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Categories: Steakhouses, Lounges
Neighborhood: Financial DistrictMon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 1:30 a.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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I used to basically live at this place when it was Frisson. I host many happy hours, and 2/3 of the time, I would opt for Frisson's lounge area.
So it was a sad day for me when I found out they had died.
Some time later, I noticed all of the birthday parties and events I was being invited to were being held at some place called "A5"... or sometimes "5A5" - and without a sign on the front door, I still have no idea which is the real name but I have been here 3 times now. New party venue?
The first two times, it was for parties, and I was impressed in that the lounge area was just as inviting as it used to be when it was Frisson. The problem w/ Frisson, though, was the food. I ate there often but the food was mediocre - but when you call yourself a "steakhouse" - I'm enough of a fool to try it once before ripping on it.
Let's be clear - I am extremely picky about my steak. I am the diva of meats. I will take down any kind of meat and give it a shot. I will take a chunk out of a newly slaughtered animal if someone says it tastes good. Be it grass or corn-fed, be it in Australia or Argentina - I have eaten there, and I know my meat - and more importantly, I love and respect meat.
Meat is my friend.
Well, folks - A5 does NOT disappoint.
The decor here is, thankfully, not as orange as Frisson was, but light neutral colors and absolutely romantic and intimate with a lot of booth seating. It has a patio out back, and a back section reserved for large groups. You have a partial view into the large kitchen. The lighting, the layout and the general aura of A5 is stunning.
Before getting into the food, let's just touch on service. The owners/managers were very courteous. The few servers we encountered over the course of the evening were outstanding. Some tried a bit too hard - and it seemed like a fake smile was glued to their face - but I'm not one to dock for trying. Keep trying... and hopefully one day it will be more natural. I never lacked for wine or water in my glass, and people came by just enough to make sure the dining experience exceeded our expectations.
My friend JH and I were at dinner - and Archie R. joined us later. We all had hamachi shooters at $4 a pop, and it's a nice start to a meal. You can definitely taste the hamachi, soy sauce, and caviar put into this little concoction - it's delightful. They offered us complimentary glasses of champagne on the house, and that was quite nice. JH and I also ordered two glasses of Riesling to drink with the shooters and the shrimp cocktail appetizer that we shared. The shrimp, I would skip next time. While good, it wasn't special.
My friend had the filet mignon - I was ecstatic to find the buffalo steak on the menu and opted for that - though we shared a bite of each other's for Yelp's sake. The filet mignon was seasoned beautifully - not an ounce of salt or pepper needed on that type of perfection. My buffalo steak, however, stole the show. At $47 for a 10 oz. cut - I never saw a more gorgeous sight in my whole life as I cut into this chunk of meat - - perfectly cooked to a nice, medium-rare, and juicy to the last bite. My friend Archie showed up mid-dinner and though the steak was cold, even he confirmed that this was one fine steak.
Buffalo Steak...
Just when I thought it couldn't get better, I took a bite of the potato-croquette type of concoction that accompanied my steak - and was immediately taken to another realm. I do not know exactly what was in this - but between the cheesiness and crispness on the outside, gooey goodness on the inside - with a mouthful of buffalo - - the only thing that made it better was the sip of wine I took to wash it down.
Speaking of wine - I brought a bottle of my own Turnbull wine that I had been saving in my cellar to dinner. Corkage fee at the restaurant was $20, which is in my opinion, the fair cost for a meal of this caliber. I can't stand it when restaurants gouge you on corkage - some of us have nice wines at home that we are willing to pay extra to drink there, but charging more than $20 to provide us w/ glasses during a meal we are opting to have at your establishment is not just ridiculous - but rude. A5's corkage is fair, and they provided good service to go along with it. I should also note that their wine list is superb - in my opinion, since they seem to have many of the wines that I enjoy the most!
After dinner, there was an event going on at the lounge, and we opted to stay on in the dining section, enjoying the house music while having more wine, dessert and coffee. The dinner portion, bearing in mind I brought my own wine, was $146, not including tip. The after-portion, not including tip was $56 for coffee, a bottle of wine, and one outstanding cheesecake that was tart, slightly sweet, creamy but not heavy at all.
I will be back to A5 time and again, not only for their events but dinner.
It borders on perfection.
time to break my yelp dry spell.
ive been meaning to go here since i heard about the soft opening but time just wasnt on my side. last night i finally found time to escape and made it at 7pm for happy hour and stay for dinner. i will be back. SOON.
it was a monday night, but i was still surprised at how empty the place was. we stated with 2 for $5 hamachi/poke shooters (usually $4 each), truffle fries and chicken yakitori. i thought the hamachi was too salty but i hear the quality varies. the poke shooter was delicious! i couldve had 4 of those and made a meal out of it! while i liked the sriracha aoili, the truffle fries feel short. not enough truffle oil and i just didnt like the cut or texture of the fries. the yakitori was about double the amount i thought it would be and the chicken was very tender. they couldve been a bit more tasty. if youre gonna just have dinner here, dont bother with these though! i tried the beef carpaccio rolls. while the quantity was impressive for $5, they were pretty gross and flavorless. all in all, for $20 for 2 people, it was a great deal!
on to dinner! this was the really awesome part. id already done a good deal of recon and i was a woman who knew what she wanted.
on mondays, the ENITRE winelist is 50% off. you can get some krugs cheaper than retail price! they have a really extensive wine AND champagne list and our server DANIEL was extremely knowledgeable.
lobster tempura: i love the popcorn crab at alexanders (sister restauran) and i thought it would be similar but it was 3 skewers of big lobster chunks. i was hesitant about the sweet and sour dipping sauce but it was so good! not at all like the americanized saucees at panda express. instead of artificial citrus sour, it was much more vinegar-y. nom!
