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Category: American (New) [Edit]
Neighborhood: Financial DistrictMon. 6:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Mon. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Tue-Fri. 6:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Tue-Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Tue-Fri. 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sat. 7:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Sat. 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sun. 7:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
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At one time SIlks was apparently a destination restaurant. I enter to find an all but empty dining room. Yes, it's in a hotel but no it doesn't have an institutional feel. Rather, pleasant lighting, well spaced tables, and a welcoming efficient staff.
The menu is brief. Not many choices. But I construct a two course meal. First a salad of greens and beets. The greens are nice and fresh as are the beets. Next, scallops with taboulleh, pine nuts, and bacon emulsion. The scallops are nicely seared and their accompaniments are nicely done as well.
I do wish the menu offered a few more options. But what they do, they do well.
Forget Anthony Bourdain.
Doubly forget David Chang.
Bourdain's shtick now borders on self-parody, a veritable cartoon character who (by self-admission) was never more than a servicable cook, whose franchise was built upon trash-talking bland 2-D celebrity chefs (ohh, what tough targets!). When you stare into the abyss, garbage TV personalities spout corny recipes back at you. Hey Tony, wow, great, you chain-smoked and coke-snorted your way through the 80s, how daring, how "punk". Your tastebuds are still razor sharp I bet?
Chang... oh where to begin. David, do us all a favor and never leave your Manhattan enclave. You may be nonplussed by NorCal's hella high quality produce but don't act like your asian fusion which wows your wonderbread clientele would inspire any California gourmet to bat an eye, or even stifle a yawn. Your ramen is barely better than your restaurants' namesake's, your take on ssam is the mushu-pork of the 00s, and your pork buns are "the best in NYC" for those who couldn't name a decent bakery in C-Town or Flushing.
2010: A Food Odyssey. Indeed, a new decade is dawning.
Four things SF folks should be excited about:
4) Corey Lee (chef de cuisine** of The French Laundry from 2002-2009) will be opening Benu in SOMA. **"chef de cuisine" is French for "I do all the cooking while the executive chef sits in his office all day counting money".
3) Nori Sugie who compiled an incredible resume at Asiate in NYC, Tetsuya in Sydney AUS, and Charlie Trotter's is taking his Franco-Zipangu hybrid to SF.
2) The folks behind the subtle, understated kitchen at El Paseo in Mill Valley are taking their new-French flavors south across the GGB to Nob Hill.
but most importantly................
1) "Chef of the Century"* Joel Robuchon is taking over Silk's at the Mandarin Oriental. *Awarded by Gault Millau which in France is considered a less-pretentious, more critical and food-centric compendium than the trendy rival Michelin Guide. You can even find them online at http://www.gayot.com
While we have yet to hear any details which tier of restaurant is expected from the JR brand (eg, La Table, L'Atelier, Mansion, eponymous, etc.), at the very least, you can expect dishes that outclass anything ever stamped out of either Bourdain or Chang's kitchens.
NOTE: This review is dedicated to (yet not endorsed by) AJ, a young man whose knowledge and passion for well-crafted food knows no bounds:
http://ajizzle.yelp.com
Service is as good as it gets!!! Wasn't very busy the night we went so service was very attentive. We had the tasting menu & pork with wine. Food was great!! Dessert was so good, we ordered seconds!!
Everything was great! Service, food, drinks and atmosphere. So what's what the disposable chopsticks????
I would give it 5 stars but I feel like you would just look at the stars and think it was good without really getting a feel for what I thought. The food was excellent.
The wife and I had a pleasant dinner at Silk's this past weekend & I definitely recommend it for a quiet, romantic date.
CONTEXT: We first dined at Silks right after we got married five years ago as part of a one-night "mini-moon" stay at the Mandarin Oriental. This weekend, we celebrated our fifth anniversary with a 2-night stay at the Mandarin Oriental and included a return visit to Silk's as part of the itinerary.
FOOD: Overall, quite good, with one real miss and a quibble here and there.
The wife started with the white corn soup, which had a delicious fresh flavor. The presentation was fun, too: her bowl arrived with some corn kernels & trumpet mushrooms arranged in a neat pile, and the waiter then poured the soup from a small carafe.
I started with the heirloom tomato salad with burrata and shiso oil, and it turned out to be the biggest miss on the food front because the tomato was seriously sub-par... I'm no heirloom tomato expert, but I do know that yellow tomatoes are among the least flavorful and I'm damn sure that underripe is bad regardless of variety. I could've gotten a much better tomato myself from the Ferry Building farmer's market that morning. Blah. Also, the shiso oil, while visible, was conspicuously absent on the palate. On the plus side, the burrata was fantastic, although it was a rather large portion for one person (in case you are not familiar with burrata, it is a form of fresh buffalo mozzarella with something a bit like creme freche inside... seriously EVIL but delicious).
