Absinthe Brasserie & Bar

Probably one of my favorite locations in SF, Hayes Valley offers many dining options yet it’s still a great surprise to come upon a restaurant where you enjoy everything.
Food: for an appetizer we had sea food, avocado and melon (!) Ceviche deserves 5 stars on its own!
Pisco sour cocktail was made to perfection, made us feel in Latin America…
Main courses we had the burger, an ok dish, nothing exciting but a good burger and the brisket sandwiches which was one of the best ever. A must have.
Service was very good and prices are average.

My friend took me here as a surprise for my birthday. I hate to give it a 1 star but the inadequate service left a bad taste in my mouth.
To start, here’s what we ordered:
Absinthe
–Corpse Reviver
–Sacred Heart
Steak Tartare (to share)
Potatoe Crusted Salmon
Absinthe Hamburger
I didn’t care so much for the bread and butter given to us but the steak tartare was perfect in texture. Seasoned well with a raw yoke for creaminess. The salmon had a amazing crisp crust, cooked medium rare, juicy and delicious. My friend had the burger with a house made pickle to die for.
The reason why dessert wasn’t on the above list is because service was EXTREMELY slow. We sat for 20 mins after we finished our entrée trying to wave down the waitress. It’s a Sunday and the restaurant was at half capacity. Not nearly busy enough to excuse her absence. I didn’t want to be the obnoxious customer that calls over the manager but yes I was upset. Who knows how much longer we would have had to wait for our dessert. We got our check and walked out.
With a prior reservation clearly stating a celebration, I definitely expected better. Coming here to honor another year in my life was clearly a mistake.
My friend and I walked to a nearby liqueur, picked up a pint of ice cream and stroke up conversation with the cashier. Even he wished me happy birthday! More effort recognized than our waitress.

Staff– We came here for a celebration. We had reservations for lunch. There were plenty of empty tables but had to wait even though they were expecting us. Staff was not celebratory as it was a big event. We had to wait for staff to be flagged down before we could request water.
Food– the burger was delicious! Very tender and almost melted in your mouth. Fries were crispy and not oily.
Complaint would be the French dip was super dry and tough even when dipped in au jus.
Drinks– wide selection on interesting drinks on menu. Alcoholic drinks were tasty, didn’t taste like they were artificially sweetened like most places.
Advice: Since it was a celebratory reservation, it would have made the experience much more pleasant if the staff appeared if not genuinely cheerful. And if the staff came around just a few times to check if we needed anything or even to just say congratulations.

I love French food and I always walk passed this place when I’m making my visit to smittens. Came here for one of my birthday dinners. A party of 5. We started with drinks and the drinks were strong. One mint mojito already got me pretty buzzed. Our server was great, she was friendly.
Everything we order was good, specially their **Steak Tartare — made with mustard, green apple, red onion, cornichons, quail egg yolk, crostini. The flavors of each bite was delicious. Must Try.
We ordered appetizers **Crispy Pork Belly (2 orders) — Crispy and flavorful. Taste like a really good piece of Chinese roast pork. YUM! **French Fries was good and crispy. **Basil Gnocchi & Manila Clams — Was just okay. Good flavorful but I was hoping for big clams or with clam shells. My friends order 2 **Absinthe Hamburger. They said it was a good burger but nothing special. **Steak served with potato purée, grilled asparagus, cremini mushroom, black garlic jus. I had a piece of the steak and it was cook perfectly, very tender. **California Lamb Loin Chops — It was a good piece of lamb because it doesn’t have that lamb taste. ha! I’m not a fan of lamb. We also order two sides. **Mushrooms and **Baked Mac ‘n’ Cheese, breadcrumbs. Both was delicious!
I got the **Grilled Spanish Octopus — fingerling potato salad, peas, favas, chicories, lemon-​grain mustard vinaigrette because I couldn’t choose. Everything on the menu sounded great. I asked our waiter to bring me the dish with the best presentation. WOW what a disappointment. I saw pictures before and normally this dish looked amazing. But if you see my picture, you can’t even see the Octopus. Whom ever did the plating that night wasn’t good. At least It tasted good.
Ended the night with their chocolate moose, sesame ice cream. It was amazing! Totally recommended. Overall the whole experience was good.

This was one of the few restaurants open for dinner at 10:30pm. We went without a reservation and were seated at a cute little booth in the corner. The menu had two vegetarian options (which was great for French cuisine!) and I chose the wild mushroom stew with the chickpea polenta cake. The stew was delicious and very flavorful. The complimentary sourdough bread was fresh and amazing and I probably ate more than I needed to. My husband really liked their burger. The server was very friendly and made some great suggestions with the drinks and food. The only item we did not like was the dessert — it was a chocolate mousse served with pistachio ice cream and the two somehow did not go together very well. We enjoyed them as two separate desserts instead!