lamb chop: this was definitely the BEST appetizer by far. get it medium rare. it's sooo tender and i LOVE the seasoning. my friend's came out more ont he medium side and they immediately replaced it and assured us we didnt have to feel guilty.
snap pea soup with dungeness crab: it was not at all like a regular pea soup. it was definitely sweeter and almost a sauce consistency. large, generous chunks of crab. wihle i liked it, i dont think id get it again since id wanna save room in my belly for something else!
a5 wagyu new york steak: im usually a ribeye girl and i dont like sauces on my steak but this cut was probably one of the best steaks ie ever had. perfectly prepared with enoki mushrooms, it was to die for. 4 oz is PLENTY for even a big eater (me). please note its $18/oz instead of the $16/oz thats stated on their website
a5 ribeye: this was delicious also but i was a little hesitant on the choice of red bell pepper relish. this is my personal taste though and the eat was still top notch.
melange a trois: it was ok. very cute though.. teeny tiny cup of cocoa.. whoopie pies (haha) were pretty good..
banana tart: mm! so fresh and yummy! loves the caramel brittle thing that came with it
matcha donuts: if you cna only have 1 dessert, get this one!!! three big donuts (like them without the raspberry sauce), delicious oolong tea ice cream and a yummy peach cracker. :D
mm.. kobe beef.....
Stepping into this space, you are immediately enveloped in swanky art deco 60's, meeting modern mood lighting and glowing fire motif. The day is forgotten as your eyes sweep across the warm yellows and cool blacks. You are here now. Enjoy these moments.
Have a seat at the bar if you're in time for happy hour. (Which is a good thing to do: $5 passion fruit vodka drinks + $2.50 hamachi shooters, are a steal in this indulgent and sexy space.)
A solid 4 stars for happy hour, starters and sides. Green tea donuts with raspberry side were an exquisite dessert.
A wild and blaring 5 stars if you opt for the restaurant's namesake items: the A5 Wagyu steaks. Priced by the ounce, you'll pay a pretty penny (in 2009 $$, not 1960's bucks!), but within one bite, the slight moan of ecstasy that escapes your lips will make it all so very worth it. After 2 shooters each, the sashimi & shrimp cocktail appetizers, we then shared 2 smallish steaks of filet mignon and New York steak variety (both of the A5 Wagyu beef imported from Japan). I do not know what they do to make the beef so very flavorful and tender, and, and, so melty-in-your-mouth divine, but I do know that I'm in some trouble because I think I may crave this pricey fare in the future.
We had an honest and attentive server. The ambiance is truly lovely. (Although I question the wisdom have having such a dark bathroom area. How am I supposed to check how my boobs compare against those pointy ones from the 60's?)
This place is real top drawer, I tell you.
(Yes, I know the origin of this last slang is pre-60's. I'm like a sophisticated person from the 60's. How's that?)
Review is for happy hour... only.
Bascially $5 everything (Wines, Mixed Drinks, Beers Apps, $2 daily specials and $1 oysters).
Probably one of the best happy hours in SF.
Enjoy.
Went here with my wife for my bday dinner.
Great contemporary ambiance. Modern, but classy. Not like the traditional steak houses that are dark, quiet, and stodgy.
Service was very friendly and pretty fast.
Food, here goes:
Bacon bread - delicious.
Hamachi shooters - phenomenal. Like tasting flavors for the very first time. I could've eaten 10 more of these. Forget shooting it though, it's easier to use a fork and drink the marinate.
Lobster tempura - very good, but the tempura kind of cheapens the lobster.
Kobe sliders - awesome.
Truffle fries - excellent. The perfect french fries.
We had a bone-in rib eye and I think the bone-in NY both prepared with the bbq demi-glaze, medium rare. Absolutely spectacular. Both were cooked perfectly. Easily one of the best steaks I have ever had.
For dessert,:
My wife got the menage a trois - very good. However, she was extremely envious after she tried the donuts I ordered. The matcha donuts are insane. Do not miss out on this.
Overall, we were both blown away by our meals and definitely look forward to going back!
Decor looks the same as the old Frisson - posh, trendy, and very NYC. Cool happy hour until 7:30pm with $5 apps, beers, wines, cocktails. Must try their shooters! The food runner was extremely nice and explained all the food and how to eat it. Otherwise, I think we would have tried to dig out the hamachi with our fingers - lol.
- Hamachi Shooters: yummy! very flavorful, fresh
- Oyster Shooters: good but too much melon or whatever that was in there
- Carpaccio Roll: pretty good, i think it was cucumber in there that gave it a nice crunchiness
- Lobster Dumpling: good soup, big, Friday $2 special
- Truffle Fries: delicious, good bar snack to munch on, the aioli dip was good
Chic decor, comfy seats, DJ, cool bartenders, nice upscale atmosphere, friendly staff. It looks the… Read more »
Who would have known that in San Francisco you would have the same ambiance and service as you would in a 5 star restaurant in Vegas? Awesome! A place to feel like a queen or king, right outside your doorstep! FINALLY!
They've got great ambiance, and very knowledgeable staff who cares about the quality of food, the music being played, and the type of service they are giving, and they are always coming up with new food and new things. I had the ahi shooters, and they're literally to die for! Then I ordered their best A5 steak, and savored every single bite. This is definitely a new idea in a city full of "new ideas", but happy hour is fun and classy, and dinner is just delish! I especially love the decor!
Wow, amazing beef! A5 Wagyu, charged by the ounce. But the quality is amazing! Oyster shooters were good too. Good ambiance and decor here, would go back next time I go to SF.
