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Categories: American (New), Lounges
Neighborhood: North Beach/Telegraph HillWed-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
"Houston's is one of the most consistent restaurants in town. Let's begin with the appetizers, shall we? The Spinach & Artichoke dip is…" read more »
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Im a little behind on getting my review up but better late than never, I say. I had been to the Horizon lounge a couple years ago and it wasn't anything to sneeze at so I was surprised when my friend Krystyl Baldwin booked it as a venue for her event Twestival SF.
According to her, they jumped through hoops to be accomodating and supportive of Twestival which was a fundraiser for Operations Smiles. This was an incredible relief as she had been burned very badly by the DNA lounge (initial venue that was going to be used) and needed a great replacement.
The event was a huge success! Speaking for the lounge area, they did a beautiful job of setting up and allowing us full access to whatever we needed. I had heard the food was amazing but couldn't vouch for it because I was busy hustling raffle tickets.
However I did return later to have dinner and meet up with the Chef Christopher Lee....THE. MAN. HAS. SKILLS. That is all. I had the Kobe beef burger and all I can say is CHA-CHING! It was money! I don't think Ive ever had a better burger. Patty was perfectly cooked and complemented with pepper jack cheese, avocado, bacon and this wicked awesome sauce that you have to get xtra on the side to dip your burger and fries in.
Honestly, you don't think you can eat another bite but then Christopher starts talking and your done. He will describe in detail the fabulous dessert he's going to prepare and you'r stomach is thinking WTH?! But your mind is like what did he say about the fresh fruit tart with a sweet light pudding in a crispy flaky pastry? How good was it? Sooo good, I took pictures of it. Yes, I took PICTURES of my food! On my camera phone, I have people, people, landscape, Chef Lee's dessert, people, people, landscape.
Ive returned a couple times more and the service, the people and the food have been incredibly wonderful every time It's in a crazy part of SF (sigh, Broadway) but once you walk through Horizon's doors, you feel at peace. The atmosphere is softly lit, quiet and soothing. The perfect place to disengage after work with friends or by yourself.
This review is strictly for the lounge area.
Last night, we were there for our friend's birthday. He had bottle service; however, we didn't come in the same time. The hostess at the front entrance gave us a hard time. She claimed that he wasn't on the 'list'. He had to come out to clarify things. We got inside.. and it was a complete waste of time. The venue was small, crowded, and lacks diversity. I'll be direct; there was only two white guys there, one of them was in our party... the majority were Asians.
After we finished the bottle, we decided to go to the bar and have more drinks since our service didn't seem to come by at all.. Hmm.. perhaps they're under staff? Okay, whatever, we'll drink at the bar. The bar counter was drenched in alcohol, the floor in front of the counter was stick that I couldn't even move my feet to dance while waiting for the arrogant female bartender to ask me for my orders. Amazingly Horizon doesn't have vodka martini. REALLY now?! I've never heard of a full bar that doesn't serve martini; particularly when it's vodka base. Grey goose? Kettle One? I see the bottles on the shelves. *sigh* Fine. I didn't mind the fact that they didn't have it.. but the female bartender's respond, "UGH, we don't serve martini here, can't you see the signs?!" Excuse me, I'm not illiterate and for your information, there's no damn sign at the bar! Tip for her: Nana. Here's one for you Horizon, hire friendly staffs. I'm sure there are plenty of bartenders that gracious and polite. Unfortunately, I did not meet any at your bar. Failed. The only time I'll be back is to eat at the restaurant, but I would never drink nor support the lounge area.
The bff Nancy made me come here =(
And she says she loves me. But it was a club night. We got in free but had to listen to a racial comedian... boooo. And there was only seating for 'vip' once it was 'club time'. /sigh.. the music kept repeating the same songs.. All in all I didn't have a great time but Nancy loves it there. I'm just not a dancer/clubber. I'm more of a lounge and people watcher hah.
And as always, drinks are expensive and small.
The bathrooms are nice but not by the end of the night... I feel so bad for the attendant.
Hmmm...no. Horizon is in a great location to sexy fun times in North Beach, strip clubs, bars etc, but the fun times end there. I'm not sure if it was an off night or what, but I saw three servers in the whole restaurant, which wouldn't have been a problem if I hadn't been anxiously searching them out for the entire time I was there. It took at least 10 minutes for me to get my first drink, and I was sitting at a table next to the bar.
We ordered the Cesar salad, calamari, lamb burger and Kobe burger. First the salad came out, standard Cesar, but the as advertised anchovies were missing in action... bummer. Then my entree came out. As I waited for others to get their food, my burger got colder and colder. My calamari was still MIA and so was my date's entree. Fast forward, the entire table of 12 people were eating dinner, and my date was nibbling at my chilled friend as burger. Finally the calamari makes a cameo, and I inquire about the burger's whereabouts. The waitress, who did seem overwhelmed, did not place the order. Apologies and free cheesecake eventually ensue, but eating your entree at a table full of people done eating is no fun. Overall, there were interesting drink choices, so if I'm back, I'll probably skip the food and just go to the bar for drinks.
I honestly believe I can cook faster than the kitchen staff here... For starters, I ordered Salmon w/ a side of veggies - took approximately 60 minutes from the time that I've order to the time when it was placed in front of me. I'm fairly certain that with a half emptied restaurant, you should not wait an hour for a piece of fish and some grilled veggies.
