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Categories: American (New), Lounges [Edit]
Neighborhood: Financial DistrictMon-Wed. 5:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Thu-Sat. 5:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
"Always reluctant to give a perfect rating on the first time out, but it was surprisingly tremendous and I feel they deserve it. I'll…" read more »
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And I wanted to give it a second try too! Oh well, next time I suppose.
I guess it doesn't really matter anymore, but I had a good time at Frisson. I met up with the crew there one night for post work happy hour/happy birthday Anna celebrations, and it was a pretty legit place. I really only consumed champagne and whatever the drummer boy next to me was shuttling over, but what really struck me was the decor.
Retro. Digs.
Is it reopening? No idea. I'd like to see what happens if they do!
Itching for a trip to Vegas but can't afford the plane ticket or 4 day hangover? Head on over to Frisson. It reminded me of being at Caesar's with the decorative high ceilings and mood lighting. I had some kind of crazy sake cocktail that knocked me on my butt.
All I'm really looking for in life is to constantly feel like I'm in Vegas.
Love the bar with it's very romantic lighting
Love the dining room with it space age 'I think a flying saucer just landed on our table for two.'
I have to say it's a small place but on the weekends it seems to pack in a big crowd of the beautioso !
Def. for Beautioso: Ladies and Gents between 18-28 with perfect pecks and every inch is perfectly pert..
We walked in for dinner without a res and the hosts were extremely efficient .They squeezed us in for dinner between dinner seatings because I promised we woud only be 45-50 minutes because we had tickets to the show across the street.
Food is 3 stars The food was beautifully prepared at this lovely restaurant however sometimes the flavors do not always come together.
I've been a few times for dinner and I like but not love it . If you get what I mean .
I loved this place. My girlfriends and our gentlemen went out here for Valentines day and loved it! Everything that I tried on the menu was exquisite! The appetizers were outstanding and the salad dressing was unique and plate licking good! My boyfriend got the Petrale Sole which was by far the tastiest thing on the menu. I would eat this every night if I could.
I got the blood Orange Margarita and so should you. It was the best drink I have ever had.
Good Wine selection.
A little noisy so not good for an intimate couple date.
EXCELLENT SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was blown away.
Totally pretentious place ... but has the goods to back up the snobbery. Food is soooooooooo good. I'm not sure why it's listed as "American" food b/c it really is kind of fusion gourmet. Regardless, it's a classy joint w/classy food. I highly rec'd any of the seafood -- any of it ... I've had it all in the many times I've been there.
Were it not for the uptight suits parading around the restaurant killing the possibility of a fun ambiance ... I'd totally give it a 5 b/c it really is beautifully decorated and trendy. Oh, if you want to have drinks before or after dinner -- they have a downstairs bar that is a lounge.
One more thing ... the bathrooms are unisex ... yes, ladies and gents ... in the can next to you will be a man or woman which no longer makes it as comfortable to put on your blush or fix your hair. You'll find the lounge next door to the restrooms downstairs.
Anyway, enjoy the food ... sooooo yummy!
Taking advantage of the Dine About Town program running in San Francisco right now, my friend & I made a reservation at Frisson to check out some new restaurants we have yet to visit.
Frisson's space & decor was well done, except that I've never been a fan of multi-colored lights they've placd in the ceiling, particularly not of the purple to yellow hue variety that is employed here. Having to stare at that light throughout the evening gave me a case of headache.
Unfortunately, that was about the best part of Frisson. The prix fixe menu had two choices for each part of the course. So being just the two of us, we ordered everything on the menu to get a broader taste of the offering.
1st course- Crab cake or a leek soup
The crab cake was okay, but not great. There wasn't anything special to really set this crab cake apart from any other crab cake. The leek soup is bland & cold. The soup was lukewarm before it was even served. Sitting on the plate for more than a minute cooled the soup down to a chilly, flavorless paste.
Still holding out hope that this is not an indication of things to come.
2nd course - Pan seared fish filet and grllled short rib
The fish is flavorless. Although the ingredient is fresh, the fish itself lacked seasoning and any hint of preparation beyond, "throw it on the pan and sear it." A thin layer of tomato-based sauce covers half of the plate. However, given that the fish lacked any flavor of its own, any amount of this sauce in combination with any bite of the fish, results in an overwhelming taste of tomato + mystery meat.
The short rib fairs a little bit better. It is only the meat portion of the rib without the bones, so it earns a few points on the laziness scale. The rib is tender, but again lack any other flavor other than the meat's natural taste. I don't know how the meat was prepared to keep it tender without being overcooked. However, based on on the shreds of meat sorta just "falls apart", it feels like they were cooked (boiled?) to keep the meat tender, then grilled. Of course, this is just my speculation, I'm not a great cook or anything.
