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Art's Tapas + Sushi Lounge - CLOSED
Categories: Restaurants Sushi Bars Restaurants Tapas Bars Sushi Bars, Tapas Bars [Edit]
2353 Lombard St(between Pierce St & Scott St)
San Francisco, CA 94123
Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow
(415) 931-7900
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
84 reviews for Art's Tapas + Sushi Lounge
Review Highlights
-
"I would recommend the yellow tail crudo, spider roll, and..." In 6 reviews -
"Chilean Sea Bass: Our entree for the night, a delightful..." In 5 reviews -
"The Squid Ink Paella and the shrimp toast were standouts." In 2 reviews
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84 reviews in English
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Review from Serena C.
Daly City, CA
5/23/2011
Closed?!? ....aww sad face.
I been here twice and really enjoyed the atmosphere of the space. The servers that worked there were extra awesome and all smiles.
I love their garlic mussels!! This is the very first time I tried a tapas place and fell in love.
So sad that this place is now closed... -
Review from Genevieve Y.
San Francisco, CA
10/28/2009 15 photos
Date & Time: Wednesday October 28, 2009 @ 6:30pm
Company: Michael
Crowd: Just Us & Another Neighborhood Couple
Music: Jazz & R&B
Decor: Contemporary. CandleLit. Green & Black Color Palette. Tightly-Packed Bench-Seating
Service: Courteous & Professional
Imbibe: Pear Cocktail
Devour: Yellow Tail Crudo, Crispy Calamari, 24 Hour Marinated Escolar, Mirugai Nigiri, Uni Nigiri & Molten Chocolate Cake
Skip: Chorizo, Spiced Chicken Tacos, Spicy Scallop & Unagi Nigiri
Total: $84.96 -
Review from Tammy C.
6/5/2010 2 photos
(See pics)
Came here on a Leblon cocktail crawl. Writing a short review because this is another place closing and it is closing down tomorrow. So if you have any coupons / wooden discount chips it's your last chance using them.
The drink I had here was only so so. -
Review from Justin N.
3/31/2010
Last Friday I wanted to mellow out and snag some food solo. Unwind and space out, "do nothing" kind of Friday. I had a gift certificate to Art/s and figured why not tonight?
I have to say looking at the visit as a whole it was very nice all around. The food good, I'm impressed at quality sushi and tapas simultaneously. The establishment trendy and clean, all of the staff helpful. Honestly the highlight that sticks to my minds eye more than even the food was the phenomenal service by Franco the bartender. Being a solo diner I didn't want to take up a whole table so I reluctantly took a bar stool which is not generally my favorite spot to dine. Lucky for me Franco's friendly attitude and desire to help made the bar seat the best in the house.
I had questions aplenty and if he didn't know the answer he did not hesitate to check it out for me. I finally said "Man, I've asked too many questions, if you don't know please don't check anymore, don't worry about it." His reply was that of course he would check, he likes hearing questions he doesn't know the answer to, it helps him learn even more about their food. You hear that Art/s? You have an employee that wants to learn, he was excited. The signs of a good employee.
Overall very pleasurable, the only dish I got that I would never order again was the broccoli small plate, the sauce was far too salty. Hang onto that Franco guy Art/s, he genuinely knows how to take care of his customers. To that I say if you see Franco working, sit at the bar! -
Review from Angelo F.
San Francisco, CA
1/7/2010
So Groupon had some sort of deal for this place and I wanted to check out the rating, but what really caught my eye was a "1/2 off total bill for Yelpers" opening promo.
Lickity split, I invited some friends for a night of sushi/sake/sloppy. I knew it was a long shot, but I wanted to see my friends before Christmas. Lo and behold, pretty much everyone was available that night (well except for a few Grinches/Scrooges).
The place is gorgeous, huge bay windows face Lombard for Marina People watching, it's the grand opening so all the furniture was new. They definitely make a good first impression. The place also has parking in the back, so no driving around 20 mins for a spot.
The food was definitely good, they could have more of a selection on the tapas but definitely decent small plates. After hours of sake/nibbles/beer, it was time to pay up. There were 9 of us and the tab came to be about $30 a head including tax/tip. eff yah!
Highlights of the night:
1.The long drawn out conversation about boobs.
2. Jessica's first night meeting my friends :) -
Review from marianne w.
San Francisco, CA
10/25/2009 9 photos
We drove by here on the way home and decided to finally give it a try. Art/s is a new modern decor restaurant serving sushi and tapas- they also have a full bar w/ tons of wine to choose from.
