Jardiniere

We went for our anniversary (we heard it was romantic)...and they gave us a lovely table near the railing. The service was excellent and the food was very good. The pasta (gnocchi) was excellent, as was the hen. The halibut was good, but not quite to the calibar of the other two dishes. It was a lively scene until the ballet started and the place completely cleared out, which made the scene pretty desolate. Both my husband and I are in our mid to late 30's, and the crowd was a little old for us. \r \r I would probably only go back if I was going to the theater. Otherwise, there are other restaurants with comprable food for the price that offer a much more lively and/or romantic atmosphere Pros: food, service Cons: atmosphere after theater crowd leaves more

The reviews sounded great, nice jazz paired with great food in a whimsical atmosphere. I thought what a great place to a good friend for her birthday.\r \r WRONG!!! It was like dining at Nordstrom's during their semi-annual sale. Too crowded with too many tables crammed together for comfortable dining and LOUD. I remember distinctly hearing a lot of thumping feet, with a din of piano music in the background. The jazz? The ""jazz"" was more elevator muzak. Too bad since the pianist was actually good.\r \r I lost count how many times our table was bumped by both diners and way too many staff members, considering it was hard to remember who our server was. Maybe, the wait staff should spend less time complaining about management issues instead of looking angry and busy. Yes, nothing worse than service by a bitchy, loud wait staff.\r \r Our busboy was GREAT though, and more attentive than everyone combined (we tipped him privately as he deserved it).\r \r Food wise, we ordered the six course tasting menu with the wine pairing. The food arrived lukewarm to cold, therefore, nothing was memorable. The foie gras was good. The fish was fishy and the meat course - definitely cold and congealed.\r \r What was memorable was the portion sizes; they were tiny!! This is a example of presentation taking precedence over the actual food. Needless to say, we actually ate several dinner rolls as we were hungry.\r \r The price of this culinary fiasco, well over $300; the time wasted - close to three hours.\r \r Would I recommend this place?? HELL no! For this kind of experience, take a tuna sandwich to Nordstrom's, eat it next to the piano player, and give the rest of your money to the homeless people at the Powell St. turnaround. Now that would be more satisfying! Pros: The busboy was nice. The foie gras tasted good. Cons: Everything else. more

One of my favorite French restaurants in San Francisco. They play live music on Fridays. It is a bit... more

One of my favorite French restaurants in San Francisco. They play live music on Fridays. It is a bit pricey, but it is really good food French foo... more

One of my favorite French restaurants in San Francisco. They play live music on Fridays. It is a bit pricey, but it is really good food French foo... more

Traci Des Jardins and her wonderful team could create a 7 star meal in a shack, however, this restaurant is romantic and gorgeous. I like the fact more jeans are seen sitting at the bar -- rather like another Zuni on early week day evenings. Eugenio understands wine so well, you can always count on him for fair guidance. And Thad will make you a non-headache yet fabulous cocktail. Management crew are always more than helpful, even on the oft crazy busy days. If you haven't been, try it. Pros: Food. Valet, plus parking lot around the corner. Service. Ambience. Crew. more

We went Weds night (2/28) for my birthday. The best experience from the second we walked in the door to the moment the valet dropped off our car. The food was updated french with an incredible wine list. Loved the six course tasting menu and the wine pairings were perfect. The room is elegant without being stuffy, and the staff's infectious enthusiasm to be serving you made us thrilled to be there. We weren't the only ones having a great time. The tables around us were filled with lively and contented diners, young and old. more

