Isa
Categories: French, Asian Fusion, Tapas Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow3324 Steiner St
(between Chestnut St & Lombard St)
San Francisco, CA 94123 (415) 567-9588 Reserve Online
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 5:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 5:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m. - Menu: MenuPages
- 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: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
329 Reviews for Isa
One of Isa's Favorite Reviews
Took a group here last night, including a dear friend in from out of town... we got a table in the back patio with the heat lamps and the little white lights. So great! There were 5 of us and we vowed to avoid repeat selections so we were able to sample more than half the menu. Everything we had was truly delicious, really fantastic flavors. My faves had to be the baked goat cheese (which was honestly to die for), the scallops (in particular the mashed potatoes that came with), and the lamb. And our waiter was adorable. I didn't quite catch it, but he did say something about their liquor license which made it so the drinks contained less alcohol than normal... I stuck with kir royales accordingly. All in all, a perfect choice for the evening. Highly recommend.
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This place is strong. I was with a group of 8 here the other night and was really impressed with the entire experience. I generally like to hate on Marina joints because i wrongheadedly believe i'm cool and sf and indy, but i can't hate on Isa.
If i had remembered to review it 2 weeks ago when i went I would have more to say but, hey, that's what happens when i hope to visit 100 new places this year and review to bookmark my project rather than a public service to y'all. sorry.
What a cute little place! Love the back covered patio - very good ambience.... I was here for a work dinner, but it was fun anyway!!! We didn't really do the sharing thing because a lot of people orderd off the Prix Fix, and well, because a lot of the dishes didn't seem like they really lended themselves to sharing. So I got to be selfish!!! I started with the Dungeness Crab Salad - it was really really good, with mango, grapefruit and arugula. Then I had the baked butterfish, it was also very good, maybe a little mild for my taste. Then the creme brulee for dessert - yum! It was a great meal in a fun, non-pretentious setting. I'll be back!
Yummmmmmmmmmm... isa gooood restaurant. Isa like that tucked away local Chinese food place that you love, you know, the one with the fantastic cuisine and the funny dcor. Isa goooood. Isa bit small, there is a back patio with Christmas tree lights and mismatched furniture and the walls look like they are covered in shower curtains. Isa-kay though, the service is goooood and the main highlight, THE FOOD!!
Deliciously green asparagus soup and the sauted mushrooms -isa good combination! The flank steak was a bit chewy, but the wasabi sauce gave it a kick. My favorite was the scallop dish -over fluffy mashed potatoes and asparagus. After a bottle of wine, I couldn't refuse the flourless chocolate cake with the vanilla bean ice-cream was the perfect finish to a nice meal.
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Very interesting. The Foie Gras and Sweetbreads were definitely the highlights. The wine and champagne were decent. The salmon crudo, asparagus soup, lamb, and steak were all pretty good. I'd definitely go back, but maybe with a smaller group...
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The food here is amazing and the service is quite good. But you should make reservations if you want to sit in the backroom otherwise you will be sitting the relatively small front dining area.
I agree this is not a place for big groups but a party of four less would be ideal. Not too crazy about the cocktails but that's just an afterthought in this case.
Definitely try the hamachi, paella, and the skirt steak. Next time I want to try the dayboat scallops the sweetbreads.
owned by this chinese family who owns eliza (http://www.yelp.com/bi...), which i think deserves high ratings of its own ...
isa's a sweet romantic and a tad bit cozy restaurant... you walk in -- it's quite small ...
i seem to have noticed a trend with most of these marina places ... there's always* something MORE in the back ... passing through the restrooms, you will be taken to the back (which is literally outdoors) covered with these christmasy lights with heat lamps in every corner ...
for a wed evening, it was busy but not overly busy to the tops, but manageable... but God knows how it is from Thurs-Sat.
there is also a prix fixe menu, $21.95/person which i consider it to be a steal ... but i guess even though i'm all about dib dabbing different foodies, you just don't get the true flavor of what the restaurant has to offer. it's all bout the a la carte peoples! this place is tapa style, so ordering a few plates to share is common, even though we decided to go with our own... the good thing about this is that each plate of its own came from light to heavy ... must i say, the food took F O R E V E R S!
the food? reasonably priced for french fusion food ... and don't ferget to order the wine guys!! ;) see below
we started off getting their asparagas soup for $7 or $9.50 for 2, and even though it wasn't thick, it was rich with flavor, and i wouldn't mind ordering it again...
