Bistro At The Cliff House

Been here twice, not a lot of veggie options but amazing view and good wine. Ideal for date night. We went all dressed up and formal looking. Overall a good experience. Can go again for the cheese and fruit platter

Quintessential SF! Love the location. Food & drinks are great + fresh popovers straight out of the oven! If you haven’t been here you haven’t seen classic San Francisco.

The pop overs and the view are awesome. I wish I could comment about the food, but the waitress got my order wrong and I didn’t want to keep my friends waiting. So I ate some fries from my friend’s plate. The appetizer we got was crab cakes which are too small and wayyyyyyyy too expensive. The Lands end iced tea was really good the first time, the ingredients were different the second time and not as good.
The place was forced on my bucket list by a friend. And it’s off unimpressively.

Food is just ok. What you’re paying for is the view. A very nice one too! A great stopping point with friends and family to enjoy while in San Francisco.

Honestly, you don’t come here because you’re a «foodie», you come here for the great, fantastic, views.
OK, and… I’ll be real. I come here for the popovers, and for the Giant Camera Obscura exhibit just outside.
My dad took me and my sister here years ago when I was younger. At that time, we didn’t really «eat out» that often, and when we did, it was often at chain restaurants like Red Lobster. So, my sister and I were both excited to eat someplace «fancy» like the Cliff House. I ordered a bowl of clam chowder, and was looking forward to one of my «best meals ever» until the popovers came out, and I wished instead that I could just eat basket after basket of this instead. Turned out the popovers AND the soup were good.
I came here again with my sister-​in-​law and our Canadian cousin. After giving her the City tour — Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Point, the Presidio, etc… my niece, who is 2 years old, was getting HANGRY. We needed to stop and eat.
When we arrived at the Cliff House, we were told it would be 25 minute wait for a window view, or we could have a regular table immediately. We opted for the regular table, but as we were being walked over, they discovered a window table had just been cleaned up, so they seated us there. My sister-​in-​law ordered pasta for her daughter, and — I have to say how impressed we were — popovers were brought to us in about 2 minutes, and a hot plate of pasta was brought out in less than 6 minutes for the baby. We barely had time to even look at the menu, but the baby was happily chomping away and her mood was getting better by the second.
I ordered the Farmer’s Breakfast Scramble (scrambled eggs, ham, potatoes, green onions, cheddar cheese) and asked if they could add spinach to it since I wanted a little more veggies — no problem. Our cousin ordered the Cliff House Cioppino — Classic San Francisco Fish Stew, but was about to change her mind because she didn’t feel like cracking the crab — no problem. They said they could serve it the «lazy way» with already cracked crab for her, and also brought out a bib so she wouldn’t get her outfit messy. My sister-​in-​law opted for their recommended Ben Butler, a warm open-​faced dungness crab sandwich. So. Much. Crab. And everything tasted delicious and fres.
Like I said, you don’t really come here because you’re a foodie. But I have to say, everything was delicious. I ordered a side bowl of clam chowder too, and it was just as tasty as I remember — thick and creamy, full of clam flavor; not thin and watery/​milky and full of potatoes. And the service was hands down, fantastic! Shout out to our server Lori (Laurie?), she was so great. She even brought out stickers for the little one. Thank you for the wonderful dining experience!

Great view — great food — crab omelette and salad both amazing.
Shrimp Salad sandwich too — all big enough to share

Really whatever food!
I waited for sooooooo long to come to this place!!!
I have been in best restaurants in different countries, states, cities and never seen such a bad service.
I mean, the servers are nice but don’t ! the proper way to serve a table.
The view is to be amazed, the restaurant is beautiful as well. But the food is nothing to be amazed!
At all! Disappointed

Fish from China?! Did you know their calamari comes from China? Crazy when considering we have great calamari about 100 miles south in Monterey. Yes the Cliff’s calamari is pretty good but the right thing is not to buy China squid when we have great slicing right here.
I had two very good cocktails and great service and of course a great view of our ocean!

