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Iluna Basque - CLOSED
Categories: Restaurants Spanish Restaurants Tapas Bars Restaurants Basque Spanish, Tapas Bars, Basque [Edit]
701 Union St(between Powell St & Columbus Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94133
Neighborhood: North Beach/Telegraph Hill
(415) 402-0011
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
408 reviews for Iluna Basque
Review Highlights
"Bacon-wrapped plums baked in a small casserole dish."
(in 16 reviews)
"The shrimp and Potato croquettes are my favorite."
(in 20 reviews)
"The poached pears in red wine with brie was to die for."
(in 8 reviews)
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408 reviews in English
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Review from Christy L.
San Francisco, CA
12/15/2010 1 Check-in Here
Agur (goodbye) Iluna Basque =(
I will miss you and your tasty Shrimp and Potato Croquettes, Paella and Mussels. Most of all, I will miss seeing Matin, my favorite Basque chef.
Eskerrik asko (thank you) for being with us Iluna Basque. May you rest in peace. -
Review from Andrew K.
Aliso Viejo, CA
Updated - 4/3/2011
lluna Basque is Closed? I guess....*puts on sunglasses* They really did run out of restaurant.
YEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHH!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/2/2010
I eat out a lot and it is rare to have a uniquely new experience. Most of the time the new stuff I… Read more »
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Review from Luis C.
12/12/2010 1 photo
Iluna Basque CLOSES tonight, Sunday dinner. The restaurant was sold to the owners of Frascati. The place will reopen sometime next year as Campanula Kitchen & Bar.
I had a chance to dine here a few times, the last time was for a previous mother's day. I wasn't impressed by the food in any of those visits. At the time some in my group liked the place, so I didn't bother to post a review to avoid offending them. The oddest meal I had was a Thanksgiving turkey dinner served tapas style. Basically overcooked turkey meat and little plates (overpriced too). It was obvious to me that this chef had never experienced a really good Thanksgiving feast. Also I get the impression that his experience as a Top Chef contestant has demoralized this chef.Listed in: CLOSED, out of business,…
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Review from Natalie G.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 11/22/2010
It makes me sad to say it but I think things have gone downhill for Illuna Basque. I came here for dinner on a Sunday night and the whole meal was just "okay" - no star dishes, no amazing service, mediocre sangria at best. We ordered the seared tuna, crisp shaved potatoes (best thing we got), the croquettes, and the shrimp Prawns Cazuela.
I think the prawns were the one thing I would never order again. They were super fishy tasting and they tasted frozen or like they had been left in water too long. They also did away with the Mache salad, which was an old favorite of mine :(
Maybe it was an off night for the chef, combined with not enough waiters for the crowded dining room. I am going to take some time off from Illuna Basque and hope my next visit down the road is back to the great food they used to have! When we are paying $75 for two people I expect more.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/2/2009
I have been a faithful patron of Iluna Basque for the last two years. Since its two blocks from my… Read more »
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Review from Devin C.
San Francisco, CA
11/15/2010 1 Check-in Here
I was very open minded when I recently ate here. I heard nothing about this restaurant and came hungry.
For most of the meal I thought I had been on a hidden camera show and Justin Bieber was about to Punk me. Terrible service, very poor tasting food, and worst of all, although we only had 5 people, we got hit with the 18% gratuity for parties of 6 or more.
I think we all know that people come to eat here for some "celebrity" chef and it's location. When I walk past this restaurant now, I feel really bad for everyone sitting inside and I want to knock on the window with a poster that says, "Just go to Golden Boy Pizza after." -
Review from tinna h.
8/6/2010 1 Check-in Here
I enjoy tapas, but like all tapa places in the city, Iluna Basque is pricey for decent food and service.
Baby Shrimp & Potato Croquettes with Aioli Sauce $4.75 - I love, love, love croquettes, and these did not disappoint. There were three to split between the two of us.
Sautéed Scallops over Ratatouille $9.75 - Four nice and juicy scallops over ratatouille.
Roasted Mussels with Garlic & Parsley Butter $5.75 - Tiny mussels drenched in garlic and parsley butter, yet still not overwhelming in flavor.
Prawns Cazuela Cooked in Pastis Sauce $8.75 - Prawns are not supposed to be mushy inside. If they are, they're not fresh. *thumbs down*
Piquillos Peppers Stuffed with Spinach Risotto & Quinoa $8.75 - Two stuffed peppers.
Eggplant & Fresh Tomato, Goat Cheese $6.75 - Eggplant is difficult to make look appetizing. They did a great job of disguising it, and it tasted good too.
Fondant au Chocolat Raspberry Coulis $6.75
Our bill came out to about $80 before tip for two, which included the food + two drinks + tax, which is pretty steep. Thankfully, I used a HomeRun deal, and it wasn't as painful on the pocket. -
Review from Misha V.
12/5/2010
Do you LOVE sliders? How about delicious, hearty, lamb sliders? Does your mouth water at the site of potato/shrimp croquettes? Do tiny tables not bother you? Or, is your motto: "Sharing is Caring?" If so, this is the tapas place for you.
I had a groupon. I made a reservation on http://opentable.com.
Everything was FINE. The only really great thing was the slider. We ordered more. I can't envision myself running back to this place anytime soon though. -
Review from Lorissa W.
Hercules, CA
8/10/2010 Seated via OpenTable
I suggest that you come in for dinner as soon as they open for the best service. We got in at 5:30PM with reservations and were seated right away. We chose where we sat and were the only people in the restaurant. The staff were gracious and solicitous the entire time we were there and the food came out right away in the perfect order.
