Restaurant Anzu

So this was the second time dining at Anzu. As in my last review, I continue to say the service is impeccable. Unfortunately the food did not hit the same high bar as last time.

I was looking forward to the Bavette steak this time. While the flavor was delicious, the meat was tough. Recognizing that it is flank steak, I guess it's to be expected, just not what I wanted.

The drinks continue to be delicious, the baby Dino kale salad is now a new favorite of mine, and sushi is great!  

On our next return to Feinstein's, we may need to try one of the other area restaurants.

I had a wonderful dinner at Anzu for a Friday night celebration. The pork chops were juicy and delicious, and the butternut squash ravioli was so creamy. The atmosphere is nice and classy, especially the hotel lobby at Hotel Adeline!

I would've given this place a full five stars if not for the service. When we arrived, there was no one at the front desk for 10 minutes, and when we were finally seated, it took another 15 minutes before the server finally came to take our order. Other than that, no complaints. For such a high class restaurant, it was a disappointment. I might come here again on a busier night so we aren't waiting for so long.

Simple decor and limited menu (price-fix the night we went). We were here for Valentine's and excited to try the sushi- which looked amazing in pictures. Well, that's the only way we saw it- apparently Valentine's was a set menu ONLY, at $125 each. None of it was appealing to me; 1st: simple salad (I can get that anywhere) 2nd: Oysters or vegan "faux gras" (a BIG DOUBLE NO WAY!)
Mains: Salmon (nothing special), Beef Cheeks or a Tofu dish. Dessert: Strawberry Panna Cotta. For someone else, this may have been amazing. I was extremely disappointed- expecting Japanese food at a Japanese restaurant in a Japanese hotel-- call me crazy?

We may try it again when the REAL menu is available.

We had dinner here with the kiddos. They have great service and very clean high chairs with seat belts that work. The ambiance is nice and relaxing. My kids loved the signs with water bubbles inside!
We really enjoyed the appetizer and salad, but we're disappointed with the main courses. My kids devoured the meatballs and their French fries, but barely touched their cheese burger (too rare for kids). They didn't have hot dog.
The squash salad, egg plant, and rock were amazing! The short rib and steak were either too sweet or too salty, but overall ok.
Gelato was really flavorful especially the chocolate one. My kids asked for more so we swirled it into vanilla.

I have been coming here for years. It is very very pricy so cannot come here often. The food is good, but very small portions, and a very hefty price tag. I do really enjoy the black cod. It's a lovely decor in the restaurant. Service was good. Just a bit too expensive for what you get.

Eh. The hype was sad especially for the prices and good food SF has to offer. It is a nice area for clients and conservative on the food choices, but I'd skip out of the place if I could.

Mother's Day brunch was very underwhelming and over priced. $285 for basically a typical hotel breakfast brunch with easily forgettable sushi for three. Won't know until you try; I tried and will move on

This was the dinner half of my first "dinner and a show" outing post-pandemic.  I was going out to see a live music event at Feinstein's (Broadway couple Kelli Barrett and Jarrod Spector) at the Hotel Nikko and remembered that Anzu was just upstairs. The combination of dinner at Anzu and a performance at Feinstein's is an elegant and classic night out in San Francisco.  

For dinner, I ordered their pre-fixe (an appetizer, entree and dessert) PLUS "The Rock" - thinly sliced Wagyu that you cook on a sizzling river stone.  For the pre-fixe, I ordered the 1/2 Anzu roll, the black cod and the matcha cheesecake. Everything was really good.  I loved the black cod - this preparation with the Japanese vegetables and broth is one of my favorites. Service was attentive but not fussy and the live piano player right there provided a nice, relaxing ambiance.  

Prices are what you'd expect to pay for dinner at an upscale hotel.  The pre-fixe was $65 (this was more than enough for one person but I'm a big guy) and the Rock was $24. I ordered a mocktail mojito ($8) and that was outstanding. Anzu has been there a very long time and I love rediscovering this SF classic.  I'll be back for another dinner and a show soon.

Class and elegance are just two words to describe the food and service at Restaurant Anzu, which serves elevated Japanese fusion and sushi cuisine with a new Californian flair. Located in the posh Hotel Nikko San Francisco in downtown San Francisco near the city's stylish Union Square shopping district. Nowadays, the area is suffering from the same fate that has befallen much of the city with empty streets and boarded up storefronts. The hotel is not alone in this plight despite the fact that they are open and taking in hotel guests, you would never know this fact since their front doors remain technically locked, but with a press of a button at their front doors, a hotel doorman would come and unlock the front door for you and promptly tells you to head up the escalators through the lobby and up another flight of stairs to Restaurant Anzu where a beautiful fountain in their entranceway greets you. Upon entry, you will notice a lovely bar area that also serves as their sushi bar and in theory their host station where we checked in. We passed through their multiple open rooms for private dining that were decked out to the nines with stylish lighting, tables and chairs. This attention to detail goes all the way to your dining ware at Restaurant Anzu from your metallic napkin rings to the elegant stemware and drinkware on the table as we sit down.

We of course were here for San Francisco Restaurant Week, which allows local restaurateurs a chance to show off their menus to locals and tourists alike for an affordable price point. That way we can sample some of the best dishes of a restaurant's menu, see what they have to offer in terms of cuisine, ambience and service, and may we be so inclined to return for future visits. For their pre-fixe restaurant week meal, Restaurant Anzu had only one option for us diners, which certainly made things easier to select what we were dining on, but of course was lacking in overall dining options. For our appetizer course, we had their Anzu Roll which was four pieces of a sushi roll filled with snow crab, shrimp tempura, spicy tuna cucumber, topped with spicy mayo and served on a bed of unagi sauce. For our entrée course, we had their Broiled Misoyaki Black Cod which was served with lotus root, soy braised shiitake mushrooms, balls made from edamame and served in a bowl of truffle dashi broth. And for our dessert course we had their Matcha Cheesecake, which was topped with raspberry coulis, fresh berries and vanilla chantilly.

Everything at Restaurant Anzu from the service to the quality of our dishes was wonderful. Our sushi roll was one of the best I had ever had while dining at the very least in San Francisco. Each piece of sushi was filled with so much flavor that you could truly tell the amount of effort our sushi maker put into assembling each roll. Our braised cod was slightly uneven in terms of the size of each piece but that was to be expected, but what was done with each ingredient that was added in could only be described as a greatly composed work of art. Each spoonful of fish and broth and vegetables was perfectly placed together with each bite. Our dessert was the perfect way to end our meal as the cheesecake wasn't top heavy and the flavor wasn't too overwhelmed with matcha flavor, which was appreciated. Restaurant Anzu is definitely a place that could use some support from diners both from locals and tourists alike as they are quite hidden in an area of San Francisco that's not really being visited right now. We dined there for two hours and there were literally six tables that were filled with diners all evening long. There's just no buzz right now and that is to be expected as the status of the hotel that they call home is quite frankly up in the air right now. It would be a shame if anything would happen to Restaurant Anzu, as they've managed to adapt to the times which includes a limited menu and only being open for dinner and four nights a week. They're trying their best and Restaurant Anzu with solid service and deliciously plated meals, dinner here is something that is to be savored and enjoyed.

First visit here to have a much late celebration for my daughters acceptance to college. I heard the sushi was delicious. It was indeed!!! We will return!!!