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Category: American (New) [Edit]
Neighborhood: Hayes ValleyMon-Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
"so third time. food ruled. staff excellent. music sweet. love it! went on a weds night, sat at the bar while my bf and friend did their…" read more »
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Came here for a late dinner after a concert. Seeing it with a Michelin star we thought it must be great.
Smoked sea salt with steak tartare (sliced beef) was pretty tasty. The slider onion rings was really so so and it reminded my date's college food that he once made. The heirloom tomato on bruschetta was very delicious and was our favourite.
We then had the mac & cheese which was on the fairly inventive side with ham hock and cheese and lots of cream that was then baked with a crush on top. It was good but a bit heavy for our taste. This time it reminded me of my college food. The side green was very green and had fresh taste.
We also had a couple glasses of Malbec which was good.
Service was on and off on the slow side. It's a slow Saturday, we speculated.
We were surprised how quiet it was on a Saturday night while we saw the newspaper clipping about the disco ball at the back of the supper club area, which was totally dark at the time we peeked inside.
The 2am closing time would be good if it was a busy place.
There has been a long standing tradition in my family of a day-after-thanksgiving dinner and entertainment event in the city. I had always taken a back seat to the selections with my dad making the plans. And though the restaurants have always been good, they are often safe and predictable. Not to mention quite expensive, which gives way to at least one person in the party complaining about the bill.The evening always lingered with an awkwardness that required a bit of extra alcohol to get through - which pleases the business for sure!
Since my sister and I are the last remaining "young people" of the group, something had to change to validate our continued participation...so using my yelper ways I begin the hunt of something new and fun.
Sauce definitely fit the bill. Obviously it is part of a group of restaurants known as where you go before a show, but I do not think that made the food, nor the experience mediocre by any means.
* Service- Organized and friendly...was even asked for my email when I made the reservation and was sent a confirmation promptly after.
* Food- I had the opportunity to try a handful of things there and most everything was fantastic.
Social plates: I definitely recommend their portobello mushroom fries. big hit at my table! BBQ ribs also quite tasty. Sesame shrimp were pretty good. I would pass on the crab wontons
Salads: I'm afraid to say I wasn't very impressed with my beet salad (too sweet and waaaay too much dressing, such a shame) or the taste I had on the ahi tuna salad.
Entrees: I had the braised beef short ribs which were outstanding. The colors of the veggies surrounding the plate was beautiful and fresh (I wish I had taken a photo), with all the flavors complimenting and enriching each other. it's one of those great homey/winter meals where each bite is better enjoyed all together...meat, potatoes, veggies...whatever can make it on the fork for each bite. a serious party in your mouth.
actually scratch that, its like a sultry lounge in your mouth complete with barry white playing the background. oooooooooh yeaaaah.
Dessert: We got the sampler which was a nice choice for a party of 8. 4 items for the price of 3. Those donuts with the dipping sauce were the devil, and i was amped to try the pb&j, which I thought was quite tasty but many people were just 'eh' about and had said they wished the fruit portion had been more of a spin off than traditional jelly. I really think they shouldn't have strawberries on their menu during the off season if they aren't going to be sweet. That was a let down.
the complimentary bread basket of mini rolls was a great idea, but yes a tad bit bland. dude, add a coat of garlic butter on those babies and you'd be set. or maybe infused with rosemary? i dunno...great concept, bad execution, basically.
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My main point is that I came with a very picky, hard-to-completely please group of people and I don't think there was a single person who didnt enjoy the experience and food. I got many kudos for picking it. That says a TON.
Thanks Sauce!
My manfriend an I had dinner at Sauce last night...I hadn't heard of the place before Groupon featured it, and it sounded interesting so I bought in. Armed with my groupon (worth $45 for just $20), made a reservation and went on down.
The interior of the place is simple and comfortable, but a little bit 90's looking, which is fine. Clean and simple always impresses me more than filthy and avant-garde.
The service was good. Our waiter was helpful and knowledgeable about the wine list, and we ended up with a very nice bottle...yay!
The food that we ordered was good...I had the vegetable strudel (yum.) and the manfriend had the salmon...both were really tasty. Our appetizers were the cobb iceberg wedge salad (sorta weird, but had bacon, so was completely eaten) and the bruschetta (which, for some weird reason, tasted like a toasted marshmallow to me...I couldn't put my finger on it why it did, it just did!)...Overall, the food was tasty and we were satisfied.
The one thing that we hated on was the basket of tiny rolls that started off the dinner...bland and tasteless, no amount of the spiced butter could make them anything other than "pointless"...which was the first thing the manfriend said when he first tasted one. I suggest just cutting up some baguettes or whatever bread is around...those little muffin-rolls are just too lame for words. I actually felt angry after I ate one...whatevz.
Another tip: If you hate crowds, time your visit to the curtain time of the nearby opera...the place EVACUATES. If you love crowds, time your reservation for 1 hour or so before curtain time...the place is a full-house then...
Overall, it was fine...the food was tasty in spite of the anger-inducing roll-ettes...we might eat there again...possibly.
: )
A few friends stopped by last night for a bday dinner. Nice looking restaurant, clean, not crowded so we thought this would be a great place.
The service was great but the food was just OK. Not much to choose from on the menu.
We had the following appetizers:
Bacon wrapped meatloaf - per my friends great!
Sesame Shrimp - excellent, fried not oily and tasty sweet chili garlic sauce
Crab Wontons - good, not too much cream cheese in the center
Shrimp and Smoked Gouda Cheese Brule - the cheese was good but the crostinis were too stale for me
Veggie Strudel - interesting mixed of veggies in Phyllo dough w/tomato bisque, ok. Not something I'd order again.
Dessert
Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts - very good freshly made w/a vanilla bourbon sauce.
