Cafe Tiramisu

A lot of people are complaining about the service but we had a pretty good experience here. Came here for lunch last week and we were a group of about 10. We were seated pretty quickly, got our complimentary bread (which was cold and dry) and didn’t have to wait too long to order. I had the shellfish linguini and it was phenomenal! I would highly recommend it. Most of my co-​workers got the ravioli and risotto and they were all pretty happy with the entrees. We didn’t have any appetizers or desserts but the entrees were delicious and I’d definitely be back.

By far the worst experience I had with any restaurant.
I brought a guest here for a business lunch today. We were seated inside and sat for at least 5 minutes until a guy with an accent took our drinks order. It took another 5 minutes to get our drinks. Then about 15 minutes to flag him down for our order.
We ordered an appetizer and two items from the fish menu. Another 10 minutes went by and our appetizer came along with fresh bread. After about 15 more minutes we became aware of the time (we had about an hour to have lunch) and I walked over to the server to let him know we have to leave now and we still have not received our order. He became defensive and made it seem like it was our fault for notifying him of our time constraint. He said he was waiting for us to finish the appetizer to start the order… Well, we had been finished with the appetizer for the last 10 minutes, so that was no valid excuse. I probably would have overlooked the situation if he had not been so defensive and start pointing fingers. For the $ 80 dollars I spent at that restaurant, I do not want to hear someone talk down to me, raise their voice, and tell me it was my fault, in addition to horribly slow service.
Bottom line: avoid this restaurant. I would not even give them a second chance.

By far the best Italian we have had since Italy. The tagliatelle, which is their signature dish, was amazing. Any of their risottos are to die for, and their scallops are perfect. Buffalo mozzarella was as if it was made moments prior to serving. But the best part is the ambiance and service. We truly felt as if we were being courted by the entire staff. One of the best dining experiences we have had in San Francisco in years. Bravo! Oh, and definitely get the tiramisu!

i went here for lunch with a coworker. yeah, it’s lunchtime in the fi-​di. but when we walked up, maybe four of the tables outside were occupied. we had an hour and figured we’d be okay.
it took at least 5 minutes for someone to wander by and offer to get us a drink.
it took another 10 minutes for someone to realize that we hadn’t been asked what we want to eat.
there was gnocchi on the menu (it doesn’t show on their website menu, but they had it) and it said it came with chopped tomatoes. i’m not a huge fan of tomatoes, so i asked if i could have it without the chopped tomatoes.
the server looked at me like i was crazy.
«but that’s the way the chef makes it. how can you not have tomatoes with your gnocchi? without tomatoes it’s just…»
he was so horrified and speechless i said «fine, it’s okay, i will just eat around them»
«well i can give you pesto instead»
«oh, okay, pesto it is then»
clearly he didn’t understand that i meant no *chopped* tomatoes. of course i want sauce. i didn’t say no tomato sauce. but okay, i like pesto better anyway, thanks for making me feel like i’m crazypants.
my coworker orders and we get an appetizer too.
by this time other people had wandered in and sat down, and a group of four guys sat next to us.
they ordered and got their food before our appetizer appeared. they were finished before our main course made it to the table.
i don’t know really what else to say. it was like we were somehow invisible even though we were right next to the entrance to the restaurant.
the food was good; i don’t like scallops but the scallops appetizer was very nice. my pesto gnocchi was well executed.
the food is the only reason this is two stars and not one.
because of the really awful service though, i doubt i’ll ever come back.

We had a great experience here. The service was fast yet professional, the food was fresh and seasonal, and the ambiance was so romantic — I felt like we were in Italy at a little outdoor café.
We shared the pear, arugula and radicchio salad, the grilled prawns with fennel, blood oranges, and avocado and the rigatoni. Everything was delicious.

The food was good, BUT, I just did not have a good experience here. Came here for lunch the other day. Yes, I admit, during the peek lunch hour in the financial district, service can be a bit slow. We were seated right away, however, no one took our order for drinks or anything the first 10 minutes we sat down. Complimentary bread finally came and along with that… so did a fat cockroach that ran across our table. And I’m sorry, once you see that, you can’t get comfortable and not watch/​dissect every forkful that goes in your mouth.
As an app, I ordered the black peppered beef carpaccio. That was amazing! One of the best I’ve ever had. Caprese salad was good. You can tell the cheese was fresh mozzarella. The pear arugula salad was also pretty good. The pear was purple (infused with wine) with gorgonzola.
I ordered the shellfish linguine and when I got my dish, naturally I asked for cheese for the whole table and then I was kinda of embarrassed for asking for it. Our waiter was grilling me about ruining the dish and not tasting the flavor of the seafood if I add cheese. I understand and maybe its offending to the chef but the fact that the waiter kept going on about it really killed my appetite after that. And quite frankly, the linguine was really good but it tasted the same with OR without cheese.
Yes, I will be thinking about the good food, but the service and unwanted critters discourages me from hosting team luncheons here again.