We ordered the bruchetta, cheviche, garlic mussels, hamachi sashimi, chicken taco and the lombard sushi and the bill came out to be a little less than $50.00. Tapas are considered "small plates" but they really did pack a lot in the dishes that we ordered. The hamachi was fresh so that was definitely thumbs up for me! I also loved the garlic sauce w/ the mussels and the chicken taco I basically swallowed. The sushi was OK- the rice wasnt as soft as it's suppose to be.
Art/s is new and just opened about a week ago per our server. They are definitely on track and I plan on coming back within the next few months.
They also have a bunch of customer parking in the parking lot which is a bonus! -
Review from Jeanne C.
San Francisco, CA
5/19/2010
The happy hour is great although I didn't eat much. You know, liquid diet.
The guys here are so nice. On my first visit they let me in for a couple drinks even though they were closed. Yeah, now I sound like a lush. Franco makes my lychee martini's the way I like em, just vodka and lychee juice. None of that infused vodka and syrup or worse, grenadine.
I will admit that I avoided this place for a while because I had no idea what it was called. Art/s?!! How do you pronounce that? For the life of me I could not find this restaurant on Yelp! WTH?!
Pros: Great service, friendly staff, full bar, good drinks, happy hour prices.
What could be better: extend Happy Hour time, change music, perhaps hire a DJ to draw in a younger crowd. Change the seating for more of a relaxed environment where people can mingle. -
Review from Carolynne K.
Hayward, CA
4/11/2010 1 Check-in Here
Cool vibe but the food didn't live up to it.
We ordered the cheese croquettes, shrimp toast, paella negro, and the scallop sashimi.
The cheese croquettes were pretty good - white cheddar and mozzarella breaded with panko. Good consistency with the cheese. The tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette that accompanied it was not. Acidity does not mix with cheese in my book.
The shrimp toast was alright, probably the best dish we ordered. It had a nice sweet/spicy flavor that wasn't too complicated.
Paella without saffron is odd, but it's a fusion place so I can roll with it. The squid ink rice was undercooked and tough to eat. It came with 4 mussels, 2 prawns, and pieces of squid that were perfectly cooked. Pretty good for $15 if the rice was cooked properly.
The scallop sashimi wasn't impressive. I don't think it was sashimi grade. The lemon slices served with it were overpowering on the palate. -
Review from Kim S.
5/24/2010
Cool ambiance & decor. Especially liked the light fixtures.
Service lacking. Took 4 attempts to flag down the waitress. Her attentiveness did improve after we ordered.
On our 1st visit, we scored because happy hour was all night due to a special event. +free wine & cocktails, how can you go wrong?
Fresh oysters - $0.99 each. Come to mama, my weakness. They were local, plump & fresh. Sauce was too vinegary tho.
Chicken wings - $5 for 5 pieces. Fried & salty. Eh.
Seared slices of fish - can't remember type - $5 for 4 pieces. Boring. -
Review from Raymond M.
San Francisco, CA
2/22/2010
Since I never made it to HIME, I thought I would check out the latest restaurant to fill this space.
Even though the restaurant is located on Lombard street, you don't get the feeling of a busy street outside once you have been seated. The interior of the restaurant is very hip and welcoming. And a bonus for many people will be that they have a parking lot with free parking.
Onto the food -
1. Ultimate Spicy Tuna Roll - this actually might the first spicy tuna roll I have had in San Francisco that actually was spicy.
2. Yellow Tail Crudo - we both thought this was pretty good.
3. Walu 24 - this was pretty tasty as well.
I wasn't blown away by the food, but I thought it was okay and I will check it out again sometime. -
Review from MiKA D.
5/5/2010
My friends, Ace and I decided to do HH at Art's Tapas & Sushi Lounge in the Marina and take advantage of the free spicy tuna roll special via Urbandaddy SF's ad. We were so happy that they have their own parking lot in the back.
We walked in and checked in with the hostess for our reservations. Apparently, there was miscommunication on their part about the HH restrictions for the bar versus the lounge area. My boyfriend cleared any miscommunication and met with the manager/owner. They made an exception and we ordered a slew of tapas and sushi, three large sake, beers and such.
We had the walu, oysters, mussels, fries, garlic edamame, snow bombs, spicy tuna rolls, salmon skin roll, sangria, etc.
