Talk about bad feng shui. The "restaurant" has a sign that asks you to seat yourself, but then again you are confused as to where to sit. Do you sit at the bar with the women trying to get free drinks from the married men at 2 PM on a Thursday afternoon? Do you sit at the tables that you really can't see from the entrance? Or do you plop down at the first empty spot you find that can fit your luggage? I went with option #3. I thought service would be slow, but it wasn't. The waiter was stealth like an iron ninja. He was the bright spot of the restaurant. My seat was clean, but since it was positioned looking out, I had to stare at the people walking by who were staring back at the restaurant. I've sat at cafes in Paris, but even then there's a feeling of separation between passers by and your dining area. Here not so much, you feel like you are in a fishbowl. Figuring all the iron chef hype and and thinking when am I going to fly into this terminal again, I decided to try a couple of dishes: 1) Chili Lime Flank Steak Tacos - the tortilla was very dry and the steak was too chewy. If it was chewy, then it could have been cut up smaller so when you took a bite, you wouldn't take all of the steak with you and leave an empty tortilla. There wasn't much flavor either. You try to make the taco edible by squeezing more lime into the taco, only now to leave a limey mess when eating. The pineapple salsa wasn't great either. Looks like they chopped up mostly unripened pineapple core - a culinary nono. Technically, pineapple should produce enzymes which make the meat tender, but realistically pineapple core contains a lot of bromelain, which eaten in large does would probably, well, tenderize your customers too... Any chef worth their salt would never serve pineapple core, just like chefs should know that if not prepared right, yucca is a little poisonous - it's just the right thing to do. 2) Surf Slider Trio - this was even worse than the steak tacos. The shrimp slider was fishy, the crab cake was a processed mess that didn't resemble any texture of real crab meat, but the oyster slider was very good. Two out of three? That's not good enough for me. To top it off, even the chips were bad - some were salted, some were not; some were greasy like the Daytona 500 after race day, and some were cooked well; some also had evidence of freezer burn - and this was all on the same plate. I'm not a fatty McFatterson, but you really need at least at least two plates to be completely full. For lunch, I had about a 40$ bill with a cup of juice. It's just about average for airport food. I don't think I would have been as harsh, let's say if this was Taco bell, or the TGI Friday's; but for representing America as the Iron Chef, I would really lose face if this was my restaurant. Then again, it probably just lives off of "one-time" customers like myself, who hear the hype and are curious. read more

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Very happy to be served a no-carb fish "gyro" served on lettuce leaves. Not bad. Not bad. Music is meh. It felt like being in the lounge of a hotel trying to be trendy. With a name like Cat Cora, I was expecting some be-bop or Miles Davis. I was there in late July and the kitchen was slow. This is fine when you're flight is delayed more than an hour like mine. But when you only have a half hour, forget it. Hope they can pack it to go. Though I don't think it was worth packing. Come to think of it, I did have the lobster mac and cheese packed to go. I did enjoy it on the plane. Why 4 stars? Because the choices are more diet conscious. (I don't like eating starch with meat, hence the no-carb fish choice happiness.) And the service was friendlier than other places in the terminal. Will be back next delayed flight. read more

Cat Cora's Kitchen - Fish "gyro" with branzino and asparagus. - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

If you have to eat at an airport, eat here. Friendly, reasonably priced (for an airport) and really good food! No wait, comfortable bar seats and in and out in less than thirty minutes. It didn't smell, people weren't getting hammered and did I mention the food was actually fresh and good? I had a chicken Cobb salad and it was great. All in with tax and tip $20. No, not cheap but it was fresh, filling and really good. The bartender was helpful, kept my water glass full and provided a pleasant experience. Almost forgot I was at the airport. read more

Cat Cora's Kitchen - Chicken Cobb salad - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

3.5 stars. Watching Cat Cora perform on Iron Chef America time and time again I definitely wanted to check out her cuisine and what she had to offer in this, her first restaurant venture in the area. Eating at the airport you already know that you are going to be paying more for food items than you normally would outside of the airport. You've already spent an hour in the check in and security lines, you've had to dump your beverage, now they've got you and you're stuck paying whatever they feel like charging you. A nice thing to offset the slightly overpriced entrees here are the three free oysters with your Yelp check-in! These oysters are really good though. From the brunch menu had the waffle ($12), which was good, but it's kind of hard to mess up a waffle. From the regular menu had the trio of sliders (wagyu, lamb, and ground pork) with a side of perfectly crisp sweet potato fries ($14). All of the mini (and I mean mini) sliders were pretty flavorful but the one that stood out in my opinion was the lamb slider. I would love to have had a full-sized burger of that delicious mini slider. read more