Three appetizers: 1.) We liked the three steaming hot shrimp croquettes (a bit gooey inside) but nice and crunchy on the outside. They go well with the accompanying aioli. 2.) The lamb slider was super juicy and flavorful. There were generous amounts of caramelized onions inside the mini burger and arugula accompanied it. It's actually not that small (I had to use both hands to hold it). 3.) Our scallops on ratatouille were undercooked and the flavors were bland and uninspiring. : (
The entrees were perfect. We both had paella. It came out steaming hot straight from the oven in clay pots and piled high with lots of fresh seafood. There were three very fresh large prawns, clams, mussels, sausage, white fish, and lots of saffron laden broth and rice at the bottom. The paella was satiating and I suggest this dish for a cold day since it stayed very hot the entire time.
Finally, we had the chestnut creme brulee for dessert. This is not ordinary creme brulee as it has a large layer of chestnut paste underneath the thin layer of creme and it was very good and creative. My partner didn't like the temperature (lukewarm) but I thought it was perfect.
Overall, the food was very good and the service was excellent. I don't like the location as it's on a very busy and dirty street and parking is difficult. However, if you like tapas and paella in a trendy setting then you will like Iluna. Make sure you try a good number of items as the variety will ensure that you enjoy the experience of having tapas and go early as they can get busy.
P.S. We got sick after dinner so I had to take off one star but I still like Iluna. -
Review from Nicole D.
San Francisco, CA
8/7/2010
I think our Top Chef Mattin has ran away from this restaurant and left it in the hands of line cooks and servers. Seriously, this was not a good experience. The servers worked communally, but none were communicating. The servers basically wanted to get our order and run. We were brought incorrect tapas (twice), was told one item was vegetarian and it turned out to have bacon in it, and it took 10 minutes to get our bottle of wine.
There was no bartender, but all the bar seats were full. It was basically whoever had the time would go back there to make something or get that bottle of wine that a table ordered 20 minutes ago.
The wine list was so small and cheap. No serious value gems. We ordered a C.D.R. that was $40, but drank like a $15 bottle (probably what they paid).
There was no hostess and no manager presence at all. Two very important people needed to run a successful restaurant.
The only saving grace to the evening was that we had a http://Groupon.com coupon that saved us $60. I would have walked out if we didn't have that. -
Review from Shannon H.
Alameda, CA
8/20/2010
This place is super tasty! I got a homerun coupon so went to try it out and boy what a treat!
We did the small plates -
Shrimp potato croquettes- were ok not the best and too mushy inside. That was the only bad dish we had.
Then the scallops over ratatouille -YUM!!!
The seared tuna was great a little thin but so flavorful it was good!
Ended with the mini lamb burger - so nice we named it twice and have now dubbed it the Lammy Sammy Jr. !!
The star of the night however is their Creamy garlic aioli!!! It is a bit of garlic heaven so delicious you want to take some home to slather on things... ;)
The prices are ok - after out coupon we only had to pay for wine and tip so it was a good night indeed. Plus we did get to see the Top Chef guy Mattin too so ... Semi-celeb sighting!!
Go on a weekday because parking is evil in North Beach. if you live in the area you must go here!! Cute Frenchy waiters too! I would definately return for Happy Hour! -
Review from Christopher C.
8/10/2010
This restaurant was just ok. The dishes were hit and miss -- the croquettes and seared tuna were what we started with, following recommendations here. They were wonderful. Then we shared the seafood paella, but found it to be much too salty. Our wine arrived half way through our meal. As others have said, the wait staff share duties, including bartending, so it can take a while for drinks. Our main waiter was unhappy and you could tell -- he was impatient and clearly irritated with everything going on. He needs to find another occupation.
Overall, this was a forgettable meal, despite encountering the chef, who, despite assertions by other reviewers, was actually present at the restaurant. We wouldn't go back. -
Review from Jessica Y.
San Francisco, CA
8/7/2010
I feel like this is a blah/whatever review, but it's kinda of a blah/whatever restaurant. Went here with a groupon. We had the croquettes, seared tuna, pear/brie, mini lamb burgers, and the chicken entree.
The croquettes were yummy- very creamy. the tuna was nice but very small. The pear brie had a bit of a weird flavor and the dish did not blend well together. the lamb was tasty- and actually quite filling and the chicken was well cooked, just a bit messy (and it had yummy cooked vegies in it!)
I loved the Rioja wine, and would definitely recommend it.
The service here is not great, a few waiters could not understand us when we ordered, though they are all very nice and are hardworking.
Overall, the food is decent here but not memorable. -
Review from Hiromi N.
San Francisco, CA
9/25/2010
I came to Iluna Basque with a dear friend to dine on 8/14/2010 for a belated birthday celebration. I've been one other time in the past and must say that both experiences, while pleasant, were not extraordinary.
The wine list is one of the more commendable features of the restaurant. (many domestic and european choices)
Of the 5 dishes that we sampled, I think that I enjoyed the rack of lamb the best out of all that we ate.
We ordered:
Serrano Ham- good
Scallops Ratatouille - juicy and 2nd best of all of the dishes that we tasted
Stuffed Reg Bell Peppers - not memorable
Paella - dry
4 glasses of wine (BEST PART OF THE MEAL)
2 people
$112.51
Luckily, we had a groupon, which cut the prices in half. Otherwise, I would have left a bit disappointed.
(and yes, we saw Mattin Noblia, who was a contestant Top Chef 6 Las Vegas, speaking to the table next to us...very handsome *hehe*) -
Review from cat k.
San Francisco, CA
12/2/2010 1 Check-in Here
Came here for dinner with a friend and was excited to try out a new place, but I should have listened to the Yelpers - this place was disappointing. The rvice was good, the atmosphere was casual and chill, but the food....the food was no good. We ordered a bunch of tapas, but I can't remember what we ordered because nothing was really OK. We must have ordered at least 8 tapas dishes - but they were all mediocre.