For her main, my wife had the house-made pappardelle with lobster meat and lobster mushrooms. The pasta was good & very generous on the lobster meat, but the sauce was so rich that Ms. Lobster Slut couldn't even come close to finishing the entree. I helped as much as I could, but I'm sad to report that the we did not join the clean plate club on that one. We both agreed that the lobster mushrooms, while a cute idea, didn't really do much for the dish (something with a bright, fresh flavor might have provided a better complement to the rich lobster meat).
My entree was a real highlight--sea scallops with pine nut tabouleh, shimeji mushrooms, and bacon foam. I'm a sucker for a good scallop and these were really fantastic... they were cooked *exactly* right and the bacon foam was a nice lighter play on the tried-and-true bacon-wrapped scallop. I don't care much for tabouleh, but with the pine nuts & adorable shimeji mushrooms, I easily gobbled it up (ok, the bacon foam helped here too--when does bacon flavor *not* help?!).
We passed on dessert, but they brought us a chocolate souffle anyhow (a perk of being guests in the hotel on our anniversary, no doubt!) and it was light and delicious. My wife said she liked it better than the one she had at Danko the night before (yes, we wore it out this weekend...).
Side note: Silks doesn't have much of a dessert program... the sweet choices were chocolate souffle and tiramisu; there was also a cheese option. So don't come here if you're looking to end your meal with the marvelous inventions of a top-notch pastry chef!
WINE: We brought our own bottle of 2000 Dom Perignon (keeping with the blowout weekend theme). Corkage was $25, which is reasonable for a restaurant of this caliber, and the wine service was pretty good. The waiter "made" us wait until it was chilled it enough for a first pour, and he said nice things about the vintage, which I always appreciate (impresses the Mrs. to hear a pro say nice things about the bottle I brought... not that she was doubting the Dom!).
SERVICE: A slight wait to get our order taken, otherwise friendly and attentive: the bread guy came around just enough, our champagne flutes were kept at an appropriate level, etc. Overall, very good.
ATMOSPHERE: Silks' dining room is very romantic. Tables are well-spaced, although we actually sat in a curved booth--I'm pretty sure it was the same one we sat in five years ago! A family of Germans across the room provided some entertainment as the father engaged in several long monologues about something or other to his family's rapt attention.
PRICE: Our net for 2 starters, 2 mains, a bottle of Voss, corkage, tax & a generous tip was $150, which is a pretty good value in SF fine dining. FYI, entrees are in the $20-30s, starters are in the $10-20 range, desserts were $14, and I didn't even look at the wine list (too bad--it would probably have been good wine-porn, since they just won an award from Wine Spectator). The tasting menu was about $70, which seems like a good value.
AFTERTHOUGHT: While we enjoyed our meal overall & think Chef Pagan is doing some good stuff here, we were a little sad that Silks' approach to food had changed... when we went there before, it was more Asian Fusion and each dish seemed to have lots of things going on: entrees were things like "Hamachi three ways" or whatever.
I haven't had a dinner so nice in quite some time. Silks is truly a fine dining experience. Moms and I had a show to catch at 8PM so we scheduled an early 6 PM dinner. When I called to ask them how long dinner would take, they said a couple hours which worried me. When I expressed concern the woman suggested they open up for us 15 minutes early or so that way we would definitely have enough time. I was extremely impressed with their flexibility and graciousness.
When we got there it was top notch service from start to finish and we essentially had the place to ourselves which was a neat experience. The food was superb. The crispy crab was the epitome of perfection; it just melted in your mouth. The sweet corn soup was unbelievably flavorful and the lamb, which we both ordered, was just out of this world.
I enjoyed this even more than my experience at Gary Danko and ya know what, we ended spending a lot less than we had at other top notch restaurants. I would emphatically recommend this to anyone looking for a beautiful evening out.
****A return visit after a sub-par Valentine's Day experience****
A sign of a classy establishment is when they admit their faults and go out of their way to fix their mistakes.
My lady and I were invited back to Silks for return visit and we chose to come on a Wednesday when things are more chill. We went with the tasting menu with one modified to hold back the meat. The staff is very attentive and accommodating with several waiters and hostesses constantly check up on the progress of you meal. The atmosphere is upscale with turned down lighting for those intimate dinners. To kick things off, the somilier selected a perfect rose' champagne for our re-celebration.
For those that don't know, Silks now has a new executive chef at the helm and his approach incorporates different styles that it is hard to pin point his exact theme. It is a bit French, Italian, and Asian, but all California Fusion. The dishes make good use of the focused ingredient by combining each well with the appropriate vegetables and added touches (like Parmesan cheese foam or some oil reduction of a fruit or vegetable). The memorable dessert at the time of our visit was the souffle, nice and fluffy with the perfect cream sauce poured down the middle.
As with all prefix meals, be sure to set aside 2-3 hours and come with an empty stomach. Even in this tough economy, every now and then, it doesn't hurt to give the dishwasher or stove a rest and paint the town red.
Lovely restaurant, but Gary Danko is still cheaper and better. And WTF is up with the chopsticks ?!
The restaurant by which we measure all ultra-high-end dining experiences is Gary Danko. I've been dining with GD for about ten years now and their food -- and most importantly service -- are absolutely top-notch, going beyond "great" to "inspired."
