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Category: Asian Fusion [Edit]
Neighborhood: Inner Richmondwed- "hump day special" half off selected appz, $4 cocktails
thurs- "broke-ass college night" $1 paps, free shot w/ proof of student i.d.
Tue-Wed. 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Thu. 4:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Fri-Sat. 4:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Sun. 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
"Tao Cafe is an amazing place in every respect. The location is nice, the restaurant is very cozy and nice, the food is breathtaking and the…" read more »
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This evening was gals night out with 2 of my close girlfriends.
We arrived for an early dinner at 6pm, and had the whole dining room to ourselves as it must have been a slow Sunday night. Never-the-less, I was excited to try out this new Asian Fusion restaurant in Richmond District.
The gals weren't feeling any cocktails this evening, and decided on tea instead. I on the other hand, was really feeling a good drink, and decided on the Strawberry and Thai Basil Lemonade...unfortunately, I left my poor ID in my car, so I opted for a Virgin instead. I was a bit disappointed, but that was just my bad. I still enjoyed my drink though--Basil flavor in my drink was definitely very flavorful.
Each table also receives a complimentary appetizer of oshinko (yellow Japanese pickle), seaweed, and spicy fungus.
Appetizers:
* Fried Chili Garlic Wings: Erm, batter for the wings was a bit thick and dry, and the chili sauce definitely seemed like bottled egg roll and lumpia sauce. But not bad.
* Wok Tossed Garlic Edamame: I enjoyed the garlic edamame very much! The were marinated in nice spices and sauce and had a great garlic flavor to them. I would definitely order this again.
Entrees:
The two gals were both feeling very cold tonight so they both decided on a bowl of noodles. Candice ordered the Chicken Udon and Joy had the Mazu Ramen Noodle. Broth for the Ramen was a bit sour and salty for Joy's palate.
I ordered the Korean Kalbi Ribs and side of Garlic Noodles. Kalbi meat had great flavor, but meat seemed a bit tough. Garlic Noodles were not bad, but I definitely feel there needed to be a bit more Garlic flavor to them. I actually poured the rest of the sauce and Garlic bits from the Edamame onto the noodles for a bit more flavor. Overall, this dish definitely has a lot of potential, but needs more garlic.
Mazu is owned and operated by native San Franciscans, and on various nights they feature DJs from the Bay Area, and beyond.
From our dining options today, I definitely think their small plates/appetizers seemed a bit more eye catching than the actual entrees.
Overall, dinner was pleasant. I enjoyed the Garlic Edamame, and they have an interesting cocktail list--other drink options range from Cucumber Kiwi Mojito, Lychee and Yali Pear Mojito to name a few.
My Strawberry Thai Basil Lemonade was great for the virgin, and I'm interested in trying this with a little bit of alcohol one day.
I don't believe the location here in the Richmond District does Mazu justice, but they have great potential as a new restaurant in the area.
3.5 Stars
Mazu is the best.
The sisters and other girls who own and run (prep, cook, bartend, everything) this place are SF locals born and raised. It's a family business, blood, sweat and tears.
The food:
Chili Garlic Crusted Fried Chicken Wings--best chicken wings ever, hands down
lumpia-bomb
cold soba noodles to die for
Udon-bomb
pupu platter-amazing
on the house starter dish-seaweed salad, kimchee, and others all made from scratch
so many more yummy dishes.
Drinks:
Soju-
Ginger infused, with fresh ginger and candied ginger
Fuji apple with fresh apple
lychee! the oldie and goodie
raspberry, mint lemonade with fresh crushed rasberry and mint
and so on...
For those who used to hit up Rohan, you will only find improvement and there are still Wednesday nite specials and DJ's spinning nice ( the best of the best) hip-hop, funk, soul.
Went here on a Wed. Went with a couple of friends, got some drinks, calamari, and the edamame. Some pretty strong drinks considering I had several slices of pizza before that. The edamame were flavorful. So flavorful that I would eat the skin and everything, but had to restrain myself and ate the peas.
Most likely will be coming back.
Disappointed.
I came here for dinner one night with 2 friends. The entire time we were here, we were the only customers, all the other tables were empty and loud, lounge/club-ish music was being played.
Pros:
- nice waittress
- good service, not horrendous, but nothing extraordinary
- Ramen came with lots of veggies and mushrooms
- good green and jasmine tea
Cons:
- broth for the Ramen was tangy/sour like, in other words, HORRIBLE
- broth for the Chicken Udon was hot & sour like, didn't go well with the Udon
- Kalbi ribs had a lot of fat
- Did not taste any "garlic" on the Garlic noodles
Overall, would not go back. I have never had bad ramen, and the noodles weren't bad, but the broth made it painful to eat. It was so painful, I didn't even bother to finish. Same for the Udon. In the end, I'm there for good food. If a place has bad service, but the best food, I might go back. But if a place has great service but really bad food, I'd never go back.