I scouted out this place before my trip to SF last week. Driving up to it I could see why it’s so unique. Parking was easy right on the street. Walking in and looking at the menu of both restaurants I decided on this one. Prices were similar but I liked more of what I saw on this menu.
I was seated next to a window with a great view of the rocks and ocean. I chose the Frutti de Mare for about $ 33. They brought me my drink and a nice basket of sourdough bread that was very good (4). My food arrived less than 15 minutes after ordering (see pic). The seafood pasta was good and I graded it at a 3.5. It was a respectable amount of food too. My table service was only a 3 as my waitress was ok but at times a little slow. The interior décor of the restaurant has pictures of many celebrities that have dined here. There is also a bar to eat and drink at however you will have your back to the views of the ocean.
This restaurant is very, very fortunate to be located where it is. The. Cliff House is a historic location here in the Bay Area. I give the food a 3.5 overall which is good. I believe that you will get a good meal if you come here. The scenery is a 5. That’s why you really come here to eat. Prices are reasonable for a nice restaurant with views like this so I didn’t think the menu is greatly overpriced especially considering this is SF.
I give an overall score of 4 and say that if visiting the area this is a worthwhile stop for a meal.

The day after my Cliff House visit I was telling my 23 year old son about it. He sometimes bodysurfs out there at Ocean Beach and I was trying to gently persuade him to go drink instead, an activity I actually feel is far safer.
I was explaining to him how a single, $ 12 glass of wine here is a huge pour and two glasses seemed to easily be 2/​3rds+ of a bottle. He coughed; «A $ 12 GLASS OF WINE??»
It’s come to that. I’ve now begun thinking of a $ 12 glass of wine as a reasonable deal and when it’s a big glass holding a big pour almost a steal. Put it in a tourist environment and I’m sold; it didn’t even feel like gouging.
The Cliff House has three distinct areas in which one can enjoy a drink. The Bistro is off to your left when you enter with the oceanfront tables reserved specifically for those ordering entrees. Drinks can be had at two more spaces in the building, both of which seem more likely to give you the desired view + drinks but my party didn’t want to hover, waiting for others to leave, so we parked ourselves at the Bistro at a table with no ocean view.
Six drinks and one (fine) fried calamari order later we were quite happy we’d stayed. I mentioned the big pours, right?
Midway through glass number 2 I stood and peered out the window. The fog had rolled in and even those sitting right beside it saw nothing more than wet, gray moodiness.
The Bistro at The Cliff House is a wonderful, unexpected way to while away an afternoon. Begin or end with a walk among the ruins of Sutro Baths, a stroll along Ocean Beach, or a hike on the Land’s End Trail. Bundle up and dream as you stare out there from this historic spot; you’re at the very end of North America. That’s heavy.
If it’s been a long time since you’ve paid the Cliff House a visit it’s time. And if you see my son out there in the waves, raise your glass towards him please, and say a silent prayer for his safety.

Frutti de mare is amazing, order it! So it stays on the menu because I love it =) the dish had a double ratio of sauce to noodles but who’s gonna complain right. I’d rather too much sauce than not enough, plus it helped sauce up my crab chunks to enjoy separately. Cesar salad was delish. I was worried the lemon would overpower the flavor but is was perfect. The fish and chips are good and I’d seriously buy the tarter sauce if it were for sale.
And my Nana from Massachusetts highly enjoyed the sunset view.
Our waitress Nicole, which I assume as it was labeled on her pen, was very pleasant and very very patient. I’m sure she mentioned her name prior to us ordering but all I had on my mind was food.

Great view, nice service, good food. For the halibut, salmon and for the kids we got the chicken strips and red marinara pasta. All was good. Clam chowder was great, every one loved it. I would have given it 4 stars easily but it is a bit expensive. Prices can easily be %20 less to be comparable with similar experiences.

