Cortez--CLOSED

My friend and I went with high expectations after all the buzz about this place and were exceedingly disappointed. We shared 5 dishes from the main menu: 1 was decent, 3 were mediocre, and 1 was inedible. When I pointed out to the waiter (after much gesticulating to get his attention as he was flirting with someone) that my fish was raw and the menu didn't note that, he said the menu said it was ""slow cooked"" and walked away. Uhm, the last time I looked, ""raw"" and ""slow cooked"" did not mean the same thing. One exception: the dessert (lemon tart with berries) was exceptional. We should have skipped the main menu and gone straight for that! Won't be back -- there are just too many very good places to eat in SF (a number within a few blocks of Cortez). Pros: ambiance Cons: , food more

I love the concept of having a variety of foods wonderfully presented. Many different plates. Yes, the servings are small, but impeccibly designed to offer your taste buds the correct balance of delicious variety without being glutonus. Take the time and some friends here for an endulging evening. Hopefully you'll get one of the three wait staffs that helped me the last several times I have visited. They were remarkable and very warm and patient. more

I cancelled my reservation at Mina's to try out Cortez instead. The initial wait for drink orders and the arrival of bread were a bit late, but the lateness was made up for in the quality of food and service. Our table of 6 (on the waiter's recommendation) chose 6 dishes X 3. Duck, raw fish, salad, foi gras and soft shell crab. Everything was beautifully presented, however all dishes were slightly underseasoned. The foi was a bit bland, the soft shell crab needed salt (could have been a bit crispier too), the salad was excellent, the tomato brunois (tuna tartar) also needed some salt. I know there was salt on the table, but I prefer if the chef seasons the food for me... the desserts were delicious, but a bit small. Nice wine selection and creative cocktails. I was only left wondering.. how was the popcorn at the bar? Pros: Easy Parking, Creative Dishes, Cool Atmosphere Cons: , slightly slow service more

Just Wow. In town for one night, we wanted great food in small portions (not like it mattered-- you can't stop ordering them!). Everything was outstanding. Delightful. My wife and I shared 5 dishes and 2 desserts, plus drinks. Not a single foul ball in the whole bunch. Food: exquisite. Service: excellent. Ambiance: unique, fun without being garish, elegant. You can't go wrong here. Pros: Small plates, Diverse menu, Artful preparation more

We eat out at least three nights a week in NYC and are regular visitors to San Francisco. This is the first restaurant that delivers on San Francisco's reputation of good food at a fair price. I have dreams of my next petite Croque Madame (with Thon, not Jambon!) The crudo was the best raw fish plate I have had anywhere, barely dressed with creme fraich and herbs so as to bring out the freshness of the fish without disguising the essence of the fish. The pork belly is a wonderful sleeper that I almost didn't try. On top of all this, the desserts did not let down. Where else can you get a homemade KitKat as a send off from the chef? Pros: Diverse crowd, Knowledgable service Cons: , Tables too close more

fusion food is usually a bit of a mess. this restaurant takes the best of the cultures and fuses them together to make the best flavors of each complement each other. i was extremely satisfied with the spanish take on asian seafood dishes. on the bad side, the foie gras (and other non-seafood dishes) were more like pate (or too simple) and the service stopped towards the dessert menu. otherwise, it was a great place to go for a nice (and pleanantly light) dinner before hitting up some bars or blues clubs. more

Very good, creative food enthusiastically served by helpful staff. Desserts were very good, soup shots were innovative and pleasant though they created a desire for the full bowl. Salads were well done. Serving size recommendations were generally spot on, though we could have done with slightly less even though the portions are smallish. Much less pleased with hostess and bar staff. Bartendress on my last trip was astonishingly rude and not even good at her job: drinks were only adequately made, not professionally poured. Another night bartender was offensive. Both had pseudo-New-York attitude that I don't even find in NY. One of the waiters also reported their legendary behavioral problems in his experience and that of other diners. The hostess I found was a little better. All kind of laughable and did not spoil the very good dining experience. So try the restaurant but avoid the ludicrously snooty, unprofessional bar. Pros: Good innovative food, Lively atmosphere, Positive wait staff Cons: , Pricey mediocre drink, Somewhat rude hostess more

We go out to dinner at least once a week and are always looking for new places to try. Cortez is the first dining experience I would give 5 stars to in a long time- the food, drinks, ambiance- it was all amazing! Recommend going with a group so that you can try more of the fabulous dishes. Pros: delicous, inventive, decor Cons: , parking expensive, hostess rude more