The taste of my entree (salmon w/ veg) was plain dull, the only taste I can pick out from the plate is the lemon juice. The veggies were charred on the grill, way over-cooked. I expect a lot more for an $18 entree.
The waitresses here also can use some sleep. I say this because a plate full of sauces (ketchup, ranch, etc.) landed all over my friend who sat across the table from me. The worst part is we didn't even get a discount on our bill.
Overall, the wait time is not reasonable, the taste was dull, and not getting a discount on the check after spilling a full plate of sauce on your customer is just out of this world.
I first contacted Horizon Lounge in regards to hosting an event in San Francisco. Due to the lack of service I was receiving from another venue, I found Horizon Lounge to be open arms and catering to our every need. They researched what we were doing before I even talked to them on the phone, so they had a good over all understanding of what we were doing and I didn't have to explain too much to them.
They are always prompt in their service. If the service is not done right, they do what they can to make sure you leave with a smile on your face.
I couldn't ask for better service, and nicer people. Anything you need they will do.
Ronnie and Chris are the go-to people of event hosting/catering/and smiles. :-)
Restaurant Review only! This place would not have gotten four stars had it not be for Chef Christopher Lee. Compliments to you, Chef!
We failed to make it on time to the preview screening of "The Men Who Stare at Goats". Sigh. George Clooney, you're the only old man that can make me swoon... Okay, aside from being chronically late to anything and everything, we missed Happy Hour at 4th Street Bar... Sigh. Until we stumble upon a revelation: "I'm craving crack fries." says Priscella T. "Okay, let's go get some." says I, off to Horizon.
I walk in and try to wave down the hostess to let her know that we have arrived. Tada! I don't know if it's the dimly lit restaurant or the fact that the walls were painted black so it is really hard to see anything, let along tiny me. Well, she eventually sees me but does not acknowledge the fact that we have walked in, until she was done talking to the bartender. WTF?! After that, she directs us to a wobbly table and seats us, upon realizing the table was super wobbly, she moved us to another table.
We ordered from the 3-course prix fixe meal to share amongst the two of us and let me tell you, the portions are pretty damn good for a 3-course.
For the appetizer we had the Sampler consisting of Parmesan Cheese Truffle Oil Fries (aka Crack Fries because they are so addicting and delicious; you experience withdrawal symptoms when you're too far away from them), Tater Tots, Buffalo Wings and something I'd like to call "An Array of Fried Something"... I can't honestly tell you what that "Fried Array of Something" was, but I can tell you it was edible so I ate some of it... Haha. Um, leave it to me to just devour anything that's placed on a plate in front of my face. We couldn't finish this because the portion was sooo big.
Oh yeah, my Sparkling Pineapple Lemonade and her Watermelon Lemonade finally made it's way to us. Mind you, the restaurant was EMPTY at this point. No patrons at the bar, no patrons having dinner, just the two of us... It felt a little eerie. The drinks were both refreshingly, good, but I think mines lacked pineapple juice to begin with, but not knowing how the drink tastes, I thought it was supposed to be like that... Hmm, go figure. The Watermelon Lemonade was made to order and I ended up liking it more than my Sparkling Pineapple Lemonade, sigh. I always end up liking something someone else orders... ]= ALWAYS! We saw them use watermelon puree straight from a blender. Yum!
At this point, the Chef brought out our Seafood Pasta.
Thanks for bringing us our entree and then checking up on us! My friend eventually wanted to trade drinks because her drink was too sweet and mines was sour. She has a sour tooth. She wanted the drink to be more sour, so when the Chef was at our table checking up on us, we told him that her drink wasn't sour enough and he immediately had the bartender remake the drink! What an amazing guy! The drink came back WITH pineapple and extra lemons! Hah. Damnit, I tried the drink the second time around and wanted a trade back, sigh. This ALWAYS happens to me! Ugh. Anyways...
The Seafood Pasta was drenched in sauce. I don't know about you but I love pasta drenched in sauce, literally, like pasta swimming in sauce. I don't know if it's just because I love soupy things like jook, pho or won tons in soup. The pasta was cooked to al dente, just perfect. They were a little conservative on the seafood though, but the fresh cherry tomatoes floating around were really ripe and added a very nice touch to the dish.
Finally, we made our decision on what dessert we were going to have and we chose the Mojito Cake. Let me say, we made the best decision because the Mojito Cake was absolutely delicious and something I have never heard of before. The cake had a nice minty flavor without it being too overpowering and it came with a virgin Mojito Shot which my friend loved because it was sour.
Overall, the amazing experience was made possible by Chef Christopher Lee and tator tots. Who can say NO to tater tots?
Ehhhhhhhhhh - I'm in between! All the food was either hit or miss - but the server was just lost!
We came by for Julia H.'s BF birthday dinner (I had checked it out already online to see the menu and it looked appetizing) and when we all walked inside, I was impressed by the interior. We sat down and I ordered a glass of wine and the calamari - J ordered just a coke.... and the wait began. There wasn't very many ppl in the restaurant so I don't know why it took 20 minutes just to get our drinks - in fact we were sitting right in front of the bar so half the table (after dealing with our server) just walked the 3 feet to the bar where they could get their drink in 50 seconds compared to what seemed like 50 minutes. The calamari came out and it was pretty good but by the time that came out (20 minutes after the wine came out), we all needed another round of drinks and ready to order. I chose the Mushroom Risotto and J got the Hanger steak, D and Dan ordered the Mac n Cheese, Spinach and Fries. I ended up trading my risotto for half their mac n cheese. The risotto tasted good but it was a minuscule amount of food - possibly 3 spoonfuls - the appetizers were bigger than this entree. The steak was great and the mac n cheese was to die for - I ordered an extra one for all of us to share but I ate most of it.