next we went for the seared foie gras for $18-- definitely a winner, no cheapie, w/some yummy toasted bread & poached mangos (YUM) and they suggest pairing their wine with some dessert wine which paired well.
now, for our foodies ...
since i had started my strict diet with my personal trainer, i opted for their fish, but couldn't decide btwn the baked butterfish or the yellowfin tuna.
he suggested the yellowfin tuna, and since i'm all about sharing, i didn't hesitate -- you get like 8 pieces and they were sliced with flavor for $18.50, his flat iron steak $19.50 was sliced into 6 pieces... not those everyday looking fat chunky ass, juicy steak, but more so, sliced enough for you and your s/o to easily dab the meat with your fork with no hard labor work involved. NICE!
and NOW ... for the grand finale ... :*(
the dessert person i am, i must say, it was difficult to refuse, but having to eat at 730, simply RIGHT AFTER my pilates session, it was hard enough to pack an extra few dessert lbs ... so we kindly told the server "nay" and walked home, even though i suggested that we sprint home so i could shed the few lbs i just packed on. LOL.
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I planned on going to Isa with my 2 girlfriends to celebrate my birthday. I thought it would be a great place to take them, since they are from out of town, and Isa got a lot of great reviews. When we walked in the door however, it was a totally different story.
First, the hostesses were no where to be found for a good 5minutes. Due to this fact, the entry way got extremely full, since everyone was trying to check in for their reservation. Get bumped and pushed in a restaurant by people trying to check in, is no way to start your birthday celebration. When the hostesses finally came, they checked in people one at a time, then would run off and leave the hostess station again! WTF! Its a Friday night! The restaurant entry is packed with people, and you are just going to leave them hanging????
When we finally got seated, our waiter gave us menus and began explaining the menu in great detail, which was very appreciated. However, he began to attend to the other tables around us, and didn't come back for 15minutes. My friends and I were STARVING at this point; we ate all the bread in the bread basket and still nothing from our waiter. Finally my friend had to track him down when he was in between tables to remind him that we had not ordered yet. Then he was trying to push us to order 6 plates for 3 people. When we only ordered 5 plates, he was so insistent that we order 6. Seriously, we do not need to be forced to eat, if we want to order more, we will!
The only saving grace for Isa is its food. I must admit the food is EXCELLENT. We had the foie gras, crab salad, mussels, ahi tuna, and the lamb. Everything was sooo good! The back patio is decorated so well, it is a cute place to go with your friends, or a romantic date spot.
If only the service was better....
I love this place! I have been a customer since they have opened and am amazed with how consistent they are. This is a great place to get 5 star food quality with 3 star prices! I recently had their Dungeness Crag Salad - loved it. I also have to say that I enjoyed their bread and butter. Warm and soft gooey rolls served with REAL lightly salted butter. Now that's what I'm TALKIN' ABOUT!
There menu is very diverse and there is something for everyone.
We went here for my girlfriend's birthday and even though we had a reservation, we waited one hour!! The hostess was no where to be found and they kept making excuses for why our table wasn't ready. At one point the waitress told us to to go stand by our table to "intimidate" the group that was taking a long time to pay their check....who says that??!!! Once we finally sat down, they did bring us free appetizers for their apology. Our waiter was great, since it was an extremely busy night and this place is pretty tiny.
However, the food was good. No complaints with the food, we enjoyed the goat cheese appetizer, butter lettuce salad, the braised lamb medallions. Overall the dinner was good, besides the whole fiasco with the waiting.
My girlfriend and I just got back from a dinner here - her friend from Canada was in town and we wanted to show him a place in her hood.
The night took a turn for the "different" when we walked in and saw a ghost town of a restaurant. But for some reason, the only table available to us was right by the door. Interesting.
We were greeted by the server, who quickly brought the menus, then decided to take a mini vacation in the back of the restaurant while he left us with rounds of bread.
We finally got his attention, and ordered the appetizers. The calamari was delicious and the goat cheese plate was equally as good. We quickly followed this up with our main plates, while we had the waiter available. We ordered: The chicken, duck, lamb and paella. The waiter then disappeared and waited a good 40 minutes before bringing us our dishes. When we asked him if our food was almost ready, he quickly brushed us off and said "well, food takes awhile to cook, but I guess I could ask the Chef." Wow. Thank you for the wise words! The dishes were overall good, but not great. The duck and the lamb were the tables favorites.