In both cases, the best part about the dishes are the greens on the side. Which doesn't speak to how well the greens were prepared. If I took some really nice fresh produce and threw them into a microwave with a wet towel on top, they would probably taste the same. It does speak volume to how unimpressive the rest of the dishes were.
Furthermore, everything here violates a golden rule of good cuisine: Temperature control. The mixture of cold sauce and hot food, prematurel chilling the entrees and destroying any chance that any flavors would infuse at all. This is also one of the few "high-end" restaurant that I've ever been to that completely fails to serve anything on a hot plate, to help keep the main course .. well, hot.
3rd course - chocolate mouse or .. something I don't remember
By this point of the night, we just wanted to get the last course over with and get the hell out of there.
The chocolate mouse was terrifying. Mouse is supposed to have this smooth & creamy texture. The mouse here tastes like compacted ice cream, intact with a nearly frozen center. A weird cream goes on the top, with a weird liquor-like taste that didn't quite mix. Reminded me of eating weirdly flavored cough syrup. Lastly, someone thought it would be cute to add some texture to this dish by adding in little grains of what seems like toasted coffee powder or something. They were hard and crunchy, barely chewable and tasted full of bitterness. For a second there I thought we might have been fed some type of rat poison.
The other dessert dish was a bit better, but again the texture and taste just didn't mix. Nothing worked at all.
Lastly, the service was horrible. We asked the waitress for some bread after our main course, and she gave us a stink-eye and a very unfriendly, slurred "okay" as reply. Nevermind the fact that a bread dish & butter knife was on our table the whole time, and they never volunteered to bring us any bread.
By the end of the night, I really just didn't want to tip them at all. I still did just out of courtesy.
I don't remember any high-end dining experience in San Francisco that's been nearly as unimpressive and disappointing as this one.
Went in for drinks before a show at the Eureka Theatre (right across the street) so my review is somewhat limited to the bar. Cocktails were well mixed and service was quick. Nice ambiance and I like the layout of the bar and can see how it would be a great pre-show or after work spot if you have a group. Didn't have time to order food, but noticed that the dinner menu seemed pretty basic and uninspired. Not that it didn't look good, but the menu didn't really fit what seemed to be the concept the restaurant was going for. I would have expected more creative and eclectic dishes.
We were there on a Friday night and it was dead, but it was also raining heavily and when we went it was late for the happy hour crowd and still early for the post-dinner crowd. I would definitely go back if I was in the area, but I wouldn't make a special trip.
I came here for cocktails a few years ago, and had always wanted to come back and try the food. I finally got around to it.
I still find the design intriguing. It's somewhere between the Jetsons and my high school library. In particular, I like the large circular dining room, which seems modern, but the orange color scheme gave it a more retro feel. I found it to definitely add to a distinct dining experience.
The menu offered a good deal of variety without being incredibly long or overwhelming. The stuffed squid "flirtation" was excellent, but was a little on the cold side by the time it got to our table.
The stand out, by far, was the black truffle stuffed guinea hen. I don't know what a guinea hen is, but if that's the kind of bird that people in Guinea eat, then I understand why I've never met anyone from that country, because I would never leave either.
A large wine list (great cocktails as well), and friendly staff really made this a great overall experience.
On a special side note, GREAT SERVICE. We were accidentally served a very slightly chipped wine glass. It was pretty small and we weren't sure whether or not to bring it to our server's attention. We finally decided that our stomach lining was important and asked for a new glass. Our server apologized profusely and replaced the whole glass of wine similar to the one we were drinking.
Slow service, small-but-tasty portions in large plates, nice decor and food presentation, brutal parking even on schoolnights
$66 pp later (after some wine) left feeling like needed a slice
UPDATE, the same day I wrote this review, the server , J W, http://www.yelp.com/us...
yelp messaged me a few times, then BLOCKS ME but WAIT IT GETS BETTER
He actually *tried* to erase his yelp profile/reviews, but the tell tale UFC votes 32 Useful, 9 Funny, and 27 Cool, still remain, guess outtin ya really hurt? Friss loses another star for u arguing (was 3)
GETS EVEN BETTER, had some pics admin removed cuz they "are not relevant to the business", seems like he's really tryin to go after me, pics had been up 4 a while...
Attached below, he questioned/bickered about what I wrote, so adjusted a bit as not to state any facts that I was not 100% sure. He was a bit bitter in the msgs but took it surprisingly well when we were in the restaurant
One in our group of 6 mentioned slow service on receipt and the waiter came over and questioned it (even tho I thought he got more than an 18% tip, auto added to groups of 6? or more, according to our server, someone adjusted the tip down,my SO and I paid cash so dont have exact knowledge )
He felt for a restaurant this nice, they should be all over you.