I enjoyed the food and the service. I had the grapefruit salad with crab and aioli, which was tasty and blended an interesting flavor of citrus. The croutons were soggy; that could have been eliminated from the dish. The sole was saltier than my tastebuds were used to, but the fish was cooked perfectly. The evening was enjoyable for most parts, and the service was genuine...UNTIL I went to get my car from valet. I had waited quite awhile for my car to come..being the 1st to ask for my car, and waiting for 5 cars to come and go before mine came--that was odd to begin with. Then, when I had finally got my car, I noticed some black ""leaves"" stuck on the outside of my car, but decided to ignore it. When I got home, I noticed that my passenger side seat was wet, and looked down on the floor mat to find wet footprints along with sunflower seeds littered on the floor mat. I looked behind, and noticed the same! The ""leaves"" on the outside of the car were eaten sunflower seeds! I trusted them with my car, and to have it come back in such a poor condition--can you understand my anger!?! For a pleasant dinner, it ended in bad memories of the restaurant even though their valet service was really an outsourced service. It's just a shame that it tainted the whole evening! It's also a shame that it's difficult to find parking in that area! Pros: Service, Bar, Ambience Cons: Parking, Valet Service more

We looked for a VERY nice restaurant to take my (once upon a time a chef) Mother out to dinner. She can be a little particualr when it comes to food, let's just leave it at that. I have a pretty solid restaurant background myself, so together, we can be a little critical. We had some oysters, they were wonderful, the service was pretty on---the kitchen, however, needs some help. I was bored by the salads, we had the warm bread salad (nothing on it was warm, the bread was not warm and ithe bread was soggy wtih olive oil)-not a winner, the ""poached pear salad"" did not have a poached pear anywhere in sight, it was like someone changed the salad but failed to change it on the menu for that night. It had very little to offer in terms of flavor, which was what I found to be the case throughout the entire evening. I had the seabass for dinner, one of my companions had the risotto. The risotto was the only thing that had any interesting flavor profiles AT ALL. At that, it was very one-sided and overkill on cheese, that was all you could taste was the cheese. We had eaten at Absinthe 3 days before and it BLEW THE DOORS off everything we had here, and it was about $30 less per person! We spent about $300 on dinner for 3 people. We had fun, because we always do, but our night out was supposed to be about the food. We decided to continue on and have dessert, we ordered the cookie plate, ti was nice, but kind of boring too, the best thing on it was a dark chocolate caramel filled truffle--that was the best thing about our entire dinner! \r The Chef needs to use a little more reckless abandon, stop showing so much restraint when it comes to flavor profiles and make sure that the menu reflects what is being served in the dining room. Oh, and make sure when something is served warm, that the timing is right so the item arrives warm at the table. Pros: Easy to ge tto the theatre, nice bar and great cocktails, good service Cons: Location is congested, food is not great more

I love this restaurant. The service is excellent, the atmosphere is romantic (yet inviting for groups or just dining with friends), and the entrees are delicately prepared (with such care and sensitivity to flavor). The only drawback is the dessert and coffee (truly blah ... and no chocolate!). Still, I recommend it highly. Pros: atmosphere, entrees, location Cons: blah dessert and coffee more

this place has it all, from excellent service and delicious food, too a romantic ambience. it is definatly perfect for a special occasion. Pros: great food, great service Cons: expencive more

This is w/o a doubt one of the most memorable dining experieces I've had in SF. I've been in SF for 9 years now, and have dined at many of the cities fine establishments such as La Folie, Gary Danko, Boulevard, Slanted Door, etc but this tops them all. The food is magnificent-we had the short ribs and duck, the decor is stunningly beautiful with a nice bar, spiral stair case, great music, and the serivce your receive from the time you walk in to the time you leave has no equal. Their attention to every detail is incredible. In my opinion now, there is only one place to go for a special night, or date, and that is Jardiniere. My night couldn't have gone any better. Thanks! more

Our group of eight had late reservations, but we decided to have a drink at the bar first. They gladly held our table until we were ready, no pressure at all. By the time we ordered and ate it was well after 11pm but we never felt rushed nor neglected. The service was outstanding, attentive without being intrusive, professional without being stuffy. The staff was thoughtful as well: Beer was poured in a glass then the bottle kept in a freestanding ice bucket (great touch!), and when our entrees were served one of our party was in the ladies room, so they took the dish back and kept it warm until she returned. Being such a large group we were seated downstairs but we happily enjoyed the music and atmosphere. This is definately a ""tiny food/big plate"" kind of place, but the quality and flavor of every dish was outstanding. Highly recommended. Pros: Service, Decor, Food Cons: Pricey more