For our two year wedding anniversary, I couldn't get GD reservations in time (because I suck), so I looked for a nice restaurant, read some reviews on Yelp, and booked. I was able to get a 7:15 reservation a mere three days before the date, so that was a nice thing.
Parking was easy -- valet it. They don't tell you ahead of time, but if you're eating at Silks the parking's free. I was expecting a huge fee (nice hotel, downtown SF), so that was definitely a nice touch.
Service was a little slow and spotty to start with, but about ten minutes into the dinner they seriously sped up; from that point on, service was spot-on. It's a tiny dining room -- maybe about 60 diners max -- and when we were there we never exceeded about 15 guests. It was pretty quiet.
Some people suggested the tasting menu. I don't know what they had, but when we were there, the ONLY thing available was the five-course prix fixe menu (with two options for each course except dessert, where we had two classic dessert options and a cheese option). Food ranged from "really quite good" to "oh my God fantastic." I'd say that, as much as I'd say GD edges Silks out food-wise, Silks' lamb was the best lamb I've EVER had.
High servers-to-diners ratio made service competent and delightful. There are a few things Gary Danko does that I've still seen nobody else ever do that make GD a five-star experience ("as good as it gets!") and these guys a four-star experience -- for example, when I dine at GD, the waiters notice I take my ice tea with two Splenda, and I find that when they refill my tea they actually put two Splenda packets on the table next to the tea; with Silks, the staff made sure to every once in a while replace the sweetener container to make sure I didn't run out of whatever I was using. Great, right? But not as awe-inspiring as Gary Danko. GD also will take your valet ticket and make sure your car's ready when you're done; at Silks, we had to do this ourselves (and were quoted about a 10 minute wait -- thankfully, it was only about 2-3 minutes).
Also, frankly, it's a little more expensive than GD. Last time my wife and I went to GD we spent $220 including tax and tip (it helps we only have one or two cocktails, and my wife has the smaller menu); at Silks, it was $226 before tax or tip, and that's after they gave us a free coffee.
Oh! I have one complaint, and while it's not a significant problem, I'm still gobsmacked by this. For the second course, they gave us chopsticks.
Chopsticks.
Of the kind you'll use in a cheap Chinese restaurant -- poor wood, one piece, which you have to break apart and then rub against each other to eliminate the splinters.
Really? Those are the best chopsticks they could find? It's frankly OUTRAGEOUS to me that at a $95/person dining establishment someone thought it was at all acceptable to provide us with such a terribly low-quality utensil. We asked one of the people who worked there -- I was expecting some sort of clever "it's an ironic commentary on California's take on Asian food," but what they told us was "we couldn't get anything better."
Dude. Fail.
Update for Valentine's Day 2009.
Unfortunately, I have to take down 2 stars. It saddens me to do this, as this was one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco. We have come here on numerous occasions, including Valentine's Day 2008. And never has the service been so bad and so slow. The food was still good for most part, but the fish course was very bad. I will probably not come here again, as there are many other great restaurants in San Francisco.
Amazing! I am very picky, as I have dined at some of the top restaurants in SF (Gary Danko, Fleur… Read more »
So, the question is: What restaurant has a superb tasting menu, excellent service, and a first class wine list, but hasn't been discovered yet even though it's been here for many years?
Answer: Silk's in the Mandarin Hotel.
I've been here a number of times and Silk's is probably among the most comfortable dining rooms in San Francisco. It's beautifully designed and quiet--ideal for conversation as well as fine dining.
It's been a few years since I was last at Silk's and the current menu is very short, but complete--a tasting menu with 5 courses and considerable variety among the small, but numerous dishes. By the end of the dinner, we were full, so there's plenty of food.
Every item: seared tuna, a gourmet risotto, white fish (fluke, I think), lamb, and a dessert, were as elegant and tasty as anything you'll find in any restaurant anywhere. Every item served to us rates 5 stars.
Too bad that where were only about 4 or 5 tables occupied--perhaps because the economy is so horrible and it's not tourist season yet. Also. it was in the middle of the week instead of a busier weekend, so that could explain the nearly empty room. This place is an undiscovered gem in The City--I've never seen it fully occupied, not even when the economy was booming.
I was hosted, so don't know what the total cost was, but it's not cheap--that's for sure! We had one of the best Pinot Noir wines I've ever tasted, a 2006 Rochioli. I never heard of that winery, and the restaurant stocked only a few bottles of it, but it was consummately smooth and delicious.
If you're looking for a great restaurant to celebrate a special occasion, you can't do better than Silk's for creative, fine dining in one of the best environments in San Francisco. Silk's has always been good, and I'm happy to say that it still deserves 5 stars.
Second best hotel restaurant in the city--in a great hotel. In any other place this would surely be the best restaurant in town, hands down--but with so much competition from so many great places--its four stars. Lush room, draped in, well not all silk but lots of silk. Its a little kitschy as its supposed to evoke the Silk Road-get it Mandarin Oriental Silk Road-kitschy but certainly better than many possible alternatives. Food is tasty and service accommodating. Expensive if you are from Peoria.
