Xebec — Restaurant in San Francisco

Edit 10/2024 The owner, Georges, is a kind individual and skilled chef. He reached out to us and apologized on behalf of the staff member who acted independently in mishandling a mistake. He invited us back for dinner and we had a lovely time, enjoying refreshing and well balanced cocktails (highly recommend Rumble on Gough and Mediterranean Haiku) and food. Highlights of the meal were the hamachi and sea bass, as well as the must try patatas bravas. For dessert, the apple tart with matcha was a surprisingly delicious flavor combination, and the chocolate mousse with meringue was silky and not too sweet. Xebec is an excellent restaurant with a unique perspective to offer on flavor and presentation. I highly recommend!

Original 09/2024 What a disappointment. One of the few restaurants that I returned to, this time bringing friends for a thank you dinner. Our initial visit was extremely positive and I was so excited to return and share the night with friends. The food remained good, but the cocktails lacked the flair, flavor and uniqueness of our first visit. As a side note, the burger was a repeat entree we ordered and it was less great than the first time we dined there. They also made a mistake on the side order that a friend made, but we ignored it. Despite that, the second round of drinks we ordered didn’t arrive even 40 min after we finished our entrees. After we cancelled the second round of drinks to continue our night elsewhere, we paid our bill and left a 20% tip. While at another location, I received a highly accusatory phone call indicating that we left without paying our bill. I don’t think it helped that we were a full table of color- Asian, Mexican, Black, Middle Eastern, in a full restaurant of white people. I responded with a credit card receipt, a screenshot of my payment, and their emailed receipt as proof. They then called me and informed me that they made a mistake, giving us the receipt of a different table that had ordered similar items, and requested that we pay the difference which also happened to be the exact amount of the tip that I left. I have never been so offended by a restaurants service and handling of a mistake ever and have never left a one star review. Such a shame for such a promising new restaurant to have such awful customer service for a mistake...

Xebec came highly recommended, but my experience didn’t live up to the hype. For a 7pm reservation, they were already out of oysters, which was the first red flag. We pivoted to a selection of appetizers and shared plates since none of the entrées looked particularly appealing.

The Wagyu Bruschetta was underwhelming—while it’s supposed to highlight high-end ingredients, the beef was sliced so thinly it was nearly flavorless, and the supplement overpowered what little Wagyu was there. The Uni Risotto didn’t deliver either—I couldn’t detect any uni flavor at all. The hand roll tasted like a plain veggie roll, with no trace of seafood. The octopus lacked any flavors or texture that would make it stand out, and the ceviche was a low point: stale rice crackers and indistinguishable seafood that made it hard to even tell what I was eating.

The only dish that landed was the sashimi, which was decent, though nothing exceptional.

My advice? Don’t take “Japanese-Mexican-Mediterranean fusion” too literally. Japanese cuisine shines in its clarity and restraint, allowing quality ingredients to speak for themselves. At Xebec, competing flavors and overly fussy concepts ended up drowning out what should have been the stars of the...

3 of us had a lovely leisurely dinner at Xebec last week. We were shown to our table right away even though one person had yet to arrive. Our server expertly guided us thru the menu and was spot on with her recommendations of stand-out dishes, portion sizes and shareability. We made it a tapas experience by sharing 5 small dishes and 2 mains as well as 2 rounds of fig mocktails and ginger beers. Mediterranean flavors were dominant with the Japanese flourishes providing interesting twists. We enjoyed every dish, favorites were the eggplant parcels, tuna tatake, ceviche, and especially the sea bass. The meal was slow-paced as requested, with only 1 or 2 dishes on the table at a time. Serving spoons, silverware and individual plates regularly replaced. Desserts were a disappointment, however. The enticing flavors described on the menu just weren't there. The dining room is serenely lit but nondescript. Its hard surfaces and angles raise the noise level so speaking loudly was necessary. I'd go back to Xebec without hesitation. The savory side of the menu was excellent and we were thoroughly taken care of by the staff. Tab:...