I wasn't overly impressed with anything and everyone in our party agreed - but it was great prices and certain entrees were delicious but I wish our server wasn't so slow and actually came to our table more instead of talking to her friends and hanging out by the machine. I don't know if I'll bother to give it another try on my own.
Let me start by giving my compliments to the Executive Chef Christopher Lee who pretty much single-handily is carry all 3 of these stars(he actually deserves 4/5). The food was delicious and flavorful and I was so impressed that he came out (numerous times!) to visit tables and see how everyone was enjoying the food. He was charming and seemed to geniunely care that everyone was enjoying themselves.
A bunch of friends and Ihad made reservations to celebrate my 25th birthday. The plan was to have dinner at Horizon, made check out the lounge/club once that kicked-in and then head out to the local bars. However, we ended up having such an AWESOME time at Horizon, we never left.
However, the night was far from perfect. I had originally made the dinner reservation for 9 people, but when I realized more people would be making it to dinner, I called and left a message asking if the party size could be increased to 15. I didn't hear back from anyone for a few days (a bit disappointing) and then finally received a voicemail on my phone from who I am assuming is the Party/Event Manager telling me that it wouldn't be an issue. He left his number, said to give him a call if we had any questions and that otherwise 'we will see you this weekend...'
Well......when we showed up, there was only a table of 9 setup.....apparently NOTHING in the books showing the change in our reservation....this manager was OUT OF TOWN.....AND they told me they DIDN'T HAVE ANY EXTRA TABLES OR CHAIRS because they were fully booked that night.
WTF...are you serious!
Completely unacceptable. I realize it was not our server, nor the host's fault that no one communicated with them and I tried my very hardest not to take it out on them. I am VERY disappointed with management and their lack of responsibility. The host found us 1 extra chair, but we had friends standing during dinner. RIDICULOUS.
So has you can see, our experience was one of polar opposites. Great food, great dancing/music (4/5 stars)......very VERY disappointed with management and communication (1 star) = overall 3 stars.
Worth checking out, I just hope you have better luck than I did.
OK, this review is a bit overdue. I generally wouldn't expect to come to this area for a good dining experience. Maybe because I think of it as the strip club and clubbing area. Nevertheless, we came to Horizon for dinner.
And apparently the menu has already changed a bit (something about no more ribs?) Which is too bad, because the ribs were just crispy enough on the outside and yet they are fall-off-the-bones soft.
I had the lamb burger. As a fan of lamb, I was pleasantly surprised. It was HUGE, too. So while some others in my party had the sliders, I didn't want any beef take up room in my tummy that was reserved for lamb. My wife did love the sliderse, though.
The parmesan fries were awesome - and they were even still good the next day after I put them in the toaster oven. HAH! Garlic fries could have used a bit more garlic, but then again I'm a big garlic fan and I don't mind smelling bad as long as it tasted good. So maybe for the majority of folks it would be a good amount of garlic.
I didn't order the appetizers so I don't know exactly what else we had. We were a party of eight so the party ordered several appetizers. There was that one with the raw fish in what looked like a martini glass or something. That was my favorite one.
Now, going back to the lamb burger, the only problem with lamb burgers in general is that with all that bun and condiments and whatnot that goes in a burger, the wonderful taste of lamb gets a bit buried. That's why I'm always a bit wary of such things. Considering how well the ribs turned out, I'm sure the chef can whip up some awesome lamb that'll fall right off the bones too! (hint hint).
As for the lounge, the four stars has nothing to do with it. The lounge is very hit-or-miss. We went a few weeks ago for a birthday party and it was never very crowded, so we ended up leaving at about midnight. Then, more recently, we decided to hang out after dinner. It got crowded with the quickness. Both times were random weekends without any special events, as far as I know.
There used to be Asian parties out here but I'm not sure if they do that anymore. So if you happen to come on an Asian night, there'll be a bunch of Asians, of course. Otherwise, both nights I went there was a mix of people - but the crowd seemed to trend toward being a little bit thuggish. Not my crowd.
Four stars because I'll come back for dinner if I'm headed to this area for clubbing anyway. However, these four stars does not reflect the clubbing experience.
I've been on Broadway a million times and I had no idea this place was here. Met some friends here the other night. They had coupons; I had nothing to do, so it worked out well.
While the service was a bit lacking - some stuff took a while, other stuff came out at different times, she seemed a bit jumpy, that type of thing - everything we had was really good. Started with happy hour calamari, chicken wings and mac n' cheese - I believe everything was 5 bucks each and damn tasty to boot. I tend to like my seasoning on the stronger side, as few things irritate me more than bland food, and this place was right on target.
One friend had the chicken over (more) mac n' cheese, the other had the bbq ribs. Let me tell you about these girls - they are hard to please. I mean tough. And I haven't seen them rave about food like this in a while. They loved loved loved it. I had the mushroom and parmesan risotto and really really liked it. Risotto can tend to be a bit - yeah - bland, but this definitely wasn't. Generous portions too.
