Best Restaurants for Business Meals in Civic Center / Hayes Valley / Van Ness

Our lunch today was simply outstanding. Classic Zuni Cafe .....low-key quality and consistency. Delicious oysters; memorable lemonade; the best hearth baked bread and butter; a citrus salad that tasted incredible; an always tasty cheese burger; and (drum roll) a citrus Pavlova that we hoped would never end. So Great! So Zuni!

Dining as a party of one I kind of expect superb service, meaning a waiter might give some social time to the guest. You can tell right away people that would rather have some privacy. But I am gregarious and outgoing and conversational you could miss the personality type even if you were trying. So I was disappointed in the I’ll take your order the drop of your courses. I mean really? I know a waiter would rather a large table that would incur a large bill but I ordered some of the best available. My scotch cost almost as much as my entree which was the most expensive one, AND in order four courses! Oh well, the food was delicious w the exception of some potatoes garnishing my entree were over cooked. But that meant very little with quality of all the other food being top notch! All in all a nice experience, my fourth visit to NOPA. That waiter needs to grow some social skills.

Hayes Street Grill has offered quality and value with consistency over the decades. Always a pleasure to dine here

My husband and I really enjoyed the food and atmosphere. Our table server was fantastic and her service was great. We did notice that it was difficult for the server to get back to us quickly to follow-up on drinks and food, but I don't think this was due to her. The place was busy and it seemed like all servers were also responsible for tending the bar. Maybe they were down staffed, but either way we really did love being there. The service only became an issue because after 1.5 hours at a bar table, the host (Not our server) told us we would need to finish up in the next 5 minutes because people were waiting. We were on our way out, so it wasn't a problem, but it did feel rushed. If there is a limit on table time, it would be helpful to have that noted when you make a reservation.

The food was DELICIOUS!!!! Every dish that we ordered was outstanding. Went there for a friend’s birthday dinner, it was 5 of us. We ordered the focaccia which was divine, also the suppli which my gosh was out of this world. Then we got 3 different pastas: caramelle which had a tangy citrus oily sauce and the pasta filled with veggies just melted in your mouth. The gnocchi with truffle and Parmesan and I can say it was probably the BEST gnocchi I’ve had in a long time plus they were super generous with the truffle so HIGHLY recommend this dish. And lastly we got the Bigoli Nero which was exquisite and probably my favorite dish, and the Dungeness crab meat tasted super fresh. We also got the chicory pizza which was probably my least favorite dish as it didn’t wow me. It was tasty but nothing special about it. And for dessert we got the Tiramisu which didn’t disappoint. It was fresh, tasty, moist and the flavors well balanced. The service was A+ from the host which accommodated us to a table of 5 even when my resy was for 4 so that was amazing! To the servers who were super friendly and attentive, to the sommelier.