Cookie Dough Bons Bons - ok, not something I'd order again, the bitter whip cream threw the dessert off for me.
For the price we'd paid I expected the food to be better. This restaurant is better for cocktails only.
Came here for some drinks and appetizers. Had some portobello mushroom fries, shrimp and smoked gouda cheese brulee, and a seasonal mozzarella salad. Fries were delish, cheese brulee dish was cleaned, and mozzarella was so soft and fresh. But I think my favorite thing I had was their Guiness milkshake for dessert. We saw it on the menu, and were like, "We gotta try this!" I mean, you don't usually think of beer and ice cream together, but you know what? It actually worked well together and I loved it!
Oh, and the service was good too. :)
My beau and I stopped in for the first time last evening because we were looking for a quiet place to have dinner, and Sauce looked uncrowded. We had a look at the menu and I realized there were not many vegetarian options. But I was still willing to try it out. I'm glad I did, because I'm now a fan of their portabello mushroom fries, as so many are here on Yelp.
Our server was very gracious and friendly and encouraged us to take our time. Besides the fries, I enjoyed the tomato bisque, the pear and pecan salad, and the vegetarian strudel. My beau complimented the salad and said the dressing was particularly good. The strudel was awfully good too. My beau ordered the cinnamon sugar donuts for dessert and I was so full I could only try one, but it was very good.
The only reason I'm not giving Sauce four stars as because of the scarcity of vegetarian options. If I come back for another dinner, I'll have to order very nearly the same dishes I ordered last night. One more vegetarian entree would help a lot.
We go here because it is a local bar that isn't filled with the typical Hayes Street hipsters. Matty and Riel are among the best bartenders in the city. They're honestly why we keep coming back.
The rest of the waitstaff is always very helpful and polite as well. Very enjoyable people. The decor is that or your grandmother's 70s wood-paneled home, perhaps that's why they're always welcoming?
The loss of two stars goes to the food. It's just not too great. The menu is solidly ambitious and you really get high hopes, but then it just doesn't really deliver. For example, on my last visit I ordered the tomato bisque. I don't know if I got the last bowl of the night rendering it the consistency of wallpaper paste...but it just was not good. The toasted cheese "sticks" served with it would have been great but were overly greasy and heavy-handed with the salt. When our server came to take away plates and asked if it was good, we just didn't have the heart to tell her the real reason it barely got touched.
Basically, go for the drinks and the friendly atmosphere, before or after dinner.
Great pre-symphony (or ballet or theater) restaurant on Gough before Fell. You can park in the Gough and Grove parking garage on show nights fairly reasonably, and Sauce is a few blocks down Gough.
My mom and I had an early reservation before a Saturday evening symphony. The staff is very conscious of show-goers (it seemed majority of guests were) and made sure to understand our time constraints.
I had brought a bottle of chardonnay that my mom loves (Varner 2006, wonderful) and it's a $15 cork fee, very easy.
We decided to go for an assortment of the smaller plates, rather than entrees. Sauce's portions are quite hefty, and their food is not light, so sharing a bunch of small plates is definitely a good option. Definitely saw some enormous dishes on our neighbors' tables.
We started with sliders of the day -- 4 mini buns with tuna salad with bacon and side of onion strings YUM. Also had portobella mushroom fries with a great dip. Our second course was the ahi tuna in lettuce cups and a bruschetta with fantastic tomatoes.
Finished with the Guiness Milk Shake for dessert, which was surprisingly yummy. Not too sweet, though heavy. All in all a great meal.
A good lady always wines and dines her man (if he deserves it, that is) on his birthday.
Especially when her birthday is just around the corner. (zing!)
But seriously, this is a nice place to wine and dine a date, your out-of-town parents, or opera-goers. But as a celebration dinner, it's honestly somewhat uninteresting in comparison to its neighbors (Jardiniere, Absinthe, Paul K, etc.).
So yeah, atmosphere is pretty nondescript, but the food (hearty American) is a winner. Nice wine list and a smattering of alright-seeming cocktails. I tend to like bourbon concoctions, so I ordered an American Honey Sidecar: honey-infused Wild Turkey (thereby making it better than the stuff you downed at a party in college), lemon and Cointreau with a citrus sugar rim.
None of the entrees really screamed out at me, so we went with some social plates. Portobello-mushroom fries were tasty and enormous, salty and delicious, and they went really well with the ranch dipping sauce. The daily sliders that night had CRAB and LOBSTER in them. No joke. A healthy salad rounded out our rich entree choices well.
Dessert floored me. PB&J (spongecake, strawberry preserve, Frangelico peanut butter, and vanilla ice-cream center) was too tasty for words. I think the edge goes to the cinnamon sugar doughnuts; real, freshly fried dough with vanilla bourbon dipping sauce. Get the dessert sampler if you're not feeling too full, since it's a very (very) tough decision.
All in all, not the snazziest place in the world, but a great place to eat.
Review for dessert only!!
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Good.
Donuts. Cookie dough ice cream sandwiches. Strawberries and cream. Kind of glad our dinner reservation had a lousy dessert menu, otherwise never would have tried Sauce!!
Great cocktails too.
Response to Sauce's comment below: Thank you, I was not aware that the box was recycled. However, it is not recyclable, and it is still going into landfill. Whereas a compostable box returns to the soil. I don't really care if my food is cold when I get it home -- it's leftovers for eating later. And a little sog is, in my opinion, a small price to pay for keeping plastic out of landfill.
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I get upset when I could have made my meal better myself. Lamb shank was a gigantic hunk of meat with not too much else going on. I was totally over it within 3 or 4 bites. I'm also not sure about the wine pours coming in a mini carafe. Kinda gimmicky.