The chef, Christopher Lee, came out and spoke to all the tables, and was incredibly friendly. Told us he took over a couple months ago and is really excited about the changes they're making to the menu and the direction they're going. Then he sent over some free dessert. Ah, Chef Lee. Nothing speaks to my heart like free key lime pie and tiramisu.
This place is good, reasonably priced, has a good happy hour. Stop by, won't you?
this review is strictly for the 'lounge' part of horizon.
UH..
NO.
next please. . .
although, the girl's bathroom was pretty tight.
I was really digging the black leather couches in the lounge side. I like the wrapped around bar. The kitchen is in the middle and the restaurant seating on the other side. I liked the non-crowd capacity when I was there.
I had chicken and some veggie appetizer that were good. There is a California Asian cuisine influence to the food. My drinks were kind of pricey. I will probably drink more economically elsewhere before I would here again.
I like the location, I may be back.
I co-hosted a private launch party this month at Horizon Lounge. I was aware that this lounge was the site of TwestivalSF and a very good friend who recognizes wonderful service and great food raved about it.
Given I had a few weeks to pull this event together and ensure our guests would have a fantastic time, I relied heavily on the Lounge's manager, Ronnie. This manager was fantastic to work with and was very accommodating. Each time I'd talk to him prior to the event, he assured me that everything would be perfect; Ronnie's great to work with and he even asked me to call him any time of the day if I had any sort of last-minute requests and/or questions.
Ronnie worked closely with Chef Christopher, who created amazing appetizers for us that evening -- many of my guests are still gushing over the port poached pear with a honey lavender goat cheese crostini -- believe me, it was heavenly.
The atmosphere was great and the guests had elbow room to actually converse and see product demos first hand.
That evening we had our event, the new TV series Trauma was being shot across the street so it made for an interesting night. For those who are not used to coming to this side of the City, believe me it's totally worth the commute!
Clarify: This review is mainly based on the service as HOW they serve is just as important as what they serve and maybe even a little more important.
Dining:
1 Star for yummy Lamburger & Fries.. but it goes down hill from there..
Slow service. We got our entre first after half hour of sitting and staring around the room. Then we get our warm tunatini appetizer 40 minutes later while staring at our short empty glass of water. We had to bug the bartender for water.. who came outside and poured us some. Can't tell if the tunatini had good taste or not.. it was just warm and gross. Needed lime or just be on ice or something!
Then they kept trying to clean off our table because we were just sitting there staring into space for another 40 minutes. Until we flagged down our cold calamari ...which might have accidentally gone to the wrong table at first. We sent it back. It didn't seem to have much seasoning, but we couldn't tell. It was cold and gross.
Then they charged us for something they told us they ran out of. Bill was rung up 3 times.
Partying:
O V E R P R I C E D
U N D E R P O U R E D
Drown your liver somewhere else before coming in here. While you're at it, grab appetizers first too.
I first discovered Horizon because of TwestivalSF. I was on the event team and after having dealt with other venues for other events, I was blown AWAY by the professionalism, flexibility and cooperation shown by the lounge and restaurant teams headed up by Ronnie and Chef Christopher Lee.
Horizon is a chic little oasis in the center of the Broadway adult entertainment venues but don't let the location put you off. Inside it's elegant and comfy - with an intimate dining area a central U shaped bar that dissects the space and a sophisticated, modern lounge area.
The drinks are fabulous - perfect mojito anyone? Or for a fun spin try the scrumptious watermelon version.
And the food is lovingly served up by Chef Christopher who is passionate about simple flavors and fresh, local ingredients. Tender, perfectly seasoned calamari, mouth-watering parmesan-truffle fries and golden crab cakes on a bed of greens were all piping hot and served up immediately.
The burger I had was incredibly satisfying. And I've heard the mac and cheese is to die for and I intend to order that on my return visit. I'm salivating like Pavlov's dog, already!
Service is friendly and prompt. I really feel like part of the family here. Oh, and I LOVED the ladies' room decor! I highly recommend Horizon - for either a group evening or a romantic dinner for two.
I've been here last January with my co-workers for a birthday celebration and it was my first time to come to this place.
My first impression of this place is Modern,dark and elegant.
FOOD - is awesome! I like their fries (parmesan fries - I think that's what it's called) it was so0 addicting!!!
STAFF/SERVICE - are good! the waiters checked on us to make sure they give us good service and that we enjoyed the food/service.
PEOPLE/CROWD -The majority people in this club are asians (kinda makes me wonder why).
Parking is a bit of a problem here. It's really hard to find a parking space in San Francisco PLUS it's very expensive.
The place is very convenient to other bars/clubs and of course, the STRIP CLUBs!
Party of 4, went there without reservations. There were a couple of tables open and 2 large parties taking place. Only 3 employees on the floor, one of which is the bartender, on a Saturday night? Odd. We'll see how that goes...
20 min waiting for a server. Took our order. Then 20 min waiting with no water, no bread, starving... Finally, our LAMB BURGERS came and they were juicy & extremely flavorful! YUM. The TRUFFLE PARMESAN FRIES were kick ass!! Good way to start our dinner. BUT...
