Hayes Street Grill — Restaurant in San Francisco

This would have been a four-star review, but due to a couple to things that occurred throughout the evening I have to give it three stars. The service was great! Tom was our server and he was phenomenal. I started with a Manhattan and the drink was pretty tasty.

Although I don't eat shellfish, the rest of the table started with 6 Hog Island Sweet Water Oysters on the Half Shell. Both of the other people I was with loved the oysters. Up until this point things were going well. When we placed our orders for our entrees I ordered the Grilled Niman Pork Chop with Mashed Potatoes, Purple Haze Carrots, Apple-Cherry Chutney; my friend ordered the San Diego Opah; and my partnered ordered the HSG Paella with (NJ) Scallops, Hog Island Clams, PEI Mussels, House Chorizo. Tom came back shortly to let him know that the Paella was sold out. He then ordered the pork chop as well. Tom came back to let him know that there was only one pork chop left and that was mine since I had ordered it originally. The third time he ordered the Grilled (NJ) Scallops, Kabocha-Potato Puree, Spinach, Brown Butter, Capers. They did have that dish.

Needless to say my partner was annoyed. Tom was as gracious as you could be with the situation. He even provided a few us with a few appetizers and sides on the house. But we didn't understand how so many entrees were out when the restaurant was still scheduled to be open for almost another two hours.

My friend loved the opah. He thought it was great. I thoroughly enjoyed the pork chop. The apple-cherry chutney absolutely added to the flavor of the pork chop. We all shared a few braised greens (swiss chard) and that was tasty. The Cauliflower was also delicious. My partner said the scallops were okay, but I think that was more because it was his third choice option and he really didn't have a taste for them.

I think we will try again and make sure we go earlier to ensure the entrees...

An old-school San Francisco joint, home to the before-a-show crowd, with a solid seafood offering.

I came in on a Monday evening around 6:30pm with a crowd of about 7. We had a reservation and we were seated immediately. The place definitely had an old-school vibe to it and I think we were the youngest people in the place by a good 30 years. We requested some water and bread and were quickly given both. I ordered the black cod with clams and kabocha.

Bread - 4 stars. Fresh, crusty bread of a couple different flavors, I think one was sourdough and the other was more of a wheat bread. Sliced thick, it seems to be freshly baked and the crust packed chewy, wheaty goodness.

Black cod - 3 stars. A cod filet served with clams, kabocha squash, shrimp, and mushrooms in a dashi broth. The broth, though overly salty, had good flavor. The shrimp were a bit overdone and boring, but the cod was perfectly cooked. Not a second overdone with fatty skin on top. I could have used more mushroom though the kabocha portion was generous. Overall, this was a nice dish. Salty, but I didn't walk away feeling overly stuffed. Well, until I dipped my bread in all the leftover broth and carb-loaded. But that's an entirely different issue.

Everyone else seemed to enjoy their meals, though I didn't sample any other food. In sum, this seemed like a solid offering, though not particularly exciting one. I'd likely come back if I was in the area, though I don't think the food or the experience was special enough for me to go...

I have eaten at the Hayes Street Grill for years. I've enjoyed the food sometimes, sometimes not so much. The staff is always courteous and professional with the right amount of friendliness. I've always been seated promptly upon arrival when I had a reservation. Last night, the drinks were good, though my friends and I were surprised that the bar uses a rather pedestrian brand of cherry, rather than the better flavored cherries by Luxardo. Our salads and dinners were very good. One friend of mine and I had the sole with mushrooms and fingerling potatoes. We both loved the mushrooms, cut and prepared to be almost like pasta. Kind of amazing. The dessert menu is one of the best I've seen in a long time. The carrot cake was a better than average carrot cake. One friend at my table had the Winter Fruit Pavlova (not pictured below), which looked more interesting. He said it was complex and delicious. It's funny that it's called "winter fruit" when it contains mango, kiwi and pineapple which might be more appropriately classified as tropical. We made it to our show with...