Unfortunately, the waitress kept trying to up-sell us, which was a trifle obnoxious too. She pushed hard on the sliders and desserts. I've had better experiences eating in the bar, as it's a little more laid back.
Now here's the thing that really galls me. My take-out box (for the leftover lamb) was PLASTIC. Come on, really? With the spectacular composting program this city has, you opt for plastic over waxed cardboard. What the eff is your problem?
All in all, I'm not super impressed, but it makes an OK neighborhood spot when you don't feel like dealing with crowds/lines at the other better places in Hayes Valley.
remember that time you went on an escapade through alcohol with your friends and realized all too late you hadn't eaten anything for hours? the cabs are getting harder to find and you're realizing quickly food must occupy your belly space before mr. jack daniels does his dance of anger.
did you hop around hayes valley? and you're hungrier than an ogre with craving a drumstick of meat? is it way past the time most places serve food?
well, you're not screwed. and you're actually in for a good meal, too.
sauce is your answer. no, you don't have to have drunken night taco bell or jack in the box. you can drop all the rest of your alcohol cash on a decent meal here.
daily mini sliders. mini meatloaf wrapped in bacon. delicious entrees. satiable desserts. pb&j? yes. cinnamon sugar donuts? try 'em.
comfort food taken to the most elegant extreme, and done damn well.
this isn't the typical place you'd think of to crash for food if you've been drinking, but with food served so late it can be if you're in that predicament.
it's also a great place for a normal dinner, too. but hey- a girl's got needs.
This is my favorite Hayes Valley neighborhood place. I'm defnitely there AFTER every symphony or opera event. Whether it's coming with friends for dinner or solo dining at the bar, the food is great and the staff all wonderful. If it's a cold evening (unfortunately more frequent than not, here in SF) I'll order just the Tomato Bisque, which comes with great cheese toast. If you're going to order dessert, and are with a group, go all out and order the Dessert Sampler. You get to try a sampling off all of Chef Ben's culinary sweetness.
Finding a post-Opera joint nearby that serves dinner past 11PM can be a daunting task. Sure there are some great French restaurants, but those two can get tiring if you're a season ticket holder. Sauce offers a great alternative to those of us night owls that can't fathom early bird specials pre-Opera amongst scents of bengay and moth balls. Sauce churns out American comfort food that tries hard to add a twist to everything. Some attempts are true brilliance, some can be appreciated for their uniqueness even if not an all-time favorite and others may need a second reinvention. Regardless of inconsistency, the consistent theme is that you will always taste something you haven't had before here.
Shrimp & Smoked Gouda Cheese Brûlée: Like extreme fondue! Panko bread crumbs and cheese are burnt on top for a crispy ceiling. Underneath is a bubbling pool of cheese goo. Definitely a wise idea to blow on any portion you dip your crostini into. The shrimp is a little unnecessary and hard to scoop up; this dish is strong enough with the cheese alone!
Traditional Steak Tartare Toasts: Complete misnomer, nothing traditional about this! The steak comes in thin slices a tad thicker than carpaccio. And the beef was way too cold, almost at freezing. The egg is not raw, but rather boiled and chopped up. The capers and mustard are there, but I miss the cornichons and onions. Overall, it was refreshing to experience a new interpretation, but I prefer the true traditional.
Baked Mac & Cheese: Anything served in a cauldron gets bonus points from me! The sauce is quite creamy and the shells do a good job to scoop good pockets of it. Pork is always welcome in my mac & cheese, but I found the ham hock pieces too large and distracting. Meanwhile, it was thoughtful to throw in some green beans on the side for a serving of veggie vitamins. Kind of bland, so it helped that there was bacon on top and a cheesy cauldron to dip them in. Bacon is always welcome on ANY dish of mine, but I was disappointed that the bacon wasn't fresh off the griddle. Still though, it was tasty and pretty awesome when thrown in the mac & cheese.
PB&J: This should be called "IC&S" (Ice Cream & Sponge Cake). There was less than smear of peanut butter or jelly on either side of the vanilla ice cream. The pan searing of the cake was nice with the ice cream, just wish there was a stronger PB&J flavor.
Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts: More like curds of fried dough than doughnuts, which achieves more crispy surface area, which is a good thing. The cinnamon sugar coating was nothing new or innovative. The bourbon dipping sauce did catch my attention. Great for a few bites, but too heavy to finish the whole thing after a decadent dinner.
Ice Cream Smash: Changes daily. Mine was chocolate ice cream with raspberry. Except I didn't taste any raspberry, more like white chocolate bits that had a trace of raspberry flavoring. Maybe it was an unusually unimaginative night, but Cold Stone does better smashes!
Strawberries & Cream: Strawberries are way too healthy with their vitamins and antioxidants. That's why you need to place them in a pool of fatty partially-whipped heavy cream and offer chunks of brown sugar to dip them in. By far the top dessert I tried here, it doesn't get fancy, just commands three simple ingredients!
I've been on a food eating streak lately. Well, good good food eating streak! I found more of it here and in sufficient portions to excite my taste buds and please my palate.
Riana our server was fantastic. She answered all of our menu questions and brought the vittles out post haste. I know you are supposed to eat slowly and enjoy the varied flavors of each dish but how come I never get to do this! ? It always dissappears so quickly off my plate. Is it my fault or is my dining companion a competitive eater? More contemplation needs to be spent on this topic but for now..on to the food!
We shared several dishes......
The Tomato Bisque was fantastic!!! Smooth creamy bisque with white truffle grilled cheese toast sticks for your dunking pleasure. I could live off this bisque. It was one order but the server made two separate plates for us. The bisque was sooo nice. SOO nice! You have to have some!