I love the ambiance and decor. There were alot of diners and loved how our server, Maddie was prompt and friendly.
I'd come back here again. Taka, the owner/manager visited us three times at our table to check back if we liked the food and service. -
Review from Eudora Z.
San Francisco, CA
6/8/2010
Why does Yelp say this restaurant's CLOSED? It's not CLOSED. Nevermind! I just read the previous post and said they're closing tomorrow.
So I give this place a 3-star since there weren't many selections on choice of food. Since most dishes had some sort of a seafood to it (including sushies), my friend who recently found out she's allergic to seafood, was limited to most. Hence, not that great of a night for her. Not too crowded with good service. Awesome bathroom! Onto the food:
Three drinks/cocktails were ordered: Red Envy ($8), Peach Fuzz ($11), and Sangria ($8). The prices I give you are different from their website- probably b/c they haven't updated their pricings for their online menu. But non the less, I tried all three. Peach Fuzz had the stronger kick compared to the two others. Red Envy tasted like Sprite....great for light drinkers. Sangria
Land Tapas:
Cheese Croquette- the balsamic vinaigrette gave the cheese a twist. Tasted more of the sourness from the vinaigrette than the actual cheese.
**MY RECOMMENDATION**: Jamon Serrano Prosciutto- Sliced Spanish ham & Italian Prosciutto served with kalamato olives and cantaloupe. Mmmmm.....tasty. Trying the ham with the olive+cantaloupe will taste different from the prosciutto with the olive+cantaloupe...both very buttery but smells different. You will tell the difference from the ham and prosciutto once you try it out.
Salad:
MY RECOMMENDATION: Art's Salad- REALLY GOOD! Even if you don't like greens too much. Eat this! The baby arugula and baby tomato and balsamic vinaigrette really added a touch to the meal. *thumbs up*
Entree:
Paella Negra- With various seafood mixed with squid inked rice, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to try it since there was "squid ink"(really?) mixed with it. I tried it and I actually liked the rice mixed with everything else. It's kind of like eating black sticky rice with a whole bunch of seafood.
Walu (Sizzling Plate)- like any other fished grilled with the sides. Not sure if I'd order it again. -
Review from Nezha B.
San Francisco, CA
10/23/2009
I really like the concept of Sushi and Tapas together, you get the best of both worlds in one spot!
I liked the decor as it didn't feel too formal and still was great for date night.
Dinner was good, however nothing spectacular. The one dish I really liked was the flank steak stew. We also had the Hamachi which was interesting. Stay away from the Walu 24 unless you like very dense / chewy fish.
I believe they only had 3 deserts on the menu and they didn't sound too appetizing but I am sure they're still working on their menu.
The service was impeccable and the staff was very friendly. I hope this place gets more business as the ambiance was nice. I was surprised how empty it was for a Friday night. I guess they're just starting out and need to get the word out! -
Review from Tae K.
San Francisco, CA
10/25/2009
Given how useful the "first to review" entry was, I'll throw in my additional .02. This place used to be a Japanese restaurant called Hime. It's been re-branded as a fusion Japanese tapas restaurant and has been redesigned inside. What used to be the bar area is now a sushi bar and mini dining area. Overall, I wasn't a huge fan of the bright green color scheme, but the mini room in the back was nice. Our waiter was excellent and we were very pleased with the service.
My girlfriend and I had the following:
Carpaccio: the sauce was a bit too tart and salty; it overpowered the meat, but overall, not bad.
Garlic mussels: very good, flavorful sauce.
Calamari: the corn-based batter made these very light, crispy and not heavy.
Dragon roll: I felt like this was a pretty standard Dragon Roll; pretty good nonetheless.
I'd probably dine here again, not for the sushi, but for the other eclectic dishes they have. -
Review from Wana C.
San Francisco, CA
5/5/2010
I hate writing one star reviews especially when everything went ok. I'll tell you why I gave this place the lowest rating at the end of my review.
I also must mention that I too am a victim of Groupon for this place.
The place was empty when we got there around 6:30pm on Sunday. That's fine, cuz I like it quiet and I feel like I can get more attention and quick service from the waitress/waiter.
We were seated right away and given more than enough time to look over the menu. And since I always try to do my research before going to a restaurant, I sort of knew what to order.
The waitress was a doll. She apologized for the wait and took our order.
We got a dozen oysters, chefs sashimi, and a few rolls.
I thought the rolls were just ok. Kinda bland and such tiny portions for what I was paying for.
