Poleng Lounge -- CLOSED

Went here for a friends birthday after the restaurant closed...the bar is kinda slow and the place was packed and it was VERY hot inside unl... more

"YUM! I wanted to have a dinner party for my husband's birthday for about 12 of our friends & family. From my first communications with the staff @ Poleng, it was a positive and professional experience. Chris & Ryan followed up in a timely manner with every detail of our reservation, of which, there were quite a few...date changes, party size changes, bringing in our own birthday cake, etc. The food was GREAT! I'm not sure where the PF Chang comparison comes from...I have eaten at that chain and it's really boring, really salty, really not fresh. Poleng was none of those things. The spicy crispy friend smelts were so yummy I had to remind myself there were other people around me. We had PLENTY of food, and I really like the fact that they brought out each course in 5 separate bowls and dispersed them throughout the table. Often times, I find family style means 2 biggish platters of food at each of the table. That makes serving cumbersome and often the food itself suffers. Crispy fried things get soft and the like. Not so here. Portions were ample - we went with the Buddha Bliss menu - and by the end, my sister commented to me that she felt she needed a wheelbarrow for her belly. "The food was so good I took bigger portions than I should have and it just kept coming...every 5 minutes or so...there was a new course, just as good as the last but different". So, we'll be back. The staff was so accommodating...they turned down the music when we asked, they split the bill 6 ways to Sunday for us, they made everything so fun and relaxed. Great value at any price and the price was really reasonable." Pros: Service, food i.e. dilicious, ease of parking Cons: pretty young crowd but that's my hang up? more

Love this post- Very creative menu. You have to try the Sisig w/ a raw egg and chicharron on top! At times it can be loud in the front room ... more

This place is super cool and the food, to die for! Went there last night and had such a great experience. The staff was attentive and fun and the whole feel of the place is pretty relaxed with a funky hip vibe. We had martini's to start and then ordered a bottle of unfiltered sake. All of the food menu is small plates and we had a hard time deciding and ordered just about everything. The delish crab noodles (this is a must), the kalibe ribs, sweet potato fries, ahi poke...oh and the best thing on the menu, the must try was the ceviche...hands down the best I have ever had. I will be back soon Poleng Lounge! Pros: Um, everything... Cons: None, I loved this place! more

We shop weekly at the Lucky across the street and have wanted to go in to the Poleng Lounge for sometime now and we finally did last week. I'm glad we did! What's cool about Poleng is that the food is great but at night it turns in to more of a club vibe with live music. Something that I wasn't expecting, but was very cool. The Asian inspired menu had so many choices we stuck with what we knew we liked and were super happy with our choices. We had sweet potato fries with this really interesting banana catsup. I know we thought it would be gross, but it was soooo delicious. For our meal, we split the short ribs which came with a vegetable side. We will definitely be back. more

My girfriend and I live in the neigborhood and consider Poleng to be the best restaurant around. The only other neighborhood restaurants that come close are Cha Cha Cha, Little Star Pizza and Nopa. Poleng's small plates are packed with flavor and the prices are fair. My favorite is the Adobo Chicken Wings: crisp, sweet and delicious. I love them. Their calamari is the best I've ever eaten. I read some of the other reviews that state service is an issue. Our experience has been the opposite. We are politely greeted and the staff has always been pleasant. Many times I saw a cheerful young Asian fellow wearing a baseball cap and a apron chatting and laughing with the guests. I always thought he was just a friendly talkative busboy. I was surpirsed to find that this "busboy" was actually the owner/ head-chef, Tim, making sure everyone was comfortable. Pros: Food! more

The owners of this place have no morals whatsoever. My company of 130 people had the place booked for our annual Christmas party and then three days prior to our big event they told us we couldn't have our party there. Not cool at all. Boo on them. more

this place is kindda cramped. there are two rooms one in the front and one in the back. when i've gone there's always been one dj in each ... more