Dun dun dun!!! Our appetizers didn't come before our entrees. Another 20 min of waiting after eating the burgers. Finally, we got our TUNA TINI which was warm (Note: it's raw tuna & hence should be cold right?) NO flavor, tasted like warm 'something'... ANOTHER 20 min of waiting for our calamari! We were almost going to cancel it, but received it cold, so we sent it back. Did I mention our water only got refilled once by the bartender? We had to go up there & ask her.
Food would had been great if it was served properly & on time. I would definitely come out for the food again, but hope they will do something about their service.
From the looks of this place on the outside, you wouldn't think that on the inside it would be a nice, intimately lit place. Not only does this place have good ambiance, but also good food. Came here with my bf to celebrate our anniversary. Shockingly, the place was kinda empty. there was only two other couples eating there. But with the economy nowadays, people aren't eating out at nice and pricey restaurants anymore.
The food here was amazing! there was a prix fixed meal that included appetizer, entree, and dessert, so we ordered those plus their parmesan truffle fries. The portion of the fries they give you is huge. We couldn't finish the fries at all. But it was delicious with the truffle oil and parmesan cheese well integrated.
Appetitizer:
CAESAR SALAD: this was simple but delicious. the romaine lettuce came intact (not streaded) that held the dressing and parmesan cheese well. It came with anchovies...which I am not a fan of, so I just gave them to my bf.
BABYBACK RIBS: my bf had this appetitzer and it was absolutely delicious! probably the best part of our meal. The meat on this braised rib was so tender and juicy that it came off the bone...thats a clear indication of a tender meat.
Entree:
GRILLED SALMON: This was a decent dish. The salmon was cooked perfectly with a hint of pink in the middle, just the way I liked it. It came with mashed potatoes that were really creamy and smooth and steamed asparagus.
KOBE BEEF BURGER: this was my bf's dish. It was juicy and a little undercooked for my bf (who likes his beef meat well done). It came with pepperjack cheese, bacon, and avocado on a ciabatta bun.
Dessert:
FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE: I really didn't enjoy this too much. I mean...it was considered healty b/c of the lack of flour...but it didnt taste that good. It tasted like eating cocoa powder. I ended up eating my bf's dessert which he wasn't so happy about. haha.
RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE: this was my bf's dessert. I'm usually not a fan of cheese cake, but this was really creamy and sweet w/ fresh raspberries. The crust was firm and crumpled in my mouth.
The food was great and the ambiance was nice. the only problem I really had was my drink. I had one of their specialty cocktails and it was just wayyyy to sweet. But aside from that, I had a wonderful dinning experience.
I had reservations to celebrate a belated birthday with coworkers. The restaurant was quiet, as is expected for a Wednesday evening, and we were excited to try the Happy Hour eats.
Decor is sleek. Not sure I dig the low back stools, but it kept my bag and coat off the ground. Just be careful not to fall off the stool when tipsy.
Service excellence is not quite there. Despite it being quiet, the staff could have been more prepared. They didn't greet us quickly or have table settings ready even though I had a reservation (ok...for 5 people, which ended up being 8, but I didn't see settings for 5 waiting for us). Our waitress was not aware of the Happy Hour special ($5 mojitos - not listed on Horizon's website) that appeared on Yelp around 3pm, but she was friendly & helpful and made sure to honor the Yelp special.
Food is yummy and filling. I had the Wagyu Kobe Beef Slider (medium RARE), Crab Cake (crab-heavy), some Sweet Potato Fries (crinkle, not skinny), a few bites of Beer Battered Calamari, and half a Mango Mojito (on the strong side). That was around 6pm. It is now midnight, and I am still FULL! The Kobe Beef Slider is a MUST, and the Crab Cake and Sweet Potato Fries are good runners-up. Props to the new Chef Christopher Lee for the yummy menu!
5 stars for the food minus 1 star for the service. All in all, our group was pretty satisfied. I will definitely be coming back for dinner and dessert.
This entry really needs to be split into Horizon Restaurant and Horizon Lounge. This is a review for Horizon Restaurant:
I was here for the food last weekend and Chef Chris prepared a feast of Wagyu Kobe Beef Bacon Burger with Mac & Cheese--the best accompaniment to a burger ever invented. Coupled with a Cab and a mango mojito, it was one of the best burger dinners I've had. The service here is superb (Sim was tending the bar).
If they spruced up the wine list with better reds, I'd consider giving them 5 stars.
The Colorado Lamb burger and fries are excellent. The burger was cooked perfectly and the bun is amazing, not your run of the mill soggy bun, quite scrumptious. So is the mac n cheese...
Review is only from a food perspective. It seems like the reviews are divided with good food and poor bar.
Decor:
Trendy upscale burger joint.
Service:
Average to good. Nothing significant to report about.
Food:
Burger options were great. Fries were excellent as well. Full bar with a few interesting cocktail selections.
Overall:
One of the better burgers I have had in San Francisco. This is an upscale place, so it is not cheap, but definitely worth stopping by if you are in the area.
