Indigo
Category: American (New) [Edit]
Neighborhood: Western Addition/NOPA687 McAllister St
(between Franklin St & Gough St)
San Francisco, CA 94102 (415) 673-9353
- Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
270 reviews
Neighborhood: Hayes Valley
"My new favorite place in the city. Great atmosphere and super nice staff. I can't wait to go back for more than just wine and olives."
123 Reviews for Indigo
A good friend of mine took me here. He's from Palo Alto and frequently eat here whenever he's in SF. After eating and seen the food/wine choices and migled with the bar tender and our server, I had a clear understanding why he loved this place.
When I first ate here, I was really impress. The server (I think her name is Kyla) is very friendly. I love the pasta menu.
Now, when my friend first suggested this, I tried to veto because I figured prix-fixe can't be good. But we had a party of 12 or so, and it seemed like a good idea.
I'm so glad I was easily convinced! All the food was great, as was the wine. Did I mention UNLIMITED wine? Also, if you byob, there's no corkage fee, which is amazing for such a nice restaurant. The service was spectacular too. I wouldn't necessarily go here with only a couple of people, but definitely for a large group.
DRESSED UP DINER FOOD!!! Only go if you want points on Open Table, like to drink your own wine for free or are really into Denny's grade food.
Lately I've been a little too nice to places that charge waaay too much for a half-assed attempt at cooking! I'd like to thank Indigo for breaking me out of this shell, as they just happened to be another waste of hard-earned cash on the SF restaurant scene. My new motto is very few pricey restaurants should receive any extra star love if their heart is not behind their food! (I had to drop my Sinbad's review down to 1 star thanks to this motto!)
Now Indigo appears nice and charming, all-the-way from the outside to the inside. It's been done up well to accommodate for the rich SF opera crowd that seems to keep horrible places in Hayes Valley like this and Cafe Delle Stella alive and kickin'. Good jazz music plays and the staff does their job. The menu is standard fare with nothing special that pops out, but we still had to try it just to try all of the places in our home neighborhood of Hayes Valley. Our server was a bit annoying to me just because she kept referring to us by saying "You guys" or "You 2", as in "Are you guys ready?" or "What do you 2 want to drink? Every single interaction was pre-empted with "You". This is only a personal grievance, so the 2-star rating has nothing to do with this.
We ordered a seared ahi tuna app, GF got the rib eye steak, and I had pork tenderloin medallions.
The Ahi Tuna was good, but was a super small portion for the price (4-pieces), and is a fairly easy dish to make in general. Pork tenderloin was overcooked and dry. And the brown butter sauce was just a cop-out for being able to make a real sauce, since it tasted like butter mixed with a brown gravy seasoning packet. The steak was one of the most expensive dishes on the menu and ended up being cheap cut that I have only seen used at Denny's and standard gas-stop diners!! The sauce made it taste richer, but it was another cop-out sauce made from something like maggi seasoning, liquid smoke, or an msg-based powder. No effort.
The bill was around $100 for two and I'm sorry, but people do not deserve to be ripped off...food price should be representative of food quality and taste in my opinion and not the atmosphere. Nothing went above and beyond here and only the app even hit the average mark, so I can't bare to go above and beyond 2-stars for this one.
I recently went here with my boyfriend because it gives you 1,000 points on opentable.com and there is not corkage fee. The food was good the servers were extremely nice and it was an overall positive experience.
I took two out-of-towners here last Friday and we were all very pleased!
Polite, attentive service! Sophisticated, charming decor. I loved the blue and white Modern Grecian theme! But I also, really, really love blue. Anyways, I am as smitten as a kitten that I found this place! But, no, really, my picky friends were happy, so that makes me a happy hostess!
Decent sized portions. Great Flavors. Well cooked. Enough variety on the menu for everyone to find something.
Best thing about Indigo: ***No corkage fee!!!!!!! *** Brought in a bottle of Chard for dinner and sparkling for dessert. Just wonderful and shaved at least $40 bucks off our bill! They were nice enough to offer to chill our sparkling during the meal.