We had to wait a long time, someone else in our party said 45 mins, i personally didn't clock the time, but we all felt it was waay too long before they even took our order or brought wine or water
Few, if at all check-backs, we ran out of wine, no one came over to ask if we wanted more, it behooves the staff to do so=spend more
Portions are very small, think Euro cut suit on John Goodman, perhaps that's chic, good thing they brought a lot of tasty bread, which we all noshed on before and after the meal (still needed to fill ourselves up you know)
Verdict: Probably wont go back
Walked to down the street to Kokkari for after dinner drink, now that place is nice, prolly ridonkulously pricey too
Re parking: - yes, it's partially this restaurant's fault (amongs others), they have 2 valet spots in front, thus taking 2 available parking spots off the street. This is a fact with many restaurants in that area
Spent almost 30mins looking for parking at 8pm on a Wed night in FiDi
Many 1 way streets w valet zones, in front of businesses
I wonder if these signs, attached to parking meters, are real?
You see them in front of some foofy high end restaurants (also in Mission at Limon, who has that kind of money in the mission btw)
Wonder what would happened if you parked in one of them, would they damage your car?
Seems like some animals are more equals than other animals to get all Orwellian. (I am sure other's feel the same way too)
Who paid off Mr Newsom to get them?
Remember the parking guys scene is Ferris Bueller's Day Off?
http://youtube.com/wat...
Personally I dont want some yahoo driving my ride, stealing all the change, and perhaps the radar or otherwise pilfering thru or jumping the car
PS, JW's msgs
I have a really hard time believing that I let you sit there for 45 minutes before taking your order or getting you wine. You had the sommelier helping your table as well so I wonder how we weren't "all over you".
Actually, if you go by the receipt your friend left the note on, I received less then 18% because he crossed out the automatic gratuity amount. Seems some of your facts are incorrect. Somehow I knew there would be a yelp review today -
The parking issue downtown isn't a new one if you live in the City. The signs on the meters actually tell you times when you can and can't park in each spot. You should read them.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for being gracious and informative. Makes me think - "why can't people just have a good time."
Gideon K I updated my review, which was based on my experience, check my other reviews if you get a chance, I think I'm pretty fair
J W.
Thanks for being fair. I understand your that a guest's perspective on time is different and we all hate waiting for drinks. Thanks for updating. Although I did ask each time how everything was tasting and I also refilled coffee twice and was at the table refilling waters many times so I am wondering if you wanted more wine then why didn't anyone make note of it. Your table pre ordered the second bottle too, so ??.
Obviously there was a communication breakdown.
Gideon K. im not a server, dont knwo all the nuances
if you empty glasses tho, perhaps its worth explicitly asking if would like another drink
J W.
I am not bitter, I know I am a good server. I feel the same way that I did last night. I just want to make sure that these Yelp reviews state things appropriately. Yelp is used too often to make fleeting exaggerations about ones experience leaving a very skewed perception of a situation.
J W.
And I thought my messages we
We had our company Christmas dinner here and really enjoyed it. However , after reading the comments below, i have to give a 1 star for attitude. There will always be people who have a bad experience, get over it, don't harass them.
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"What would you change about SF?
Hargrave: I don't know--it's pretty good here. There are flaws, but it's a pretty wonderful place. I guess if we had to change something, we could get rid of Yelpers. Those people need to get a fucking life." That's a direct quote (see here: http://www.7x7sf.com/p...) from the two owners when they were interviewed by 7x7.
The decor is a little 60s and a little Jetsons all mixed into one on a huge line of crack and a shot of some sort of fruity alcoholic punch. Just try to visualize it okay, because its the best I can do.
The food, oh the food. I think they could do so much better if they just didn't try so damn hard. I am so sick of places that do crazy shit like start with a cold peach gazpacho with a hint of truffle oil garnished with some dried crab legs and raspberries followed by a pork shank and okra tower drizzled with a honey balsamic glaze on a bed of eel mousse.
I DO NOT WANT A SIDE OF FOAM WITH MY MAIN COURSE, IT IS NOT FOOD!!!
However, the unisex bathrooms are the coolest bathrooms in town and the drinks are tasty and the proper definition of creative if you feel like a splurge. The sommolier is also excellent.
They should really just turn this space into a swanky bar, sans food, and be done with it.
If there is ever a movie of my life or even a movie of the life of someone I know I would like to be portrayed as hanging out in swanky spots like this one. And I want Rosario Dawson to play me. Or Jennifer Beals. Look, if you make the "me" movie then I don't even care who plays me but could they have a smoldering quality? Actually, they wouldn't even need to be that lovely in real life because the minute one steps inside Frisson their attractiveness skyrockets. People simply look better here. It's the type of place where you glide instead of walk.