The mussel dish had too much garnish, I don't even know if I was eating mussels. The plum/ham dish was to heavy on the sauce. The scallop dish was ok. The pear dish was not good. The portobello dish tasted like I was eating the insides of a pizza pocket. The Tuna with sauce tasted like fried fish with cream sauce.
Overall, nice atmosphere for a casual drink maybe. The service was good, but the food was very disappointing. -
Review from Megan L.
Mountain View, CA
8/5/2010
I cannot remember how many times I have frequented Illuna Basque, but each time that I've gone, I love everything!
Start the end of your work day with their happy hour from 5:30 - 7:30!! Drink specials should never be overlooked!
What you should try on the current menu:
- Seared Tuna with Bleu Des Basque Sauce
- Mini Lamb Burgers
- Crisp Shaved Potatoes with Herbs & Vinegar
- Plums Wrapped in Bacon
- Poached Pears Cooked in Red Wine & Warm Brie
- Roasted Red Bell Pepper, Portabella Mushrooms & Manchego Cheese
Menu items from years past have come and gone, like the Petit Filet Mignon on a bed of mashed potatoes and French Onion soup, which were equally mouthwatering to what is available now! I love to revisit every now and then to see what new dish will pop up on the menu.
Enjoy floor to ceiling windows, dark wood and the bustling frenzy of satisfied patrons all around. With the increased popularity of this place, you would be wise to make a reservation! -
Review from Sophia D.
Oakland, CA
8/6/2010
I was surprised that I liked it so much bc I am actually not the biggest Spanish food fan. The wine we ordered was fabulous and most of the food was quite delicious.
I ordered the plums wrapped in bacon bc of all the good reviews of them, but they fell flat. I think mostly bc they were cold and I assume it should have been warm. Other than that everything was tasty.
Highlights
Seared tuna with Bleu Des Basque Sauce - unbelievably good
Lamb burger - juicy and tasty
Will be going back! -
Review from Emily B.
San Francisco, CA
7/26/2010
The food was really hit or miss. Of what we ordered, I enjoyed the Seared Tuna, Sautéed Scallops over Ratatouille, and Poached Pears
Cooked in Red Wine & Warm Brie. For main courses, the Chicken a la Basque was delicious, but the Paella really lacked flavor. The wine menu was also pretty small.
The service was the worst part with little to no interaction. We went on a Thursday night and only half of the restaurant was filled. I would have thought we would get more attention with so few diners, but that was definitely not the case. We also saw the head chef (Mattin from Top Chef) come out a few times and greet what looked to be his friends at the bar. But not once did he come around to the other diners in his restaurant. I probably wouldn't go back, but I forgot to use my TownHog coupon. -
Review from Micaela M.
Sparks, NV
4/11/2010
Three stars, and I am being VERY generous.
Not only am I Basque, but I am huge fan of Top Chef. So for my birthday, the girls and I decided to head over to San Francisco and eat at Iluna Basque.
I should have known the experience wasn't going to be great when I was treated poorly on the phone when I tried to make our reservations. When I called, I was told to call back in 20 minutes because he was "really busy right now." I went ahead and made reservations online because I didn't want to deal with an attitude again.
We arrived a little early, but were seated immediately. A couple of my friends had gone in earlier and informed the hostess that it was my birthday to ensure that we would have a good table. We got a table by the window, but right by the front door. OK, fine.
We ordered our drinks first: kalimotxo for me and sangria to share. It was a VERY good kalimotxo, and I would give them 4 stars on that drink alone, but alas, it is the whole experience, isn't it?
The food varied in quality.
Txipirpones: they look worse than they are. The squid were too big for my taste, but not bad. (3/5)
Croquettes: Perfect. Amazing. Impeccable. I wish mine were this good. (5/5)
Tortilla: Awful. Too many things. The great thing about a tortilla is the simplicity of it all. Not in this case. My dad's tortilla puts this tortilla to shame. (1/5)
Bacalao: Really good, but a little cold in the middle. (4/5)
Cheese plate with membrillo: If anyone has had membrillo in the Basque Country, they don't skimp on this. They did here, and it was highly disappointing for $10. (2/5)
Roasted eggplant: Good, but the eggplant was soggy. (3/5)
Fried white asparagus: I think white asparagus is OK, but deep fried, it is amazing! (5/5)
Mussels: Horrible. Probably the worst thing that we ate. The sauce was very good, but it overpowered the mussels so much, it was unappetizing. (1/5)
Assorted meats: Good. (5/5)
Now, for the service, or lack thereof. Usually when I go to a nice dinner, I want to drink alcoholic beverages. And a lot of them. Especially on my birthday. But once he took our order, he NEVER again asked if we wanted anything else. When we were waiting for our desserts that NEVER CAME, he came over, all disgruntled, and asked, "Are you done?" Like we were bothering him for even being there. I ordered flan for dessert and never got it. But when the check came, it was on the check. We complained and they took it off, but after the night of horrible service, it didn't do much to make us happy.Listed in: My Favorite Reviews
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Review from Kiristen R.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 9/15/2010
So the Top Chef shine has definitely worn off for me.
The food is average overall.
Standouts are the tuna in cheese sauce annnnd that's about it. Kudos on the scallops because I thought I hated scallops until I tried these in the ratatouille sauce.
The portions here are way too small. 1 -2 people can share one of the small plates but 2 is kinda stretching it.
Disappointments:
-The paella looks delicious but lacked flavor and salt. The rice was really really wet.
-The chocolate fondant was basically a brownie. No ooooey goooey center.
For drinks - I do like both sangrias and the champagne cocktail.
This place is worth it if you have a Groupon or some other type of discount but not for the full price.