Food - Awesome (compliments to Chef Christopher Lee), my favorites : Crab cake (with big chunks of crab meat), Kobe Burger (Juicy but not greasy) They are not shady on their HH portion & it's only $5
Service - Good (waitress checked on us quiet often and made sure everything was good)
Securities for the night club after 10pm - Friendly & polite (they don't yell at you to form a single line while u waiting to get in)
Bar - Excellent (large selections of alcohol, the bartenders pay attention to the full counter not only their own corners, so you don't have to wait 10 mins to get your drinks. The Mojitos, LC and chilled Belvedere are my favorites! ^_~ )
**FOR LOUNGE/CLUB REVIEW ONLY**
I went here to support a friends album release... hmmm what to say about this place..............not a whole lot to say really.. it was mehhhhh.... alright...some of the bartenders were on point and some.. just werent...
boy tender: hey cutie what can i get you?
me: uhh can i have a jack n coke and a hen and coke please
boy tender: sure
I turn to say hi to a friend, as he TRIES to do a trick with the JD bottle, he fails.. drops the bottle...
boy tender: here you go
me: which is which
boy tender: ummmm.... im not sure..
Never would I think of taking my husband out for a nice dinner on Broadway... who would of thought?! I met the "General Manager Ronnie" who raved about Horizon and suggested we give them a try... So we did.... and we had a great time!
Our server was "Nga", who was very professional and was training Crystal a new waitress who was doing a fabulous job (go girl!) "Crystal" was attentive to us the entire night and helped us with our menu selection.... This is what we had and I highly recommend the following... yummy!
I ordered off their prefixed menu ( I was very hungry!)
I started with the
"Mussels"
Tomatoes, Basil, Chili, Garlic, Shallots, Cream, White Wine
Followed by their "New York Strip Steak"
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Haricot Vert, topped with Oyster Mushroom Brandy Sauce
And for the finale I had their "Fried Brioche"
My husband ordered their
"Pear Salad"
Watercress, Candied Walnuts, Gorgonzola Bleu Cheese, Sherry Walnut Vinaigrette (I had some, it is so goood!!)
And the "Chef's Choice Burger with Avocado and Bacon" accompanied with some really good Fat Herb Fries
Beverages of the evening was a Sprite for him and I of course always like too order the house specialties - so I chose their "Mango Tango".. it was the bomb! It was so good that I ask for the Bartender's name so I give him some credit too on Yelp! "Sim", it was very good! Thanks
"Ronnie" thanks for the recommendation! We had a great time at Horizon's and will be back to try the rest of the menu out and the rest of the drink specials! :)
A review for the lounge portion only:
I've been meaning to create a yelp account, but this place motivated to stop procrastinating and write a review.
Where do I begin....I went on Halloween night with a quite a large group of people through a program I am in and we were all on the guestlist. The club told our organizers "as long as we show up before 11pm, we get in free." The majority of us showed up at about 10:50pm, went to the bouncer at the front told him who we were and that we were on the guestlist. He told us to go to the back of the line where we waited for 20 minutes (for nothing really, just to make the place look more hoppin), and when we got to the front they charged us $10 each to get in...pretty shady move.
We decided whatever, won't let it ruin the night. We got in and ordered drinks and were charged $9 for the weakest drink I've ever had. Supposed to be Vodka-Cranberry, was 99.9% Cranberry juice. Even my just-turned 21-year-old sister who can taste alcohol in Mike's thought it tasted like juice. Stick to the beer if you order anything.
The music selection...terrible, wasn't even top 40 type of music, maybe a few top songs sprinkled in among the vast majority of rap..that most people hadn't heard of, and half the people didn't end up dancing to (no joke). Add this to the fact that they couldn't work the equipment properly and it was making ear-splitting screeching noises and I can safely say I will never go back, even if there was no cover. Oh and we only paid $10 because we were on the guestlist, if someone wasn't on the guestlist they had to pay $35 for this "insert expletive here."
The only somewhat decent thing about this place was the bouncer who took away the prop that went with my costume at the beginning of the night went inside to retrieve it for me at the end of the night.
Review for nightclub ONLY
Dress from Forever 21... $15
Toll for the Bay Bridge... $4
Cover Charge... $ 20
Grey Goose & Tonic... $ 11
Being the only girl towering over a crowd full of asians?
PRICELESS.
Did I mention I'm only 5'7 with my heels on?
OK so first of all this place is smack dab right in the middle of the Broadway Strip of Nudie Bars!
I guess for some people that's a good thing?
Well I personally hate the fact that I had to park 2 blocks from the loung then get mobbed by at least 3 guys for every other club we walked past.
I also don't like the fact that the outside staff acted as if they didn't see us standing in line wondering if they were gonna continue their conversation or ask us to come into the lounge.
We finally got inside and well to my surprise this place was really small! The DJ booth was on a small stage that nobody was supposed to stand on only the Bouncer, so retarded!
Well I was appreciative that they had a coat check, even though I had no coat to check, lol!
The bathrooms were clean and really nice, oh and they had a person in thier to provide you with any needs, tampons, lotion, paper towels, etc.
I was very upset that I spent $20 on 2 Grey Goose and Cran's, is that steep or is it just me?
Oh and let me not forget to mention that the bar has about 3-4feet of counter space between you and the bartender, so you have to shout out loud to get the bartenders attention if they aint already payin attention.
All in all it was a pretty good experience.
This is a review for dinner. We didn't stay for the bling bling.
This place needs to get their act together especially given the advertised product quality. To his credit, our waiter knew it wasn't going well. Here is the list of excuses he felt compelled to provide for pretty much every aspect of our experience:
1) Sorry for waiting, we are missing a door person.
