Frisee Restaurant

RIP fine Frisee, San Francisco knew ye not well enough.
Seriously, why do all the most unimaginative, dirty, dull, predictable, messy and crappy places stay open — when places like Frisee fall by the wayside. It makes me despair of how cheap and unvisionary the Castro clientele are.
We complain about the bad restaurants — «nowhere decent to eat», «poor food», «crowded places» with «sticky floors, tables, cutlery… etc» then when Castro finally gets a good place (ok Catch rates also) all the moaners whine its too expensive for the size of the portions.
That’s the reason Castro sux as a destination. I’ll say it again — it makes me despair.
So sorry your gone Frisee, really.

When I came here for brunch last weekend, I had really high hopes. Unilocal,and word-​of-​mouth, had set sky high expectations for this little Castro eatery.
So maybe my three star review is a reflection of my expectations, and the let down that followed. If I could give half stars, I would bestow Frisee with 3 ½…
First off, the décor is great, and actually what drew me to Frisee in the first place. I love the clean lines, funky art and intimate size of the space.
The food, however, just didn’t quite live up. The $ 10 dollar mimosas were made with the cheapest champagne possible, and was not a good way to kick off the meal. For my main course, I ordered the Eggs Benedict… it was pretty good, nothin’ special. The side potatoes were tasty though– nicely seasoned and perfectly crispy on the outside…
I will definitely return to Frisee, most likely for dinner– their dinner options look promising.

I’m going to start this review out by saying, «Frisee got me drunk.»
Okay, maybe it was the bottle of champagne combined with the coma-​inducing ravioli, but this review may be slightly biased considering the state I was in when I departed.
The service was excellent, although the restaurant is very small, so I guess with waiters didn’t really have THAT many people to take care of. Regardless, I always felt that I was being taken care of and it was truly appreciated. I was also fortunate enough to meet the owner of the restaurant (a friend of the person I was dining with).
The food was spectacular. It’s been so long since I dined there (I’m a little late with the review, I know) I can’t quite remember what exactly it was I had. I do know that it included whole wheat pasta and butternut squash and was delicious.
The interior of the place is also lovely. It’s got this modern, organic feel to it that seems to be quite the zeitgeist of our current times.
The price point I’m unsure about as well, seeing as how I never saw the bill, but I assume it to be a little more pricey, considerning the atmosphere, ingredients used, etc. BUT, it was probably worth whatever he paid.

I think my expectations might be too high because I didnt love this place and I really really wanted to. I totally believe in their mission of sustainability, plus the place is cute and hip, but something just felt off.
we went for another anniversary dinner and everything was just ok. The service was nice but inattentive. The sparkling wine was great but the red was so so. The tartare appetizer was pretty good, but the salmon with truffled mashers (we both got it eagerly awaiting the mashers) was odd. The salmon was a great piece of fish, but it generally lacked depth of flavor and the mashers were bitter :(
I want to go back because I think this place is doing the right thing and we might have had an off night. it’s brunch for me next time… with mimosas!

I may have only been to Frisee two times, but I feel in love at first sight! Yes, so you’re not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover but the décor is initially what sparked my interest, Frisee looks rather sexy.
Then I look at the menu and notice everything made at Frisee is hand picked, daily, fresh, organic and local ingredients. This was good enough to turn me into a regular and I hadn’t even tried the food yet.
We order an awesome Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and guess what — it’s Tuesday and at Frisee on Tuesdays it’s half-​priced vino bottles. Okay, I need to take my coat off, this is getting hot.
The squash blossoms, peach salad and balsamic fries start us off — everything is absolutely delectable, I literally have no complaints. The waiter could have more of a personality but he’s friendly enough and definitely knows his shit, so I’m down.
Dinner shows up and off, I got the vegan ravioli and it was amazing, even better heated up the next day for lunch — something about the apricots being warmed worked for me. The burger was insane, you could taste the hormone-​less pattie in all it’s excellence. The duck was phenomenal.
I’m coming back this Tuesday, and the Tuesday after that, and the Tuesday after that, and so on, and so on. ..