Cat Cora's Kitchen - trio of sliders with sweet potato fries - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

Great place to have nice meal while waiting for your flight! I had the Point Rey oysters for an appetizer and the coronation chardonnay, both excellent! The grilled avocado Cobb salad was delicious, as well as the chili lime flank steak tacos. Our servers were wonderful too! read more

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Airport drinks are the best . Service was great , cheese plate was very satisfying. This place stays busy . The server explained to us the name of the restaurant and where it came from . Love the server read more

This is my go to spot at Terminal 2 at SFO. I fly Virgin, so it's right there. Fantastic grub for an airport. I go steak tacos and man do they pile on the steak. A full slab of beef and 4 tortillas. With some pineapple salsa on the side and a great wine list. My wife had the salmon and loved it. Just a good spot. read more

Expensive for no reason! Worst grilled cheese and tomato soup I've ever eaten! I've ordered this meal before, same location, and it was amazing. The service was amazing today too. But whoever was the chef today needs an evaluation or fired. My bread wasn't toasted. The cheese was cold. Ugh! Disgusting! read more

Okay, but underwhelming for the price. Based on the brand name and the menu, this seemed promising, and there were a few nice things... the catch if the day (wild petrale sole) was actually very good same quality you would fine in a non-airport fine dining reataurant. The short rib pappardelle, however, was lackluster, mostly because the sauce tasted like it was poured out of a Ragu can. With better sauce, it might have been pretty decent (lots of meat, at least, so it was hearty.) Also ordered an underwhelming $14 cocktail, the Honey and Smoke. It was very smoky, but didn't have flavor complexity beyond that... and alcohol was not even noticeable (was there even any in there??) Anyway, more hearty than some alternatives, and got to watch the football game... but too expensive for what it is. read more

I can't get enough of this place! One of my fav. places to have a layover while traveling! I had the tomato bisque & grill cheese and it was just perfect! The mixed greens was also perfect! I had tried a couple of their mixed cocktails and they were insanely good - fresh ingredients - they knew what they were doing behind bar as well! My fav go-to spot while in S.F. read more

Cat Cora's Kitchen - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

Best food I ever had in an airport. THE BEST!!!! I was looking for some food and had time to kill before my plane. So when I saw a restaurant with an IRON CHEF's name on it, I could not resist. I am glad I didn't try. Chips and dip are outrageously good and a MUST HAVE. If I wasn't hungry I could have just eaten this while waiting for my flight. Very satisfying starter. I moved on to the Blue Cheese and Bacon Burger which was excellent. I was looking for a big and tasty piece of beef. Boy did this deliver. VERY VERY enjoyable. Was this expensive, heck yes. But how often do you find really delicious food a few steps from your gate? This was delicious and a real treat. If you are looking to save a buck, have an ice water and the chips and dip. They are really worth the trip. {Bows to the Iron Chef} Thank you Chef Cora! read more

It's alright for airport food. They don't really have a kitchen so everything is microwaved. Not worth the price but it is decent read more

Cat Cora's Kitchen - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

Oh hello sexy sexy T2... home of Virgin America!!! Since I'm constantly flying in and out of here for fun, I've gotten the chance to know the food offerings around here. Cat Cora stands out as a favorite. RIght before our flight to go on our honeymoon, Hubs and I stopped in and I ordered my usual... the grilled avocado cob salad sans cheese with no dressing. DELICIOUS! I'm not a fan of sun dried tomatoes but it worked in this salad. Super fresh greens; the original salad came with a underripe hard as a rock avocado and when I pointed it out, the chef happily made me a NEW salad instead of just replacing the avocado. The turkey bacon on there is addicting and the service is prompt. PS. if you check in on Yelp, you get free oysters!! read more

Food - great!!! Service- needs improvement Decide to try a light meal while waiting for flight Was seated promptly at the bar and brought a glass of water. Waited, waited, & waited for server to appear. Menu is concise so it only took about two mins for my party of one to decide. The bar is circular so It was difficult to flag a server. Several times they brushed past me and I couldn't catch their attention. Halfway through meal a musician came and played a few songs on the piano located in the restaurant . Once food was ordered the food arrived promptly. Was very good presentation and thoughtfully prepared and plated. Bill was presented and after I ate I was planning on ordering desert but after several unsuccessful attempts to catch a server, I left cash for the bill and jumped of the merry go round. Prices are about comparable to other sit down eateries in the SF airport. read more

