Cliff House: Sutro's

1090 Point Lobos Ave

San Francisco, CA

94121

(415) 386-3330

The Sutro's restaurant is located in the cliff house at the ocean beach area in San Francisco. You may have to walk a bit from your car, since parking in San Francisco is always a premium.

The views from the restaurant is spectacular. Often in that area of the city the fog can obscure the scenery. However due to the large panoramic windows, even a foggy day is great.

The Sutro is located inside the cliff house itself, which is a city landmark. The interior is filled with old time memorabilia from San Francisco's past. You can see what the cliff house was like or paintings of the what the famous Sutro Baths was like before it burned down eons ago.

It's more of a modern decor with an old time accent. There are two levels but both levels provide equally great views.

My wife and I came right before the dinner rush, so we were seated by ourselves. Our server, named Richard, was excellent. Always very attentive and provided a friendly background to each course of our meal. He did not even have to note anything down, just took all our orders by memory. I must say even the rest of the staff was equally excellent. Not once did my wife or I had to ask for refills of our waters or drinks. Anything we wanted or needed as attended to quickly and with a pleasant smile.

Now to the food. All of our orders was presented beautifully. Each was well spaced and excellent color contrast. The little sprinkle of herbs and accents were everywhere. It was like ordering edible art. There is a price to pay for such good looking food. The average price is a bit steep for the entrees, about 20 to 30 dollars for the main entrees.

There was a bread server that provided us with some bread. I found the bread hard, though I did like the flavor. The bread was not warm as well, so that disappointed me a bit. I always felt that the bread provided should be warm and soft but with a crunchy crust. This bread was neither.

We ordered two appetizers, an Ahi tuna tartar, and a crab bisque. The Ahi tuna tartar was perfect. It at a raw quail egg on top when first presented, then our server mixed it in with the rest of the tuna. The quail egg added a richness that I did not expect. There were sea salt and paprika sprinkle across the plated that also added another layer of flavor. The crab bisque was also excellent as well, though it came out of the kitchen only luke warm. I was expecting a piping hot soup. It had a richness and lots of crab flavor that your would expect. They provided and butter bread sprinkled with chives that my wife just loved with the soup. The staff was thoughtful enough to have split the servings in the kitchen for us.

For the main course I ordered Maple duck prepared two ways, and my wife ordered the sea scallops with saffron pearl pasta. This is where Sutro's failed me. While both dish looked beautiful, but they looked better than it tasted. The duck had a good crunchy crust but the flavor was lacking, it was bland. The duck tasted more of like the ducks you eat at an asian restaurant, with a strong anise flavor. The seasoning did not seem right for either ways the duck was cooked. My wife's scallop lack the signature crust of a well cooked scallop. It tasted fresh, but it did not standout, and tasted a bit bland. The saffron pearl pasta tasted buttery than anything else. Once again the dishes were luke warm and not pipping hot. I really had hoped that our main courses was good enough to match the views of the restaurant.

For desert we ordered the banana bread pudding. It was a excellent. The bread pudding was in the middle with an ice cream on one side and chocolate covered bananas on the other. Although it was a heavy desert, I did not mind at all. The bread pudding was warm with good sweetness. The chocolate covered banana was made into lollipops which I thought was a creative touch. We did not leave a single crumb on the plate.

They do have a large conference room for weddings, and I was told this a very popular place for weddings. Given the views and imagining the sunsets, it is no wonder why.

Final words: The food does not quite live up to the views or the price.

Food: 3 stars

Service: 5 stars.

Price: Very High

Overall: 3 1/2 stars.