Going with a group of people to SFO in December. Want to do something different and fun. Any ideas on different place to dine, even open to having a dinner catered. Not interested in dinner cruise. Any other ideas?

Dinner and a movie? Parkview movie theater in Oakland.

Teatro Zinzanni? Dinner and circus and vaudeville.

This is different:

The Stinking Rose, garlic restaurant in North Beach, San Francisco. An SF institution! http://thestinkingrose.com/sf/sf_info.htm

Hello Jean,

I live in San Francisco and would not advise the Stinking Rose. It is a tourist trap and the food is not very good.

Something quite different would be AsiaSF. This is a great fusion restaurant that serves all sorts of yummy small plates (tapas style) of Asian influenced food. It is different because it has a show where drag queens sing and dance while you are eating! The restaurant is very hip, stylish and crowded. This is a true San Francisco experience and it is very well done, but it is not for the close minded. If you decide to go, book your reservations far in advance. It is very hard to get in.

If AsiaSF sounds a bit too wild for you, there are tons of other fun dining choices in San Francisco, so just email me and I can think of some other suggestions.

I second Daria's comment. Stinking Rose is a not good. If you want atmosphere in North Beach, plenty of decent food (but not great), go to Gold Spike. AsiaSF is fun but the food is so-so. Foreign Cinema in the mission might be good for a group.

Go to bayarea.citysearch.com for more ideas.

Betelnut in the Cow Hollow/Marina area...fun atmosphere, yummy drinks, PanAsian food on a menu that is easy to share...everything is family style. Make reservations. Enjoy!!

Actually, Its called The Parkway Picture Pub and Pizza. Its a restored Movie House that offers couches instead of regular seating. Tables and chairs. It very relaxed, they serve Pizza. They also serve Beer so no one under 21 is admitted. The usual customers are yuppie-berkeley types and artists. The food is okay-not exactly for foodies but good enough to munch during a flick-plus the prices are very reasonable and the flix are current.

Its located on Park BL in Oakland-across the Bay Bridge from SF.

The city itself has a more upscale version. I cant for the life of me remember the name-but the food is pretty good and the movies are usually black and white classics.Im tempted to say that its called "Foreign Cinema" but Im not sure.

Don't go to Steps of Rome. It's a tourist trap, food is average, the staff
is *R-U-D-E*. Here is my review.


I wasn't expecting a classy place, but the lack of manners of the waitstaff was beyond belief.
After sitting down, when we said we just wanted some
coffee and dessert they gave us a mean look and told us
very impolitely to "go order that at the bar".

We should have left right away, but instead we decided
to order some antipasti because we wanted to stay
seated. When my friend asked for mineral water, the
waiter kept asking "do you want water with bubbles or
wine with bubbles" as she was stupid or something. He
then tried to hardsell us some wine.

When the bill came and I tried to pay by card, the
waiter whispered something in my ear (I could smell his
less-than-perfect breath). When I asked him if he could
repeat please he gave me another mean look and
whispered something to my friend's ear, but she also
could not understand a word. So he angrily WROTE IN
HUGE CHARACTERS on the tablecloth the words "CASH ONLY"
with a big arrow pointing to the check, and left
without a word.

I have been to hundreds of restaurants in many parts of
the world and I have never, ever been treated so badly.
Several people told me they had similar experiences.

In summary, I think Steps of Rome may the perfect place
for drunks trying to quench their hangover on a Friday
night or tourists willing to be mistreated by a bunch
of rude, dumb, juvenile, insulting waiters who hit on
women customers with cheesy lines in Italian that no
self-respecting italian woman would listen for a
second, and eat bad food while listening to bad loud
music, but it's definitely not the place to go if you
are looking for a decent, respectful, professional
service.

Don't waste your time here, there are tons of great
Italian places in the city. I will certainly not go
there again. Thanks for reading.

Anyone interested in dining in SF best check out chowhound.com . Their San Francisco board is one of the most active, and you can browse, post questions or opinions.

Not for dinner but rather for a fun lunch...go to Yank Sing at Rincon Center for the most delicious and upscale Chinese dim sum experience.