Nice service as the waiter was attentive and very nice. There is really only one dish I would definitely make a return trip for — the Tiramisu. It was creamy and tasty and large enough to be shared by two.
My corn and leek soup topped with spicy chopped crunchy shrimp was very good.
The grilled octopus with avocado which had rave reviews by Unilocalers was good but not earth shaking.
Our entrees were good but didn’t wow either of us.
Hubby had the seafood risotto over lobster bisque. There were 11 tiny clams and he liked it.
I had the pan-​seared sea bass which was moist but the flavor wasn’t exciting.
We sat upstairs, inside near the stairway which lead to about another 7 tables downstairs. Hubby had to use the bathroom which was located downstairs. He said the area downstairs had a mildew odor which i also noticed as I sat near the stairs. It’s below street level, really underground so not much aeration. There are ample tables for outside seating. I thought it was too cold outside tonight and do not like sitting outside on the alley street. SF streets are pretty dirty. We were close to the kitchen and could see how hard the staff works to make our meals. If you like tiramisu for dessert, you will not be disappointed.

I went to this restaurant twice after it was recommended on «Check Please». The second dinner was a birthday party.
Food was delicious.
I would have rated this restaurant as a four but there was an issue which I would rather go into.

The quality of Café Tiramisu isn’t the same as it used to be when I first tired this place. I like how they have an outside seating and you have the option to do a fixed price dinner as well. I felt that the appetizers were more tasty than the entires. I was pretty happy with the appetizers but the entrees tasted microwaved and definitely NOT fresh. At least for dessert, the tiramisu was pretty good.
Appetizers:
— Grilled Octopus with avocado, celery & salmoriglio sauce
— Classic Veal Meatballs over polenta with tomato sauce and dry ricotta
— Bruschetta with fig spread, burratta, prosciutto and aged balsamic
Entrees: (not so good…)
— Ravioli filled with beef shortribs over tomato fondue, sage and garlic chips
— Asparagus and Lemon Risotto with bottarga di tonno

Had a welcome new member team lunch here with my co workers. Decided to try this place since we always go to Plouf.
Great service and cute little restaurant inside Belden Lane. I got the Risotto. It had mussels and also lobster bisque inside, it was VERY good. I highly recommend! Loved it! The flavors collided great, I was expecting it to be salty, but not at all. My co workers got some other dishes and they also enjoyed their lunch.
I would come here again, they have really good pasta here, definitely a must try.

After watching «Check, Please,» I have come to Café Tiramisu for the past two years, first during the Dine about Town event, and now at least once a month. This place doesn’t disappoint you and having a meal is always a feast! For $ 30 prix fixe, my friend and I had fantastic steak and salmon, with delicious Profiterole della Casa (though their Tiramisu is the best in town!), and good service. They make their own pasta and bread, and everything is always fresh and beautiful.
I highly recommend!

After a friend’s birthday party of Napa wine tasting, we came back to The City looking for somewhere to eat dinner. Café Tiramisu ended up being that place.
We were seated outside in their lit alleyway patio, heated. The décor was reminiscent of Ancient Rome, especially if you entered the restaurant to go downstairs to the restroom — all of the walls and murals looked exactly like that.
On with the food! I ordered:
–Grilled Octopus: over avocado, celery and salmoriglio sauce
–Petrale Sole Dore Picatta: with jalapeño, prawns and green pea risotto
Shared the octopus with several people. Was very complacent with it – soft texture on this dish means everything. When my main dish with Petrale Sole arrived, it was fantastic, savory with decent spicy flair.
While a tad touristy (again, the «Roman» walls…), the service and food were both great. Those two elements alone would bring me back. Not even going to mention our dessert!

Excellent food, and attentive service. Isn’t that all we want?! This is the place to get it!
The Octopus appetizer cooked to perfection, the Short Rib, the Skirt Steak, and the Ravioli… not a miss in the bunch.
Our waiter, and the bus men, were attentive, but not hovering! The wine list has a good variety of by-​the-​glass selections, and the full bar is there for those in need. Oh yeah, and for dessert, great Tiramisu!

I had the $ 25 prix-​fixe lunch menu and chose the Mezze Rigatoni with Italian sausage Bolognese, zucchini and goat cheese for my appetizer; Salmon filet crusted with pumpkin seeds and pesto, and pumpkin purée and balsamic spinach for my main entrée. And Profiterole della Casa, basically a small frozen pastry with cream and a bit of chocolate sauce for dessert (there was no option for this).
The rigatoni was really good. Rigatoni had rich nice flavours and you’d think the goat cheese would overpower the bolognese sauce but it didn’t. The pasta was also cooked perfectly. Salmon filet was okay, my rigatoni was much better. It was just really small portions. The salmon was kind of dry and overcooked, but the pesto sauce and pumpkin sauce made up for it. Dessert wasn’t too great either because it seemed like it came straight from the freezer.
The bread before the appetizer came with an olive oil dip was quite tasty.
Overall, rigatoni was really good and the salmon filet was okay. So I would come back and would probably stay away from the dry salmon.