Bread served with a quality olive oil.
Ordered the Prawns with Nectarines as an appetizer. What a great recipe and it was enough for three to share! I can't wait to try that home! It pairs so well together! Can't recommend that enough!
The Pork Tenderloin was amazing! Just loved the rice side and brown sauce! Yum! Sooo good!
The Salmon was delicious, served with fresh, asparagus al dente.
The Warm Chocolate melting cake was decent, nothing spectacular, maybe even a little over cooked, but the Minted Strawberries on the side were amazing, and again another recipe I am dying to try!
Can't wait to channel Dionysus return for the pre-fix with unlimited wine for something like $50!
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hmmmm. i really want to like this place, but i feel like something's lacking. they have an awesome wine list - i think most if not all california wines. there was a blurb on the menu about sourcing wine locally, which i am all for. we've been twice and on the first visit a while back, i liked whatever it was that i got. this time, went with my my brother and his gf. our server was very attentive and accommodating. i had salmon which was really not that great. started with arugula salad, also not great. bf had a soba-shrimp app that was really good. my brother's pork was not good but his gf's chicken was tasty. so i dunno, some dishes fall flat and just don't work; others are good. it's always empty, so i don't know what's up with that but i hope indigo finds its stride.
2.2 stars bumped up to 3
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I hadn't seen my good friend Joe in quite awhile, and he was beginning to send me testy e-mails - to which I'd reply, only for him to return obnoxious one-word answers. It was time to meet up and bring him down a notch, or nine.
I picked Indigo, which I had been wanting to try, and booked it on Opentable, and let him know that is where we will meet for the showdown.
First off, with the San Francisco Ballet performing, it was near impossible trying to find parking on a Friday evening!
Entering the restaurant, you spot a rather large and long bar with a few patrons having drinks. Given that on this Friday evening, the restaurant was barely half-full. This is not a good sign as 7:30 pm on a Friday night should be primetime for a restaurant. Still, in good company, I knew whatever the food lacked would be made up for with good conversation, so when the hostess asked if we'd like to be seated, we agreed.
In this half-empty restaurant, there was quite a selection of tables for two, but the tables by the front window where nobody else was seated, were all for larger parties (4+). I asked if we could possibly sit there, on the off chance that they weren't reserved, and the hostess obliged us without question.
I had read some of the reviews on Yelp earlier in the day. Having been seated, I could no longer remember any of the food recommendations or warnings, but all I could recall was that someone had posted that whatever you do - avoid having the "older lady with the glasses" as your server.
I don't need to tell you what happened next, do I?
Yep. We got that server.
But as if to confirm that everyone has a different experience, I found her to be quite nice, and though I started off the dinner with a wary eye on her - - she never once faltered, and really made our dining experience quite enjoyable. I had been intimidated for nothing!
We ordered our individual glasses of wine, and they were both good. Joe loves his Zin, and my Malbec was very good.
Then, the food arrived.
They had split an Arugula Salad with toasted/candied walnuts for us. Being a diehard fan of all things arugula, I still didn't find this salad to be anything special. French Fries with Truffle Oil was the next appetizer we ordered - and yes, it was good, but seriously, how does one really mess up this particular dish? You put truffle oil atop a piece of paper and suddenly it becomes quite delicious paper, so to pour atop delicious french fries, how could it go wrong?
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As our entree, we decided to split the Pork Loin and Ribeye Special they had for the evening, which the bartender had highly touted and recommended to Joe while he waited for me.
Now my friend Joe is someone I adore to pieces and one of my favorite people, but a foodie - he is not, though he will deny it. Lest I forget, he reminds me that he likes his steak "medium" (or did he actually say "well-done".... in which case, I shall opt to erase that from my memory). Whatever it was that uttered, it was painful to my ears and insulting to my brain - - and I just zoned out on his face with a look that clearly said, "I cannot comprehend." He succumbs, and asks, "OK... medium-rare? Compromise?" Suddenly, my hearing was back on and I nodded vehemently.
