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Categories: Asian Fusion, American (New) [Edit]
Neighborhood: North Beach/Telegraph HillMon-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Mon-Thu. 5:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
"Houston's is one of the most consistent restaurants in town. Let's begin with the appetizers, shall we? The Spinach & Artichoke dip is…" read more »
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As a guy, I am not that picky about food. If I was single, Gordos would be the staple diet whenever I eat out; a meal at House could get me like at least 15 burritos. However, if it wasn't for my female sidekick/companion, I would not have ever heard of House. THE HOUSE IS THE BEST RESTAURANT I'VE EVER EATEN AT. No joke. Yesterday was a most glorious night.
I made a reservation for 9 pm. We came at 8 after the Embarcadero Building Lighting to see if we could get in early but it was so packed. The House is not big first of all, so it is crammed. Without even asking if we could be seated early, we went to King of Thai Premium. I have never seen a King of Thai like this before. It is swanky to the extreme. Their menus are the same, but are embossed instead of laminated...crazy. We had some brewskis to pass the time and watch the regulars flirt with the Thai waitresses. I am probably going to be like that one day, in say, 30 more years. Christ.
Came in at 9 and was seated promptly. Because the House is so small, you are seated very closely to the next table. Therefore, its kind of hard to have an intimate conversation...a lovemaking melding of the words per se. You can't ask if this meal with lead to a night of boning due to arched eyebrows and grins. As appetizers, I ordered the salmon roll. It was really good. It is basically salmon in sushi with eggroll paper fried on the outside. It came with this wasabi sauce which I was not a fan of tho as I do not like wasabi. It should have come with some soy sauce.
My girlfriend ordered the famed bass while I ordered the butterfish. My girlfriend's sea bass was really good; it was very tender and cooked to a flaky perfection. There was a very light flavor. However, while it may be the consensus best dish, I thought it paled in comparison to my butterfish. It was so buttery it was redick. My only complaint was that it was really small. I wolfed it down in literally 5 minutes than watched with doe eyed jealousy as my girlfriend savored her cod. My butterfish, which was the special, came with 4 pieces of tuna sashimi. Eating that, I now noe the difference between good sashimi and bad sashami. It literally melted in my mouth. Goddammit...yearn for it so much.
For dessert, we had the chocolate truffle cake. It was very rich and good. 5 stars for the House. It is the best restaurant I have eaten at to this day. Another star goes out to our serveur who kept flubbing up on the 7 special entrees/specials. I kept on making her repeat for kicks and interrupting during it to throw her off. I only did it in jest...humblest apologies.
I've been a huge fan of The House since they were located on Irving St. They have yet to disapoint me. This restaurant is still very busy, so reservations is a MUST. We were about an early for our reservation, so we grabbed coffee and a slice of pie near by. Yes we had dessert before our dinner! haha
Food here is still very yummy...we had mussles, tuna tar tar, porkchops, and shrimp!
The restaurant is a bit small, so you will be sitting quite close to your neighbors. haha
Not as good as I remember, but it's probably because I tried so many things and it's hard to please one person with every different dish. Overall, still excellent service and excellent food. 4.5 stars
- Tuna Special: sashimi & seared tuna, sauce dip was good with a slight hit of wasabi
- Pork Chop: yummmy tender, the greens were a good accompaniment
- Sea Bass: sooo tender, cooked well and flaky to perfection, light flavor so you can actually taste the fish
- Fried Salmon Roll: yummy, very spicy mustard sauce
- Unagi Over Rice: i love ungai and this was simply delicious with the slightly fried rice so it was crispy
- Tuna Tartare: fresh
- Mango Tapioca: light, creamy taste, very good
- Chocolate Cake: dense, chocolatety, coffee ice cream was good
Love this place! I have yet to be disappointed by any of the dishes. Cute, small, Asian Fusion place… Read more »
Making an obvious assumption, I'm guessing it's called The House because it's been converted from one. It really is a teeny tiny restaurant, so it fills up super quickly. If you do make reservations, be sure to get there right on time. It's very popular and in my experience there has been a wait when I arrived a little late. To its credit, once sat, you'll be happy with the expedited service. I added the wait staff's attentiveness as a plus to the over-crowding's negative, thus cancelling any point-docking in my 5-star review. In the end it's about the food. And it really is THAT good! Really.