Amazing ambiance, great service, delicious and very memorable food.
I came her for a private event and had a three course dinner. The first course was a fresh salad that had the best vinaigrette I had ever had in my whole life. If it weren’t for the fact that I was around my professional colleagues I would have licked the plate. The salad consisted of freshly crisp romaine lettuce, with thinly sliced baby radish and Persian cucumbers with this amazing red wine vinaigrette that in and of itself is 5 stars. Every bite was a burst of flavor.
The main course I got was a medium rare black Angus bistro fillet that was full of savory meat flavor and was perfectly cooked so that it had a great texture with every bite. It was paired with mushrooms and this amazing potato purée that melted in your mouth and mixed with bites of meat was just heavenly especially with the garlic jus which wasn’t very garlicy.
The dessert was a chocolate pot de crème with crème Chantilly. Basically really rich semi dark chocolate pudding like dessert with a very light and mildly sweet whip cream. Though I couldn’t finish it because of the rich flavor it didn’t make it any less delicious to top off my meal. I just wish there was more whip cream like stuff on there to balance the rich chocolate.
I would definitely return as the food REALLY good.

TLDR — Delicious, hearty French-​inspired brunch. Older, classier crowd but works for any occasion
Absinthe has been on my to-​visit list for a while now but it was quite different from what I was expecting. I came with a group of 4 for Saturday brunch, and it was reasonably busy but not quite SF-​brunch busy. They do take reservations though, so doesn’t hurt to make one. I was definitely expecting a younger, more typical SF crowd, but everyone else was so much older, I felt really out of place. Imagine classy, dressed-​up symphony-​goers. Ambiance and décor matched more of that European vibe.
I was also expecting French food here, but the menu was more French inspired rather than real French dishes. There’s a good variety of brunch food though so there are options for everyone, whether you want something simple (like eggs or pancakes), something fancier (like duck confit), something sweet (like french toast) or something savory (like the breakfast cassoulet). Brunch prices are pretty reasonable too and will set you back about $ 20.
I ordered the Duck-​Confit Ragout, which was delicious and incredibly filling. I also tried some of my friend’s Croque Monsieur, which was satisfying as well. Nothing really amazed me, but still worth a visit and worth returning. The food here in general is pretty heavy, hearty and carby, as you would expect from French food. Great for one of those cold, gloomy SF days. Or hangovers.
* DUCK-​CONFIT RAGOUT ($ 18) — ⁴⁄₅
[wild mushrooms, chive-​potato cake, poached eggs, béarnaise sauce]
Interesting spin on eggs benedict. Instead of English muffins, there were two potato cakes topped with duck confit, mushrooms and two nicely poached eggs. The duck confit and mushrooms were delicious and savory, but the duck was a little dry. The potato cakes were moist on the inside and had a nice crisp on the outside that I enjoyed, but overall, I found them to be too dense and heavy. The duck also got a little lost in the richness of the potato cakes. I would’ve still preferred the traditional English muffin or another lighter, fluffier base instead. The portion may look small on the plate but it was very filling because of the potato. Normally served with toast, but I asked to sub for a side salad instead.

We got a reservation for their first brunch seating at 11 am, and they opened the doors exactly at 11. The interior was a little dark, old fashioned, and there was a small bug buzzing around. What I’m trying to say here is maybe I expect more of an atmosphere at SF brunch, but Absinthe is more of an «old fashioned» establishment, so maybe that was about right.
On top of that, the food was just ok.
DUCK-​CONFIT RAGOUT with wild mushrooms, chive-​potato cake, poached eggs, béarnaise sauce $ 18
The taste of the duck was lost in this dish. The chive-​potato cake tasted good, but the star should have been the duck confit. The dish came with two slices of toast, for which they offered us butter and jam. The toast had some nice grill marks on it but the texture was a bit on the harder drier side.
PORTABELLA MUSHROOM GRILLED CHEESE with fresh mozzarella, aged provolone, macadamia nut-​basil pesto, arugula, balsamic onions $ 14 + add bacon, fried egg $ 2 ea.
This grilled cheese was fairly cheesy; the cheese wasn’t the star as there were a bunch of other ingredients there, but it did pull apart like a good grilled cheese should, with the warm melted cheese stretching from side to side. The onions added a lot of sweetness to it. The chips that came with the grilled cheese were fantastic, slightly sweet and slightly salty.
ICED TEA was fruity and came with free refills.
I wish the menu were clearer about what came on the side of each dish. The menu was actually silent regarding sides, so I did not even consider it. Luckily, the chips were good, but i would have liked the option to substitute the side of either dish to mixed greens or fruit. I overheard a waiter offering that to someone who had asked for a half bowl of fruit, and I saw someone else at another table have a side of mixed greens with their grilled cheese. I definitely had eater’s remorse at that point.
From the ambiance to the food, this wasn’t my favorite brunch place. I’ve been here for dinner as well and wasn’t too impressed.