The Bacon Wrapped Scallops were simply amazing and juicy with each bite. Crisp bacon hugging my juicy scallops until their moment of demise in my mouth! Brussel sprout leaves with carmelized red onions finished with brown butter and lemon made a taste explosion with every juicy bite!
The Heirloom Tomato special with Mozzarella drizzled in a basil vinagarette was tooo much for me to handle...this is why I know now my favorite tomato is heirloom!
The Sliced Medium Rare Hanger Steak was soooo tender and juicy. Fantastically combined with beef stew veggies and blue lake beans with yukon gold and russet potato in a cremini mushroom sauce. To die for!!!
Chicken with Mac N' Cheese. A huge serving of chicken and noodle with peeled asparagus in a sauce similiar to a alfredo sauce. Really huge chunks of juicy chicken went soo well with the mac. Could not finish it all!
And yes, we tried the PB&J. Thank you Marti L. for giving me the heads up about this dish. You have excellent taste my friend! OH my gawd! Sooo good. It was described as pan-seared sponge cake layered with homemade strawberry preserve with frangelico peanut butter with an ice cream center. Cream on the side and a strawberry for that color pop! My favorite of the entire meal!!
Loved this place. No problem getting reservation. It didn't start to fill up until about 9'ish. Comfortable seating in the main dining room or intimate small tables in the bar area. You gotta check this place out! I'll be back for sure!
If this establishment existed in my hometown, I'd be in some serious trouble. Not only would I be spending way too much money going out to eat, but special doorways would need to be created to roll me out.
Sauce was spectacular!
I headed to Sauce with a rather large group of folk (about 20) on a Saturday night. I think most of us were ready for some serious food too. We were able to make reservations last minute, and were given a private hideaway in the back of the establishment. This was nice as it gave us all the ability to catch up with each other and have a nice conversation.
Both the drink and the food menus were simple and mouth watering. I found several items on each that I wanted to devour instantly. I ended up getting a drink that was an alcoholic Arnold Palmer and named The Shark. It was delicious.
Between the group of us we ordered several appetizers including the mushroom fries, a couple different sliders, meat on a stick (yeah that name still weirds me out too), and potato skin fondue. The fondue and the mushroom fries were by far my favorite. The fondue was delicious potato skin fries that came with a cheese and bacon dipping sauce. The mushroom fries were mushrooms shaped like fries and also had a scrumptious dipping sauce.
When it came time to order the main course, it was a hard decision between *all* of the items on the menu. Granted, there weren't a lot of items, probably 8 or so. However, it is my standing opinion that it is not how big a menu is, but how many items are truly well thought out, creative, and prepared well. I ended up deciding on a macaroni and cheese which was made with homemade (not macaroni) noodles, a white cheese sauce, decadent roasted chicken, and asparagus. I only ended up able to finish half though I desperately wanted to eat it in one sitting. The bacon wrapped meatloaf that my brother had looked like a force to be reckoned with as well.
The atmosphere was nice and subtle and gave everyone a chance to have good conversation before and after their food without having to talk over anyone. The service was great and the items were reasonably priced. Well worth it.
I LOVE Sauce!!
Every time I travel to San Francisco I have to stop in to Sauce for at least one meail. They have great food, great, desserts and great drinks.
The atmosphere is perfect and the staff is very friendly! Every time I have a friend or know someone that is moving to San Fran I tell them they HAVE to visit Sauce....
Sauce is not exactly the type of place that you go to for "exquisite" dining. It's just simple, hearty, and good -all at a reasonable price for what it is. The place has a great and friendly vibe to it; it's a bit dark with moderate to low lighting. It's a small restaurant but it felt very warm and "hip" at the same time.
I went with a few friends and had the following: Portobello Mushroom Bisque, Candied Red & Gold Organic Beet Salad, Portobello Mushroom Fries, Potato Skin Fondue, Mac 'N Cheese (Hand Rolled Parpadelle with Four Cheese Cream).
The Portobello Mushroom Bisque was truly "Love in a Bowl". It was very delicious, rich, and creamy. You could really taste the Portobello within the soup. This is my new must have!
The Candied Red & Gold Beet Salad was tasty and had a mixture of different beets, but it was nothing too exciting that you cannot get anywhere else. It was simple and the portion was descent.
The Mushroom Fries were really tasty -I was a fan of this. It's a nice to try type of food but nothing that you cannot live without.
The Potato Skin Fondue was good and the fondue sauce was really good. I think the fondue sauce really made the dish here. Simple but good.
The Mac 'N Cheese was different. It's not the ordinary macaroni noodle -instead it's a linguine type of noodle and the cheese cream was good but all in all, it really wasn't Mac 'N Cheese... I wouldn't order this again.
In the end, I would go back here for simple eats and for the Mushroom Bisque.
I love sauce! In a nutshell, Sauce = comfort food. It's a great place to warm up on a typical, cold San Francisco evening.
Taking advice from fellow Yelpers, I tried the Portobello Mushroom Fries with Fat Boy Ranch Dressing and the Candied Red + Gold Organic Beet Salad. It was a great combo - salty, sweet, hot, cold, light & heavy. The 'Yin-Yang' of the food world.
Ambiance - neighborly. There is a bar in the front of the house with TVs to entertain you. Dining room comfortable - good for dates or a casual meal. They have a back room - good for a private party.
Service was friendly, helpful, and attentive. This was evident when I left a voice message in the morning to make a reservation. I was happy they called back pretty quickly.
I had been dying to try sauce for quite some time. We made reservations online and it was very convenient.
We arrived at five and were greeted and taken to out seats. We got there early so we got a table by the window with a nice breeze coming in to greet us.
We ate on a Monday, for which they have specials. I had the Tomato Bisque w/ grilled cheese toast sticks. Both were heaven and it was a perfect combination of taste and flavor. We also ordered Steak Satay and Portobello Fries which was also spectacular.