Oh yeah - they need more wait staff. A bartender, a waiter, a hostess and a chef-owner actually isn't enough on a busy night.Listed in: Daily Deal Finds
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/20/2009
3.5 stars. So of course the only reason why I went is because of Top Chef. :) I fully admit that.… Read more »
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Review from Tracy S.
4/14/2010
So I learned a valuable lesson this weekend...don't go to San Francisco for Basque food. Stick with good Basque cities like Reno, Boise, or Bakersfield. We brought Basque Friend here for her birthday dinner, and we left sorely disappointed. But before I go into all the negatives, let me point out the positives:
+The drinks. By far the best part of our meal. The sangria was superb, and the Kalimotxo was the best I've ever tasted--and I've had a lot of Kalimotxos! My only complaint was that we paid $26.00 for a "pitcher" of sangria, which was actually a carafe, and we didn't even get three glasses out of it, meaning that we would have been better off paying $8 for the individual glasses.
+The croquettes, the chorizo, and the cheeses. All wonderful. The croquettes were smooth, the chorizo had an amazing flavor, and the cheeses were heavenly. Too bad the portions were so unbelievably small for these, the best parts of our meal.
Those positives were good enough to boost my rating up a star; unfortunately, the negatives far outweighed the positives:
-The service. Abysmal. My experience here definitely makes the list of worst service I have ever received. Anywhere. Ever. Despite the fact that we came in ready to spend quite a bit of money, our server did his best to make sure that didn't happen. He never offered us a second round of drinks, a third of our orders did not make it out to the table without us reminding him, items that we never received were included on our bill, and while we were waiting (a LONG time) to order our desserts he came up and asked us "Are you done?" Wow. Just wow.
-The tortilla, the mussels, the fried white asparagus. The tortilla was ruined with the overwhelming flavor of caramelized onions, the mussels tasted off (and weren't taken off the bill when we sent them back), and the fried asparagus had the flavor and texture an onion ring. A very expensive onion ring.
-The atmosphere. Crowded, loud, chaotic, and messy. Everything about this place just seems poorly managed.
An overall overrated disappointment. -
Review from Anna D.
9/6/2010 1 Check-in Here
We took some out of town guests - who've never had tapas before - here. I have to say it wasn't the best introduction. It's definitely not worth the money for small and I mean literally, small plates. I'm a fan of tapas but these were tiny servings and to top it off, they didn't even taste that great. We ordered:
- shrimp and potato croquettes
- seared tuna
- selection of cheeses plate
- plate of ham
- scallops over ratatouille
- plums wrapped in bacon
- eggplant with tomato and goat cheese
- paella
- two pitchers of white sangria
The croquettes and tuna were the first thing out. Those were both pretty good so it was misleading to think that everything else to come was going to be just as tasty. It was pretty disappointing. The paella, which I read about in other reviews, was a let down. There were shrimp, clams, mussels, and pieces of fish atop saffron rice. Seafood is pretty flavorful on its own. But the rice had no flavor to it at all despite it soaking up any of the seafood broth and some bits of sausage mixed in. It was a $17 entree which could have easily been an appetizer based on it's size.
The white sangria was actually pretty tasty - hence the second round order.
Bottom line - definitely not a place I would come back to or recommend and certainly nothing I would crave here. -
Review from Asha S.
San Francisco, CA
3/26/2010
I like tapas. A LOT. I also like Top Chef. So when I found out that Mattin Noblia - one of the contestants at last season's Top Chef - owns a tapas restaurant in San Francisco, I decided to make reservations for dinner for our 3-month Wedding Anniversary (shut up).
We ordered:
* BABY SHRIMP & POTATO CROQUETTES WITH AIOLI SAUCE $4.75
- [4/5 - Good. Extra points for the aioli sauce.]
* COUNTRY STYLE PATE WITH CHAMPAGNE & BLACK PEPPER $6.75
- [3/5 - Meh, usually has better texture and has more zing in the flavor.]
* ROASTED MUSSELS WITH GARLIC & PARSLEY BUTTER $5.75
- [3/5 - The garlic & parsley butter was extremely overwhelming. This dish just needs proper balancing to gain an extra star.]
* BAKED SPANISH TORTILLA WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS & CHORIZO $6.75
- [2.5/5 - Very bland. It's an omelet, really. How do you screw that up?]
* PAELLA DE LA MARE, SPANISH SAFFRON RICE $17.75
- [2/5 - The texture of the rice was awful - almost mushy/runny. It was completely underseasoned, and had less seafood than usual. Also, for nearly 3x the price of everything else, we were expecting a slightly bigger portion.]
We added $2 to our bill in exchange for a red scarf, so the proceeds can go to the charity Pathways for Kids. I always was very fascinated with Mattin's branding and that "red scarf" - even more that there's charity involved.Listed in: Michelin Recommended
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Review from Everso T.
San Francisco, CA
8/15/2010
Overpriced and only some of dishes tasted decent. Came here for dinner and ordered three small plates and an entree. The entree was a single chicken leg with bone in a small bowl of too-sweet red sauce (but the cut sausages in it were very good). The cheese plate was such a tiny portion, even for a "small" plate item. Stuffed pepper and the scallop appetizers were the better of the four things we ordered.
If I had not used the discount Groupon coupon, I would have felt very ripped off by the tiny entree portion, mediocre food and overly high price. The waiters were harried and forgot to bring us water and butter until we reminded them. The venue was noisy and seating not so comfortable
Piperade is a much better small plates venue with nicer seating, atmosphere and food. -
Review from Jimmie L.
San Francisco, CA
6/29/2010
Really?! Bacon-wrapped plums baked in a small casserole dish?
I took bread and sopped up the "juice" before I realized I ate about an 1/8th of a cup of bacon grease. And, it was delicious. I would do it again. -
Review from Janet E.
