Nightbird — Restaurant in San Francisco

It was great until it was sickeningly horrible.

Synopsis: We have a high level of confidence that our entire party of 4 received a food-borne illness when we dined at Nightbird on Thursday March 6, 2025. Our experience is detailed below.

Details: Thursday afternoon my flight landed at OAK, I made my way into The City to meet up with my engineering leadership team. Our software company had been working hard to get a few big code pushes out the door. I wanted to reward the team for working so hard for the last months, so I booked us a table for 4 at Nightbird on Gough.

We don't often spend $500/person for dinner but once a year or so, we like to say thank you by giving the team a treat they wouldn't splurge for themselves. Sadly tonight would not turn out to be the treat we had wanted.

The meal was mostly well served and the food, while lacking in some of the more tasty flair that one might learn to expect from the SF temples of culinary excellence, was an excellent tasting menu, and the wine pairings were on point.

I left sharply at 7pm, paying the bill and bidding my colleagues a fond farewell as I headed off to other obligations. This was the only 2 hours and 10 minutes that the 4 of us spent together; the 4 of us only ate at Nightbird and we didn't all have any other drinks.

The trouble started about 30 hours later. Not 1 or 2, but all 4 members of our party had started vomiting with the type of pressure that leaves your eyes bloodened for days. One of our 4 diners had to be hospitalized. Three of us were unable to hold down liquids for up to 12 hours.

Our HR leader called the restaurant asking for a refund. The restaurant said it was certainly not their fault, however they then gave back $780 of our $2300 total bill. When she called back to insist that the entire amount be refunded, she was transferred to the owner, who informed her that it wasn't their fault. The owner claimed that the entire staff had eaten the food and no one got sick as well they claimed no other parties had reported issues. While I cannot speak to the validity of these statements, I can say that as the recipient of comments, it felt unempathetic, irresponsible and ultimately in my opinion, very poor service. To not even ask how everyone was doing or ask another question like, “wait ALL 4 of them got sick?!”

As a diner who eats a few tasting meals a year, I know that once in a while you are likely going to get bit by a food-borne illness. It happens if you eat raw food often enough, and most travelers have a story. At the very least one should be able to expect the establishment that profited off their demise to at least have a thimble worth of kindness when the evidence at hand at the very least indicates that it is possible that it was your establishment.

We did our civic duty and alerted the SF Department of health, using the details here: https://www.sf.gov/report-food-poisoning-or-food-related-illness

The nice nurse that listened to my story sure seemed to think that my concerns that Nightbird likely poisoned us was worth some scientific investigation.

It is disappointing to see fine dining restaurant owners, who should be bastions of hospitality, simply fall on their face, thanks to pride and ego.

I hope nobody...

WOW. Just wow... what a fabulous experience from placing the reservations, eating course after delicious course, to walking out the door with full bellies, gifts in hand, ready for a good night's sleep.

This sweet spot awaits behind a beautifully carved wooden door, ready to enchant with carefully attentive service, a lovely serene atmosphere, with stunningly created and presented dishes served on utterly unique ceramics. Each course of this thoughtfully curated and well-executed menu delights as the service staff sets the table every time and narrates the details intended for you.

Definitely go for the wine pairing, as you'll enjoy special samplings from all over the world that you may be hard-pressed to find elsewhere... and they really do complement each item on the menu beautifully. The drinkware is perfectly balanced and some especially gorgeous pieces may accompany some of the sippables too (thinking of the Japanese gorgeous green faceted and cut crystal tiny cups used for the final digestif).

Every detail is very thought out. Flavors and components were melodic, texturally harmonic, and deeply satisfying. The elements of fun and joyful composition were considered and included with each of the dozen+ dishes.

Additional nice touches included little pop-up hot towels that expanded when poured over with tarragon-anise-infused hot water, leaving the delicate scent on your hands for a few extra whiffs.

I often judge a restaurant by their restroom, and this place meets the marks: super clean, black tiles, individually rolled cotton towels to dry your hands after washing with very high-quality soap. A nicely scented candle burns and a large lush bouquet of fresh flowers enhance your visit to this little space.

This was an exceptional experience - a lovely night (we spent 3 hours) of unforgettable deliciousness and hospitality that seems rare anymore. This level of professionalism is a gift and a true joy, and I confidently, highly recommend this...

For an expensive night out, this was by far the worst experience we've had. The food was good, the ambiance was cozy and the staff was helpful, if somewhat cold. All was well until we were asked to leave because the next seating was waiting for their table. This was after I asked for a cup of coffee but was told I couldn't have any because the next party was waiting. I would've been fine with that, but what followed next was beyond belief...the manager of this fine dining establishment (Ron Boyd) came over and asked us to vacate the table because we were late to our seating and they couldn't let us stay longer (we were late by less than 10 minutes and called ahead to inform them, and they were fine with it). When I told him that this was unacceptable because we were still enjoying our conversation and the petit fours, he walked off while I was still talking.

Nowhere on their website does it say that you cannot sit beyond a certain time if you're having dinner. I then spoke with the owner/chef Kim Alter, who was apologetic in the beginning, but then tried to defend their shameful behavior by defaulting to 'you were a bit late to your table....'. All four of us found that completely unacceptable for a place that talks of community and hospitality, and has a $1000 price tag to boot for 4 people's dinner and drinks. We spent that money partly for food and partly for the experience, and they get a 0 on the experience. I can not help but think that the color of our skin (we're all South Asian) had something to do with the treatment meted to us because we did not see them speak that way to anyone else around us, even though others were enjoying conversations post dinner. Needless to say, we will not be...