There is hope for him yet.
What arrived, however, was dismaying.
While the Pork was decent, the Ribeye was what I consider to be well-done, and what the majority might consider "medium". The true flavor of a good ribeye was lost.
Still, with our imperative, non-negotiable, after-dinner cup of coffee, we opted to order dessert and chose the Warm Apple Crisp with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Obviously, that was delicious, but like the Truffle Oil Fries - how does one go wrong on such a match made in heaven?
Indigo is a good space and the food was acceptable, the service was nice. But it does not make my list of place I'd recommend for any one thing - and in a city like San Francisco, with the choice we have all over the city - having "acceptable" food is synonymous to being, in actuality, sub-par. Having said that - it's nicely designed, and the ambience and mood is good for dates or intimate gatherings between friends - so long as your tastebuds aren't too picky, Indigo will fit the bill.
As a sidenote, their "unlimited wine w/ dinner" option might be a good one to try if you're into that - and they have no corkage fee. NO CORKAGE FEE. For that alone, their 2 star rating gets bumped up to 3 instantly. That's HOT.
Incidentally - Indigo is owned by the same people who own Bruno's, Foreign Cinema, and Jade Bar (right around the corner), as well as a slew of other happening restaurants in the city. Right after dinner, we headed to Jade Bar to drink the night away to good music. If you haven't been to Jade Bar - that is one place worth trying - - one of my favorite bars in the city.
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7pm on Sunday. We're the ONLY table in the entire place.
Ordered 2 salads, 2 steaks
Salads came, 1 was the wrong one. Fine. It's just salad, we'll keep it.
So far so good.
We finish the salads and wait 1 hour and 15 minutes for the steak, which we both ordered without the mustard aioli, but surprise it comes with the aioli.
The waitress notices and takes the plates back and we see the cook WASH THE STEAKS OFF and put them back on the grill to heat them up and then re-plates them and the waitress brings them back.
I ask her how they were able to cook fresh steaks in 2 minutes when the last ones took over an hour. She did not have an answer and new she was busted. We did not eat the steaks and left the restaurant.
Be leary of this place!
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***************************UPDATED REVIEW*********************
Does the food at Indigo knock my socks off? No, it doesn't. But, it is consistently good.
Why am I bumping them up to a 4 star review from a 3 star?
[1] NO CORKAGE FEE -- I can bring my own wine and from the number of wineries I have reviewed, it is obvious I buy a lot of wine. So, this makes dinner much cheaper right off the bat.
[2] 1,000 OPEN TABLE POINT RESERVATIONS -- 1,000 Open Table point reservations are easy to come by at Indigo. 2,000 points and you can claim your $20 check!
So, the bf and I come here every now and then and for less than $50 we have a nice date, enjoy our wine and earn a shitload of Open Table points!!
********************ORIG 3 STAR REVIEW FROM 4/7/07**************
Last night was the first time I ate here since I was in SF on a business trip prior to moving here 3 years ago.
The food was good and I will definitely be back. The bread they put down with some olive oil was excellent. Lightly herbed, fresh and tasty. I had the pork tenderloin with a polenta/bacon cake, apples and brussel sprouts. The spouts were yummy if you're in the part of the population which believes that that is actually possible. The polenta bacon cake was very interesting. It was basically a mound of polenta that had a bacony taste to it. I did not see any bacon in it so I am not sure how they pull that off. The pork itself was good although a bit too salty and perhaps a bit overcooked.
The wine list is extensive and heavily Californian.
We had the Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake for dessert. That, however, was not very good at all. It kinda tasted like Thomas' Toaster Cakes.
