Straits Restaurant
Categories: Asian Fusion, Singaporean [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Union Square, SOMA845 Market St
Inside Westfield San Francisco Centre
(at Cable Car Turnaround)
San Francisco, CA 94103 (415) 668-1783
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Garage
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
296 reviews
Neighborhood: Union Square
"Loved E & O! Got a recommend from a friend of a friend and was glad we took her advice. The restaurant has a cool and kitchy Asian-esque…" read more »
418 Reviews for Straits Restaurant
This place was good. We had the Shrimp Fried Rice and and Breaded Fried Chicken Cutlet in a spicy-sweet curry sauce. Strange but good.
I love the chicken-rice. I hated the service. And the price is unreal.I hope this place decides that excellent service and competitive prices are absolutely necessary to keep in business.
I haven't eaten here yet but I was planning on having my bday dinner here...until I learned they require a prix-fix menu for parties of 14 or more on weekdays and 12 or more on weekends. I had 14 and I wasn't told it was different on the weekends. Luckily, the party planning manager (eh......insert legit title here?) called about my reservations and let me know in advance that we'd be paying bank for dinner...
I cancelled my reservations cause I wasn't down to pay $40 for a set menu of stuff I didn't want to eat...and neither were my friends. Luckily my backup called me to set new reservations... 3-stars because they do have a very well-organized person dealing with large events/parties...but minus stars for the prix-fix menu and incomplete info at the time of my reservations...
I'm not that fussy when it comes to labeling a restaurant. Some people criticize Straits because it isn't authentic. If you want authentic, go to Banana Island in Daly City. I don't mind a rethinking of traditional dishes. However, Straits renditions are uninspired compared to Out the Door, which is just a few floors below in the San Francisco Centre.
Straits's Singapore Sling wasn't that good either. I guess I've been spoiled by Singapore Airlines though.
Finally, it was expensive for what you got. I would easily pay more for more original dishes. I suppose I should go back at some point to see if they've improved.
I ate here, they pillaged my wallet, and the fire alarm went off.
Yes, The fire alarm really went off, and nobody went anywhere.
Fortunately the sprinklers didn't go off THIS TIME...
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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04/14/2008
Having eaten at the previous location, this one just didn't feel right.
The food was ok, but it was… Read more »
I am really angry at Straits right now so I'll keep this short.
I love you for your: roti, pepper crab, chicken rice, cool decor and yummy drinks.
BUT, last weekend you made me a mad girl with your: SLOW service, cold chicken rice, forgetting my beer (!!!) and SLOW service.
With other options in the mall (seriously, the food court is just as satisfying), it'll be hard for me to come back running.
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Tired legs? Thirsty? Big Mall aint it? Make your way over to Straits!
I am not a fan of the SR location but I think I found my perfect apre shopping watering hole!
Candice S. and I didn't have to think twice about having a few drinks to end our fabulous shopping day.
We were immediatley served and attended to. Great staff late afternoon on Sundays.
We had 2 fruity drinks each and ordered a Roti appetizer and a Tuna tower.
Our food was fantastic. We pretty much licked the plates. Straits SF is officially back on my rotation.
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Upon receiving our tab for dinner, I noticed an extra line charging $1.25 (or was it $1.75?) per person for "Healthy San Francisco." I had been gone for four months and had no idea what this referred to. My dinner companions informed me that some restaurants were now charging diners an extra surcharge to cover health insurance costs for their employees, which they are now required to provide.
Health insurance for restaurant workers? I am all for it. When I owned Love at First Bite in Berkeley, I gave full-time employees health AND dental insurance. Not because the law required me to, but because providing health insurance to your employees is the RIGHT THING TO DO. Everybody should have access to health care. BUT GODDAMNIT, as a PATRON at a restaurant, it is not my damn job to pay for it - it's the employer's job.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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01/25/2008
Although I'm certain that for the most part Dine about Town is just a ploy by SF restaurants and not… Read more »
I know there is over 400 reviews for this place. I just have to add my 2 cents in here. I am a great fan of yellow curry. This place has the best yellow curry I have every eaten. I live in Modesto and I will gladly drive to SF any day of the week just for Straits yellow curry. Now I have heard that Straits is charging a surcharge to all customers to pay for the employees health insurance. Well screw that. I have to pay for my own health insurance. No way in hell will I pay for health insurance for employees of a restaurant. That is the employers responsiblility. Not mine. So goodby straits.