Awesome meal from the price fix menu! Great price for three amazing courses, all unique and exquisite in their own rite. VERY reasonably priced for the meticulous offerings. We sat outside and enjoyed the warm evening as our dishes were whisked in and empty plates were taken away. We spent the better part of a great night at Frisee and I really want to go back!
Maybe I’m easy to please but this meal was all I need.

Last weekend my mom & step dad were in town so that basically means I get a free meal. So I FINALLY got to go here after having this place on my «to try» list for a year. But definitely worth the wait.
Everything about the food was AMAZING. I shared a grilled peach salad with my mom to start (super sweet but very complementary), the Grilled Ahi which was spectacular and I don’t even like tuna that much. The cheesecake was only okay but again, not a big fan of cheesecake.
The décor is crazy mod but cool. It’s probably what I like least about the place. That and it is right next to the Café and we could here the music through the walls. Just a little bit but yeah…
Our waiter was lovely, letting me try the wine I ordered before he gave me a full glass. Which I feel is something of a no brainer but not always a given at nice restaurants.
Also he was very patient with my parents «difficult» orders. Because they are on diets that are determined by their Korean birth sign or some such new age nonsense. Don’t get me wrong, I generally try to keep an open mind about this sort of thing and if it works great but something tells me that my mom has threatened to hold out on sex with my step dad unless he does this. Which tells me my mom must be amazing in bed. Ew.
Anyway, thanks Frisee! And thanks Mom!

Ended up eating here by random happenstance and had a most delicious meal. The menu is fairly typical for San Francisco offering lots of fresh American/​California fare. All meat options on the menu had notes about how the animal was farmed: free range, sustainably farmed, etc.
The grilled peach and goat cheese salad was delicious, the warm peach was so juicy and went great with my riesling. For my entrée I went with the duck breast, quite the sizable boob… far bigger than I’ve typically had. Tender, but I wished it was just a touch rarer. Plating was beautiful (see photo). I finished the meal with a chocolate pot de crème, hard not to be delicious when you’re working with the dark coco mistress. Service was good, though the meal did take a little longer than average.
Bottom line: fresh ingredients, beautiful presentation, solid 4 stars.
Disclaimer: Frisee is a sponsor and I work for Unilocal

I don’t think that I could rave about this place enough.
My husband chose this place for my birthday, based on my criteria that the restaurant must use mostly fresh local ingredients, and they could seat 12 people. Not a small feat in San Francisco, and I am so glad he found Frisee.
The interior is so cool. I love the booth they sat us in, with the tufted fabric wall/​ceiling and cool Track lighting. It sat all 12 of us easily, and they probably could have done more if needed. Our server was attentive, but not annoyingly so, and had great wine suggestions.
Not being able to eat wheat, barley or rye products always limits menu choices for me, but I didn’t find that to be a huge problem here, not because they had a ton of wheat free options, but because everything I could eat was so delicious it didn’t matter. I didn’t miss out on anything, even the straight-​out-​of-​the-​oven-​bread everyone was trying not to enjoy in front of me (honestly I didn’t mind). We ordered a couple of the tuna tartare plates to pass around. I loved the pyramid presentation, the tuna and avocado were fresh (not fishy) and delicious especially when paired with the home made waffle potato chips.
When it came time to order entrees, our waiter was very attentive to me, and even asked me if I had a food allergy and wrote down everything that I couldn’t have, and checked the kitchen twice to make sure what I ordered was safe. All with out the usual put-​outed-​ness I usually get. The grilled peach salad with goat cheese, microgreens and candied nuts almost brought a tear to my eye, it was so good. And the Cauliflower Potato Truffle oil soup … a warm delicious purée with just a little bit of texture (yay food mills!) … the smell and taste of the oil lingering.
Of course I got a free dessert … Chocolate Pot de Crème (the only thing I could have … but I would have ordered that anyway). Whoever thought to put a caramelized crème brûlée crust on that is a genius, or a god. I can’t decide. The waiter even got my friends to sing happy birthday, which was nice … not embarrassing like at most places.
In the end the bill ended up being quite reasonable for 2 appetizers, 12 entrees, 1 dessert (other than my free one) and probably about 4+ bottles of wine. So I love Frisee, and I most definitely will come back, maybe for brunch next time.