This USED to be one of my favorite places to take guests from out of town back when Dante Boccuzzi was head chef...waaay back during the dot-com boom. I miss the days of pan-seared scallops with mango and forbidden rice. Sigh. The quality of the food and service used to be excellent.
Now it's just overpriced and poorly serviced. Although it's one of the few places I know where you can get a snifter of Louis XIII, if you can afford it :-P
This is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area. I've only dined here once, for dinner. It was everything you would ask for from a fine dining experience - great food, nice atmosphere, and friendly, attentive service. Highly recommended!
If you ever want to have high tea but you don't want to be in a large crowd, Silks is your best bet. When my friends and I had afternoon tea there, we were the only people there for the majority of the time. And contrary to the Asian feel of the place, the tea service was British and proper. The food was great and they even prepared a vegan food tier for my friend who is allergic to dairy and eggs. It's elegant inside their dining room, but not very British, so if you want the doily and old china deal, go elsewhere. Plus, even though I usually don't like crowded places, Silks was a bit too empty and I ended up missing the hustle and bustle of tea servers and tea patrons.
After perusing my reviews I think that I've given a few too many 5 star reviews....well, I've given quite a few 4 stars as well but I think I really need to start saving the 5 stars for what is truely out of this world, orgasmic inducing amazing.
That being said, while Silks was great, it didn't take me to that higher level. I will say that the service is excellent, the sommelier was very informed and the food was pretty good. Probably my favorite dish of the night was my appetizer of Bacon, Eggs and Toast - which wasn't your traditional "breakfast" - rather duck egg tempura, crispy suckling pig, brioche, and truffled potatoes. Very original and so tasty. There were also several "compliments of the chef" tastes in between courses - a pre AND post dessert . To be honest, I felt it was a bit too much - when they brought out the post dessert I thought I was going to puke from the amount of food. While it was great (Scharffenberger hot chocolate accompanied by a stout beer) I couldn't even finish it.
The atmosphere is a bit austere...dark lighting, dark, conservative decor. But it is quiet so a great place for a quiet date.
Overall I really enjoyed my meal and the group of friends I was with...but I'm not sure I'd be dying to go back here. There are so many amazing restaurants in the city that I feel can give you that amazing dining experience (a la Michael Mina) that you crave 3 or 4 times a year. Still, it's a great experience and worth checking out - just be prepared to spend a pretty penny.
We went for lunch with 8 people and it took us literally 30 minutes to get our drinks. The food was pretty good but I think it was ruined by how long it took for us to get our food. Our lunch was approximately 2 hours. I would recommend trying this place once but I doubt I'll be going back to this restaurant.
Yes, it was an indeed a pricey dinner but service was impeccable without being intrusive. We had an early dinner hence the room was somewhat empty but somehow the conversation of the two ladies in the next booth/table was really audible, maybe it was the space set up or perhaps the echo. It was really bizarre, they sounded like they were right there with us...I thought it was too loud.
We were introduced to the amuse bouche of beet sorbet and some delights along with the cauliflower soup which were both excellent.
I went with the duck which was the server's favorite but I thought it was a lil too fatty esp with the skin and all. It was rather chewy than tender. Bf had the seabass which was excellent. It came with some asparagus and tofu skin, just a great taste and very flavorful.
We were really full and didn't have room for dessert but the server brought a chef's complimentary dessert of dark hot chocolate and a small shot of stout and it was to be enjoyed with a sip interchangably between the two. Very interesting....
Overall a decent meal and a great ambience.
The Mandarin Oriental.
Conjures images of crystal blue waters, sipping Mai Tai's on sandy beaches, and nekkid' volleyball matches... well, in MY mind it does!!
With such an austere reputation, wifey figgers Silks at the Mandarin Oriental would be a great way to celebrate our Thanksgiving this year. Given the fact that wifey can't cook to save her life, eating out is also the easy way for her to avoid making turkey every year.
So we dress up in our Sunday best, we even invite the ol' in-law to dinner (since she wasn't makin' any turkey either) and head downtown for our "tropical escape".
The hotel is purty, the restaurant is on the second level and tucked away in a quiet wing of the premise. They seemed to have some decent activity happening on this typically mellow holiday. We're seated and I look around:
12 o'clock: 3 two-toppers against the windows. Two of the couples are middle to late middle-aged (obviously touristas) trying to rekindle the ol' flame. One couple in their twenties can barely keep their hands off each other. I think to myself, "buddy, there's gotta be a better (and cheaper) way to get in her pants than taking her to Silks."
3 o'clock: a very large party of about 8 against the wall. Obviously a family out for thanksgiving. They even took granny, who never moved a muscle the entire night while sitting in her wheelchair.
6 and 9 o'clock: Assorted mish-mash of hotel guests, couples, and families enjoying the holiday meal.
I'd estimate that the restaurant was approximately 50-70 percent full at any given moment the night we went.