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I came here for a friend's birthday. We got there at like 7:30 and they were nice enough to still let us order from their prix fixe menu. I ordered a Marina, vodka with blueberry juice, because I was wearing these really slutty heels that cuts into my feet like crazy and I was not happy since we had to walk there from bart. The cocktail was wonderful. It was very strong and hits the spot. We also brought 2 bottles of wine with us because there's no corkage fee. I dont remember much about the food because I was too drunk by the time the food arrived... So 3 stars for happy boozing!
I went with one of my good friends to Indigo last semester (fall) after passing by it on the 5 for almost a year, and let me tell you it was worth the wait. The menu was seasonal, fresh, and delicious. We both started with a sweet pumpkin soup, followed by chicken for my friend and pork loin for me. Both were perfectly cooked, but I must say I liked mine better because it had this amazing sweet cabbage apple compote thing ontop that pretty much rocked. Desert was amazing, fruit crisps all around.
A little out of our price range for every meal (we are students) so we can only go here once every semester or so, but again, well worth the wait!
I debated three and four stars with this one but my friends convinced me to give it four. The food was really good and the prix fixe menu actually had the best-looking entrees as choices. Pork tenderloin came in a great sauce and my friend's fish was good as well. We all cleaned our plates so we must have liked it, right? The fourth star is apparently because there is no corkage fee which makes my friend's eyes roll back in his head. Why buy an overpriced bottle of wine when you can bring your own Matanzas? So, if you want a pre-theater place to eat, this is definitely a great choice.
I started out with low expectations - we had made a reservation for 7:30 on Saturday night, and by 7:40 we had all arrived and were anxiously crowding the entryway while desperately trying to find the hostess to learn the status of our reservation (and reason for the delay). After all, the reason I had made a reservation was to avoid this very occurrence, so I was initially perturbed by the apparent lack of our attention to our party. However, after the manager kindly greeted us and explained the situation, the night made a complete 180.
We were seated just 15 minutes late, but given the best table in the restaurant. The service from then on was prompt and attentive, even going out of their way to ensure we would be able to make it to our other engagement downstairs at Crimson Lounge on time. The server described the specials and gave her opinion while kindly answering our barrage of questions, and when everyones' meals came out, we were ALL delighted to find that each selection was better than the next. (How often do you get to go to dinner and have EIGHT people be delighted with their meals?) Truly, we were all raving - the steak was perfectly cooked for each diner and the Bass fish special was phenomenal. Add to that a thorough (and affordable) wine menu and we were collectively moaning in delight over our dishes. Contentment has a sound, and it was eight happy diners at Indigo.
Hopefully they work out their seating and reservation quirks before I return, which will be soon, since I can't wait for my next favorite meal in town.
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Came here for my birthday and LOVED IT!!
We had about 18 people and we were accommodated without a problem. All I had to do was show up. Everyone was really nice and having the all you can drink wine was great! We even brought some of our own champagne which they were happy to keep chilled for us.
The prix fixe is the way to go for a party. Everyone was happy with their meals and there was more food then we really needed. Plus having cupcakes for dessert was great... we got these else where. Thanks Janine!
For a party this large, not everyone shows up on time but our waitress quickly got everyone fed and happy.
I would highly recommend this place.
Service was marginally exceptional. Not bad, but not a lot of enthusiasm either.
Prie fixe only runs till 7pm, so get there early if you're budget style is low or if you're a cheapskate. Not being a cheapskate myself I had the steak special (ribeye) and split a the lamb shank and and salad. Nice presentation, everything tasted nice, does it annoy you when there isn't salt and pepper on the table? The implied arrogance of the seasoning ability of the chef I find a little unsettling.
Not bad overall. Minus a star for carding my ass and then making a cutesy joke about it.
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Bless the bartender's little heart, she carded me when I ordered a drink. I would have jumped over that bar and married her were in not for the fact that, well, she was a girl, and also that I hadn't eaten my dinner yet and was starving!
What a cute restaurant Indigo is. Yeah, I said it: cute. Don't hate. It's warm and inviting, with friendly staff and delicious food. I had the free range chicken which came with polenta (my FAVE) and some side vegetables. I licked my plate clean. No, really, I did. And I used the bread they give you to assist. Yum, yum, yum.