Overall, the food is decent, the atmosphere is your typical marina restaurant (after it's prime), but the service....oh the service....If I was able to provide a rating for the food and the service individually, the food would get 2.5/3 and the service .5, maybe 1 star (I am feeling more generous now that I was able to settle my stomach with dessert, from elsewhere).
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Dear Diary,
Do you remember when I wrote to you about "my Firsts"? I know there have been many. Remember the time I kissed Paul and how my lips got stuck on his braces, ahh...he was cute!! Or when I "inhaled" for the first time...WOW...i think I ordered the entire Jack in the Box menu. Or when I went home drunk for the first time, which also happened to be the first time I saw a penis...hehe...i said penis!! Let's NOT even go to the first time...I...UMmm...you know..."did it..." cuz having a cop knock on the car window is not something I consider very romantic...oh well, it was just a F#@K anyway.
Well Diary, I experienced another "First" last night and it included a wonderful woman. I was so anxious and nervous but for good reason. We decided to make Isa our rendezvous and we were nestled in a quaint corner not too far from the window, but yet the scene flickered with candlelight in a dimly lit room. It was not so busy that we were able to engage in a wonderful exchange of thoughts and words and expression without having to yell or scream our deepest secrets.
The evening was flowing wonderfully and so was the nectar. We enticed our palate with a delectable goat cheese with pine nuts, basil and tomatoes on a sizzling plate. The experience continued with a butterfish...Ohhh...so divine...and beautiful and succulent scallops with asparagus...My GOD...it was amazing....BUT the evening did not finish there...it climaxed with a sweet Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee which was accompanied by a glass of sauternes.
Diary...this had to have been the best dining experience in quite a while. Not only was the food to die for, but the company was perfect!! Couldn't have asked for a better night.
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Delicious. Consistent. Great service, wine list and menu. Pricey but not ridiculous. Get the goat cheese appetizer!
My favorite restaurant in San Francisco. When dining here, always request a table in the back patio with heat lamps and Christmas tree lights. It's a wonderful restaurant for romantic dates, family celebrations, and girl's dinner out. You can't beat the family style tapas and the delicious desserts. When I have friends from out of town, I always bring them here for a nice dinner and taste of SF.
Favorites:
* Butter Lettuce Salad
* Main Lobster Broth with tarragon
* Baked Laura Chenel Goat Cheese
* Potato Wrapped Sea Bass
* Seared Duck Breast
* Truffled Risotto
Nothing on the menu disappointed. $22 for a 2-course pre fixe meal where each dish is big enough to share with others makes this place worth the visit.
JONASAPPROVED!
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AMAZING FOOD. Wonderful menu. Difficult to choose a few dishes when all look amazing. Good value compared to comparable restaurants in the city.
The duck, served seared and medium rare with a beet, goat cheeseand Mache salad had me soaking up every last bit of the melange of sauces on the plate with their perfectly soft and crusty french bread.
The Butterfish en Papillote (in parchment) with a truffle sauce and mushrooms was divine... full of flavor and beauty, yet light.
The hereford hanger steak was yummy, but the little taters stole the show.. the skin snapped as you bit through and flesh of the taters was warm and slightly sweet. Perfectly salted.
I would give this place 5 stars if the service was consistent. The first time I went the hostess was not so inviting and the waiter was just busy. The second time the hostess was still flustered, but cordial and sat us at 9:15 for an 8:30 Reservation.
The place gets packed, but it is worth the crowd, the wait and the occasional attitude, not to mention a bit of a homogenous crowd.
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Interesting place...my buddy had a craving for prosciutto wrapped melon after reading a review mentioning it, but alas that was not to happen this time of year. Hm actually that's on the menu on their website, so keep in mind that's not up to date.
The prix fixe menu seems like a great deal, but I stopped considering that once I saw the words "foie gras," so to the picking and choosing menu I went. The foie was really just OK - overcooked, mostly. Asparagus soup didn't thrill me, either - flavor and texture were a little thin. Flank steak was probably the best of the dishes we got. And whatever our other guest had was completely unmemorable to me, or maybe it was the wine...
To me, the wine list is all over the place - Napa to Sonoma, over to Italy, back to Spain, and let's drop by France while we're nearby. This is good and bad, in my opinion...the regional variety is nice, but personally I'd prefer a little more concentration. The variety was just distracting.