If Unilocal allows to have zero star, Cliffs House deserves that. Undeniably, the view is amazing. The service was horrible. My wife and her sister went there at 4:30pm on a Wednesday and the place was pretty empty. They were sat rather quickly. They ordered two drinks — a cocktail and a cup of coffee while they wait for us to arrive and join them for dinner. The waitress, Chelsea, told them that they have to order dinner immediately or otherwise they have to move to the lounge area. They told her that we will order dinner soon. She left and came back to my wife short time later demanded them to order the dinner immediately. That’s when she started to get irritated. My wife was about ready to order and asked, Chelsea, if she can refill her coffee. Chelsea bluntly told my wife that they do not refill coffee and if she needs to get the refill, she can go to the lounge and get it herself.
So my wife had enough and asked for the check. She then called us not to bother to come for dinner anymore. We decided to go to another restaurant. When I saw my wife, she was very upset and almost in tears.
I have never hear a fine establishment treat their guests this way.
I hope the management can wake up and see what kind of people are running the floor. I don’t think I will ever want to go to the Cliff House anymore or recommend anyone to them since I work at a hotel and my guests always ask for recommendations for a good place to eat. So you are not just loosing 4 customers but many more potential customers.
My star is only for the view to be fair.

5 star location, 3 star food and service.
Very few locations in the Bay Area have a view as priceless as this location has. On a clear day, which is not a given in this part of the city, you can see clear across the ocean and it’s truly stunning. What should accompany the amazing view is a semi kind and pleasant host/​hostess. On this evening, we received an attitude problem before we even sat down to eat and that’s beyond unacceptable. Maybe it’s a tough night and maybe you don’t like this job and maybe the winning lotto ticket is not in your possession and maybe your boyfriend cheated, but BUT, as they say, that’s none of my business nor should it ever become my business.
For that reason alone, we allow this place to add $ 5-​$ 10 per item on the menu.
The «famous» clam chowder was nice and thick, pretty tasty and good flavors. Not exactly sure whom it’s famous with, since this is the first time I am hearing of it and I am kinda sorta in the know.
Crab cake appetizer was pretty solid. Obviously I can’t blame the Bistro for the current dungeness crab epidemic that slammed the West Coast this crab season. Obviously frozen crab was substituted for the real deal and it shows. It would have been appropriate to drop the price, considering the frozen product we received.
Stuff pork chop is fantastic in theory, yet lacks execution. When you stuff a chop like this, splitting it open to add stuffing isn’t always a great idea. On account of the fact that now you’ve lead your chef down the path of paying extremely close attention to the chop, to avoid overcooking it, which is exactly what happened to my piggy. Grill marks were diamond crossed, just like we prefer to see at an expensive restaurant and the stuffing was delicious. Alas, an overcooked chop spoils the picnic more than ants and rain ever could.
Fish n Chips were a bit on the greasy side, but that’s expected considering it’s a fried item. Overall flavors were pretty good, but again, overpriced for what it really is.
I’d probably visit them again, on account of the location and view and all of that jazz.

It does have an amazing view and there is much history here. The food is overpriced and just not good. $ 22 for fish and chips; $ 19.50 for ceasar salad; $ 7.50 for kids BUTTERED NOODLES. You can keep your view. I think it’s terrible when places like this gouge tourists. Worth going once… I guess.

This is a very magical place. Been coming here since I was a child. I’ve seen ups and downs.
The clam chowder is by far the best in the Bay. Maybe in the past it was medi-​oker 10 stars for the chowder and the poofy baked pop over.
The service is good when it’s slow.
When it’s buzy… well it’s lousy unless your downstairs .
It is what it is. Servers are always friendly, even when they forget about you at rush times. But I over look this. Sometimes just gotta have patience. Today my server is A+
Cliff house is a institution

Came here with a bunch of friends and some manager guy was rude.
We were a big group and for one short moment, to take a group picture, we kind of got in the way and he was really snippy.
Go get a life Mr. Miserable Manager. We dropped about $ 300 for drinks and you can’t be nice? Perhaps, you should have offered to take our picture you dope.

Oversized white plates make the portions here look way not worth the money you spend on them.
And realistically, the food is not worth the money. The view is. So is the service and the general ambiance. Make sure you request a window seat when you walk up, then pray your table is along the first bank of windows.
It. Is. Stunning. The ocean, the waves, the rocks.
Then comes a fresh basket of popovers with marmelade and butter. I’m a personal fan of their ice tea, too, and I recently enjoyed a Bloody Mary. Have you ever noticed that every single restaurant that serves a Bloody Mary is known for it? Well, Cliff House won an award. And you can buy their mix to make the popovers.
I love the bar in front. Great place to wait with a deck of cards and a cocktail. Don’t order too much of anything, though, because you’ll be flat broke in no time.
It should go without saying that this is a place you don’t go if you’re in a hurry. Expect to wait a while, and try to enjoy it.

