Address: | 3324 Steiner St, San Francisco, CA 94123, USA |
Phone: | +1 415-567-9588 |
Site: | isarestaurant.com |
Rating: | 4.2 |
Working: | Closed 5:30–9:30PM 5:30–9:30PM 5:30–9:30PM 5:30–10PM 5–10PM 5–9PM |
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Michelle Leung
Dine About Town Menu! :) Third visit at Isa! You come to Isa partly for the food and partly for the impeccable service. The waiter staff is very knowledgeable in the menu and is always there by your side for whenever you need ANYTHING. The bread basket was never empty and the water glass will always be at least half full. They have kind, friendly, and efficient. If I had my own restaurant, I would want to steal this waitstaff at Isa! On to the food... 1. Lobster Broth - I really enjoyed this broth as it was very fresh and clean. It wasnt fattening and buttery as I wouldve imagined it to be. The prawns were a good addition to the dish. 2. Mussels - This dish was decent, but definitely not the most flavorful mussels Ive had. Some of them actually had that fishy stench, but not a whole lot. The broth was good with bread though. 3. Crab Salad - Generous portion! There were four little salad cups with generous servings of dungeness crab meat. This was very refreshing and delicious! 4. Risotto - This was kind of a disappointment. It was rather watery and the amount of cheese made it too rich. In addition, I think that it could have used more flavor from the mushrooms. 5. Duck Breast - The meat was so tender that it didnt even taste like duck! I really enjoyed this dish and wished I had ordered this instead. 6. Steak - People at my table raved about the tenderness of the steak and the sauce. I didnt get to try it, but it sure looked yummy! 7. Scallops - Not a big portion for those of you who are hungry. 8. Creme Brulee - The consistency of the creme brulee was pretty good. It had the nice bitterness and caramelization from the sugar and sweetness of the custard. It would have been nice served with some fresh berries! 9. Semifreddo - Very almondy for those who like that. It tasted somewhere between a cake and ice cream. Cant really pinpoint it, but dont think I liked it very much... Overall, the food and service here is great. Would definitely come back! :)
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Jen Chou
had dinner at isa for mothers day, and it was such a fantastic meal. i have been wanting to come here for years, and it surely did not disappoint. for mothers day, they offered a 4-course meal for $42. the price is already pretty great, but after you take into account the large portions, excellent mixture of flavors, perfectly cooked meats and incredible service, you really realize how great of a deal it is. i was with a party of 5, and we tried the following: first course: lobster broth with prawns. this was excellent. you can really taste the flavor, and i love that they did not put any cream in it. just pure lobster broth! yum. asparagus and cream soup. didnt get to try this but it looked good. second course dungeness crab salad: large portion of crab, served with some apple slices and grapefruit. light and delicious. yellowfin tuna with sriracha, sesame, avocado, and seaweed salad: this was really flavorful, with a slight kick. i didnt think i would like this one too much, but i did. arugula salad with apples, fennel, figs, and parmesan: really delicious. third course braised short rib: so flavorful and tender. i would highly recommend this. maple leaf farm duck breast: super flavorful and perfectly cooked. i would also highly recommend this. angus flat iron steak: this one was just okay. seared scallops: perfectly seasoned. i would recommend this as well. fourth course: grapefruit granite: light and refreshing. it was good, but probably not worth it since its basically just flavored ice. semifreddo allamaretto: i regret not ordering this myself. this was so delicious. and the cookies that came with it were yummy as well. vanilla creme brulee: pretty standard creme brulee. overall, i would highly highly recommend isa. the price is unbeatable, the flavors amazing, and the portions enough to last you another meal. the service was also great. i cant wait to go back again!
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Vivian Chan
Let me just put this out there: two things: 1. Isa has bomb ass bread 2. Isa hands down has consistently one of the best value DAT menus in SF WOOT Clearly Im a fan. I apparently went here when I was younger with family, but didnt remember. Isa has a cute dark cozy interior, and also a covered, awesome back patio area that doesnt get too chilly at night (BIG PLUS in the city). Ive only been to Isa for DAT--the last two seasons--and they dont skimp on the menu: plentiful choices for all FOUR courses, unlike many restaurants that give you shabby little 2-3 courses for the same money. Scallops were huge and really nicely grilled--my cousins fiancee enjoyed his duck--my main squeeze liked his fish. They grill really nicely at this place. Id say the highlight was probably the apps--we shared mussels, tuna tartare, dungeness salad, and smoked salmon app (like bruschetta but with salmon...name is escaping me atm). The soup at the beginning was tasty too. Dessert was tasty too! Chose between creme brulee, grapefruit granita, and this almond italian dessert whose name is also escaping me @_@ Danger: The bread is good. It comes warm and the crust is delicious. Otherwise read as: BEWARE FOOD COMA because the bread just keeps coming and the water keeps pouring, and sooner than you or I know, youll be full before the entrees even come. Learn from the mistakes of others. :) Quality, solid food. Decent cocktails. Only downside is that theres NEVER any parking in the Marina.
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Fred May
Im french and I spent 2 terrific days in Frisco last september, after a 14 days trip through the "american wild wild west".Ive been to Isa Restaurant without knowing it was a french restaurant, and just because the place seemed to be a cool place.About the "cuisine" : very good, even for a french who really knows what a good french cuisine is (if youd know my mother, youd know that Im a specialist !).About the place : "cosy" (thats the word frenchies would use to talk about that kind of place). About the service : I dont know if it was because of our accent, or because we were discussing as "specialists" about the french wine we had to choose, or because we didnt share the courses as you american guys do in that restaurant, but : I really appreciated that the "serveurs" tried to talk with us in french and were very interested about our appreciation of the courses as if they were wondering : "Do you think that we really can pretend to be a french restaurant ?"The answer is definitely YES.To the team : thank you again for everythingTo the people who would hesitate : try it and youll feel "comme si vous étiez à Paris, dans un bon petit restaurant, à la cuisine fine et originale"
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STEVEN VONG
Tried this place for Dine About Town and even though Im not a seafood person I thought this placed served a high quality meal! This place is very small and cramped, so its better for a date but not too intimate because people are literally 2 feet away from you. It still maintains a classy but casual ambiance. Our server first brought out oysters. They were pretty small but I like oysters and they tasted pretty fresh. Next was Maine lobster broth, the shrimp was nice and tender and the soup had ok flavor. Not too fishy. For appetizers we tried crab salad, which was light and refreshing. I also had the yellowfin tuna tartare which was slightly more spicy and substantive but not too heavy either. I tried a bit of the seared scallops which were cooked very well. The truffle risotto was very rich and I liked the savory flavor, I just wished the rice was cooked slightly more. For dessert I had a semifreddo for the first time- I liked the light texture but otherwise it could have used more flavor. A solid meal that ended up balancing out with dishes that were light versus those that were heavy. They know how to present seafood beautifully and balance it well!