O'Reilly's Holy Grail

I am VERY disappointed in the service that was provided by this establishment. Of the 15 years that I've been in San Francisco, this is probably the worst dining experience I've had. The manager of the place seems to neither care that his customers are happy nor that people come back. We were there on Friday night when they had a private event until 7:30. When we asked whether they were still seating for dinner, the manager claims that they were closed for a private event but if we were to wait at the bar for about 10 minutes we will be seated. Due to the commotion of the place, we asked again to confirm that indeed he could seat us. Half an hour later and a couple of drinks, we were still waiting to be seated for dinner. After we inquired again, we were told that ""absolutely not"" he can't seat us for dinner. After telling him that he had told us that he could seat us 30 minutes, the manager got incredibly nasty, claiming that we were wrong and that he never said he could seat us for dinner but that he said he could ""seat us at the bar"", though we couldn't order food from the bar either. After explaining that we have now waited 30 minutes and spent money on drinks, he told us that on principle he would not at least buy our drinks even though his cost for the drinks were less than $5 because it was the principle. I'm not sure what his principles were, but I guess it's to not have any customers. If you want to have a nice night and to deal with pleasant people, I would suggest Hyde Street Seafood or a ton of other nice friendly places in this city. This place is NOT a frienly place to be. They don't care about their customers. Go somewhere that cares whether you will have a good experience. Not here! Pros: Nothing. Cons: Service. Manager is unpleasant. more

I'm originally from the midwest, and I like to take my family here when they're in town because they can only handle so much ""california cuisine"" (my dad needs his red meat!). They have great fish & chips and the shepherd's pie is fantastic. Good selection of oysters and the live music is a nice touch. Really cool building. Our server was never there when we needed her and wouldn't go away when we didn't need her though! The food and atmostphere are wonderful though. Pros: Great building! Cons: neighborhood more

My husband and I found this delightful restaurant/bar while on a walk down Polk Street. When we first walked past, we snuck a peek inside and thought it was interesting. On our way back through, we decided to stop in for a drink. Pros: Great food, wonderful service, terrific atmosphere Cons: Hesitating on whether or not to try this restaurant more

What a beautiful place! Great food! Pros: easy parking across the street Cons: nothing more

This is a favorite - the kind of place where you want the staff to know your name. We love dropping by just for a beer/glass of wine and an appetizer at the bar or for a nice dinner out. It is a perfect mix between classy elegance and comfortably down to earth. The restaurant is gorgeous - the owners put so much effort into renovating it with the stained glass windows throughout and we respect they are committed to revitalizing that area of Polk. The cook is amazing and the food reflects his passion. The live piano music is a perfect touch. Always cabs available or there is a parking garage across the street. Pros: Beautiful atmosphere, excellent food. Get to know the staff; they will take great care of you. more

I had a few appetizers here at the bar. Bad service, I had to return a beer that tasted very strange. The food tasted from ok to very bad. Too bad, the band was great. more

I have been there twice in the last 2 weeks and both times the experience was fabulous. I was there as well for NYE and the prix fixe was a great deal and the food excellent! I have to say our waiter, same guy both times (from Croatia) knows his stuff, recommended really good wines and dinner choices both times...The rest of the staff was super friendly, courteous and very professional. Pros: Fun place, consistent with good food Cons: none really more

This place is truly an experience - walk in and you feel as though you've entered a 19th century European mansion. High ceilings, stained glass, fire place... service is unmatched, everyone in here is having a good time. My friend and I thought the dining room looking interested so tried it out - the food was good but a little too fancy for this type of place, and probably needs a bit of refreshing on the menu. I simply love this bar, but probably won't go back to the restaurant. more

went in there over the weekend, there was no one in there, ordered some food which was unedible and very expensive and been cooked by a non trained chef by the sounds of it. they had ran out of a bunch of beers. Awful place, could be so much better, avoid at all costs. more