We loved Jardiniere -- our first visit. Food was exquisite as was the service by our waiter and, prior to dinner, the great bartending staff. The ambiance when sitting upstairs is amazing.Our one disappointment was the host staff. We booked a table several weeks in advance. We early for our reservation and were directed to the bar. No problem. We expected to wait. Ten minutes after our reservation time (25 minutes after our arrival) we had to remind the host staff that we were waiting at the bar. They seemed put out by our reminder and then quickly seated us at the worst table in the restaurant, right by the door. When we asked to be moved they took us upstairs. This wasn't a great way to start off our first visit to Jardiniere but the upstairs table, the ambiance, food and terrific waiter made up for that initial impression. Pros: Great food, Beautiful setting, Piano music Cons: Rude host staff more

We had a birthday dinner here. I called ahead and asked that champagne be waiting for us which it was. We were seated by management that was very personable and friendly. Our server was very knowledgable about the food and wine. We were marked at appropriate times, our water and wine glasses were never half empty, and the food was excellent! I had a special request about the menu and the chef was happy to do so (which also tasted excellent). I will recommend Jardiniere to anybody and I will return as often as I can! Pros: great service, great food Cons: expensive more

I had eaten at Jardiniere a few years back and decided it would be a great place for a Valentine's dinner. The decor is very warm and sophisticated and the jazz music adds to the ambiance. The food was exquisite unique combinations of flavors that played off each other in every dish. The wine list was extensive. What I like the most was the side-by-side tastings that were offered for many of the liquors. I definitely won't wait so long to go back! Pros: Exquisite Food, Romantic, Great Value more

I went here on my BD 10FEB06 and the most compelling aspect was service. Everything was done well, maitre 'd-ing, seating, waiting, sommeliering... the food was good, but not as good as I'd expected. I had NY steak, a very small portion, but it was well done, somewhat chewy. We also had oysters, and leek soup that was rather dull. But with the sommelier's great choice and excellent service, it was a nice dinner, nicer than most I've had at upscale establishments. I especially liked the bar and brick walls all around... everyone was nicely dressed... the atmosphere spoke ""elegance"" and upper-class, but not snobbish. I recommend: have a drink at the bar, check the menu, which was limited in that it didn't have many exciting dishes... some reviews mentioned ""bland"" food and I would say that's true...but overall, I'd recommend and I'm very picky. Pros: Service, Atmosphere, Elegant but friendly Cons: Small portions, Somewhat bland food more

Maybe it's because we dined at Jardiniere on a Sunday. It may have been an ""off"" night. But the food was over-priced and I didn't even touch my entree. The wine was not to my taste at all, perhaps, just a poor recommendation from the sommelier. I just did not care for this over-priced gaudy restaurant. Pros: Ambiance, Service Cons: Food, Price more

This is one of the great upscale SF restaurants. It seems that many aspiring 'fancy' places try to oversauce and come up with exotic combinations to make up for sub-standard ingredients. The best restaurants' food enhance the flavours in high quality ingredients and Jardiniere is one of these. Our party of four went for 6 apps, every one of which was wow-inducing, especially the duck confit - not fatty, just tender and tasty. Of the two mains (which the kitchen graciously split into 4 plates), the beef ribs were meltingly phenomenal. After tasting, Adam and I just looked at each other, drank some red wine, cheers'd and just nodded at each other. Happy. And the ladies loved their fish too... Irene was still talking about the cheese plate the next morning and Sommelier Hils was great and friendly and made fine recommendations for pairing. We will be back. Pros: Amazing tastes, Perfect wines, Beautiful decor Cons: Atmosphere a tiny bit, cold more

Had a lovely meal with fresh oysters to start and salmon as my entree. Both were fresh and scrumptious. Pots of Creme for desert topped off the night and a couple drinks. I left with quite the full belly. Best part is it wasn't packed until the symphony crowd arrived. Satisfying and romantic all at the same time. more