aware of a 4% surcharge for a community services donation? We had that removed. The coulple next to us was duly unimpressed. We saw our server only once after the food was dropped when we flagged her down for a vegetable substitute in place of the bitter kale that accompanied the duck. No sign of server after that and was giving our check from another waiter without even a thank-you. The hostess did thank us on our way out. Poor service, unviting and unfriendly and pretentious atmosphere, limited menu and poor presentation. Everythjing that makes up a MUST MISS! Would have had a better meal at In and Out Burger! Avoid this place. We wasted our evening here.
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