Absinthe, the moulin rougey institution of Hayes Valley. To summarize my earlier review: it’s open late, has a great bar, and you want the Ginger Rogers to drink, the juicy dripping absinthe burger to eat, and (to my surprise) the black forest chocolate cake for dessert. And the TLDR version of the below: get the foie gras, garlic knots, pata cabra cheese, and oysters, skip the chickpeas, and try the Pernod absinthe — the traditional way.
Having returned since the foie gras ban was lifted, let me tell you: get the mfing foie gras. Also, they have butter-​and-​salt laden garlic «pretzels» (which are really miniature knot style rolls) that are mandatory for all butter lovers. Their equally famous chickpeas were fine but not life changing. Oh, and grab some oysters while you’re at it. Get the sampler; there was a big difference between the three types of oysters they had in our last visit. And if you hit the cheese sampler too, you might be surprised that the Pata Cabra goat cheese is completely non-​goat-​cheese tasting, and wonderful.
Now while you’re here, don’t forget that they serve… wait for it… absinthe! Having done a number of taste tests, I will tell you that the most decorated Absinthe of the bunch, Pernod, deserves its accolades. It’s my favorite. Another (local) winner is Emperor Norton, which they also serve. Stay away from St George unless you really like brandy. If you’re a little afraid of alcohol at 136 proof (which most Absinthe is), you can order a cocktail with it — like the Green Beast, which goes down pretty easy. The real adventure is to order it «traditional.» This means that they serve the absinthe neat in one glass, along with a spoon with a sugar cube and a glass of ice water. Sip the absinthe straight, if you dare (remember, it’s 136 proof!). Then add small amounts of ice water by dripping it over the sugar so that both a little sugar and the icewater drop into the glass of absinthe. I recommend tasting it throughout the process so that you can stop adding water when it is to your taste. The «official» ratio is 5 – 7 parts sugar water to 1 part absinthe, but I prefer mine a little stiffer. Do not do any of this around an open flame.

I dined at the bar
Service was excellent as was the food
I stated with some goat cheese and a glass of wine
I ended with the vermouth cocktail
All was good, this reminded me of the places at home, in Chicago’s Gold Coast

Great fancy lunch here for a belated birthday celebration with a friend. Service here is impeccable as is the décor/​ambiance. We both had the French drip sandwich and shared the Mac n cheese to start. Everything was delicious and we were both pleasantly stuffed afterwards. Their French fries are also some of the best I’ve had in awhile – nice and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Complimentary bread and butter for the table was also yummy and nice for noshing.
Will be back!

Perfect French onion soup is to die for best I tried in Cali
And perfect pear cocktail is awesome also

Came here for a friends birthday.
We were seated right away without reservation on a Saturday. Surprisingly we were able to get valet and a table with no problem!
I requested a cake for my friend and my waitress (wish I remembered her name) presented a cake with a candle for her without her knowledge. It was a great surprise. I ended up giving my waitress a hefty tip. Awesome job!
The food and service was amazing!

I saw this restaurant listed in an article titled something along the lines of, «Places you have to visit in San Francisco,» so of course, we had to check it out. Unfortunately our experience didn’t live up it our expectations and I won’t go out of my way to return.
Making a reservation was quick and easy on their website. We booked nearly a week and a half in advance, but since this was President’s Day/Valentine’s Day weekend there were only 2 reservations left, both late– 9:30pm & 9:45pm. Not our first choice, but our fault for not booking sooner. We showed up and were seated immediately, but the room we were seated in was nearly empty. Interesting considering we booked the second to last available reservation for the night and they remain open until midnight.
Because it was so late we opted for small plates. I was really excited for the French onion soup because I order it nearly every time I see it on a menu. I’d give it a 6.5 out of 10. Sadly nothing spectacular; the broth was somewhat watery lacking richness and flavor. The cauliflower soup; however, was great! The baked mac ‘n’ cheese was also good, but rich as expected.
Overall, the food was ok, prices slightly high, and the service was fine, a little awkward. He basically walked up and said, «what will you have». No introduction or welcome, which is fine, but a smile and a hello wouldn’t have killed him, right?