Mickey (the sommelier and generally the classiest cat I've ever met) is the quintessential front of the house man. He's stylish, witty, freakishly well-mannered and genuinely cares about creating a wonderful experience. He's got a Cary Grant thing going for him that is positively dreamy.
Two stars because the place looks cool.
Other than that, the waitress brought us menus.
That's it.
She never returned.
MacArthur Park, here we come.
I went here for a company dinner - glad I didn't pay for since it was so unsatisfying.
The one thing this restaurant has is its absolutely beautiful decor; probably one of the best I've seen - very chic, loungy & sophisticated. It's very impressive & I often looked up from my meal to take in the loveliness of the place.
Sadly, that was the best part. The appetizers were alright; nothing memorable. Three or four of us ordered the lobster for our entrees, and we were sorely disappointed - our dishes came out almost completely cooled, wasn't particulary flavorful, & was slightly rubbery in texture - but it was the miniscule portion that really did it. It was more like a very large prawn in the middle of the plate with a few accroutrements - not even substantial sides to compensate for the tiny lobster tail.
After having waited some 40 mins for it we were all famished and finished the paltry serving within minutes. I'm a girl and don't even eat that much, and was still left hungry (and this was after having had appetizers and bread). It was pretty much one of the least satisfying meals I've ever had, esp at these prices. I had a bowl of cereal after I got home.
RECENT UPDATE: i went here for drinks after dining at kokkari a few weeks ago... the owner of frisson started chatting with me.(he's really nice) it turns out he recognized me from my YELP review.i thought that was so funny! then he bought us shots and did them with us... this is such a fun spot, i cant help but keep coming back.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: i haven't eaten here but i have to yelp about what happened last week when i was here. i stopped in after work with friends for a few drinks. i ordered 4 shots of Fernet (no, they weren't all for me, there were 4 of us! geez) and we happily toasted and did our shots. not paying much attention i added a tip and signed without looking at the total.(i know, not smart) well the next day i find the receipt in my purse and it said.... total: $95 for 14 shots of Fernet! 14 shots??? would they actually serve that to 1 person? anyway, i called and spoke to the owner... he apologized and erased my whole bill right then and there. wow, i was impressed. great service!
Beeee veeeeewwwwy veeewwwwwy quiet...
I'm hunting cougars.
PROPS to the marketing director / customer relations ppl at Frisson.
Not only did I get a hand written card for my BIRTHDAY (birthday number obviously over 21) from Frisson . . . but those deliciously flavored ppl proceeded to CARD ME when I ordered my Kir Royale.
Now THAT'S a beautiful thing.
Went the other night for D.A.T. with a few friends, so I did see a limited assortment of food. That being said...
The Leek/artichoke soup is fanTAStic. I didn't order it, but it was so tasty I kept being tempted to steal more and more from a friend. The cod with the tomato sauce was quite yummy. I had the braised short ribs with potatoes and...well -- it was galbi tang. (korean boiled shortribs) Yummy, but unimpressed, seeing as how my mother makes it at home.
Best thing about the place: the fun co-ed bathrooms downstairs. Its like college dorms all over again...in...a very savvy building...er. Anyway, it's funny to walk into a stall and come out to a person of the opposite gender washing their hands in the trough-like sink. (very cool). Overall...unimpressed with the food, but seems like it'd be a fun place to lounge and have a drink.
A friend suggested a drink after work. I countered with a drink plus snacks. She decided on Frisson. I had never been, so it seemed like a good idea.
When we arrived, the hostess took us to a table in the dining room. We were going to protest that we were just looking for drinks and an appetizer or two, but then we saw the Dine About Town menu. I guess we're having dinner. I liked the retro-modern decor, with lots of orange accented by white.
Unlike some other reviewers, I thought the service was quite good. Our cocktails didn't arrive until after our entree was served, but the server apologized and then comped us for the drinks. Another server/floor manager also apologized as well. It's unrealistic to expect servers/restaurants to never make mistakes, so when they take care of their customers after they a mistake, it's worth noting.
My friend liked her meal more than me. The lobster bisque was a bit too rich for me, but she had no such proble. She also liked how the broth was served at the table. Continuing the richness theme, she ordered the veal bacon confit, while I opted for the sole. The fish was pleasant, but not really noteworthy. She dove into her dish with relish. We both ordered and enjoyed the bittersweet chocolate dish. I think the menu said it was a pudding, but it looked like a flourless cake. Either way, it worked.
I think if I had ordered off the regular menu, I would have enjoyed the food more, but the meal was a good value. I think it would also be a great place for drinks and appetizers. Their spirits selection is quite extensive, and the bar section had a nice loungey feel.