I NEVER use soy sauce when I eat sashimi or rolls. That must have been my mistake when I ate here. I read another review that they must not be using sushi grade fish and I can't say that I agree with this person. But I can't say that I disagree with them either.
10 minutes after leaving this place I was feeling queasy. The first thing that popped into my head was "oh man! I better not have food poisoning." Yes, I was in denial. I thought, ok maybe I'm just a lil' car sick. I really felt like throwing up at this point. I held it as long as I could.
I went grocery shopping earlier and had some groceries in the back. I emptied out a paper bag and yakked my brains out. Fuck! Yep, food poisoning. URGH!
I'm so glad I wasn't driving on this day. So there I was feeling miserable in the passenger seat holding a paper bag which was soaking at this point. And I had liquid slowly seeping out of the paper bag onto my hands and pants. Oh and the smell in the car was horrible (duh!) and I had the windows rolled down.
We all shared the food so we ate the same thing. Yet I was the only one who got sick and the only one who didn't use soy sauce.
With the food poisoning aside, I still wouldn't eat here again. To sum it all up- small rolls+ expensive price+ bland food= not so good.
There are a lot more better sushi joints in the city you can dine at. Sushi Zone, Sanraku, Zushi Puzzle, Wasabi & Ginger to name a few.
I'm not saying don't eat here as other reviewers really like Happy Hour. If you love oysters, they have $1 per oyster deal which I think is great!
Free parking in the back. -
Review from Allison M.
San Francisco, CA
7/22/2010
Closed?! Aww, sad!
Judging by the menu (tapas and sushi rolls?), I thought that this place was a little weird. But I had a blast here one night with 4 girls, a few bottles of Prosecco, and a couple dozen oysters. It was a fun place to go, and I thought it was nice enough in ambiance to maybe make it.
We went here before singing our hearts out at Silver Cloud. It made for a good little night out. -
Review from Sorinne A.
Santa Monica, CA
2/17/2010
I was sad to see Hime go as it wasn't the best sushi, but it was prety good and a fun environment. I got a free $50 gift certificate from http://Restaurant.com so I figured why not try it out. There were 4 of us total & it was about $150 including 18% tip. We were there this past Monday night around 6 pm. The place was fairly empty. No need to make reservations. I wasn't too impressed w/the spot. I doubt I'll be coming back. It's not bad, but it's not great. It's just ok. There are a lot better Tapas & Sushi places in the city, in the neighborhood, & on the same st. Maybe they are not combined together, but I really wasn't into the whole mix & match thing.
The service wasn't bad though. Our server hooked us up with the happy hour drinks at our table. Apparently you have to eat at the bar to get the special pricing. I guess since it was so empty she figured she'd be nice about it.
We had some sushi & tapas. It's hard to combine the 2. How are we supposed to eat steak stew w/Toro nigiri? They just don't go together. So we took the stew home & ate the Toro there. Was not a fan of the toro. Didn't melt in my mouth. :( The chicken tacos were the best dish we ordered. The cheese croquettes, way to greasy. Yellow tail crudo was good. Bruschetta & chilli fries were ok. Dragon roll was tasty, but it's hard to go wrong with unagi and bbq sauce.
I think this is a cursed location unfortunately. In order to survive you have to truly stand out and be exceptional. The free parking will only get you so much business. I hope that someone figures it out one day. Unfortunately with the not so impressive flavors and lack of ambience I doubt that art/s will be around for a while... -
Review from Poppy C.
San Francisco, CA
5/26/2010 1 Check-in Here
Having had a much pricer and far yuckier dinner last night at Fifth Floor I have nothing but good things to say about Art's and our server/new boyfriend Emilio.
Started with a drink. Red Envy, something sake with muddled strawberries. Yum.
Cheese Croquette- I hate to say this but there was almost too much, small cherry tomatoes were a tasty addition.
Jamon Serrano Prosciutto sliced spanish ham, italian prosciutto, kalamata olives, cantaloupe- Again, too much meat. We had to order some bread which came with a lovely anchovy butter to help finish it all.
Shrimp Toast sake steamed black tiger shrimp, sweet chili sauce, qp mayo, served on toast- OMG, this is so tasty.
Albacore Tartare - beautiful and yummy.
Yellowtail Crudo hamachi- beautiful presentation, not my favorite of the night but perfectly edible.