My standards might be a little higher, but I wouldn't take a date here. Friends, yes, but this place is not reading on the romantic scale. Nice vibe in the garden. The wait staff was attentive although a little stiff.
Will probably have to visit again to firm up my thoughts.
one of my favorite restaurants in the city and places to take friends from out of town. consistent good food and service. favorites include the sweetbreads, scallops, and chicken- i usually never order the chicken but this was cooked perfectly, and every bite was full of flavor.
was disappointed to see that the sea bass was missing from the menu this past weekend, it was one of my favorites.
the desserts are fine but the highlights are the main courses
If you love French food, small plates and good wine this place can do no wrong. Do you want to save some money while doing it? Just go there on weekdays before 7 (i think? maybe earlier) and you can have a wonderful dinner with your two close friends and a bottle of wine under $120. (I promise, unless you decide to splurge on wine)
The decor is lovely and the outside seating is especially good for a date.
It does have one downside. On weekends, good items start to run out after 8:30. Be there early to enjoy all the yummy dishes they have to offer.
OK I never give 5 stars, but I must this time.
The food is EXCELLENT! I went there twice back to back. The service is good and not pretentious. But the most important is the food and the taste! 4 star for the taste and 1 star for the reasonable price
I've been waiting to try Isa for months... and finally had the chance to try it with my boyfriend last night. And it was divine!
I made a reservation for two on OpenTable for 8:15 on a Friday night. We got to the Marina at around 8, and surprisingly found parking in under 5 minutes. We waited at the bar for our table for around 15-20 minutes, and proceeded to order some wine. We were seated in the patio area in the back, and it was lovely. Our server was very friendly and we ended up ordering 4 dishes to share. I love the medium to smaller dish concept because it lets us try more things! We had such a hard time deciding which dishes to try, but ultimately decided on butterfish, flat iron steak, paella, and special of the night: beef short ribs.
The butterfish came first, and it was baked in paper with mushrooms and truffle oil I believe. It was very tender and the flavors pretty much worked wonderfully. It was definitely one of my favorites.
The flat iron steak was topped off with some bleu cheese, to which I dont really like but the steak itself was delicious. bf devoured it in five minutes flat.
Braised short ribs was the super star of the night.... tender, juicy, perfectly cooked and paired with broccoli and mashed potatoes.
Saffron paella was just okay.... I like my paella a little different and without edamame, so i could do without this dish in the future. tasty, but not memorable. I'd go with risotto next time maybe.
We must sound like pigs but we literally finished off every plate and licked it clean. They were smaller portions so I guess three would have been sufficient but I'm glad we ordered what we ordered....the experience was terrific.
Great ambiance, great service. Nice wine list, and I'd say this is a great place for a nice Friday night dinner with friends or just your sig other.
Too stuffed to try dessert, but will def return next time to try.
Isa, youre now my favorite dining spot in the Marina! xoxo
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My friends and I went to this restaurant for a friend's bday. The food was excellent! What stuck out the most was the scallops, potato wrapped halibut, and the duck! We ordered a lot of dishes but I don't remember what else we ate. I haven't been back in a while but I want to go again soon hehe.
We really wanted to sit outside but we ended up sitting at the bar because they lost our reservations. Yea.. we were pretty upset by that but at least the food was good. That's why I can't give this place 5 stars.
Isa's...
Is a form of art - Dungeness Crab Salad
Is a godsend - Potato Wrapped Halibut
Is a tantalizer - Caramelized Scallops
Is a sweetie - Flourless Chocolate Cake
Isa's is a quaint Asian Inspired French restaurant in the Marina I can't afford to frequent, but treasure every opportunity I go...
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So I went to a birthday dinner at Isa last night, already excited about going to a restaurant that is named after me!
I liked the ambience the moment I walked in. The service was excellent, the wine fabulous and then - OH MY GOD!!! THIS WAS THE BEST FOOD I EVER HAD! And I have been to a lot of fancy restaurants around the world. This was a totally new experience. The sushi was not comparable to any sushi I had in my life, the fish was delicious, the scallops...mmmmmmhhhhh and the lamb..yammiiiieeeehhhh!!!
If that had been my last supper on earth, I would have been delighted to die...