The decor is beautiful and spacious I must say considering it is a restaurant in SF, where most places are super tiny. Even the bar/lounge area is spacious and segregated enough from the eating area. i came here for an evening with the girls and we started off with beef tataki with delicious daikon and fries. For my entree, I chose the filet mignon, and the nice thing about this place was they have 2 portion sizes, so you do not have to order anything too large. The filets come in 6 or 10 oz, and the Australian wagyu ( 2 of my friends ordered that) came in the smallest portion at 4 oz. The seabass was also delicious, light and flaky. My filet was cooked medium rare, and prepared very well although a tad bit salty but still very good. It had these bits of ham on the side.
We then tried the A5 sampler which included the rib cap, new york, filet and rib eye. WOW, all I can say was extremely delicious, melt in your mouth like butter meat. We could not waste a single bite of it.
For sides, we chose mac and cheese, asparagus and mushrooms.
And for dessert, we tried green tea donuts (we were told this was usually the crowd favorite). Its different and has a raspberry dipping sauce. My favorite was the banana pie, it had a delicious crust. Maybe I'm biased because I just love banana pie. We also tried the cream cheese type thing with berries, and the chocolate cake was extremely rich and very very chocolately.
It exceeded my exceptions for a restaurant in SF, and i'll be sure to return again!
Food good was really good and the place is very cool looking with a very swanky, suave atmosphere.
A few friends and i came during the Yelp Eats week and got the pre fixe menu of the hamachi shot, salad, filet mignon and desert with two sides of macaroni and a side of corn with edamame.
The food was very delicious and nicely presented and the green tea donuts for dessert? OMG. Yeah, that good.
Our server was great too -- very nice and provided good service.
However, I'd suggest that if you have reservations for a certain time, make sure you're on time. Some of the people in our party arrived pretty late (this is our fault and not the restaurant's fault) and they don't like seating you until everyone is there, but each table apparently gets like a 2 hour 45 minute time slot-- which sounds like a lot of time, but it actually took quite a while for your whole meal to be finished. Anyhow, we felt like Big Brother was watching us to be finished which made me a little anxious.
One more thing. When we were in the lounge area before our dinner, I gave the lounge server back the check and cash and she never came back with change. I don't think it's right for people to determine their own tips.
Overall, I'd recommend this place for a nice dinner out in the City.
You walk in and it looks like your in some spaceship, literally...
I came here for Yelp EATS :] for a friend's birthday and I noticed that the prefix menu was selected items off review highlights WHICH WAS SUPER NEAT cuz I WAS ABLE TO TRY THIS WITHOUT BREAKING TOO MUCH OF MY WALLET.
My prefix menu consisted of
Hamachi Shooters (MUST TRY - so delicious and tasty)
Iceberg Salad with Bacon Bits & Apple Slices (mMmmMm BACON)
6 oz Filet Mignon (NOM NOM NOMS) **please read note if you want consistency in how your steak is cooked. [typically im not a super big fan of red meat, to be safe i like my steak medium WELL. however, at 5a5 their medium well was like entirely cooked...therefore if you want consistency in your steak - you really have to step it down one notch. next time i know to get the medium instead of medium well. however the tenderness of the fillet mignon made up for the overcookedness so the steak was still good:)]
their infamous Matcha Green Tea Donuts with Momo Oolong Tea Ice Cream (ice cream was the highlight of the overall of the disappointing dessert - which was basically sugar coated donuts with matcha green tea powder) - it literally sounds like its description
My friend and I decided to share Truffle Fries after reading some YELP reviews and I've got to say, its soft and comparable to Gregoire's Potato Puffs. The dipping sauce they used to compliment was some Jalapeno Thousand Island, very unique - not spicy whatsoever.
We decided to stay here afterwards cuz the restaurant turns into a club/lounge (with NO COVER!). We got a nice long table for our large group and the owner (who apparently is friends with my friend's boyfriend) gave us complimentary champagne! However, IDK WHY - most of our alcohol was not finished, BUT IT WAS TAKEN away from the table (part of the reason for the MINUS 1 star).
Price even with prefix prices was EHHH (also partial reason for minus 1 star). Parking is mediocre, really depends if you're lucky. Great, romantic date place.
OK, I really want to rate this a 3.5, but the service we received from our waiter made me round off to the higher number.
First off, the decor of this place is beautiful. I love the croc print on the chairs and menus, and the python print on the walls. I'm just into that right now . The place was pretty empty when my hubby and I arrived, yet, instead of being seated in the larger open space in the middle of the restaurant (what you see in some of the pictures), we were kind of tucked into the upper level in the back - right by the stairs to the bathrooms. ??? Even by the end of our meal, the main dining area was not full - so I don't know why we were seated away from everything.
We shared the iceberg lettuce salad to start. YUMMY! A little too much dressing, but the dressing itself was amazing. So bleu cheesy, creamy and good. The large chunks of smoked bacon and Fuji apples really provided a good mix of salty and sweet.
For dinner, hubby ordered the bone in rib-eye, and I ordered a bone in filet mignon. Sides included mac and cheese, asparagus with Parmesan, and corn with edemame.
The sides were fabulous. The mac and cheese had a really nice bite with the stronger Gruyere cheese in it (a must try). The corn with edamame was delicious - but really needs to be served in a bowl - or at least a plate with a ridge/rim (or whatever you call it). Could not spoon any corn without it getting on the table. The plate had no sides. It was completely flat. Not practical for corn. The asparagus was good - really nice with the Parmesan on it.