37 bucks for a kids fish and chips and a burger. I would not mind the price with the view but the food was bad and the hostess rude. Sons fish was totally greasy and the steak fries too salty to eat. My burger was a costco frozen patty it seemed. The garlic fries tasted fishy. YUK!

A San Francisco classic and a personal family favorite, the Cliff House, specifically the Bistro, is a dining destination one mustn’t miss. On a moist, muggy day, my friend and I made the trek from the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park to the Cliff House via the Muni 5 and by foot. Surviving not one, not two, but three possible fatal slips on a crowded, wet bus, and the elements on our walk from Safeway, up the Great Highway and finally to the Cliff House, which by the way is not a short or relaxing stroll when the ocean wind-​fueled mist is beating your face and your friend’s umbrella snaps, we were there! After our dramatic excursion to the restaurant, which in reality wasn’t as dramatic as I make it seem but hey this is my review, we sat down and were greeted by a staff that was not only warm but willing to ensure the perfection of their guests’ dining experience. My friend and I ordered the clam chowder as a starter, which we both thoroughly enjoyed, considering our cold, wet trek just to get to this place. For our entrees, I ordered the Cioppino, which was prepared with nice big clams and mussels, chunks of flavorful salmon and crab legs all bathing in a delicious tomato, vegetable and herb broth, and my friend had the pork chop with cornbread stuffing, which was served with a decent amount of stuffing and what looked to be delicious spiced apple purée. Needless to say, we both enjoyed our meals, and it was definitely worth the trip through the elements, which by the way only got worse on the way back (I’m talking drenched-​status).

The view was captivating, and the ambiance was so vintage and classy. I really couldn’t get over the cute beachy decoration and all the pictures displayed of famous people who have visited this location. The food was absolute perfection. We ordered clam chowder for starters and it was thick and creamy with just enough clams and potatoes. Oh, and they give free bread with butter which is always a plus. Then for my entrée I ordered the Andouille Sausage & Cornbread Stuffed Pork Chop, which came with sweet potato fries. Woooww, just wow. When I took the first bite of the stuffed pork chop I couldn’t believe how flavorful and tender it was. Just magnificent! The stuffing was made with tlc. And the sweet potato fries were up to par as well. My friend ordered the Cioppino and he seemed to enjoy it. The waitress was sweet, and our food came out in no time. This place is a definite must if you love a luxurious dining spot.

Born and raised in sf and don’t come to the Cliff House too much. My girlfriend and I started coming in recently and we can’t get enough of the popovers. Having said that we failed at the Cliff House popover mix… Always great service though, recently got a lot of good Cliff House history from our server in the cocktail lounge, ask for Sara, It can be crazy busy, and we appreciated the attention she paid us… but good luck scoring window seating.

We waited 30 – 40 mins for a table for 2 on Sat ½ and was seated around noon.
Service: Awful.
Our server was busy jazzing up the table of 6 and clearly was displeased with having us as his guests.
We did not appreciate his remarks about how we wanted to share the Johnson omelet. Never had a refill on our drinks nor a goodbye or thank you as he saw us on our way out.
I’ve been coming here for years. Will not return after this visit.

One of the best views! Great breakfast and service. Lots of delicious and fresh seafood.

Love the views, location and the food here. We used to come here all the time when we lived in SF and now we go every time we visit.
The food is very good and they have different menu at the bar. Even-​though, its a tourist destination — you have to try the food. A San Francisco gem!

I’m here right now and we are waiting for our table. The hostess who just started working here 4 days ago is extremely rude. We have been waiting for our table for over an hour and this party of 3 that came in waaaay after us (we are a party of 3 too) for seated before us. I saw them with my own eyes come in from the front door and put in their name. The hostess knew one of the guys in the party and had a full on conversation with him. I heard her say twice to him «it’s a 45 min wait but I can get you in earlier» um ok. So when she called their name before mine I went up to her and asked her why they were seated before us since they came in after us. She came up with some excuse that they had a bigger party and then they downsized and I said no they didn’t I saw them come in and she looked at the list and then ignored me. Management needs to talk to her. Unacceptable

We Love the Cliffhouse!
Enjoyed a late dinner here for the holidays… the Tuna Tartare was awsom and the scallops, prawns and duck were divine.
We ordered the passion fruit custard for dessert. it was amazing.
Our entire experience was Perfection! A million starz for the service… we had the most awsom waiter… he took great care of us.