Don't care if you do have the best yellow curry in the state. Your not getting my business anymore. 5 stars for the yellow cury and minus 4 stars for the surcharge. That sucks.
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Not only was this place expensive, but the food was not authentic in the least bit. Foods had authentic names, however I couldn't say the same about the taste. Very americanized and not for people actually from Singapore.
They definitely need to improve service here. The waiter did his job to the minimum - he took our orders, delivered our meal, and brought us our check. Not once did he ask us how was our dinner and it took us about ten minutes to flag him down to get a refill of water. So, when I got the check and found a surcharge, I was quite annoyed.
For appetizers we got the Roti Prata, which is Indian flatbread with yellow curry. The curry was very flavorful with the perfect amount of spice. The flatbread had a nice flaky texture, but was a bit too greasy for my taste.
For the main course, my friend and I split the spicy basil chicken and chap chye. The chap chye is cabbage stir fried with shiitake and straw mushrooms, bean curd and noodles. Both dishes were decent. Overall, I give the place 3 stars. It wasn't mind blowing, but it wasn't horrible either.
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I like this place! It's located inside of the renovated Westfield mall. The food is excellent. We ordered the garlic noodles, crab cakes, mussells, steak & garlic fries, and a chicken dish (i forget what it was called). They even give you the first round of drinks on the house. The price is reasonable and on top of that, the service is fast and efficient. They even have a DJ that plays a good variety of music. I will definitely come back!
This spot was on lock celebrating Fine Line's 1 year anniversary last Saturday. Afterhours this place turns into a cool venue. Check the link.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Jos, Tommy, Ernesto, Ken, Nina, and I were there to join the youthful exuberance that belvedere and red bulls can only offer. The space was packed, with a who's who of DC/SF/SSF. The boys were hammered that night from what seemed like an endless bottle service courtesy of the Fine Line super squad(Christian, TJ and Chris).
It was a great celebration, everyone had an amazing time.
Probably the only thing that went wrong that night was when the bartender lost a guest's American Express card. After a few words, Straits decided to pick up the girl's tab for the inconvenience.
Thank you Straits.
Maybe next time Nina and I can actually have dinner there.
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Don't be fooled by the tasty Asian-Fusion dishes and the accommodating wait staff. This place is obviously a disco disguised as a restaurant.
The food was decent, and worth trying as a pre-movie quickie meal. However, the prices don't impress when there's Out the Door downstairs, which is far more casual, but offers better food at a slightly less expensive tab. It's also less of a rave at Out the Door.
I admit, I'm not a young lass, and I'm not used to eating my garlic noodles to the boom-box beat of Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body." Unless they purposefully turned up the music because they thought I was 103 and hard of hearing. That's a distinct possibility.
The music was loud enough to be distracting, although I did burn off the calories as quickly as I put them into my body. I literally could not sit still in my seat.
My cabbage patch is a move not to be missed. Yowsa.
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Happy hour is great here because everything is a good price. When normal tasting food is overpriced, that's when it starts to not taste so good. So when normal tasting food is cheap, it tastes very good. That's how it is here. I wouldn't go here during regular dinner hour, and I would definitely not go here at the cusp of dinner-turns-into-a-nightclub-scene hour which I think is around 10ish. Go here on a first date... the lights are dim here so you'll look good no matter what!!
geez. where do i start? I am in LOVE with this place. I love the atmosphere. they play great music, they serve great food, the staff was very friendly.
I think my favorite plates were the garlic noodles.. can never go wrong with that... well, actually you can, cuz your breath will be humming!!! but its all worth the deliciousness. another favorite was the lemongrass beef. The meat was soooooo good. perfect!!!
the presentation of the Ikan Gareng, pan crisped whole strips bass with wok fired chinese broccoli with black bean basil sauce, blew my mind. The fish came out whole. I'm used to my fishes laying on their sides but this one was straight up.. like a statue! lol so cool.
i would definitely go here again!