After leaving ALAMO SQUARE SEAFOOD restaurant because of bad service… I was driving around with my friends around Hayes Valley… found parking right across from ABSINTHE… we decided to go there… This is probably around 8:30pm and they happen to have available table for us. The hostess seated us in the bar area at a cute café table. We were promptly greeted by our wonderful server «Anna».
I had the grilled octopus and it was one of the best grilled octopus dish I have had in a long time. It was grilled perfect and seasoned with some smokey spice… AMAZING!!! One of my friend had Coq Au Vin and the other had Salmon. SOOOOOOO delish!!! AND then at the end of our dinner… Anna brought my friend a happy birthday dessert.
All of us had a wonderful experience tonight at ABSINTHE after a rough start at ALAMO SQUARE SEAFOOD. It was so nice to go to a restaurant that know how to treat their customers. If you want great food and 5 stars service go to ABSINTHE… You won’t be disappointed!!!
THANK YOU FOR A GREAT TIME TONIGHT!!!

One word: delicious! I loved the French onion soup here and my burger was cooked perfectly. I checked out Absinthe for a late lunch recently and so glad I did. I will have to make it a point to come back here the next time I am in SF!
Tip: Make a reservation because this place stays very busy.

Came here for brunch on a Saturday and the food did not disappoint. I definitely recommend making a reservation as it seems to be a pretty popular place. I ordered the duck confit ragout that’s served with poached eggs and potato chive cakes which was delicious. We got a side of crispy potatoes to share for the table; the dish kind of falls short of it’s name as the potatoes were not very crispy at all, but I enjoyed caramelized onions that they topped these with. My friend got the pancetta scramble which I tried a bit of, gotta say their eggs are super fluffy.
The only issue we had with the meal was with the bill. After the waiter had given us our itemized receipt and I had given her my card. She brought back the bill to sign and there was another $ 20+ dollars added on to the previous total. I asked the waiter about it and they took care of it but couldn’t explain to me what happened.

We made a call to see if we could delay our 7:15pm reservation by 15 mins on a warm & beautiful Saturday evening and the hostess was frank and said she could hold it for 20 and only 20 minutes. The parking gods smiled upon us (at least for this one evening dueling for parking in SF) and we made it in the nick of time.
We were seated in the back room to the right. The tables were nicely spaced out and in no way did I feel like the conversation from the other tables were intruding in our airspace. I had viewed so many Absinthe burger photos via the Unilocal app that I had already predetermined that was going to be my choice. I wouldn’t classify this burger as worth its weight in gold but it was solid (juicy, firm texture). The fries were just the right amount of crispy on the outside and soft on the inside for me. I was the DD that night so I did the responsible thing and had a Ginger Ale which was too sweet and bland for my tastes and I would not recommend it whatsoever. I look forward to returning and trying out some of their cocktails which I have heard good things about. Unfortunately, I had become pre-​fixated on the Panna Cotta dessert but our waitress sadly explained that they changed bakers and that was no longer an option (for the time being).
Service was crisp and polished so no complaints there. The lighting is relatively dim and the noise levels are moderate so definitely not a bad date spot.

So, I learned that I don’t like absinthe the drink but absinthe the restaurant I love. Everything from the ambience to the plating of the food was very well thought out. We had a great cheese plate starter and are still talking about how good that cheese was. The wine selection was great as well. Our server was a little flighty but the food was so amazing we didn’t care. All of our entrees were beautiful to look at and very good. We all tried each other’s and I would’ve been very happy with any of the choices.
It was fun to try drinking absinthe but not something I will do again anytime soon. I will come back for the food, however.

Bread with salty, soft butter. Tasty, sweet oysters. Delectable. Dim, but not too dark, nice French ambience. Great area. Flaky, buttery, thick tasty sauce with the rock cod entrée. Recommended for solo (like me) or group.

Rating on the SF Restaurant Week Menu only.
Absinthe drew me in for the longest time since great reviews popped up on my feed SOO many times. It’s times when you’ve had a longggg week of work you just want to take some highly alcoholic drinks and Absinthe seems to be fitting of that job. Unfortunately, I was unable to try their alcohol since work was the next day and gotta be a responsible person, le sigh.
Lunch $ 25: 1 main course 1 dessert
: Le Cassoulet D’Absinthe: baked white beans, confit of Liberty duck leg, pork shoulder, fennel sausage, and herb bread crumbs. Cassoulet is basically slow cooked casserole. Portions were a bit small for a main dish but the beans probably sped up the satiety. The overall dish was missing texture. Everything was mushy and it was just mushy and saltier with each bite.
:Crème Fraiche Panna Cotta: paired with champagne granite and fruits. Panna cotta was really smooth and tasty. The citrus from the fruits and champagne were a bit too sour so I ate mostly the panna cotta itself. The panna cotta was super smooth and tasty.
–Service/​Atmosphere/​Parking–
Service was pretty good. They checked up on me frequently to see how I was doing.
Atmosphere in the day time was quite loud and festive.
Parking. Dont even think about it. I took the bus there (and trust me, I HATE public transportation.) parking there is just near impossible and I wouldnt take public transportation if I didnt have to.
even with the fixed price, portion and quality did not match price for me unfortunately:(I really wanted to like this place!

