August (1) Five

Reviews 5

SA

Samantha Berg

Pricy for what it is. Theres been a spell of nicer Indian joints opening around the city and theyve all been well reviewed so I was excited to come try this one. Ambiance - 4 stars. The place is gorgeous inside. Big blue walls, peacock paintings, portraits, and more. The place feels upscale but not pretentious, its warm and welcoming and full of depth. Service - 5 stars. Our server was great. She was super attentive, made a lot of great recommendations, and took good care of us throughout the evening. Crazy Jutt - 3 stars. A scotch based cocktail with honey, apple cider vinegar, cardamom bitters, and soda water. Lots of scotch, which I do enjoy, but there was a lack of balance and I couldnt taste the cardamom bitters. Moneypenny G&T - 4 stars. A much more balanced cocktail. Gin based with yellow chartreuse, pineapple juice, lemon, combier rose, and tonic. It had little flowers floating in it and I appreciate how floral the drink was. It was perfect for a sunny day. Bread basket - 3 stars. Cheese & basil naan, potato & sage naan, and missi roti, served with a roasted red pepper chutney. The chutney was better than the breads. The naan were fluffy in some places but overly done in other places. But let me get back to the chutney. I think we went through bowls of it during the course of the meal. Perfect on everything! Palak chaat - 4 stars. Baby spinach deep fried with garbanzo, tamarind sauce, and yogurt. The fried spinach was almost like kale chips, they were crispy and deeply flavorful. The bowl was topped with chopped tomatoes in an almost salsa-like consistency and the acidity brightened the heaviness of the fried spinach. This was a large portion for two to share. Pork ribs - 3 stars. Three pork spare ribs that fell off the bone. Rubbed with ginger and garlic the meat had decent flavor, but I found it quite dry and a bit chewy. Served on top of brussel sprouts and fennel. Both needed a bit more something... the fennel could have been caramelized and the brussels could have been crispier. This dish had been well reviewed so Im glad I tried it, but I wouldnt order it again. Lamb chops - 4 stars. Three lamb chops (though we got a fourth for even sharing) with a pistachio crust. The lamb was incredibly tender, earthy with the pistachios, and pleasantly fatty. I expected the crust to be a bit crispier, it was a big soggy, but overall, Id order this dish again. Seasonal tart - 2 stars. A chick pea crust filled with some kind of mousse. We were told it was the least sweet of the desserts, and thats true, it almost wasnt sweet at all, but the flavors were a bit weird for our taste. The crust was crumbly and dense and Im not sure I was a fan of the chick pea idea. A bummer to end the meal on this note. Overall, Im glad I tried this place to see what the hype was about, but for me, it didnt live up to it. It wasnt a cheap meal and for that amount, I wanted to truly enjoy every bite.

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KR

Krishna Malleboina

An average indian restaurant hyped up like a super upscale version. We ordered amrut scotch which has smoky flavor similar to Glenfiddich/ blue label. Cocktails were creative. Especially the one Made with Tulsi boba. Palak chaat is full of oil. Actually it should be called oily palak pakoda instead of palak chaat. chicken kebab is marinated paste and improperly cooked chicken. Mutton shemi kebab is delicious. Tried to make to it like a taco. Bread sampler(nans) are of kids size. so small that an average person can eat atleast 6 of them. Regular naan and Akki roti will be served. Again regular naan is not properly cooked. Akki rotti is delicous. All the chutneys served along with naan are awesome. House Daal is ok. They tried to make it like some mexican bean soup. But the paneer curry is delicious. Paneer is stuffed with something inside. This looked similar to the soup served in a french cuisine. Goes well with naan. Biryanis are just plain rice and masala. Both chicken and vegetable biryani are not at all biryanis. Seasonal kulfi and Toffee Pudding dessert is ok. Lava cake has ginger and tasted good. Dessert seasonal tart tasted like colgate toothpaste. Gratuity of 20% will be deducted from the bill no matter how small the group is. SF health mandate 5% Any small thing extra you ask will be charged. For example, an extra small portion of onion was charged $2 for open food. Extra chutney $3 and so on. Please Dont go with high expectations by looking at other yelp reviews and burn your money.

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AK

Akshaya Subramanian

This place was horrible! We will never go back again! I wish I could give it zero stars. We had heard so many good reviews about this place, so my husband and I went to August 1 Five for our wedding anniversary expecting a nice & memorable evening out. First, the service was very sub par for a restaurant that prides itself on a fine-dining experience. They forgot to bring out the appetizer, which came out 45 minutes after we initially ordered. Later after specifically telling them that I am vegetarian, I was served me bison nan "accidentally". When we reported the incident to the manager, the restaurant was more patronizing and offered to comp our dinner, rather than offer a sincere apology. The manager acted as if it was beneath them to be bothered with someone who is vegetarian, after time and again telling them that this was a religious belief for me. The way the entire incident was handled was more insulting than the fact that a restaurant of this caliber would be so careless when a patron specifically requests vegetarian food. I had to storm out of the restaurant sobbing, as it was a huge violation of my personal beliefs. August 1 Five ruined a special day for us. Worst experience ever!!!!!! Please dont ever go here if you have any dietary restriction, as they are not mindful of any of your needs.

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RO

Rohit Divate

I really wanted to like this place, but was very DISAPPOINTED. As the new hot indian fusion place, a group of us went to try it out and we made reservations a week in advance and were seated at the high table. The decor is nice and the food items we got were tasty, but small portions. The food is meant for a non-indian palate, as it was lacking the indian kick, but we enjoyed it anyways since we knew what we were getting into. The drinks took an hour to arrive for a group of 10 of us. The service was very poor, and as a former server it seemed like they had people without enough experience at such a busy restaurant, I really hope they train the folks up to speed. Their printer was broken, so they brought out a machine 3 times the size of an iPad and I received an emailed receipt, which I was OK with. A week later, I checked my statements, and I was overcharged by $80 on my CC. I reached out and the manager refunded me the money, but with no explanation.If I hadnt caught the charge, they would have gotten away with it. I fail to recognize why I was overcharged since the card was swiped in front of me and I signed the right amount on the screen. Beware.

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BE

Ben Gomes

Top notch service, okish food. The first things we ordered were swimming in oil. The Bison Kheema had a layer of grease above it. The pao was heavy too. The palak chaat was ok but not special - deep fried spinach leaves. The asparagus salad had a (to my taste) terrible dressing of coconut oil. It was left unfinished - the asparagus was stringy. The dhokla was excellent - light and flavorful. The pepper chicken on idli (aka rice bread :) was probably the best dish we had. The sea bass was not at all Indian - but it was good. Lightly flavored - and the buckwheat adds a nice crunch. The chicken biryani was nicely flavored but the rice was underdone and broken (should not have been served). Ask for your bread basket with less oil if you dont want butter sodden naan. The ghevar was decent - a condensed milk secret with a nutty topping. The mixti doi was basically a yogurt foam on what tasted like toast! Was not at all desert like! Overall, a medium quality but really greasy meal.

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