Still in love with Frisee. It has fast become our new fav brunch place! With 3 kinds of brioche buns and jams, crab Benedict, biscuits and gravy and stuffed french toast… mmm…not to mention they have the most awesome staff. The bus boys are considerate, the host is warm and friendly and the waiters are awesome.
This last visit there was an older woman dining alone. Both the host and the waiter made a point to chat with her (she was rather chatty) and when she saw (enviously) our brioche buns he brought her one to try, no charge. I heard her tell him she is tipping him 30% because she knows how it is for waiters and he was sweet.
Bonus for having mimosas and quiet (think the opposite of Lime!) for those hungover mornings

Because Frisee is in my hood, and because the menu has a lot of organic, healthier stuff, I really want to love this place…
…but I just don’t. And I’ve tried — I really have! I’ve visited three times, and my experience has been pretty much the same each time — lackluster.
There’s nothing particularly wrong with Frisee, but I’m hard-​pressed to find anything particularly «right» about it either. I find the menu somewhat limited, and what is there doesn’t really jump out at me.
Each time, I’ve tried something different: a salad (which they’ve since removed from the menu), the filet mignon burger, and the veggie ravioli. All of the meals were… decent. But decent doesn’t really cut it for me, and not at these prices.
Our most recent server was attentive, though — to the point of touching me and kneeling down next to me waaaaay too much and to often for my date’s liking. The date started counting — he patted me on the back/​rubbed my shoulder 14 times during our meal (and that doesn’t include the «touching» prior to the date keeping tabs). Interesting stuff.
So yeah — in closing, the food ain’t so grand. I prolly won’t be heading back anytime soon. Third time was the «harm» and not the «charm» for Frisee.
Hmm…maybe if the frisky waiter had offered me a happy ending, I’d like this place a little bit better…

Hello, this is the Castro. Not Palo Alto.
If I wanted overpriced food that didn’t taste great, I would still be, minus 90 miles of driving, in the good ol’ PA.
The décor is really lovely. I loved the ginormous cheeky wall art and backlit tree-​panel thing. I loved the glass shelves hanging by steel suspensions from the ceiling. I loved the curved red velvet lining the wall. I even took pictures with my handy cameraphone for interior décor inspiration.
Seemed like this place had a chance with a Le Cordon Bleu chef, modern décor, and black-​clad waitresses, but the signs were telltale:
— Not enough gay men. Yup, that’s a list one-​bullet-​point long, but I’m pretty sure that’s sufficient.
My ahi tuna was overspiced (I didn’t think that was possible) and not extraordinarily fresh-​tasting. I don’t think it got me sick, but you really want fish to be super fresh. Sides of spiced apple and couscous were not bad, but uninspiring, and not good for the price. Haricots verts (baby green beans) tasted like the kind I make at home, with frozen Trader Joe’s, except maybe mine are better. BF ordered better than I did with the pork loin. Sides of hazelnut brussel sprout salad and yams, both good. The pork was a bit too tough, though.
Not coming back, at least never for dinner. I can’t believe how many people rated this place 4 or 5 stars.

Excellent food and service. A bit pricey for what you get but worth the experience.
JONASAPPROVED!

Stumbled in here on a «let’s stand outside and gawk at the menu and then hop in to see if they can seat and feed us before we head to the Castro Theatre» type of evening. Nabbed two seats at the window by a stroke of luck. Nabbed is such a weird word.
Nab.
Nabbed.
Nabbing.
Even in gerund form it’s a strange word. I digress.
Onto the food.
Had the dinner salad and it had delicious blue cheese and goat cheese and the perfect amount of salad dressing. Then onto the filet mignon with mushroom ragout and mashed potatoes. SOOOO GOOD!
Here’s the thing. I went in expecting the service to be crappy. It’s a Friday night in the Castro for goodness sake. I’m not a hot gay man, nor am I a particularly fashionable fag hag. I am a straight woman in saucony sneakers. It is probably telling of my experience in the Castro over the years that I have come to expect that my degree of service will be in direct proportion to the quality of my hair and clothing at any particular moment. SHALLOW SHALLOW SHALLOW! But not at Frisee. No sir. Attentive service even without the prospect of me providing hot gay sex or being your new galpal to sip martinis with at Metro?
FANFUCKINGTASTIC!
No dessert, thank you. I am both full and satisfied.