Popovers are served and drinks are yummy.
My fried calamari came on the large side. I prefer them sliced thinly. Next time I’ll try something else.

The food was nothing special. A little overpriced in my opinion for the quality but the view makes up for it 10 times. I came here for lunch for an anniversary date and the view was spectacular. I made sure to reserve a window seat and it was well worth it. It’s one of those places you have to go to at least once.
After eating, step outside and enjoy the ocean. You can go on a nice walk by the beach or you can step outside the restaurant and listen to the waves below you.

The bar at the Bistro was clean, the bartenders were nice and attentive, there were two TV to watch the football game, and the views are tremendous.
The description on the Cliff House Sangria says «seasonal punch.» I thought the drink was going to taste a bit like punch, but have some fruit in it. Instead, it was just alcohol-​infused punch a maraschino cherry and lemon/​lime wedges on top. Kind of disappointing.

Been a long while since I have been to the Cliff House, many a fond memory
through the decades. Was in the area with Friends and decided to eat there.
I would like to let it be known that I tried to contact 2 different folks from the
Cliff House prior to this review and sadly they did not respond after almost 2 weeks I decided to review.
They took advantage of the 5 star views to charge 4 star prices and provide a 2 star meal.
The best thing at the table was a simple Cheese Burger and the Clam Chowder. Two
folks ordered the trout, it was dry, hardly any flavor and under cooked squash.
My pork chop was also dry, the sausage stuffing was very dry, the best thing
on the plate were the Sweet Potato Fries. Service was friendly and solid but
could not make up for a poor meal and a lack of response from mgmt shows a lack
of caring. As a result of food and lack of mgmt response, they rate a 1.

Echoing some of the other comments, I have great, life-​long memories of the Cliff House. It’s always been touristy and expensive, but I expect that. The service, however, has become atrocious and ruins the beauty of the restaurant and the view.
I went there at roughly 820pm on Friday night, after the rush, to check out their jazz group. Many tables were vacant and dirty. Waitress decided to clean each one individually, then disappear to the kitchen, and repeat, before finally coming to my table 20 minutes later. My wife had stepped away when the waitress finally showed, and I noticed that her usual drink was no longer on the menu. The waitress said she’d get my drink and bowl of clam chowder I ordered, and come back for my wife’s order. Several minutes later, she re-​appeared, cleaned another table, and disappeared again. Another10 minutes had passed since she had promised to get my drink. We left. I sent a note to management, but as with another reviewer, my note was not returned. This kind of lack of attention to customers from management is probably the reason the servers don’t care either.

It took us a long wait for the table because we have 7 people. But it was worth of the wait! Service was GREAT! And I can say their seafood is really fresh! A little bit pricy, but with perfect window seating and service, totally worth it!
We pretty much tried a lot of the items in their menu. We love the seafood stew the best!

Food (**** out of *****); Scrumptious popovers (the fluffy bread rolls). The crab sandwich had crab that was a little bitter. It could’ve used a bit more seasoning or sauce or better crab. I don’t know what they did or didn’t do, but it shouldn’t be bitter. The clam chowder is OK. The chowder at Fisherman’s wharf is chunkier, creamier, and had more clams.
Atmosphere (**** out of ****); Place was loud and décor was ok. The view was fantastic, though.
Service (**** out of *****); Good service, no mistakes, reasonably prompt.
Conclusion (**** out of *****); Come for the view and the popovers. Nice!