Came for SFRW with a friend. He had the chicken breast, while I got the duck entrée. For a $$$ restaurant, just expected more from the whole meal. The restaurant week menu was separate from their regular menu; we did not see any of the regular items on the restaurant week menu. My friend’s chicken entrée was good, with three onion rings on top. My duck entrée was average, way too many beans. The best part was the sausage, but there was only half of one. The portion was big enough for me to bring half of it to-​go. Panna cotta was good with champagne flavored ice on top. I ordered the nacional drink which was sweet and good. My friend asked for the waitress to surprise him and the 21 Hayes drink he got was amazing, cute garnish with it as well. Probably would not come back

Followed the long ling to this place, saw online that they had a 3 course menu. Sat down and the guy told us that was last week. Now I see it’s probably «SF restaurant week» that’s ¹⁄₂₀ — ¹⁄₃₁. So why didn’t we get to participate in this special if today’s 1÷30…
Anyways, since we were there ordered the steak frites and pork sandwich. Steak was so bland and fries felt fake and dry. For the price I am so disappointed.

been a while since i handed out five stars but this place rocks.
great location, décor that is playful and suitable for a casual or dressier evening, reasonable prices for the quality, and well executed french food.
everything i tried was delicious so if you know your favorite french dishes, then go for it. that being said, the coq au vin is bar none the best i have ever had. try it.

After a long drive from LA, my friends and I came here for a late dinner/​snack. I picked this place after seeing pictures of their French Onion Soup on Unilocal.The place was packed and it was pretty late but that didn’t deter from the awesome service we received.
The restaurant was dimly lit but not to the point where you need your cellphone light to read the menu. It felt really traditional like you should be wearing a dress from, for lack of a better term, the Wild Wild West. I liked it though.
I ordered a large French Onion Soup and Pork Belly, both were delicious. My friends ordered burgers and they were also satisfied with their meals.

I was looking for a restaurant on the fancier side for Sunday brunch and was initially drawn to this place because of its name. When I saw «ricotta-​stuffed french toast» on the menu, I knew I had to come here. The interior of Absinthe looked classy, but not intimidating. I really liked the maroon/​dark brown color scheme throughout the restaurant. We ordered the ricotta-​stuffed french toast, the Absinthe burger, and the two eggs any style (scrambled) to share. The french toast was glorious. The toast itself was fluffy and the ricotta filling was rich, creamy, and not overly sweet. The eggs, bacon, and potatoes with caramelized onions were nicely cooked. The Absinthe burger was juicy and flavorful. We enjoyed our brunch over several glasses of delicious Bellini cocktails. I recommend this place for anyone looking to try something different from traditional American brunch foods.

Came here for dinner with friends and nothing to complain about… always a great repeat restaurant… hostess desk was accommodating with my requests before we arrived… Caley, our server was on point — friendly, engaging, knowledgable about the menu, attentive but not overly done, timing always perfect… food was wonderful (duck rillette, mussels, clams, monkfish, octopus, beef… yum!)…energetic atmosphere…
If there is ANYTHING to complain about. okay i’m nitpicking… whats up with the major dim lighting (not fun when trying to read the menu when in some are in 8pt font)…i know they want to create an atmosphere but even if the lighting was turned up 2 clicks on the dimmer it would still capture the vibe… let’s just say (IMO) that the place was so dimly lit it would be the perfect first date place… especially if you lied on your dating profile and posted a pic from 10yrs ago… the lighting would make anyone look drab to fab!

Love how late they are open!
Had my best friend in town & we were craving some late night eats with a little fancy-​boujieness. lol.
This place is located right in the heart of DT. It was a Tuesday night so we found parking quite easily, it was late so it was free parking. A PLUS!
We made reservations as late as 9pm to be there by 10pm over the phone.
When we arrived, it was quite busy. It took a good 10 minutes for the host to finally show up at the podium and seat us. I counted about 4 waiters/​servers who past by us & didn’t acknowledge us. I am just sayin’
We were seating in the back, in a booth type setting.
It’s dim lighting & candle light made for a romantic ambiance. I liked it a lot.
Super cute for a date.
RANDOM but we had this super cute, old couple beside us that were having the cutest date night. Super ADORBS!
We ordered:
+ French Fries (I know, super boujie): You can’t go wrong with french fries & the sweet aioli sauce that it comes with was really good.
+ Portabello Mushroom Grilled Cheese: OMG OMG, sooooooooooo yummy!
+ Baked Mac and Cheese: Gahhhhh, to die for!
All in all, the food is ultimately filling. I will definitely be back!