I'm a pescetarian, which means the only meat I eat is fish. I've been so for quite a few years now and believe me when I tell you that I've tasted my fair share of sea creatures. If anyone were to ask me what's my favorite fish dish, my answer would be, without hesitation, The House's sea bass. It's phenomenal. The fish is so delectably tender and flakey you'd think you were given a little slice of heaven. You don't even need to add any extra condiments to it; it's like a fine steak that shouldn't be messed with. Unbelievable. I'm usually a one-trick pony when I go there, so I make sure to taste my company's dishes, which come in very generous portions, and I'm always very pleased.
To sum up: the tastiest meal you've ever had will be the reward for your patience.
As a Bay Area native and 6-year resident of San Francisco, I know the cardinal rule: Do not expect to find amazing food in North Beach.
Well let me be the first to apologize to The House for the generalization. You are like a diamond in the rough!
We celebrated our friend's 30th birthday this past weekend at The House and it was just a fabulous meal. At first, I was put off by the 10PM dinner reservation for a party of 8 but the place is definitely snug ... and loud. However, the food, service and price more than makeup for the size and acoustics.
The tuna tartare was excellent but I have to say, I cannot ... CANNOT ... stop thinking of the seared sea scallops. Wow, they were amazing. To the point were I was thinking of going for lunch today since it's only 5 blocks from my office. The husband -- who is not a seafood guy -- really enjoyed his flat iron steak. Our friends raved about the salmon rolls and the fried green beans.
All in all, it was a fabulous meal. Also, bonus point to the server who got our entire order correct and timed the meal fabulously.
PLEASE NOTE: they only accept 2 credit cards per bill. So if you bring a large party, make sure you have CASH!
The House ... I will be seeing you soon! I look forward to dining there again soon. Meanwhile, I will try my best to forget about those scallops, but they are haunting me!
Alright so my last review got taken down because I was too mean to the hostess, so I'll try to play nice this time..
Food - Solid.
Service - The House, like any other competitive establishment, should have a zero tolerance policy for their employees' mistreatment of their patrons. The attitude we experienced was jarring and completely unacceptable. Shame on them for deprioritizing the customer experience.
Overall - Great food. Horrible staff. Your call.
Came here on a Fri and parking was horrible..as expected. Thankfully we had reservations and were seated promptly.
We ordered the Salmon Roll, Sea Bass, and Swordfish with Coconut Curry.
Salmon roll: delicious! tender and rare in the inside and crispy on the outside...just how we like it!
Sea Bass: superb! both flavorful and fall off the fork tender
Swordfish: It was suppose to be swordfish with coconut curry and clams, but the clams were so small, we had mistaken them for potato bits! Aside from the minuscule clams, the curry and fish were delicious.
Looking forward to going back and trying their other dishes!
*nom nom*
I went to this place this weekend and let me start by saying that this place is small. It will seat 2-4 perfectly. 6 comfortably enough, 8 is pushing it but doable and any more than that and you'd be better off choosing somewhere else.
For appetizers, we had the crab cake and raw oysters. the appetizers come out instantly. So instantly that I believe it was pre-made and sitting there waiting for someone to order it. it was warm and not hot. If it just came out of a deep fryer, it should've been much hotter. The sauce for the raw oysters was ok, but lemons and hot sauce would've been better.
The food there was good. I had the pork chop. The pomegranate currant sauce was good but the mashed potatoes were a bit bland.
The grilled sea bass and garlic ginger soy sauce was great but the noodles again were bland. It seems like a lot of the work and care goes into the entree and the sides get a bit neglected.
For the finale, we had the creme-brulee. again, it came out instantly and it was cold. There was a mango or passion fruit sauce on top that was too sour for my taste.
Yay! i'm a fan!
pomegranate pork chop..........uhhhahhhhwow!
so very flavorfull. yup, thats what I got and I loved it.
I started off with some scallop special appetizer. Loved it. It was cooked perfectly and the caviar complimented it soo well. Also started with some salmon roll appetizer. It was mediocre. It was salmon sushi.
The portions are plentiful.
Make a reservation because this place gets packed!
THERE WAS ONE DOWNFALL. my server did not come back with my change. I thought that was rude. She assumed i didnt want change and gave herself a 22% tip. I waited for a long while too.......
If I were to write a one-sentence review, it would be "The best restaurant in the Bay Area".