Notice that I've gone on and on about the sides... not the steaks. Why? Because it was disappointing - and this is a Steak Lounge! Both hubby and I ordered our steaks medium. His came out red. It wasn't rare inside - it was more raw. His was sent back to cook more - took another 10 minutes (that's how raw it was). My steak was thin (a filet is small around, but it's usually thick), and it was also rare/raw! Mine leaned slightly more towards the rare side, so I was able to eat it (I don't mind) but still - it's not what I ordered. Hubby was full from eating the sides by the time his steak came back to the table.
That aside, our waiter did all he could to make it up to us. Offered us free wine (which we didn't take), wanted to cover our valet parking (but we didn't need it), and also gave us free dessert (delicious green tea donuts - OMG -sounds weird, but trust me - order them).
On the whole, we were very disappointed with the steaks - considering where we were, and the fact that there were only three other tables in the place. Three! What were the chefs doing? It's one thing to under cook one steak, but both from the same order?
So, really 3.5 stars - pushed up because of really good service from our waiter, the amazing side dishes, and the restaurant decor itself.
5 stars all the way for this wonderful steakhouse- and most importantly was the unforgettable steak.
We started off with some unique tasty beverages- the bartenders were very attentive which impressed me especially since the lounge area was quite busy.
The wagyu sample plates (we had several because of our large table, over 10 people) were out of this world- the meat was so tender and flavorful it melted like butter in my mouth.
That night I also tried the 5A wagyu shooters, fries, day boat scallops, and for my main entree the dry aged bone-in NY steak with sides of mac and cheese and asparagus.
***Wow- what a meal- was so content I couldn't do dessert.***
Loved our waiter, he took a great deal of time explaining every item on the menu. Loved the valet, even though I didn't park my car with him, as I exited the front door, he quickly appeared with a light for my after dinner smoke!
A must try: the hamachi shooters.
I brought a friend here for her birthday. The whole ambiance of the place is perfect, the inner decor is simple, trendy and classy, definitely a great venue to have dinner or even just have a drink.
My friend enjoyed it and she's coming back with her co-workers for a holiday get-together. I would recommend anyone who is looking for a great steak dinner in an upscale/ trendy place.
By the way ask for Jim (he's your dream waiter. Empeccable service, personality and attentive).
I also came here for dinner to check it out and did not really think this was anything to rave about. I do not eat fish so the amuse bouche was something I could not eat. I asked if there was anything else. Answer: no. Ok, no problem. Salad comes and it is swimming in dressing so think you can hardly taste the lettuce. The only saving grace was the bacon and the fact that the dressing did not touch the bacon. Steak came and it was good. Not special, but good.
At this point we were hardly into our first glass of Wine (we purchased a bottle) and our courses were flying on to the table. When they cleared our dinner plates I asked nicely to have our dessert held off so we could enjoy our conversation and wine. I got a confused look from the waitress. Not even 2 minutes later she came to check on us. I told here we needed at least 10 minutes. Mind you the restaurant was almost empty and lots of tables open in the place. I go to the bathroom and my dessert is on the table. Ok - point taken - you really want us to leave, so we did. Too many great places to eat in this city - this is not on my list.
Everything was superb. Ambiance. Food. Music.
(Sorry, I'm in a rush to give this place a 5 star before I forget. I'll finish my review later. lol)
5A5 is a nice, upscale alternative to the "New American" fad that continues to run amok throughout the city. It's even better when your company is footing the bill, as ours was. The space is glam -- like a baby Las Vegas -- but the waitstaff, hosts, and chef are anything but pretentious. They were constantly making sure we were getting what we needed and making helpful suggestions throughout the meal. Hats off for excellent service.
The food was excellent, too. I loved the hamachi shooter (and it's probably the best bang-for-the-buck item on the menu). I also enjoyed the Australian F1 Kobe -- I'd recommend thinking small when you decide between a 4 oz steak or something larger -- there's plenty of other good stuff to go around like the fabulous mushroom side dish. The starters weren't quite as exciting as I might have hoped, but still enjoyable to try. Yes, we finished off with the green tea doughnuts: they're good, it's true.
Thanks for a fun night out, 5A5.
Happy Hour~
Mon - Sat. 5:00 - 7:30pm
$5 wines, cocktails, beers and appetizers
$5 appetizers (Beef Carpaccio Roll, Chicken Yakitori Skewers, Truffle Fries and Shooters (hamachi, poke, oyster - 2 for $5))
Daily $2 bites
Mondays - Seafood Ceviche Shooter
Tuesdays - Beef Kebab with Ikari Aioli
Wednesdays/Thursdays - $1 oysters
Fridays - Lobster Bites with Savory Soy Broth
Met up with Karen Y and Vincent K. Shared some food and chatted the evening away.
Shooters (http://www.yelp.com/bi...): Love love love the shooters here. My fav is the hamachi shooter. Perfection every time.
Oysters (http://www.yelp.com/bi...): Good but puny. Especially since I've been going to Zuppa.
Truffle Fries (http://www.yelp.com/bi...): Carbs while drinking is a must. And the fries here are pretty darn good. At least a lot better than what I had last time.
I must add though: that the waitress was a dimwit. We wanted 3 hamachi shooters and 3 poke shooters. She replied that the shooters are 2 for $5, which we knew so we repeated our order. She looked completely lost. Finally we explained to her that that even though we're getting 3 of each (odd number), it adds up to 6 (even number) and that it still comes out even for the 2 for $5 deal. LOL. It was mean, but we couldn't stop laughing afterwards.
The shooters alone will have me revisiting. The rest are bonuses!
A5 Pre-opening Happy Hour.
Hamachi Shooters @ $3 a pop! (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) Delicious as…
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I would give 5A5 3 solid stars.