2) Sorry for the wait, here are some menus
3) Sorry for the wait, we only have one bartender
4) Sorry, here's an extra drink because the first one was messed up
5) Sorry for the drinks, we are training some new bar staff
6) Sorry for the wait, we only have one chef tonight but here are some tots
7) Sorry we ran out of lemon rinds
8) Sorry for everything but the food is quality
9) Okay, I guess you guys have had enough.... sorry, it's usually pretty good
I don't think I need to go into detail about the atmosphere, food, and price to justify the low rating... but let's just say that soggy fries, oily buns, misfired burger patties, and an odd crowd that's ready "boom boom pow" at 7PM didn't win back any points.
Myself and two other girls went here for dinner Sat night 8/15/09. We sat at the bar as the back half of the restaurant was dead and only the front had some action.
We ordered the chicken caesar salad, fries, and the chicken risotto.
1. we originally ordered the salmon dinner (no salmon) --minus 1 star
2. the caesar salad came with chicken and one VERY large anchovy, which totally permeated the flavor of the salad --minus 1 star
3. the chicen risotto was missing the chicken --minus 1 star
4. my girlfriend and I split the ricotta and both of us were ill later. (not food poisoning, just serious indigestion and overall yuck) --minus two stars.
The only star is for the bartender who let us know later that it was the chef's last day and as an apology, he refused to let us tip him (since they share the tips).
oh, the fries were actually really good, though. I love that they shave fresh Parmesan over them.
We will not be going back.
I love the nightlife, I love to boogie on the disco 'rooooooound.
Horizon- HELL to the NO.
Okay, surprise surprise, I'm not exactly a fan of North beach nightlife. You got the Saturday night "we be clubbin" wanderers in all their drunken glory, the out-of-town tourists who "want to see San FRAN," and of course the cheesy gentleman's club laced on every corner. Not my cup of chamomile tea.
So, ask me how I ended up at Horizon, which used to be Sake Lab, which used to be something else? Blind folded, handcuffed and brought against my will. Nah, but it felt every close to that feeling once inside.
First of all the bouncers made us wait in the line. Seriously? For what? Because it's such a hot spot? Because so many people wanted to get into such a poppin' place. NOPE. Because they're DB's. I looked through the window and saw all of 5 people inside.
So after waiting in that atrocious line with all the hoochie mamas and their leather jacket wearing "boos," I went inside. The place is a restaurant during the day and early evening, so for the club, the tables and chairs are pushed against the wall to create the perfect "dance floor." Dun-dun-dun!!!!!!!!
Of course, it was your typical Asian party. Not hating on the Asian parties, but y'all know how those work. You got that one group of Asian girls dancing in a circle, drunk already, and the slew of Asian guys standing around them, sipping their grey goose and staring at them, mustering up the liquid courage to ask, "do you come here often?" Except to be c-blocked by that one short brotha (who is obviously there by himself) to get him some Asian-lovin'.
Then all of a sudden, at around 12 midnight, the dance floor is filled. The dj yells into the mic, "where all my single ladies at?" To which, a roarish scream comes from that one group of girls who started dancing at 9pm and have now taken 500 photos of themselves.
The music that night wasn't too shabby, it was your typical hip-hop, top 40. I even got up to dance, but somewhere along the line, the music stopped twice and it made the drunkies mad. I kept looking at my watch and after I felt like I got enough "QT" with the folks I came with, I peaced out!
This time I will not be deceived by another name change. Shame on you Horizon, there's nothing 'sky meets earth' about you.
Horizon presents itself well. The interior atmosphere is lovely and the wait-staff is wonderfully polite and friendly. But everything falls apart after that. I recently ate dinner there with a group of about fourteen people. It took the staff about thirty minutes to actually come to our table to take our order. After finding the restaurant was disappointingly bereft of a few items on their menu, we ordered our drinks, appetizers, and entrees. They brought entrees to about three people. Then a pattern swiftly arose: every fifteen minutes another three to five individual items would arrive at our table. Many had finished eating entirely before everyone had received their plates. Moreover, most of the appetizers arrived after the meal entirely. The appetizers were also the only food of any quality. A few of us ordered the "seafood pasta" which boasted a rich variety of seafood: including shrimp, calamari, scallops on risotto with spinach and tomatoes in a lemon creme sauce. The reality proved to be flavorless shrimp and calamari afloat in a lukewarm sea of lemon-water, with modest bits of spinach, bowtie pasta and macaroni elbows trying not to drown. I ended up eating mostly appetizers. When we asked about the missing ingredients we found that the restaraunt was simply "out" of them, along with nearly half of everything else on the menu including the glass of wine I ordered, which, I had to ask about halfway through the meal. The establishment, again to their credit, apologetically gave us a 10% discount on our $400+ bill. I wish friendly staff and sleek, minimalist modern styling was enough to warrant a higher rating, but frankly my experience at Horizon was awful. I strongly advise you to avoid it at all cost!
Our dinner event to Horizon was a night full of adventures and surprises. First off, as we started eating, I noticed a large table of Asian kids right next to us. Asian kids in San Francisco, no big deal. But at a closer look, turns out it was Quest Crew from MTV's America's Best Dance Crew!!!!! I knew I've seen them from somewhere before so that was pretty neato. I didn't ask for a picture or autograph or anything because that's just lame and if you do end up getting a photo with those guys, everybody you show it to would just see a bunch of asian kids and wouldn't be able to discern it from any other cultural club college photo.