Chilean Sea Bass bean sprouts, yellow zucchini, green peas, goji berry & meyer lemon finished with a sweet garlic sauce- WOW. Highly recommend.
Dragon Roll- smothered in sauce but very tasty.
Finshed with more alcohol and a lovely chocolate souffle with ice cream and strawberry jam.
Service was terrific, I didn't think anything would be better than Hime (remember the gold covered 32 dollar yakuza roll?!) but Art's is a much better replacement. -
Review from Rosalind S.
San Francisco, CA
5/13/2010
A couple of my GFs and I came here to catch up with each other. We picked the place because of their HH menu and also the FREE parking they have in the back.
The place was pretty empty when we got there, (6:15pm). We sat at the bar and got a friendly greeting from the bartender. We ordered two lychee martinis, red wine, half a dozen oysters, the sizzling tofu plate, and french fries. The oysters were big and meaty, the tofu plate good but a little salty, and the (steak) fries were pretty good too.
The place started to fill up around the time we left (8pm). The fourth star is for the service. -
Review from Mike L.
Saratoga, CA
4/5/2010
This place really stands out in sf since it gives free parking to its customers. I actually didn't know that the first time i went, and barely found parking nearby.
The decor of the restaurant definitely stands out from a regular restaurant, i'd say there is a semi-dress code. The place is on the dimmer side with some tables only lit by candlelight. it seems like a place to go before you hit a club or the bars. their bathroom has a couple unique quirks about it like a sink made out of a giant rock held up by a tree trunk (figure a place is willing to put this much effort into a bathroom, the actual restaurant was nicely planned out as well). all in all, i'd give this type a restaurant a 4.5/5 for their decor since everything went pretty well, but it didn't give me the full 5/5 stars appeal.
They have a decent menu with tapas by sea / land, a couple entrees, nigiri, sushi, and sushi rolls. and they have an equally large menu for drinks as well. i was very pleased with their menu choices. don't forget that the menu is both front and back sided. (they hand you 2 pieces of paper)
I opted for the tapas and sushi rolls because I figured that was what this place would excel at.
My table (party of 3) got the yellowtail, raw steak, and the shrimp on toast tapas and 3 other rolls. the place was about 80% full on capacity but they actually served out the food in a very reasonable amount of time. (i probably waited 6-7minutes). and the waiter came by every 10minutes and refilled the water so this place gets 5 stars on service.
The tapas were were nicely presented on unique looking plates so that was a plus, they were definitely yummy, but not something i would crave everyday. The sushi rolls on the other hand were not presented with the same finesse as the tapas, nor did taste as good as the tapas in my opinion, but don't get me wrong, they weren't bad so this place gets a 3.5-4/5 on taste.
their dessert menu isn't large and the one thing i actually wanted (avocado ice cream was sold out for the night)
all in all, this place was definitely worth a try, it's a little on the pricier side but i guess that's what you pay for with the nicer decor/service. i would come here again, but would definitely only order from the tapas menu. it's gets an overall 3.5 stars (gave it a 4 though) since it was definitely a great experience, but it didn't leave a WOW with me. would recommend! -
Review from Ron Z.
Daly City, CA
4/17/2010 7 photos
Oh man. I was hoping this place would have been at least descent. The restaurant/bar itself is cute. I love the tiny green light above each table. I like the look of the bar.
But the food... I don't know. Small portions. Bland flavors. Weak presentation. Everything about it was disappointing.
Chicken Wings tasted like something I could make, and don't know how to cook. The sushi rolls were tiny as hell, and did not taste like how much they cost. Costco sushi tasted better than this mess. The potatoes/fries were very uneventful. And the chocolate desert,... a very disappointing ending to a disappointing meal. Never again. -
Review from Raymond T.
Oakland, CA
9/30/2010
It took me so long to write a review of this place that it eventually closed down. lol
During May on our way back from Sausalito, my fiance decided to stop by SF and grab something to eat before we head back to the East Bay. While driving down Lombard we spotted the words "sushi" and "tapas", we made a quick decision and pulled right over into Arts parking lot.
We were a bit reluctant about the place, I thought that anybody who does tapas and sushi mustn't do sushi pretty well that they would have to also offer something else, such as tapas. So we steered away from the sushi menu and went for the seafood paella negra. This dish was delicious! The squid ink infused rice and bits of seafood nicely placed all around the dish tasted like no other paella I've ever had. Granted the food leaves your teeth black while you're dinning there, but don't fret, as the ink washes out easily with a nice cold beer.
