Fifth Floor Restaurant

The ambience is very romantic. It is very good for a special occasion. Funny thing is I went with my boyfriend just for trying something new, but the waitress just asked "What is the occasion?" I bet most people go there for really special reason.

My husband and I recently dined at the Fifth Floor and can I say, what an amazing evening! We have dined there on occasion since the place opened in '99 and have never been dissapointed! We started our evening out at the bar and had one of the most intriguing cocktails I have ever had... the menage poire, a beautifully crafted cocktail with Grey Goose's poire vokda! We did the chef's tasting menu with wine pairing, which was in our opinion the only reasonable option since we couldn't decided on what we wanted because everything just looked so good... and when it came to the wine... forget about it! What a fantastic list the sommelier has put together. We only felt right putting our pairings in her hands. Service was flawless as always! So all in all another perfect evening at the Fifth Floor.... we will definately be back again soon!

First time reviewer. I had to warn others. First, let me say, that I had already heard that the food, although good, was not worth the prices. But, we wanted to give the place a try, especially given the mixed reviews already listed here. The service was EXCELLENT, but that is the only good thing I can say about our experience there this week. Nicest people, really. The host, the sommelier, the wait staff -- everyone was great. And, they have an extensive wine list that is very impressive. That being said, we left thouroughly disappointed in our actual meal. Parts of it were good, but quite frankly, if you are paying this much, the food should be outstanding as well as the service. The parts of the meal that were good were the little in-between treats they did send out our way and our cheese plate that we ordered. But our appetizers, entrees and desserts were not good enough. My risotto appetizer was salty. Both of our entrees were bland and unfulfilling. Desserts were not even edible really, which sounds like a uncharacteristical thing to say about dessert in general, but it was probably the most disappointing part of the meal. And, fifteen minutes after our meal.... we were hungry again!!! I wish we spent all the money that we spent there on pretty much anything else. I really wanted to love my meal because the service was so great, but I didn't, and neither did my dining companinon -- so much so that I had to write this review. If you go to Fifth Floor, go for the ambience, have some wine and cheese and talk to the nice people, but do not order anything from the actual menu. I hope this review helps someone spend their hard-earned money elsewhere.

Although the food was what I expected, the service was the worst I've seen at this level of a San Francisco restaurant. Our server, Molly, had a bad combination of poor skills and bad attitude. She made several mistakes with our order bringing the wrong items and forgetting others. There is no flexibility in ordering. If one orders from a tasting menu or ala cart, then everyone else must also. It took over 20 minutes to get our first bottle of wine and when the second arrived, they just topped off the glasses which still had wine from the first bottle.

No apologies were ever given for the service. Instead, our server acted like we were an inconvenience and were somehow the cause of any issues. At the conclusion of the evening, we were given our check which had 21% gratuity already included. I cant remember the last time tipped less than 20% but I certainly would have this time. In our fantastic city, there are way too many restaurants with both excellent food and service for me to subject myself to this one again.

We had an excellent meal with our friends after a Wednesday theater matinee. The girls had the garden tasting with a sunchoke soup enriched with creme fraiche, tasty salad with persimmon and a citrus dressing, potato gnocchi with a green, a lovely risotto and more, while the boys had crusty mackerel or chestnut soup and then duck breast with confit or a lovely piece of beef with a bourgourgne sauce. Desserts were equally impressive. The decor was warm and modern luxurious, the waitstaff attentive and helpful, and the price heady but not excessive. The amuse bouche were many and wonderful tiny tastes which held our interest. It was a high point and we hope to return many more times to this five star restaurant.