Frisee was good, but didn’t quite live up to the hype for me. 3.5 stars.
Seating had something to do with it — we were seated up on the 2^nd floor balcony of this small and lean restaurant (think «loft» seating) — which made me have vertigo until I had neared the bottom of my wine glass. Cool view of the kitchen, though.
The service was great, and our waiter gave us very good recommendations. The food was good, but did not blow me away. We started with the Tuna Tartare, which was a pyramid of tuna, avocado, corn (an interesting addition) and waffle chips to scoop it up with, served with a side salad. Good, but I have seen this preparation so many times before — I’d love to see something new.
For my entrée, I had the sea bass special, served on a bed of quinoa. My friend had the seared scallops on the tomato risotto. Both were very tasty, and not too heavy. However, the enormous glass bowls that they serve them in? Sooooo irritating. Hard to get into, and somehow, it kind of bugged me to eat an $ 20 + entrée out of a bowl. The presentation seemed far too casual, and I would have liked to have had some roasted vegetables or something on the side.
For dessert, we shared the bread pudding, which was decadent. It started out dry, but then became more moist on the inside. It was huge — definitely a dish to be shared. The little praline cookie on the top was a nice touch.
I liked it, but I would have liked it a whole lot more if it were not $ 50 per person, for what we had. I fully understand the cost of quality ingredients, I just would have liked better presentation and variety to feel a little bit more special.
I’d go back if I were in the neighborhood, and the lighting is nice if you want to be on a sexy, yet health-​conscious, date.

Came here for brunch with a couple of friends and I’m glad I brought three other people. Everything on the menu sounded so good and I got to steal off everyone else’s plate.
We started out with the brioche buns and the orange butter just made it phenomenal. I finally settled on the Crab Salad with homemade potato chips. The only complaint was that there was too much crab. But come on, that’s not really a complaint. The stuffed french toast was curl-​your-​toes, slap-​your-​mama good. Overall I like their creative take on salads and appreciate their use of healthful, organic ingredients.
Can’t wait to come back again for dinner. oh and I concur. HOT waitstaff and owners. Just dreamy.

I really really wanted to give Frisee more stars, but most of our party found it to be just — ok -. We all loved the décor, cool red upholstered seating and backing that curved up under the alcove. there’s a long bar that runs down one side where you can watch the chefs prepare the apps. It was a slow evening, so we didn’t have to shout over each other to be heard.
So the food — we had the Tartare ($ 12.50), made of ahi, salmon, corn nibblets and guac. served with waffle potato chips. The pyramid presentation was impressive but upon tasting I had mouthfuls of salt. Someone had obviously not mixed correctly. The Crabcakes ($ 10 for 4 golf ball sized ones) were very tasty. Just wished they were bigger.
For my main, I had the Pork Loin stuffed with cranberry, with sweet potato mash. The pork edge was juicy while the skin remained crisp, and the sweet savory combo really made me savor my meal.
Sadly my companions did not share the same sentiment. I have to agree that the kitchen messed up my friend’s Burger ($ 13.50). She asked for well and it came back charred. Literally she had to cut an entire layer off the meat. She essentially had a bun only burger.
When we brought it to the server’s attention, the manager had the gall to say that «that» is what you get for ordering burgers well. And proceeded to magnanimously offer deducting HALF off her meal. We were aghast. WHO DOES THAT? 50% off a burnt burger? Then someone must have heard us complaining cuz the next thing you know, the chef who over grilled the burger came to apologize in person. She was profuse and sincere and said that she would comp the meal. What’s unfortunate is that it probably came out of her pay when the manager should have done the right thing in the beginning and just offered to cover the meal. (head shaking)
Frisee has potential but it needs a lot of work.