First off, I'm writing this review because I am pretty surprised that the overall rating is 3 stars. I've been to this particular Straits three times now and I've always left overwhelmingly satisfied. I do love the ambience and if you are looking for a dinner experience with a little extra, this is the place because my group and I were loving the jams playing throughout the evening.
I don't remember the names of all the items because I was intimidated to try to pronounce most of the items. But I do know that they had me at the Banana blossom salad, calamari and roti bread. I've always enjoyed virtually every item that came out when I ordered and this evening was no different. My friends and I all ordered Singaporean sodas as well, I chose rose this time--loved it.
I suppose I couldn't say our service was spectacular but certainly nothing to complain over. She was very good with refilling our water and our food came out very promptly I just don't think our server made too much of an impression on us.
Beyond the food,however, the music and the ambience really helped create a fun evening for my somewhat large group of 9. Readers: please give it a try and decide for yourself despite the somewhat low rating! Price isn't too bad either--came out to $225, about $20 a person. And unlike some of the other reviewers, I don't have too much of a problem with the $1.25 charge per person for Health San Francisco. If anything, that should be announced and advertised somewhere before ordering but I've seen a few restaurants in SF go under because of this new regulation so I don't expect employers to suddenly fork over the extra money on their own.
FIRST and FOREMOST:
FOOD IS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!
ATMOSPHERE - dim lit (nice to take a date), great music (old school hip hop mixes with a live dj)
WAITER - Our server, Luciano was EXCELLENT, attentive (but not overdoing it) and quick, great with suggestions!
Garlic Noodle- Delicious and VERY full of garlic flavor. Cant go wrong if you add this to your order
Bijang (sweet and tangy asian eggplant with peppers and onions)- this dish was one of my favorites of the night. just the right amount of spices and the eggplant was so soft.
Lemongrass Beef - this beef dish was delicious as well, tender and cooked exactly as we requested. Presentation was creative. The fries came in a little chinese take out box.
Ikan Gareng (pan crisped whole strips bass with wok fired chinese broccoli with black bean basil sauce)- the fish was a little fried, but still had flavor. The fish came out on the plate like a statue (great presentation).
By the time the end of the meal rolls around and you happen to have room for desert, take my word for it and GET SOME DESSERT. I can't recall exactly what we ordered, but it was 3 different dessert dishes and they were all soooo mouthwatering-ly delicious! A great way to end the night!
I try to streer away from writing bad reviews; if you have nothing good to say, don't say it. But when this is a "celebrity-owned" restaurant, and it is a beautiful place like this one, I think management needs to know.
Service: Our plates were basically thrown on the table. They have more finesse at Sizzler. When my husband asked the busboy for a knife, he was told "Ask your waiter". When you are paying what you are paying you expect a little more courtesy.
Food: Blah, overseasoned. The chicken was served cold (not meant to be), and salmon was unrecognizable as such under a mound of sauce. I just trusted the menu in the fact that it was salmon indeed.
The roti-They took something as beautiful and normally delicate, into a greasy mess.
The place has potential, and if they rely on tourists they will be fine, but don't expect this local to come back.
I did not dine here, I am just reviewing the after dining lounge portion. I've been to this location and the one in Santana Row and this one is better but that doesnt say much.
My friend had bottle service so I did not have to pay to get in but the cover was $20. $20, are you serious? Its not even a club! the place is pretty small. The only plus was the music.
As another fellow YELPER said: 'This place is obviously a disco disguised as a restaurant." Supposedly Straits is a chain restaurant (they have a website) but people my age typically associate this place as a CLUB more than anything.
The dancefloor is small (obviously, because it's not meant to be a club) but I appreciate the overall cleanliness of the place-- always a plus in my book=) I can't say anything about the food since I've never eaten there, but apparently after 10pm the restaurant shuts down and turns into a bar/ disco, hence needing to card everyone after this time. The music was ok, but compared to other clubs/bars around SF this is probably one of the better ones because of it's non-ghetto location (inside the bloomingdale's shopping mall, 3rd floor) and the trendy lighting and decor.