We're handed the menu and my eyebrows rise high enough to scale Mt. Everest. Average appetizer prices are $20-28 while entree prices ranged $37-47. Jumpin' Jiminy!!! With prices in that range, you're competing with Michelin 3-star restaurants! While surprised, I kept an open mind but definitely set my expectations towards the high end.
The food was well-prepared and portions were decent. I had a sophisticated play on eggs/bacon/and toast and a juicy lamb loin. Wifey's sashimi and turkey with cranberry sauce was nicely prepared as well. While the food was very good, I'm not sure paying $37 for a slab of turkey with cranberry sauce was anywhere in the ballpark of a decent value. My entree was a whopping 47 bucks! That's a lotta lamb...
Now I'm not new to spending some serious moolah for food. I've done some serious damage in my short time here on earth and have happily splurged on some extravagant meals. But there's a difference between splurging on a luxury, and just gettin' gouged.
My biggest letdown that evening was the service. Pacing was terrible, water glasses were unfilled, and the staff just seemed confused or uninterested. We're looking around for anyone to bring over some cream for our coffee and the 3 servers are busy cleaning a table in a half-empty restaurant with no one waiting to get in! I waited (and I timed this) 28 minutes for our pumpkin souffles to arrive. The very souffle's we pre-ordered at the beginning of our meal to avoid our soul-numbing wait.
I left in a terrible mood, wifey was saddened by the overpriced turkey, and mum in-law thought we were both idiots for paying so much.
I guess this means we don't get mai tai's...
Not impressed. Went here for lunch with some colleagues on Wednesday. We had heard that this is a well-respected place, where the who's who of the SF business world frequently dine, and I was looking forward to it with all the rave reviews floating around. Maybe breakfast and dinner are much better, but lunch did nothing to me.
Upon entrance, our group of four immediately dropped the average age of diners in the restaurant by a good generation. It felt stuffy.
I ordered a tuna tartare as an appetizer, and a hamachi tataki donburi for my entree - as if I was in a Japanese restaurant. And compared to other places, the food was not at all good. The rice was too moist, the hamachi didn't taste fresh, and the tartare was a bit bland. The other dishes my other colleagues ordered didn't look that great either. I guess the only nice thing was the bottle of chardonnay we ordered (can't go wrong with Cakebread Cellars).
Obviously, this isn't my type of place to dine and maybe I went on a bad day - but if you're gonna be a top restaurant, you would hope for at least some consistency.
We had a pre-set Vday menu here. It was MUY expensive but an interesting experience. The dinner was very, very long but food was good. It's one of those places you would try and but not frequent.
I remember the look on the BF's face after having foie gra for the first time. Haha.
The Lobster in Parmesan broth was to die for. I think the girl at the table next to me was drunk because she was licking the bowl. That was weird.
-nice ambiance
-expensive
-great service -- duh see above
-good experience
Food was incredible. I was taken here last night and treated to the chef's tasting menu with the wine pairings. If you come here for business, and have 3 hours to spare DO NOT miss this. One of the better ones I've had in the city. Fantastic service, nice decor, not much to complain about.
On the other hand, the place was quiet and somewhat empty - good for conversation and business but not very hip if you are looking for a scene.
Silks Restaurant, located inside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, is a fantastic restaurant offering fresh Pacific Rim/Asian-fusion cuisine. I was recently there for a business lunch and thoroughly enjoyed everything. To start with, my colleagues and I were warmly greeted upon entering the restaurant, which is located on the second floor of the hotel. The decor is clean and classic, with hints of art or furniture from the Far East. The service was great - the staff was very friendly and accommodating without being too aggressive and annoying. The crowd seems to be more business/power lunch and the setting is perfect for that. It's quiet, but not uncomfortable.
The food was amazing - I had a goat cheese tart and it was great: a goat cheese tart, which had a tamarind spread along with a fruit preserve, slightly-sweet dipping sauces and a small green salad. It was a perfect balance of savory and sweet and a great way to start the meal. My next course was a stuffed chicken: the chicken was actually flattened and stuffed with vegetables, small Asian beans and well-seasoned duck; all these items arrived stuffed inside the chicken, which was in the shape of a ball - amazing presentation! The duck was seasoned to taste like sausage which added an interesting twist to what one would expect from a typical stuffed chicken. Again, the chicken was perfect - not too salty, but there was a lot of flavor.
This isn't the type of restaurant to go to for a lively night with your friends, but it is perfect for business lunches and dinners as well as romantic evenings. The menu items are a bit expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for. This isn't one of the more popular restaurants in San Francisco, but it is definitely a secret treasure.
So my office had our Christmas party here on the worst weather night of the year. The rain, the wind, and the traffic made us all 2 hours late for our 6:30 reservations. But did they care? No...they were absolutely wonderful about it.
I thought they would have another party after ours since our dinner reservation was so early, but I guess not because we were in their private room until midnight. And the wine kept coming....
The food was delicious! I thought that the portions looked small, but they definitely filled me up. At this point, I can't even remember what we ate. I just remember how absolutely divine it was.
