Sumac | Modern Street Food — Restaurant in San Francisco

Greasy, Salty, and Nothing Like It Used to Be!!

I've been a big fan of Sumac since it first opened. During COVID, I used to order a few times a week and recommended it to many friends and coworkers. I tried every dish and especially loved the grandma's banana bread pudding. It was a great, healthy delivery option during busy times and one of my go-to places whenever I craved Muhammara and lentil balls.

Today, I decided to order ahead and pick up on my way home. I placed an order for a side of okra for myself, the beef and eggplant stew for my boyfriend, and two jars of chicken and beef broth for next week's dinners.

Unfortunately, this will be the last time I order from Sumac, the quality just isn't there anymore.

When I arrived, I realized my online order hadn't gone through because the beef bone broth was no longer available. Since the order didn't process, I ended up ordering directly from the window and got my food 10-15 minutes later.

The side of okra was disappointing, I only received three pieces of okra. The container was mostly filled with tomatoes and fried potatoes, and everything was extremely greasy. It seemed like the tomatoes and potatoes were grilled on the same surface used for burgers.

The eggplant and beef stew was basically just a beef stew with the same greasy tomatoes and potatoes side order okra had. It was extremely salty and oily--to the point where it was unpleasant to eat. I had two jars of chicken broth instead of chicken and beef. Maybe they were out, but when I asked, the person said they did have beef broth.

This wasn't the first disappointing experience either. Two months ago, we ordered the salmon wraps, and they were a mess. The salmon wasn't crispy or prepared in a way that worked for a wrap--it ended up soggy, lacking balance, and missing ingredients like arugula or cucumber. Earlier this year, I ordered the lentil bowl, and the lentil balls weren't the same as they used to be--the whole bowl was...

Was headed home from SF and knew that I was gonna sit in a ton of traffic and probably get hungry. So I wanted something kinda quick and not insanely expensive. This place 🤌🏼. Its a pick up window only, but you could easily walk down the hill and chill if the weather was nice. I got a half chicken bowl/half salad, w/ grilled veggies, paprika aioli sauce and sumac labne sauce. It came to $23, which I was like dang SF is expensive. Buuuut then I picked it up, and that bag was HEAVY. It was definitely enough to feed 2 people. Probably 3 meals for me. It was 🔥 The veggies were all fresh, no sketchy weird chicken pieces. I had no idea what the sauces were but aioli is like garlicky Smokey vegan mayo (recommend), the sumac labne is like plain Greek yogurt with black pepper and a little beet juice (kinda bland, would try the herb labne next time instead). TRY THIS PLACE 🤤 -Picture is of Alcatraz Island, Sumac is on the corner of street, (in front of that black SUV...

My work team (Embarcadero, 130 people) stumbled upon Sumac about 2 years ago when we started coming back to the office and having lunch to together. The food it so good, it was always one of the THE most popular choices each week. Fast forward to this month when I found out they now offered CATERING! Music to my ears as I now provide lunch for the team each Thursday. So, we tested it out last week and my team LOVED it. A few said it was the best lunch we've had:) The site was easy to use. The delivery rep came on time. They provided little signs (always helpful). And the food was amazing (chicken, beef/lamb meatballs, falafels, lentil cakes, veggies, hummus, rice, pita,...) EVERYTHING was gone. I think there was 2 pieces of baklava and a tad bit of chickpea salad left. SUCCESS! Thanks to Deniz for calling to let me know about the catering option. Thanks to Sumac for helping me look like a...