The Slanted Door — Restaurant in San Francisco

Very disappointing first experience at Slanted Door. Overall, good Westernized Asian food with mediocre service and terrible cocktails at premium prices. I've lived in SF 13 years, so was happy to finally try this "famous" place, but now I see why none of my friends have ever proposed it in the past.

I don't understand why anyone would go here when there are so many amazing restaurants in San Francisco, especially fancy Asian fusion restaurants, like The House, Kin Khao, Spice Jar, Dumpling Time, Koo, Nihon Whisky Lounge, Benu, Nari, etc.

This is not fine dining - unromantic ambience with average food, terrible drinks, and mediocre service. If you want a nice night out for a special occasion, look elsewhere. This is a tourist trap.

FOOD - 3/5 - All of the food we had was quite good, nothing to complain about here, except the price/value. And that is because nothing was special, unique, or exceptional. It was all just regular Asian food. I expected some unique spins on these classic dishes, or beautiful presentations, or some spike of excellence, but nothing. To be clear, we enjoyed everything we ate, but it should have been 20-40% of the price. We had: -- Kumamoto oysters, half-dozen ($28) - Fine, but less plump than usual and very standard presentation -- Santa Barbara Uni, 3 spoons with paddlefish caviar and shiso ($26) - Delicious, but very simple preparation. Doesn't even compare with the Spoonful of Happiness at Koo or the Uni on the Spoon at Nihon. -- Crispy Imperial Rolls with Gulf Shrimp and Pork Shoulder ($15) - Pretty good, but nothing special, can't go wrong with fried spring rolls. -- Gau Choy Gow (Shrimp and Chive Dumplings) ($16) - Delicious, but no different than any dim sum place in the city, except 4x the price. -- Spicy Monterey Squid with Pineapple and Jalapeno ($30) - Probably my favorite dish, but still underwhelming. Try the Plah Pla Muek (Charred Monterey Bay squid in tangy/spicy sauce) at Kin Khao to see what this dish could have been.

COCKTAILS - 1/5 - I'm a huge fan of cocktails, especially original cocktails inspired from the region of the cuisine. The cocktails were a huge let down. There was nothing inventive or original - just very boring, standard cocktails that you'd find at any hotel bar. They didn't even try to name them. I had the "Whiskey Cocktail," ($15) which is just an old fashioned. It was average at best. They also have a Singapore Sling, Mai Tai, French 75, Ginger Limeade, Pina Colada, and a Manhattan. Literally nothing interesting. Again, go to any of the other restaurants I mentioned and you'll find clever takes on cocktails with fusion ingredients and local spices that pair delightfully with the food. You can see their cocktail menu on the website to confirm I'm not exaggerating.

SERVICE - 3/5 - Terrible first impression. We arrived with reservations and were excited for a birthday celebration, but the hostess immediately ruined the mood. Our server was more friendly, but we certainly didn't receive the sort of service to justify $40-50 dishes. The gentleman at the front as we were leaving was very nice and friendly, though, which was a pleasant surprise and at least ended on a good note. I also think it's terrible to have bathroom attendants who hand you towels. I only see that at nightclubs trying to give people a false sense of self-importance, so no surprise it's here at Slanted Door. The bathroom wasn't even any cleaner because of it - just using a human being as decoration to make people feel better about spending so much money on mediocre food. Disgusting.

AMBIENCE - 2/5 - You'd think this would be the selling point, with a perfect location right on the Bay with beautiful views of the Bay Bridge. But no, because they cramp people in to the venue, it's loud and uncomfortable. We were at a 2-person table by the window, which was nice, except the servers kept bumping into us when talking to the tables to either side. And in front of us were two 4-person tables, one fitting 6 people and the other with 8, so there was no room to...

I think most of us can agree San Francisco has some really high end food. Of course the Embarcadero itself brings so many tourists with the piers and whatnot, but Hogs, Brenda's, Kokkari and others are the real attractions.

Vietnamese restaurants in general are not known to be lavish, gourmet or have a ridiculous reservations period. Not Slanted Door. It's the nicest Vietnamese restaurant I've ever been to by far. It's not trying to be traditional, not going the pho route, but it's something very bay area. We the people want organic, we want local, we want sustainable, but we also want amazing and few places are able to be all that. I love how they partner with specific and local for their food sourcing. It keeps costs down and stimulates the local economy.

My first attempt to eat here was a fail. Could not get reservations to coincide with my trip. My trips afterwareds

I actually stayed away from the raw food as I always eat oysters when here at Hogs and get local uni at home. I didn't know ahi tuna tartare was Vietnamese and I prefer to make that myself at home.