1. The Ambiance is very cool, sheik, and def has a lounge feel to it
2. The food was very good and not overly priced
3. They have a good variety of steak/sushi/seafood choices
It lost 2 stars because the service was not up to par! Our waitress took awhile to get our orders, the drinks we ordered also took awhile, and our main courses took forever! We had plans to go dancing after and we had to be at our next stop at 11! So dinner carried on longer than it should have. I understand kitchens get backed up but it would have been nice of our waitress to be apologetic, instead she ignored us. I would go back, but I would make sure I didnt have to be somewhere aftewards and not be starving!
Kokkari was packed and I had no reservations, so we tried 5A5. First impressions...it was empty at 6 on a Thursday. That worried me. The crowd picked up a bit later on, but it was never what I'd call crowded.
Service was friendly, offered great recommendations on wine pairings and dessert, and the water glasses stayed full.
The decor is a tad pretentious for my tastes: minimalist, pseudo-hipster, lounge, DJ cave. And the table we sat at was HUGE, so much so that sitting across from the rest of your party, I felt nearly divorced from the conversation.
For food, went with the Filet paired with a Cab, and sides of spinach and asparagus. The sides were both well seasoned without being overly salty, and the steak was above average. I have had better filets though, even at a chain (Ruth's Chris).
Now....there was one saving grace. Those green tea matcha doughnuts for dessert are simply out of this world! Highly, HIGHLY recommended. Unfortunately, they only offer basic brew coffee, with no espresso or capuccino, which would have accompanied the dessert superbly.
Very nice wine list, want to try the Wagyu tasting next time. However, I left feeling like I had spent too much and not truly gotten my money's worth. Not a feeling you want to walk out of restaurant with!
Might be back, but you can have a better meal for much less in this City. Might be worth just visiting the bar and having appetizers.
Food: 4 (dessert=4.5)
Value: 2.5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3
Review No. 192
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* S 5 A 5 S
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Carnivore Alert! A few years back, I was in Tokyo for an invitational dinner at one of those Kobe steak and beer restaurants and quite frankly I cannot tell you to this day if the steaks were outstanding, perhaps it was the wine they kept passing to us on a looooong paddle.
5A5, (a sous chef who worked at Alexander became the executive chef-as noted from Randy F, of Palo Alto), was an unforgettable experience. I had to go back 3 times to make sure I wasn't delusional.
The first and second visit, I had the shooters (a trio of hamachi, ahi and oyster), Lobster Tempura,Truffle Fries, the Green Tea Doughnuts, which tastes alot like Malasadas and the Chocolate Menage a Trois. For the steaks entree, the first visit, I stuck with the prix fixe dinner (shooter, bacon-cheese salad, filet mignon and the donut dessert $39.00), The second visit, I was invited by Yelpers Anna C. and her husband Matt! We had ordered almost the same, except for the salad (Cesar), shared the asparagus side and for the "Steaks", we had the American, Australian and the Wagu (rib eye). We made the mistake of eating the Wagu rib eye first, and the Australian and American took the back seat in flavor, tenderness and indescribable carnivore delight!
Yesterday's visit, I wanted to concentrate more on the Wago steak, so we ordered a simple fare of Lobster Tempura, Truffle Fries, Cesar salad (she had the bacon-cheese salad), the Wagu Rib Eye (I had the 8 oz and she had the 4 oz) and for dessert, we ended with sharing a panna cotta chocolate pie and the famous Green Tea Doughnuts.
My guest and I ultimately agreed that we can never go back to the steaks we had in the past. It's Wagu all the way!
5 stars? not quite...
Amazing MAC N' CHEESE!
5 courses for yelp eats? haha it almost felt like it!
I came here last night with a few of my friends for the Yelp Eats! And thanks to Katie Anne N.'s review I decided to do the two hour commute from south bay after work.
Hamachi shooter $4 (didn't know how to shoot it in my mouth)
Iceberg Salad $7 (sounded better than the anchovies)
FIlet Mignon... medium rare $21 (very yummy and tender!)
Cheesecake... YUM!!!!!!! It was priceless! (meringue top, cheesecake, and cakey bottom)
-------
Total= $35
Aside from the four course Yelp Eats, we also ordered M A C N' C H E E S E!!!!! Yum! :) So greasy, cheesey, butter goodness!!! Gruyere, mozarella, and cheddar cheese!! It was worth $8! hahaha
See my "Yelp Eats 2009 SF" review for more details... http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Its a beautiful place to have happy hour with your friends. The HH menu and drinks is enough to make your palette happy and the restaurant itself is designed with great taste. The service was superb despite the fact that our server had two large parties. Steve Chen, the owner, was incredibly attentive and gracious for enjoying our Thursday evening at his restaurant.
My friends and I will definitely go back and I might have to take my man to experience the dining room area, which is even more beautiful.
I went to this place when it was first opening as 5A5. I'm not a huge steak fan so I had the fish, which I don't even really remember. I tried my friends' steak dishes and chicken dish, they were good, but not great. The only thing I really remember are the truffle fries. This place is not a poor place to eat, but it's way over fancied and not as good as advertised.
What I do remember more than the food, is that the bathrooms are unisex and the sink is a trough...interesting
Came to a party that benefit the typhoons in the Philippines. Part of the process went to the charity. The drinks are cheap. For 3 drinks they were just 15 bucks total. But they were strong for sure. Everyone was dress up in costumes and it was nice to just people watch and saw watch each person wore. The more creative ones was Tetris and Sushi. We got there early and got great seats near the DJ. Great place to just chill, have a drink, and people watch.
Went to 5A5, for my 21+2 birthday celebration! Must say...
the Hamachi shooters were delicious & the Trio of Wagyu steak pleased my palate. The service was excellent- attentive to detail & just plain awesome! I will definitely come back again.
