Ate here during soft opening. Food is definitely unique, only Tunisian place in SF. The owner is super friendly and cool and had great recommendations. The Farik mixed drink is fabulous. The lamb riblers are also superb. The environment is super cool - good lighting, great decorations and overall vibe. Would come again - especially as they are updating the menu. read more

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Our group had an amazing experience:) the service was great, the food was soo delicious!

We enjoyed this restaurant. Decor and music made it feel like we were in Tunisia (or at least the Middle East somewhere). We loved the deviled eggs and the scallops appetizer. Be aware that the scallops appetizer has a few small scallops and lots of yummy sauce for dipping, not big tender scallops like we are used to. But it had a great flavor and I liked it; I would've preferred the menu to say the scallops are small to set expectations. The chicken tagline was super tasty but didn't necessarily knock my socks off. Our companions had the lamb tagline and really enjoyed it. The eggplant was a nice shared side. Our waiter was good, friendly, and was knowledgeable and helpful about which items were gluten free and which weren't. Our drinks were great and use real liquor. I would definitely go back and try the other entrees. read more

Lovely food. My favorite is the Shrimp Deviled Eggs, the Chreime with Red Snapper, and the cocktail Farah Goes to Tunisia. Interior is also lovely and a bit dim with arabic house ambiance music. Service is amazing. Our server was very professional and checked up on us all the time. We've also met the owner Rafik and he was very welcoming. read more

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I came here with a group of friends last night. It was a wonderful experience to try Tunisian food for the first time. It was delicious! In addition to making us feel incredibly special, the owner and his staff were incredibly kind and not to mention the dessert was amazing! Without a doubt, I would suggest this location! ***cocktails were a plus! read more

Despite the San Francisco Health Department's continued refusal to allow Gola's chef-owner to serve food in any of the 180 gola (clay pots from Tunisia) he imported specifically for this purpose, a perfectly acceptable alternative has been found: serve excellent food in a less dramatic presentation and the results will prove equally satisfying. Though I'll admit that reading about the chef-owner's vision for the gola sounds stunning, exotic, and compelling, the food is all of those things even when served in the usual bowls, saucers, and plates. Four of us were left quite impressed with Gola's excellence in both hospitality and food. Because we tried almost the entire menu I feel well qualified to report a fondness for the following appetizers and entrees, all of which I'd happily re-order on a return visit: * Kromb (a cabbage dish, $16); * La Marsa (a creamy scallop/shrimp dish, $18); * Brika au Thon (a filo dough wrapped combination of ingredients, $15); * Grilled Octopus ($18); * Chreime (a delicious seafood stew, $28); * Lamb Tagine ($31); and * Grilled Branzino (though the actual fish was quite small,$26). The homemade Tunisian bread ($6) that accompanied all of this was a perfect accompaniment, especially for sopping up some of the La Marsa sauce. Excellence in service seems to have become a rarity post-pandemic but Gola is inspiring hope for its permanent return. After ordering a bottle of wine, two different samples were brought to the table to allow a tasting prior to an uncorking. With dessert came a round of sparkling wine on the house. And a great house music track played throughout my meal at decibels that were easy to converse above. Gola is a winning combination of everything I want in a restaurant, especially one enjoyed for a special occasion. I loved it and have difficulty imagining that anyone else will feel differently. read more

We went to this restaurant for a rare date night and it didn't disappoint at all. Every item that we ordered was prepared with all the love and care that a master of Tunisian and North African cuisine could deliver. The service is amazing. Our server was very thorough and thoughtful in his recommendations. Highly recommend for any special occasion. read more

Gola - Shrimp Seafood Stew - Mediterranean Near Me - San Francisco, California

Hipster spot were my first impressions walking in here. Met up with some friends for a birthday for Tunisian food here. I've never had Tunisian food before, this spot is located in the Mission District and parking here is quite difficult especially if you have a big car, I circled around for a good 30 minutes. Anyways, we stared off with a couple of rounds of drinks which were all really good. We got a wide range of dishes, we got some salads and all seafood, with octopus, shrimp and we got the fried fish. Along with another dish where you dip the pita bread. The service was great and it's nice and cosy in there. read more

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The food was fantastic but the service was unnecessarily rude, unthoughtful and made us feel unwelcome. Not only did we get moved tables, have a drink spilled over one of us (without comping the drink), then asked how did we book a table as they were meant to be closed; then a party of the servers friends asked us to leave the table while we were paying ready for a party- which they are no doubt also unlicensed to be holding at their restaurant. Have never not tipped before but the service was completely unprofessional. there are plenty of other restaurants to eat at in the mission so I will not be returning. read more

Nice place, nice staff, reasonable prices. But first, we were never offered a cocktail menu despite the description in Yelp saying "creative cocktails". Do they serve cocktails? Also I was a little disappointed with the flavors. Not bad just underwhelming. read more