The service, the food, the ambiance...all deserving of 5 stars!
Very very good. We came here for a private event, so the menu was limited, but I look forward to trying it with my choice in the future.
The sommelier was great--amazing wines!
SUMMARY
official: 4-stars
service: great all over
food: Californian/Asian; very good to excellent
seafood: excellent
meats: savory; VERY tender; superb
vegetarian: very good
set: dim light, elegant, sophisticated, very quiet; Asian/Parisian decor
avg expense: $55/head
best time: dinner; ( lunch is satisfactory)
attire: semi-formal
The moment you walk into the elegant Mandarin Oriental Hotel, you will notice how the Parisian and Asian style decor fuses to capture an unparalleled elegance and sophistication. It takes light walk up the lobby stairs to finally be greeted by the warmest hosts, typically found at any 4-star-up restaurant.
Down to the very minor nitty gritty details on the behaviors of the staff, you immediately get a sense that Silks really tries to take care of their guests. I have dined at Silks for more than 9 years and not once have I ever been displeased. The people here are top tier.
The dining room is actually average in size, but uncrowded between tables. The dimmed lighting is just right and takes nothing away from the Asian tones that are accented with Parisian touches. There are semi-circle booths along the window side that tend to guests that desire a slightly cozier, semi-private atmosphere. There is also a quiet niche that a more private party can dine in. All other tables are 4-seaters and 2-seaters, few larger tables. If you have a party of 12, they can easily accomodate by putting together a very nice conventional long dining table.
Upon seating, there is a variety basket of breads that are baked to perfect texture and temperatures. The flavors are nice and soft, effectively working up an appetite.
The menu changes every several weeks, but your favorite dishes will usually be ready by the kitchen if you just ask. Silks is primarily Californian cuisine with Asian accent.
The menu is eclectic, but balanced, from meats to seafood, to a minor vegetarian choice. There is always one fantastic dish in each of those categories. Since all are generally very good, any choice will do fine. It just depends on your category choice that night.
The appetizers are usually extremely balanced. If their appetizer involves the use of crab, do not hesitate to fork over the extra expense just to have it. You won't be disappointed.
Starters are usually salads. I must say, I hate cilantro with a passion--to the point that I feel like hurling at even a small bite. They once had a spring salad with cilantro in it. To my surprise, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Cilantro isn't popular, but if a chef can use it properly like Silks, you know you're in a good place.
Any of their standard, traditional salads are very light, but great in flavor. I've never had a problem with their vinaigrettes being too oily or too heavy. They do it very well. If you can catch them with a salad that involves asparagus, beg for it if you have to. Starters are around $8-$12.
There are normally about 10 or so entrees.
There was once a seafood style lasagna that my friend ordered. It wasn't the best of the menu. It WAS good, but not mouth-watering good. However, if you can pick out that one fantastic dish in each of the categories, you will have an eye-rolling, mouth-watering, OH MY GOD experience, otherwise good enough. Entrees, avg.price: $20-$45
I can't say the plating is the best in the west, but it does suit that of a 4-star. It isn't spectacular, but still nice.
The kitchen really puts their hard work, as you will notice, in the food.
The food is just simply, terrific. The proportions are just right. I have always been just full; just right. Nothing is ever too greasy or heavy. Flavors are always well-focused and savory. From smell to taste, there is no disappointment.
Have yourself a cup of Irish coffee when you treat yourself to their PERFECT creme brulee. I have never had a creme brulee so rightly done to perfection like Silks'. All the other desserts are generally of quality, but not always spectacular. Find one that really captures your heart, or the creme brulee. Desserts are around $8-$10.
I would have to say the wine list is a little erratic, but I don't care, really. They have quality wines anyway, so don't worry.
As for the servers and wait staff: prompt, attentive, dexterous. Their warm service is very inviting to a hearty appetite.
If you want to celebrate a special occassion with an upscale meal at a beautiful hotel restaurant, but not TOO fancy, but elegant, Silks should always be on the list.
From the warm greeting at the stairs to a happy tummy right before an eye-soring bill, every moment in that dining room is worth it.
I generally am not a fan of the stuffy "power lunch" scene, but recalled enjoying my first experience at Silks over a year ago so I reserved a business lunch here. Doubt I will be returning, at least not for lunch.
Our lunch took 2 1/2 hours to complete, and most of that time was spent waiting for the waiter to take our order, waiting for the waiter to bring the next course, waiting for the waiter to bring us our check. I just don't understand why the service was so painfully slow when there were only 7 tables occupied and at least 4 wait staff!
The food was also disappointing for the expectations I had based on price. We ordered prawn dumplings and tuna tartare to share. For entrees we ordered scallops, tuna udon and hamachi donburi.
Prawn dumplings overwhelmed the taste buds with salt. Tuna tartare arrived on a super-sour gelatinous disc. All around were puckered faces at the tartness.
The scallops were declared ok, but not great. The hamachi donburi was extremely disappointing, with overcooked rice and limp pieces of hamachi with some kind of teriyaki glaze that was both too sweet and too salty (reminded me of that teriyaki sauce that you can buy by the gallon at Costco). The tuna udon was the clear winner, with a rich, hearty broth, thick udon noodles and perfectly seared slices of tuna.