More warm vibe in the lounge than Frisson. I like how they have the flames instead of the old blah champagne bubbles above the bar.
Servers were nice.
Only had oysters and edamame, and neither were very good. Oysters didn't taste that fresh, and the edamame with sesame oil and chili(?) were just oily and kind of slimy.
Go for drinks.
The ambiance was great, and so were the cocktails! We came here for the yelp eats affair, but after looking through their extensive menu, we realized we didn't want to adhere ourselves to any guidelines.
Order of dishes, in order of my favorites: Truffle fries, rib eye, filet mignon, and the beef tataki.
No place gets 'medium rare' right except for house of prime rib. The rib eye was slightly overcooked in this case.Just slightly. Just enough to make me say 'I wish this was just a tiny bit undercooked. Just a tiny bit.'
The favorite by far were the truffle fries. I couldn't taste the truffles when I was looking for it. Only when I was ignoring the fact that there was truffle on the fries that I realized there was a subtle punch. It was like finding buried treasure.
And the beef tataki? Didn't appeal to me at all. I would not be serving this dish in its current, glorious form if I had the choice. I would lose the radish, and make sure the dish was less watery. But hey, what do I know, I'm just a highly regarded food critic with monstrous appeal to a wide audience.
Hah. Yeah. Anyways, our service was impeccable. Extra noogin tip for the lady who advised us on every question we had with a wide smile.
Went here after a good sushi dinner elsewhere in the city. Since I don't really dig japanese desserts, our local friends took us to 5A5. Valeted the car because I hate parking on the street and we were seated right away. We just ordered some dessert dishes - some cookies with ice cream were really tasty. Wish I could comment on the steak, but I'll save that for next time. When we were done with that, we ventured over to the bar and hung out while the DJs spun.
The best thing about this place is definitely the decor and ambiance. There were about four large groups and it feels like such a perfect place for a big party - you eat some good steak, have good conversation, good music and a good bar. Plus the bathrooms are interesting - it's downstairs and the sink area is coed, and like 8 private toilets. (no urinals and it's clean).
Let me start by saying that I like to consider myself a fair guy and I've had my fair share of so so service, so I welcome any input on whether or not I'm being too harsh with my following review.
I recently came here with a group of friends for a good buddy's birthday party and the experience we had was unexpected of a place of this "caliber".
I'll start with the good. The food was pretty decent. I did enjoy the oyster and poke shooters. I'd rather have a poke salad over a shooter, but I'll give them kudos for being creative. The filet mignon was cooked to my liking and was satisfying. The main course did come with mac & cheese and asparagus, which was amusing (in a good way).
You've probably noticed that my food review is pretty short. That's because the food simply did not give me a good enough lasting impression over the service we had to deal with.
Now to the nitty gritty. My buddy's girlfriend spent 2 days visiting 5A5 beforehand to taste the wine and menu and to confirm the back room for our group. She wanted his birthday to be a special occasion, so it was a complete surprise when, on the day of the event, the hostess told us that the back room was unavailable to us. Evidently, they forgot to keep our reservation. They tried to make up some lame excuse about not having a contract signed, but they should have brought that up when my friend took the time the previous 2 days to sample the wine/menu and reserve the room. Someone at the restaurant obviously dropped the ball on the reservation front. Nothing irks me more than people who don't own up to their own mistakes.
To make up for the mistake, after trying to place blame on us, they comped us some drinks. That was ok, for the moment, and it looked like everything was going to work out.
We were told the room would be available after the current party was finished. The party using the room had already finished their meal and were jibber-jabbering far past any decent excusable timeframe on a busy night. We asked the manager to do his job and ask the party to please finish, but since he lacked a pair, all he did was sheepishly ask the party to finish to which the response from the party was to piss off. Now at this point, if I was the manager, I would have mentioned that there was a party waiting on their reservation and that they could move their conversation to the lounge area, which had plenty of room, but did he do that?...uh, no. Instead he let them have their way with his establishment and had us wait for over an hour. One word comes to mind when describing the manager...(fill in the blank here, rhymes with wussy)...
We were eventually seated at two separate tables, causing our group to be split. You can imagine the awkwardness of this. To add insult to injury only the prix fix menu was available after all that waiting.
Eventually, another friend of ours personally went to the back room and politely asked the party to either finish their conversation or please move to the lounge area. They were at first belligerent, but someone came to their senses and realized they were being incredibly rude by taking up the space for an overextended period of time, so they left. Now, this is the first time at any eating establishment that I've seen such a weak display from the management in client control. I have never had to witness a friend of mine having to ensure our own reservation in this way. It was completely and utterly unacceptable. We would have left the establishment but stayed out of respect for the birthday boy and his girlfriend.
After finally being seated in the room. We were hastily served our food. One of the waiters actually gave one of our party a sneer (which he didn't think anyone noticed), as if we were bothering him by making him serve us...in other words, do his job. Unbelievable! Now, in my mind, if you've had a group experience the service we had encountered, could you blame us for being visibly irritated? And wouldn't you do your best to accomodate for your establishments failings? This concept seems to be lost to the management at 5A5.
As respectful patrons, we actually left a decent tip.
I usually give places a 2nd chance, but not in this case. For me, no matter how great your food is or could be, if the service is not on par then the only taste left is a bitter aftertaste.
5A5, you taste like feet.
Extremely average about sums this place up. I get the whole steak lounge thing they are trying to make work here, the thing is, it doesn't work. The place seems desperately trying to be New York hip, down to the little line things and bouncer at the front door - but it comes off being lame. If they focused on one or the other, restaurant or lounge, it would probably be huge, but trying to be both a meat place and a meat market lacks the needed saltiness.
