Aqua

The snooty atmosphere didn't help us overcome the exorbitant prices and small, sometimes unappealing servings. Service took far too long (took 15 minutes to get our drink order) and food was undercooked despite our ordering request. Our recommendation - skip Aqua. Pros: Location Cons: Large prices and small food more

I was visiting San Francisco for the first time with my girlfriend and asked a local friend to book a reservation. He recommended Aqua but had never been there himself. I heard that San Fran has a wonderful restaurant scene and wanted to visit one of the best. The food was terrible and tasteless. The bill was $600 with tip for 3 people and no one had a good entree. I don't mind paying that kind of money if the food is outstanding. I was thoroughly disappointed and would not recommend Aqua to anyone. Pros: The Tuna Tar Tar Cons: Everything else more

The food is simply overdone/oversalted and absolutely not worth the price. Save your money and go to any one of the better nearby restaurants. Michelin 2 star - you wouldn't know that was the case, so disappointing I feel compelled to write my first online review.... Cons: Overated, underwhelming more

First of all there is a set menu of 3 tiny meals for $75. I ended up ordering the lobster for an additional $40 and when i got the lobster i laughed, It was the size of a hot dog with no bun. . Between the 4 people i was with, the food and 5 cocktails, the bill came out to $600!! And we ate pizza after. I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. and to top it all off it was my boyfriends birthday, so i told my waiter thinking he was gonna to do something special. but instead he brings a slice of cake with some writing on it and not even a candle. I don't mind paying $600 for a meal but i would at least like to leave the restaurant feeling full and satisfied. more

My partner and I ate here recently, and we left disappointed. The evening started off poorly, as 25 minutes after our reservation time, no one had checked back with us on our table, so I flagged someone down, and we were seated. Needless to say, this is the sort of thing that just shouldn't happen at a Michelin 2-star. All would have been forgiven if the food had been up to snuff, but it was very uneven. We had the chef's tasting menu, which featured heirloom tomatoes. A couple of the seven dishes were successful--the gazpacho and the crab with tomato and watermelon--but others were uninspired, while the cod was so oversalted that we would have sent it back if we thought it worthwhile, but we just didn't eat it. Twice during the meal--twice--we were served someone else's dishes. Again, not a big deal, but just below par for such a highly touted restaurant. Perhaps we visited Aqua on a bad night, but we won't know, as we will not go back. Pros: inventive dishes Cons: service and poor execution of menu more

My wife and I wanted to take her brother out for a nice meal and decided that since he likes seafood Aqua would be the perfect spot. We all really wanted to like the restaurant, but sadly we were disappointed. Compared to some of the other nice, local restaurants (Gary Danko, Le Colonial, Fresh Cream (Monterey)) Aqua just didn't live up to the hype or expectations. We did the 3 course tasting menu and ordered the dishes our waiter recommended. The amuse-bouche were beautiful but all too salty. Our appetizers were definitely the high point of the meal. My wife's lobster soup and her brother's Tartare of Ahi Tuna were delicious and unique. My Foie Gras was fine. Things took a turn for the worse with the entrees. We ordered 3 different fish dishes and were all disappointed with the lack of any creative or robust seasoning or preparation. All were bland and kind of boring. The desserts didn't sound very appetizing and tasted fairly pedestrian. As for the service, our waiter was quite friendly and the sommelier was helpful, but we had to ask to have our water glasses filled and though we made reservations more than a month in advance we were seated right next to the noisy bar area. I don't know if the restaurant is living on past laurels or people are swayed by the emperor's clothes, but we were not impressed and won't be returning. more

We used to love eating at Aqua, but have noticed a real falling off in the service in the last year. In additon, the tables are much too close together (at these prices, take out some tables, especially the ones in the awkward spots!), so when it's crowded, Aqua is very noisy. Our last time there, the service was worthy of a restaurant charging half as much -- same course out at diiferent times, wrong dish placed in front of each diner, and we felt rushed. The food is very good, but this is San Francisco and we have choices. more