For dessert we all ordered cappuccinos. Any fine dining establishment worth its salt should at least know how to prepare a good cappuccino - rich espresso with a thick layer of milk foam. Only the tiniest amount of milk should actually be liquid enough to dilute the espresso - if I wanted milky espresso, I'd order a latte. The espresso at Silks was fine, my problem was that I ordered a cappuccino but was served a latte.
Overall, disappointing.
I truly had one of the most amazing dining experiences here last night.
Let's see, how do I describe this place......
Impeccable Service
Classy
Intimate
Mouth Watering Good
Phenomenal
They continued to impress me throughout the meal. The service was first class. I whole heartily recommend coming here. You won't be disappointed.
Just went for lunch with my boss, and only chose the place because we wanted something nice, but it's a monsoon outside and we didn't want to walk more than a block from the office. Based on some of the negative lunch reviews, I was skeptical going in. The host was pleasant, and we were seated promptly in a nearly empty and smaller than expected dining room. The decor was nice but bland, and my boss and I generated the only distinguishable din.
The menu was different than that posted on the website, and there were actually more and better options than I was expecting. Based on the friendly waiter's suggestions, I chose the horseradish-encrusted braised short rib (beef) and my boss chose the stuffed chicken. We started with a soup and salad which were both tasty but nothing special. Our entrees came after a short wait, and while the braised short rib was delicious (despite an almost too-sweet a jus and a curious lack of anything resembling horseradish), the stuffed chicken was too salty and tasted like it was filled with bacon bits (actually duck). I devoured my plate, while my boss couldn't even stomach half of hers.
Over all, Silks was decent as an expensive lunch option (bill was over $100 with tip). I can see how it would impress an unrefined palate or those not used to a fine dining experience, but there's not much that sets it apart from the slew of California/Asian restaurants throughout San Francisco. Wouldn't spend my own money here.
Place for a quiet business lunch.
If you want to have a confidential business lunch this is the place to go. Exceptional food and service in a very quiet atmosphere.
-1 star on some of the food. If you're on the company's dime, be careful to really pick something good and unique. While everything is good, there are some dishes I could make myself. (Simple asian fare) Really look around for something that you can only get there.
The food was good, not as good as Aqua but a little better than Masa's. The biggest seller is the atmosphere. It's quiet and the tables are distant. If you're looking for something more intimate and don't want to yell if you want to talk to your date, come here. However, the chef and sous chef that help put Silks on the map have left. Not sure how the new chef is working out.
We had dinner at Silks Saturday evening. The food was decent. The prices were gross. If you are going for decent food and don't want to pay out the yingyang, don't go there. But, the friends we were with loved the place and insisted that we come back for Breakfast. My gut instinct was not to do it, but I had to play along. Apparently, they'd had consistently great experience year after year, and loved even staying at the Hotel, so my husband and I, out of a desire to go with the flow said OK. Much to the dismay of our friends, Silks was out of control Sunday. Something to do with the main chef being on vacation and the hotel being full and all sorts of room service demands. I don't know, but our food took forever, we asked 4 times what the problem was, we should have walked out the 2nd time. When we got the food they did let us have it on the house... and you know, you get what you pay for. On top of that, the dining room had some strange people there, one fellow was blowing his nose louder than I've ever heard anyone blow their nose, and he was scruffy looking. Scruffy foreigner?
I don't know, but there were a bunch of badly dressed people there, so there's no dress code. Apparently tourists can wear flip flops and shorts and look like they haven't showered. What's up with that?
Came here for a business lunch after not coming here for over eight years. The room looked the same, but it seemed busier and better lit than before. Our party shared the tuna tartar appetizer which was good -small diced ahi (no veins) with diced avocado in a sesame soy sauce and each of us ordered the following entrees: white california bass with potatoes, radish and fresh peas in a lemongrass sauce, tandoori scallops - grilled nicely brown, hamachi donburi, and shrimp roll - deceptively this came with a small cup of pho (rice noodles) with red sliced peppers which the server promptly added a clear broth. Since we were pressed for time, we did not discuss our food and quickly left without looking at the dessert menu. I should return for a more relaxing lunch next time as we didn't have time to share our opinions on the food.