I was there 8 years ago, loved it, and for some reason forgot about it, I took some colleagues there 2 weeks ago, and let me just say I hit a home run. 7 foodies who live in Paris, and a couple local folks all agreed that it was among the best restaurants they ate at in SF or Paris. High praise indeed.
Sea Bass = perfectly cooked. Pomegranate Pork chop was amazing. The sauce they make is so unique and so delicious that it has taken the pork chop to new hights. Seared Tuna = amazing. Teryaki steak was tender, flavorful, and well cooked. They had some Japanese beer that I've never had before, but basically its made with Red Rice. Holy shit, its the best beer from the east I have ever tried. Waitstaff is knowledgable and efficient, though not terribly warm and fuzzy.
House isn't cheap, but the quality of the food is far beyond other restaurants in its price range. Its been around for 15 years and it hasn't missed a beat.
This is a must go for anyone who considers themselves a foodie.
Note that parking is a disaster and I didn't see a valet. Tsk, tsk.
Wow, 1000+ reviews, House has it going on.
This was my go to restaurant in North Beach as it was only a few blocks from my place and I didn't want to bring friends to Spaghetti Row.
Sea Bass was amazing, that's all you need to remember, except to call ahead for reservations unless you want to go to a strip joint while you wait.
1000 reviews? Are you kidding? This place isnt that great to warrant all this hype. Its a better than average, more expensive than average place to eat. Nothing special, unless you like to see table upon table of white guys dating Asian girls, bc it seems thats all who comes here. i guess its the latest trend
It's been a few months since moving to Telegraph Hill, and I've passed by this joint on Grant probably hundreds of times. The storefront is rather nondescript, especially given the neighboring dive bars and strip clubs. Fortunately, hubby noticed the place and wanted to give it a try. We were lucky to get a table with limited wait on a Saturday night. The interior is pretty much similar to the exterior--simple, clean lines, and, at most, hinting at the type of cuisine offered.
After sitting, the server informed us of the specials, which all sounded fabulous. Ultimately, we got the special clams, the eel roll, wasabi noodles with steak, and a special Hawaiian sampler plate. Service was quick and friendly, with our apps arriving in short order. The eel roll was pretty good. The clams were amazing. The broth was just a tad spicy, and tasted great with the grilled pieces of bread served with the app. The dinner entrees were equally fabulous, with the wasabi noodles being the hit of our evening.
I didn't have room for dessert, so I guess I'll have to hit up the House next time!
Isn't it always the smaller the restaurant, the better the food? The word's out because this place is always packed and if you don't have a reservation (like I didn't last night), you might be waiting up to an hour for a table.
They offer intriguing Asian fusion dishes. Last night, we shared the sea bass with green beans and noodles, spicy stake with noodles and mushroom rice with prawns between three people. Everything we tried was delicious and it was fun to sample each dish. The one dish that surprised me was the mushroom rice with prawns. It was exactly like a mushroom risotto and seemed a bit out of place at The House, but was tasty nonetheless. However, I don't think that I would order it as my entree because it was quite rich and cheesy.
My recommendation-- get a reservation, you'll be glad you did.
For 4.5 stars and over 1,000 reviews, I think it was a little too hyped up for my boyfriend and I and we ended up being a little disappointed. The food was pretty good...but I think we are both still skeptics to Asian Fusion.
My boyfriend got the pork chops, which was covered in sauce which was a little too sweet. I got the sea bass which was really good, but I didn't care for the noodles at all...they reminded me of an instant udon noodle package or something, which kind of made the dish feel "cheaper."
We ordered the Coconut Creme Brulee which we regretted once it came out. First, it came out within about 2 minutes. That was kind of disappointing because obviously it was already made, but I thought it would be okay as long as it was hot. But it was very lukewarm and wasn't that good.
Overall, just an okay experience.
This restaurant has so many reviews; maybe it doesn't need another one, but I have to, I MUST, document my euphoric experience at The House.
Me, the lowly part-time worker was invited to join in on the company lunch one beautiful day. I had no idea where we were going or what to expect as we walked our towards North Beach, quite possibly one of my favorite districts of San Francisco. Past the Church of Scientology, past City Lights.
Enter THE HOUSE: a quaint little place, modern and yet with an old charm. Maybe not spacious enough for big groups, but perfect for a date, or, as the girl sitting at the table next to us silently suggested with her Sherman Alexie novel in hand, a peaceful lunch.
