Chez Spencer

I?ve been here before and each time, I have had a very pleasant dining experience. On top of that, did you know this restaurant is teaming up with StreetSmart4kids? It?s actually really cool what they?re doing. I just heard about how SS4K is a nonprofit organization that helps underprivileged teens stay healthy. They are running their ?Dine Out and Donate? campaign here (as well as approx. 70 other restaurants in SF) during October and early November. After having a fabulous dining experience, just fill out the donation form when paying the check (minimum donation $3). This is perfect for people like me, who love to eat out all the time and also like to give back to the community. Check it out for yourself on the StreetSmart4Kids website! more

Dined at Chez Spencer for first time this week, after hearing many friends rave of its atmosphere and excellent food. Ambiance was intimate and certainly not over the top, mixing industrial comfort with a solid formula for service excellence. Steak was one of the best I?ve had this year. Cosmo from the bar was average. What I give low marks in this review is the seemingly excessive $30 corkage fee. I can understand $20, even $25, but $30? Pros: Cuisine, ambience Cons: Excessive corkage fee more

This is the dining experience that has motivated me to write my first review ever. Pros: Decent food and nice environment Cons: Hard to beleive how bad the service is more

I love this restaurant. It is one of my favorites in the City. I also love French food and great wine and this place covers both bases very well. I love the romantic atmosphere in the restaurant and the indoor/outdoor area in the front. I think this is a perfect place for a really romantic evening. It is also located a bit off the beaten path, which makes it feel like a hidded gem. I highly recommend this restaurant! more

i went here with my girlfriend for our 4th year anniversary. we sat at a table outside at the entrance to... more

i went here with my girlfriend for our 4th year anniversary. we sat at a table outside at the entrance to the indoor dining area which faced the e... more

The dinning experience was overshadowed by poor service. The worst part was when we watched our original waiter walk to the bar with a glass of wine and have seat. As we watched the pretentious waiter enjoy his wine, we had to signal the new server for the next courses and the bill. To rub salt in the wound?we had arranged a baby sitter for this special evening. I recommend avoiding this place?there are a ton of great restaurants with high quality service. Pros: Food Cons: Service more

I have eaten at Chez Spencer a few times, the food has been ok for the most part, rarely great. Tonight was my worst dining experience in 10 years in San Francisco. Our waitress was clearly not focused on our party...... We had to wait repeatedly for service, including an embarrassingly long wait (>30 minutes) after finishing our main course to order deserts. I received the bill with an automatic 18% gratuity which I refused to pay and left a 10% gratuity instead, a generous tip for mediocre service. While leaving the restaurant with my guests, I was accosted by our waitress on the sidewalk in front of my guests, demanding to know ""if her service was so lousy that she should only be receiving a 10% gratuity"" (in this case, $55 on a $540 tab). A low class act for a restaurant that pretends to be high class. Will never go there again. Pros: Ambiance- Cons: Service!!!! or absence thereof more

My boyfriend and I went to Chez Spencer for my birthday last week. We had the 6 course food and wine pairing and it was out of this world. Every dish was outstanding - the steak with morels was the shining star. Chez Spencer uses a lot of fresh, seasonal vegetables in their preparation and the sauces are bright and full of flavor (it is a french restaurant after all - the sauces have to be great!) Compared to what other top shelf restaurants charge for a food and wine pairing, the prix fixe was extremely reasonable. Don't let the surroundings fool you - it may be around the corner from Office Max and Best Buy, but once you step into the courtyard, you are in another world. When you want a splurge, this is the place! Pros: The food, the atmosphere, the wine, the service Cons: Nothing, not even parking. It is easy to park in that area! more

I was trying to find a romantic little spot near our house, so yelp and citysearch pointed to Chez Spencer. I wanted to find a restaurant close by because it was my boyfriend's birthday and I wanted to take care of everything, including the driving.. so he can just sit back and relax. more

In one word: this place is overrated. The food is good (although neither amazing nor very creative), but the wines are ordinary and for some of them, just gross, and overpriced. My date and I ordered a $100+ bottle of burgundy that turned out to be flat and flavorless. We had it replaced by another $100+ wine that was just ordinary. They seem to have only the worst years/domains, which they sell for the price of great wine. They still charged us for the price of both bottles, unlike any really classy place would have done. The service is far from memorable; and when I made a comment about the wine, the prickly, unfriendly French manager told me its the way this wine tastes. Also, the neighborhood is really sketchy, and potentially dangerous. Keep that in mind if you really have to go there, and bring your own wine! But you can have a much better dining experience elsewhere. more