I initially planned to dine at Frisee for lunch this Saturday. Sadly, domestic duties prevented me from making it here before they closed at 3.30 so I decided to try dinner. And by domestic duties, I mean cleaning my cum stained bedsheets and briefs because, you know, I’m single now and don’t have a slave — errr, PARTNER — to do the dirty work. Time was boys used to prove their love by buying each other flowers and chocolate and ugly Versace but these days OH HELLZ NO, nothing says lovin’ like HANDLING YOUR PARTNER’S PUTRID UNMENTIONABLES. Am I right or am I RIGHT?!? Ain’t progress GRAND?!? Fuck yeah! So if you’ve got a guy willing to wash your yellowing 2xist briefs then you better LOCK THAT SLUT UP AND THROW AWAY THE KEY. Also, save your money for legal counsel since by doing so you break a number of state and federal laws.
Anyway, I’ve always been somewhat embarrassed by the Castro, not because of the public sex or anything — shit, if you want to fuck some queen on top of a bus stop during Pink Saturday BE MY FUCKING GUEST, oh and get ready to see yourself on xtube .com, oh also THAT WASN’T ME IN THE VIDEO SO FUCK YOU, wait NEVER MIND — but because of the DEARTH of good food options. I mean, I know it’s rough out there with all the Bitchy Queens and Muscle Daddies and guys with more plastic in their face than Teddy Fucking Ruxpin and motherfucking A we’re ALL struggling to squeeze our asses into those DSquared fuck me jeans but, REALLY, a bitch has got to eat more than pasta from chain restaurants, gelato, and burritos for whitey.
All of this is to say I WELCOMED the opening of a place like Frisee and its dedication to healthy, organic dishes at a fair price point (no entrée exceeded $ 25).
We were promptly seated downstairs at the corner table under the interior awning. At first it really creeped me the fuck out since it felt like I was re-​entering the womb, only with the tasteful addition of microsuede wallpapering the uterine cavity. But, you know, that’s just my claustrophobia (DON’T TOUCH ME!!!), and over the course of our meal I realized how practical this design really was: it allowed us to carry on a conversation without screaming at the top of our lungs PLEASE PASS THE SALT or HOW WAS YOUR ABORTION YESTERDAY OH BY THE WAY I REALLY LOVE THE UPWARD CURVE OF YOUR BOYFRIEND’S DICK YOU’RE A LUCKY GIRL so big props for discretion.
I applaud Frisee’s decision to become a certified green restaurant, but let’s face it, political correctness and a commitment to sustainability means DICK if the food tastes like shit. I’m happy — nay, OVERJOYED — to report that I loved the dishes we had here.
The lovely Donna H and I split the whole wheat vegan ravioli entrée as a starter. The juxtaposition of the sweet apricot bits and the earthy parsnip filling scented with sage was perfect — hopefully they will add more vegan options as they grow. Then the equally lovely Jaime L made her entrance and proceeded to talk about being on ANTM or some fucking thing like that, I don’t know, I only watch QUALITY FAMILY TV like Jerry Springer and Slovenian porn so I basically stopped paying attention. BUT I did notice that she went to TOWN on the corn/​spinach salad and soup «flight» of chicken chowder, coconut thai curry, and cream of broccoli. My entrée, the pork — NATURALLY! — was expertly cooked with a touch of pinkness in the center and I thought the chutney was the proper counterpoint to the herbed flesh of the loin.
With excellent professional service to boot, I’ll definitely return. Provided this review doesn’t place me on the DO NOT SERVE list, of course.
Oh, it goes without saying that everyone who works here is hot and I would have sex with any of them at a moment’s notice. But then, I’m a fucking whore, so who knows what this little tidbit is REALLY worth.