I became nervous when I realized this was an Asian fusion place. I had never been to an Asian fusion place that I liked. Their aim for ambiance and strong flavor never seem to make up for bad taste and price, but The House definitely made me shut-the-fuck-up-and-eat.
Calamari, well, it's hard to fuck up on fried calimari. The bean tempura with some kind of special soy sauce was something incredibly unique, light in texture but strong in taste. I tried the sea bass main course as well, cooked to perfection.
But I think I probably died when I had the flatiron steak. It was presented beautifully and was absolutely delicious. Even the decorative shredded carrots at the top were good, and had a lovely "fried Asian" flavor. Yeah, I did die actually.
The mango tapioca was hmm, maybe not enough mango, but still delicious in flavor and tasted like a much creamier, much richer desert that I might get at a HK cafe.
Service was really meh, but not a big deal. Homegirl was hella rushing us, not that there weren't any free tables that Friday afternoon. She was like BAM, here's your menu, BAM I'm back.
At one point the ever pungent smell of marijuana enveloped our table. My head shot up, and like a dog, I sniffed the air to find the source. It coincidentally arrived as a somewhat distraught looking waitress stood near us, but I'll more rightfully assume that it came through from outside. I mean, it is a small place.
The House is a small restaurant offering asian fusion cuisine. It gets pretty crowded so I would suggest making a reservation. There were some people that were walk-ins and I overheard the wait time being around an hour.
The service varies on who you get. The guy who set up our table didn't even acknowledge us. He just put down the menus and walked away. The guy who took our order was more attentive.
As for the food, we ordered 2 appetizers: deep fried chicken liver with greens and mussels. I loved both but I was a little disappointed in the mussels, only because a lot of the mussels meat were out of the shell so it seemed like we were given a plate of empty shells. For our entrees, we ordered: the wasabi noodles with steak and kurobuta pork. The noodles were fantastic, clearly the star of the dish with the steak being just a topping. I loved the pork as well.. very tender and the pomegranate glaze went really well! Even though we were pretty much stuffed, we decided to get dessert. I mean, come on, how can I say no to creme brulee? We also ordered the persimmon bread pudding special that night, which was awesome! It reminded me of pumpkin pie.. yummm!!!
Finally tried this place for Mom's birthday this week, and what a treat!
We ordered two small plates and one entree, there isn't much difference in price but there were many yummy small plates to choose from, so we went with that. We ordered:
salmon rolls: Nice big portions of salmon, really light taste (even though it's deep fried) and a great hot mustard sauce. The salmon roe on top made it divine.
Steamed mussels: This one was ok for me, a little on the salty side but thats what mom really liked about it. You get about a dozen mussels and a lot of sauce, no bread though-would have been nice to dip.
Pork sandwich: Really tender, really salty (in a really good way) and sweet at the same time. The bread is perfectly toasted and it's a nice big portion of meat, love the sauce. It also comes with a lovely, fresh vinaigrette salad.
The restaurant is quite small so it wouldn't be good for crowds or big families, but i like intimate/small settings so it's a good thing in my book. There were a lot of dishes I wanted to try, especially in the entrees (a lady next to us got a flat iron steak with potatoes and French green beans and it looked gorgeous!) Located blocks from work and under $30 before gratuity means I'll be back soon for lunch! Recommend to anyone, especially those who like a great fusions of Asian/Californian style food.
This place, what I should say about? It's a really mixed feeling. The food itself was fantastic but the dining experience wasn't nice completely.
I should've said "No" when the hostess offered the seats right by the room divider at the entrance area. But this place looked very busy and small. So I really didn't want to ask for more. Then it became a big mistake and a big mistake made by me. For the whole hour, when people standing at the entrance area got bored, they were checking on my food, commenting on it, leaning as close as much towards our table and chair, talking over my head, texting with their elbows moving in front of my eyes. And I had to sit straight, watched my table manner, refrained from talking and finished my food as soon as possible. If the owners were a little bit more thoughtful, they would've put a bigger room divider or a plant, or a door panel, or just something to keep customers at that table visually (though not physically) further away from the standing crowd.
However, this place seemed to have good reviews on their food. The sea bass we ordered proved it! It was the most tasty sea bass dish I've ever had. Bf's mushroom rice with garlic prawn was delicious too (sort of risotto type). They've a lot of meat eater favorites and portion was big enough for 2 meals for me. The inside was simple and nice ,although it's also cramp and noisy.
