Osso Steakhouse — Restaurant in San Francisco

I really hate to write this… After seeing this restaurant on Check Please Bay Area with my wife, we both agreed this would be the treat for our upcoming 25th wedding anniversary on 5/13/17. Reservations made a month and a half in advance, stay in a top of the line hotel, Uber over and there atop Nob Hill is our destination. I walked through the entry thinking that this is going to be a 5 no doubt on Yelp.

Since our reservations are for Saturday night, I decided to call the Maitre d' a day in advance to let him know that this is a special occasion. It was 4:50 on Friday and they do not open until 5pm, so I left a message on the General Managers voice mail. Today is 5/18/17, I still have not received a call back… (uh oh). First thing I saw upon entering the building was a sign informing me that the restroom is an elevator ride away. Let me factor this in as I plan to prime the pump at the bar first. Second thing I see, a line out the door! We simply walked past the crowd and to the bar. They have any drink you could want, and a full wine list. What is missing? A wine Sommelier! Although we live in the Bay Area and visit wineries regularly, we still like to refer to a Sommelier for their wine selection. The bartender could not answer the questions my wife had regarding the different selections. This might be a problem. Wifey orders a half carafe so the wine will decant, the bartender brings a glass of wine and we both think that he is storing the rest behind the counter. Nope… Oh well. By the way, the bar tender was a low talker. I was asking him about the different Scotch that they offer, and could not hear him.

What seems to be the Maitre d' came to inform us of our table, so he then directs us, no problem. Well really, yes. He failed to collect my wife’s glass of wine for her, and she had to carry it herself. I know… first world problem, but just saying. As you can tell I am a detail person.

We sat in high backed padded swivel chairs which I liked. Our waiter is Jure. We ordered the following: Appetizer – Cheese Bread, this was incredible Beet Salad – Very good mix of three differently prepared beets Two Bone in Fillet – This was simply the best steak I have ever eaten, and prepared medium rare Sides – Spinach with light cheese sauce, perfect amount to share and not too cheesy. Twice baked potato, fair rating from me only because my wife makes an exceptional twice baked potato. This is enough to share though.

Now here is the problem: Jure took the order and then after a reasonable amount of time, he has his guy bring out the sides (beets, potato, spinach and bread), and ONE STEAK! He proceeds to arrange that one steak in the middle of the table. Finally, Jure comes by and I asked did you know we ordered two steaks? He says yes, it is coming and to SHARE THIS ONE! I looked quizzically at my wife, like did he just say that and leave? I flagged him down when he popped from the kitchen. Jure, what do you mean share the steaks? He replies, your steak is not ready, it will be soon. Okay, I respond thinking this might be a minute or two. Half a drink later and my wife uncomfortably asking if I will share with her (mood changing to black). I asked Jure again, what happened? He finally said, “someone took my steak”. I replied back, no someone took my steak, why did you bring out all the food if it was not ready or a full order? He apologized and said he would make it right. I know that there was nothing he could do. Anyway, finally a steak arrives and again it was the best steak that I have ever eaten.

NO ACCOUNTING DEDUCTIONS ON THE BILL FOR THIS FIASCO!!!

To spare my wife embarrassment, I did not engage with Jure anymore nor did I suggest an adjustment. We simply paid and left.

Sorry Osso, but you really blew this one.

Sadly, I will not be back, but since we live in the Bay Area there are many other top notch steak houses that we will be...

Osso Steakhouse is located across the street from Grace Cathedral, in the swank Knob Hill neighborhood. It's decor is definitively art-deco, sophisticated and elegant. The ambiance, much to our surprise, was warm and inviting. Two hostesses quickly greeted us with genuine, friendly faces - we felt welcomed from the start.

No sooner did we find our place in our spacious, comfortable booth than our waiter greeted us with Voss Sparkling Water. As the light jazz softly soothed our souls, he gave us the lay the land, whetting our appetites for what was to come.

This was just the beginning of superior service that would delight us throughout our entire evening. Actually, friends and family find me a bit too demanding - I've been chastised more than once for my fastidious nature and "nit-picky" expectations. Were I to have one complaint it might be that the service was a tad too swift. I would have preferred that my appetizer/salad had more time to digest before my steak arrived. I told you, I'm critical. Sorry.

