Happy Mother's Day ! Lunch before symphony here at this fresh seafood old school restaurant, once we walk in warm vibes, every staff say welcome Hello host will be right with you . Once we sat down our waiter welcome us say happy Mother's Day's, taking drink order and someone bring us the water , our a waiter recommend special soft shell carb , we also ordered the paella and sole. Food come everything taste so delicious seafood taste so fresh and hand cut fries . Oh my this old school restaurant I feel like I am in my dining room the food taste amazing and the staff super friendly, Thank you. I will be back soon ! read more

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11.25.25 The black cod was much saltier than expected, and I mentioned it to our server. It seemed like the chef was a bit heavy-handed with the seasoning tonight. Management- please ask the chef not to put so much salt on the food! Aside from the saltiness, the dish itself was delicious. Portions are on the lighter side, so if you're a big eater, I'd recommend ordering an appetizer or two. We were celebrating my birthday, and our server recommended the Meyer lemon chiffon mousse and it was absolutely amazing! The only thing we didn't care for was the fruit topping, which was a bit too bitter for our taste. Our server, Steve, was fantastic. Even though the place was packed, he checked in on us at all the right moments. Parking is available on the street or at the Performing Arts Garage. I highly recommend making reservations. It was our first time here and we will certainly be back. I will be ordering take out for dinner. read more

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This is a very expensive place for very mediocre seafood. They used to have a booth at the farmer's market that had great food, so I had high hopes but nope. Most of the patrons looked to be of grandparent age and have probably been coming here for 40 years. It is very old school SF but not in the way that you would hope. Close to the symphony but so are a lot of other Hayes Valley restaurants. I'd recommend any other one. read more

Simple, consistent, and reliable. Hayes Street Grille doesn't have stand out food, but it is a nice old-school place to go to after visiting the ballet. As a classical dance enjoyer myself, I rely on a reservation at Hayes Street Grill because it is conveniently close by. The portions are small and presentation may lack, but the food is always tasty and simple. I had the calamari which had a delicious smoky flavor and decadent lemon caper butter, the black miso cod, the warm goat cheese salad, and the smoked trout toasts. I enjoy that the presentation is simplistic but for the price I think an increased portion size would have been appropriate. The place features white tablecloths and pictures of local virtuosos. A nice place to go to if you are dressed up and looking for an old-school upscale ambiance. Its convenience and consistence is the reason I am a regular. Though the food is simple, the location and ambiance are enjoyable. read more

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I worked at the SF Symphony in the 90s and have enjoyed many a lunch and dinner here. This is a five star restaurant for SOBs - symphony, opera and ballet patrons. ;) Not a destination restaurant, but the perfect place for a pre-concert meal. They're generally consistent though not innovative. It's nice to have a place to rely on over the decades. My recent experience was excellent from start to finish. Simply a great dinner. Act One: There was a warm greeting from the host, a friendly and efficient waiter had an ice cold vodka martini in my hands in just a few minutes, and when we ordered our starter salad, it came out in fewer than five minutes. Act Two: My grilled swordfish arrived perfectly cooked. The french fry accompaniment was just as crisp and perfect as ever. You really can't lose by ordering fish with one of their signature sauces. Always fresh and flavorful. Act Three: Burnt Basque cheesecake. Very light and not too sweet - as promised by our waiter. Good cheesecake is not cloyingly sweet. A nice twist on the typical cheesecake and perfect since we were relatively full from our meal. I love that you can actually taste the cream cheese. My fiancé and I remarked to each other that the decaf was unusually good. It's just tough to find a rich-tasting cup of decaf coffee anywhere. Note: When in season, the Plum Crisp is truly fantastic. I don't think there's any chance of SF Opera staging an opera where no one dies and no one cries, but I greatly enjoyed my flavorful, drama-free night at Hayes Street Grill. I believe our waiter's name was Vir. He was exceptional and he and the kitchen helped ensure that we would be in an out in under an hour. Remarkable for such a perfect three course meal. This place is truly classy. There's a reason why so many international classical performers love this San Francisco venue. Their autographed photos, and those of so many local legends line the walls. read more