I hear they have a pre-fixe menu on certain nights that come with all you can drink wine for like $49 or something? You know I will be coming back to this place!
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The last time I went to Indigo I watched intently as a cockroach traversed the wall behind my friend eventually joining one of his buddies on the ceiling. Where there is one... there are many.
I don't remember the food. I just remember walking out, swearing I would never return. I haven't.
I am sad - so disappointed with my Valentine's double date at Indigo. I was excited to try something new and a place that I didn't know a lot about. We got there and the place was totally cute and romantic and I was confident it was going to be a good dinner.
It all went down hill from the start though... they sat us in the lame back room where it was cold and removed from the cute ambiance. When they sat us back there we were actually the only people seated and we sorta felt like outcasts. Eventually it filled up and felt a little more like a real restaurant but I have to admit I would have much rather sat in the main dining area with the rest of civilization.
We wanted to do the unlimited wine pairings but we didn't really trust that we'd be attended to enough in the back room to even get that much wine.
Our waitress was a little flighty and kept placing the wrong dishes in front of the wrong people. She didn't really go out of her way at all to make it a good experience. It was the epitome of basic service.
As for the food... my beef tenderloin was good, however my mashed potatoes and asparagus were room temperature.. probably the result of the prix fixe menu mass production. Dave was disappointed with his duck - it looked undercooked and was kinda gross. Danielle ordered the sea bass but they ran out (nice) so they gave her mahi mahi as a replacement which was apparently good.
Meh - like I said... a disappointment. My hopes were high enough that Indigo might warrant a return visit - I really think they're on the edge of something good. But it's hard to go back to places in the city once you've had a crumby experience because there are so many other places to try.
We'll see.
i like the theme but the service was ehh. great bread while we waited (surprisingly long for a salad).
try: baby greens tossed in a red wine vinaigrette with plums,
toasted almonds and goat cheese for about $9.
four stars seems too much for some reason, but i think i would be satisfied with a 3.5 for the food.
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My boyfriend and I had dinner here on a very rainy Saturday night, preceeding the Edwardian Ball at GAMH. Although we made reservations, it seemed like we were among the few who decided to venture out for dinner in the rain and the restaurant was about half full. [This might not be usual, they were on the phone a lot, canceling reservations for that night.] The mellow blue lighting continues inside, where small tables and candles welcome you.
We sat in a corner far away from every single other table, to be in the window. They were very amenable to letting us choose our table. Sitting out of the main area is kind of scary, because it means that the servers are probably going to forget about you. While they didn't seem to forget us completely, we were close enough to the hostess stand to hear them talking and realize that they were constantly reminding each other to come over to us - slightly uncomfortable. However, when our server did come to the table, she was very nice and answered our many questions about the menu.
We both got the prix fixe, which is $34. The food was pretty good, although nothing to write home about (yet certainly enough to yelp about :). Dessert was delicious - apple berry crisp with ice cream, and a coffee flan-like thing surrounded by fresh berries. At the end of the meal, the hostess called us a cab.
If you're looking for this place on the street, go back to its name. Its on a dark side street, and recognizable by the faint blue glow surrounding the window - and the signature SF liquor corner store next door.
Indigo is a old favorite; went last night for the umpteenth time, this time for a post-Nutcracker dinner.
The owner/proprietor Greg Medow is an acquaintance and thus we're always treated wonderfully and have been to many a private event there. So perhaps my review is not entirely subjective.
But Greg aside, Indigo is a place you can always count on for good atmosphere, tasty high-end but not too high end American fare, and an excellent wine selection.
We ate off their special menu for Nutcracker patrons, and to start we shared the romaine salad with persimmons and Parmesan crostini. The flavors melded wonderfully. For entrees we had the salmon - over spaghetti squash and baby bokchoy with a coconut curry sauce - and the pork tenderloin. The curry sauce made the dish too spicy for my taste, but that's only because I'm a total weakling when it comes to spicy food. The pork tenderloin was perfectly cooked in a sauce we couldn't get enough of. Dessert was an apple and cranberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream - very tasty and light.