Absinthe was a very intimate restaurant, especially because of its lighting and the location. Parking can be a pain to find and you might have to circle a couple of times.
We had a reservation and even though we were about 30 minutes late because of the traffic, thankfully we had a table!
What I noticed while we were seating down was that the noise level was a little bit above average which was kind of distracting.
Anyway, for drinks, I ordered a Reisling, soft pretzels for appetizers, and for my entrée I ordered an Absinthe burger with bacon and fried egg on top. The soft pretzels were surprisingly good. It came out warm and soft. Dip it with the cheese that came with it and it’ll make you love pretzels because before I didn’t!
I requested my burger to be medium rare. We waited about 15 minutes to get our order in and another 15 for it to come out. I would say that this is one of the BEST burgers I’ve ever had. The flavors complimented itself and I was not disappointed. The fries that came with it was crispy as well.
Would love to come back here again and try their other entrees!

Absinthe is an old favorite of mine for brunch. It’s in the perfect Hayes Valley location next to all the other great restaurants and boutiques, and has the ambiance of French boheme artist café. Their menu is well-​curated and fairly large, with an extensive drink menu.
Although I’m not a French toast fan, their French toast is to die for — incredibly soft and fluffy, delicious seasonal fruit compotes, and amazing whipped cream. They have a great rotating roster of egg dishes, fresh seafood, and inventive appetizers as well.
The dinner is similarly curated and while the food doesn’t feel classically French, it’s still delicious and interesting enough to keep you coming back.
It’s a perennial favorite even as other French restaurants continue to pop up in the area, and well worth a visit.

Intriguing brunch selection set in a quaint dining room full of personality.
The buttermilk pancakes with caramelized apples bursted with so many flavors I never thought a pancake could pack in. The potatoes that came with the two eggs could have been a meal on their own.
Despite those two game changers, I wasn’t really impressed with Absinthe… To get to the heavenly pancake and potatoes, my group had to wait over 15 minutes to be seated (despite having a reservation that the waitress later admitted to having forgotten), put up with a borderline-​pissed-​off waitress who seldom came to check up on our group that the staff who cleared finished tables had to wait on us, and the pricey bill. I’m also still confused as to why the cold croissant was served last? (Real talk though: that croissant was 10 degrees away from being a game-​changer croissant). The smell of alcohol from the bar that creeps into the dining area was also not appreciated the day after New Years eve.
Maybe it was just an off day? Regardless, I don’t foresee a second trip to Absinthe. A-​Ok 3 stars.

We started by having cava at the bar with the hot little pretzels. Those were delish! The bartender was also super friendly & cool.
When our table was ready, the hostess told us the 2-​person table by the front window would feel like we were seating in Paris. She had heard this from clients. I said «Perfect, I’m from France, I’ll let you know!». She was right, it kind of did! You could people watch and the style of the restaurant is very French indeed :-)
We had great bread, the salmon with potato on top of it, chicken and carrot cake. The cake was missing spices but other than that, it was good. I was satisfied of all the dishes & service, even if it was a little slow.
Even if the table in the front gives you a lot of privacy, we felt forgotten a lot of the times. I suggest trying to sit in the main room the restaurant.
I really liked this restaurant and would come back!

***Absinthe is an excellent French brasserie; the ingredients are high quality and there is a lot of skill in the kitchen as the chefs deliver perfectly prepared proteins, sides and sauces***
Absinthe is a very popular French brasserie in San Francisco. It is open for lunch and dinner and lunch brings a big, bustling and energetic crowd. The restaurant has a great French bistro look and they get a good number of tables into the dining room to add to the lively vibe.
Their lunch menu offers many classic French brasserie dishes like a raw bar, French onion soup, croque madame, steak frites, and pot de crème. I started with the French onion soup and it was excellent. It was served in a very hot pot and the onion broth was nicely clean and delivered a sweet flavor. There was also a soaked croûton and they used a very good and an appropriately aged bread so that it could soak up all that broth and keep its crust and structure without disintegrating into a soggy mess.
The best part, of course, was the cheese top. It had a great lightly salty flavor to contrast the sweet oniony flavor of the broth. The cheese was also nicely broiled and provided a pleasing stretchiness.
For my entrée, I went with their chicken breast and it was also very well prepared. The chicken breast was served on the bone and had a great flavor from the slightly fatty and very crispy skin. The chicken itself was very moist.
In terms of the garnishes, I loved the onion jus. It had a distinct sweet and savory flavor and was quite intense. It was used sparingly so you get these great pockets and pops of flavor without taking away from the crispy chicken skin or its juicy center.
The chicken breast was served atop grilled broccolini (very well cooked so that it was not too bitter yet it still had a good texture) and mascarpone polenta. The polenta was creamy and thick enough so it was not runny. It was slightly too sweet and some of it had an almost faint vanilla-​like flavor that did not go well with the rest of the entrée. There was also a topping of lightly fried onion rings (crispy without being greasy and good seasoning in the batter).
For dessert, I had their apple tarte tatin, which was prepared the correct way (not with pie crust but with puff pastry). Unfortunately, the puff pastry was not baked to order so it lacked the flakiness and crispness I would have preferred. The caramelized apples were exceptional though. Sliced into consistent and thin segments, the caramelized apples had a great sweet flavor and was even accentuated by a little bit of spice. The apples had a soaked in quality like poached pears.
The apple tarte tatin was served with almond crumble, thinly shaved almonds and a vanilla ice cream (creamy and dense with a refreshing and sweet flavor).
Prices were good. You can get smaller portions for a few of their courses like the French onion soup, which allows you to get a variety of courses without spending too much. Hearty sandwiches with fries are priced below $ 20.
Service was decent but not great. The hostess and manager were both very welcoming and friendly. The food also came out at an appropriately brisk pace at lunch. Unfortunately, I think they probably need a little more staff to handle the big crowds.
Absinthe is one of the best French brasseries I have tried. The food has a more surprising and local feel than a Bouchon and is very competitive in terms of quality of ingredients and skill in the kitchen. There are a lot of mediocre French bistros in California so if you are a fan of classic French bistro dishes done with a modern slant, Absinthe should be high on your list.
I am not sure what the parking situation is but given the many businesses is the nearby area and the large crowds on the street, I imagine parking is hard to find and expensive.