For the main course, I had the Salmon. The Salmon was exquisite but the combination of balsamic and another ingredient was a little too tart for my taste. However, I think it might have been a case of the salad not being mixed well as the other parts of the salad were good.
For dessert, I had the Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts which were so good. They came with a dipping sauce and blueberries. Truly, this was a wonderful dessert. I was so full by this point that I wish I could have finished them but I was no longer able to eat food as I had slipped into a yummy food coma.
The service was great and I never feel annoyed with too much attention but always felt as though I was being taken care of sufficiently. I took off one star for the salmon salad as it was way too tart to eat and so I was only left with the Salmon. However, I would definitely go back and try some other menu items.
So what if I've never had a bite to eat here!
Calling all coffee fanatics! I'm here to introduce my favorite Sauce drink: the espresso martini.
It's bold and subtly sweet. I've sampled other espresso martinis, but other restaurants make them as more of a dessert and make them overly sweet. Not the case here!
Enjoy!
This place is great both as a bar and a restaurant... if either had to stand on its own it would probably get 4 stars. But in combination this place is truly a light in the darkness in a city with a surprising number of great restaurants with mediocre bars and great bars with mediocre food.
As for the bar, the standards are made with enthusiasm and high-quality ingredients-no crap here. But the specialty cocktails are made with great imagination and art. They always seem to be serving drunks until they legally have to stop!... a lot of places seem to be closing early as the crowds dwindled these days, but this place is consistent. Along with that consistency is a kitchen that is always open late. Does that mean that they serve only bar food? Hell no! They serve the full menu.
California cuisine meets homestyle buttery decadent goodness! Their appetizers are excellent and function well as a snack, a warm-up course before the entrée, or as community platters as I believe they are designated on the menu. Their entrées cover a huge range of cuisines but one thing that is common is the California approach to cooking and ingredient selection, reimagined with wholesome, homestyle, savory and/or intensely flavorful sauces that were largely abandoned with the California food movement. As other folks have said, it's kinda like gourmet comfort food made with outstanding ingredients. Not overwhelming the intrinsic flavor of the food but complementing. Two favorites are the ahi chopped salad (which is really more like chopped ahi.. poki in a lettuce cup) and also their newly revised Mac 'n Cheese. [The older Mac 'n Cheese seemed to have a love-hate relationship with folks, but this one seems to be universally beloved, judging from my conversations for others who like to eat at the bar.] Also do not miss the portobello mushroom soup!
Pros: Exquisite service, unique food, great pours, late-night upscale food
Cons: No breakfast.
If you've been wanting to try Sauce, take advantage of their awesome dinner deals now!
Dine About Town: June 1st-15th 2009
$34.95 for first course, entree and dessert
Good Things Come in 3's: Sundays - Tuesdays of May, June, July 2009
$30.00 for first course, entree and dessert (same menu as DAT, only smaller dessert)
First course:
Tomato Bisque (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) - Creamy. Bursting with tomato flavors. Dip the homemade white truffle cheese sticks in. Mmmmm. Simply divine! We asked for more bread to get every last drop of that bisque.
Portobello fries and Meat on a Stick (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) - Lightly battered and freshly fried. Never imagined portobello served like this, but I'm a fan. The hangar steak was tender every bite. Double mmmm.
Entrees:
Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) - Eh. The meatloaf was basically a huge dense burger pattie that lacked flavor. Smother in heavy gravy. And the bacon seemed pointless. The green beans were overcooked. Only the truffle whipped potato was good.
Roasted Chicken Mac N Cheese (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) - Was not impressed. They used parpadelle, a flat ribbon pasta, which was difficult to eat. The pasta fell apart easily. The four cheese cream was oily. And the chicken was overcooked to the extreme.
Dessert:
Strawberries and Cream(http://www.yelp.com/bi...) - Strawberries, fresh cream and brown sugar. What can go wrong?
Cookie Dough Bon Bon (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) - Thick wedges of cookie dough with ice cream in between. Hmmm...yeah. Not that great.
I do plan to come back for their soups and social plates. Those were magnificient.
If I could give 2.5 stars I would since that's more accurate.
The pluses:
- accommodated a large group on same day notice
- some of the dishes were pretty good. I ordered the "steak & eggs" which I enjoyed the flavours & textures of, however my steak was a bit over-cooked. But it was probably the best dish on the table. It was a playful twist on the breakfast dish...and the poached egg on top of the steak was great.
- decent selection of cocktails and beers on tap
- killer dinner rolls
The meh's:
- service was decent - attentive in spots. Our server was really nice, but it just seemed like the pacing was hurried at times, and dragging others. I think our dinner with 8 ppl took about an hour, which seemed too fast.
- we were there around 8pm and already they were out of two entree items. At 8pm on a Saturday? I don't remember a restaurant running out of key items so early on a prime-time night.
- starter prices: with two entrees off the menu, most of the group decided to order multiple starters instead of an entree - after tip, drinks, etc..it still left them around $40 each. For $40 in SF, you can do much better than bacon-wrapped meatloaf and sliders. Just the way it worked out.
If I lived in the neighborhood, I would probably go back a few times. It seems like more of a good neighborhood joint than destination restaurant. The bar area was nice, separated from the dining room and had a few flat screen tv's showing the baseball game. If I lived close, I would absolutely walk here and watch a game.
All in all, not great, not bad. Just kinda ennnh. If you're in the area and need a place to drink, eat @ the last moment, it should be fine. If you're looking to take out of town guests to a nice SF dinner, I would probably look elsewhere.
I had been meaning to try Sauce for quite some time and since my dear friend Katie Anne was taking me out for a little belated birthday dinner, I thought, what a perfect opportunity!