One of things I just love about Indigo is the wine selection and the suggestions they make in pairing wine with food. Each appetizer and entree had a wine suggestion with it, which we promptly took, and were not disappointed. I know that Greg puts a lot of time and thought into the wines that he chooses for the menu and develops strong relationships with the winemakers, most of whom are local. There are regulars on his wine list whose wine I've gone and bought as a result of discovering it at Indigo.
Hands down, one of the best New Year's Eves I've ever had was a prix-fixe dinner at Indigo. There were four of us, and we were treated with an extra course on the house and outstanding food all around. Champagne, wine and dessert wine was all outstanding too - of course perfectly paired with the food - and seemingly (if not actually) endless.
And even if for some strange reason their wine list doesn't suit you, perhaps one of the best little secrets about Indigo is that they don't charge a corkage fee. How often do you find that?
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So my boyfriend and I came here for their unlimited wine prie fixe dinner. It was a lot of fun...duh, unlimited wine.
We were expecting them to be kinda stringent about the wine though. WE NEVER HAD TO ASK. She just kept pouring.
I would say the food is 3 stars. It was good but nothing stellar. The only reason I give them 4 stars is because of the wine and the plenitude of it...don't judge me.
We went for dinner early on a Wednesday, but by the time we left the restaurant was packed.
The best thing I can say about the place is that the staff was friendly.
The food was acceptable, but not great. It didn't look especially appealing and it tasted the same as it looked. My husband said his pork was nothing special, but that the side orders were incredible. I had a chicken breast on beans, which looked about as exciting as I just described it.
The average age of the place must have been 60 and the music was a favorite collection of soft rock from the 60s and 70s. I like "Midnight train to Georgia" as much as anyone, but when everyone in the place looks like they bought the original 45.. come on!
We didn't do the "all you can drink wine", which I hear is a big draw, but I have to say that the glass of wine I had was none too generous a pour.
I guess that's about it. It was perfectly adequate, but for the price it didn't feel like anything special.
I don't understand restaurant reviews. People pick on the oddest things. Ok, the music here is a bit lame. But really. Nothing went in my mouth that i didn't try to rave about with my mouth full. The Petite Syrah knocked my socks off. The ribeye was crusty, but a perfect medium rare. the blue lake bean were snappy and delicious. Did I mention the wine?
I'll be back. Indigo is gonna be a regular haunt from now on.
3.5 stars
we were trying to find a place to eat one sat night and indigo came up
in our search. i had dined here several years ago but recalled the food being typical fare, and the atmosphere depressing so my expectations were low. when we arrived, our server offered the prix fixe menu with a disclaimer that you would be allowed to drink all you could as long as you did not leave your table.
theres really nothing that stands out about this place, except for the unlimited wine pairings with their prix fixe menu. asides from that, the food was edible. nothing too complicated or unique, fish paired with cous cous, or steak and some sort of mashed vegetables. i got the impression that they made a whole big batch of everything, and than plopped it on a plate as people ordered it.
Decent local spot in Hayes Valley; good option to more well known places.
Food: We had the ahi tuna appetizer and the sun-dried tomato/artichoke heart pasta. Not bad for under $40. Fresh and filling.
Atmosphere: We were there for a party downstairs in the Crimson Lounge (great place to have a private party). We came up for some food and sat at the bar. Pretty normal, not too stuffy.
Service: No frills, to the point service.
Overall: Again, good option if you want to get away from the more well known places in the area. Central and next to Jade Bar. I would go back for a simple dinner and cocktails.