As to our waiter, we were especially impressed to learn that Osso's steaks were dry-aged (the respected, time-honored, gold standard technique of preparing high-quality beef) and were pan seared in their natural juices, with a "hint of rosemary and garlic." Though I wasn't particularly hungary when I arrived, I became famished after hearing the extraordinary measures Osso went to in preparing their beef.

As tempting as the Porterhouse Super-size appeared (serving 2-4 @ $114), I ultimately set my sights a tad lower, and settled on "The Big Bone-in (Osso) Filet Mignon" ($44.95). Kari's brother, Mark, ordered the same; his was medium rare, mine was medium. Both arrived quickly, sizzling hot, and fragrant beyond words.

I almost forgot to mention our salads, which were light and flavorful. We all agreed we ate much more than we should, that is, if our intention was to fully enjoy our fine steaks. Quickly then, I ordered the Panzanella, which was a delightful mix of tomatoes, onions, croutons and avocado. At just $9.95, I should have ordered an additional plate for the flight home...

As to my first bite of an Osso steak...ambrosia. It's texture and taste was rich, buttery, and ever so delectable. Mind you, though I love a good steak, I am not a regular steak eater; regardless of eating every bite of my Panzanella salad, I savored every morsel and sopped up every plash of juice on my plate. When I was finished, I looked over my plate and across the table to see how Mark was faring. He too had devoured his filet. Our eyes met, and we smiled in pig-heaven delight.

This was truly a remarkable evening - an exceptional restaurant. The last time I recall being taken by surprise by a steak was in Las Vegas at CarneVino (mind-boggling delicious).

As to dessert, I've got two words of advice regarding the Hot Pineapple Rum Cake: 1. order it; 2. DON'T accept a request to deliver it with spoons for the table. Though everyone was much too full to order a dessert (except me), once my cake arrived, it was gone in seconds. Oh my Lord, it was extraordinary!

In summary, the next time your visiting San Francisco, and you've got a craving for something from which memories are made, look no further than Osso Steakhouse. It'll be the one of those restaurants you'll be talking about for years to come.

Other great Steakhouses to put on your bucket list: Cut, Beverly Hills, CA Keens, New York City Red, South Beach, Miami Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, Dallas Kevin Rathbun Steak, Atlanta (though I didn't order steak - dumb). Oak Steakhouse,...

Save your time and your money -- don't go here. We were optimistic about this place after seeing a few write-ups about it that seemed positive, but we should have dug a bit deeper to read all of the bad reviews that we saw after our experience. If you go to a restaurant for the sides, this place is good. The kettle bread was great and the calamari was delicious. Our waiter was extremely kind (I wish we got his name), and although the service was slow, he was clearly overworked and he was nothing but apologetic for the wait and extremely friendly. I ordered the petit filet mignon and my boyfriend ordered the bone in ribeye. The menu doesn't say how many ounces the ribeye is, it simply says "big." Both of our steaks took forever to arrive. My filet was ok (not great) and was cooked medium rare, which I had ordered. My boyfriend's steak was overcooked and after he cut in a few pieces, the middle was stone cold. We flagged the waiter and he took the steak back to the kitchen and was extremely apologetic. We then waited quite a while for the steak to come back from the kitchen. In the meantime, a man who we can only assume was the GM had come to our table and asked how everything was. After we told him that the ribeye was sent back to the kitchen because it was cold his response was, "yes well, it's a large cut of meat so these things can be hard to cook all the way through." Bad response to give to already upset customers. When you're shelling out $70 for a steak, you want it to be at least not cold and cooked properly. While we were waiting for the steak, we noticed several other ribeyes making their way back to the kitchen. If you can't cook the meat all the way through because it's so massive, don't offer such a huge piece of meat!!!! We eventually told the waiter not to bring the steak back to the table because 1) it was taking so long and 2) it didn't taste very good to begin with and wasn't cooked properly. The waiter was once again very kind and apologetic. The GM then came back to our table and said, "I don't know what to tell you guys other than these things take time, so I don't know what you want me to do." Again, not a great response. Thankfully, the ribeye was removed from our bill. The GM told the waiter if he wanted to offer us a free dessert that would be OK, but we just wanted to get out of there. Overall - great sides, but bad meat. Not what you want when you're going to a steakhouse -- and an expensive one at that. Save your time and your money and go somewhere where the food is better and the staff will...