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I dined here nearly four years ago. The fact that I have limited recollection of the many plates we ordered means that the food did not wow me. And yet, Isa has continued to flourish in the fiercely competitive restaurant business (especially in SF), so the experience must have been at least pretty good. I think we were seated next to the window so we had a nice view of the street. Our server was very friendly, and the overall atmosphere was peaceful (we like to dine in the early evening to avoid the crowd). I recall ordering the Lobster Broth. It came with foam on top, which I felt was completely extraneous, as it had no flavor; I know it was meant to provide contrast of "texture", but frankly, froth on soup just doesn't have the same appeal as froth on espresso. The broth itself had a very rich shellfish flavor. I also ordered the Duck Breast, and remember thinking that it was a tad undercooked for my taste: more rare-medium than medium-rare.
As the scene of an eagerly anticipated reunion dinner, Isa would've had to try super hard to spoil my mood. $1 oysters and a $17 glass of wine on special for $10 are not mood spoilers. Some may say they might even enhance ones mood.
Warm, tangy goat cheese with tomatoes, pine nuts and basil smooshed onto soft baguette; also not a mood spoiler.
Rich and buttery butterfish with mushrooms and truffle cooked in parchment paper; not a spoiler.
Kick ass, cooked to perfection scallops with a little dollop of mash and tender asparagus; certainly not a spoiler.
Bowl licking good vanilla bean creme brulee; come on now, what could creme brulee spoil?
Not only did Isa's food and staff not even bother trying to spoil my mood; they worked hard to enhance it. I think we were forgotten about for a while in the beginning after a ridiculously warm reception, but we got over it, especially when the food started coming out.
I can't tell you how much we spent since SOMEONE stole the check while I was in the bathroom (to ensure follow up dinner dates I imagine), but I have a feeling it was a hefty sum. Yes, the food was amazing, but it's sharable small plates and you're almost paying full entree sized prices. If you're looking for mass quantities of food for low prices; this is not your place. If you're in the mood to drop cash for a reasonable amount of food to share; this is your place. We left completely happy and satisfied, but not overly stuffed.
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My girlfriend and i decided that we don't go up to The City enough, so on the recommendation of several people that she works with that live in The City, we decided to go up one evening, hang out in the marina district and catch dinner at Isa. Mind you, the people who recommended Isa said it was one of their favorite places to eat so my expectations were pretty high.
The front of the restaurant is small and dimly lit. I like it. The hostess proceeded to lead us out to the back patio which was covered and heated. Pretty nice. Even though it was a cool night, i was never cold.
We had a really weird waiter who was probably in his later 30's or 40's, with a bowl haircut, and had a strong B.O. scent going on. I don't think he made eye contact with me all night, but my girlfriend complained about him staring at her. Nothing really bad, just kind of creepy.
Just so you know, Isa does small plates, so plan on 1.5-2 plates per person in order to get filled up. And if you go with a group, get over it and share your food. Have everyone order something different and just pass stuff around. You'll get to try lots more stuff this way. The table of 6 next to us got 4 orders of one dish, 2 of another, and didn't share. This is NOT the way to enjoy this place.
We started with the baked goat cheese topped with tomato pesto and pine nuts. It was fantastic. It was even better when spread on the lightly toasted french bread they give every table.
Next up was a mushroom and black truffle risotto. It was really good, but the mushrooms were put on top after it had finished cooking rather than cooked in. As a result the risotto itself only tasted like butter and risotto, no mushroom flavor cooked in. Only the mushrooms tasted like mushrooms. It was still very good, but i would have cooked it differently.
Last up was the braised short ribs with mashed potatoes and sauted spinach. The ribs were served off the bone, but with a large chunk of meatless bone on the plate. WTF? However, once you stuck your fork in the meat it fell apart. It was really good. Please note though, that these ribs taste more of beef stew than BBQ sauce. The potatoes were plain, but delicious and whipped to an unbelievably light and fluffy consistency. The spinach was plain and uninspired, the let down on the night.
Next time i go, i will be trying the scallops and the butter fish.
The desserts sounded good (especially the creme brulee and the flourless chocolate cake), but my date and i were looking for a reasonably small dinner and didn't want to be stuffed and sleepy for our drive back down the peninsula.
Preparations for everything we got were very simple. I found myself wondering if i could cook some of these dishes given a few tries. Thats not to say it wasn't delicious, it was wonderful. However, i was not left with that awestruck, "i could never, ever, on my best day, pull this one off" feeling when i eat a truly innovative, complex, and spectacular dish.
I guess to sum things up it kind of reminded me of a perfectly executed beef stew: not sexy at all, but really good. Isa was great, but i was hoping it would be incredible.