We came here with friends and our baby. The staff were exceptional, very attentive and went beyond to accommodate us. Our group enjoys Tunisian cuisine and it's so nice to have something in the city. The food is excellent, the brick au thon and the tagine so comforting, definitely order the bread with every course. read more

new spot on the block, was excited to give it a try. menu is pretty small, not conducive to repeat visits unless they're planning on seasonal menus? portions/plates are small. our table of 3 shared everything and i left feeling only decently satisfied, but we'd already ordered everything that piqued our interest. was really looking forward to trying the lamb riblet after seeing yelp pics, but unfortunately it wasn't on the menu anymore. la marsa: i definitely thought the scallops would be bigger. they were nickel sized. not worth it imo, but the homemade bread (ordered separately) was nice to dip into the cream sauce. grilled octopus: flavorful, nice amount of acidity. good app for the table. lamb tagine: fall off the bone, really tender! roasted eggplant: my favorite dish (and sadly it's just a side lol). the harissa gave it a nice spicy kick. pearl couscous: exactly what you'd expect with couscous. nothing special, but helped fill our bellies. overall, glad i gave it a try. attentive service, nice ambiance, but probably won't come back since we tried most of the menu. read more

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We really enjoyed our dinner there. The food was excellent and the service was great. All in all a very nice place to eat at. They also prepared the dessert we ordered with Happy Birthday written out in chocolate and presented it with the waiter singing for my mother-in-law. This made my MIL very happy as she's never had Happy Birthday sung to her in a restaurant before. read more

This is a must go! Food is really good and super cozy restaurant, perfect combination for a good night. You must try the branzino and octopus! My favorite! Went last night with a girlfriend and we tried few dishes.. Eggplant and lamb tagine were really good. Loved the drinks too. You need to try the Boukha-Rita! Service is impeccabile. Everybody is super attentive. Ask for Raphael.. He is great and makes good drinks! Even the chef walks by every table and help the staff. Highly recommended to visit Gola and can't wait to try their brunch next! read more

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Absolutely delicious and flavorful food! What a gem in the Mission. We ordered the chreime and lamb tangine which were so rich and flavorful. So warm and comforting in these winter evenings. The homemade bread and pearl couscous were beautiful sides to go with the tangine and stew. I could have eaten them by themselves. The cocktails were excellent! The deviled eggs were okay. I personally found the cold egg and the shrimp underwhelming, but my friend really liked them, so do what you want with my anecdotal experience. We weren't able to order appetizers first; we had to order everything all at once...luckily, the food came out relatively quickly. The waitstaff was really nice and attentive, although seemed a bit stressed and hurried at times. With all of this said, I will 100% be back! So delicious!! read more

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4.5 stars Tunisian food is not easy to find in San Francisco, much less in a restaurant with an elegant, trendy vibe! Gola is a truly unique restaurant offering a small menu of North African and Mediterranean flavors and super friendly (French-speaking!) service. We started with the Octopus Salad, made of grilled, chopped octopus tentacle in a briney, acidic mixture of frisée, chopped onions, and capers. But the real standouts were the entrees. My favorite was the Chreime, a stew of cubed red snapper and shrimp in a sweet, savory, acidic, and slightly spicy sauce made of tomatoes, onion, and peppers. The Lamb Tagine was an impressive whole lamb shank, which was so tender that it simply fell off the bone. The shank was cooked in a broth flavored with preserved lemon, olives, and turmeric, and was also accompanied by vegetables including potato, shallots, artichoke, and peppers. Finally, we had the Grilled Branzino, which featured Branzino fillets with perfectly crispy skin, topped with an herbaceous parsley sauce and served with a side of kefteji, made of spiced chopped vegetables mixed with egg. On the side, we got their fresh, hot homemade bread, which was crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and had an herbaceous aroma of rosemary. We also had the smokey Roasted Eggplant, which was diced into chunks and flavored with spicy harissa. Overall, the food here was delicious, flavorful, and made of quality ingredients. Though the service was on the slow side, the waiters were super friendly and enthusiastic, and the vibe was fun, lively, and beautifully-decorated with Tunisian decor. read more

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Amazing spot, the chef is incredibly talented. I dislike sea food but I will say the octopus and shallots hit the spot . He knows how to make every dish complement each other will definitely come again . Great for bday dinners read more

Gola - Mediterranean Near Me - San Francisco, California

Really good Tunisian food. The service was friendly but felt a little rushed in ordering. The house music they were playing on a Friday night made for a great vibe combined with the decor and lighting. Plates/mains are a decent size but little on the smaller side you're if planning to share, so I'd recommend getting a couple/few starters as well. The deviled eggs were tasty, as was the brika au thon. For the main we ordered the chreime which was delicious. Gola is a nice addition to the neighborhood. read more

