Colibri Mexican Bistro — Restaurant in San Francisco

I waited 20 minutes for a server. He took my order and never saw him again until my food was ready 1 hour later. My food was served slightly below room temperature. I don't understand why I waited so long to get my food while tables around me got theirs way before mine. Was my entrées sitting somewhere? Can you imagine eating cold expensive Mexican food? The portions are appetizer size - not filling at all if you were expecting a full size lunch. Yes, I normally would complain about my food being served cold but somehow, I did not have the "restaurant trust" to do so.

Food presentation was good. I ordered the Chile Relleno with chicharrons. Paying extra for chicharrons was not worth it ($28). It was probably a tsp of chicharron bits, like the size of a grain of rice. The Chile Relleno was probably no more than 6 inches. It did not come with chips or tortillas like other Mexican restaurants I patronize. For me, it took about 8 bites to finish. The fish tacos came with 3 tiny ones ($24). One can eat it all in one bite but I ate mine in 2 bites. So basically you are paying $4 a bite. This is the first Mexican restaurant that did not serve complimentary chips, salsa, tortillas, or anything else except for water, especially with entrees. My bill for 2 entrees and a watermelon tea (a little watered down) was over $65 not including gratuities and I was still hungry. I did not expect a casual restaurant inside the Presidio to have fine dining prices. At least at fine dining restaurants, they serve you complimentary bread and the waiter checks in with you regularly.

The alcohol drinks look good. Maybe come at happy hour and try this restaurant. Don't expect to get filled. Good for talking and nibbling. Tables are close; atmosphere is warming and comforting. There's indoor and outdoor seating. Remember, not all parking inside the Presidio is free. Double check for...

First we have been going to the Colibri location in Union Square for over 15 years, but visiting this new location after pandemic was a disappointment. I will still go back one time to give it a chance since been going there for so long.

Here is my brutal but constructive feedback which I hope owner takes it positively

1. They took out the fresh tortilla with some authentic mexican salsa sampling which came complimentary before.

They should put it in the menu if they are trying to cut cost but that was one of the best part of starter. I would love to pay 20-30$ for that as that was their signature and really authentic tasting. Rather we had to pick just Guacamole which I can find better at almost all good mexican restaurant.

2. Main course was too bland and mild for even our kids. Mole Poblano sauce was ok'ish , that no mexican restaurant should mess up on. It a shame it was that quality, specially when it looked so good. Chile Releno was very bland, the only thing good about that dish was presentation. Chile Releno was far better at the previous location in terms of quantity of spices and flavor of the stuffing and cheese in the pepper. Torta de Coliflor was probably the closest it came to tasting about good though it fell short too. They had similar dish with just potato patty before and tasted far better. Maybe time to bring that back again.

Pros:

1. If you are looking for a good date night and have so much drinks that you don't care about taste of the food, probably this is the place. The outside seating is awesome. The drinks are very good and that's what they are probably counting on. I think the chef is betting that people wont care once they are drunk and everything would taste good.
2. The food presentation looks like upscale places, only that we got to eat it eventually and that's what...

Good (but pricey) food, lively ambience, shoddy, amateur service.

There’re 2 shrimp dishes on the menu. I ordered the bacon wrapped shrimp (delicious) first and my friend ordered the one with mole.

Third guest at my table (who’s a client) then said “oh, I’ll have the same”.

Clearly it was a follow up to the 2nd person’s order. And IF it wasn’t clear, the server should have clarified the order.

The shrimp dishes came and they brought out 2 bacon wrapped ones- which is a slight issue as at least one of us keeps kosher. We clarified that we wanted 2 shrimp moles and not 2 bacon wrapped shrimp.

He explained that he misunderstood. Fair. Then correct the order immediately. But nope, he kept asking the 3rd guest if she needed a new dish instead of just doing it. Not wanting to be disruptive,and this being a biz dinner, of course she said no

Next, he kept interrupting us while the group ( there were 5 of us) was clearly having an animated conversation- multiple times - for no good reason

At one point we ignored him but he kept insinuating himself; read the table! We don’t need anything else, just let us enjoy the meal!

Last, when I asked for the check- instead of passing me the check behind my guest sitting next to me (lots of room behind; it wasn’t a wall) , he shoved the check right in front of her to pass it to me, almost poking her eye. That’s the same guest he messed up the dishes. It was shocking and disorienting

The dishes were generally tasty but as pointed out by other comments, very expensive for the quality and quantity Also, skip the churros. They were ice cold

I wanted to like this place but I think I’ll pass esp if I’m with clients. They should consider...