I’ve been here for both brunch and dinner and it is delicious!
Ambiance: Super great location in Hayes Valley.
Food: I came here a while ago for dinner and go the french onion soup which was amazing (⁵⁄₅) and a side of mushrooms which were SO SO good (⁵⁄₅). It was a mushroom medley and the sauce on them was so bomb.
For brunch, I came with two friends and we shared everything. We got the ricotta french toast (⁴⁄₅) which was good but a little too sweet for my liking. We also got this grilled cheese with pesto which was bomb (⁴⁄₅) and then two eggs any style which was kind of boring and I probably wouldn’t get again, but the eggs were really delicious and fluffy (⁴⁄₅). I also got a bloody mary which was good, but nothing special.
Overall: Will definitely be coming here again

So so good. My boyfriend made a reservation on opentable 2 hours before so when we wakes in, we skipped the long wait. It was great.
Anyways the atmosphere is nice. I didn’t like how close the tables were to each other I felt like everyone could hear what you were saying.
The food! The butter they gave us was so creamy and good.
We ordered the Coq Au Vin and the steak. They were both around $ 30. The steak was really tiny and delicious, but not really worth $ 30. Maybe 5 dollars less and it would’ve been good in my books. The mashed potatoes included was smooth. The veggies were nice. I liked the little details they added.
The Coq Au Vin. YUM! The chicken was so tender and required no effort to get off the bone. The flavors were delicious. I loved the bacon bits and mushroom in it. This one was worth the $ 30 to me for sure.
This place is definitely casual fancy? If that even makes sense. Nice place for a date or a casual business dinner. Kinda loud so keep that in mind.

My boyfriend treated me to a special dinner here for my birthday.
Everything. So good. And luckily there aren’t any «no sweatpants» rules here (although you probably shouldn’t…but then again if they didn’t want people wearing sweatpants there maybe they shouldn’t make everything so dang good…).
We got a slew of appetizers and one entrée. Started off with TWO orders of the fried chickpeas, because just one wasn’t enough. Then we had the duck rillettes (pronounced re-​YAY (thanks, interwebs)) which was fantastic, the foie gras, also fantastic because, obviously, and the ceviche which was wonderfully fresh.
Gluten-​free pro tip: the ceviche comes with plantain chips that work really well with the rillettes too!
For the main, we split the grilled Spanish octopus. They accidentally covered the entire thing with bread crumbs (I think our original waitress, whom we explained my gluten allergy to, was on break when we placed this order later with a new waitress), but they happily brought out a new one and very quickly too!
For dessert I ordered the pot de crème, which was probably my least favorite item of the evening, but they wrote «Happy Birthday» on the plate and that’s still to say it was pretty delicious. Not as decadently sweet as I like my pot de cremes. However, it just goes to show how amazing the rest of the dinner was!
Excellent service. Excellent cocktails. Most excellent, really.

