carylspall

Can anyone suggest a really good restaurant to go for a special family occasion (grown ups). Looking for good food/wine/ambience preferably off the tourist track. We will be staying near Union Square.
Thanks, Caryl

Patrick

Delfina is all you say, but not terribly fancy or "special occasion oriented".
Not necessarily off the tourist track, but it is hard to beat Boulevard for all you say.
Probably the most special of the special occasion restaurants would be Masa's. And close behind would be Fleur de Lys.

TravelDiva

I highly recommend Bix, which has an in incredible, elegant speakeasy atmosphere (their front door is hidden in a alley). A great jazz trio plays most nights of the week. It's also conveniently located to Union Square.

There's also Farrallon, great creative seafood with a dream-like decor, that would also be convenient to Union Square.

FainaAgain

Garden Court... is it Palace Hotel? on New Montgomery @ Market, Union Square area.

Gekko

I suggest Plumpjack (expensive) or Betelnut (less expensive), both on Union Street in a great area.

stormygirl

Chez Panisse in Berkely, easily accessible by the BART system. The original special occasion restaurant!

Travelermebe

If your budget is not limited, try The Fifth Floor in the Hotel Palomar located at Union square (web site www.hotelpalomar.com/5thFloorDining.html) or Silks in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

kbrenneis

Two words - Gary Danko. Not in Union Square, but not far away (on the edge of the fisherman's wharf district). Very expensive but very worth it. The price probably keeps it off the tourist track, though I always visit when I'm in the city!

cigalechanta

Fleur de Lys was my favorite but did not go to Masa's to compare.

dovima

La Suite - Big, new-ish bistro near the Bay Bridge, down at the end of Brannan Street. Went there right before Christmas and saw several families enjoying themselves, as well as cozy couples tucking into impressive fruits de mer assortments.

Incanto - great Italian wine bar/restaurant in the Noe Valley/Glen Park district (definitely NOT downtown). This place has been bustling since it opened, for good reason. I noticed a nice private room in the rear of the dining area. Incanto is on Church Street and would be accessible by Muni streetcar "J".

Boulevard also gets my vote, for reasons described by a previous poster.

Cheers!

dovima

Two caveats about Boulevard, though:

Make your special meal a dinner, not lunch right now. There is heavy-duty construction going on directly across the street (or there was, anyway, when I walked by in mid-January. You do not want jackhammer accompaniment to your meal).

DON'T take the "banquet room" if they offer it to you at Boulevard. I checked it out when I was scoping a business luncheon venue and was appalled to find it was in the basement, windowless, and right next to the laundry room or restrooms. Had a nice mural on the (windowless) wall, though.

Patrick

Beetlenut? Huh? Guess we all have different ideas of "special occasion restaurant". Beetlenut happens to be one of my very favorite restaurants in SF, and I recommend it often here. But special occasion? You'd be very out of place there dressed up. It's a loudly noisy trendy place with great dishes of Asian food served family style where you'll be surrounded by 20 and 30 somethings drinking the specialty drinks and getting louder and louder. It's great fun, but not MOST people's idea of a special occasion restaurant. If you go there be sure to dress quite casual.

SAB

Jardinere, would be near the top of my list of special occasion restaurants. As well as Gary Danko and The Fifth Floor. I like Boulevard but I would not consider it off the tourist track. Farallon is also not off the tourist track, very big with Japanese visitors for some reason.

Gekko

Betelnut . . . I'm one of those "30-somethings" making too much noise for you, old man.

Just kidding!

Like I said, it's a less expensive option, but with a festive atmosphere and great food.

(When I ask for 'special occasion,' I rarely mean stuffy & boring.)

Patrick

Gekko, me either, but then I don't think any of the places mentioned above are stuffy or boring.

I can only imagine calling Beetlenut special occasion if you don't normally go out to fun restaurants. If I lived near by, I'd be there all the time.

Didn't mean to make an issue, but the suggestion really took me by surprise.
Not too unlike asking for a "special occasion restaurant" in New York and someone suggesting Pastis!

Gekko

Here's Betelnut's website:

http://www.betelnutrestaurant.com/index.html

(And I certainly agree that Pastis would never enter my definition of "special occasion" -- at least not since about the year 2000.)

Travelermebe

The problem with a lot of the better SF restaurants (some of which have been mentioned here) is that while the food and service may be fantastic, they are also crowded and noisy. I guess it all depends on which kind of restaurant you're trying to get for a "special family occasion."

MelissaHI

Depends on how special the occasion is...? I recently went to La Folie (www.lafolie.com) on Polk Street and my friend said it was a super special restaurant, one in which you go for engagements or celebrating a new job. The service was wonderful, the food superb. What I liked about it was that they had a prix fixe menu, but if you chose the (for example) 4 course menu and wanted to swap out your salad for a similar item on the 5 course menu, they're totally flexible.

LoveItaly

LeColonial (in the building that was formerly Trader's Vic) on Cosmo Alley in SF is loved by many.

It is not my favorite, but is is well like, lots of atmosphere. French/Vietnamese.

Masa's has gotten a bad rap in some quarters the past few years.

If you go to the SF Chronical site: www.sfgate.com and search reviews of SF restaurants you will find they also allocate a bell symbol regarding how noisy the restaurant is. More bells the noiser of course.

Even Sacala's one of my favorites can get noisy at times, some evenings
more then others.

A lot of SF restaurants are noisy. And many people that want to hold a quiet conversation get irritated.