Not impressed! Moved to SF a few months ago and finally made the hike to Lands End. After a few hours of hiking, I was ready for a glass of wine and some good seafood. The wait for a table on a Sunday at around 5pm was 30 – 40 minutes so we decided to sit at the bar. The bartender pretty much ignored us and wasn’t interested in serving us at all. We had to ask for everything — asked for a menu, asked him to take our order for our wine and finally had to ask him for a food menu so we could order something. The worst service ever!
Thankfully, a nicer (friendlier) bartender took over taking care of us and she was great! We never saw the other guy again– guess he was too busy paying attention to the other guests (tourists) that he must have thought would tip more.
The food was pretty bland. Had the fish and chips– nothing special. Crab cakes– disappointing. My friend had the burger with garlic fries (fries were yummy).
Overall, the entire experience was nothing special. Next time I go for a hike, I will recommend to my friends to go elsewhere.

Ich kann nur 5 Sterne geben, alles andere wäre nach unserem Besuch nicht korrekt. :-)
Was für eine Aussicht! Pflichtbesuch, wenn man in der City at the bay ist.
Wir waren oben im Bistro, da uns der untere Bereich eher für die oberen 10.000 zu gelten schien.
Aber oben an den Fenstern hat man einen fantastischen Blick auf die Klippen und das Meer.
Die Preise sind natürlich gehoben, aber meine Shrimps waren sehr, sehr köstlich und die Portion war als Snack ausreichend.
Tipp: Davor, oder danach noch links runter zum Strand und das Meeresrauschen genießen.

Came here with my girlfriends on a clear Thursday to check out the views and enjoy some warm clam chowder. First of all, the sights are spectacular! You have a completely clear view of the beach and can walk down and check out the historic Sutro Bath ruins after you eat.
In terms of food, the restaurant provides you with a complimentary basket of popovers which are airy, flaky and delicious! I had to limit myself to 2… or 3. I also ordered a bowl of the clam chowder which I thoroughly enjoyed. Clam chowder is really hit or miss for me, and this one was definitely a hit! The chowder was rich and creamy, with just the right amount of clams. Too little is no good, and too much can make it fishy tasting. Definitely the best clam chowder I’ve had in recent memory,
Perfect place to go on a beautiful San Fransisco day!

I love the Cliff House Bistro. It is as old San Francisco as it gets. I have been lucky to get a window table on most occasions, just in time to watch the squadrons of pelicans swoop by silhouetted against the sunset.
Seal rock shimmers in the foreground and surfers battle waves below. Yes, it’s an epic view.
Service is friendly and polished. The wine list features mostly local California selections and the mark-​up is reasonable. The fish and chips is a particular highlight — big enough to share, and the waiters split the entrée for no extra charge.
The crowd is comprised of locals and tourists.
One word of warning — a rash of car break-​ins has broken out in the area, so if you drive, lock up and leave valuables out of sight.

I had the pleasure to discover this place yesterday thanks to friends.
We started the evening enjoying a delicious cocktail at the bar and then, we had a table for the dinner (delicious too) with a view to the ocean. A really great experience !

Nous sommes arrivés là par hasard, après une longue marche sur la plage. Nous avions faim, et sommes tombés sur ce restaurant en haut de la route. En arrivant, nous nous sommes dit «encore un restaurant qui veut faire français et qui va nous cartonner sur l’addition pour une nourriture moyenne»…
Tout d’abord, l’accueil fut excellent. Nous devions attendre 20mn, ils ont fait tout leur possible pour que l’attente né dure pas plus de 5mn.
Une fois entrés, la déco est sympathique. Chaises de bistro parisien, tables en bois, photos de stars tapissant les murs. Mais surtout, QUELLE VUE !!! Une immense vue plongeante sur une immense plage et l’ocean ! Magnifique.
Le repas commence par du pain, qui ressemble à de la pâte à chou (popovers). Délicieux. La carte arrive et OH surprise, les prix sont raisonnables ! La quantité? Aux rendez vous ! La qualité doit pêcher alors… Non, c’était excellent ! Le meilleur restaurant dans lequel nous avons mangé jusqu’ici. Burger, œufs Bénédicte, gâteau à la chantilly maison et fraises fraîches, tout était très bon !
Le service était parfait, rapide, souriant, attentif.
Rien à redire, le déplacement vaut le détour.
Allez-​y !!!
Pour info, le restaurant ferme à 16h. Mais ils servent des petit-​déjeuners tout le service.