Cliff House
San Francisco, CA 94121-1449
Phone: (415) 386-3330
- Price:
- $$$
- Cross Street:
- Balboa Street
- Hours:
- Bistro: Daily 9am-9:30pm, Sutro's: Daily 11:30am-3:30pm, 5pm-9:30pm
Editorial Review for Cliff House – by Karen Solomon
The Scene
The remodeled beachside favorite catches its finest rays during daylight. You'll wait for a table behind tourists and locals entertaining tourists, and if you can tear your eyes away from the wall of windows, you'll find a tasteful retro renovation of deco tile, soaring ceilings, and neat collages of vintage celebrity portraiture.
The Food
This is a guidebook attraction, so expect prices to follow suit. Few punches are pulled: Recognizable things to nibble and dip, such as crumb-crusted crab cakes and pork-stuffed potstickers, abound. Better choices are the main entrees. A classic cioppino of fresh fish and mollusks is flavored by lumps of onion, celery, and sweet red pepper. Fork-tender braised lamb shank is hearty, paired with heavy mashed potatoes and roasted summer vegetables. For dessert? Your palate is best served by a second helping of crashing waves.
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Insider Tips
What to DrinkTry the excellent homemade Bloody Mary at the attached Zinc Bar.
Where to SitThe restaurant doesn't take reservations, but it's worth the wait for a window-side table. Adjacent Sutro's, which offers seasonal New American fare from chef Patrick Clark, also offers a stunning view.
The ExtrasThere's also a small coffee shop inside -- the perfect morning stop before a stroll down Ocean Beach.
User Reviews for Cliff House
08/13/2008 Posted by maduha
After looking at their website, I was excited to visit this restaurant when I recently visited SF. My boyfriend and I both were very disappointed and with all the other fine restaurant options in the city we wished we would have just visited the Cliff House and moved on. The food was very overpriced for the quality and the sides weren't even editable. It’s not hard to make green beans and rice but the taste was so bad (or under done) we only ate the chicken and left with disappointment. Even thought the view is beautiful, there were so many tourists outside, many on skateboards and plenty looking up at you as you ate, you started to only look at the people and forgot the Pacific Ocean was there for your enjoyment. I'll never bother to return to this restaurant, it wasn't even worth the drive to visit.
02/17/2008 Posted by coupleswtnight
Like the title said, we were an hour late to our reservation... and we still got a table. The hostess said that we can have the next available table next to the window next thing you know SOPHIA told us that we can't have it after 20 minutes. Which was okay, but we didn't even get an apology of any sort and she was VERY rude. VERY rude. ( And if you're reading this Sophia, you are very rude hostess!). In terms of the food, the Ahi Tuna appetizer was great. However, my girlfriend ordered the Bouillabaisse and she didn't like it. It just looked like the chef threw every kind of seafood all in a broth and served it. The broth was very salty and the salmon in it was too fishy. I had the ordered The Grilled Maine Swordfish with crab and potato it was "ehhh" (7.5/10). To end the meal, we ordered the Organic Pear & sun dried Cherry Crepes with some tea. It was great except the fruit was a bit sour. Therefore, our appetizer and dessert was better than our entrees. Parking can be a pain in the butt however being next to the ocean makes up for it. Overall, like everyone said the ocean is the main attraction of this restaurant too bad the food just doesn't compliment the view.
Pros: View
Cons: Parking, Sohpia