Along with the tasty dish we had, we also enjoyed the staff service and was even able to meet with the chef. The ambiance was well thought out by their interior decorator and overall I would come back to this place, if it were still opened. Notable mention, Arts Salad. -
Review from Renee P.
San Francisco, CA
3/26/2010
I have to say that I've been nothing but pleased with this place.
Yes, after the whole groupon thing it's been a bit busier but the food is superb, the staff friendly, and the atmosphere is fantastic.
All of that is great, but the icing is that they'll work with you. I have celiac and they were more than accommodating to my food allergy and even went so far as to make a dish using my own wheat free soy sauce. It was fantastic.
It's so great to have a place I can go to where I don't have to worry about my food allergies, and can eat the same fantastic food as everyone else and truly enjoy the experience of dining out.
My friends and I will be back again without a doubt!
Plus, they have a parking lot...add sixth star. -
Review from Stacy W.
San Francisco, CA
11/12/2009
This restaurant has so much potential with its space and location, but unfortunately it's just not up to par with the other restaurants in the area.
I ordered a raspberry sake cocktail that was pretty much sugar water with soggy strawberries. The dishes we ordered, the Yellow Tail Crudo, Tartare and art/s roll, were all mediocre at best and on the smaller side (even for a tapas place).
After sharing those three dishes with much left to be desired, my friends and I decided to go get full on a couple slices of pizza orgasmica.
The good news is they have a full bar...which could have potential if there were anyone else in the restaurant other than the two of us. -
Review from Hass L.
San Francisco, CA
11/10/2009
I like the concept of this restaurant - global tapas and sushi = small bites with lots of variety to choose from. The concept is quite interesting too; it's not too formal but also quite chic; hand-drawn menus above and lengthy accessible bar are good features.
As for the food and dining; I went to the opening party and they really took out all the stops; great variety of surf and turf including various "fusion-style" sushi rolls, ceviche/beef tartar and octopus dishes. Nice drink selection and great service. -
Review from Brian I.
Redwood City, CA
8/14/2010
Very yummy and fresh sushi. The fatty tuna was like melted butter in your mouth. Good drinks and food at fair prices.
Got a little too noisy when a party of 12 sat next to our quiet party of 4. -
Review from Kristin F.
Traverse City, MI
6/10/2010
It's closed? Well, okay. Now I don't feel as bad about what I am about to say...
We came pretty hungry and decided to grab some appetizers to share. We came for some special event- for $1, there were all of 2 drinks on the menu, and mine was really gross. I should have just paid $8 for a normal cocktail. I gave it to my friend and she drank the rest.
This was unfortunate... because our server took FOREVER to bring water, which I needed. Keep reading to discover why.
Everything was WAY too salty. I enjoy my sodium here and there, but it was ridiculous. The Cali Chili Fries were almost unbearable, the Calamari was overbreaded and way too heavy, and the Chicken Wings tasted more like they were coated with salt than teriyake sauce. Honestly, I really like to eat, and I was more than ready to get out of here.
I have a $15 coupon... too bad they're closed (?), or I'd give it another chance. -
Review from Sofia J.
4/3/2010
First of all, it's Art/s!!!
As much as I want to love this place, I'd have to say it was just ok.
Pluses: Love the interior design! It's all wavy, dark, and neon green :D
: Sushi AND tapas under one roof!
: They have their own parking lot....which you can leave your car in all night! (ask the manager :D)
Minuses: As usual, when you try to combine cuisines, usually you only get one right....or neither... in this case, everything was good, but not remarkable.
We got: Dragon roll, Hamachi crudo, mussels, ceviche
Standout: Chilean sea bass sizzling plate .. SO GOOD!!!
AND Pitcher of Mango Bellini was deeeeelish. -
Review from Natalie G.
San Francisco, CA
4/9/2010
Art/s has a really funky green interior and long bench seating. It has a fun vibe and the service was good. As many people have said it takes quite a few $5-$12 tapas to fill up a group!
The tapas were the highlight of the meal for sure, and my favorites were: the beef carpaccio, the french fries with chili dusting, and the croquettes (or glorified tater tots filled with cheesy goodness).
The sushi was not my favorite but the strong drinks made up for it. I loved the cucumber vodka drink. This is a good place for groups as far as seating, but would be on the pricier side if everyone comes hungry! -
Review from Lu E.