YES, I love this place and here are some of the reasons why they rock:
1. Prix fixe menu...so good and cheap
2. Staff are so friendly and sweet
3. Near the Jade bar
4. All you can drink wine with prix fixe menu (they had me at all you can drink) so yes...they deserve all 5 stars!!
5. I love the atmosphere
Came here for a quick bite on our way out....had the most amazing server named David. He was not only accomadating and knowledgeable,but efficient. The ribeye was THE BEST and the Barramundi was INCREDIBLE! Highly reccommended!
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A nice friendly neighborhood place with upscale food with a rather simple menu. Both my wife and I got the prix fixe dinner selections. The salad was crisp and not over dressed - and they put the goat cheese on the side - nice touch. Having a touch of fresh green apple would have made that salad pop and i wonder if the chef would consider it, The chicken and pork entrees were well portioned, but I found the pork to be a bit salty and avoided the soy sauce based glaze. I loved the swiss chard with the chicken and the seared spinach with the pork were very nice additions. For the third course, we both got the Apple crumble which is a lower calorie apple+cinammon+sugar+granola dessert. Very simple but very well done.
We came here for a pre-symphony dinner, and while we weren't disappointed, I'd have to say it's not worth making a special trip to this place.
The two main problems are the slow service and only above-average food (not excellent).
We had a 6:15 reservation, and we told the host and server that we needed to be done in time for the 8pm symphony. Still, we had to ask for the check when our dessert came, and we felt like we were constantly nervously checking our watches during the lag time between courses. We barely made it out the door with 15 minutes to walk over to the hall and get seated for the show.
That said, the food was pretty good. Again, not spectacular. Salad was standard, but overdressed for my taste. My chicken entree was just OK, and overseasoned. My husband's sea bass entree (a special) was more well-balanced.
Desserts were spectacular, surprisingly. We had chocolate cake and banana upside-down cake.
The interior of the restaurant was really nice... we wound up at a quieter table than the first one we were offered. I can't imagine how noisy and busy that one would've been.
Line at the ladies' room was quite long. I imagine they might have only one stall in there. Something to think about when you're in a rush amid the slow service.
If you go, ask for a quiet table in the back, and give yourself PLENTY of time to get to your show, if that's what you're doing after dinner.
We'd go here again if we were in the area, and would recommend it with the above-mentioned reservations to people who plan to dine before a show. But we won't be making a specific trip to eat here.
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The Indigo staff are a class act. I regularly stop there before a night out on the town. And it is an easy choice for taking a date to. Plus, the steak special is always incredible.
Situated perfectly around the ballet/symphony/civic center, this place offers a wonderful atmosphere if you intend on bringing a date for an event around the area. I went for a friend's birthday so it's even good for bigger parties. The prix-fixe is definitely worth a try because it's ALL YOU CAN GUZZLE. The rib eye was the juiciest, most perfectly done piece of meat I had in a long time so if your appetite needs a fixin, order that along with the prix-fixe.
This restaurant is for old people. D :
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The prix-fixe offers are fab. The regular prix-fixe is $32 and is offered 5-7 p.m., which is perfect for pre-performance dining! The wine prix-fixe is an all-you-can-guzzle affair for just $49 after 8 p.m. Tue-Sun. The food is consistently good, but there's something dampened about the vibe that makes the atmosphere less than exciting, so it's not quite a destination restaurant...except for upscale winos. You know who you are. It's also an important part of the mix for the SOB's of the world. SOB's as in Symphony-Opera-Ballet attendees...and for them this fits into a subdued, comfy spot above Cafe Della Stella and Max's, but below Jardiniere, Absinthe and Hayes Street Grill.
My most recent visit included an exceptional salad with mixed greens and super-fresh goat cheese. My salmon was perfectly cooked, and danced over a bed of rice with green beans and yellow curry. Really delightful. I remember desserts of the past as very good, but not off the charts. I don't usually go for their specials, which tend to be in the $30+ range. When I can get three courses for that same price, it's hard to go for the special instead...
Selfish mention - the walls are lined with sumptuous photos of Cuban cars by a really great photographer, Suzanne Gutierrez. I got hooked on her work at an Art Span Open Studios Auction one year and bought the piece featured here on her portfolio page:
http://www.suzanneguti...
