Insider Pages Reviews for Fresca

4 Stars: Great Peruvian Food (by Adri J.)

Adri J. — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:21:00 GMT

I have eaten at Fresca two times and I loved both. They're menu has quite a few entrees to offer. They serve both lunch and dinner and are easy to get to by car or by transportation. They are a little more on the expensive side but their meals are cooked very well and are a bit more on the fancier side. The inside is very nice and their service is great. If you have never tried Peruvian food, stop by Fresca.

1 Stars: The second worst ceviche of my life (by Carlitos77)

Carlitos77 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Me: Borned and raised in Peru so this tells you I know what Peruvian food tastes like, smells like and looks like. My girl Julie and I just moved to the Bay from LA and we love ceviche. We ordered a ceviche the first time and it was not bad but it could have been better. The second time the plate was smaller, the ceviche was dry, no juice at all and the quality of the seafood was terrible. The service is great, the place is clean and nice, but don't go there if you are looking for authentic Peruvian food. They serve you chips and salsa, what da hell? It is a Peruvian restaurant!!!!! get it right. The pescado a lo macho was better than the ceviche, I gave it a C+. Ceviche F. We also ordered the sangria and I liked it, so we gave it an A.

4 Stars: Fresca Review (by Mauricio R.)

Mauricio R. — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:37:00 GMT

Fresca's service was extremely professional. All of the employees were polite and very friendly. The food came quickly and it was very good. I would certainly recommend Fresca to anyone who is considering it as a choice.

4 Stars: The West Portal branch isn't bad (by foodielover)

foodielover — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Do not understand how come folks are posting complaints about the Fillmore restaurant on the West Portal site. They're probably under different management because the West Portal service was pretty good. We walked in w/o reservations near 6PM and got seats at the bar, which is kind of a nice place to view the action in the kitchen. The yucca appetizer ($9)was very tasty, similiar to large thick country fries but not as starchy. It came with thin slices of marinated raw purple onions and a delicious spicy green citrus dipping sauce. I had the seafood paella ($22) which was very good. It had fresh mussels, white fish, sweet shrimp and clams all in a large bowl, There was so much that I had to take it home. The loco salido was delicious. Tasty marinated slices of beef mixed with fries and served with white rice. Didn't care much for the sangria ($6.50/glass) but their fruity beverage was refreshing. We were too full to try dessert but saw a flan pass by that looked good. Service was good, but perhaps we were so close to the kitchen, they couldn't ignore us.

1 Stars: Lousy (by salmon21)

salmon21 — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 01:00:00 GMT

Priced as an upper-end restaurant, the food and service here is amateur at best. Went to the Fillmore Street location. The decor and atmosphere seemed rundown; the tables looked like they would fit better in a breakfast place than at $27 entree restaurant. The waitstaff served like they had no experience or sophistication. They were always checking in when we didn't want them there, and were never there when we needed them. The whole tai snapper was undercooked--so raw it would not come off the bones of the fish, which the waiter did not offer to fillet even though he should have. Outside of that, the food was mediocre. The silverware was dirty. Despite the prices, there was no indication by taste or otherwise that the ingredients for the dishers were selected with care for quality. In short, this restaurant is pretending by its prices and menu to be a big league San Francisco, but it is not even close.

1 Stars: Don't go here, it's horrible!!!!!!!!!!!! (by lisefire)

lisefire — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 01:00:00 GMT

From the moment we got there it was Hell! The service is ridiculous. The service is ridiculous. I had to mention it twice. It took so long to get our menus. It took so long to get anything!!! If there are so busy they should hurry the heck up to get us on and out the door to turnover the table. People who were seated after us got their menus and food before us. Snappy staff. The food was good, but with service being that awful, i'll take my business where it's appreciated. We will never go there again. I will tell 10 of my friends and will tell 10 of their friends and so forth. Read the reviews!!!!

4 Stars: pretty good (by casea33)

casea33 — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 02:00:00 GMT

I really like the ceviche here. I usuallly call ahead and bring it home but their restaurant has a nice feel to it too. I'd recommend this place to a friend.

2 Stars: Fresca (by Jace C.)

Jace C. — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 23:52:00 GMT

The only two things nice about this restaurant are the owner and the decor. Everything else pretty much sucks. I have been in this restaurant a few times (by the way, it used to be a more casual dining experience) and the services is very bad. th ewaitress ignord us for a good 15 minutes before she took our order and the food came out 30 minutes later. And it was not really busy. the food is ok, but really overprised for the quality. And it is worst at night. Th eaverage plate is about 20 dollars, and the food is aerage and bland. I think if you are going to spend that much money then go somewhere else. Italways looks busy here beacsue they don't have much seating. I guess thats a good way to keep people waiting to attract passer-bys

4 Stars: go early (by tpc01)

tpc01 — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 01:00:00 GMT

I had great service. Very attentive. Wine recommendations were good. It is a small restaurant which poses problems for larger groups and high volume nights. Go early before the crowds.

1 Stars: Definitely not recommended! (by mgee)

mgee — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 01:00:00 GMT

Seated right away as it was a late lunch, but though the restaurant was nowhere full, we had to ask twice for water and would not have received the complimentary chips/salsa without asking - the waiter did apologize for the oversight. But there were about only 5 other tables filled.

Waiter took the order correctly, but the kitchen decided otherwise. It took longer for the correct order to come out than the original one. Not a complicated request either - just no beans! What finally came out - I should have just asked for a rice dish - don't think I've ever seen that much rice in a wrap/burrito.

Have been to the 24th Street location - definitely a different ambience and more recommended than dining at W Portal. The ceviche bar rocks there and service is not bad either. Will definitely not be back at the West Portal location.