Summer in Spain. So, seeing paella and burnt cheesecake on the menu of this storied venue, I was there when it opened, last night, in spite of the very mediocre Yelp average. The paella took less than 10 minutes to appear. A wide bowl with a pile of rice to one side, a sizeable pile of various shellfish in the rest, swimming a a very liquid (tomato?) sauce. And, predictably, no socarrat. That is, it wasn't paella. Taste wasn't terrible, in spite of the occasional bits of grit from the shellfish. Shellfish were all cooked lightly. Ie, nicely. Absent the grit, the dish was probably worth ordering again, if only it were not mislabeled. Basque cheesecakes I've been getting in the US, since gorging on the stuff in Spain, have all been disappointing. Mostly demonstrably not queso quemada cheesecake. HSG's rendition was not obviously wrong. No crust. Top discolored somewhat, though not all that dark. So, a plausible first impression. The fake versions have tasted like regular cheesecake. Ie, cloyingly sweet, with overpowering cream cheese flavor and dense, sticky mouthfeel. This was not like that. My guess is that they use a lot of cottage, or similar, cheese, and I've seen that in some recipes. As a lightening effort, it seems reasonable to use. But the cake was dry and a bit crumbly, unlike what I got in Spain. I would not order it again. I was at the bar. Bartender took the order. He was pretty much inattentive other than that, and giving me the bill. read more

we had dinner at HSG a while back & it was very pleasant & food were delicious & the portion were just right. That evening, we happened to sit right next table to Oracle's Larry Ellison...:) Since I am a pescatarian, we decided to go back before our Jazz concert: which we have the season tickets. We ordered black cod, petrale sole & brussels sprouts. the food taste was adequate, but the portion were so-oo small for the price charged! we were still so hungry that we had to go to another place to get salad, appetizer & dessert. I called, explained the situation to the general manager Carlos. he was not so friendly and no apology. only offered to serve a better portion 'next time' around. unlike Doppio Zero's (we go there quite often): the manager Eric heard we had a not-so-great meal, offered to serve us personally a great one; and he did...:) Well, Carlos: there'll be no more next time at HSG, sorry. Patricia U: I followed you at SF Chronicle years ago. You've had a better service & a more competent GM than this one! BTW: we went to Dumpling Home/Teakwood/Elephant Sushi & Doppio the last few months: all great food & very pleasant. Carlos & HSG: Goodbye! read more

Ordered the filet of sole and it was very good. I also ordered the cheesecake, which was satisfying. Overall, the food was good and service was friendly/attentive. read more

We had a 7 pm reservation for a party of 7 and waited about 20 mins by the front door to be seated. The food was not great. We all order some sort of grilled fish. My swordfish was bland and I could've made a better one at home. The fries were overcooked. My friends weren't pleased with the corvina or salmon either. Just a plus that it seemed to be local fish. The whole table agreed that we will likely not be back. read more

Hayes Street Grill - Local Swordfish - Seafood Near Me - San Francisco, California

Had a wonderful dinner there with friends. Yes, it was crowded, but it cleared out after 7:00! The service was great, the cocktails on point and the food was prepared well--hot and fresh! It's a solid place to go. I'd go back in a heartbeat. read more

Very good service before a ballet performance. The food is delicious. This restaurant charges a lot for a good meal but every once in a while I splurge. read more

We had a fantastic experience here! The food was great, the service was attentive and exceptionally efficient, and the ambiance was quite traditional/"old school." If you're looking for a pre-show dinner spot in Hayes Valley, this is the place to go! Our family of 3 - 2 adults and 1 child - shared the following: 1) Black cod - quite flavorful 2) Paella - remarkably tasty, especially for something that came out within 10 minutes of ordering it 3) Calamari - excellent- my favorite dish 4) Brussels sprouts - delicious 5) fries - solid The service was friendly and attentive. We appreciated the fact that we were asked about our post dinner plans immediately upon being seated - they are skilled at getting guests out the door on time for shows nearby and it shows. All the dishes came out remarkably fast. We also appreciated the fact they brought crayons for our 6 year old daughter to color with. They also shared off menu children's dishes that were available. The restaurant is spacious and the decor is traditional. (It opened in 1979.) Overall, we had a lovely time and wish we hadn't had to rush off to a show, so we could have enjoyed our time at the restaurant longer! read more

Tonight before the symphony, we had a chance to go to the Hayes Street Grill and had an excellent dinner. We started off with appetizers, which was a dozen Miyagi oysters then I had the black bass and my wife had the salmon. we had an excellent bottle of wine and I also had an old-fashioned. My wife enjoyed a Mojito. Everything was impeccable, including the service. We saw lots of people that we recognize there who were also attending the symphony. Our server made sure that everything was the way we liked it before we ordered it and after we received it. It was a quiet experience and the restaurant environment was very nice. Everything was moving the drinks the bottle of wine and the dinner came right on time on this particular evening we declined dessert, but I would highly recommend Hayes Street Grill read more

