The Stinking Rose

Claim
marker

325 Columbus Ave (at at Grant)
San Francisco, CA 94133

marker
(415) 781-7673
Incorrect info? Correct your listing
Photos
The Stinking Rose - San Francisco, CA
The Stinking Rose - San Francisco, CA
The Stinking Rose - San Francisco, CA
The Stinking Rose - San Francisco, CA
The Stinking Rose - San Francisco, CA
The Stinking Rose - San Francisco, CA
The Stinking Rose - San Francisco, CA
The Stinking Rose - San Francisco, CA
The Stinking Rose - San Francisco, CA
The Stinking Rose - San Francisco, CA
The Stinking Rose - San Francisco, CA
The Stinking Rose - San Francisco, CA
Reviews
( 23 )
( 20 )
( 9 )
( 7 )
( 12 )

Best

The all Garlic appetizer is divine, the garlicky Rabbit was amazing. And the garlic ice cream for dessert sealed it.

Worst

greeted by 4 bored and unhappy looking hosts who can't be bothered. bagna caulda is the only thing worth tasting. wilted arugula and expensive pastas make this place not worth t...

The all Garlic appetizer is divine, the 3/26/2012

The all Garlic appetizer is divine, the garlicky Rabbit was amazing. And the garlic ice cream for dessert sealed it. more

Rockin - if you love Garlic, go for it! 10/15/2011

There are 2 kinds of people in this world: 1) People who LOVE garlic 2) Vampires As a happy member of the former group, I love The Stinking Rose. It's like all you can eat mussels - and garlic - and bread for $10 a head. Awesome. We always hit this place when we're in North Beach. more

Garlic Paradise 6/18/2010

We kicked off with cocktails to get us in a mood. Garlictini (vodka-martini) was strong, smooth and just perfect with a crunchy garlic-stuffed olive. My friend had a Vampire’s Bite – vodka, amaretto, midori and cranberry juice – definitely a winner for a girl “who likes it sweet”. I order steamed clams every time I see them on the menu and the ones at Stinking Rose are phenomenal. I was so crazy about the garlic broth and started drinking it until it was gone… That’s how good it was! Rabbit was cooked nicely; the meat was tender underneath brown crispy skin and on top there was a generous heap of roasted garlic. The dish was accompanied with creamy garlic mashed potatoes and went very well with a spicy Rosenblum Zinfandel. The atmosphere at the Stinking Rose is FUN! I couldn’t help taking pictures of the food and décor. I imagine this place is great for romantic dates as it has semi private booths with curtains as well as for casual “get together” before partying on the North Beach. more

The Ultimate Comfort Food 3/29/2010

This place has the ultimate comfort food. My wife had the musses-shrimp-crab combo and I had the lamb shank, ample servings beautifully prepared and presented and loaded with garlic. We loved it. It was worth the wait to get in and the weight we have to work off. Pros: Better than the Gilroy Garlic Festival Cons: Small place so expect to wait. more

The Ultimate Comfort Food 3/28/2010

This place has the ultimate comfort food. My wife had the musses-shrimp-crab combo and I had the lamb shank, ample servings beautifully prepared and presented and loaded with garlic. We loved it. It was worth the wait to get in and the weight we have to work off. Pros: Better than the Gilroy Garlic Festival Cons: Small place so expect to wait. more

Indifferent staff, poor food quality 1/19/2010

I have been a regular patron over the last 10 years but sadly the service and food quality have been getting worse until finally last week our visit was totally unacceptable. We had a reservation. The restaurant was almost empty but they insisted on seating us right next to the service galley. Our meal was punctuated by rushing waiters and clattering trays. The wait to order was too long and then the orders were not correct. The waiters had no idea who ordered what. The food qaulity was average and unfortunately the two people who ordered the ribs were sick all night. We won't return. more

Stinking Rose is the best ever! 10/11/2009

Went to San Fran on business several years ago and ate here and came home to Seattle raving. Planned a trip this summer with my son just to... more

Loved it! 9/7/2009

I went here for a date. Very busy place so we made reservations. We had drinks at the bar beforehand (a bit spendy) but were seated at our table promptly in the Chianti room which had wonderful ambiance. Service was professional and efficient but not overly friendly. We had a great appetizer Garlic Balsamic Marinated Tomatoes-ate every bite. My entree of Gnocchetti in a Gorgonzola cream sauce was delicious to say the least. They had great soft foccocia dinner rolls which were kept heated over a candle and perfect for dipping. The portion sizes were just right. On the way out when they boxed up my meal they added extra bread which was a nice surprise. However, I only give this a 4/5 stars because the other entree ordered was only okay and not nearly as good as the Gnocchetti. In the end, I would definitely go back and recommend this place! Pros: Best Gnocchetti, good portions Cons: not all dishes as good as the Gnocchetti, spendy more

Stinking Rose is absolutely wonderful 8/24/2009

This was the best resturant...I love garlic and my husband too! The service was great and the food too. The atmosphere was incredible with f... more

Stinking Rose is delicious! 8/14/2009

If you like garlic and don't mind the bad breathe, then this is the place to be! Garlic is served in every meal, including some garlic ice c... more

Such a Fun Place with ALOT of Garlic! 5/26/2009

Italian comfort food at best. Great for groups. Pastas, fish, meat course all reasonably priced with hearty... more

Such a Fun Place with ALOT of Garlic! 5/26/2009

Yuka Provided by Partner
Italian comfort food at best. Great for groups. Pastas, fish, meat course all reasonably priced with hearty generous portion. Service is always pr... more