Gola - Chreime and side of couscous - Mediterranean Near Me - San Francisco, California

Noticed this spot when walking on Valencia St trying to find a spot to grab a drink and a late night bite at. When I walked up to the menu on the door with my husband, not one but two groups of people leaving the restaurant told us we should go in because it was delicious, and they weren't wrong! We ordered the octopus salad appetizer & chereime (shrimp & snapper stew) and both were delicious. The octopus was super tender - nearly tasted like really soft juicy chicken! And the stew was - it had just a little spice to it that gave it a nice kick, but wasn't overwhelming. Had delicious drinks - the Tunisian and Smash and both were delicious. The Tunisian was my favorite though since it was a spirit I haven't tried before and it was a very well balanced drink. Sat at the bar and the bartender provided great service & recommendations. The staff overall was very friendly too. Will definitely come back! read more

Really amazing new Tunisian restaurant on valencia- we walked in on a weekday night and were seated quickly. The menu looked amazing and it was hard to choose, but we started with the octopus salad (had CAPERS, which made it amazing!). The chreime (red snapper and shrimp stew) with house made dipping bread was the husband's favorite, and the lamb was fall off the bone tender and deeply flavored. Overall, the food was amazing and we left stuffed. I would highly recommend this place and can't wait to come back! read more

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Tried out this new Tunisian restaurant on Valencia and it was a good experience overall. The portions were a little small for the price, but everything was plated beautifully and the service was friendly. The decor is nice inside as well! read more

Gola - Swordfish and chicken tagine - Mediterranean Near Me - San Francisco, California

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First time having Tunisian food! Came on a friday night and was able to be seated outside, seemed like all the tables were reserved. Scallop and shrimp appetizer tasted very fresh, the sauce was maybe a little too rich. The lamb entree was quite tasty as well with very tender lamb, and a good touch of extra flavor from the lemon and olives. The sides felt like an afterthought. Drinks were tasty as well! Service was a little overattentive honestly, with multiple waiters coming up and also trying to upsell. Seems like some kinks they can work out since they just opened. Overall not a bad spot to try out. read more

Gola - Cous cous, lamb entree, scallop and shrimp appetizer - Mediterranean Near Me - San Francisco, California

Manager very odd and not at all polite. We had already ordered and my friend was enjoying her drink, when he suddenly demanded we move to another table-- even though the place was half empty. Quite rude. read more

Solid place. 2 out of the 5 dishes we ordered were good, and the rest were average. The service was decent, with some hiccups as they are probably still figuring things out as a new restaurant. The beef appetizer and the shakshuka with sausage were great, but the rest, like the octopus, the eggplant and the shrimp were just okay. The 3 main dishes we ordered all got tomato bases so they really started to blend together after a while. It's a solid place, and I'm glad I gave it a try, but I wouldn't go out of my way to come back again. read more

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I unfortunately forgot to take food pictures of this place when I went for dinner with the gals. But I still wanted to write a review. Remember to make reservations as places like these do get booked. We got a lovely booth area by the door, which was so nice when we got all our meals, we were able to share and easily enjoy our conversation without moving or taking over someone. This food is a little different than I expected, but it wasn't bad. I did rate it 5/5 because they were super nice and very polite. The food was more 3/5. read more

Delicious food, tasty creative cocktails. Went for brunch. Shakshuka was full of flavor. Flatbread was perfect. Great friendly service. Can't wait to go back for dinner and try the tagine. read more

Found this place on Yelp, and came here for dinner before a show nearby to try some Tunisian food. We made a reservation on OpenTable, but there was virtually no one when we got there around 6pm, though it slowly filled up. The interior was pretty nice, with a nice ambiance for a date or a dinner with friends. They still had the soft opening menu. Since we didn't want to get too much food, we just got the Lamb Riblets and Chreime with one order of bread. The lamb was really nice and soft, and paired well with the crostinis. The chreime was similar to a tomato-based seafood stew, not too rich. The bread had a nice chew and helped fill us up. The food was great overall, the only downside is that I thought the portions would be a bit bigger, we definitely would not be full if we didn't get that bread. The service was great, they weren't too pushy and helped us quickly with anything. Overall, pretty good place for dinner, just be prepared to order some bread or a little more food if you want to be full. read more

Gola - Lamb Riblets - Mediterranean Near Me - San Francisco, California

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"Vessel" is Gola in Tunisian! Cute place with attentive service! We went to their soft opening and sat near the busy street of Valencia. Many people were curious to stop by! Our favorite was the lamb riblettes! It was fatty umami and had like a pesto flavor and came with crunchy toast bread. We also go tbt shashuka, octopus, and baklava. The shashukas tomato's were fresh tasting but the rest wasn't super spiced to me. The baklava was bigger than expected, and definitely tasted more floraly with the orange blossom. It had hazlenut as a base. I wasn't crazy about this place,since I prefer more spice and flavor--but the ambiance and service was great! Curious to see how the full menu develops. read more