3/25/2010
They have happy hour specials here from 5:30pm until 7pm. We arrived at 6:55pm and were told we had 5 minutes before happy hour was over. Luckily we made it. Unfortunately the drinks were not too memorable. Neither was the food.
They brought out complimentary bread but didnt give us any butter or olive oil. I guess they were expecting us to dip the bread in the sauces of our dishes?? But we didnt really have any saucy dishes!
We ordered:
seared tuna: thinly sliced and almost fully cooked--dont expect a large chunk of tuna
sea scallops: four scallops with ratatouille---this dish was pretty good
paella de la mare: only ok
baby shrimp & baby croquettes: aioli was delicious
roasted mussels: only ok
The service was very good and the food arrived very quickly. Parking here is very difficult. -
Review from Augie R.
8/15/2010
Iluna Basque is an interesting place. The food was generally quite good, and it has an interesting menu and location. If you can, try to get a seat the window so you can watch North Beach walk past!
The interior is nice but a little cramped. The main path through the tables was so tight that we couldn't exit the place without knocking into people's chairs.
The Seared Tuna with Bleu Des Basque Sauce was very good--the sauce was tasty. The Selection of Cheeses was also very tasty, although the serving size was a bit meager for the almost-$10 cost. The Poached Pears cooked in Red Wine & Warm Brie was a bit disappointing--it was a mess and seemed to have little to no Brie. The Red Bean Hummus was good but not great--I thought it was a little bland.
We'd try it again, but I think I'd go with entrees rather than small plates. -
Review from Grace K.
San Francisco, CA
2/23/2010
I had an event to attend at Iluna Basque. With the recent Haiti Earthquake, the chef/owner of Iluna Basque was holding a charity function where all or a portion of the $40 four-course dinner and wine pairing was being donated to help Haiti.
For $40, you got to pick two choices from the appetizer (small plates) section, one from the entree category, and a dessert.
Iluna Basque is a relatively small restaurant. The chef/owner had been a contestant on the popular TV show, "Top Chef". The atmosphere is casual and the layout is conducive for large gatherings for friends and family, but can also be appropriate for a dinner date (the noise level was decent), though not quite "romantic" in any way. There is a small bar area that can seat approximately six people or so, it seemed, and the remainder of the restaurant is for table seating.
First, the menu reads beautifully. I love it when I overlook the menu and find myself wanting to try everything. Having spent some time in the Basque region of Spain - I also know the cuisine to be fabulous, and combined with the chef's involvement in "Top Chef", I was excited to try Iluna Basque.
But before getting to the food - the service at this restaurant ruins the entire experience.
Our waiter was not just scattered but totally inefficient. The dinner included the wine and as soon as we sat down, the wine came out. Two glasses for each person were dropped off before us with barely an utterance in regards to what type of wine, and whether we were meant to have one or two - when, or why. But I don't usually complain when someone places alcohol before me.
The server takes our order, and two at our table decided they want to split the dinner. The waiter says, 'I don't think that's possible, but I'll check," but the two people insisted that neither were hungry, and that they would just share. The waiter takes the order as such - and 4/5 of us place our order. We requested butter for the bread they served; it didn't come. We asked again; it didn't come. Finally, on the third try, we got the butter.
Over the next hour - a plate would be served to our table every ten minutes. With four of us having placed an order, that amounts of eight small plates coming out, and almost every single plate came out ten minutes apart. Now I understand that it was a full house and that the restaurant is busy, but if a restaurant can't manage a full house, they shouldn't host these dinners to encourage a full house. What are warming plates for? And exactly how is the kitchen cooking this stuff that identical orders would come out ten minutes apart?
I find this totally unacceptable.
Putting service aside, the food was awful to quite good.
I started with the ahi tuna - which bordered on being the worst ahi tuna I have ever had as it was nearly fully cooked through. If I wanted a fully cooked tuna - I would not have ordered this, obviously. Then came the potato/shrimp croquettes - and these were piping hot and tasty. It tasted fresh, and the flavors were alive.
For my entree, I had the stuffed squid in ink sauce with Spanish rice - and the dish was very good. The butter in this dish was overwhelming, and like Julia Child might say, there is no such thing as "too much butter". However - while it tasted good due to the butter, the flavor of the squid and ink faded into the background and died. I did, however, clog about 1.5 arteries while finishing that dish.
The flan I ordered for my dessert choice was also very good - and it was the only course served in unison to the whole table.
Then came the bill.
We had been charged for five people despite only four of us ordering. In the waiter's defense, he had originally said that he would check, but made no mention that it was denied. He also only took FOUR orders for a table of five, and the two ladies did split the entire dinner course to course. For whatever reason, five desserts were served, so each did get their own dessert.
One person at our table who knew the owner made mention of this discrepancy to the server, who shrugged and told us that it's just not possible to split the dinner between two customers. Now keep in mind that I find it rather irritating when people try to split a prix fixe dinner at a stated cost between two people. These are the types of dinner where everyone comes knowing exactly how much it will cost, and to minimize cost or because one is not hungry, asking the restaurant to take the loss of their one seat because they chose to attend dinner anyway seems cheap and unnecessary.
Do I understand their irritation? Yes.
Should I have SEEN their irritation? No.
Altogether, with the exception of the two ladies, each person's portion amounted to $50. As stated, the food ranged from bad to good, but this is just one of those cases where service really put a damper on the meal.
Full review is at: http://wp.me/pF4av-F -
Review from Nicole G.
San Francisco, CA
2/20/2009
Wow, it's been way too long, my friend, Sangria. I'm so glad we got to bond last night. And while I did order some tapas and get caught up in some lively conversation, I never forgot you. You were simply, in a word, delicious.