If I HAD to, then yeah this is probably one of the few places I'd consider taking a second trip back to.
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Heard some not so great stuff about this place, but went to try it anways. I was pleasantly surprised. I went with several good friends here and we ordered family style. Because I am not a person of details when it comes to food, I don't remember the actual names of food. But I do remember how it tastes.
The lemongrass beef was very tender and it came with French fries,
basil chicken was spicy, but good,
vegetable curry was good,
fried rice was good,
roti was super good,
garlic noodle was super good,
other noodle was super good,
fuji apple salad was yummy
drinks were SUPERB!!!!!
This place was a little pricey, but the food was good and service was good too. Maybe it was because I went on a Sunday and the place wasn't that busy. If I were to go again, it'd probably be another Sunday.
so i ate here again.
ordered the lemongrass beef. i didn't finish it because there was just too much fat in the meat, making me chew each slice for a whole minute. i hate that.
but besides that, everything else is pretty good.
1 Previous Review:
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10/21/2007
cute restaurant. dish presentation also cute.
moderate priced entrees. i will eat here again.
BAR REVIEW ONLY
The roomie and I go to see Wall-E at the Century theaters, but we decide we just have to enjoy one quick cocktail somewhere in the vastness that is the Westfield center before comic-cutesy-cartoon goodness. And we find ourselves at Straits, happily tucked away in the Restaurant semi-circle. I like the posh-funky vibe, with the plush and sexy low-backed barstools and wherehousey-accents.
Our blonde-coiffed bartender was ready with drink suggestions, as the Stratis bar menu is overflowing with a plethora of interesting concoctions. We tried several (4 in total) and didn't find any disappointing. I especially liked the mango-infused vodka, with a nice chunky mango garnish. Can two or three of these count as one of my servings of fruit for the day? But then we wanted a little snack and she enthusiastically recommended the Roti Prata with yellow curry dipping sauce. DELISH! The roti is soft, crispy, and flaky, and the sauce... well, I could drink it alone.
But Wall-E was beckoning, so we wrapped it up and paid our tab. But surprise! Our ever-so helpful bartender whipped us up two fruity and potent shots to send us on the way, totally gratis. YUM. Of course we inquired when she'd be working again, and made heartfelt assurances we'd be back straightaway to enjoy her fine bartending skills some more another time. And then we stumbled our way back up to the theater to enjoy Wall-E in our blissfully tipsy state.
My family came here for dinner. I love the decor of this restaurant feel warm and cozy.
We order 2 kinds of crabs, one is very spicy and the other is not. Both dishes are delicious.
The appetizer dish is so good with all seafoods- lobsters, shrimps, fishes, and a lot more it is excellent.
Steam fishes, stir fry string beans, fried rice, steam rice.
The deserts are great too. And I forgot to mention the the orange ginger tea go well with all the dishes.
I love all the dishes here. I give it a perfect 5 start.
You may want to check them out for yourself and see if you agree with me !!!!
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I liked the vibe of the restaurant. The setting was intimate with its dim lighting, and the music played during dinner was a mix of your standard top-40 plus most r&b hits over the past few years.
I ordered some platter consisting of fried chicken cutlets dressed in a thick orange curry sauce. The food wasn't anything to die for, and the curry was slightly cold. Their lobster and shrimp risotto was pretty delicious, but for $39 it better be. Nonetheless, the food was decent. For some reason even though the portions aren't that big, they end up being very satisfying. However, I'm in no rush to come back here.
Last night I had a really good time at this place, and I know for sure that it was genuinely a great evening because I was as sober as a judge.
To start off, my date and I shared the crispy calamari and the Indonesian corn croquettes, which were both pretty outstanding. For our main course my vegetarian date had the Sayur Lodeh, "fresh vegetables and tofu simmered in a green curry". I didn't even think about trying her food because the the words; beef, pork, chicken and fish were conspicuously absent from her dishes description. She said it was good, but I highly doubt it.
I had the laska risotto which was excellent. It had been awhile since I had clams and mussels that fresh. Our waiter was pretty good too.