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I went to Isa with a large group for my birthday, so I was able to try almost every dish on the menu. Everything was perfection and in one night, Isa became my favorite restaurant in San Francisco. Excellent wine, exquisite food and exceptional service. Everything we ordered was a winner. Among my favorites were the scallop (the BEST scallop I have ever had) the salads, and the lamb. Everything is delish. A MUST try.
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Alphabet Soup- I dinner
Great quality of food, delicious entrees, but nothing too inventive or outside the norm of what you get elsewhere. I also don't really like paying $3 per slice of sashimi, but it was very high quality and tasty. Service was good. Very cute outdoor tented seating area with heaters might make for a good first date.
I hate the Marina, but will cross over to the dark side in the name of good food!
I went to Isa last night to celebrate Mardi Gras and Super Tuesday with Lindsey S. and Michelle L. It was one of those obligatory goings outs spurred on by post-weekend anxiety and well, it's Mardi Gras! So I was looking for a night of good conversation, wine, fun venue, and of course great food. Isa was perfect!
Lindsey and I ordered from their prefix menu (Mon-Thurs) and as our adorable waiter recommended, we shared our food family style. Michelle's vegan and she definitely got the short end of the stick bc we got to enjoy all her dishes and ours as well! The stars of the evening were the baked butterfish (so much buttery goodness!), the saffron paella (although a bit too many tentacles and NO CLAMS), and the truffle risotto (hmmm....creamy and savory). We also tried a salad and the salmon something (it comes out like a tuna tartar) that was good, but not as remarkable as our later dishes.
Our servers were fantastic about timing our dishes. Our conversation and feasting was never interrupted by an empty table or overflow of food. On my way home I was shocked to see that we'd spent 2 hours at dinner. It all passed by so quickly! All in all it was a great night and I would definitely return again. Hmmmm.... risotto...............
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Isa is one of the first restaurants I fell in love with in SF. The concept is great, the service has been flawless each time, and of course, the food is phenomenal. We usually end up getting two each of our favorite plates - the baked laura chenel goat cheese with sundried tomatoes and pine nuts (yum!!), the mushroom risotto, the sushi, and some semifreddo to wind down. Everything is fresha nd delicious.
I've only eaten here once and it was over a year ago. My stomach's a little sensitive and it flipped out when I ate the squid. When I say "squid", I mean fancy-squid with all squid-parts pretty much raw and intact; not fried calamri-squid. And when I say "flipped out", I mean went to all out war with the food I was trying to digest (in case you're wondering, the squid won). Not fun. The fact that I'm giving Isa 4 stars regardless means this restaurant is thaaaat good.
Everything else I ate at Isa my stomach loved. My friend and I still talk about the amazing dinner we had here a year after the fact (btw, the tuna tartare is ridiculous- order it and thank me later). Service was A+. Ambiance was a solid A.
I finally have plans to go back and I couldn't be more excited. Yup, I got food poisoning and Isa was still one of the best dining experiences I've had in sf. This is the perfect little restaurant for a special dinner.
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I remember when Kitty and Luke first opened this place... and lived above it and hoped that people would come. it was wonderful then when tables were easier to get but I recently went back and it has gotten even better.
Beautiful small plates of food perfectly prepared, good wine list, great romantic patio, and I hear for the month of Feb. they have a top sushi chef in residence from Mon-Thursday.
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A friend of mine decided to treat me to dinner to celebrate her good quarter at work. My thoughts were free food, delicious restaurant, good company. Score!
I had been hearing about Isa quite a bit and was surprised to see very few people in the restaurant when we arrived. We were given more menus than I would choose to flip through and after executively deciding against sushi, I was drawn to the prix fix menu. I found it a bit odd that a restaurant claiming to boast sharing dishes would have a 3 course prix fix, but we ran with it.
Overall, I would say this restaurant is confused. Pretty large portions that came at very random times on a table too small to even hold three dishes simultaneously. I was not particularly impressed by any of the flavors and had a hard time understanding what direction they were attempting to take with their assorted menu.
The wait staff was awkward and impersonal. At one point, I asked my waiter if a particular desert was good and when he had little to nothing to say about it, I commented that he didn't seem particularly excited by anything. He let me know it was because he was not American and chatty as we tend to be. Odd? It did end up turning into a bit of laugh for all of us and he gave us the desert for free, asserting it was quite delectable.