*****Update: The hubby made me give them one extra star because he actually liked the skate (fish). so from 2 to 3 stars.*****
*********************************
First off the GOOD:
Great Service, friendly, knowledgeable staff, prompt service.
Great corkage fees!
Amazing ambiance- loved the vibe at the bar and the ultra LA decor!
The Bad:
The food was very un-inspiring! The tuna tar tar was okay but there was no explanation as to what to do with it? Mix it up eat as is?....either way I was left wanting to head over to Aqua for their stellar tar tar.
The lobster and crab ravioli soup was again nothing exciting. it was good but not what you would expect from such a highly rated restaurant.
The Ugly:
Desert. WTF it was an utter mess! Warm chocolate cake paired with a chai sorbet that tasted like what J&J's baby shampoo smells like. YUCK!
As my friend pointed out they would be better off tearing out the dinning room and putting in a dance floor. The food does not seem to be cutting it, which is sad cause everything else was right on!
I am glad I finally found a place to bring Paris Hilton next time she comes to visit. Most of the food is terrible, which works because she doesn't eat anyway.
So the place looks cool. Cool in a trendy LA/Miami kind of way, but certainly not in a cultured SF way. Places like that just don't belong in our city. And that was so very hip of them to put a DJ booth front and center. Thanks for that. I think.
Some of the food is decent as in "good food if you aren't from the City and don't really know what good food is." The rest is terrible, save the tuna tartare and the dessert (run, no sprint in the opposite direction if you see a lobster that I swear tastes pre-frozen).
I have been here a bunch of times (I don't always have a choice of where I go) and the one waitress, Janelle, always remembers me or my 20% or whatever, she just remembers and that means something to me.
And if these men would stop designing communal bathrooms, that'd be nice. It's not the privacy thing, it's just that girls like to go to the bathroom and primp and not in front of the guys. I want the guys to believe that my boobs just sit up all pretty on their own, but when they see me leaned over pulling my cleavage up, they tend to get cluey. Let's just keep the powder rooms separate.
One plus for the back smoking area where you can stand under a heat lamp and drink and smoke all at the same time. Like we were meant to do.
http://www.cleanscores...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++
Update:
I was dragged here again last night and to my dismay, the food has gotten worse. Apparently, they have removed the two decent things on the menu and replaced them with nasty substitutes. I used to love their tuna tartare which once came with a sesame cracker and cucumber melon sorbet. Now it tastes like ceviche and comes with some NASTY chili sorbet and a stale wafer.
The heirloom consomme, barf, was little more than three chunks of tomatoes with some watered-down vegetable broth to float it.
The hot chocolate with warm cookies used to be good, but now it's served bitter-sweet with some sort of fluffy wannabe cookie.
And where was our waitress?!?! The place was dead empty and it still took a full twenty minutes just to get our drinks. With food that bad, you at least need to step up your service.
My boyfriend and I decided to make a pit stop to Frisson before my art opening. I needed a drink or two I was alittle nervous.
So we belly up to the bar and order two martinis Sky90.
We arrive in between lunch and dinner time. So we could not have order appetizers because they were between serving but we were able to order drinks.
The bar tender Lady was so nice and cute. She service us up with two tasty martini's.
During this time they were doing an installation for an art opening they were having that night as well.
So after our second drink on an empty stomach we were feelin gooooddd....and the nice Lady bartender was hanging out with us...chit chatting .
I did enjoy the decor of the lounge and the dinning area seem cozy and charming. I thought to myself that I must bring my gurls here and have dinner....there will be an update.
But PS-
when I arrive at my art opening I was DRUNK, but it was a good turn out...
At the last minute a couple of friends invited me to join them for dinner at Frisson. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I liked what I saw. I loved the ambiance - modern retro, if there's such a thing.
I arrived a bit late and wasn't able to enjoy all of the aperitifs, but I had some of the tasty tuna tartar. For my entree, I ordered the striped bass, which was cooked perfectly! Neither over cooked, nor underdone, and very flavorful. Dessert was also very delicious. It's easy to ruin a souffle, but ours was divine.
Frisson had a huge wine selection and my friends were pleased with their selection.
By the time we finished dinner, the DJ was done setting up his equipment and we were able to enjoy some of the funky music before we headed to Shanghai 1930 for a little jazz.
Frisson isn't cheap, but the food was good. It's a good first-date place if you want to impress someone. The place is swanky and has a little bit of everything.
Quite possibly the worst offender in the Overpriced, Overhip and Underwhelming category. Another one of those 0-stars-if-I-could places.