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My second time back to Straits and I must say i enjoyed it just at much as the first visit. I am always hesistant to write a review about a place first time around so I wanted to make sure that this place was as good as I remembered.
I could not have been more RIGHT. This time I went in on a Sunday afternoon as oppososed to a Weds evening and found that the wait staff was still very attentive, the food came out right away and HOT. Drinks were sooooo good I had two and left there with quite a buzz.
I honestly have no idea why this place has such bad reviews because I can honestly say both time I have been I had nothing but a positive experience.
The atmosphere is more like a lounge than a restaurant. It's too loud in there to have a conversation, for me sharing food is not just about eating, it's like a dance, made up of many steps and turns, the flow of words with my friend was not possible. I had to repeat myself several times like a broken vinyl record.
So about the food:
Fuji Apple and Prawn Salad Poached shrimp, Fuji apples, cilantro, and jicama in a lemongrass-mint vinaigrette. My God is that good but there were only 3 prawns on the plate, Yes you read that right 1, 2, 3 count Dracula.
Dined: 2008-06-05
Yuck yuck yuck!
A friend and I went here for Dine About Town.
The roti starter was fine. The spinach salad and thai beef salad were good, especially the thai beef but I do not see it on the regular menu.
The entrees left me craving for something better... much better!
The origami seabass was advertised on the Dine About Town web site, but was not on the DAT menu when we got there. =/
The laksa risotto was a slimy mess - I could not distinguish the different items in the risotto. I did not like the sauce. I asked for brown rice in hopes to soften the blow of the sauce and the brown rice they gave me was dry and hard. The pad thai was forgettable. No really, I do not remember anything about it.
The only redeeming factor was the dessert. The chocolate kiss was good. It was intense chocolate in a small package... just the right size.
The worst service ever!!! I'm so MAD at this restaurant that I waited two weeks before writing this review!
First, we were seated in a crowded section. Then our incompetent server took the order of the party who came after us first. After finally noticing us (my husband's back was facing him as he approaches), he said, "good evening, ladies". Are you F_CK_NG kidding me??!!! Ladies??? How can you miss my husband's crew cut??? He then apologized... STRIKE ONE!
After waiting several minutes, he finally took our order... 5 minutes passed, then 10 minutes, then 15 minutes - no appetizers. Fidgeting, fidgeting, then dropped my chopsticks, more fidgeting - Still No Appetizers! Remember the party behind us? Well, at this point, they are already enjoying their main entrée. I was livid! I asked for the manager. Told him we've been waiting for 20 minutes now and we still don't have our appetizers. He said he'll check...
The appetizers (corn croquettes and roti) arrived - I checked with my fingers to feel the temperature. Not hot enough. We called the manager again. My husband asked "how long have these been sitting in your counter?" The manager left and when he came back, he had the order slip with him. He showed it to us and told us that it wasn't sitting that long - our waiter entered our order only a few minutes ago. What??? So basically, he didn't turn in our order right after he took it. The manager offered to take the food back - are you F_CK_NG kidding me, again??? After waiting this long, did he really think we would agree to that? As you can imagine, my husband and I were just plain furious!!! STRIKE TWO!
Now the climax...Our waiter had the nerve to approach us probably after being told by his manager that we complained. He apologized and told us they will take the appetizers off our bill (you think!). My husband asked him why he waited that long to turn in our order. He said he turned in our order right away. We told him what his manager said and he denied it - this time he blamed it on the kitchen staff. What the heck! He continued to argue with my husband and said "I already apologized, took the appetizers off your bill, what else do you want me to do?" Did he really say what he said? YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!!! STRIKE THREE!
Then we asked for our check after a very unsatisfying dinner (to say the least) and we were in for more grief - he gave us the wrong check! I would probably be more forgiving if their food is generally great - well it's not! It's hit/miss at this restaurant - the corn croquettes, chicken rice, some of their noodle dishes are good but they will never compensate for the worst service we got on that one Sunday evening. STRAITS - YOU'RE OUT!!!
The old Straits Cafe on Geary in the Richmond used to be one of my favorite restaurants. The Roti appetizer was to die for and I liked most of the entrees, especially the Ayam Rendang (chicken with an earth/spicy reddish-brown sauce). I really enjoyed the South-East Asian spicy/sweet/sour combinations of the various dishes.