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Perfect Sunday lunch - delicious trout toast salad on crostini with lightly dressed radishes read more

Hayes Street Grill - Trout Toast Smoked Trout Toasts with Radishes - Seafood Near Me - San Francisco, California

I'm not sure if these low score reviewers went on an off night or if I have been going on good ones. I have dined this restaurant for lunch and dinner and it's been very good every time. Dinner is busy and buzzy with a pre-show crowd and lunch is more chill. Service is always excellent without any snobbery. I appreciate that. The world would be a better place with less snobbery. It would be nice if they changed up the menu a bit more but everything is solid. Have eaten a few of the grilled fish on the menu as well as the miso black cod, skate with brown butter, fried oysters, last night they had dungeness crab on the menu and it was great. read more

Why only 3 stars for this venerable old pre-symphony stand-by? Not because of the food and service; they're fine although the portions aren't large (4 small scallops for $42). But the whole experience is pricey: $120 with tax and tip for a typical 3-courses and 1 drink. But just try figuring out their 1980's hand-written checks. There were just two of us and it took over 10 minutes with two assists from the waiter! And they won't write separate checks or allow more than two credit cards per table. It's time to bring in Toast or Square POS tableside computer systems! It's not 1985 anymore. read more

Great fried oysters. Fries are light and crispy. Coleslaw is fresh. Better if sour dough bread slices were toasted.

I was going to a show nearby so I made a reservation here as the menu looked good. Overall I had a nice meal but it was not spectacular. They were already quite busy when I got there at 530pm but they seem to be a popular spot with all of the theaters nearby. I had a nice side table that allowed me to see the whole place. The restaurant has a nice vibe. My waiter was sometimes attentive, sometimes missing. The support staff seemed to be taking better care of me, including taking my dessert order and bringing it out to me. I started with the Warm Goat Cheese Salad with Toasted Almonds - this was delicious. Loved the dressing, some sort of a vinaigrette. Nice pieces of fresh lettuce. The goat cheese was flavorful and I liked the toasted almonds on top. For my entrée, I had the Ft. Bragg Petrale Sole with King Trumpet Mushrooms, Fingerling Potatoes. I really wanted to like this as I love Petrale sole. Bites of it were good, especially the crispy bits, but most of the bites were boring and watery. The sauce really had no flavor. The mushrooms and potatoes helped but the fish and sauce were just not up to par. For dessert, I had the Dorie Greenspan's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. This was a really delicious carrot cake. The frosting was nice and light and had a good flavor. The cake was moist and flavorful. Overall a good meal but I would not order the Petrale sole again. read more

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Update- still mediocre- Limited selection of seafood compared to the old days Not outrageous pricing - though they do charge for bread In a different location they would have gone out of business by now. But thanks to proximity to Davies they have a captive audience/ life preserver read more

I booked a dinner for our family after watching the SF Ballet's Nutcracker. It was a special event for us - the last Nutcracker we'll watch as a family before our daughter heads off to college next year. The food was as fantastic as I remembered but honestly, the service was subpar, creating a less than ideal visit. The maître d' was cordial and the "supporting" wait staff was friendly ... but goodness ... I don't know why our waiter works in the service industry. I don't think he smiled once, never offered any menu suggestions, and I realized he never even asked us about drink choices until the food started coming out and I didn't have a drink in hand. I'm glad our daughter focused on the food and the experience with her family - because it would have been disappointing dinner otherwise. When we left - none of the 5 wait or service staff we passed bothered looking up to say goodbye. Such a sad slide from the institution this used to be. Because of the food - I give this 2.5 stars (would have been lower rated review otherwise). read more