I took a freind to celebrate her having finished law school; for the two of us, the bill, before tip, was close to $600. We both had the prix fixe dinner- $125 each. After I complained to the maitre d, the service was quite good; before that however, the service was simply emabarrasing. The swarm of servers/bussers were trying to rush us out so quickly, that they were taking the plates while we were still eating; at one point, they took my freind's plate while she had food in her mouth -that is when I complained. We ordered a (ok, three) quite nice Barolo- but it was really over priced. The prix fixe menu was seven courses, some were excellent, but really only a few. The rest were simply mediocre; all were extremely small portions. The tables are far too close together; the guest next to us nocked over my friend's wine squeezing back to her table (though, I must say, the response was excellent; they changed the table linens in a flash, and gave my friend a card for free dry cleaning without hesitation). The problem is that you are paying for world class food, service, and ambience; you end up with pretty good food, spotty service, tiny portions, and you may as well be sharing a table with the people around you- lord knows you are regularly brushing against each other. The bill is the biggest issue. Without trying to sound arrogant, I have eaten in fine restaurants in many countries; never have I felt so completely taken (for what it cost, I could have flown to London for dinner). If you have money to burn, and want to see what a real rip-off is, go to Acqua. Otherewise, stay away. more

Their salmon is yummmmmyyyy! more

Their salmon is yummmmmyyyy! more

Best tuna tartare ever: don't bother having anything else. Just fight your way to the bar, stake out some... more

Best tuna tartare ever: don't bother having anything else. Just fight your way to the bar, stake out some seats, order drinks and the classic tarta... more

I was in San Francisco last weekend for a last minute television show shoot with my photographer. Our company told us to splurge on a nice dinner so we headed to Tadich Grill just a door down from Aqua. My parents used to take me to Tadich Grill when I went to college in S.F., but alas, Tadish was closed. We didn't have time to look for other restaurants as we had to catch a flight and it was an early Sunday evening when most restaurants are closed in the Financial District. The service is superb, the ambiance is lovely, but the prices are outrageous. My mistake, we should have looked at the menu before we sat up at the bar to wait to be seated at 6:30pm for dinner. When we opened the menu our only options was a three course prix fixe meal for $72 a head or a seven course tasting menu for $102 a head. We were stuck!!! We knew the company didn't have plans to treat us to something this expensive. I produce lots of food stories for local news in Los Angeles so I was well prepared for tiny portions...tasty...but tiny! I have to say, after the meal, we were still starving and split a corned beef sandwich at SFO at Max's Opera House Deli in the Alaska airlines terminal!!! Okay...the food at Aqua was yummy. I enjoyed the presentation mostly. The morsels of food were tasty but I would not spend $72 again for it. You do NOT have the option of just ordering an entree...you are forced into $72 or $102. I love fine dining but I would have been happier with a Pluto's salad with tri tip steak from the Inner Sunset! If you do go to Aqua, check out the menu before sitting down....they may not be serving what you're into. I have to say my Langonstina starter was amazing and the apricot dome with cherries was something I'd still talk about. As you can see...a mixed review on my part! more

Aqua is one of the most well-known seafood restaurants in San Francisco, oftentimes referred to as the best... more

Aqua is one of the most well-known seafood restaurants in San Francisco, oftentimes referred to as the best seafood in the Bay Area. Most people th... more

I love everything having to do with food: I love eating it, preparing and cooking it, and sharing it with family and friends. (I am a New Orleans transplant, now living in the Bay Area -- so I mean it when I say I have a passion for good food)! Okay, after having been unimpressed with Aqua about a year ago, I agreed to take a friend there for his birthday. Unfortunately, it was my treat.... Pros: Attentive service Cons: Tasteless food; food not worthy of the exorbitant cost more

Although I was dreading going to a pharmaceutical dinner with Grace tonight, Aqua pleasantly surprised me... more

Although I was dreading going to a pharmaceutical dinner with Grace tonight, Aqua pleasantly surprised me with its delicious tasting menu, compleme... more

My husband & I had wanted to try Aqua for a couple of years, so I took him there for his birthday recently. It is by far the NOISIEST restaurant we've been to in San Francisco! The ambience is nice, yet the tables are VERY crowded. The wine list is exTensive and very high priced especially for the white wines. Corkage fee was $30 so it was a good thing we brought our own Chardonnay. Every food course we had was excellent, flavorful and the presentation delightful. The Ahi tartare and mahimahi entree were terrific. Be prepared to pay $$$$. For special occasions in the future, we'll go to one of the many fine, quieter, restaurants downtown instead. Pros: Superb food Cons: Shoulder-to-shoulder seating. No place for a 1st date unless you want to shout. more

Reserved here for a special dinner to de-stress post-holidays, and was horribly disappointed. The food was allright even if didn't justify the $75 prix fixe charge, however the atmosphere and service were terrible, and the wine prices outrageous. We ended up just going with the 2nd cheapest Burgundy on the list as were so shocked at the food prices, and was still pricey and not very good. The wait staff were snooty and we were surrounded by businessmen talking mergers. It just seemed like a cash machine for people with expense accounts; no charm at all. Avoid. Pros: okay food Cons: charmless atmosphere, very high prices more