We went to Frisson against the better judgement of our friends. We were greeted by a hipster waitress with Sinead O'Connor do and a dog collar around her neck. Her faux British accent faltered when trying to explain things she didn't understand. Seated across from us were sad, 40+ yo Marina men trying to be hipsters, and a woman dressed in diamond-crusted cat glasses, a tiara and a fur coat. *gag*
The food was even worse than the scene. We ordered sweetbread ravioli - which came in a salty frothe. The ravioli itself was flavorless and slimy - not a term you want to associate with beef brains. Our second dish - the "Golden Trumpet Mushroom Risotto with Rabe" was really boiled mushrooms and brown rice with broccoli sold for $27 (!!!!!). Hell, Rice a Roni would have tasted better.
We ran away screaming and stopped off at the local pizza place afterwards. Never has another restaurant caused such a violent reaction from me.
$20 = 1 Jack & coke + 1 Maker's
Oh Frisson, why with the pretentious prices? Your view from the front is a Togo's and a Baskin-Robbins. You can't price away the nagging sense of being in a shopping mall food court.
The decor is nice and the service is decent. Just not worth it.
The "in" crowd has left the building and tourists from Ohio with acid washed jeans and plaid button downs remain.
Gorgeous decor but just so-so and overpriced food. I can't fathom that the chef came out of Gramercy Tavern. The food doesn't show the respect or display understanding for the essence of ingredients in the way that Tom Colicchio does. If one MUST dine here, the striped bass with lobster & sweet corn succotash was decent and the skin was crispy - at least she learned SOMETHING from Tom.
They should have allocated their web design funds to a better kitchen staff - or maybe a doorman ;-)
2nd DAT 2007 meal.
Frisson is such a girly place. From the decor to the menu, it's a hip feminine dream. Ooh, pretty lights. Ooh, pretty orange upholstery. Fancy.
But the food? It's not bad. But it's not great. I enjoyed my meal but I wasn't overly won over by it. I ordered the:
1) oven roasted tomato & eggplant tartlet with black olive emulsion, sharp pecorino cheese, basil cream - Delicious starter... the pastry was the perfect amount of flaky.
2) 24hr confit of veal bacon with serrano ham, wild organic rice, baby carrots, pear-onion soubise, madeira wine sauce - Decent but nothing special in meat flavor. Pretty standard.
3) Tangerine-saffron granite with citrus shortbread, olive oil ice cream, basil leaves - Basically a slushee. But the olive oil ice cream was damn good. Pair that with some garlic ice cream and I'd be in some sort of Willy Wonka heaven!
Why four stars? Because I'm giving them kudos on their attentive wait staff, the delicious drinks at the bar (with an affordable happy hour!) and the best part of the restaurant? THE BATHROOM.
It's seriously one of the coolest bathrooms I've been in. I have to give fancy places pluses when they even make the bathroom look nice. The bathroom at Rubicon? Ew, am I at Denny's? Frisson's bathroom? Wow, I've never felt so chic taking a shit. (Say that five times fast.) It's a uni-sex bathroom with an amazingly designed (though not outwardly user-friendly) sink and spacious bathroom stalls complete with personal mirrors and vintage porno art (done well, not like American Apparel.)
I basically only wrote this review so I could comment on the bathroom. Because let's face it, this is the kind of bathroom you want to have sex in.
oh no no no....Man I was so excited to try this place and now I wish I saved my money for a hot dog instead. This place gets a star only because of the cool setting and music. the bathrooms are very hip and co-ed but if you need to check your make up, you're better off just doing it at the table!! i couldn't even see the mirror it was so dark in there! the faucets were cool though.
the roasted garlic soup was good. The baby chicken was way too salty, not even edible. I ended up not eating most of it. It was served with what looked like a frozen hashbrown that was cooked in a toaster, mickey d's has a better tasting hash brown. and my "blackberry burst" was a bust as well. The deal is...i spent 60 bucks on a horrible dinner and I was still hungry...
if you know me, you know that I try to really give things a chance and giving a bad review is hard for me, but trust me...you will thank me for this one. I am trying to save your money and your tastebuds...
come here for the drinks, good service and the restroom, but if you're hungry go any where else.
Enchante.
My experience here was on a Friday catching up with a friend of mine for the Frisson's acclaimed happy hour. Despite the torrential downpour, it was a miracle to procure parking around here and ran inside.
The dining room with psychedelic orange accents and round tables was almost empty with but a few patrons. However, the bar/lounge, was packed and almost all spaces were taken, so I was quiet happy to see that one stool had been reserved for me.
The happy hour is what makes this place second attractive, first being the ambience/modern decor. Add in the ambient grooves-dim lighting, and everything is set for a perfect night out on the town with good friends/first date.