I arrived about 30 minutes early so I plopped down at the bar and ordered a drink. Their cocktail list is impressive. I had a hard time choosing which one I wanted because all their ingredients are fresh. I settled for a lemon drop as a warm up. I needed a little pick me up before I started getting adventurous with some of the other options like the side car (which I ordered afterwards). It ended up being a good choice because, despite the bartenders surprise, good lemon drops are hard to come by!
The food options are equally as hard to choose from. There are just so many damn things on the menu that I wanted to try. I ended up ordering the slider of the day which was sloppy joy style veal topped with some sort of amazing cheese. It was definitely as good as it sounds. Along with that I ordered the ham and cheese tater tots (as if the sliders weren't sinful enough) and they were the best part of my meal by far. SO EVIL and delicious.
The "healthy" item that I ordered was the goat cheese beet salad. When I say healthy I mean, not really. The goat cheese was fried and creamy - oh God it was tasty. And you know when a salad is that tasty, it ain't good for ya.
On top of all that we ordered dessert as well. We just couldn't pass up the doughnuts and PB&J. Both were good although I've had better desserts elsewhere (e.g. the doughnuts at NOPA were a cut above these for sure).
My only real complaint was that I found the ambiance to be a tad on the strange side. When you serve things like, tomato bisque and grilled cheese bits, sliders, and tater tots, it seems odd to have paisley covered booths, wood wreaths and sweeping curtains. The decor just seemed out of place for the type of food they were serving up. The food says hip, fun, cool...and the room says uptight and boring.
Overall, 3.5 stars - I'm rounding up because of the fantastic company I had. BTW, thanks Katie Anne, for a lovely evening out!
Good times at Sauce. The menu alone give off the cozy, home-cooked feeling. I always look forward to trying the different "comfort food" selections. You can't go wrong with bacon-wrapped anything!
Do try the cinnamon sugar doughnuts paired with the Guinness milkshake, though. You won't regret it!
I'm confused about this place. Once you walk in you hit the bar. It's rustic, dark, and feels like a dive bar. Turn the corner into a different you, you'll get a plainly decorated room with white napkins which screams "fine dining".
The menu consisted of what I call "fine fried food". Fried food made to feel like you are eating in a 4-5 star restaurant. My girlfriend ordered the "veal" sloppy joe sliders and the ham and cheese tator tots. I had the tomato bisque and the crab wontons. We both started off with two hefty sized salads. Both delish. A little confusing because you'd think these items would be found at the local pub but instead were delicately dressed on a white plate. But they were all excellent. Dessert was also fantastic. PB&J ice cream sandwiches and sugared donuts. Yum.
3 plates each plus 3 drinks came out to $120. I wasn't pleasantly ecstatic with my food nor was I disgusted. I say 3.5 stars because the drinks were good and the food concept was a great idea. Just not a place I'd suggest or keep coming back to.
All over the map. I liked a few of our appetizers - portobello mushroom fries was VERY tasty and probably the highlight. The bacon wrapped scallops were good too. The mac 'n' cheese, as many have stated here, shouldn't be called mac 'n' cheese. It doesn't taste or look like it. It's more of a pasta (overcooked) in alfredo sauce, with strands of bland and dry chicken breast. Actually, it was more like a clump of chicken thrown in a soup of alfredo sauce - you can barely even see the pasta.
The butterfish was decent and the side dish that comes with it was good - not sure what it was, maybe cous-cous. And the meatloaf was just ground beef, with very little flavor. I see no compelling reasons to return. Maybe for a drink at the bar with some bar bites.
And the decor is very outdated.
Sauce in the city. I love sauce. I thought there would be lots of sauce here. I was mistaken. McDonalds has more sauces than this place.
The atmosphere in the bar area is pretty cool. I liked the dark wood and the warm atmosphere. The dining area on the other hand is a little less impressive. It's nice and formal but it lacks character.
We ordered sliders (ham and cheese) which were AMAZING. Highly recommend these bad boys. We had the shrimp which was my second favorite. Things we ordered that I could have done without= meat sticks and bacon-wrapped scallops (heart attack please). I also could have done without our waitress who was a tad on the snob side too, either that or she was coming down from some drugs or a breakup or a breakdown.
Four little plates and three beers later=$80. I thought the bill was a little steep for our mini-bites and beer. I would come here again, but I would sit at the bar and probably just get the sliders, since that's the only thing that really took my breath away (yeah Top Gun!).
Came here late on a Thursday evening since it was the only place still open after going to CAS Nightlife.
I got the strawberry/candied pecan salad which was really tasty, but kinda small for $9. At least a $9 salad at Mixt Greens is really big.
My friend raved about his PB&J dessert, but another friend's tomato bisque was just too rich. I had a taste and could tell there was a lot of heavy cream or something in there.
Service was ok. If I'm back in the neighborhood I'd probably try something else before coming back to sauce, but maybe I feel just kinda "meh" about it because I wasn't too hungry and just wanted to go home.
I have been to sauce a couple of times and I have always liked it enough to come back.
The menu is slightly on the short side, but I have always liked anything I have ordered. On my last visit I had the meat-on-a-stick appetizer, along with the salmon for the entree, both very good. On a previous visit I had the tater-tots as an app and loved them.
Another thing I REALLY like is that you can grab dinner here on the late side without feeling like a d-bag.
The only minor negative point is (and this has happened a couple of times now), when you first walk in to check in at the host stand it takes a super-long time for them to get around to you. I think this is because they have this set up as a duty of the wait staff maybe, but the wait staff is in anothe room so it takes a while for them to notice you.
All in all a very good place and I plan to go back.
It was The Boyfriend's birthday, and like most men, he preferred - um, okay, begged - that we just hang low. And like most doting, well intentioned girls, I was hellbent on celebrating.