We went in and sat at the bar and were greeted by Brett the bartender. I wasn't sure what to make of him at first, but them this great personality came out and the guy was excellent at making really good cocktails as well as being conversational and friendly in just the right amount. We shared our small plates, and let me tell you, the small plates were not too small at all. We chose 4 items and we are two very big guys, and we were both stuffed!! The meal started with Lumpia and Chicken wings. Yes the Lumpia was good; the Chicken Wings-"Succulent deep-fried wings with a sweet adobo garlic glaze" were phenomenal! If we were still hungry we had immediately decided to order more of those. Then the beef tenderloin w/ marrow "Seared pepper-garlic filet cubs with poached marrow, coconut breadsticks, and mango salsa." dish was melt in your mouth and the crab noodles "Garlic Crab Noodles - A.Q. Pan fried egg noodles with garlic and fresh crabmeat" came out. Everything tasted so good and the bartender Brett was cool, the drinks were excellent - Margarita, Iced Tea, and Martini's. Then we shared some glasses of wine. It's a small winelist, but creatively put together and well chosen. Excellent job. I'm definitely going back. Thank you! more

Poleng has great happy hour specials ($3 beers and well drinks, plus .25 cent chicken wings that are to die for)... Happy Hour is mon. -fri. from 4-6 I have yet to eat dinner there actually but the night life can be a lot of fun too. Friday and Saturday evenings are great. more

Poleng Lounge seems to have a lot to offer-- a lot of food, drinks, music, dancing-- so when I came by a couple weeks ago on a date I was really expecting to get two birds with one stone (to use a cliche phrase...). I had a really great time. We had reservations for around 8pm, sat pretty promptly. Food was pretty good-- noodles, satay, salad-- some pretty tasty small plates-- it filled us up just right. Eating this way really is the how you're supposed to do it-- don't stuff yourself and enjoy each plate for their distinct individual qualities. Prices weren't too bad, I would say maybe $20/30 a person for dinner. After dinner, we just chilled at our table with a few drinks while the place slowly turned into a night club (the music gets way louder, the crowd changes, the lights dim down). After getting fairly liquored up we danced up a storm in the back to some live Djs. A pretty good night in my book. So words of advice-- don't get there towards the end of the night, or else you'll have to eat fast. Same goes with drinks... it's just easier. The places seems like it gets pretty crowded. Come on an empty stomach and ready to have a good time. Pros: Tasty food, nice hip atmosphere, a lot packed into a small package Cons: crowded, not a formal dining experience (for those who are expecting that) more

Why do people go to Poleng? Why? I have lived in SF for a year ( I am a NYC transplant) and I have been impressed by many bars and restaurants in this city. But this place is god awful. The food is poorly executed and the atmosphere is super cheesy. I felt like I was in a bad bar in Staton Island and if you know New York, you know just how bad that is...feh. And PS you don't need two bouncers and a rope... no one is "waiting to get in" @ Poleng. It's not Studio 54! Give it up...Please, the place is across from an Albertsons. Ugh, so pathetic. Pros: NONE Cons: gross more

I eagerly made a reservation at Poleng Lounge after reading the great review in SF Gate. I was really excited to try out the signature dishes mentioned in the article and spend a fun evening with my husband and friends. When we arrived the host greeted us coolly and with an air of superiority as if he could care less. We were promptly seated at THE worst table in the house situated about 4 feet directly parallel with the entrance. Every 5 to 10 minutes was interrupted with doors swinging open and cold air rushing in as new patrons arrived. I'm not exaggerating when I say we spent our entire evening with our coats on. A heavy curtain hung to separate our table from the entrance would have made a world of difference and also make us feel a part of the restaurant and the dining experience. Our reservation was for 8:30 and although it was Friday night it felt like we were going to an early bird special at some senior citizens hot spot. The lighting was so bright that it prompted us to ask if at some point they were going to be dimmed. The host gave a smirk and said yes, but the lights never dimmed. We ordered a bottle of wine and were delivered 4 wine glasses, 2 of which had lipstick on them. No big deal, send them back and get new ones. Except the new ones also had lipstick on them. Third time's the charm and with clean wine glasses all around we proceeded to order several of the house specialties. The Beef Tenderloin Salpicao with Marrow was just ok. The meat was a little dry and overcooked. The Stir Fried Snake Beans were far too fishy tasting masking every other aspect of the dish. By far the 2 best dishes were the Salt & Pepper Drunken Shrimp and the Half Moon Ahi Poke. Unfortunately these 2 great dishes were and are not enough for me to recommend Poleng Lounge. I think the staff and especially the host need to work on customer service and making the experience of dining at Poleng Lounge something their patrons look forward to and will want to do again. Pros: Fun to share small plates Cons: Rude host and lighting is too bright. No ambiance more