My co-workers and I make it a point to eat at Chez Spencer, everytime we are in San Francisco on business. We have been here several times - and have never had a bad experience with the staff, food, tip, etc., as many of the below reviewers have. The food is fantastic - even the warm, fresh baked bread that they bring out first - but especially the filet mignon! This restaurant came highly recommended to us - and I would in turn, recommend this to anyone that might be dining in the SF area. Fantastic food! more

With 5 friends we had hands down one of the best meals ever in San Francisco, and the bar is pretty high with this group. We all ate a la carte for about $55 per person including one bottle of decent Burgundy. The food was a stand-out: this is not 'haute cuisine' but with classic recipes executed with rare art. Tiny, delicate asparagus with truffles. Melt in your mouth steak with morel cream sauce, perfection. A mushroom risotto that was like a fluffy cloud of forest flavor. Desserts that achieve the perfect balance between sweetness, delicacy and decandence, in particular a strawberry granita with champagne sabayon and an outstanding chocolate cake. Stylish decor. The staff were attentive and friendly. Pros: Food, decor, discreet service Cons: None here more

The ambiance and food at Chez Spencer is great, but I've never had such terrible service at a restaurant. Our waiter was rude and unapologetic about the unacceptable service we received. I recommend spending your time and money someplace else. more

i hosted a birthday dinner at chez spencer and am so glad i chose this restaurant. the whole group (12 people) thought that the service, ambience, and food were all fantastic! the staff was kind, welcoming, and very accommodating, especially since we had a few more people drop in at the last minute. a BIG thank you to the host, hostess, wait staff, and kitchen for going above and beyond to make sure that we had an excellent evening!! Pros: ambience, service, food more

Haughty atmosphere if your under 30. Treated as if we didn't belong there, the service was poor. Nothing ruins a nice meal like a subpar waitstaff who is only interested in getting to the next table. more

After a pre-dinner cockail at WISH around the corner, we arrived at Chez Spencer for our 8:30 patio reservations to celebrate our six year anniversary. Our prix fixe menu choice was perfect and paired nicely with (sometimes skimpy pours) wines at each course. I did start w/the Lime Rickey made w/Pear Brandy, soda water and a dash of sugar and lime - and highly recommend it for a refreshing, light start. The frothy displayed oyster start was unusual, and it took the 2nd oyster for me to appreciate the direction the chef was going. For someone who prefers a plain, chilled oyster w/maybe a quick dip in vineagrette, this was a bit overpowering w/froth and spinach. The scallops were served w/tangy chunks of hearts of palm. I really enjoyed the watercress salad. The bitter - healthiness of the herb/greens were tamed w/a creamy dressing. I had the fish entree, which was a bit rich for me (although incredibly good), but hey - I was in a french restaurant afterall! The cheese plate which comes before desert was a generous selection of many cheeses, served w/walnut bread and candied walnuts. Our deserts completed the experience, along with a bitters shot concoction. Service was professional and warm. Although, they did whisk our plates away a couple times two or three bites shy of completion. Something like this usually impacts me negatively, but how can one be made in such a magical setting? I suggest this place for special occassions - we spent nearly $400! And, I'm not sure why people are upset about the auto gratuity thing when actually 20% should be the norm for a satisfying experience and people should in fact (as we did) ADD to the auto 18%. I say anything that makes life easier is a good thing. And Chez Spencer, is indeed, a good thing. more

So I'm not quite sure why this place is getting negative reviews. The owner is fantastic, makes his rounds each night, introducing himself and checking on the service. The waiters knew everything about the menu and incredibly helpful. I recommend this spot to anyone who asks as my favorite place. more

Chez Spencer is well worth the trip and the money. Wonderful, tasteful ambiance perfect for a date or a small group of friends who want to enjoy excellent food. One of the best menus I've come across in all of SF. But then, after a perfect meal and nice service, comes the bill with a tip already filled in (by hand, no less!) at 18% of an AFTER TAX total. This is bush league. JV. Mickey mouse operation. What kind of classy place demeans itself by having waitstaff write in their own tip? Embarrassing for them and offensive to me. What an obnoxious finish! more

I wish I had looked at citysearch before going to CS. I would have never gone if I had read the negative reviews below. Our meal was rushed. Apparently, when you ask for an omission or substitution the waiters just nod but don't actually honor your request (small things like no nuts or milk instead of cream). Then what is really infuriating is it is apparently their policy to confront any patrons who leave less than 18% tip- this happened to us for leaving 15%. I thought tip amount was supposed to correlate with quality of service. Either way, I will never dine there again and I hope to save anyone else the trouble! more