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This was the most spectacular meal I've eaten in a long time. Each dish (the kromb, branzino, lamb tagine) was perfectly spiced, with a variety of flavors and generous portions. People rightly rave about the freshly cooked bread and subtly sweetened desserts. The service was friendly, helpful and attentive. We have found a favorite restaurant--an incredible treat. read more

Gola - Mediterranean Near Me - San Francisco, California

This is the absolute best restaurant! We had a table for 8 and we all sampled each other's food. Everything was amazing! Some of the best food to ever pass my lips! Everyone at our table agreed that this is some of the best food we ever had. The owner waited on us and he was an absolute delight! Not only was he very attentive and kind, but he also taught us a lot about the food and the history of Tunisian food. The ambience was very nice! Absolutely spotless and upscale. Also some outdoor seating. This is the best restaurant I have reviewed in San Francisco, and competition for best in California. I will eat here every chance I get! read more

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No taste while eating, after taste when done. So disappointing, been wanting to try forever, finally did, not good at all.

The food is exquisite. Get the bricka and eat with two hands. The lamb stuffed peppers are unique and special. Get the carrotb dip and bread. read more

Tunisian Cuisine made my heart sing and fed my soul. The staff was excellent at explaining the menus. The craft cocktails had unique ingredients and I really enjoyed the balance of flavors. In a couple of the cocktails they used a special liquor that is made out of figs exclusively from Tunisia. The wine was very tasty to enjoy with the food. About the Dishes!!!! We had to enjoy each aspect of the menu starters, mains, and of course dessert! I had the best crème brûlée of my life! The spices and ingredients were perfect and not overwhelming. The music was super fun and I definitely wanted to get up and dance. I will be back for sure! The outside dining looked really lovely to enjoy on a sunny day. I will be back for sure! read more

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This place truly feels like home! They offer a beautifully reimagined Tunisian cuisine with a modern touch, and the setting is authentically North African. The warm atmosphere makes it a perfect spot to enjoy a great tunisian meal. That's why I hope that this year they won't be serving alcohol during Ramadan, allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in the Tunisian experience during this special time. There are plenty of places to go for drinks, but fewer for those looking to break their fast during Ramadan. read more

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What a great find for a date night! Food, atmosphere, drinks, service, all excellent. read more

Gola - Lamb, cabbage, bread, baklava - Mediterranean Near Me - San Francisco, California

My friend took me here for my birthday and it was absolutely amazing. The service is excellent- they are so kind and helpful. They walked us through the menu and gave us perfect recommendations. My favorite dish was the tuna conserva pastry (I'm forgetting the actual name), but everything we had was tasty. I was very surprised by their cocktails since the restaurant is so new. They are delicious! We tried 4 different drinks and enjoyed every single one. And the baklava is also a must! Another thing that was perfect was the layout / noise. It wasn't too loud and I also didn't feel like I was eavesdropping on anyone. All in all this is a great new(ish) Mission spot and I'll be back! read more

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Food was very good but -- small portions with high prices. One chicken tagine serving $25? a tiny cocktail $17, really? Worst of all I received less attention as a solo diner -- even though it wasn't busy the host who seated me forgot me and I didn't get a menu until another host noticed later, was pretty much ignored until I asked for the check. Won't be coming here again. read more

The service didn't seem to be the best, but to be fair, we arrived an hour before closing.

Loved this place the moment I walked in. Such a gem! Every single thing we've tried was delicious, fresh, and vibrant. The ambiance matched the quality of food served here. This beautiful place has a soul. The chef/owner made us feel at home and was incredibly friendly and accommodating. Would come back here in a heartbeat. read more

Gola - Mediterranean Near Me - San Francisco, California

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As we entered the aroma of spices & delicious food hit. What a hidden gem. Small spot, welcoming & fantastic food. Service was friendly & honestly refreshing, I'm not a fan of mezcal, but there was a drink that sounded intriguing, I asked our server, he said if you don't like Mezcal why would you want it? Exactly!! there were other drinks that sounded & tasted delicious. Cozy seating, very Moroccan vibe, I was into it. I chose to go with Alex as my drink, and it was perfect! We got the brikha au thon, let me tell you I'm not a big fan of fish, but this!!!! Crispy filo outside creamy potato & fish inside, oh yes! It might have been my fav of the night, & yes I'm not a big fish eater. Next up the Tunisian deviled eggs , excellent. I had to have the chicken tangine one of my favorite dishes ever, this took me back to my trip to Marrakech, delightful, ended with a night in Tunisia & that's exactly where I felt I was. read more

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