It was close to the Bridge theater so my girlfriend and I would make a special point to head out there when there was a good movie at the Bridge and hit Straits just before or after. It wasn't a cheap place, but I felt you received pretty high quality and consistent food for the price.
What I liked most about the place was that the food was very interesting and upscale and yet the atmosphere was not at all pretentious or snooty. I guess the drink menu might have been trying to be a little too hip, but they always played really nice jazz music at a reasonable volume and I felt very comfortable there.
One night we were there and there was a nice older man in a suit walking around to the tables letting everyone know that the restaurant was closing down and was going to reopen downtown. I talked to the guy and told him that I loved the restaurant and I hoped that when it moved downtown that he wouldn't change anything, because I'd been to the Straits that they had opened in Burlingame and I hated the nightclub feel of it. He assured me that that wasn't going to happen and that I had nothing to worry about.
A few months passed by and Straits reopened in the newly opened Westfield shopping center near Union Square. My girlfriend and I decided to go check it out hoping that we hadn't been lied to and that one of our favorite restaurants had just moved location and nothing else had changed.
I've hardly ever been more disappointed. If anything the new Straits was possibly worse than the Burlingame location with its nightclubby atmosphere and bizarre vaguely Asian-looking hip decor. The way too loud dance/trance club music and the tiny waitresses wearing even tinier outfits all made me feel a little sick to my stomach. The food was still pretty decent, but I don't think it really tastes the same when your teeth rattle around in your head in rhythm with the thumping bass.
I feel like an old man telling his grandkids how things used to be better back in the old days, but sometimes that is the truth. I wish they could have kept the Geary restaurant open and just opened the new one downtown in addition. They obviously cater to two totally different clientele. Oh well, I guess that's progress for you. Now get off my lawn! *shakes fist*
A fantastic place to go for happy hour. $3 draft beers and half priced apps. A good selection of yummy food and speciality drinks. Love the ambiance and the music in the bar area. I've always had great and quick service.
I ate here for DAT and was really disappointed. The first thing I saw on the menu was the pad thai for $39! I thought I'd read about that before, but I had to blink a few times to believe that price. That's insane and nobody should pay that much for any noodle dish!
We started off with some indian bread and curry sauce. The bread was so greasy and flaky that my whole napkin turned oily and full of crumbs before the rest of the meal. I kept wiping the flakes on my napkin and then had to shake my napkin over the floor. We had a banana leaf salad after the bread which was ok. The main courses were not good. I ate a seafood noodle curry dish which was ok. I was actually ful from the salad already and the greasy bread. The other person in my party had salmon. I tasted it and almost cringed. It was dry and didn't have a good flavor. Tasted like old fish. She only ate one bite of it. Dessert was probably the highlight. A chocolate tart with strawberry ice cream in a teeny tiny little cup. Not much tart on it, but with the ice cream, it was a good combination.
The service was okay, but the restaurant isn't even trendy to me. It's too noisy, no tablecloths, unfinished loud, echoing floor. I couldn't even have a decent coversation across the table. The hostesses were interesting. A little chatty to themselves (and I'm sorry but the girl in the electric blue skin tight dress just bothered me. A little too 1990 Kelly Kapowski). Anyway, I don't think I'll be coming back here.
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I've been here about 3 times now, and this last time was a little disappointing. The first 2 times the food was really good, and so was the service. Last night the food was dissapointing. We got the Indian flat bread (can't remember the name), the corn fritters and the chicken satay. The chicken was not good, and the sauce was also uninspired. The other 2 dishes were a little bland as well. We did order the warm chocolate cake with strawberry ice cream for dessert which was good.
There were 2 women next to us that ordered the seafood platter for 2, that was piled high with lobster, crab, mussels, clams and sashimi. We were drooling looking at it, and I didn't think there was any way these 2 would finish all of that food. The waiter said it was $45, and we're planning on giving that a try next time.
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First of all, this restaurant is located in Westfield Mall and fine dining and malls do not go hand in hand (I guess unless you're out in the suburbs). Not only do you have to weave through the obnoxious crowds that hang out at the mall, but the food is just mediocre, the service is absolutely terrible, and the atmosphere is like a bad Vegas Club.