If we go back for its food, we must not sit at that table again and hopefully our experience will improve.
Definitely not a place for poor young travelers, but it was just so good. the meal was worth every penny. The sea bass just melts in your mouth, and the flatiron steak with the wasabi noodles is just amazing. we had some starters that were specials that night. some sort of clams. and another starter were these amazing scallops. We have seriously never had food like this before. We want to go back and try more dishes.
The service was great. The waiter was super nice. The place itself is just so cozy. make a reservation, it's the easiest way to get in if you don't want to wait.
My sister and her husband's been coming here for over a year now and have always giving them rave reviews. Now I know why. This place is tiny but they make it work.
We had dinner reservations last night. I think if you have to make reservations on a Tuesday night, that says something about the popularity of the restaurant for sure. We were seated immediately, and served water and menus. The wait staff were professional, friendly, and quick on the feet.
Our appetizers came out less than 5 mins after we ordered them! OMG, that's quick! We had the calamari and the Tuna TarTare, both were delish! Portions were as expected for appetizers.
Our entree came out soon after we finished our starters. We shared the Baked Sea Bass with ginger garlic soy sauce which came with these amazing wet noddles and string beans.
This the the place where foodies come to convene and enjoy food that they are absolutely sure will be amazing.
Oh, our dessert was creme brulee with a plum sauce. The most interesting way I've ever had creme brulee, the sweetness and sourness came together like an explosion in your mouth and makes you drool as you're eating it (does that make sense?)! Literally, your mouth will be watering while you have this in it, because the combinations of the flavors are so strong and contrasting.. Sounds weird but try it and you'll know exactly what I mean.
Just a word for the wise, this place opens for dinner at 5:30. Don't show up earlier or you'll be greeted with a boot back out the other way. But I was in a rush to catch a flight out from SFO that night, so I figured I'd try to pull an early bird.
When ever I'm in the bay I try to make it here. This time, I had the usual, the pomogranate Porkchop. My friend the wasabi noodle and steak. And to start it off, the Eel rice where instead of being like sushi before, is more like a cream risotto now. In my opinion, it's a bit too rich now, with eel and cream sauce.
But still same great place. No complaints as ever. And made my flight out with plenty of time.
3.5 stars
Yeah the food was hella delicious, but it better be! Its like smaller than my bedroom and well, we definitely didnt come for the ambience.
Ben and I came here on a Saturday Night, we found parking on Jackson and Stockton, hella far away (0.4 miles according to the gps). There is no parking anywhere in north beach so we trekked it there.
We were seated on time...at 945!! Our original reservation was at 6 but they called back to "confirm" and ben didnt hear the call, when he called back the earliest time they had was 3 hrs later!!! Thats how popular this place is, so YES, make reservations.
We tried the sea bass, and the wasabi noodles with flank steak. The steak was cooked just right: Medium well-done just like we liked and the sea bass to perfection. Presentation beautiful and we devoured our food. The food is super buttery so since everything was so dang savory we passed on dessert.
Other:
Large selection of wine.
Bathroom is unisex and takes FOREVER to get into--they should make a VIP list for the restroom-il rsvp to that. I even gave up after standing outside for 5-7 minutes fearing the smell from the whatever the prior person was doing.
I always take my friends here to eat whenever we decided to go to the city. Even though the restaurant is small it does provide some of the best food for a modest budget you can find in San Francisco.
I've been here multiple times and each time I was smart enough to make a reservation. They are always packed for dinner, but sometimes if you're lucky you can sit down for lunch. Always make reservations for Friday and Saturday otherwise you may not even get a chance to wait for a table. Because of the small size of the restaurant I really wouldn't suggest a party of more than 6.
The food is always amazing. They have very creative specials almost changing every week, and each of them sound so tantalizing I always order at least one special each time I go. The appetizers are usually enough for only two people, but you can ask the wait staff to alter the price and amount of food for each appetizer to fit the number of people in your party.
They do have a pretty modest wine list and the prices are quite reasonable. Their deserts are also very delicious and sometimes they run out on a busy night. All in all I would say that The House is definitely a great place to show off to your friends that you know where some really good food is made.
Also for a side note, depending on the night, it can be very noisy so expect to talk with a bit more volume when you go. It can be very intimate for dates because you'll be able to lean in quite close so that your partner will be able to hear what you're saying.