Iluna Basque is a cute low-lit corner perch for tapas and drinks after work in North Beach. Unlike Bocadillos though, the menu is hit or miss. The walnut salad with feta was truly great, but the scallops were just okay, and the croquettes were awful with a pasty mush inside their crispy shells.
Still, it has a festive atmosphere, which was much appreciated after a long day in front of the computer. Plus, two for one drinks from 5 to 7? You just can't beat that.
Sangria, I promise to never to leave you for so long again.Listed in: Birthday Dinners in San…
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Review from Herman N.
Mountain View, CA
6/3/2008
"If I wanted hair, I would have gone to a barbershop"
With a fantastic location on the corner of Union and Powell, where you can see Washington Square park from the corner of your eye, I was still disappointed. Even with the cool crimson decor and wood tones providing an intense and soothing feeling at the same time, I can't give this place more than 2 stars. With the outstanding service, awesome recommendations, and the quick camaraderie that our server provided us, I will probably never come back to this place again.
Why you ask? Because not only was there one long piece of hair in our food, but there were two long pieces of hair in our food. Even though the food was pretty good (if it was sans hair), hair in any food is very unhygienic. I view it as a big slap in the face to the cooking profession. It would be pointless to even go into what dishes I liked and what dishes I didn't because I can't get past the feeling of having a long piece of hair inside of my mouth. In fact, because I'm still reeling from it, I'm gonna knock this place down to 1 star (I started this review with a 2 star rating).
This place has so much going for it, but I won't be back.Listed in: Never Again!
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Review from Shachi B.
5/18/2010
Came here a while ago with some friends. AWESOME MEAL! Here were our highlights:
Small Plate Suggestions:
Eggplant & Fresh Tomato, Goat Cheese
Mâche Salad with Walnuts & Feta Cheese
Chicken, Olive & Tomato Empanada
Roasted Mussels with Garlic & Parsley Butter
Plums Wrapped in Bacon
Poached Pears (Cooked in Red Wine & Warm Brie)
Baked Spanish Tortilla with Caramelized Onions & Chorizo
I think that pretty much sums up how tasty this place is - something for everyone! -
Review from Quinn S.
6/16/2008
I was really excited to try this place but it was a major letdown.
The food was like a kiddie a roller coaster going up and down between not-so-high and low. I thought the pallella bordered on gross. The prawns were awesome, but the scallops were like rubber balls. The croquettes were tasty, but the "seared" tuna was so overcooked that I thought it might have come straight from a can. The poached pears with Brie were excellent, but the tortilla was bland. The red sangria was good but the white was below par.
The chef/owner Mattin was our server, and he was nice and accommodating, but I think they really needed him in the kitchen. When we asked about certain dishes which had yet to arrive, he told us that we hadn't ordered them, but half of our table of ten recalled clearly hearing the person who ordered for all of us request them. We also brought cupcakes for the birthday girl after calling to ask if it would be OK, but they neglected to mention on the phone that there would be a $20 "cake fee" just for holding the box in the kitchen and bringing it out when requested. The food is simply overpriced for the way they massacre quality ingredients with poor cooking technique. -
Review from Mike L.
Saratoga, CA
9/29/2010
Nice place to dine and chat.
Ordered 5 of their tapas dishes and 2 entrees. (by tapas i mean their small appetizer like dishes)
And I definitely recommend just sticking to just the tapas. Their tapas were full of flavor and well balanced with ingredients. however, their entrees were very disappointing compared to the tapa dishes. specifically, we got the paella which was nothing to speak about and i did not know that you could put so much butter on a steak until i dined here...
didn't try their wine selection which seemed to be very popular here.
and i know SF can be cold, this place should really still invest in an AC system. the place filled up on a friday night and i did not enjoy dining in what felt like a sauna room.
not a bad place for their tapa selection. -
Review from Michelle P.
San Francisco, CA
12/3/2009
Seriously?! Seriously. It is pretty sad when a restaurant inspires you to get a yelp account just so you can try your hardest to convince people NOT to spend money at this place. I pass this place almost every day heading to work and I have to say that the outside gives the impression that it is going to be a very hip little eating spot. It took me a long time to make the connection that the owner is Mattin Noblia from Top Chef (a favorite show of mine...) and have to admit that is what actually got me in the door. I was told that he would be having a party for the Top Chef finale and I decided it would be a great time to check it out... mingle, ya know? Boy was I wrong.
From the second my 2 friends and myself walked in, I immediately wanted to walk out. You call a party a couple tables filled with seemingly obnoxious teenagers? It is pretty sad that you can't even use the appeal of being a "top" chef contestant to get people in the door!
A waiter ran up to us and hurridly sat us a table far away from the TV showing Top Chef (this was after explaining to him why I was there... to watch the finale). You could tell that he didn't speak English very well and when asked if there was an event going on said "Yes, the Chef is here". Okay? I would hope the chef would show up to his own "party".
The only highpoint of the evening was the lemon wedge on my water glass.
The food was horrible. Easily one of my least favorite dining experience of my life.
The waiter brought over a little ramikan of beans and olives. I asked the waiter what kind of bean the flat yellow one was (tasted almost like edamame and corn...) and he said he wasn't sure and was going to go check with the Chef. He went over to Mattin and came and said "it is just a bean". Wow, thanks for pointing that out.
Brie w/ Pears in Red Wine: Waaaay too much wine. It was obvious that the wine wasn't cooked off enough and had a very bitter taste. I couldn't even tell that the mushy thing below the tiny glob of brie was a pear. It needed a more pungent cheese to offset the itensity of the wine. Adding a couple of walnuts was pointless.
Maiche Salad with Feta and Walnuts: Waaaay too heavy handed on the dressing. The feta had no taste and I'm not sure what purpose the walnuts served (perhaps leftovers from the brie disaster?)