Okay, so, I kept the destination a surprise because wouldn't that be fun? Then I forgot both the address and the name of the restaurant, which led to a blind mice scurry in the pouring rain.
You get the picture.
But the moment we arrived at the ambient but relaxed Sauce, we were greeted so graciously and warmly, we simply shook our worries dry, hung them at the door and devoured an amazing hangar steak and macaroni and cheese dinner, the perfect "I meant well, so please forgive me" meal.
I've dined here several times and the food is always consistently incredible... Last night we took my friend out to celebrate her birthday at Sauce and I could not be happier with the experience!
Our server, (Kate) was excellent and took such good care of us. We were are all sad to learn that my favorite social plate The Ham and Cheese "Tater Tots" was recently removed from the menu; however she still managed to bring us some anyway! And not that we were completely rowdy, but I have to say she was a good sport and our group loved her... Thank you Kate for making my friend's birthday dinner so awesome!!
Highlights and favorites from the menu were:
- Bacon wrapped scallops with brussel sprout leaves and caramelized onion
- Portebello Mushroom Fries with Fat Boy Ranch dipping sauce
- Pan seared hanger steak (was cooked perfect!)
- Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf
- And of course, my all time favorite - Roasted chicken Mac 'N Cheese!
They have a great wine list to choose from, and also an awesome pre-fixed menu should you want to go that route. Half of my party ended up doing the pre-fixed and the end result is you get 30% off any bottle of wine. That's my kind of deal!
The third star is for the bar and the fact that they serve late into the night.
I want to like Sauce more than I do. Sauce is that place in my neighborhood that I don't go to very much, and each time I go back (once every 4 months or so) hoping that it is better, I am disappointed.
The menu looks delicious, but the actual food isn't as good as you know it could be. I wonder if this means the execution is off? For example, most of the dishes I've tried are really oily, too creamy, or kind of bland. I know this is comfort food with a twist, but there are ways to jack up the flavor of a dish without adding fats. I mean, even my salad was oily.
In case the chef is reading this, I don't mean to sound ungrateful or disrespectful. Your menu sounds amazing. But maybe it might be a good idea to get some consultation from a colleague on how to enhance the execution and flavors? Other professionals (such as lawyers, teachers, doctors, performers) seek consultation all the time. It might be a good idea. Please do it, for me. Your menu sounds too good to come out tasting so bland and oily.
My wife, sister, brother-in-law, and parents dined here a bit over a week ago. Overall, I thought the food was merely adequate for the price -- as was the service.
For starters, I had a rich, delicious tomato bisque, which came with some slices of savory cheese-covered bread, perfect for dipping into the soup. Absolutely delicious.
My wife, meanwhile, had a salad which she said contained wilted lettuce. (Unfortunately, she didn't mention this at the restaurant or we might have said something to the server.) She enjoyed her mushroom bisque, however.
The main courses were so-so. I ordered what the restaurant bills as mac and cheese (with or without chicken). I have no idea why they call it that, because it contains long, flat noodles and what tasted like alfredo sauce. It was OK, but certainly not exceptional.
My father and brother-in-law both had salmon, which they seemed to enjoy well enough. However, the salmon came on a bed of vegetables that were seasoned with horseradish, and it was more than my father (who tends to enjoy spicy food) could handle.
The desserts were quite tasty. My wife and I split a chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream sandwich, which was delicious and unlike any dessert I've had before. My father ordered the cinnamon donuts, which were warm and perfectly coated with cinnamon and sugar.
As for the service: The waitress didn't make much of a positive or negative impression on me initially. However, after we'd ordered, she brought out salad to my wife and my sister. We waited several minutes, and she didn't bring the rest of us our starting courses. My sister eventually flagged her down to inquire where the other dishes were. The waitress seemed irritated by the question and said something along the lines that our orders were unusual so she was spacing them out. The only unusual thing about our orders was that five us had ordered a salad or soup, along with an entree. My wife had ordered salad and soup, along with a small appetizer. How that translates to bringing out salad to two people and nothing else doesn't compute.
So yeah: San Francisco has plenty of great, moderately priced restaurants. This one doesn't quite cut it.
A couple of my friends had mentioned Sauce to me in the past as a nice little place to try out, and so it's been on my list of restaurants that I've been meaning to get to. I was always found their menu interesting because it has a few American comfort food items like mac n cheese and tomato soup/bisque, but it's also filled with more unique items like potato skin fondue and mushroom fries. So when some friends mentioned coming here for the Dine About Town, I figured this was the time to check it out.
For the opener, I ended up ordering their Sesame Shrimp and Ahi Tuna Salad, which I believe is actually a combination of two of their regular plates. The shrimp was nice and had a good crispy texture with some bite, while the salad (which was more of a roll/wrap) tasted fresh and had a nice mix of flavors going. Definitely a solid dish to start with. One of my friends though ordered the Tomato bisque and wasn't too impressed with it. However, I thought the truffle and cheese stick I stole from the plate was fantastic.
For my entree, I ended up ordering the Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf with the green beans and truffled whipped potatoes, and I felt a little disappointed with it. The truffled potato was the best part of the plate, as the rest of the dish felt like a miss for me. While the bacon certainly added some nice flavor (how could bacon not?), I thought the meatloaf itself was rather dense and lacked strong flavors of its own other than being pretty salty. I don't know if it was over seasoned or if it leached from the bacon, but it was quite strong. As for the green beans, they were there, but didn't really add much either way.
