Maison Nico — Restaurant in San Francisco

My review covers 2 parts: the ownership and the food itself.

We purchased a gift card from the previous restaurant Nico during the depths of the 2020 pandemic when, like a lot of food service businesses, they were struggling and the gift card was basically a short term loan for them to be able to pay employees, keep their door open, and hopefully look ahead to days when service could resume as normal. Because of the pandemic, we didn't get a chance to visit until almost 2 years later and when we tried to return to the restaurant, it had been transformed into Maison Nico. We were excited to try their new offerings and cash in the gift card but we were told that since the POS system had changed, it would no longer be honored. I understand that there was no guarantee of being able to use this (they could have completely gone out of business) and there was no promise of food at the other end. However, after checking in with friends who run restaurants, because this purchase was framed as gift card instead of donation, the whole situation is frankly just shady and a bad way to build long term trust. I tried emailing management who said they'd give me half of the original value of the gift card but when I protested, they refused to respond again.

As for the food - it's fine. There are better bakeries in SF and the East Bay and for the prices that you pay, it's really nothing special. Maybe a 3-4 star bakery but my dealings with ownership/management leave a terrible taste...

Pâté en croute in France elevates the humble meat pie to top of the menu as a tantalizing intro to a gourmet meal. Complex combos of complementary meats, offal, herbs and colorful accents, when sliced cross section, form a stylized multi-layered artistic design enrobed in a flakey butter crust ready to arouse a memorable overture to an operatic dinner. While in the States, “pâté” most often means garlicky meatloaf shrink wrapped in a plastic mini tub or rolled in tubes like liverwurst. But at the foot of the Pyramid building in a 1906 survivor building, chef Nicolas Delaroque of his eponymous Maison Nico has mastered the art of French charcuterie or making meat fancy. The ultimate French meat pie is the pithivier which here are baked round domes embellished with spiral-cut swirls and filled, variously mixed, with duck liver, pork sausage, pistachios, herbs and dash of Grande Marnier for a rich savory treat. Another of my favorites is Nico’s interpretation of a sausage roll or chipolata sausage friand, which is a fat pork sausage surrounded by a flipped over puff pastry shell covered in black and white sesame seeds that crumbles in your mouth as you bite into the meat. An elegant and refined French take on a hot dog. There are also vegetarian choices like daily quiches with pretty fluted edges and exceptional croissants, pain au chocolate and other patisserie that disappear fast by late morning. A genuine taste of Parisian patisserie in North Beach but the real show...

Frustrating. I visited this bakery twice, and both experiences left me underwhelmed. On paper, it presents itself as an upscale, exclusive spot with high prices that suggest exceptional quality…but in reality, it feels more pretentious than polished.

The moment you walk in, it’s busy. Instead of greeting you or directing you to a counter, staff immediately tell you to stand by the door and wait, no warmth, just a brusque “wait here.” When I ordered a quiche to be warmed up (which took about seven minutes), they told me they’d “find me” when it was ready. Once the quiche was done, they didn’t politely bring it to the table or looked for me – they literally screamed my name across the street, reminiscent of a busy Starbucks. It felt far from the “exclusive” experience they’re aiming for.

As for the food itself, the quiche, chocolate croissant and other food we ordered were good. Tasting it didn’t erase the frustration I felt from the customer service. I regretted leaving a tip, because everything about the visit felt very transactional rather than thoughtful.

In short: pretentious atmosphere, mediocre customer service, and good food. I wanted to love this place, I’m all for paying a bit more for a great bakery experience….but it’s overrated. There are plenty of other cafés and bakeries in the area where you’ll get friendlier service and a more pleasant ambiance without feeling...