I started off with their HH menu (valid from 4:30-6:30 Mon-Friday and priced beautifully at $5 each). Since I was starved, as was my friend, we ordered:
Crispy Pork Croquette
Vietnamese Shrimp Spring Rolls
Empress's black fried rice
The Empress's black fried rice came out exactly as stated. Mint black, shiny pearls of rice, tossed with pieces of Szechuan pork and egg...textured. A savory bowl of starchy goodness.
The Vietnamese rolls were so good that we ended up ordering two plates. And the Pork Croquette was mediocre, since it was not too crispy and reminded me of the potato croquettes sold in Japantown (generic and not too crunchy on the outside since it had been sitting under cellophane for several hours).
We also ordered the signature drink:
Le Long Frisson, a chick drink infused with orange vodka, peach liquer, lime, cranberry, litsea cubeba (taken from their menu) sweet and strong, I could not finish this potent drink. Our bartender was cute, very attentive (clearing away plates immediately and a cup of water, without me even having to ask for it) as well as the top notch service.
The decor of the bar firmly ground the flirtatious 60's modern vibe of the dining room with dark black wood furniture and counters. Add in the sophisticated nature of the establishment, and my experience here was tops. Would I come back here? Absolutely, and next time, to sample the dinner menu.
Great martini's and scandalous bathroom's. Everything I am looking for in a night.
Just kidding.
My co-workers and I came here for happy hour and it was fabulous! Our waitress rocked too -- she totally had a game plan for us. Apparently the area we sat in was reserved for a larger group that was coming in an hour later so she suggested that we order our drinks and while we enjoy them, she would set up an area near the bar for our appetizers. By the way, Frisson offers a great 5+5 deal which basically means 5 appetizers + 5 drinks at $5 each.
We sampled the shrimp spring rolls, duck confit crispy rolls, black fried rice and some pork fried thing (looked like crab cakes). It was all tasty. My mojito martini was good but on the strong side.
Great ambiance too!
Goddamn this place is fricken sexy. I love the interior, it's absolutely gorgeous. The service was impeccable (thanks to our lovely server and the sommelier) and the food was great. I still can't get the damn foie gras outta my head!
We even had some entertainment during dinner... there was a drunken table sitting nearby and two of the women from that party were indulging in some really awful white people dancing...ON THE DINING TABLE. Of course the host and manager had to put the smack down on them but it was fun while it lasted.
Can't wait until my next visit to Frisson!
Frisson RULES.
Last night was my first time having Happy Hour here at the bar area, but I have eaten here, and the food is, indeed, excellent. Dessert was also excellent. All of it - GOOD. Ambience - very, very orange. But in a classy kind of way, though orange is my least favorite color. Lighting is nice, too.
The bar....
Well, comfortable seating with the same great ambience as the dining area. Hostess left a bit to be desired, but our server was so friendly and always smiling, She alone made it pleasant to be here.
And kudos for the Mojito Martini.
I don't know what a Mojito Martini is but when I ordered a Mojito, she said "Mojito Martini?" and given that my usual drink of choice is a Mojito or a Martini... I thought, "What the hell... yes."
I downed many more of these than I should have.
This was the beginning of the night, and guaranteed, one more of these and it would have been the end of my night, too.
Damn good. With extra lime requested - - it hit the spot on a nice Friday afternoon.
They also had a patio section out back where people could take their drinks out and smoke. Nice touch.
This is not QUITE up to what I'd rate 5 whole stars, but a strong 4+ stars for Frisson.... Yelp should have a decimal system!!
Valet parking is always available for $8.
Perfect!
Went here for a post-dinner birthday gathering. Man this place was crowded. I'm not really going to ding them for that but it was really hard to maneuver around in that place. The bartenders were relatively quick and polite but man $7 for a non-tap beer?
The bathrooms are downstairs and are relatively interesting. The decor of the place is nice. The group of about 40 Asians were so loud, I wonder how much we irritated the diners in the adjacent eating area.
My friend Bob was visiting from out of town, and we took the 'Dine About Town' promotion to try somewhere new.
The food was excellent: I had lobster bisque and veal confit, then finished with citrus fruit granite. Everything was perfectly done, in modest proportions and beautiful presentation.
Unfortunately, I felt the service was off. After my first course was done I wanted to order another glass of wine to go with my main course, but didn't get a chance to talk to our server until halfway through the main. I asked for a particular wine that I had seen on the wine list, and he came back a while later to confirm with the list. By this time, I was almost done with my dinner, so I said I didn't want wine, which makes me sad, because I love booze.
After finishing our main courses, we had a long, long wait before our desserts showed up. While I wasn't necessarily in any hurry to get out of there, it was definitely odd... we felt forgotten. And Bob was never asked if he would like a refresh or refill on his soda.
I'm bummed that I feel this way about the service and it matters that much, because the food was really good; still, I'd definitely consider going back to be able to try more things off the menu.