We had a wonderful dinner and bottle of wine here before heading to the ATT center to see AC/​DC in concert. (Which was amazing by the way.
I found the owner (I think) to be abrupt and a bit impatient. It could have been completely wonderful had the service been better. It felt like herding people and shuffling tables.
Other than that our appetizers and meal were great. Loved the out door seating.

After a day in Napa, we decided to get food nearby where the limo dropped us off. We knew we were in the heart of the touristy area, but proceeded to dine at Café Tiramisu.
Service: We were seated promptly at a table for six, and they were quite busy on a Saturday night, but service was hit or miss. Sometime sit was hard flagging someone down when we needed something. I also had to literally ASK for bread. We waited a good 10 minutes after being seated, but still no bread. The olive tapenade oil that comes with it is delicious, though.
Food: I ordered the salmon which I thought was pretty good. It came with a pumpkin purée and balsamic spinach. My bf ordered the Mezze Rigatoni, which left him unimpressed, especially for the price.
Ambiance: It’s located in this cute alleyway, which can be romantic, but it was a bit chilly and there were no heat lamps nearby!
Price: It’s SF and you’re in a tourist trap. It’s expensive for what you get.
Would I return? Probably not, but we needed somewhere to eat after a long day of wine tasting!

I am sad to see that there are any negative reviews for this place. Also shocked that I haven’t left a review before! Let’s fix that.
This is my favorite place to eat in the city. It is as close to feeling like you’re in Europe as you’re going to get. The restaurants spill out into the alley and you sit right next to your neighbors. It’s lovely and wonderful and comforting.
When the hub and I come here we always split a bottle of wine — usually a Chianti because it’s an easy drink. They bring out bread with olive oil and tapenade (they will also bring butter if you ask for it!) The last two times we have started with the scallops/​risotto and the burrata. Both delicious!
For main dishes, the hub always gets the black peppered pappardelle (he’s a man of habit). I usually go for the cioppino or the ravioli. Consistently good.
And what’s a great dinner without dessert? Recommend the tiramisu or the profiteroles. And, they often will bring out complimentary lemoncello after your meal. I actually heard a woman complain about that this last time! I mean, what a rough life to have people bring you something for free.
There’s usually a wait on the weekends for dinner but they take reservations and they’ll squeeze you in where they can even without one. They also never rush you to leave which is fabulous. I hate to add to the wait, but you should definitely go.

Business lunch and the place was packed on a Friday. Quickly seated with a reservation. Waiter /​Manager /​Owner? took our orders on memory and got everything right. He is on top of his game.
Had the Prix Fixe Lunch for $ 25. Short Rib Orechiette, Hangar Steak with Asparagus, Fries, Chocolate Gelato. Great deal and prompt professional service. Perfect place for a quality and quick business lunch with atmosphere.

The food was OK — the rigatoni with meat sauce was pretty good but the chicken with marsala sauce just tasted off somehow.
The service wasn’t that great either. The place was half empty but it was tough to get ahold of a waiter and the service was just slow and not that friendly.

What a shame. In terms of the food, I kind of expected more from this place.
I came here the other day with coworkers for lunch, and since we had a reservation for the time they opened, we got seated right way.
I’ve never had a cioppino before ($ 25), so for my first time, it was decent! I liked the variety of seafood (scallops, crab meat, mussels, salmon, and others I can’t recognize), and the lobster broth it was in was piping hot, with an almost creamy texture that made it suitable to dip a piece of bread in (which I did, as it came with a small piece). I’ll have to try this dish at other places (looking at you, Tadich Grill!) before coming to a conclusion, but I liked what I tasted so far.
On the other hand, one of my coworkers got one of the steak dishes featured on the prix fixe menu, and while she requested medium, she got well done.
Also, there’s quite a bit of room for improvement in terms of service. For one thing, service was slow, and we were the first group to come in! Some of us were also misled by the waiter into believing that soup of the day came complimentary with our entrée, which wasn’t the case. Although we probably should have asked to confirm that case, it felt a little unethical to just suggest soup without warning us. But I will give the waiter credit for accommodating my request to redo the payment transaction due to my mistake in splitting the bill. I’m not sure if any Asian restaurant would have done the same.
All in all, my experience here was okay, but I’m not sure if it’s worth a return trip any time soon.