I love the wasabi noodles! They have yummy fish and seafood entrees. It's small and cute and always delicious.
3 Stars SOLELY based on today's lunch experience. Otherwise, it's a freaking 4-5 Stars place in my book.
Service was good as usual. Today I decided to FINALLY try the sea bass with HIGH anticipation. $20 sea bass is not a bad deal at all for lunch! Presentation was beautiful as usual. Pretty good portion of sea bass. Nice crunchy greenbeans, and flavorful noodles on the side. Sea bass was cooked with slight crunch on the surface, flakey in the middle, LOOKS GREAT!
HOWEVER, the dish was EXTREMELY oily. Sea bass wasn't seasoned enough because I'm supposed to dip it in the sauce that it came with. However, the sauce was overly salty. Even a very light dip was pretty overwhelming. The fish was probably seared with lots of oil, and remember, sea bass is an oily fish. Everything came out to be super oily.
Pretty disappointed this time. I guess I'll just stay away from the sea bass.... WHAT?! Yep, sounds like non sense, but I like the flank steak WAY better.
My friend and I always love going to the House when we feel like treating ourselves at lunch time.… Read more »
Absolutely delightful, my lunch here was a light and incredibly flavorful treat. I would have easily passed by The House numerous times without stopping in, and even upon arrival I wasn't all that impressed by the surroundings: it all seemed super casual, and at not so casual prices.
But the food, ohhh the food. The crispy salmon roll was as delicious as everyone has said: a hearty, shareable portion and unlike anything I've ever eaten before. My unagi with avocado sandwich was messy but perfection: crunch grilled bread, super fresh avocado, and flavorful unagi. I loved it. I also got to sample the sea bass, which was SO good, although I'm not sure it was worth the nearly doubled price over the other lunch options (it was $20). If you're hungry, the noodle servings were huge, and also very tasty: I'd definitely try them the next time around.
All in all, a perfectly prepared and delicious lunch that left me feeling full sans food coma; and that I had splurged without going overboard. A pretty perfect lunch, indeed.
Hands down, My favorite restaurant! Great food, affordable, and good service. What more can i ask for?
Everything on the menu is good so even if this is your first time, you can just choose anything and it'll be delicious!
I personally love the oysters because of their special saraicha lime sauce and I always get the Seared Ahi Tuna entree.
Love it!
My boyfriend took me here to celebrate our promotion, It wasn't what I expected as the place is small...literally..a house, but both service and food are better than most fru fru places in SF!!
We ordered the calamari to start -- delicious. Squid (or is it cuttle fish?) is kept whole, unfried, in a savory light asian sauce. For entrees, per yelp recommendations he ordered the steak, and i had the sea bass. Steak was decent...but the sea bass was O--EM-GEE...best i've ever had!! Fish was so moist it literally melts in your mouth. The side of wasabi noodles was the perfect compliment.
Make sure to make reservations as seating is limited, I waited 45 min, but well worth it!!
The HOUSE is very very small... parking is always hard in this area, you can find parking, probably a few blocks away. The last time i've been to The House was at least a year back, partly bc im a broke ass college student that cannot afford expensive food.
Anyways, as i can still recall.. i had the amazing sea bass with garlic soy sauce. it was really good, all sea bass should somewhat melt in your mouth since its a pretty fatty fish.
my friend ordered the porkchop with this red sauce, which i believe is the pomogrante sauce. the friend said it was really good (i didnt try cux i dont eat pork)
we also had this appetizer with mussels and clams, it was yummy as well. anyways.. the food was actually really good. i will be coming back... maybe not right now.
2 people is about $60.
You know when you take a bite of something, and you start nodding your head as if someone asked you a question and you were answering yes? That's exactly what I kept doing every time I took a bite at The House. Really good food, nice presentation, great service, and sits in a cool location. Entrees range from $17-26.
Appetizers:
-oysters on the half-shell: really clean and fresh
-deep fried salmon roll: really nice crispy outside, slightly cooked inside.
-grilled calamari: served in a sauce that was sweet and spicy. This was one of their specials for the evening.
Mains:
-Seared black cod: one of their specials for the night...this was ridiculously good. Melted in your mouth. It should just be part of their regular menu.