3.5 stars. We went for lunch - The food was good, the wine was decent and our waiter was really nice. Overall, nothing really stood out though which is why I wasn't willing to give the place a higher rating.
for my 200th review...
and for our one year anniversary, my hubby really went above and beyond to treat me like a princess. he basically chauffeured me around sf to my hair appointment, the spa (see other reviews), and then to our nice dinner at a surprise location. he said that it was one of the top restaurants in the city (between this one and another). i was excited but half wondered if he was referring to the #1 mcd's in the city. if you know my hubby, he can be ghetto fabulous and always calls himself "blue collar". to my surprise, we ended up at silks at the mandarin oriental hotel and to my shame, i have never heard of this place! when i asked him what the other top restaurant was, he said michael mina. michael mina?!!! that's where i've been wanting to go! i know..such an ungrateful brat but hey, we can save that for next year.
i'm just going to dive right into the food...
for appetizers we ordered the YELLOWFIN SASHIMI w/ ponzu truffle vinaigrette - good portions and pretty plating and their famous EGGS, BACON, AND TOAST - duck egg tempura, crispy pig brioche, and truffled potatoes....simply divine....MUST TRY!
for our main meal, i ordered the COLORADO LAMB RACK - i'm usually not a lamb fan but the meat was so tender and juicy, not gamey. my hubby ordered the JAPANESE HOT POT - sake cured bass w/ 7 different types of mushrooms. i was impressed with how well they worked the asian flavors.
to end our perfect meal we ordered the LEMON SOUFFLE - good, my hubby devoured it and my fav the STICKY DATE PUDDING w/ yogurt sorbet. they bring it out in a plastic bag and they open up the hot, steamy bag at your table. the yogurt sorbet was actually the perfect and needed touch to the pudding. what a fabulous combo!
as others have mentioned, the food is incredible and service impeccable and delightful. it was such a perfect way to end our evening...w/ our belly's protruding. i know it doesn't sound like we ordred much but we were stuffed beyond our waistline, especially w/ the chef's complimentary tastings in between - which were simply delectable as well.
on top of all this, my hubby gave me the sweetest card that had me tearing at the dinner table AND a gc for bloomies! another great big reason for me to finally go and check it out!
thank you honey for showing me so much love and here's to another year of loving and growing together!
Fine, fine, fine. Food is great; prices are ridiculous; decor is stuffy. More importantly though, what is up with carpet in restaurants? Can we all just agree that this is a hands down indicator that the rest of the decor is stuck in the dot com era? I think we can. Service was great.
Great for an expensive lunch, I wouldn't frequent for dinner or even a date as the atmosphere just didn't do it for me. Had the Chicken Tortilla soup w/ Avacado which was spicy and good. Followed it up with the Alaskan King Marinated Salmon which was great. Very good wine selection as well. I had a Red Zinfandel although I can't remember the vineyard. If someone else is paying this is a fine meal, if you are paying thats another story...
the ultimate business breakfast spot (sheraton palace is just as good but silks gets the edge for proximity to the office). i would love to come here for dinner if i could justify the splurge or it were expensed!
from the moment you step in, you forget the fidi hustle & bustle as you enter this peacefully serene and tastefully decorated restaurant (note, you are at the mandarin hotel, which caters to business class folks and higher end tourists, so the decor may be "stuffier" than what you'll find at the w hotel).
service is impeccable; the servers are gracious, attentive without being obtrusive, and know how to carefully orchestrate a meal so everything flows perfectly and you barely even realize they're there, except for the fact that your glass or coffee cup will never be empty.
i don't normally eat breakfast (aside from some cereal and/or a cup of coffee) so when i do go out to eat in the morning, i like to splurge. whenever i come here, i go for the french toast - yummy eggy brioche WITH a coating of crisp sweetened cornflakes, served with the freshest berries lightly drizzled w/ creme fraiche. their version of "corned beef hash" (chicken, potatoes, peppers, poached eggs) always tempts me but seems too heavy...it's hard enough to return to the office after a meeting here, but when you're in a food-induced coma, never mind!
be prepared to lighten your wallet - breakfast for three recently cost $90+, inc. tax/tip...
Very high-end food and prices. Top notch service. Food tasted authentic, fresh and home-made. They were willing to accomodate my special requests with a smile, which made this a great business lunch!
I came here for a business breakfast a while back and it really hit the spot. My body was aggrieved from the previous night's drinking, but Silks' deliciously spiced chicken sausage hash with poached eggs wooed it into submission. Great coffee, fresh squeezed juice, and impeccable service. Of course I didn't have to pay for any of it, so that certainly put a shine on the experience. While the overall atmosphere of the restaurant is a little stuffy/ritzy for my taste, the private room we were in was lovely. I'd go so far as to say it was the best breakfast I've ever had in SF--I start salivating every time I think about it and have been meaning to go back for over a year now, but it's not the most convenient location for a weekend morning excursion.
I was very disappointed with my dinner here. It was a client dinner with 6 of us, and after hearing wonderful things about Silks, I had high expectations. Saddly Silks failed me. Not anywhere near Michael Minna (despite hearing it was!) yet still in the same price range. I had the bacon egg and toast famous appetizer which was rich but the best item of the night. It was pretty good, but not extraordinary. Then I had the steak dish and it was way too rich! It was presented trio style but the sides that accompanyed the meat was not great. Silks is fine if you're going to a meal on business, but then again why not go somewhere better if you're paying this price anyway?
Complimentary Bottle of House…
Neighborhood: SOMA
$15 Dinner Special
Neighborhood: Castro
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: Bars
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Category: Italian
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Neighborhood: Financial District
Category: Hotels
Neighborhood: Financial District
Category: American (New)
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