Food at Poleng Lounge lives up to the hype-food is great. I especially recommend the adobo chicken wings, which is deep fried chicken wing with a sweet ginger adobo glaze and the Purple Eggplant Adobo- perfectly cooked in the same ginger type glaze. The garlic noodle with dungeness crabmeat was not as tasty, the garlic was too overpowering for my palatte. Portions are actually huge even for tapas style dishes. Service is friendly. My only complaint was the host who was preoccupied with the phone and initially ignored us; it was only after 5 minutes that he was able to seat us. I definitely recommend making reservations because it does get packed. Pros: Food, Ambience, Service more

Pretty decor but the food is too expensive and the portions are small. Their specialty cocktails infused with tea are bland. Service is not friendly (they acted like they did not want diners there!) I'd recommend this place for regular drinks, hanging out, but not for dinner. Back room is their dance floor/performance area. They had a cool live performance by local hip-hop artists. Pros: ambience Cons: parking more

Walked in a little before opening for dinner so they sat us at the bar while the hostess prepared for guests. The bartender wasn't in the best of moods when he saw us and complained to us about not being about to serve us. That was fine but he made such a big deal about it, which was not necessary. If he didn't want to serve us then that's fine but isn't that his job? The food was fun but very small. I do not suggest coming with a large appetite. The vibe of the menu is that they serve small plates, tapas style, but asian cuisine. Pros: tasty food Cons: cold service more

I've been to Poleng a couple times to eat and a couple times for drinks. They have made some major improvements in service since they first opened. Servers are much friendlier & attentive now. The food is great! There's a lot of choices and the portions are generous for tapas. You MUST try the wings and the Ahi Poke. I also recommend trying the teas. Everything is beautifully presented and reasonbly priced. Reservations are probably a good idea. Pros: small space Cons: can be loud if there is an event in the back room more

My roomate and i decided to go here for a drink since it's in our neighborhood, only to find very RUDE staff! Nobody said "hi" okay, that's fine, then we order a drink and the bartender was clueless!! He just walked away from us and started talking to some girl, forgetting to make our drinks. After sitting there in that BRIGHT bar after waiting to see if we would get our drinks, we just left. It's really too bad, i wanted to have a new neighborhood hangout. (the flatscreen TVs in the bar are pretty cool) more

Ok-I live in the neighborhood, so I was really hoping this place was good! I went there with my best friend and everything was wonderful-The ahi and the corn cakes started the meal, while the steak, and miso fish were the main event- The service was quick and the drinks were good (Try the Lychee drink---Yummy) I am hoping to go back soon and would recco it to all my friends... Pros: Food Cons: Drinks were good, but not great more

My roommate wanted to try this latest incarnation for her b-day. I ordered a Lemon Drop - and to ensure a quality drink specifically asked it to be made with Ketel One. The (male) bartender asked me if I wanted a shot. Red Flag Alert! It is a cocktail, right? My drink was beyond watery! I really have no patience to waste my hard-earned money at a place that either intentionally dilutes their drinks or has staff that can't make them. NEXT! more