Amarena — Restaurant in San Francisco

I never leave reviews for restaurants, but this was the worst customer service I have experienced in my life. My husband and I came here because I got an electronic gift card from my grandmother across the country and obviously it gets good reviews, so we were excited. The food came out pretty quick and it was good, but by no means the best Italian food we’ve ever had. There are countless other Italian restaurants in SF and I strongly recommend going to one of those over this one. We haven’t been to Italy, so standards aren’t sky high either.

We go to pay and I told him the gift card is on my phone. He brings us up to the front where we stood for 40-50 minutes waiting for them to resolve this situation. He helped us for about 10, trying to type in the numbers, but it’s very clear their system needs updating, so I think there was a compatibility issue with the card. However, if they’re able to sell it, then they should be able to take it. Then, for about 20-25 minutes, he helps other tables and we’ve both worked in customer service, so clearly they should not be ignored, but no apologies or updates were given to us the entire time. No offer for us to sit down, just standing awkwardly at the front of the store feeling like they’re just trying to get us to pay with a credit card instead of the gift card. It was worth $100, so it paid for majority of the dinner, so there was no way I was letting that go to waste. He would walk by us and slam things on the counter and grunt, which I understand is a stressful situation, but we are still paying customers and deserve more respect.

Eventually, he made a phone call and took a picture of my code and we paid the difference and left. I saw a different total the second time for the receipt than the first, so beware you’re paying more than expected. I left a small tip but I definitely should not have. We really have a lot of patience and dealt with very difficult people in the past, but there are so many ways that this should have been addressed better. Please do yourself a favor and explore...

I was completely unimpressed with my experience with this restaurant. To start, we were seated outside on the sidewalk far away from the main restaurant entrance and seating area. It didn’t feel like I was enjoying a meal at a nice Italian restaurant with a pleasant ambiance as much as sitting on the curb of an empty sidewalk next to a dirty street sign covered in spiderwebs. It was also very cold where we were seated because we were so far away from the large group of heaters near the main seating area. My date was freezing the entire meal. I understand that restaurants are a bit handcuffed when it comes to seating options but this establishment is doing a particularly poor job of it. Add to this the fact that the service was painfully slow and the portions were laughably small and that alone is enough to deserve a 1 star review. Unfortunately, this was just the start of my awful experience with them.

A couple of days after I dined with them I noticed that the charge on my credit card was $20-$30 more than what I had signed for. I called the restaurant to try and get a receipt for my purchase to dispute this incorrectly inflated price. The employee I spoke with almost immediately took a defensive and confrontational attitude with me. He kept calling me “bro” which I found off-putting and unprofessional. I let him know that I was not impressed by his aggressive attitude and unprofessional manner, to which he responded by making disparaging racial remarks and calling me “uneducated”. I asked him for his name so that I could report him but he would not give it me. I found this to be quite cowardly. He eventually hung up on me. I’ll be disputing their erroneous charges through my credit card since it is clear that I can not expect an acceptable level of customer service from this establishment. They must have quite low standards as to the people they hire. If I could leave them negative stars here, I would. ...

I moved to the neighborhood a few months ago, and have always wanted to try Amarena, as it is usually busy most days of the week. I put it off until my birthday last weekend, when i had my father and sister visiting from out of town. We never mentioned that we were celebrating a birthday, but they still catered to our party like we were special guests. The wait staff was so helpful, patient, kind, and fun! Helping to elevate the night to a level we could not have expected. Everyone enjoyed their meals so much (I personally think I won with the wide pasta dish with prosciutto and sun-dried tomatoes), and the wine was delicious. My father and I were so pleased that we returned last night. We had a different waitress who, again, took care of us so well, providing wonderful suggestions for both eating and drinking. She managed to turn an ordinary Monday night into an unforgettable experience that I will never forget. At the end of the night, she even brought us some tiramisu which was amazing. A little slice of heaven.

It’s with great pleasure that I give you some highlights of what we ordered over our two dinners at Amarena, but I have to say, you cannot go wrong here: 1.) burrata- so creamy you might shed a little tear 2.) eggplant - how they managed to make this so savory and Smokey is beyond me. The sauce on this is might also make you shed a little tear. 3.) calamari- perfectly fried, wonderful dipping sauce. A simple classic that will not disappoint. 4.) chicken- crispy skin and juicy meat paired with expertly curated sides. 5.) pasta with sun-dried tomatoes- creamy, but light, balanced by crispy prosciutto pieces and tender sun-dried tomatoes.

I can’t wait to come back here with more friends and family, and I’m incredibly thankful for the team at Amarena who provide excellent service despite the many challenges of...