The low overall Yelp score has kept me away from this place for ages, but a pre-show reservation made by a friend (who didn't ask my restaurant opinion) finally brought me here. It was kind of what I expected with an antiquated stuffy ambiance, middling food and quite overpriced for what it was. Additionally, they have some very shady business practices! So let's get into those shady business practices before the food. Like some restaurants in San Francisco, they are charging a SF Health Initiative surcharge. However, instead of the typical 2.5% or 3.5%, they charge $5/person. It is disclosed on the menu, albeit in small print at the bottom of the menu. However, unless you're drinking like a fish, that surcharge will be 10% (or more) of what your meal costs, which is extremely high compared to typical SF Health surcharges. In the spirit of nickel and diming, they also bring bread & butter to the table without asking you then charge you for it. While that is all sufficiently shady, the most shady is how they calculate tax and tip. They tax you on the Food + Drink + SF Health surcharge, which is *not* how other restaurants typically do it. That SF Health surcharge should be separate from the pre-tax total. And then they add a 20% service charge on the post-tax total (that includes the SF health surcharge), which is also not standard practice for mandatory service charges since it should be calculated on Food + Beverage only. I honestly would have never noticed until a friend of mine was struggling to understand the bill, so he handed it to me since I have a reputation for being good with numbers. The bill was handwritten and certain sub-calculations were out of order, so it was indeed confusing, though I pretty much figured it out. I asked the waiter to clarify the calculations and he confirmed my suspicions. When I said that the tax and service charge calculations seemed off, his response was "we've done this for awhile and you're the first person that noticed". Very strange attitude, I simply replied "well, not everyone is good with numbers". Anyway, my friend paid the bill with his credit card and I threw my portion of cash his way, vowing never to return to such a shady and trifling establishment serving such mediocre food. San Pedro Swordfish w/ Beurre Blanc: Felt very basic, especially for $38. A hunk of plain grilled fish, a little ramekin of french fries and a tiny dipping bowl of beurre blanc. Kind of like something you could do yourself after visiting the frozen section at Trader Joe's. Half Moon Bay Petrale Sole with King Trumpet Mushrooms, Fingerling Potatoes: So I will admit that this actually felt like a restaurant quality fish dish with nice texture contrasts between the flaky fish, crispy fried exterior, tender mushroom slices and moist sauce. The potatoes were still a bit bland and pasty though. Kinda wish they put this much effort into the other dishes. Strawberry Pavlova: Laziest pavlova ever! It was literally just a cup of strawberries and cream with a small round of meringue on top. Just do a quick google search for pavlova and you'll see they're usually much more elaborate with a big meringue being the centerpiece and fruit nicely placed on top (and sometimes in a middle layer). read more

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World famous Paella....horseshit. Place served luke warm paella. Chef could give a fuck too so ya find a better place as there are so many better choices. Wife's salmon was luke warm as well and the mashed potatoes were old. my god wtf. read more

Before watching "Hello Yellow Brick Road" at the SF Symphony, we had dinner at Hayes Street Grill. This local restaurant had survived the city's up and down economy. I was informed it has been there for almost 30 years. FOOD I ordered the 6 oyster plate as an appetizer (I forgot to take a pic of it). Thereafter I was served the Grilled Maine Scallops with White Corn Succotash, Chive Beurre Blanc. Normally, I've been hesitant to order scallops for fear that if they're not cooked well, I've gotten sick in the past due to that. But finally, I'm glad that that was not the case. In fact, I probably would've ordered a second serving. The buttered corn was a great side. One of my friends had ordered the shrimp green salad as a meal, and the other ordered the swordfish. For dessert, we all shared the Strawberry Pavlova and the Flourless Chocolate cake. SERVICE Our waiter (forgot his name; red hair) was polite and provided good customer service. He was pleasant--smile and good eye contact. AMBIENCE Since it was time for the show, it was crowded. Not a place to have a one-on-one conversation. I would come back here again. And definitely, I recommend it as a place to go before watching the symphony/show. read more

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The worst meal we ever had: the black cod was vile, my wife's swordfish was cold as was the sauce, the fries were skimpy and cold, all had a big price. This was our go to restaurant before SF Jazz, never again. First time in my life I returned an expensive entree. read more

Salmon, fries, and calamari are my favs. I can see why there are so many die hard fans. The place is cozy and service is quick.

Hayes St Grill is a classic of course. We came before a show and it was awesome. We may have made our reservation a hair early. They are super efficient with getting you your food, drinks, bill, and sending you on your way to whatever show you're heading to! Which is typically great, but if you want to chill out a bit before your show, might not be the best option. That being said, food was great, our server was awesome, and it was fun chatting with our table neighbors that were also going to nearby holiday shows. Certainly recommend if you're going to the show and are on a time crunch! read more

Overpriced, small portions, bread tasted stale. It's great for what it is before the symphony. And the 5.00 person surcharge doesn't help either. The final bill was handwritten. Make sure you get a snapshot of that with your phone. The tip also is calculated on that surcharge. I'm not cheap either, but for the portion size and high cost, it's exorbitant . We hardly had anything and the bill was over 250.00 read more