Fried White Asparagus: I was rather baffled by this concept. White asparagus is a pain in the ass and doesn't like ANYTHING. It was basically like eating nothing deep fried in breadcrumb jacket of horridness. The sauce that went with it really tasted like nothing but mayo. GROSS.
French Fries: How can you mess up french fries? Well, you really can't but you could easily tell they cam from a bag. The sauce tasted exactly like 'Zesty Sauce' you can get from Burger King.
Tuna: Tuna in cheese sauce? Sounds nasty, doesn't it? You ever wondered a sweaty gym sock tasted like? I'd imagine it wouldn't be a far cry from this disaster.
$80 later and completely dissatisfied, I decided I would at least like to meet Mattin. I saw him around and about during the evening mingling with different tables, etc. I asked the waiter if he would invite Mattin over to our table. Mattin didn't seem to impressed that he was taken away from speaking to some chick in a corset at the bar. 20 minutes later (after settling the bill...etc) he finally came over as we stood up to put our jackets on. He apologized for the delay and said he has been running around all night (really? talking to elvira counts as running around). I introduced myself and congratulated him on being a contestant... etc. My friend asked him if he was here often and he got offended and said 'Well, yeah, it's MY restaurant" I explained to him that I have been to many restaurants where the chef/owners were absent most of the time and it was nice to see him here.
Go check it out if you're interested in possibly meeting Mattin. I was a little dissapointed in the fact that he wasn't all too friendly but the food?
The food left me wanting to strangle myself with a red hankerchief. -
Review from Gloria H.
10/24/2009
Had I known this was owned by the over confident contestant from Top Chef who has no clue when his food is bad...I would have never tried this place. I remember him so distinctly from the episode when he was kicked off...not in a good way.
It was either a Friday or Saturday night, I wanted tapas and we were waiting for the 41 Union to go to Zarzuella...then I didn't want to wait for the bus any longer and told hubby to give this place a try...bad decision on my part. It was pretty crowded but we were sat at a table next to the window right away.
Our waiter was missing most of the night and it was hard to flag him down. We started with 2 glasses of sangria ($8/each), hubby's glass had a nice crack with sangria leaking out. It took us over 5 minutes to flag someone down to get that replaced. The sangria was not bad and the best part of the night.
What we had:
Piquillos Pepper Stuffed with Spanish Salt Cod Bacalao - $5.75 - mushy fish filling w/ extremely sweet sauce, yuck
Baked Spanish Tortilla with Caramelized Onions & Chorizo - $6.75 - it looks like a crab cake, not sure where was the chorizo, too sweet
Eggplant & Fresh Tomato, Goat Cheese - $6.75 - best dish but overall still a bit too sweet
Stuffed Calamaries in Ink Sauce over Spanish Rice - $15.75 - very black, rice was just a touch undercooked, a little smokey but not very flavorful, not sure what the stuffing was, mushy - small portion, served in a small clay dish.
Skip.Listed in: Places to eat in North Beach, Tapas, small plates
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Review from Jenny K.
San Francisco, CA
8/9/2007
Despite all the lukewarm reviews for this place, I tried it out before going to Cobb's for another show. I figured "hey, it can't be worse than Mangarosa, right?" Wrong.
The wine was the best part of the meal. The decor was the best part of "the experience". The food was barely mediocre with only the baby shrimp croquette and mache salad qualifying as good. The red sauce that was on almost every one of our dishes tasted like it's true source was a can, and it was disguised by being oversimmered in a large pot of sickeningly sweet onions.
We used a Cozmo card which shaved off $15 from the check, but it still felt overpriced for the meal. Too bad. I was really hoping that all the other reviewers had just caught this place on a bad day. I now suspect, however, that every day may be a bad day here. -
Review from Jasmine L.
San Jose, CA
6/1/2008
OK, I admit. I heard of this place from watching one of the earlier seasons of "The Hills" on MTV, taking pleasure on watching high school drama and budding relationships on TV, which I'm probably too old for, but hey, if that's what keeps me young. I think Steven and Lauren came to eat here, and I had bookmarked this place ever since. On the show, it looked classy and cozy and I was really looking forward to finally checking this place out. Being a short walk away from Cobbs, Iluna Basque was the perfect pre-show choice for dinner. But beware; parking was a NIGHTMARE for an 8:30pm reservation!!!! Give yourself pleeeenty of time to find parking. And that is NO JOKE!
The breakdown~
Ambiance
Resting nicely on the corner of Union and Powell, right near Columbus Avenue, excitement builds as you approach and peer inside through the full length glass windows that encase the entire restaurant. It wasn't totally dark when I arrived, and the natural dimming light provided a nice mood and partnered well with the interior tones of black and brickred. The restaurant was a little smaller than I had imagined, but provided ample space, and stayed pretty occupied all throughout the evening.
Fare
Between the two of us, we ordered 5 different tapas. I swear, if it wasn't because we had a show to catch, I would have finished everything! Here's what we ordered:
Crab Salad with Avocado and Kiwi - recommended by our server, this was probably the dish I enjoyed the most!
Sauteed Scallops Provencale, $9.75 - Two perfectly grilled juicy, flavorful scallops rested on a bed of Ratatouille. Having once mentioned the movie in our conversations, we decided to check out this dish.
Roasted Red Bell Pepper w. Mushrooms & Manchego Cheese, $6.75 - being a place where you can sample and share tapas, this one was a little challenging to split and share :)
Petite Basque Pizza with Serrano Ham & Etorki Cheese, $8.75 - I have a special story eating Serrano Ham with my mom in Spain, so I always try to order it when I have tapas.
Original Seafood Paella, $14.75 - Moist and tasty. I clearly remember noting that the fish (cod?) was savory and delicious.