Anyway, onto the food. My gf coined Horizon's risotto as "paying $16 for American jook." I don't think that's a compliment. I tackled the chef's choice burger and while it was good, it was a bit too messy and not worth $18. I also had high expectations for the parmesan and truffle oil fries, but very disappointing as they were over fried and overly salty. On the flip side, I got to use my http://Restaurant.com $25 coupon so the meal only came out to $22.
A fair warning: the parking right outside Horizon and across the street has signs that say cars will be towed after 8PM so make sure to get your cars out of the area if they parked on the street by that time!!!!!
This restaurant isn't honest, and they have terrible service and use shady bait & switch tactics.
We arrived at 7:40pm for dinner to find that it was happy hour until 8pm. We had planned on just eating dinner, but decided to get a bunch of appetizers and drinks first and then order our entrees at normal dinner prices. If we had extra food we'd just take it home.
We ordered our appetizers and drinks at happy hour prices during happy hour. We got the ribs, tater tots, and truffle fries. They were all great. Who doesn't like tater tots?
We then put in our order for dinner. I got the fried chicken and my gf got the sliders. We still had our fries, tater tots, and drinks, and were having a great time snacking and talking. We didn't even notice that 30 minutes had gone by.
After about 45 minutes, my tater tot order dwindling, the waiter came by and took away my dipping sauces. Then he came back and tried to take my tater tots, even though I wasn't done yet. I told him I wasn't finished and he walked off. I was a little miffed that my dipping sauces were gone since I still had a lot of fries left.
By now we were wondering where our entrees were, since parties that had arrived after us had already left. We knew we ordered a lot of food, but we planned on taking anything we couldn't finish home. About 50 minutes had gone by since we put in our order for entrees when I asked our waiter about it.
"Entrees? Ohhh... you had ordered! Let me put that in for you!"
We weren't too mad about this, it was an honest mistake. We were having a good time with our drinks and appetizers, so no big deal. He even offered to comp us our second round of drinks.
We got our entrees just fine and ate as much as we could and got the rest boxed up. Despite the poor service we had received, I was fine up until this point.
When the waiter came back with the bill he said his manager couldn't give us the happy hour prices for the appetizers! Even though we ordered during happy hour! I don't understand why the manager couldn't do this, and no explanation was offered. We were using a gift card that we had received, but it wasn't a coupon or anything like that, it should be as good as cash. The waiter just gave us this lame excuse about his manager and walked off without an apology.
I still want to know why we were charged full price for the happy hour items when we ordered during happy hour. What was supposed to be a bill for ~$50 was ~$70. This is completely unacceptable, and combining it with a waiter who forgot to put in our order and let us sit there for nearly an hour without checking on us, is just the complete opposite of what a restaurant should be doing.
If you advertise a happy hour, and a customer orders during that happy hour, they should get those happy hour prices. I want our money back.
H is for how happy the birthday girl gets off of $10 shots.
O is for how many old people were here that night. I swear, 50+...
R is for their really sticky floor. I wore flip flops and they came off twice.
I is for insanity. Only 2 stalls for the ladies?? PSH.
Z is for zebra? I don't know.
O is for the open space here on a Friday night. Not packed...at all.
N is for their nastyyyyyy tasting pineapple juice. Seriously watered down.
Great place for your friends to hang out on a Friday night. I still have yet to try the food, but the place is pretty poppin'. =) But by far one of the better clubs off broadway. Classier, more space to dance or be alone without being bumped and stepped on, and a bar with drinks that are not TOO expensive.
Okay I still need to judge their food. My sister tells me its no bueno so ive shyed away from it.
However, as a lounge. I have to say its quite small (but kind of cozy) but needs to play better music. There were many moments throughout the night where the dance floor was completely empty, a dj should be rolling out music to where its a consistant number of ppl on the floor, slowly building them up and with periodic surprises of energy.
Its okay. Doesnt live up to its name. Annoying that asian people like to plan every dang thing here.
Suggested by my friend who frequents the Bay, I decided that this was the place to go for dinner and then drinks for my friends' birthday.
The food was excellent, and my seafood pasta was great. Apparently, the mussels ordered for appetizers were "really good," and because I trust my friends, you'll have to trust me too that they were just as good.
However, despite pretty good food, the after-dinner hours conversion into a lounge and/or club was pretty horrible. The only thing that impressed me was the quickness of our orders at the bar, and the fact that the bartenders were cute. Other than that, I don't think I'll come back here the next time I'm in the City. Plus, it had to have been open-night mic or something because their "performers" were pretty horrible.
when: Saturday Night
This review is only for the lounge.
There was a line at about 1030p. We dont usually go that early, but we wanted to beat cover, which turned out to be 11p--the website lied. Once we were in, there wasnt a lot of people, though I did note that I've never seen so many bald asian men in one place.
By 11p or so, the place began to fill up quite a bit (with more bald asian men). I like the floor plan, though I'm not usually a fan of bars sitting in the middle of the room, but it worked here, as opposed to Fluid's layout. There was enough room around the bar for designated dancing areas and enough space for people to get by or just to stand around. Drinks were strong, music was good--could've been a good formula for a good night, but it wasnt.
There was a line out the door for the female restroom a bit after 11p. While in line, I get a tap on my shoulder...
"Hey, can we dance later?"
"Um, I'm in line for the restroom."
"I know, I said 'LATER.'"
Anxious much? Not sure if I'll be back, but I'm not sure if I can judge this place much either, I was there for less than a hour.
$15 Dinner Special
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