To cap the meal, I was sad to see that the PB&J my friend recommended wasn't being offered, but still came out happy after ordering their Cinnamon Sugar Dougnuts with the Vanilla Bourbon Dipping Sauce. Although it didn't quite make up for the meatloaf, that dipping sauce was one of the highlights of the meal. I can see that some people might find the combination to be a little too sweet, but just keep in mind that it's a dessert with Cinnamon Sugar and Vanilla Bourbon as the main ingredients. And although I didn't get to try much of it, the Cookie Dough Bon Bons were good, but not over the top original.
Although the meatloaf was a clear miss for me, I'm definitely interested in coming back. I have my eye on a few of the dishes already, and would honestly love to be able to give them a better rating (if deserved).
Quite pleased with an unplanned meal at Sauce! We came in without reservations on a Tuesday evening before a lecture at the Herbst and were promptly seated (at a very very cramped table). I ordered from the DAT menu but they have their Sunday-Tuesday $30 for 3 courses deal going on, so it was cheaper than the 34.95 for DAT :)
I had the hardest time understanding the substitution for one of the appetizers... I had my heart set on the ahi-tuna salad with shrimp, and the waitress was trying to tell me about how they were substituting the tuna with crab dumplings or something... anyway I was so confused but ended up ordering it anyways as to not waste time. I actually ended up getting both the ahi-tuna salad AND dungeoness crab dumplings which were awesome! The table next to us got the bacon wrapped scallops that smelled sooo delicious. Wish that was on the DAT menu!!
For my entree I got the mac n cheese with roasted chicken and was promptly told that the mac n cheese is more like fettucini alfredo style, which was alright. The noodles were really fat and tasty, and the roasted chicken was yummy, but they really ought to change the name from mac n cheese to something else more indicative of what the dish actually is.
My dad got the sirloin steak which he loved, and the potatoes that it came with were bomb!!
For dessert I got the donuts, which were basically like cut up churros with blueberries and cream on top and an amazing bourbon dipping sauce. Sooo good. Too bad we had to eat it in such a rush, but all in all it was a good experience at Sauce :)
I want to go back just for the scallops appetizer!!
Love Love Love!!!!!!
Took a birthday boy for dins there last weekend. Cocktails, apps, entrees, dessert - the whole shabang.
Wait staff was awesome. On it. Friendly. Good juju.
Appetizers were my fave - artichoke/asparagus brulee was delicate and so tasty, sliders with turkey, mashed potato and cranberry delish! I don't usually do the turkey dinner on a roll but the potatoes were amazing and weren't overpowered by the turkey which wasn't overpowered by the cran. YUM~! The fondue thing was also amazzzzzing.
Entrees were good - I don't get the whole drama around the mac n' cheese. Sure it's not your typical baked macaroni and more alfredo-like but they say as much on the menu! It was dreamy. Creamy heaven. The veggie streudel was a surprise hit as was the hanger steak. I didn't love the bacon wrapped meatloaf but that was just me - the rest of the table died over it!
Desserts. Can we talk desserts? A MUST is the espresso martini. Holy crap. I'm not a martini drinker but that is about the best drink I've ever had. Sweet, bitter all wrapped up in one teeny little drinkie. Loved the little donut things too - super delish.
One more thing I really liked about Sauce was they actually advertise the Dine About Town - most restaurants cop an attitude when you want to order off that menu - these guys had it right out there on the menu!
Oh, and the chef is really hot! ;) That doesn't hurt.
I came here with two other people during Dine About Town this year.
Their tomato bisque soup is delicious, but one of my companions was disappointed to learn that the 'roasted tomato sauce' on the veggie strudel tasted exactly like the bisque, so it was a little bit of bisque overload to have both.
Everyone agreed that their entrees were extremely salty (I had the lamb, I think), which for me, is quite a feat because I generally like things really salty.
The cinnamon sugar doughnuts were nice, but nothing too special.
Overall, a solid dinner, but I don't feel compelled to come back any time soon.
I have some new restaurant names that Sauce should consider renaming itself to:
Slow:
Reservations were for 8:30pm - we were seated at 9:00pm. We waited at the bar, hoping to get a drink. We waited some more. Who in their right mind employs only ONE bartender behind a full bar on a Friday night? Once we were seated, service was more reasonable.
Salt:
After eating the bacon wrapped meatloaf, I'm convinced that I consumed at least 10 times my recommended daily sodium intake. It was SO salty that I wonder if the chef is missing the salty receptors on his tongue. I liked the truffled mashed potatoes, but between the meatloaf and the gravy, it was like consuming a salt lick!
Small:
They really crammed us into the dining area. I felt like I was having dinner with the three party girls sitting next to us. I can tell you for sure that it was really hard to not overhear the conversation about feminine issues and boy problems. Meh...
Spensive:
Okay, so 'spensive isn't really a word, but it works here! Do you ever go to a restaurant and spend a grip of cash, and leave feeling like you got ripped off? Yeah, that was my experience with Sauce. I didn't feel that the prices we paid were worthy of the food we consumed. I am pretty sure I could have had a better meatloaf at the Lucky Penny.
There were a few items that I did enjoy:
Portabello Fries - who knew mushroom fries could be so good. Only problem - not enough to share with everyone.
Sliders - the evenings sliders consisted of a chicken sausage and grilled peppers. I liked it, but as my BF mentioned, they would be better suited as a breakfast dish.
Guinness milkshake - MmmmMmm, a big hit! But, I can get my Guinness ice cream fix at Humphrey Sloecombe for a whole lot less and a whole lot faster.
So Sauce, I hope you will kindly consider choosing one of the new names above to better represent your establishment. Thanks!
Now open on Wednesdays at $79
Neighborhood: Western…
$15 Dinner Special
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Neighborhood: Hayes Valley
Category: Greek
Neighborhood: Hayes Valley
Category: French
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Daly City, CA
Category: Specialty Food
Neighborhood: Hayes Valley
Category: Seafood
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