4/16/2010
I really wanted to like this place. I am not sure what used to be in this space but it's almost like a fancy Denny's or IHOP
I found the food to be on the bland side.
We had the following:
Cheese croquttes: bland and they came with a dipping sauce that i didn't like
Chicken taco: it was tasty but a bit hard to eat.
Mussels: I didn't like the flavor and found them to be too chewy.
Sea bass sizzling plate: good but small portion
Chorizo: it seemed to be missing something. it came with cold potato, which generally i dont like. Also, the portions were a lot larger than i expected which could have been cool, but I didn't really like the food.
Glad we had the groupon! -
Review from Linna C.
4/20/2010
Reservations for a party of 6 on Friday night, the restaurant is small, but well decorated and nicely lit. We ordered a bunch of goodies which I will try to review individually.
We started with a pitcher of the Sapporo ($16, reasonable) then proceeded to order the following:
- Cerviche: This was great, we got 2, tomato, shrimp and lightly seasoned along with thin crusted bread strips.
- Bruchetta: This was good also, similar to cerviche it was light and just enough to be filling
- Cheese Croquette: AWESOME! now I really really love this, definitely order this!
- Crispy Calamari: this was avg, exactly what the menu provides
- BBQ Blue Shrimp: BORING! this was simply regular shrimp that was steamed and flavored, and unpeeled! Boo!!
- Ultimate Spicy Tuna Roll: Smaller than we expected, merely average.
- California Roll: what you would expect from a CA roll
- Dragon Roll: Pretty good, still pretty small for the price
I think I would've opted for a better and more reasonably priced restaurant, but the service and atmosphere is great! -
Review from Leeann C.
5/17/2010
Came here for happy hour (9-close) with my boyfriend a couple weeks ago. We ordered the spicy tuna roll, salmon skin roll, yaki walu, Cali chili fries, chicken wings, garlic mussels, and fresh oysters. Food was just okay at best, though I think my boyfriend actually got food poisoning from the oysters. Not sure I would come back, but happy hour prices are pretty cheap.
-L. -
Review from Kevin F.
San Francisco, CA
5/17/2010
Who doesn't love tapas or sushi for a date night? Why? Small plates easy to eat without being messy. Which reminds me... one of my worst date experiences was burritos at a cal basketball game. Tough to look respectable with a trail of refriend bean juice making a snail trail down the front of my shirt... but i digress.
I've been curious about the glowing green spot on Lombard street. I've been here twice now and will be back again. On one occasion, it was a good evening HH spot with a few friends. Beers at the bar with the two HD tvs in the background (these also came in handy during the date night... yup, i gave her the "preferred view" facing out the windows).
Granted, I've never really thought about combining tapas and sushi on a single menu... i wouldn't really guess the tastes complement one another. But it made for a fun date night because small plates make it easy to order a bunch of dishes to share.
Oh, and the dedicated parking lot is huge. I'm not a multi-tasker so my conversational skills nosedive if I'm looking for parking. -
Review from Diana Lyn M.
Vallejo, CA
3/20/2010 1 Check-in Here
Came here after a few rounds of drinks at Bourbon and Branch. We had reservations at 9PM, but weren't seated promptly although we did arrive on time. So we ordered a few drinks at the bar before finally being seated.
We were seated pretty much all the way at back and we already reviewed the menu while at the bar, so we were ready to order! We ordered a lot off of the menu all at once. We ordered: crispy calamari, garlic mussels, cheese croquette, dragon roll, lombard roll, spiced chicken tacos, paelle and ceviche.
Well, I'm not quite sure what came out first, in the middle or last, but does that really matter? I mean, I was a little buzzed, so I just ate right when the dish was set down on our table.
That was the problem. Tell me why we ordered a bunch of things ALL AT ONCE only to be given one dish at a time every 20 minutes?! And you claim that you do "tapas dining?!" Isn't the point of tapas to serve a bunch of small dishes all at once, or close to all at once? Hmmm. And to make matters worse, we were 5 hungry Filipinos, and I swear, each dish they set down was gone in less than a minute!
We watched as the table behind us--who, might I add, arrived after us, received all 5 of their dishes and left before we did.
It was ridiculous! They really shouldn't claim they do tapas when they, obviously, don't. We even had to remind our waitress--after waiting for what seemed like 40 minutes--that we hadn't received 3 of our dishes. And calamari was one of those dishes. Uhm...how long does it take to fry some calamari?! That's usually the first to come out! WHACK.