So I’m supposed to be getting ready for the day, and I promised my friend I would only write my review of the Castro Theatre, but seriously… I HAVE TO LET THIS PLACE BE KNOWN.
If you are on the America’s Next Top Model diet, don’t come here.
If you absolutely love gorgeous men and can’t stop yourself from touching them, don’t come here. (its not polite… ASK FIRST)
If you can’t not order that dessert, don’t come here.
If you are going to throw that up afterwards, don’t come here.
This place is too good for that. I felt like I was cheating on parisenne cuisine by coming here. The moment I looked at their menu, I saw Eggs Florentine. Once again, my quest for the equal comparison of Paris’ Eggs Florentine had all but lost hope until I came here.
First, Phil H. and I started with mimosas (YUM) and brioche buns with an orange marmalade butter. If you don’t like salivating uncontrollably, don’t come here either. These things were flakey and warm and absolutely fabulous. Then we ordered our food and ordered: duh answer here:. Phil had the Ahi Tuna Sandwich, which wasn’t what he *expected* but still was unbelivable. The presentation was amasing, and I damn near punched myself for not coming out to the Castro sooner.
Oh yeah, um… the host (one of the co-​owners) is undeniably one of the most gorgeous men I have ever laid my eyes on. So was our waiter. BOTH UNTOUCHABLE. It’s like being sat next to the unreachable cupcake table. NOT COOL. But I love to lookeylookey and I almost forgot about them when I started watching Harrison Ford’s crazyass performance.
I bitched out our server. Why? Because he told me about the dessert menu, and I couldn’t pass on it. I JUST BOUGHT SIZE 27 JEANS AND WASHED THEM I CAN BARELY FIT INTO THEM AS IT IS SO GREAT NOW I HAVE TO STOP EATING.
But oh, my, goodness. The pot de crème with a brulee topping was fantastic. Seriously? I’d totally fuck over my ANTM diet to come here. Again. And again. Let’s just say that I would move to the Castro just SO I could come here all the time.
Do yourself and taste buds a favor and come here. Or I’ll cut you.

Frisee is the perfect name for a salad bar in the Castro. It’s a chicory with a lot of attitude. Wild. Fresh. Fluffy. Bitter. Just like everybody who lives around here. Its friends have attitude, too — escarole, radicchio, witloof. They all would ignore you at a club but still expect you to pay for their drink. Hey, but isn’t iceberg making a comeback?
Anyway, it is a space I would describe as suburban swank — clean and trendy but not in any audacious way. It has a second floor of seating with Warhol-​like prints of gay-​magnet celebs. Their menu focuses on the healthy and homemade, which immediately draws me to it… and it doesn’t have the earthy feel of granola and Doc Martens that Café Gratitude has. This is the Castro… not Oregon for goodness sake.
To the chagrin of our waiter, we went upstairs to sit to take in the prep area below. I ordered the $ 12.50 Tartare Salad (see photo). I pronounced it «tartar» like it was the mayo and relish stuff that comes with fish and chips. I was immediately corrected by the waiter. Yes, I am in the Castro. They chopped up salmon and ahi tuna, molded it into a cup and layered it with mashed avocado, onions and a nice surprise — roasted corn kernels. It came with these light cross-​pattern potato crisps and of course, greens that had already been mixed lightly with their ginger vinaigrette. The salad was tasty and very fresh, and of course, presented impeccably.
My friend Carlos had the $ 8.50 Chicken Sandwich which contained an ample supply of roasted chicken breast, grilled onions, pepper jack and butter lettuce. It was on a crusty artisan bread and came with the same mixed greens and chips (see photo). We both had soup starters — Carlos went for the $ 5.99 bowl of chowder — thick goodness with roasted chicken and corn, onions, carrots, potatoes, shitake mushrooms, barley, tortilla crisps and pepper jack. I went for the $ 4.75 cup of their daily special, a lightly spicy butternut squash soup (see photo). Hearty stuff and tasty.
Definitely coming back. I’ll try to cut the waiter some slack and sit on the main floor. Oh who am I kidding? Let the mountain come to Mohammad.
FOOD — 4 stars… fresh and hearty, great option in the Castro… hope it survives (never seems that crowded)
AMBIANCE — 4 stars… suburban swank
SERVICE — 4 stars… a little grousing about climbing the stairs but otherwise he was fine
TOTAL — 4 stars… you want to dine on soups and salads among the beautiful people… Well, then don’t go when I go!