Boulevard — Restaurant in San Francisco

On September 22, 2022 I invited my friend for her Birthday to Boulevard in San Francisco. We are from Texas and we had never been, we arrived at our reservation at 8:30 and seated by - very sweet hostess. We sat and they gave my friend a birthday card and we ordered a bottle of wine while we looked at dinner menu. Turns out our waiter, Dino, told us that we had to order the pre set menu in the dining room, which we were never aware of that this was mandatory. We thought we would order a la carte, but little did we know we had to order one of the prefixed menu items each. We asked if we would just share one prefixed or a la carte and he said he would ask the manager. Jacob the GM came to our table and notified us that we had to order the prefixed menu each or we would be relocated not in the dining room area basically to the bar. We already had our bottle of wine, complimentary starter. We were mortified that we would be relocated because he didn’t make an exception. He said I have a great table for you in the corner, why would we move when there were several open tables in dining area. I politely asked Jacob, If we could just stay and he rudely said no. Jacob insisted on moving us to the very dark back section of the lounge bar area. The point of us visiting boulevard was for the ambiance and food, but Jacob made it the worse experience because he told us we had to move in front of the other customers seated next to us, we saw him whisper to his employees while they stared at us while we finished our bottle of wine, so we immediately asked for the tab and he insisted we move but we wanted to leave because he embarrassed us and was so rude beyond anything I have experienced in a restaurant. Slammed the tab on the table and we took our time finishing our bottle of wine. On our way out we thanked the nice hostess and Jacob rushed up to us to ask what was happening because we were thanking her and I accidentally bumped into him and Jacob shouted to me DON’T TOUCH ME! The GM Jacob is not representing this restaurant in a positive manner. He should have had good judgement and let us stay wheee we were seated, we were willing to spend a lot , had ordered wine, it was my birthday , and there were so many vacant open tables. He was very unprofessional and rude, made us feel so much n comfortable and unwelcome. I asked our waiter Dino the name for Jacob’s supervisor and he was scared and did not disclose. The worst experience in...

First, the two appetizers we had: AHI TUNA ITO-ZUKURI Hand Line Caught, "Ribbon-Cut" Ahi Tuna Padron Pepper Tempura, White Sesame Aioli, Togarashi-Shoyu Vinaigrette Rossa Bianca Eggplant with Wasabi Shinku Pear Dressing & Shiso It was a whole lot of ribbon cut Ahi tuna with a single tempura pepper and a suggestion there were other elements on the plate. Overall, it was bland, bland, and bland. I would never order it again. RAVIOLI ,PORCINI BUTTER CONFIT RABBIT & A PAIR OF WILD GREENS with RICOTTA Bellwether Basket Ricotta with Borage, Nettles & Lamb’s Quarters, De Bruin Rabbit Hon Shemeji Mushrooms. Three raviolis arrived the two outside one were filled wild greens, shoes bitterness masked the Ricotta cheese. The center ravioli was the rabbit filled one. It was a decent couple of bites. The mushrooms were excellent. Overall I’d rate the dish as fair to good. I would not order it again. The only saving grace of the early part of our meal was some excellent bread, and a great wine recommendation of a 2010 Hermitage. Second the mains: ALASKAN HALIBUT
ALA PLANCHA
Squash Blossom Stuffed with Rock Shrimp & Fennel
White Tomato Risotto Vialone Nano with Hearts of Palm
Olive Oil Slow Roasted Baia Nicchia Miniature Tomatoes
Tomato “Pate”, Laudemio Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Genovese Basil. This dish made the whole trip worthwhile. Everything about it was outstanding. It will the benchmark that every halibut dish I eat will be judged by. My wife loved it as well, labeling it the best halibut dish she had ever eaten.

ANGUS FILET MIGNON
Wood Oven Roasted
Dwelley Farms Romano Beans & French Fingerling Potatoes
Confit of Roasted Tomatoes with Capers & Garlic
Caesar Fava Bean Relish, Basil & Roasted Beef Jus. The meat was perfectly cooked, but was not memorable. The roasted tomatoes were very good, as were the fingerling potatoes. It was a good, but not great dish.

CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW PIE Chocolate Streusel Crust, Manjari Chocolate Ganache Milk Chocolate Mousse, Burnt Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Ice Cream. I loved the pie itself, and the presentation. I was not that wild about the cookie ice-cream sandwich.

Our service was attentive. The wine, halibut dish, and pie made for a memorable evening. I disagree with the reviewers who thought the portions were small. Apparently, they have never had ‘really small ‘ portions. I would return to Boulevard and choose two...

Main Impression: Boulevard seems overhyped and the dishes are pricey for what you receive. I felt that the entrees were mediocre entrees and not Michelin quality; however, the appetizers and desserts were tasty. My rating for now stands at a three given that any Michelin ranked restaurant should be able to deliver solid entrees. Service was great and the atmosphere is warm and elegant.

My boyfriend and I were so excited to dine here after hearing all of the rave reviews. Perhaps our expectations were too high but Boulevard did not live up to the hype. Our main entrees were mediocre; however, they were bookended by solid appetizers and desserts. For entrees, my boyfriend and I shared the roasted local swordfish and the kurobuta pork chop. I found the swordfish to be a bit bland in both flavor and presentation-- I felt like you could get the same dish somewhere else for much cheaper. If I'm paying $33 for a small piece of swordfish, I'd like each bite to be amazing. This may sound strange, but the pork was a bit "soggy". I believe that we did not finish the plate.

Though the entrees did not live up to the Michelin star hype, the appetizers and desserts left us wishing we had skipped our entrees all together. Each bite of the california squab was bursting with flavor and I definitely fought for the last piece of the mouthwatering, crispy sweetbreads. If I could have supersized something on the menu, it would have been the sweetbread appetizer. For dessert, we shared red velvet cake and another chocolate dessert. I don't condone this at nicer restaurants but my boyfriend, the resident chocoholic, literally drank the chocolate sauce out of the mini gravy boat and licked the plate clean.

Staff were very attentive and made sure to get us to the symphony on time, despite us running late, ordering 3 courses, and adding an extra appetizer at the last minute.

Though the main entrees were underwhelming, I would probably come back to enjoy the atmosphere. Many restaurants are unable to achieve the balance of charm and understated elegance while still feeling warm and welcoming. Whether you dress up or dress down you'll feel right at home--though I don't think a hoodie would necessarily be welcome here. . We were among the formal crowd since we were attending the Symphony but I saw people wearing an assortment of cocktail dresses, dark jeans, sports...