I was pleased that this was near my gate, and if I had more time I may have given this better consideration. The location is great and the bar is also convenient, with outlets on the outer ring for those who need to plug in. I didn't see much on the menu that appealed to me, I think I had a salad with chicken on it. That was good, drinks were a little pricey, service was not fast but I got a different server to get my check when I saw my flight was boarding. I guess overall I liked the Cat Cora's at the Disney World Boardwalk better (but it's closed, I hear). read more

We stopped by before our 8:45 flight, at around 7:45, hoping to get a quick bite. I know, I know, should've just grabbed something to go at one of the other places, but we just wanted sit down and have a drink. It would have been fine if they didn't forget about us when we needed a moment to decide what to eat. The restaurant was almost empty when we went there, and a couple people sat down after us. They all got their orders in before us -- and the waitstaff didn't even ask us when our flight was leaving. So we ended up packing all our food to go last minute. There was even a further delay because they ran out of some food, and I ended up just getting a substitute. To their credit, the food was really good. It was probably worth waiting for if I didn't have a freakin' plane to catch. Yes, maybe a half hour is a bit tight...but this is an airport restaurant. They are supposed to be able to serve you food quickly (and let you know if they can't do it). Total fail there. read more

Cat Cora Kitchen was literally, in my gate. It's like, a sign right? I check the drink menu, because like a smart traveller, I ate before I came to the airport... so why is it as I see this menu, I'm rethinking the smart part of that?! I settle on the Bloody Mary, my server says it will not disappoint. She was right, and for $14, I was hoping she wasn't just selling me on the drink. That was right up there in the top 3 Bloody Marys I've ever had. Spicy, strong and fresh, nothing like your typical airport drink fare. I can't wait to get back to SFO (and will remember to book Virgin or AA to get here)! read more

I had time before a flight to have dinner and decided to go here. I got seated right away near the window. I could watch the planes as they went by which was nice. I had the Cobb salad with grilled shrimp. The salad included turkey bacon, avocado, sundried tomatoes, apricot dressing. I really liked the dressing. It had a good flavor, not too heavy. I would say the service was a bit slow and my waiter did not come by very often but overall I had a nice meal and will eat there again when I have time before a flight. read more

We had a five hour layover in SFO, so we decided to dine in. You have to try every iron chef's creation at least once, right? Well, once is enough for me. I ordered the Fisherman's stew after seeing all the reviews for it from yelpers. Our waiter also highly recommended the dish. I wasn't too impressed. The tomato based broth was too salty. The fish was good, and the mussels, clams and shrimp were ok quality seafood. The amount of food was way too little for $26. Maybe the three pieces of bread made it feel like an entree, but it really felt like an added three pieces of mussels to upgrade it from an appetizer portion. I've had way better fisherman's stew in the city of SF before. The chicken chimichurri sandwich was very good. It was my first time trying dutch crunch bread, a staple of SF, and it was amazing. The crunch on top with the soft, buttery center really added a great texture to the moist chicken and fresh greens. I expected a little bit more from an iron chef's restaurant menu. Though the food was ok, the service was excellent and the dining experience accompanied by live music at the piano made me feel like I'm really in SF. read more

Cat Cora's Kitchen - chicken chimichurri sandwich - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

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On a layover from ORD to LAX I found this place empty (along with the terminal it sits in). Some better-late-than-never comfort food was in order after getting hailed on in the Windy City. Lobster Mac, a Gordon Biersch Marzen, and sweet potato fries were my weapons of choice. Now, let's pro/con list this baby to see how many stars it should get: PROS: -The Marzen is an excellent darker beer that's not too hoppy and had a nice malt finish. -The sweet potato fries were perfectly fried and well-seasoned with sea salt. -The Gruyere perfectly complimented the sweet, delicate flavor of the lobster. -Watched UNC ruin Duke's Senior Night :) -Best airport food I've ever had (My reason for 5 stars! Everything is relative!) -Cat Cora! Yay PR! CONS: -The sweet potato fries came from a factory-sealed frozen plastic bag. -Lobster mac sauce was gritty. Poor execution on the chef's part. (The place was empty...?) -I wanted more lobster :( -I wanted more mac :( -$35 for one person -Airport food. -Cat Cora brand. Boo marketing gimmick... Pros outnumber the Cons, but the gritty sauce and frozen fries carry more weight than many of the Pros in my opinion... Next time, I'd rather save $30, grab a Clif bar, and wait til I get my destination for some real good eats. For that I have to give this place a 2. read more

Cat Cora's Kitchen - Lobster Mac - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