Dirty Utensils, Dirty Curtains 4/27/2009

Usually I don't check utensils, but when I saw a speck of stuff on the knife, I wiped it off and got a black, yes black, streak on the napkin. The fork had the same black stuff. There was a hair on the water pitcher. The curtains, charming and romantic to some, were filthy. There was no light in the bathroom. The food was okay, but not worth the $18.95 for the 40 garlic chicken. I do NOT recommend this place. One star is too much. Cons: Dirty utensils, dirty curtains, no light in bathroom more

The Garlic Was the Least Stinking Part 11/24/2008

My friends and I had one of the worst dining experiences I have had in the City at The Stinking Rose. First we waited over an hour for a table. Due to some miscommunication between the hosts we were passed up several times for a table that would seat our party of 5. After telling the hostess we were not happy they evicted the party they had just seated and probably ruined their dining experience for the night as well. Our waiter was extremely unattentive. After waiting 20 minutes for our waiter to show up and take our first and only drink order he pressured us into ordering our food at the same time. We also asked for bread several times and ended up asking a different server who very politly brought it to us. Now the food. I ordered a $20 porkchop that was overcooked and underseasoned. Not the worst I've ever had but for $20 that better be the best darn porkchop ever. After we finished our disappointing meal we had to ask for the check from a different person once again since our waiter was no where to be found. This place is an over priced tourist trap with some of the worst service and most mediocre food I have been to in San Francisco. more

Stinking may be just the right word.... 11/12/2008

My boyfriend and I are locals to the city. We love food and like to try out different restaurants in the area. We had a hankering for a really good bowl of spaghetti and ""The Sticking Rose"" caught our attention. The name itself sounded just interesting as well as the exterior deco. It felt really inviting. And the garlic with everything just sounded so yummy! We were greeted by the host and led to a small table by the window. It was a nice spot for the both of us. We were given menus by the host. It took almost 15 minutes for the waiter to come to our table. As soon as the waiter reached our table he quickly took our orders and seemed impersonal to our needs as diners. Though we had everything on the table including a white pitcher of water he just seemed to shove everything on our table. The service could have been better. We ordered the garlic steak with shrimp and pesto spaghetti. The food was not what we expected. The steak was too fatty and it tasted awful. We didn't take another bite of it. For what we paid, it wasn't worth it. The pesto spaghetti was too oily. The only good thing about the entrees were the generous amount of garlic! Don't be fooled by the name and all the decoration. The food and service are the ""stinking"" parts. Pros: lots of garlic Cons: not worth my taste buds more

awesome 10/18/2008

thsi place is great ti reeks oif garlic but what do you expect we got a shrimp appetizer that had a tomatio garlic sauce with it i am still ... more

The decor was so cute, the waitstaff were... 5/1/2008

The decor was so cute, the waitstaff were friendly and attentive. Our waiter actually thought he recognized... more

The decor was so cute, the waitstaff were... 5/1/2008

Sapphiresniper Provided by Partner
The decor was so cute, the waitstaff were friendly and attentive. Our waiter actually thought he recognized my husband and I but I'd never been to ... more

Walked out after 5 minutes 4/22/2008

Am not local and am in town or a few days. Was walking through the area which seems to have a good choice of restaurants, so I was hoping they would make an effort to be at least as good as each other. How wrong could I have been?\r \r From the outside it looks OK. There were 2 couples in there eating already, so it couldn't have been that bad, could it?\r \r I went in and was greeted OK, but she sat me at a table with no view of anything, just a wall - couldn't see the street or the chefs. I prefer to have something to look at while I'm eating, especially when eating alone.\r \r Chose my food (40 clove chicken). Waited for the waitress. In the meantime a couple were seated, by the window. After a couple of minutes, waitress went up and chatted to them, completely blanking me. She took their order. She took another couple's bill. She completely blanked me on the way back to the till, hardly surprising given the greeter had stuck me in no-man's land. At this point I decided to quit while I was ahead and walked out. Some guy came over and asked me what was wrong, said I'd changed my mind.\r \r No idea what the food was like, never will get to find out. Went to an Italian deli up the road, cheaper, better service, probably better food for all I know. From other reviews it seems I didn't miss anything. Given the massive choice in SF, this place doesn't deserve more than 1*.\r \r Did I mention I don't like being ignored by waiters?\r Pros: It's a restaurant, they probably do food Cons: You may walk out before you get that far more

Avoid this tourist trap at all cost 4/5/2008

This restaurant was over priced and did not have a very good selection. There was no children's menu so I had to pay over $12.00 to get my child a pizzete (more like a quesdilla) and a drink. The Pizzete was supposed to be a cheese pizza and was actually pita bread with no sauce and just cheese in the top middle. I had to return my dish because the noodles were soggy and tasted so horrible that no one at my table could stand it. Another family member left the restaurant hungry because the waiter forget to bring her meal. After seeing our food she decided she did not want it after all. We were very disappointed to find that the foccacia bread was actually a dinner roll. My family did not have a pleasant experience especially after receving the bill. On a lighter note the potato soup was very tasty and was probaly the only menu item worth mentioning. This was the first and last time that we will every visit this VERY stinking Rose. Pros: potato soup Cons: over priced and not very tasty more
< Previous 1 2 3 4 Next >
Menu for The Stinking Rose


Summer SALE!!!:
15% OFF all yearly plans
Use year15 at checkout. Expires 1/1/2021
Editorial
  • In Short
    Fragrant and flagrantly crowd-pleasing, this popular North Beach attraction is a temple to garlic. The multiple dining rooms are festooned with objects d'art, murals and the...

  • 9/8/2004 Provided by Citysearch
Additional information
  • Hours: Monday To Sunday From 11:30 AM To 10:00 PM
  • Payments: American Express, Cash, Discover, Diner's Club, Visa, Master Card
  • Neighborhoods: North Beach, Northeast
badge