I got the chance to try all the rolls. I actually preferred the vegetarian rolls to the non. The imperials used roasted peanut sauce and were crispy without being greasy, but the taro root made the imperial veggie sing. I asked for more sauce as and used it for all the rest of my rolls. Grilled octo was great with the carrot and fish sauce (strong, but not for me). I thought the plating could have shown off the octopus and herbs more. Banana leaf pork and shrimp dumplings were delicate, but exploding with each bite. They do all meats and seafood, but take a look at the huge variety of mushrooms (chantrelle, king trumpets, shitake, lions mane, nameko, beech). Rack of lamb was the most unique I've had in a long time using purple fingerlings and tamarind , but it didn't overpower the fatty delicate meat. Cellophane noodles were their classic best seller with Dungeness and sesame seed oil (could have had more smokiness and to me a 4th flavor for balance), it was a little on the light unfilling side considering it was an entree. All in all excellent and reasonable as the prices for many items are high you can get out of here for a moderate fee. 3% labor fee, corkage fee, dessert fee, yeah it adds up way up if you go all out. Look to spend about +$50 per person to get a feel for the place.

Traditional Asian cultures aren't big drinkers, but seeing as this is pretty upscale they do their cocktails very well. Boulevardier which is a negroni with bourbon instead of gin. Love how they use Buffalo Trace and also fall into the Norcal craft distillery movement. The Moscow Mule does not have ginger beer, but rather syrup and isn't served in a copper mug, still decent. They have a pastry chef which again for an Asian restaurant is unique. Service is very good, very open to how unique they are and how not all eaters are that adventurous they are helpful, but seeing as this was so anticipated for me I used very little of their imput. My water cup could have been filled more frequently, but they sure kept my cocktails coming.

They live up to their hype and are innovative in menu, quality, sourcing and a key player in the SF eating game. My next trips are likely to be to Chef Phan's other bars and fine dining (Hardwater, Moss Room, heaven's Hog) or more casual dining Out the Door. Very...

Update, 7 years later... .one more star to be 5! We ferried over on a commuter ferry for an early dinner, and caught the last commuter ferry home... what a wonderful way to spend a Friday evening! The whole bass fish was one of the best pieces of seafood I've ever eaten. The spring rolls, the yellowtail, the tuna... all not to be missed. The cellophane noodles should be ordered, if for nothing else, a midnight snack or leftovers. Same with the shaking beef! It's great, and the cotton candy is still there..... so an update to an older review with an extra star for remaining consistent for all these years. It might be 5 if not for the cold and clinical cafeteria space it exist in. It's a bit industrial for my tastes, but having designed around difficult spaces, they do an exceptional job with appropriate lighting. In fact, whoever did that install should be proud because they conquered a best of a problem. the art is lovely, the bar and lounge area is dark but warm, fairly minimal and modern. I think some of what tempers my review is also the cost coupled with the space... it's pricey, of course. But it's one of those few spaces that we go to that a) never fails to have us giddily over-ordering, and b) has no real sticker shock, albeit the bill will climb skyward.

All in all... it's a meal you can be thrilled about planning, and will be satiated and over the moon on exit. Service is familiar but always professional. Nadia O was just awesome.... friendly, flirty with our group in that server way - without ever missing our glance or leaving us too long.

The bar is hip but traditional... no mixoloy nonsense (I might seem on the warpath about that), and solid, classic drinks, with a very engaging list of cocktails specific to the space. Whoever made them should be proud - engaging without being gaudy or silly. There is no shame in the classic profession of bartending... and they do it well here. It is a perfect spot for after work drinks, or a quick happy hour meet up with friends.

Not much else to say that 2000 reviews haven't covered... but I would say you must try the shaking beef, possibly as an appetizer (it's medium sized for an entree, but delicious). The Imperial Rolls are, without a doubt, the best I have ever tasted. They are divine! The Slanted Door Spring Rolls are a no brainer as well. The Papaya salad and brussel sprouts were delicious and perfectly prepared. Presentation is minimal here - they aren't patting their product driven concept on the back in front of you, so to speak. It's also a bit dim, albeit appropriate, and more flourished presentations may be lost.

The Rib Eye steak is a healthy portion, and just fine. It's not something interesting enough that I would suggest it or revisit it.

Also... they have a centrifuge in back. They make green apple cotton candy in the kitchen, and you need to order the confectioner's plate to get it. Do it. It's the lightest and most interesting concept... definitely flavored in a way that other cotton candy has never captured. Really, really well done on that, guys. It's not easy making sugar that's light as air hold another flavor. Well done.

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