Admittedly I initially chose this restaurant because I am familiar with Cat Cora from the Food Network. But I am sure she'd be pleased to know her name is being upheld in a positive light in this little restaurant in SFO. Airport food is expensive of course, especially if you're doing a sit down restaurant style due to a couple hours to kill before your flight. But I would rather have a hearty meal and leave feeling full than pay $18 for cheese and bread. On 8/22/2018 I had a 9:30 pm flight, and came here to eat dinner and kill some time. I never felt rushed, staff was amazing. I was helped by not only my server but others who worked in the establishment whether it be asking for a refill, if I needed anything, or to clear a glass or plate as soon as I was done with it. I had a salad, added some grilled shrimp. Perfect portion for me. Two Royal C2 Martinis (fabulous), a cup of coffee and a chocolate budino for dessert. (Wow) Everything was delicious and came out timely. On the pricey side, but I don't eat meals at the airport regularly so I splurged on myself after a stressful day of a 7:50 am missed flight turning into a 9:30 pm overnight flight to the East Coast. I will keep this spot in mind for future travels through SFO airport. read more

I usually stop here for a pint and a quick bite before heading out on my next trip. Typically they're fairly good with service and food, but today was not the case. The bar keep just didn't look like wanted to be there. No smile. Just glum. Said maybe 5 words. The Cobb salad was l... Eh. Okay. I expect a bunch of protein and it's a "let's do it different" Cobb. Look. It's a Cobb salad. Don't overly complicate the blasted thing. It's a restaurant in an airport. Come on. I'll keep coming back here but just today it was less than stellar. read more

This is one of the most depressing sections of the airport. That said, even when compensating for lowered expectations, Cat Cora's Kitchen is quite possibly the best airport fast food I've had in recent memory. read more

OK Cat. I love watching you cook on TV; let's see watcha got, eh? What's this mac n cheese craze about? I've made it at home but figured I should indulge before I get written up. Bartender was attentive and since it was 11:45 on a Friday... can you say "how about a bloody?" Bloody was OK but I wasn't a big fan of the cilantro. So my m&c arrives and it's nicely toasty on top and I can smell the Gruyere. Did I mention it had lobster? "I'm coming for whoever's in here, he owe me lobstah money!". Couldn't resist reverting to a 13 years old with the Ted quote. It was quite tasty but I would have preferred a bit more lobster for $14 but who am I ordering it on the west coast? All in all a good feed. One thing to watch out for though... If you order a bloody, realize that they are going to hit you up for $14. Yikes. Bad Kitty! read more

Very good service, great food, a bit pricey for the small tapas they offer. I had their lamb and it was cooked perfectly. I had ordered medium, and was sitting there contemplating if I had messed up my order by not ordering medium rare like I normally do. However, they cooked it to perfection, charred on the outside, pink on the inside. Absolutely delicious with a drizzle of sauce. Yum! I'm tempted to fly Virgin again just to try their other dishes. read more

Cat Cora's Kitchen - lamb shanks - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Love coming to visit my favorite bartender miss Sally. Great service and fun to talk to. Plus their food and drinks are really good. Thanks for making my wait for my flight so fun. read more

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Probably the best food option in Terminal 2 at SFO. My service was great and the food (including fish and produce) was surprisingly fresh-tasting for an airport joint. I would seek this spot out again when flying through. read more

Oh my Gosh this is the best place to be when you're at an airport. The Lobster mac and cheese will change your life, the sliders & sweet potato fries will satisfy your taste buds, the tacos are poppin, the lamb chops are divine! And the chocolate cake dessert...heavenly. The staff are all just wonderful, especially the bartenders. Miss Carol is the loveliest and sassiest gal behind the bar-she owns the counter so don't mess with her! Adrian is oh so wonderful with his bar tricks and awesome smile. And Ari is most likely the most charming lad you'll ever meet behind the bar, he's my personal bartender so no worries he'll take care of you ;D. You will not be disappointed: great food, a variety of drinks (I'm not legal for them but everyone gets excellent suggestions) and a space for you to lounge, watch TV or plug in your laptop and get some work done while you wait for a flight. You will not be sorry once you have the Cat Cora experience and if you need company I'll be right there at the bar ;). read more

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Fresh, healthy and delicious food. I definitely didn't mind waiting for my flight since I lounged here for a meal. I didn't know that Cat Cora had her own ale. Try it, it's pretty delicious. read more

Cat Cora's Kitchen - 2 Cat Cora's = yum - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

A little drinky poo before a Miami-bound red eye never hurts! One drink for me and a mojito and fireball shot for my husband went down great! The menu here looked good, but it was too late for us to eat. However, if/when we are in SFO and leaving out of gate 57, we will be back! Thank you for taking the edge off our first overnight flight with three kids!! Cheers! read more