We went there once because an out to town friend wanted to go, and it was a very disappointing evening.
We started by asking the waiter what kind of wine he would recommend with the food that we ordered and he suggested a Merlot. Seemed kind of weird to us, since a white wine would have been a better pairing, so we asked for white wine recommendation. He shrugged his shoulders, said he didn't have a preference and we ended up picking the Riesling ourselves.
Then we ordered some fries and other appetizers to start with and our main dishes. Well, it turns out that two of the main dishes comes with fries. Our waiter never even bothered to mention this to us! Our table had three plates of fries just sitting there. The beef was tough, over cooked, and greasy. Throughout the whole meal he never bothered to check in on us. We had to flag him down in order to get our check.
This place is a joke. It tries to pass itself as a hip urban dining experience, when really it just caters to the bridge and tunnel crowd.
With a friend coming in from out of town and rushing to beat a deadline I was at a loss when she she requested something "different" for dinner. I am for most part stuck in a rut and tend to haunt the same places over and over again.
I had never been to Straits and the Peninsula location seems to never enter my food radar. But last night I went for it and booked a table for two.
We decided that since it was first time, to order big and try different things. Sorry waistline.
Started out with a chicken breast in a spicy lemongrass-coconut sauce that came with a side of polenta. It was fabulous and went perfectly with the glass of viognier I was drinking. Our second course we split two items. Wok-fired filet mignon and watercress with black pepper oyster sauce and seabass baked in parchment with ginger, shitake mushrooms and rice wine. Both dishes exceeded our expectations and neither overpowered the fruit filled pinot.
By the end of the night we walked away with a reasonably priced tab and a few more pounds. I absolutely would make a return visit soon.
It was opening night of the most anticipated film of the decade, and pre-gaming was in order. Straits turned out to be 100% Sex and the City-worthy, with hordes of urbanistas swarming the place. After getting glammed up for the big night, it was the perfect spot to see and be seen, and most importantly, get the cocktails flowing.
We settled into the sexy lounge, and ordered a round of Colonial Coolers, which were devastatingly good and deceivingly strong. With happy hour appetizers all under $5, we went wild and ordered chicken wings, fries, samosas and won tons. Everything was served up hot and delicious.
While I don't think I would ever make Straits a dining destination, it was perfect for a pre-movie happy hour. Plus, after a few Colonial Coolers I could have sworn I was Carrie Bradshaw. And that, my friends, is something you can't put a price on.
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This is by far the best ''mall food'' I have ever had, and I say mall food due to the location. Straits is on the 4th floor which is nice as you don't have to mix w/ the masses! If you are at westfield and want a nice lunch or need to take work people out for lunch and or meet your parents for lunch, this place is choice!!
Unlike others, our waiter was very nice, really attentive which i appreciate. Granted we were there for a late lunch on Tuesday, so maybe that had something to do w/ the server?!
Regardless everything we had was delicious. We had the poke tuna, yum! Samosas crab cakes and green beans. All was delicious!! I would for sure come back anytime. Granted I too did think it was a touch pricey, yet I can say I know mall rent is not cheap!
I wouldn't normally go to a mall for semi-fine dining but I'd been craving Straits (it's been about 8 years ... where does the time go?) and heard they were now located in the Westfield shopping center.
Three hours later I'm still stuffed yet I can't wait to go back. I want to try every single thing on the menu. The sauces are simply incredible.
We tried the Murtabak (probably my favorite), the crabcakes (love the mango), the prawn & spinach salad (yummy dressing), and Lamb shank Korma. The food came out fast, good sized portions, and our waiter was great.
The restaurant seems a little dark inside but I was with my sweetie so I didn't mind. We were seated against a wall, all to ourselves, and it was romantic. I noticed other yelpers complained about loud music but I didn't notice. I guess we were too engrossed in our conversation.
Only 4.5 stars because there were only 3 prawns on our prawn and spinach salad and the bathroom set up is weird. The area is really dark and the toilets are set off in little rooms with a comm