The name Absinthe makes me think of sophisticated classy folks who know their whiskey (and absinthe). I.e. not people like me who think ramen is gourmet, would be happy with ice cream for lunch, and have a soft spot for Instagrammable food presentation. Although I don’t think Absinthe serves absinthe, it definitely belongs to the upper tier of advanced culinary finesse – you know this is good food because even I can tell it’s good food.
The ambiance is classic and reflects the long-​standing history of the restaurant, in contrast to more hip newer places like Monsieur Benjamin. Absinthe pulls off a plain yet stately European-​style interior décor of predominantly wooden furniture, a theme of maroon, and dim lighting featuring real candles (not the plastic battery ones that they use at bars!). Notably, it fits right into the neighborhood of Davies Hall and other performing arts centers, and indeed Absinthe is a popular dinner destination for concert-​show attendees.
(+++) LIBERTY DUCK BREAST ($ 31, coffee crust, wild rice hash, roasted almonds, spinach, huckleberry jus, coffee oil): I was initially skeptical about coffee with duck, but overall it was excellent – a satisfying portion of tender juicy duck breast chock-​full of savory duck flavor. The wild rice hash has its share of the limelight with the unique composition and grainy texture (I believe it’s forbidden rice. Ha! All my expensive grocery-​shopping at Whole Foods is finally paying off if I can identify rice at fancy restaurants).
(+++) MARKET SELECTION OF BEEF ($ 38 grilled rib-​eye steak served with potato purée, grilled broccolini, cremini mushroom, sauce Robert). There’s also the more budget-​friendly $ 29 option for bistro shoulder filet, but if I’m going to dress up, trek over to Hayes Valley, and pretend to be classy, I am splurging on ribeye. I asked for medium-​well, and it was possibly among the best medium-​well steaks I’ve ever had – impressively juicy and flavorful, not the least bit dry as is the issue with most non-​medium steaks. The sauce Robert really stood out, a bit bolder like teriyaki. In my opinion, this was actually tastier (and less costly) than House of Prime Rib. While the dish isn’t the most photogenic, the broccoli and mushrooms were delicious, and when is it ever easy to make a steak look nice.
(+) COMPLIMENTARY BREAD: Nothing spectacular, but soft and fresh. Great for nomming on while waiting because you get hungry after perusing the menu and reading all the yummy descriptions. (Side-​note: the butter looks like it has a sprinkle of fleur-​de-​sel. So bouge!)
Service was polite and genuine – our server was very friendly and didn’t seem to mind the fact that we only ordered two entrees with no appetizers, dessert, or drinks. This is exactly what I mean about feeling like we don’t fit in with the older crowd not on student budgets… but for now I guess I see la vie en rose.

Very good service, accepts brunch reservations, and tasty food. Just not much of it. Also, very few options for those who don’t love pork and are lactose intolerant.
This was my first visit to Absinthe. I enjoyed it but wouldn’t necessarily come back. My group started by ordering the crispy potatoes with onion jam and rosemary and the spicy chickpeas with Berber spice. Both were good, but the chickpeas were better. The bad part about the chickpeas: $ 5 got you a small ramekin of chickpeas. It would have been barely satisfying for one person. Very tiny. And it’s not like these are expensive to make. The potatoes were not crispy because they were smothered with onion jam. They were alright, but I’ve had better.
My friends got the French toast stuffed with ricotta, the duck ragout with poached eggs, and the sausage hash. Everyone enjoyed their dishes and felt quite full. Everyone except for me. I ordered the entrée size salad with pomegranate and persimmon, no ricotta salatta, and with chicken as an add on. The $ 4 chicken add on included for tiny slices of chicken. It was delicious, but I was left hungry. And I’m tiny! For a $ 17 salad, I should at least feel satisfied, not actively wanting more food. So I ended up ordering a scone to go. The scone was not filling than my entrée salad. That is a sad state of affairs.
Overall, not a bad place, but I’ve been to better brunch spots in San Francisco. But this is a decent option if you want reservations.

This was one of the better restaurants in my opinion, it was really close to our hotel, so we could walk, and just had a good ambiance.
Our night started rather late, as I got there at 9:30, but our waiter was really very wonderful and attentive. I didn’t want to keep him waiting very long and so I order the coco vin and French onion soup. The French onion soup is honestly amazing, not too salty and is really filling even if you just get the cup. I also got the coq au vin, and it was delicious. I skipped the alcoholic beverages as I had an early morning planned, but the French 75 looked amazing.
Also, I tried the fondue… And I’m still day dreaming about it. It was garlic filled and delicious.
I really was so happy this place was down the street. It was a nice farewell to SF.

Très agréable resto un chouïa en vogue, mais pas suffisamment pour être inabordable, au propre comme au figuré. C’est plutôt une valeur sûre de Hayes Valley, un endroit agréable pour boire un verre ou dîner, avec un service aux petits soins, le spectacle de l’animation du quartier si vous avez la chance d’attraper une table près des fenêtres, des prix certes pas donnés mais qui restent proportionnés à la qualité sans faute de la nourriture servie, d’inspiration française plus ou moins distante mais toujours fraîche et goûteuse.
Né loupez pas le burger maison !

Quelle petite phrase bouleversante au coeur d’un être?