-Angus rib-eye: cooked just right. Served with potatoes and bok choy
-Sea bass: accompanied by noodles and green beans. Really moist with a hint of salty.
Dessert:
-Blackberry strudel with nectarines and ice cream: OMFG! I could've ate three of these for myself.
-Nectarine and raspberry sundae: this was okay. Tasted like something I could whip up at home.
Loved The House. Only con would be the size of the restaurant. It's really small. Make sure to make reservations if you're having dinner here. This place can get pretty pricey if you have a weakness for the bubbly...but it's a great food experience and worth every penny.
The food was a bit on the saltier side for me, but overall a good experience. A very cozy restaurant with cramped seatings, but also a good date location.
3.5 stars.
Went there for lunch, food is not bad, servers are well trained.
But they don't handle the rush well. The male server who was excellent explaining us the specials and other things on the menu was clearly stressed out and took it out on me at the end of our other wise great lunch.
I brought the check book with our credit cards inside to him. I was being polite about it, seeing that they were busy and didn't mind that they didn't have the time to come get it.
The male server who was great earlier now not so much said "MISS!!!" to stop me from going back to my table and went on to say "for YOUR future reference, put the card in the slot on top of the check presenter so that we know you are done. So that we don't have to rush you."
I could not believe that he had a nerve to tell me where to put my credit card in to pay them. We had them inside the book.
So because of that we will never go back there.
The House is one of my favorite restaurants in the bay area.
If the black cod is available, get it! It's cooked perfectly. There's a lot of flavor and it just melts in your mouth. The pork chop is really good too. The pomegranate sauce is really what makes the pork chop stand out. I couldn't get enough of it.
The only downside is that it's small, so the tables are really close together. You can easily hear your neighbors' conversations. I'm a small person, and I still feel like I have to turn to the side to get to my seat.
Reservations are highly recommended.
Cozy little location with attentive staff. First time experience was great. Yes, it is a little pricey, but the portions are also decently sized.
Had the calamari (mmm, much different from calamari I've had at other places), sea bass (tender, flavorful sauce on the side, comes w/ veggies & noodles - love the noodle+onion combination), teriyaki rib eye (delicious, tender medium rare, topped w/ garlic, comes w/ mashed potatoes & veggies). Also, had a taste of the flat iron steak + wasabi noodles (not too bad, but I have to say the teriyaki rib eye was best that night)
I do look forward to my return! Make reservations, fills up quickly.
My only gripe: wish they had better chairs & tables. If I'm paying ~30 bucks/plate, I'd like a little cushion.
I finally had dinner at the legendary House. Actually, not too legendary as I had only heard about it once from a friend at the gym. A friend we were with had been here many times, so we appointed her as our menu advisor. Black cod and sea bass highly recommended.
Overall, everything was delicious and tasty, but not orgasmically must-return-the-next-evening good.
Six of us shared the following: 2x miso black cod, 2x grilled sea bass, prawns w/ risotto, and wasabi noodles w/ steak.
Miso black cod - Solid, but not as good flavorful as Nobu. Still my favorite of the evening though. It was one of the specials and I would order it if they had it again. A fairly generous portion served with California roll (weird) and some veggies.
Grilled sea bass - I'm such a sucker for sea bass, so of course I loved this. I also love green beans. A good fall back if they don't have black cod. Served with noodles that looked just like the wasabi noodles, but without the wasabi. lol!
Prawns w/ risotto - The prawns were huge, cooked to perfection, and had great seasoning. Risotto was just ok, seems like something I might be able to whip up at home from an online recipe.
Wasabi noodles w/ steak - Not bad, but pretty basic imo. Stir fried noodles with a kick of wasabi, topped with some sliced steak.
Soft-shell crab tempura - Good appetizer, although I forgot to try the dipping sauce. A bit hard to share. :P
I was curious about the pork w/ pomegranate sauce as I love this combination, but a friend said it was kinda dry the last time she ordered it.
The restaurant is really small, and fortunately we had a reservation. As mentioned in many of the other reviews, the tables *are* very close together, so perhaps not the most private atmosphere.
Service was good and prompt. Parking is ridiculous in this area, so come early and be prepared to walk a bit.
It was decent value, but I'm not sure I'd come back without the black cod. Maybe to try the pomegranate pork.
Awesome. Liang was the ideal server: warm, friendly and professional--as well as honest with us when we asked about whether bubbly shiraz was worth a try (then let us taste what he meant--and we agreed!). We heart him!