Go for 5 @ 5. $5 drinks and $5 appetizers from 5 to 7. The empanadas are great and so are the cookies and milkshake. The fried rice (yes...i know... fried rice is SO not your ordinarily hip food!) is really tasty and a decent amount of it too considering it is an appetizer.
Lunch time - The Burger rocks! (not cheap but I am willing to pay for it).
I was there with Gideon K, and wasn't planning to post too but since the server wants to disagree . . . as we say here in SOMA, "it's on".
First, the good:
Great interior design -- very funky and modern
Great food flavors
Nice, extensive bar
and the bad:
the portions WERE tiny
and service WAS slow
I've been there before and had better service . . . but based on this last experience, 3 stars is a generous review.
I thought I'd like this place more. I thought this place would be a little sleeker. Not super crazy about the modish, orbital patterns, orange berber-carpety seating or circular cruise-cabiny dining room. Not super crazy about our waitress, who though very nice, musta checked in on us every 5 mins. or so, esp. at the start to get our order WHEN I was having dinner w/ one of my very good friends whom I hadn't seen in ages. Not super crazy about the whisking away of plates after dinner. I realize that restaurants may have tight reservation schedules. But it truly detracts from your dining experience when you feel the "hint hint" to get your fat ass out of there. Which pretty much marks my experience here.
What was good were the seared scallops with black beluga lentils -- DE-LISH. Wonderful melding of flavors and complementary textures. My friend had the hanger steak, which was yummy, too.
Not so good were the pork croquettes with frisee (sans bacon no less!) and potato puree. All of the components for something yummy were definitely there, but the result was disappointing -- flavors of the pork and breadcrumbs competed or were equally too strong or something something. Anyway, the croquettes were left unfinished. Other taste -- mixed field of greens with a super strong vinaigrette.
Note also the bathrooms are unisex with communal sinks. I'm so over this trend. O-VER IT. And there's like no lighting anywhere. I'm sorry, I'm clean. I like to see where I'm going, esp. when it comes to restrooms.
This is probably more of a 2.5 than a 3 star, basically because I can't get the in-n-out feel outta my system. Blech.
Update / Addition July 2006:
I co-hosted a happy hour for about 30 colleagues here. It was a huge success. Everyone had a great time. Staff and service always attentive and professional - they know exactly what they're doing and no questions asked. Tons of great cocktails, drinks and yummy apps and food to be passed and shared. One of the most popular items was the burger! Oh this burger was perfect --- moist, full of flavor, pure heaven. The kitchen cut it into fours to make it easier as a finger food item, but it wasn't enough. I think everyone ordered a whole burger for themselves. Consider Frisson on your next happy hour! It's worth it.
****************************
When I take friends out I like to impress them as much as possible, show them the best of SF and what the city can offer. Being from a small country town they squeal in delight at anything that resembles "sex and the city". Sure Frisson is flashy, more Las Vegas than laid back SF. I'm not even sure what "SF" is these days- there's so much variety out there.
Instant amazement from the moment we walked in. The decor, the lighting, the house vibes, the groove of the set by DJ Tim. I've been here before so I love getting a new reaction. We made a reservation and were offered the best table in the house if we waited until the previous diners were done with dessert. Sure, why not. We were given complimentary champagne while we waited. When we sat down for dinner, our table was one of those in the middle of the room, facing the glass wall looking toward the elevator and stairs. I thought, eh, not really the best table ... the bathroom is down those stairs. I really do not want to know who's going or who's coming back from it. I think I would've liked to have a view of the kitchen or front door, but it is what it is.
The service was really warm and friendly without any snootiness. Also offered a couple glasses of Sauternes to compliment the seared foie. Had the Japanese Seabream sashimi, lamb loin (a tad gamey but still edible), duck breast, and for dessert the chocolate souffle tart. Plus a bottle of Cloudy Bay Pinot and more champagne. We loved it. Frisson was a big hit.
I'll keep it short since there's already a ton of reviews:
The food was very good: (4 stars) A rich truffle oil balsamic salad, Saffron broth ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese, the roasted chicken with cornbread and foie gravy, and the blackberry bread pudding - yum
The service was very good as well: (4 stars) She was knowledgeable, attentive, not overbearing, and nice enough to dumb down the menu for me
The atmosphere... hmm... I liked the people and feeling, but the decor was awful. I felt like I was dinning at Samantha's strange parlor from Bewitched. You remember those orange hardstiched carpets that lined the elementary school halls of your past? Yea, now take that put it all over the chairs and then hang up strange orange lights everywhere. Oh... and don't forget, add a ceiling from an old planetarium that makes you nauseous when you look at it - ALRIGHT, you're there :)
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