Well its not on the menu, but if you are a seafood lover there is plenty to choose from. I had fresh oysters and I mean fresh! Delicious! Also excellent was the scallop ceviche and the crab salad. Though its not a steak house their steak was one of the best I've had and only $28.00 with trimmings. The place itself is beautiful, so much to describe you'll have to see to appreciate. Definately two tumbs up! Pros: Great food, Beautiful, Lovely people more

We sat down for dinner at 9:00. Right after the appetizer course, the wait staff began clearing away the dining tables surrounding us and a band started to set up. By the time our meals arrived, our table was like an island in the middle of the restaurant and the band was playing. If you pay $25 for an entree, you should not have to eat it in the middle of a dance floor. In additon, the food was so salty that it was actually inedible and the service in the dining room was horrid. I ran into a friend on the way out of the restaurant and we both agreed it was our worst dining experience in years. Save your time and money and go someplace else. Cons: expensive, eating on dance floor, food salty, inedible more

I was looking forward to my first time at O'Reillys. First, the good: The building is gorgeous inside and out. The appetizers (ordered the beets and the croquettes) were both good. Decent wine list. Now, everything else: The water glasses smelled like sanitizer, rendering the Pelligrino worse than tap. Both water glasses and their replacements had lipstick on them. Cut lime for the water was old and dry. The bread was stale and had been cut hours earlier. The waitress never noticed empty wine glasses. The presentation on the pollack was so bad it almost appeared to have been eaten once already. I've never had a more surprisingly bad dining experience in SF. Pros: Appetizers, Wine List, Ambiance Cons: Everything else more

We had a table of five (Feb '06) and all food was excellent. I thought the unique menu offerings, which are described as ""Northern European Rustic"" were themselves worth the visit and will require a return trip in the near future. When is the last time you encountered terrine of pig's feet? It was delicious! Service was knowledgable and friendly, although the restaurant was not crowded on a weekday night, so they were not stressed. We thought we'ld try the O'Reilly's Pinot Noir at $24 and it was a big hit, requiring an immediate second bottle and no further exploration of the wine list. Pros: Dining room, Menu, Value more

This place is a little more unique than your average irish pub. Pianist by the fireplace and beautiful tapestry and stained glass. Fun place Pros: nice place, valet parking, friendly crowd Cons: not so great part of more

An old favorite is now a new one. We took our family to Mayes, and discovered Mayes has morphed into O'Reilly's. It's different, and better than the old. Love the new ambiance/decor (lighter, airy), food is a great mix of fabulous dishes, everything else well thought out, even to the tall, narrow space-saving water glasses. Excellent selection of good wines in the $20-50 range (+more), and knowledgeable, attentive staff. Up to or above Citysearch's ""highly recommended"". Food: Oysters(5*fresh); Scallops fresh, unadulterated, perfectly seared(5*); two perfectly succulent/tender stuffed quail (5*, OK, you get it), and a peat-smoked, braised pork shank, 5*; sauces and sides made butter unnecessary for the bread. Staff made sure we had time to walk Geary to the Alcazar Theater(thanks Erin). We'll be back (probably next week when our other daughter gets home). We were genuinely surprised to find that an old favorite has actually become something better. Pros: Ambiance, Food, Staff, Food, Expense, Food Cons: Confusion about, conversion from Mayes, Pleasant Surprise more

The dining room is absolutely beautiful, but the overall experience was a let down. Our server was not attentive - we rarely saw him, wine glasses were allowed to sit empty for a long period (our bottle was elsewhere as our table was too small), received one of our starters after the main course despite asking about it on numerous occasions. Food presentation was good, however, everything was too salty! Please ease off on the salt. We would be reluctant to return. more

Went to O'Reilly's on a rec of a sweet, sassy little SF food friend. Thanks GAW! ;-) Didn't have a reservation and didn't receive any attitude. Seated within 5 mins., max. Actually would have liked to have had time to sit around the bar. Great looking restaurant. Homey decor, great food and very good service (Ella was a kick!) The peat smoked pork shank could start a Holy War. Lamb dish was also cooked to perfection. Very good selection of oysters and a mean oyster shooter. Wine list offered a good selection. Oxtail Guinness barley soup was deliscious. Ditto the baby beets Pleasant live piano music. We'll be back. more