The hostess accommodated us almost immediately, without reservations on a Saturday evening, and we appreciated her honesty when she let us know we had the table for ~75 min, before the reservation was due to arrive.
Above all, the food was superlative, from the melt-in-your mouth sea bass/ sashimi combo, to the lightly battered scallop cesar salad, and ahhh, the surprising/ delightful warm kabocha squash tart drizzled with fresh cream and caramel--mouth-gasm!
We'll be returning often for date night!
Been here 3 times now, and every time was a 5-star experience.
No, not a 5-star like Michael Mina or Masa's... this is more of a mom and pop's shop. Located in north beach, you could easily walk past this restaurant had it not been for the crowd of people standing in front of the place. The House is a casual and chic 5-star restaurant. You don't have to whisper and order a $200 bottle of wine, and you don't have 5 billion forks and knives... which are just a couple of things that I love about this place.
We were seated right away at 8:30ish, but the other couple of times I needed a reservation because we went at prime time (6-8pm). We ordered the salmon roll, the oh-so-famous seabass, and the delicious wasabi noodles with flank steak. Let me tell you something, it was a PARTY IN MY MOUTH with every bite that I took. Man, they don't mess around! The sea bass melted in my mouth and I couldn't get enough of it! The wasabi noodle was a good compliment because it's not so sweet and the texture is completely different. The noodles were cooked to perfection with a wasabi sauce mixed in with some kind of teriyaki sauce giving it an asian fusion taste. Oh, and don't forget to get some Chamay beer!
It's no wonder that this place is highly recommended by yelpers all around.
ahh, so good... think I'll go back there tonight for another meal!
This place is over-hyped. Maybe we came in with too high expectations, but it seemed like a lot of the food here was precooked. I came here for an anniversary dinner with my boyfriend and it seemed the whole experience was very rushed. Appetizer came out in a few minutes and the dessert came out within a few minutes. The dessert wasn't even hot like it should have been and so it wasn't enjoyable at all.
I'm starting to come to the conclusion that maybe Asian fusion just isn't a good idea for fine dining in general...Made reservations for 7pm on a Saturday and got seated right on time, although the hostess' attitude was more beezy than friendly. As you all know, this place is tiny so reservations are a good idea for dinner. The layout also makes things kind of weird, as they fit tables into the narrow hallway leading to the back where the lone restroom is. I didn't pay much attention, but it seems that people eating in the "hallway" area get less servce than those in the square front area, an unfortunate side-effect of having limited space to work with.
For the food, we started off with the Fried Salmon Rolls which were finger lickin good (leave it to me to take a fine dining experience and class it up by eating something with my hands). A disclaimer, the mustard sauce that accompanies the rolls may be a little too strong for some, so go light and pile on more as you go. Otherwise you gonna be sneezing all over your food. With that in mind, the rolls without the sauce were just aight, the sauce definitely completes them and makes them more hearty. I ordered the Wasabi Noodles with Flat-Iron Steak which came piled with kimchee and some julienned cucumbers. The noodles were just ok, literally tasting like udon that were stir-fried with soy sauce and a dash of wasabi. I'll probably try and make it at home since it seems easy enough to do. The steak was cooked perfectly medium with a dark outside and a deliciously bloody inside mmmmmm. However, the steak didn't really have any flavor to it other than its own natural goodness and some of the flavors it absorbed from the kimchee and noodles. My friend got the Sea Bass which came with green beans and surprise, surprise, udon! As with the steak, the sea bass was cooked very well, and like all sea bass, tasted very good. It didn't have any extra flavor or seasoning though which kind of let us down again though. Just another well cooked piece of protein that happens to be delicious on its own. The udon was like the base version of the wasabi ones, stir-fried with soy sauce but didn't get the fancy-pants wasabi treatment. The green beans pulled off the same feat, tasting like something I'd make at home cause they were so basic.
Now, I'm all for simplicity and home-style foods, but this place is billed as a fine-dining experience so I should be experiencing flavors that are complex and different. The fact that I could essentially make both of the entrees at home must be a testament to how good a chef I am...not haha. It just struck me as being a too simple and not quite the foodie mecca that it's been painted to be on here. If anything it'd make a good lunch stop or a safe, solid dinner, but I don't recommend this place as a must try if you're wanting a sensational tasting meal.
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