Aliment - San Francisc

Iced tea refills $5 a pop! Thought I’d mention this at the top since we didn’t know about it till the bill came (and four refills later). Would have been great if the server had mentioned this upon our refill request since it’s unusual to charge for iced tea refills. Who knew? The food was a mixed bag… Good: brussel sprouts, panko prawns app, cranapple salad, mac and cheese, pork chop. Mediocre: mushroom fettuccine, coconut panna cotta, sea bass. Bad: kabocha curry risotto (more like watery butternut squash soup over rice with a few sparse veggies, fried chicken (over cooked and all dark meat). We got the vibe of a low budget restaurant trying to bill itself as a fine dining experience and just cutting too many corners to nail it. We really enjoyed the staff (aside from the failure to give more details of the menu, like the iced tea or the dark meat chicken, etc) who were very friendly and personable. The atmosphere is a strange mix of pub (tv screen and projector showing basketball game on the wall) and upscale restaurant. The decor is very sparse and has no real personality. Upstairs bathroom was tiny and felt like stepping into an Alice in Wonderland room. But it’s an old building in SF and everything was clean… All in all, it wasn’t *bad* but it wasn’t good enough for the price which ended up being over $100 per person. Lots of potential here, just not quite hitting the mark for us.

Popular place to visit right before a show at the Masonic. Its best to have a reservation at that time though. The food is delicious.

Genuine review: We have always had a great experience at Aliment. The other night, we had a friendly waiter who appeared to be very busy due to being short-staffed, but they still tried their best. The food was delicious as always, but we were a bit let down by the higher prices and smaller portions. Overall, we hope they can address their staffing issue (which seems to be a nationwide problem) and keep their food prices from increasing any further!

The bar was backed up so it took a long time to get drinks. Ordered burger (good) and the risotto, which was a bowl of curry with a scoop of rice and about 2 inches worth of thin sliced carrots, so not much there for $25. Started with the mussels in a thick tomato suace, those were good. Drinks good. Good spot before show at the Masonic.

Nice lively spot! Extensive drink menu and fun menu The food and service were very good and our waiter was nice and courteous! Not giving it 5 stars because I exchanged the garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli which also had garlic to which I am allergic with sauteed vegetables, There was a $4.00 change Fee that was never mentioned when the substitution was suggested by the waiter. 1- there should not be such a charge 2- is there is the patron should be made aware and decide to proceed accordingly. $4.00 is not the end of the world but it is not professional not to mention it hoping the client would not notice.