We took our in-laws there last week for a special occasion. The restaurant was packed even on a Thursday evening. We enjoyed the food and service was good. The 4 of us shared 8 small plates, 2 soup shots, a bottle of wine, and 2 desserts. Total bill was a little bit under $200 (tax & gratuity included). I would recommend the soup shots, smoke trout frisee, foie gras, butternut squash ravioli, Moroccan short ribs, and the duck breast. For dessert, try the coconut canneles with pineapple. I did not much care for the beignets. It's a great place to dine and experience different dishes. Pros: Good food, Hip decor, Good service Cons: , Small portions more

I went to Cortez for dinner as part of Dine About Town. The DAT menu was a good value (3 small plates and 1 dessert for $29.95) and featured many of the most popular items off the regular menu. If you go off the regular menu, small plates range from $8-14, most being $9-12. The server will recommend that you get 2-3 per person, but I think 2 plus dessert is plenty. The food is good (try the smoked trout frissee) but the service was very jumpy. One of the busboys thought we were finished and cleared our plates and bread off in the middle of the meal when we still had 2 small plates to go. In fact, he did this twice! Still, we had a positive experience overall and would recommend Cortez, particularly if you can go during DAT. more

So many good choice of drinks at the Bar and so many wonderfull apetizers. It is the greatest experience in town for me. The food is exquisite and the staff very friendly. Pros: excellent food, best desserts, good atmosphere more

Cortez is a small plate resturant, the idea is to share 5 or 6 small plates and get more great tastes than you would have normally. Cortez was wonderful. We started with shots of soup -- great presentation, wonderful taste. Next crab cakes then smoked trout served over a small salad - both were tremendous. The Gnocchi was served with chanterelles and pancetta - also wonderful. Perhaps the best thing on the menu -- was the rack of lamb. They do it with an almost sweet date and mint crust and it's the best I've had. The milkshake shots are wonderful and they serve beignets wth a chocolate fondue that are to die for. Drinks may be matched to each of the deserts. We finished with an amond brown butter cake with greek yogurt -- again to die for. This is a real treat -- don't miss it. Pros: Great food, Stylish presentation, Fine service Cons: A bit noisey more

we had dinner here last night and it was good....a bit expensive for the portion sizes but aoverall a good meal...very impressive and resonably priced wine list....the ""mondrian"" inspired room felt a bit dated to me, but didn't reflect on the service or the food....we had 6 or 7 dishes and they were good...my favorite was a fricasee of chanterelles with gnocchi...i was dissapointed in the poached halibut with artichokes and saffron -vanilla sauce...the shortrib was good, but they definitely were not re-inventing the wheel with that one....it was nice to see the chef actually in the kitchen cooking, as opposed to schmoozing it up on the floor...desserts were the highlight of the meal...we had a chocolate peanut butter truffle cake which was just oozing with yumminess, and the beignets were light and fluffy... and the dessert wine shots are a novel idea...its a nice place for a special event.... Pros: desserts, wines, service Cons: a bit expensive more

The best dining experience we had in a very long time! We did the most of the small plates concept and tried many dishes and all of them were simply perfect. Amazing flavors, great presentation, innovative cuisine(try the soup shots and the croque madame!).The wine list is varied and affordable. Our server was attentive and guided us well through the wine list and the extensive menu of 20 small plates. We concluded our dinner with outstanding desserts like the Chocolate peanut butter truffle cake and the cheesecake with pomegranate sorbet. They are like nothing else you've ever had! The original and beautiful decor complements the food perfectly. Hurry before the place is too packed! We loved it! Pros: Excellent food, Fantastic desserts, decor more

For all of the media and announcements there has been about Cortez, it is a let down. The restaurant has been opened for 2 months, so you can't blame it on working out the ""starting"" issues. The bartender while waiting for our table - forgot our drinks even though she wasn't that busy. Sat down, menu looked pretty interesting. Ordered small plates, 1st one is OK, no taste (10-15 minutes elapses) 2nd one is OK, no taste, (15-20mins elapses) 3rd one comes, no taste (20mins elapses)...so on. We had 7 plates, and it took for EVER- i.e. service is not good. With places like Isa, Chapeau, Le Charm, or other reasonably priced restaurants yet serving really good food, Cortez is NOT a place that I would recommend. This city has too many places to put up with bad service, and boring tasteless foods. Pros: Hip Cons: Service, Tasteless more