Mazu deserves 3 stars because it definitely has a lot of potential. The ambiance and music are a top reason to come back. Why?? When you walk in, the atmosphere is just right, especially for that romantic hot date and of course, the friendly gatherings. There is beautiful artwork on the wall that just adds more to the setting. Bathrooms are clean and the seats sure are comfortable. They have excellent customer service, providing us with a great smile from the time we walked in until the time we walked out. Most importantly, the drinks were AFFORDABLE!
Alot of people were eating, so im guessing the food delicious. It was about midnight and food was still getting served out.
Mazu has all kinds of types of Soju drinks, but unfortunately i think thats their biggest flaw. The mixed Soju drinks were either too watered down or either overpowered by its mix like the basil or lemon. So Mazu fixes that problem, it'll get a super high rating from us.
Since I was a huge fan of Rohan, the restaurant which preceded this, I decided to check this place out with a friend. I read that this place had food and drink specials on Wednesdays so I decided to come here last night (yeah, I'm Chinese so I'm always looking for a deal!).
I ordered some cocktails and appetizers, since those are discounted on Wednesdays. The first thing to arrive was the lychee and yali pear cocktail. This drink was so fragrant and I was pretty impressed by the taste. I'm not sure if they use mixers or infusions, but I'm leaning towards infusions simply because it tasted like real pear. I tried the ginger martini which most definitely was an infusion, but this drink was little too sweet for my taste. Maybe a lemon to balance the sweetness would've helped. The last drink I tried was the Fuji apple martini. This one was similar to the lychee and yali pear cocktail in that it has strong notes of the fruit but it was less sweet and the taste of soju was more pronounced.
To start off the food list, I first ordered a fried calamari and garlic wings. The breading for the calamari was excellent. It was soft and not too greasy and hard like popcorn chicken as many restaurants may serve them. The dipping sauce was presented very nicely and tasted amazing. The garlic wing plate came in next, and I was surprised by the size of the portions! The wings were crispy and moist. With the Hump Day special, these two plates added up to only $7 which is just a steal!
I then ordered two more appetizers, the garlic fried edamame (not on the menu but is an option from the rock salt edamame) and the fried tofu. Unfortunately these two items weren't as impressive. First, it took about 30-45 min for these orders to arrive, which was odd since the place wasn't packed. When the edamame arrived, it had too much sauce and it felt overcooked; I don't like my edamame too soft and soggy. The fried tofu was the same; it had too much sauce and it was too soggy. I'm not sure if something wrong happened in the kitchen and whether the long wait correlated with the sogginess of those two food items.
I probably would've given this place 5/5 if it wasn't for my experience with the last two food items. I definitely will come here again since this place is brand new and probably has some minor kinks they know they have to work out. I hear this place is getting a liquor license soon, so I'm interested in checking out what they can do with full bar.
When you walk into a place you think of atmosphere, and food of course.
This place has it all, great drinks and awesome food! Check out the beautiful art on the wall!
The DJ was great and the service is extremely friendly!
Must Trys: Sea Bass in Banana Leaf, Cold Soba Noodles, Poo Poo Platter, and OOLong Tea Mixed Drinks are some of my fav's.
A refreshing twist from the normal dramatic lounge scene, the music, drinks food and atmosphere are definitely on a five star level.
Mazu is a great place to grab a couple drinks with friends, eat a wide variety of "drink" foods, or casually dine with someone in a hip yet laid-back atmosphere.
Will, no.. MUST come back to Mazu, my experience was fun!
Asian Fusion? You had me at Asian. Dined here with a party of 5 and so got a nice sampling of the menu:
Pupu platter: my only complaint was that this wasn't bigger.
Sea bass: beautifully presented (and steamed in) a banana leaf. Flavorful, perfectly cooked.
Mazu ramen bowl: yum--hot noodles are just what the doctor ordered, with optional egg. (You so want the egg, and sunny side up!)
Calamari: we could have been fighting over this..luckily, I was the most skilled with my chopsticks, so my friends didn't stand a chance!
My fellow foodies also reported the curried squash was delish, as was the bok choy dish, and the sukiyaki.
All I have to say is: the lumpia was excellent.
I will wait with great anticipation for the soju cocktails. I look forward to more pupus.
Decor was sleek and artful, service was fabulous.
Mazu! Mazu! Mazu!
I only live a few blocks away and I was excited to try something new!
Um... underwhelmed.