Did I enjoy myself? Yes. Did I get full? Yes. Will I come back? It depends if someone else is paying.
It's loud in here, but it was a cute, quaint place in a great location. My friend and I ordered the crab salad, butterfish, chicken and creme brule. Ok, so the chicken and creme brule was really nothing special, but the crab salad and butterfish were excellent. I've never had fish literally melt in my mouth before and the fruit with the avocado with the dungeness crab was super super good. Service was ok, but that crab and fish garnered this place 4 stars from me!
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I can't say enough good things about this place, or about Sachio.He is a truly masterful sushi chef. His creations are absolute perfection. It's some of the best sushi and sashimi i have ever had.
As for other items on the menu, they're pretty tasty too!
I had the parchment wrapped butterfish, and was totally wowed. It was moist and flavorful. The mussels were also very good.
They have a prix fixe menu that's great deal, and is always available.
I haven't had dessert either time I was here. I was too full of fish!
It's a cute little spot, and they manage to keep the back dining area warm. The first time i was seated there, i was concerned it might be a problem.Luckily it wasn't.
I'll definitely be back again before Sachio's time there is over. As well as many more times in the future.
Update:
OMIGOD!!! I went to Isa's last night and the former chef from Kubuto is working there! Thanks God an amazing place to have sushi!
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I have soft spot in my heart for Isa. It was the very last place I worked as a waiter in this town before I got into yoga full time. Luke is a great chef and his staff is beyond top notch.
I am excited that the expanded the size of the place since I worked there! Much roomier!
The food is always consistent and you never leave hungry.
My only regret is that I never had the balls to ask out one of my fellow coworkers at the time. Manon where are you!!!
Hat's off to you Kitty and Luke! Congrats on making it!
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Oh my... next time I skip appetizers and main course and just order three of those flowerless chocolate cakes.
No, I will again have the mussels and flat iron steak and THEN three orders of the flowerless chocolate cakes.
Wait a minute, I should definitely try some other items on the menu as well... you'll see me here again soon!
PS. They now have a chef over from Japan for a couple of weeks. The spicy tuna roll is excellent!
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The food at Isa actually deserved 4 stars, but because of my overall dining experience there tonight, I had to ding it a full star.
I went for a girl's night out with some good friends to Isa in the Marina. As we entered we were greeted by two large umbrella stands overflowing with umbrellas. (Ominous...read on.) The decor was moody and dark, furnished sleekly and heavy on the candles. We arrived on time and were seated promptly by the hostess just past the kitchen area in a covered patio/deck dining area out back. If you're familiar with A16, it's a very similar layout.
Unfortunately for us and for several other customers, the canopy over this outdoor dining area happened to be leaking water onto customers below, especially those sitting close to the walls at the edge of the canopy. I, of course, had the luck of sitting the closest to the wall, so the water dripped onto me. We shifted the table out from the wall, but all throughout the course of the night, I was continuously plagued by the random droplets. Even after we'd reported this to the wait staff, no one offered to move us to drier seats and that was a major problem with me. Over the course of dinner--which was a long time to get dripped upon-- it dawned upon me that it's been raining for a good week now, and that previously we'd had an even stronger storm about a month ago. SURELY they'd have taken the time to have repaired the leaking canopy by now, but no, they had not.
They seated us in that bad spot in spite of knowing full well that it was wet for any client that sat there. Just look down when you walk into that back area and you'll know based on the patterns of wetness where the water is coming in. I saw many other diners who would wipe their foreheads and vexedly look up at the awning. This whole dripping business was really unfortunate as I wasn't able to savor the food and fully concentrate due to these wet annoyances that would pull me away from the food experience. I've had better dryness in a monsoon in Thailand while eating at a street stall, for heaven's sake.
All that ranting aside, the food was exceptional: We had a delicious Fennel and Orange Salad, Grilled Scallops, Mushroom and Truffle Risotto, Shrimp Paella with Calamari, as well as a pretty stellar lamb loin dish, and some brussels sprouts (I make mine better). I especially loved the perfectly cooked risotto, and appreciated that the truffle oil wasn't overwhelming the dish. Alas, every 5 minutes, a drop of water would hit me somewhere and just ruin the moment.
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Great place, great atmosphere. 6 doods chillin and actually like the place. Some of us actually talked about taking the significant others' back to try it. Seafood was great and service was not too bad. Had the iron steak and it was a bit salty but still great!
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