Ok, so the food was actually pretty decent, so if their timeliness and service were up to par, I'd probably give them 4 stars. I'd definitely give them another try, but who knows when. Kind of a buzz kill when your small plate of 2 tacos comes out an hour after you order it... -
Review from Gemma D.
San Francisco, CA
4/3/2010
I hate to write low reviews but I really feel the need to.
I went there with a group of six people and left hungry and spent a lot. It was my original idea to try this place out since it could potentially satisfy all our cravings for multi nationalities. It's not that the food is bad, it's just not great. The only bad item was the kurobuto pinchos (which was supposed to be like kobe pork?) which was disgusting and gristly.
Other than than we tried 5-7 other things. The portions were small, too small for dinner. The bummer about this place is that it is SUCH a fantastic idea but executed so poorly.
If they lowered their prices then this place would be worth coming to. Spending 40-50 bucks a head to only have 1 cocktail and a few nibbles of random tapas is not my idea of a great dinner experience.
I would have given this place 1 star but their cocktails are VERY strong, at least the one I had. -
Review from Matt K.
San Jose, CA
1/11/2010
So this place looks interesting on the website. Restaurant itself looks cool with its green glow but I must say that I am a little disappointed with the food. The Global Tapas really consisted of standard tapas on one side and a limited sushi menu on the other side. I didn't think it complemented each other well.
What I ordered:
- Chorizo - Incredibly salty, the skin on the outside of the Chorizo was very tough and rubbery (more than normal) and the presentation was less than appetizing.
- Ultimate Spicy Tuna Roll - This was actually decent. Was actually spicy, unlike other "spicy" tuna rolls which leave much to be desired.
- Glass of Tar Tare - Not sure why it says glass, it was served on a plate. Greasy "chips" served with the tuna and albacore.
Overall, I was disappointed with the food. Service was nice, ambiance was nice...but I was there to EAT! -
Review from Liane T.
San Francisco, CA
3/27/2010
I'm not sure if I should give this place more stars or not since I'm still an amateur food connoisseur. Anywho, my boyfriend and I found out about this place because groupon had mentioned it via email so we decided to check it out.
I gave this place one star immediately because they have a parking lot - rather on the small side - but definitely a plus since city parking sucks. I loved the decor and the ambiance, it was a modern look and feel. We came specifically for happy hour, where they had $.99 oysters and draft beers were under $5 (something like that) and a few sushi rolls for $5.
After ordering about four-five dishes, however, we still found ourselves...hungry. I know gourmet isn't all about bigger portions which is probably something I'm going to have to get used to but as a college student on a budget, $40 for two ...I would think... would at least fill us up somewhat.
On top of that, the service was ...alright. Our waiter was hovering when we were deciding tip which is a definite no-no in customer service.
I know they're new but I think I'd really only consider coming back if they expanded their happy hour menu a little more with sushi and with tapas (since it's not on the hh menu at all). -
Review from Lindsey N.
Burlingame, CA
3/17/2010
Not enough choices on the menu. Like another reviewer had mentioned, it has a lot of potential, great location, the food was okay. They need to step up their game a little bit more. I did really enjoy the service and the Beef Carpaccio. This place is great for big groups too.
Where did Hime go? I miss you... :( -
Review from Chowmein P.
Daly City, CA
4/19/2010
Well... if it weren't for a Groupon deal, I probably wouldn't have tried it nor do I think I will be going back anytime soon.
Decor and staff was nice. Food was good but I think I would prefer just sushi or just tapas. Wine selection was good, serving sizes were decent (for a tapas menu), price was ehhh for what we got.
Just didn't "wow" me... -
Review from Informed C.
Pleasant Hill, CA
5/16/2010
We went for dinner last week and found the food and drink selections really unique in a good way. The squid ink paella, salmon toast and octupus were great. The custom cocktails were also well suited for the vibe. The chef Taka introduced himself to us and was genuine in his desire for honest feedback. The prices were also very fair for their location, portion size and quality of item.
The restaurant is trying to find its identity in what is an extreemly tough foodie area, where yelp reviewers think they're actually qualified to offer their short-sighted, ignorant opinions. Art's is an enjoyable location with a parking lot, sandwiched between Union and Chestnut on Lombard. The only area that needed help was the execution of the performance of the servers. Ours server was ok, but was rough around the edges. Its hard to have Danko-esque performance with entry level employees.
Give Art's a try as the place is worth your time and money.