Hayes Street Grill - Symphony afterwards was great. - Seafood Near Me - San Francisco, California

Went for a holiday dinner before seeing the Kinsey Sicks at New Conservatory Theatre. We were a party of 7. They really accommodated us and the food and drinks were really well done. I definitely recommend Hayes Street Grill. read more

My spouse loves this place. I think it's so-so. The tables are too close together. If you were to tell a story about the biggest fish you ever caught, you'd smack the next patron in the ear with your hand gestures. The service feels rushed. That's a good thing when trying to have a pre-show dinner, but you'll need to result to stalling tactics to keep the plates in front of you from being snatched. The food is ok, the grilled fish is kinda plain, but it comes with sauce that makes it plain but with sauce. read more

Order two burgers for lunch. One ordered medium, one medium well. One came rare on a stale bun, the other medium rare. I sent the medium rare back since the pool of blood on the plate was making the bun soggy. I then got one so well done, cracked in half before I could eat it. Neither looked like a burger, more like a slightly flatten meatball. Completely inedible as a sandwich. One of the fries were all long, the other all scraps. Service was inattentive and surly. As mentioned the tables are too close. Making things worse, a jerk sitting by the window closed the shade. Made the place darker on a dark day. And, it's not cheap - those burgers with one beer and one dessert were just over $100. read more

Service very attentive, food not bad, but not great. On busy nights, restaurant starts running out of popular dishes fairly quickly, so plan your order out and get that order in early. Atmosphere is alot of fun. read more

A family friend treated the group to dinner. I used to work in the area for years, so I was already familiar with Hayes Valley, and this restaurant was never a choice for my coworkers and friends. However, the staff are extremely nice and the service is great...(drumroll) but the menu is a throw back to 1980s hotel restaurant food, and the decor is same era tennis club or retirement village. The food was passable, but entirely too expensive for the standard options like salmon, blue crabs (why?), Petrale sole, oysters, etc. It seemed like everything came with a side of thin cut French fries. The menu was confusingly setup as "Courses" leading me to believe it was pre fixe. Nope, the choices were all a-la-carte. Weird. The dishes, glasses, plates, chairs, etc., we're incredibly dated and clunky like they came from a diner or old fern bar. I suspect this restaurant was quite the hangout in the 80s because 90% of the clientele that might had to be over 75 years old. The crowd is very old ex-jock navy blue sports jacket and Dockers, and middle shelf liquor. As I mentioned, the menu is extremely dated and needs some serious tweaking and updating. I suspect the old Apple Dumpling Gang is keeping them in business, so they're afraid to change the menu. I got the salmon with capers and lemon buerre blanc and was expecting a thick center cut filet for the price, but I got the cheaper flat cut that was super thin. For drinks I ordered a gin and tonic. I asked if they had Hendricks. Nope. Just good ol house liquor: Beefeater. For dessert, I got a no fail crème brûlée. It failed. The crème was okay, but the burnt sugar topping tasted strong, sharp,and bitter like old coffee that's been sitting in a carafe all day. I suspect they're torching the sugar, putting it into the refrigerator, and torching it again when someone orders it. Unfortunately, I was the mark who ordered it that night. I'm sure this restaurant caters to a particular demographic, but they need a serious overhaul from the menu, to the bar choices, and to the decor. read more

I have been coming to Hayes Street Grill for decades, so I was shocked at how disappointing the food and service was last night. The restaurant was less than half full, so there was really no excuse. We were greeted warmly by the staff, as usual, but it was all downhill from there. We saw our server to take our order and that was the last we ever saw of him. Then when they brought my fish, which was the consistency of ham, no one ever came to check on me. All the waiters seemed to magically vanish. No one asked me how my food was, and when they came to take my plate, I had take a few bites of different parts of the fish to see if any of it was eatable, but it was obvious I hadn't enjoyed it, they just asked, "Are you done?", and took my plate away, so I paid $38 for French fries and a couple of bites of uncooked fish. We asked about dessert from a new replacement waiter, and specifically what kinds of nuts were in the carrot cake. After about 10 minutes our waiter returned to let us know that he was still working on it. After about 10 more minutes he finally came back to let us know they were walnuts. Between the bad food, disappointing service, and costly meal I cannot imagine myself going back, and how sad that it was a place that was a favorite to so many. I guess everything changes over time, but sad to lose what had been a gem. read more