1 Stars: Terrible Service (by outforfun)

outforfun — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 02:00:00 GMT

Who would think that you'd be expected to stand there to wait for just asking how long the wait is, while the hostess is there having a small chat with their own waiter. When finally getting the attention of the hostess and a couple snappy looks, we were finally told that we're next---just to find out that when the table was available it was given to someone else. What a way to start my first time experience of Peruvian food---and this was all BEFORE being seated!

3 Stars: Good Food, Very Busy (by Lorraine M.)

Lorraine M. — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 10:46:00 GMT

The food here is good, but the service the last few times I have been in has been very slow.

I love the decor in the restaurants and the menu has alot of options.

The pricing is on the verge of being overly expensive for the type of cuisine, but is still within the realms of affordable.

My real concern would be that the service seems to be slipping the more popular that this restauranr becomes.

4 Stars: Scheduling issues, but decent food. (by tclee)

tclee — Sun, 28 Aug 2005 02:00:00 GMT

My wife and I agree with another previous review. We went to Fresca early on a Saturday night and was told the wait was 30 minutes. An hour and 15 minutes later, we were finally seated. The hostess seemed indifferent about our long wait and some folks complained about having to wait for a while despite having made reservations. Fortunately, after being seated, the food was a 7 out of 10. We did feel however the food was a bit overpriced. The restaurant on Fillmore is very small leading to the long waits and the restaurant itself is also quite noisy. We didn't have any issues with the service.

1 Stars: Decent Food Negated by Horrible Service! (by zspro2t)

zspro2t — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 02:00:00 GMT

Eating around SF for years, and this was the worst service I have ever experienced! Thought my girlfriend and I could anjoy an intimate night in a quiet neighborhood. Wrong! Waiter totally ignored us throughout the evening. Hostess finally took our order, and we had to ask several times about where our food was (took over an hour!). Honestly, the food was good (when it finally arrived), but we were so put of by the service that it tainted our ability to enjoy the interesting flavors. Maybe the one on Fillmore is better, but not willing to take that chance with so many other choices for Peruvian in the City.

1 Stars: Horrible Service (by chadmichaelsen)

chadmichaelsen — Mon, 17 May 2004 02:00:00 GMT

The 1st time i ate here, the food was fabulous! Saturday night a friend threw my birthday party with reservations for 16 at 830pm. The manager asked to push it back to 930pm, we agreed...by 1030 the manager wasn't able to get the earlier party out of the restaurant. he wouldn't even push different tables together: repeatedley neglected his customers request for appetizers/sangria at the bar while we were patiently waiting for the party to leave. By 11pm he was still giving excuses. Living in SF for the last 5 years and it was the worst service i've had...Ever! Will never recommend this restaurant due to poor service and management.

2 Stars: SF, Please Ask More of Your Restaurants (by jsppostoffice)

jsppostoffice — Mon, 25 Aug 2003 02:00:00 GMT

This place is a disaster. I'm not sure how anyone could possibly rate this above a 5. Guys, we live in San Francisco; we know about great restaurants. This is NOT one of them. A total disappointment. Food: fine (hurray, one more place offering $10 ceviche that tastes just like everyone else's). Entrees: standard, unimaginative. Worst of all: They have no clue how to schedule. My reservation was for 8:30. By 9pm, I was still waiting (party of 2) behind two parties with 8pm reservations and two tables of 6 also scheduled for 8:30pm. They didn't seem sympathetic; Just a hostess who shugged and never apologized. Don't mistake blarring salsa and tardiness for a good time. Please, Restaurant-Goers who Frequent Fillmore: don't encourage average restaurants to open. Demand more. Shame on you, Fresca.

5 Stars: best peruvian experience (by issiepooh)

issiepooh — Sun, 13 Jul 2003 02:00:00 GMT

i've been to a few peruvian restaurants and i never liked them. i just couldn't see what made the food peruvian. just seemed like lots of sea food, french fries, and rice. but once i tried fresca, i felt i got a dose of what real peruvian should taste like. i ordered the salmon tacos and they were amazing. they used a salmon fillet, not shredded salmon. my parents and brother loved their food. my only complaint is that they sometimes use a hard bread on their sandwiches. other than that, everything was perfect!

4 Stars: mkwo (by mikewong)

mikewong — Tue, 13 May 2003 02:00:00 GMT

the pollo ala brasa is delicious it melts in your mouth. the ceviche is good and safe to eat
the salads are great. careful planning has gone into each dish the tastes are great CAUTION dont eat to fast or you wont be able to walk out of the restaurant

5 Stars: Delicioso!Like my family's Peruvian food (by claud_ucb)

claud_ucb — Sun, 15 Dec 2002 01:00:00 GMT

I come here everytime I am craving Peruvian food. My family doesnt have time to make great Lomo Saltado, or Paella, or yummy alfajores (dessert). The service is good and the food leaves you in awe!I have taken profressors to eat dinner with a few friends of mine and they loved it. It's great to be Peruvian in the Bay and actually say that this restaraunt makes me feel like I'm in Peru!

5 Stars: tasty tasty tasty! (by huong_lan)

huong_lan — Wed, 11 Dec 2002 01:00:00 GMT

The dinner, sangria, and desserts were great. I went with four friends, and ordered the lomo something (beef strips with onions and potatoes), chicken, paella, and beef fajitas. All absolutely delicious. The service was excellent and the portions were gigantic. I can't wait to go back and try the lamb.

5 Stars: Awesome food! (by goxande)

goxande — Sun, 01 Sep 2002 02:00:00 GMT

I've been there 4 times and I always had an excellent food experience. The food is great, good service and affordable prices. I will come back again!