I have had cheaper and better ramen at Genki and Suzu; the vegetables and shrimp were overcooked, there was barely enough soup w my noodles. My friend's dish was seriously underseasoned and they did nothing to remedy the situation. I would much rather go someplace else. Below Average at best.
(I'm surprised by the other other positive reviews. Did we have a different chef that night? My friends and I ate during their first week being open! They should have waited longer: decor was not finished and food needs improvement.)
This is one of the most inviting restaurant/bars I've been into in a long, long time. A truly tasty pan-asian menu with the some of the best wine martini's I've ever had. Cool artwork, warm folks running the place, low lighting, great music.
What a refreshing new restaurant in the Richmond district! Extremely nice and modern decor, and check out the art on the wall!
This no MSG kitchen chef up some deliciously flavorful dishes! The cold soba noodle is not what you get from a typical Japanese restaurant. The chef put some cucumber, wakame, bell pepper, and a little bit of the chef's magic, to make this noodle dish surprisingly delightful. The deep fried dumplings are flavorful and the sauce complement the dumplings very well. HUGE generous portion of fried WINGS! I LIKE THAT!
I can't wait to go back to try out more dishes from Mazu! Too bad my stomach space is limited, so I only got to try several items....
My friend and I went here last night. We were a bit skeptical because it was totally empty when we got there--but then, it was 9 at night, which, contrary to our own habits from having lived in NYC for for years, is apparently past dinner hour. The menu looked interesting, so despite the many available tables, we decided to give it a try.
Love it!! I'm so glad we took a chance on this place. The menu is really interesting, and I can't wait to go back and try the stuff I didn't have the chance to order last night.
I'm not sure what happened to the disgruntled patrons who complained of dehydrated noodles, but both my friend and I ordered noodle soup dishes--she ordered the ramen, and I ordered the udon, which is maybe my favorite thing in the world--and we both were very pleased. It could also help that they've been there for a while now so they're figuring things out and know to hydrate their noodles a bit better now, but I had nothing to complain about. We both found our dishes delicious. The beef bulgogi skewer appetizer was to die for. There were so many things on the menu that I wanted, and I had a hard time deciding what to order but we were both pleased with what we chose (we split the beef skewers).
Their drink menu is also really interesting, and the watermelon mint soju cocktail is great.
Don't be deceived by the apparently frequently empty venue. This place is great. The waitress wasn't overbearing (kudos, especially since we were the only two patrons), and she was there when we needed her. The music was really good, too; every time a new song came on, my friend and I exclaimed, "Woah, I forgot how much I LOVE this song!"
The moral of this story is this: Mazu has been around only a month so perhaps in the beginning it had a couple things to figure out. But take it from this most recent review: They've got it goin' on, now. And you should go.
What a a great space. Loved the updated look of Rohan Lounge and the new mural. The music was very hip.
A mixed review on the food. The sea bass was delicious - perfect flavors - but my friend thought the portion was too small. My husband loved the ramen because "you get more than at Suzu" and he left feeling full. We shared the pea shoots and garlic noodles both different than Out the Door and Than Long, respectively, but both good. The wok tossed eggplant and green beans were good, though we all felt the eggplant could stand to be cooked longer.
Good effort for a brand new restaurant.
poo poo new restaurant
Sorry, but my thai hot and sour noodle was very bland. It tasted like plain ol' soup broth. My friend's order of ramen was going through a drought. We couldn't even see the soup; it looked like stir fried noodles.
I hope they improve.
Finally had a chance to stop in to Mazu! My first impression regarding the space would be that they really need to get their beer & wine license. Half the space is dedicated to a gorgeous bar that is empty! The place is very dim, and it's almost as if the seating was planned with food as an after-thought. The music too is not exactly ambient. It's great to listen to over cocktails, but a bit bass-heavy for a simple dinner.
Service was good, though our waitresses switched out on us towards the end of the meal. Both were very sweet nonetheless. It may be important to note that we were having a very early dinner and finished before 6pm.
K, food.
We were given a complimentary mini-appetizer of seaweed, pickled daikon, and kimchee. The first and last were fine, but I have some reserves about the daikon. It tasted like it might have been sitting out a little too long.
Fried chili garlic wings- very large serving! These were excellent. They were flavorful with or without the hot & sweet dipping sauce. And they weren't all wings: two drumsticks were thrown in there. I don't have a problem with that!
Bulgogi rolls- excellent. The meat was tender enough that you could bite through it with very little effort. The waitress recommended that you eat it wrapped in a basil leaf--sound advice. I prefered that to the hoisin sauce that came with it. I associate hoisin too strongly with seafood.
Papaya & crab salad- I can't recommend this dish. It was a bit bland save for mayo that only just masked not-so-fresh crab.