The front people should be fired. They are aloof to the point of being rude. My party of 4 was on time, and after letting them know, and being told we would be seated, part one of the male female team proceeds to seat 2 other parties while we stood there like morons. I approached part 2 of the team, who immediately got defensive, telling me how he had not spoken to me, and they were busing as fast as they could, excuse excuse excuse., blah blah blah.
We went back to the bar. Luckily the bartender was lovely; she made some great drinks and was very kind. So we chit chatted, and after seating a few other parties, and about 20 minutes later, part 1 rolls by with a huffy sorry and leads us to our seats. Our waitress did a quick pass by and immediately disappeared - she gets props for being cute, but not much else for her. To her credit, the music was so loud, and her voice so soft, it was next to impossible to hear her. Maybe I was put off by the rudeness of the front of the house, I am not sure as I was annoyed and not in a forgiving mood.
The shooters are fine, tasty. But fish shooters in a steak house? We also had some weird beef/avocado/jicama thing/take on a sushi roll - bad.
The steaks are very expensive, and really not all that impressive. $40 for just a steak is imho a crappy value. You get a plate. some ok sauce, and some meat. Maybe a few onions if your lucky. That is it. All sides extra, and they are just ok.
And though they claim the cuts are dry aged, I do not think they age them for too long, they seemed pretty fresh to me.
Listen, the bar scene seemed banging, plenty of pretty girls, and really badly dressed guys, and the drinks were decent. But of you want a steak joint, you should go elsewhere. Heck, Kokkari is right next door. Eat some decent Greek food there, and just come her for the bar and club vibe.
Have had dinner here and countless drinking nights/bdays here. I heard they changed their chef so this review may not apply as much. Just a simple disclaimer!
If you're going to name your steakhouse '5A5' - you better have DA BOMB red meat. High expectations for the food - but was heavily disappointed. Meat was overcooked, tasted a bit too seared and the sides were just ok.
I like the ambiance..although the whole dining and watching people drink @ the bar is a little different. I feel like they could have separated that a bit better.
I like the music there and if you get the right bartender drinks are quite stiff. Yay!
I did have an issue once where a buddy of mine couldn't get in with his chuck taylors. The door guy was a real jerk about it. I understand, but a few weeks back they allowed people to wear whatever shoes they wanted. I suppose there was a change in policy to uphold the branding/imaging/type of crowd they wanted in there and to keep riff-raffs out. Nonetheless, it was annoying to still see some folks in there with tennis shoes while my buddy was stuck outside while I said happy bday to the birthday girl.
We didn't even realize that this excellent steakhouse existed. Tip to the owner/manager, try some marketing. We offer that because they certainly have something to market. Better than Ruth Chris, Morton's, and the other chop houses combined. We read the Yelp reviews but I never know if the reviewers are employees or friends of employees writing sterling reviews to help drive business. Thank goodness they were all right. The Hamachis shooters were amazing! My friend ordered the bone-in fillet and I had the bone-in New York. My was cooked to perfection;she wanted hers medium rare and it came out medium. She is very fussy about her meat. We sent it back with not a bit of hassle and 8 min later had the fillet back cooked to perfection.
The sides of mac and cheese with Gruyere cheese was to die for as well as the steamed spinach. The highlight with these marvelously cooked, wonderfully cut steaks was the waiter telling us that they were doing a half price on bottles of wine. HUH? We looked at each other and the wine list and asked if that applied to all bottles. As he nodded yes, we immediately ordered the $200 bottle of Caymus. HMMMMM....
The service was very good and not overly doting.
We highly recommend 5A5 to all lovers of steak
Must try their Green Tea Matcha donuts with jelly sauce on side, they are to die for!
Loved this place as Frisson and love it even more now as 5A5!
5A5 is great for it's yummy food and…
Read more »
PRO: Excellent cow, cool vibe
CON: Food service was a little slow
Yup, we're on a beef kick, bitches! Morton's the other day, a 10-day feast in Argentina and Rio b4 that, and last night, the (relatively) new 5A5 Steak & Lounge by Jackson Square. Moo! We rolled in here with our meat-loving friends Bob & Jane, and remembered one of the last times we dined with them was here, when it was Frisson.
So not that much has changed actually. Well, apart from it turning into a high-end Steak House. Or Beef Arbiter, if you will. Wait. When someone says anything with 'if you will...' at the end, don't you take it to imply '...if you will take your head out of your ass'?. No? Hmmm. We do. So if you ever hear us saying that to anyone...
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So does 5A5 fill the big shoes left by Frisson? Pretty much. This place is a solid steak house with a cool vibe to boot. Shit! Just let the cat (or is it, Calf) outta the bag, how will I get you to read on now?!
The menu is broken up into several sections: Shooters: (inexpensive little suckers) including Hamachi, Oysters, Caviar, A5 Wagyu, mostly $4-10. Then, Bites: things like Shisito Peppers, Cocktail Shrimp, Truffle Fries, Chicken Yakatori, mostly all in the $5-12 range. Next up! Starters: Stuff like Lobster Tempura, Lamb Chops, Day Boat Scallops, ranging from $10-20. Movin' on up! Mains: now we're in the meat of it. Filet Mignon, Buffalo Filet, Dry Aged T-Bone, Aussie 'Kobe', all in the $20-40 price.