Attention
Service was great! Our sever was friendly and offered great recommendations, two of which we took (Crab Salad and Roasted Red Bell Peppers). He checked in with us enough times to make us feel like important guests.
Final evaluation
I'm knocking half a star off for having tables that were too small for my appetite - always a peeve!!! DON'T make me STOP my eating to have me put down my utensils to rearrange the plates!!!! My date also complained that he found hair in his food... not goooood :( If it wasn't for that, this place would score a 4.5.
On the contrary, with the combination of cheery conversation, great company, ambiance, food and service, I enjoyed the dinner, inside and out! Thank you for such a happy evening!!! :) :) :) -
Review from Chelsea P.
Berkeley, CA
3/25/2009 1 Check-in Here
If you like French or Spanish food, you'll most certainly enjoy Basque cuisine. From what I've hear, the menu has recently changed a bit and has shifted more towards a small plates and tapas style dishes, but I love it! It gives everyone at the table an opportunity to try a small bite of each plate. We came as a party of three and covered about 2/3 of tapas selection.
I found the food to be, in short, amazing. My favorite dish was the poached pear and brie soaked in red wine; it was devilishly decadent! It was a beautiful combination of flavors and textures, and it could probably be eaten as a dessert. The mâche salad was glorious and I could've easily blown through the whole bowl which was perfectly dressed with plenty of bits of feta and walnuts. I liked the seared tuna with the bleu cheese sauce which was prime for bread dipping along with the amazing French onion soup. The mussels were decent, pretty tender with a green, finely chopped coating, halfway between parsley butter and chimichurri. I wasn't too fond of the chicken, olive and tomato empanada, which actually tasted like a pizza or calzone, with a not flaky but mushy crust.
For dessert we split the crème brûlée as recommended by our cute waiter. The dish was nice a shallow which allows for the maximum amount of surface area to be caramelized on the top, you know, the part everyone goes for. The custard wasn't overly sweet; it was just perfect.
And finally, the sangria, it is POTENT. And the lively crowd at the bar sure knew this well. They were loud and stuck out like a sore thumb, post happy hour, but it's hard to pass up 2-for-1 cocktails. I'll be back to BASQUE in it. OK, that was a bad one. But I really like this place. It's intimate yet trendy and authentic. Wonderful find.Listed in: North Beach, you beezy!
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Review from Kristin E.
San Francisco, CA
12/26/2007
I have been here twice now, once for New Year's Eve dinner (amazing! and not expensive at all) and the other time recently with some friends.
I have to say, it is so well priced for the food and service that you receive. A perfect spot to get together with some friends, share a bottle of wine, some great tapas, and not have to auction off your first born. The ambiance is fun and a little romantic, and the art on the walls is also really appealing to me.
I liked the pizza, the cheese plate, and the croquettes (I'm a sucker for croquettes). The french onion soup though...eh, not that great, and scalding hot. The cheese that was melted on the bread (that is supposed to be inside the soup) was served on the side and just not that flavorfull (or the wrong flavor...). Aside from that little glitch in their matrix, they get everything else right for me :) -
Review from Robin K.
Hayward, CA
2/24/2009
Over-rated, Over priced.
We made reservations and had to wait an extra 30 minutes for a table. I thought the purpose of a reservation is not to wait. When we finally sat down, I realized why we had to wait 30 minutes for a table. Service was terrible!
First of all, there are too many tables in the restaurant. Having your own personal space was an issue. Second of all, there didn't seem to be a concensus between waiters and servers on which tables they had to cover. It took forever for us to order and it took even longer for our food. When the food finally arrived we wanted to send it all back. All the tapas our party ordered, were either terribly under seasoned, or terribly over seasoned.
If you're looking for a restaurant specializing in Basque Cuisine, try Gitane in frisco. I'll give this place 2 stars, because the the chef, Mattin Noblia, is just so darn cute! -
Review from Thanh L.
San Jose, CA
10/8/2010 Seated via OpenTable
I have learned a valuable lesson here.
Do NOT come just because it is owned by a semi-celebrity chef from top chef by Bravo. (he was in ny at the time)
Do TRUST yelp.
I failed.
Dragged my bf here a week ago because me loves tapas and decided to use the groupon. I really should have taken the hint. Another higher power was trying to discourage me from going, but I pushed through. (forgot to reserve, did it over the phone, weird number transferred me to a Spanish lady that asked me if I wanted flowers??, finally reserved the table @7, then got lost getting there, called and asked for help, the staff over the phone did NOT help, he gave us wrong directions and we ended up late)
The waiters and staff were ALL male, except for possibly the manager/gf of the owner that came in later. Most of the males except for the chef in the back, looked liked they all were part of a biker gang, husky, dark fellows with tattoos.
The sense of professionalism was lost within fifteen minutes of our meal. They brought out all the dishes at once like seven. As they were taking some dishes away, the waiter picked up the dishes then wiped the table down with force. In the process, some food got on my bf and he did not bother to apologize.
Possibly THE MOST outrageous thing was that at the end, we were paying and the server asked us for a TIP, not so much of ask but demand so to speak.
I was appalled.
(He had an accent) "So you gonna give me tip right?" WTH is this? compton?
I was going to tip 15%, but then I changed my mine. When we got our change...... FIVE DOLLARS WAS DEDUCTED AS TIP
Involuntary? Yes. STOLE? yes. I really did not bother. I did not wanna make a scene, but I kinda wished I did.
These unethical practices is really what kills everything.
The food was alright. certain dishes were good (shrimp croquettes) and some were acceptable, but nothing could save what had happened. Without Groupon, this place would not survive, as the prices were not wallet friendly nor did the quality and presentation live up to the price.
P.S. Trust Yelp!