Miso-glazed Chilean sea bass- good. Comparable to other renditions. The fish was flavorful, well-cooked, flaky. It came with some raw pea shoots that had been marinated in something tangy, and the sharpness of it not only accompanied the dish well, but was great for clearing the palate.
Sake marinated salmon- I'm actually very on the fence regarding this dish. The fish was cooked flawlessly, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. There were cooked peashoots with this that did bring out the sake marinade just a touch. The dish was simple, but missing something and borderline bland. I think I might advise a drizzle of some sort of sauce...
Garlic noodles- too buttery.
Dish sizes were all over the place. Entrees are virtually the same size as appetizers, and in the case of the wings, much smaller! I had only two other guests, and we actually ate everything that was served. The prices are very reasonable. All in all, I would say good, but wait for them to acquire some booze. For people I care about, I would be more likely to recommend a place like Abacus for inexpensive Asian Fusion food.
Mazu is due to open this coming Sunday. It's said to be run by two sisters who had worked for Rohan… Read more »
lets start with the good:
-nice music mix
-haw flakes as parting gift
now for the bad:
absolutely horrible ramen. the broth was too salty. the noodles were way overcooked. the meat was grilled to a burnt crisp and really dry. WTF! i have had better ramen from a 19 cent packet from safeway. also the tea was made with tepid water. ugh.
totally unacceptable for a place in SF, especially the inner richmond just blocks from a million great restaurants on clement.
The one spot in the hood to get a soju cocktail is back, the drinks are tasty, the music is still good and the food is better. I had a whole order of lumpia to myself and ate it like a fat girl, (don't judge me). It's kinda empty still but they haven't even had the official grand opening. Thus it is in your best interest to get in while you still can. Best of luck ladies - not that you'll need it.
I loved the food! The lemongrass-coconut noodles were awesome and so were the garlic wings...everything we ordered was great even the drinks!! loved the art on the walls and loved the great service!! Will be going back there to try the rest of the food!
heard that Silma from Mezze was opening up a spot and started drooling. couldn't help it. yum! stopped in with the wifey on Fri to see what's up. well, the crab cakes are up, and the lumpia is up, and the mango rolls are up and the wings - the wings are most definitely up! hell yeah. there was also the beef wrapped caramelized onion thingy, that's up too. can't wait to go back... damn closed bridge!
all that doesn't even get into the space itself. there's a great mural on one wall that i can't do justice to in words (add a picture). there's the swank leather banquette that runs the length of the room, there's the funky bar on the other wall and of course the music. the system and dj booth are built in so you know they're serious about the ambience.
Dirty bathrooms, Dirty menus and no one in the place. Gone!~
due to much criticism toward my cynical and bitchy reviews....here goes a non-cynical, non-blunt, non-bitchy review.
a very "kumbaya" review: 1..2..3......ACTION!
a very awesome person that i happen to know saw this place featured on Thrill List and wanted to check it out~ so we go there with another amazingly fun person holding hands skipping down the street singing Barney. We arrive at am amazing and magical place called Mazu which was filled with wonderful things like food and drinks! We all gave each other a big hug because we LOVE everyone. all sat down giggling and smiling and we ordered the PooPoo Platter. and then we marveled when the plate arrived because it was not filled with poopoo at all!! but rather a heaping pile of food like fried tofu in soy sauce, edamame, lumpia, fried chicken, and kabocha wontons!! Oh~~ how we clapped our hands and ate the feast in such joy~!! and gulped down glasses of water at the generously salted wings and fried tofu. But that's okay...that's what water is for and it was still yummy =) and then the highlight of the dinner arrived!! our ENTREES!! oh goody~ how my heart sang~ as i devoured my hot and sour noodle soup and the other people at this magical dinner enjoyed their kabocha hot clay pot with white rice and ramen......we realized...it was less than what we would have like but THAT'S OKAY CUZ WE'RE HAPPY AND SKIPPY AND LOVE EVERYONE!!!
ok im about to GAG from writing that...
anyways...the food was "okay" i think they were waiting for us to finish the poopoo platter and the noodles were waiting...and soaked up the soup cuz the noodle soup barely had any soup left in it. my friend's best friend's dish was too hot and burnt the rice at the bottom. i definitely woudln't mind trying that place out again but soggy noddles do not make good eats in my book. the ambiance and the space was super cute and good atmosphere~ very limited seating....as the place seems to be designed around the bar which i might add has a pretty good watermelon mint cocktail. the service was good (there was only 2 tables ...including us) the bartender was pretty chill~ yeah..
sorry yelp...my uncensored bitchy cynical reviews may be put on hold for now....
Great place to go for a casual hang out..Soju mixed drink like the old Rohan but with a few twists... Fuji Apple Martini.. not too strong but has a nice sweet taste.. will def come back again