Then they get all crack head crazy on your ass and do things like the A5 Wagyu at $18-20 per...OUNCE. Yes, kittens. Actually when you speak ounces you should be talking about feeding kittens or buying certain home-grown agricultural products IMO. Legalize it, people! And, no, they won't let you order 1 ounce. Minimum is about 4 ounces. Sheeatt! And they have a World Wide Wagyu Sampler that gets ya 3 servings each of different Wagyu beef, for about...$175. So, if you have an abacus handy, that's more than $175 per pound. And I am sure, worth every Yen. Yeah. But not after the 3 shots of tequila I already had! Oh yeah, there's Sides too. Nope, not gonna yammer about them right now. All good. 'Nuff said
So back to the name! Told you that you should read on! So A5 is the designation for what many think is the bestest of the best steak in the world, the A5 Wagyu, imported from Japan. Dunno what the '5' in from of the 'A5' means. Maybe we'll figure that out next time.
OK, I'm exhausted. Let's get into it, here's what we had: Surprise! The Filet Mignon (6 oz, $21), dug it they had a petite size as well as a 10 oz. Yeah pigs, I hear you. 10 oz is 'petite' for most of my friends. Just remove all the mirrors from your house, you'll be just fine. Anyhoo, the meat here is tight. Meaning damn good. The Filet was cooked perfectly, very tender, and they rightly so laid off the spices. No salt or pepper on this, and none needed. It was melt in your pie hole good. Next, the New York Strip (8 oz, $25) they also have a 4 oz for $16. I am really getting into good NY Strip Clubs. Shit! I mean, New York Strip STEAKS. Damn. It hasn't replaced the Filet, but the flavor of this cut is fan-f'ing-tastic and has more character than the Filet in some ways. This is an excellent cut of cow, and very high quality. Rare, dumbass!
Wait, we forgot the sides! We had the Macaroni & Cheese ($8), with Gruyere, Mozzarella and Cheddar. That Mozzy kicks it up a notch! Very creamy and cheesy, nice elbow macaroni. Not as good as Morton's only because I like the baked top that Morton's and others do. That said, the addition of Mozzarella is awesome. We also had the Mushrooms ($12) I think they keep it generic so they can rotate fresh types in and out. We had Wood mushrooms, Creminis, Shittakes and a few I couldn't quite pick out. But all good, lightly sauteéd, and very fresh. This is a nice, light appy. We also snarfed the Marble Potatoes ($9), these nice little spuds that are dense, yet well cooked all at the same time. So not 'mushy' but with a nice semi-crunch on the skin, firm yet tender on the innards. Plus, the Kobe Sliders ($7), two nice sized sliders, with your choice of cheese and just simple great beef on a (semi too big) bun.But a good bun, not that Ciabotta crap.
Wait, we also MUST discuss the vino. So in addition to being on a cow kick (OK, we're also into a good cow tip) we're also on an unplanned but fab Gundlach Bundschu kick! As in kick your taste buds up a notch you winos! We had not one, but two bottles of the Gun Bun 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon ($65). Seriously. Good. Wine. Bob and Jane can run circles around us with wine snobbery and we all loved this vino. So there. This is a very well made and structured wine, period. Not
I would be really careful when frequenting 5A5 as my jacket was recently stolen from their coat check.
Firstly, when I put my coat in the coat check and take a number, I don't expect for it to not be there when I leave at the end of the evening.
When I raised this with the staff & management, they couldn't care less, and basically told me it was up to me to make an insurance claim.
I would have expected more from an establishment such as 5A5. Since the evening my jacket was stolen, I've called multiple times trying to follow up.
I spoke to someone called Marcy (Marci) who promised to follow up and then never called me back. Very disappointing.
The food was really deee-lish. I would definitely recommend the food here!! I had the filet mignon, pea soup, and doughnuts. Everything was really really good.
The atmosphere is a bit loud. (Or am I just getting old??) But it's a cute loung-ey type place. A little 'hip' but still casual. The service was really good. Our waiter made great recommendations. Was attentive and genuinely nice.
The gentleman at the front of the house was very cold. He insisted that I called and changed my reservation to 7 pm. This is truly uncool since I have an email confirming the 8:30 pm reservation with Marci, the "special events director". Ponder that!
Our table was so dark that we could barely see our food. Our server said the back room fireplace was broken so it was darker than usual. That's fo sho. I could only tell my filet mignon was rare by texture and not by color.
It could have been a sucky bad experience last night. The flavors and textures of the food were decent. And service was okay. Our glasses were bone dry before they were refilled.
THREE STARS all go to our super cute waiter! OMG! I would go back just to have him read the menu to me again. LOL.
3.5 stars
Had a nice dinner here, not great, but nice. Restaurant was beautifully decorated with dark wood and I liked the projected flames on the wall over the bar.
Our server was polite and attentive. I had the hamachi shooter - maybe I was expecting a lot from the avocado, ginger, yuzu and tobiko but I thought the hamachi was too big for me to "shoot" and the ginger overpowered the yuzu. My dining companion had the oyster shooter with compressed watermelon and shiso and a NY Strip. Both were enjoyable for him. I had the buffalo steak (which I've never had before) but noticed that the temperature was a little on the cool side.
I'm a little bit underwhelmed by the food here but I have to say I loved the ambiance. Maybe they had an off day? Regardless, I'd still come here for drinks and enjoy the flames on the wall.
I've come here a few times now, normally for big occasions where there is a big group of us going.
The whole ambiance of the place is great, the inner decor is amazing, definitely a great venue to have dinner or even just have a drink. They have a pretty big bar and play music as well.
The Hamachi Shooters and Fries are good starters. Then I always have the same thing when I'm there, which is the 6 oz. Filet Mignon, medium rare of course and it always comes out PERFECT. I normally get Asparagus on the side which is always good, but the most recent time I went I got mushrooms on the side and they were awesome. It was a mixture of shiitake and enoki mushrooms (I think?) and they were sauteed in sherry and garlic.
My friends have had a few of the other steaks they offer and loved them.
I would recommend anyone who is looking for a great steak dinner in an upscale/ trendy place.
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