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Bistro Annex - CLOSED
Rating Details »
Category: Restaurants [Edit]
Neighborhood: Mission1136 Valencia St
(between 22nd St & 23rd St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 648-9020
13 reviews for Bistro Annex
a teeny tiny bistro on famed valencia street you will find Bistro Annex that is if you don't blink. it is a cute little place to have an inexpensive dinner--generally an Italian flare. the menu is limited but you will see why when you see it. i don't expect to go and get a meal from Craft or Canteen. i go and expect a meal from Bistro Annex.
Buen Provecho!
THE PLACE:
Nice little french bfast place, the waiter even had an authentic french accent :).
THE FOOD:
Good food, the potatoes weren't that well cooked though. The french onion soup was pretty good. The oj wasn't special at all.
At least you don't have to wait in lines and the service was pretty good. No big complaints other than the oj, food didn't come at the same time and no real pepper grinder! Argh.
I love the idea of a little hole in the wall run by two guys dedicated to owning the dining experience (remember Villa Poppi anyone?). This is not that kind of place. Sure, it looks the part: sparse decor, kitchen in plain view, ultra-light menu--but for the guys who run it it's obviously not about the food.
90% of the items on the menu are prepared beforehand. That's okay--I like comfort food so big pans of mac and cheese don't scare me. But you can't forget the 'heat' part of 'heat-and-serve'. All of our entrees (and the carrot soup starter) were just... warm. Not hot. Warm. The cassoulet was flat and the Moroccan lamb (although the lamb itself was obviously well handled) had the consistency that it would have if it came out of my refrigerator a couple nights after I had served it to guests.
I won't go back.
This place is great for an easy dinner in the neighborhood. I'm a vegetarian, but my husband swears by the burger. I've stolen a couple of his "frites" and they are pretty delicious. I've had pasta and pizza there and have always been happy. The salads and the cheese plate are also solid. All in all, this place is a good value with nice servers.
I ate at Bistro Annex more than a year ago, and I gather it's under new management, so it may have improved. Be that as it may, I will not be going back, because on my one and only visit, my dining companion and I BOTH got food poisoning. You make me sick for 24 hours, you don't get a second chance.
I have eaten here twice and been dissapointed both times. It is too bad because it shows so much promise. It is small and quaint and has an excellent bistro menu with reasonable prices. However, the food is OK to poor and the wine list boring and overpriced. The menu describes a very interesting seafood stew but then does not include the fish that it promises (the waiter seem quite undisturbed when I pointed this out). The chef does not seem to know how to cook as the people next me had ordered medium steaks that were still raw in the center (again the waiter was undisturbed). The wines by the glass are served warm and apparently are not stored properly after opening.
If you are in the area, and want bistro food, walk across the street to Garcon, or even better, go to La Provence (Guerrero and 22nd). They both cost a few bucks more but are much better.
A cozy little place with tasty food and good value. We had lasagna and some bean stew both of which were yummy in a country kitchen kind of way. The waitress was friendly if a little overwhelmed at times. The best part was the atmosphere of this tiny restaurant.
A nice quaint breakfast place. The omellettes are very good. And I hear the frech toast is to die for. The waiter was very good he even comes with authentic french accent. Great service but the menu was a little small. A limited selection. all in all good.
I used to love going here, it was cheap, decent, non-pretentious french food. But the place has gone downhill since the ownership change....most of the good stuff is gone from the menu & the service sucks now. The place is still ok for a cheap carrafe of wine and a decent burg
It's cozy, it's charming, and the menu looks great! Sadly, it seems to be all about appearances. Our waitress, while friendly, was so overwhelmed that service was spotty and slow at best (it took nearly one hour after ordering to receive our entrees). My order of tomato provencale, served on a bed of what appeared to be Minute Rice, came with a side order of food poisoning from the nearly raw ground beef in the center.
update 4/22/06:
now that i've been here three times, i'm going to change the rating from five to four stars. the gourmet burger is still excellent, but it's not as superb as i first reported on 4/9 when i was starving and desperate. so it goes...
original review 4/09/06:
this is my new favorite burger place, and here's the story if you're interested... it was saturday night, and we were hungry. so she said, "where are we going for dinner?" i said, "what? i thought you were taking care of that." we both shouted in horror, "oh shit! no reservation on a saturday night in the mission. we're doomed." yelpers, don't let this happen to you. so we desperately scanned http://opentable.com to no avail. all righty, we just have to take our chance and walk down on valencia. we were prepared to wait and wait. then something happened. as we walked by bistro annex, a happy couple walked out. yes, this must be happenstance.
being our first time at bistro annex, we were amused by its diminutive size. this place would be lucky to squeeze in twenty people. fortunately, the dark wood and the rich orange walls work well together to create a homey and romantic atmosphere. as we settled in, our server (more on her later) came over and handed us the menu. ahhh, we were delighted once again. the menu was quite affordable. as a matter of fact, there wasn't a dish over $14. we were overjoyed to say the least. now the only unknown variable was the quality of the food. well, i'm happy to report that the food was quite impressive. i ordered the burger with blue cheese. oh wow, what a burger! it was truly an amazing burger. it's perhaps best gourmet burger i had in a long, long time. ok, i'm going to say it. it's the best gourmet burger in the city. let the royale with cheese battle begin. the other dish, tomato provencal stuffed with marinated ground beef was good, but it simply can't compare to the burger. next time, we're going to order two burgers. um, maybe three... i also want to point out the great service we received from our waitress. she was simply a one woman show.
in conclusion, bistro annex is a quality french bistro at an obscenely affordable price. then there's the burger. oh yeah, i'll be back really soon.
* they also serve brunch. so i'll be back for that as well.
perfect little hole in the wall country french joint. food is simple and delicious. don't go expecting flair and flourish, its all about eating here. pissaldier is perfect. flaky crust, carmelized onions and black olives. flank steak was tender and the pototoes fluffy. good stuff for not a lot of dough.
Cozy bistro in the mission. Great food and you can not beat the value. We have tried just about everything on the menu and recommend everything - especially the burger! The wine list is small but you can always find an outstanding one on it. The staff is very pleasant! The only thing I do not like is the creme brulee. Have heard it is open for brunch on the weekends but so far everytime we have gone by .... not open!