I should also mention that the service is consistently good and that the ceiling is blue.
We had our holiday party/dinner here and we were pleasantly surprised. The space was ample and the waiter was cute...5 stars!
Quite good for a pre-show dinner. We didn't heed the wine pairing suggestions on the menu, but they looked well thought out and tasty. The pork loin and grilled rib eye steak were a little overcooked, but our companions loved their scallops with orange buerre blanc sauce. The pureed sweet potatoes that came with the steak were delicious. The service was a solid three stars--they didn't seem quite ready for service at 6:30, but managed to get us out in time for the show and were amicable if not the most efficient.
Overall I agree with frisco j.--not a destination spot, but an asset to the performance art district.
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I discovered this place using opentable.com, and I really can't say I have ever been completely blown away by a meal here. They do the meat courses quite nicely, however, and the ambiance is intimate, but both times I've dined (I'm all about second chances), I got stuck out in that front window table rather than immersed in the real cozy-looking dining room ... and I seriously doubt it's because I'm so pretty that they want to show me off. Hmmmm.
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EAT HERE!
So this is one of those Hayes Valley places that should be equally as coveted as more hipper Mission joints a la Foreign Cinema, Luna Park, etc. but thankfully is not. Which means, reservations are often not required and usually you'll experience much better service cause they're not packed to capacity.
It's been a couple years since I was first here but I had fond memories of my last visit and recall a fairly inexpensive pri-fix wine dinner, so when one of my best girlfriends was looking for an intimate location to celebrate her 30th with a couple of close buds I suggested this spot. And we were not disappointed.
We opted for the amazingly priced $49 wine dinner (starts after 8pm) which includes unlimited wine (through your entree) , 1 appetizer, 1 entree, and 1 dessert. For an appetizer, I had the baby greens, fresh peaches, and goat cheese salad- totally fresh & fabulous. Next, for my entree I chose the only veggie option- a pasta w/roasted peppers, eggplant, fresh basil, & mushrooms- held off(not my fave) and parmesan, - pretty tasty but definitely my favorite course of the evening had to be the dessert. I chose the warm chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream and minted strawberries- superb!! I should also note I sampled both of my friends desserts (a vanilla bean panna cota, & apple blueberry crisp a la mode) which were equally delish!
Highlights: I think amongst the 3 of us, we averaged a total of 6 beverages each which included 3 glasses of champagne, sauvignon blanc, zinfandel, & port . 6 drinks would have been at least over $50 alone- again not including our amazing 3 course meal, so seriously, if you like to get your drink on, this is the way to go! Our waitress ruled! Incredibly observant, kind, and most importantly present (aka- at our beck & call) , consistently stopping by to make sure we had enough to drink and that our food was good. We began the evening trying to drink too fast thinking that we had to make it "worth our while" and thinking that they would bring out our main courses too quickly in order to "cut us off" but quite the contrary. In fact, we were still brought beverages during our dessert and even a trio of complementary dessert wines afterwards!
All in all, we all agreed we loved our time at Indigo. I believe it is a truly underrated destination with excellent deals, excellent food and excellent service. A wonderful spot to dine with a loved one, the lighting is dim & romantic and it's usually not packed which I take to mean better service & more time taken to prepare your meal. You can usually fine a close spot to park on nearby streets pretty easily. I will definitely be back soon and plan to take advantage of the wine dinner once again!
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My friend and I dined here on a Sunday night before going to the symphony. We had a 5:30 reservation and were seated promptly. We ordered drinks and both selected the prix fixe menu. My friend had the pork tenderloin as a main dish and I had the chicken breast. We asked that things be served promptly as we had only an hour before having to go to the symphony. The staff was very responsive to our request and we had our meal and bill within an hour. We both found the quality of the food to be outstanding. I was especially impressed with the kale that came with the chicken. The flavor was excellent. Overall a wonderful dining experience and I would dine here again.