This might be one of the worst places to eat in SFO. I just wish I had taken a photo of the $13 "salad" I ordered for lunch. I decided on the goat cheese and beet salad and was expecting what I saw through scanning the photos on yelp, but it was far from what yelp is showing. When my salad came out, there was almost an air of shock at our table. My "salad" was literally a few greens laid on a long rectangular plate, with 5-6 beets and around the same number piece of goat cheese and walnuts. So disappointing and I really should have asked if this was really my entire salad order. Luckily, I ordered the sweet potato fries otherwise, I definitely would have been hungry after an hour just eating my sad thing of a"salad". TLDR: Don't go here to eat lunch. Yelp reviews don't lie. There are so many other choices at SFO. $13 for the saddest salad I've ever had in my life. read more

Oysters were clean and delicious. $16 for half dozen, which generally I would be appalled at, but we are at the airport. Lobster Mac is not as good as he first time I had it since it wasn't seasoned enough. Lobster was good in it though. Service is sporadic but they were nice. I think the main issue is that you sit yourself and the restaurant has obstructed views since it surrounds the kitchen and makes the servers take a long time to service. More like a 3.5 since it's really good for an airport location. read more

Cat Cora's Kitchen - Most recent menu - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Still good food, but limited more limited menu. What happened to the service??? We've had great service in the past. At 11:30am in 9/5/22, the bartender was extremely inattentive. I think he's in the wrong line of work. read more

This is an excellent spot in the SF Airport. This Airport has alot of good food choices. It really is more your preferred style here. If you like watching cat on Food network then check this place out. Nice bar and lots of windows, you can also watch all the prep. read more

Stopped in here for breakfast on the way back to EWR, and was pleasantly surprised! Now, to set expectations: yes, it's overpriced (it's past security in an airport, you're a captive audience, and they probably pay absurd rent) - it's to be expected. That aside, it's actually quite a pleasant little bar area. They could serve you pre-wrapped sandwich for the same price, but Cat Cora's puts in the extra effort to serve unique and interesting dishes. I had a few screwdrivers and a lovely bacon-infused waffle with whiskey maple syrup, myself. Delicious! My wife had avocado toast with a poached egg and said it was good as well. The bartender was jovial, the drinks were strong, and I think it was the person next to me's first time traveling with an expense account, as she was half crocked and bought us a round of drinks to stay and chat for a few more minutes, haha. Before I left, I snuck a peek at the lunch/dinner menu and it looked even better! I'll definitely stop here any time I'm in this terminal. read more

Not your parents' airport food...had the grilled cheese sandwich (on the ubiquitous sourdough, but I'm good with that) which was paired with a spicy tomato soup: dipped the sandwich into the soup and scarfed the whole thing down like it was my last meal...delicious The husband had the special: lingcod on a risottoesque wild rice, also amazingly good for airport food... Pricey, but so is everything at SFO...here I felt I got value for what I paid read more

YUMMMMMMMMM! Best food I've ever had in an airport, thats for sure! Lamb meatballs Bleu Cheese and Chips Edemame Hummus The bleu cheese dip and homemade chips were to dieeee for. oh man. I even used some of the leftover cheese for my meatballs. :) We had a layover, and a delay so we decided to kill some time here. Delicious food, friendly staff, stiff drinks, and comfortable atmosphere. Cant really ask for more at an airport, can you? I will definitely be going back here next time I have some time to spare in SFO. read more

Cat Cora's Kitchen - Lamb meatballs - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

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3 stars for airport food, 2 for an actual restaurant. I'd highly suggest NOT going here at the end of the day, no oysters left for yelp check in (no real surprise there), but really that's the best part of going here. With my particular order, I was really disappointed they didn't have the normal slider trio. As a concession I went with the seafood sliders. The rolls completely dwarf the seafood and were cold and hard, despite the obvious yet unsuccessful attempt at toasting it. I did have the benefit of trying my friend's chicken sandwich, which was quite good. Had just the right amount of char broiled flavor, and though a tad dry was balanced by an appropriate amount of spread. read more

Cat Cora's Kitchen - johnnie walker red on the rocks - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Stopped here for a quick bite before a flight! The chopped salad was good & so was the lobster mac. The other menu items looked delicious as well. Not your average airport food. read more

Cat Cora's Kitchen - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Amazing food! Exactly what I would expect from an iron chief! I can check this off my bucket list! Food dreams come true lol! read more

Cat Cora's Kitchen - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

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