ACME Chophouse

Loved this place’s food, wine, and service, as did everyone else I know who’s been there. Sadly, walking by the other day, the windows were covered in paper and there was a small sign announcing the place had been closed, and will be reopening as a different restaurant.
Sadness.
I don’t even like Mijitas at the ferry building.

This steakhouse was another favorite for a DAT lunch. It’s now CLOSED for remodeling, into a more casual and less expensive concept to debut in March 2010. This large restaurant will split into 2 places: Public House (a sports bar) and Mijita — a pricey taqueria, like the one in the Ferry building.
My pics of an ACME’s DAT lunch. The starter salad was light and delicious: golden beets, arugula, and toasted hazelnuts
Followed by a tasty and tender artic char with olive tapenade.
The dessert was apple fritters with crème anglaise, yummy stuff!
My office scheduled a few business lunch meetings and office staff group lunches here. Besides the steaks and seafood, a popular signature menu item was a high end version of mac n cheese, made with 4 imported cheeses. The most decadent, rich and creamy version I’ve had so far in SF.

The women and I got tickets to see OVO, and needed a place to drink and eat some grubbies before. The show was on a WEDNESDAY night in DECEMBER (capitalized to make you aware of two things — 1. Baseball season is over 2. It’s a Wednesday, and judging by the look of the place, this is not a very busy day for your «establishment»).
We checked out the menu, knew we were in for a pricey «happy hour» and meal, but were willing to go for it, pending the rain and weather that was so unfriendly to us outside.
Little did we know that the unfriendliness outside would happen inside as well — no smiles upon entering, where 3 hostess’ were standing at their stand. When I told them we had 6 people, they asked «are you going to see OVO?». At first, I thought this would only benefit us, and assumed they were being proactive in seating us in a place that would warrant a quick turnaround. No, no. They sat us in the BACK of the restaurant — no man’s land; we had to physically pull cocktail tables together, because apparently we didn’t qualify for the real seating at «big kid tables» in the front.
I could go on but I don’t want to waste my fingers. The food was mediocre, the chardonnay too sweet — but all to be expected for a steak place attached to a ball park.
Is it really that hard to smile and to seat us at a normal table in a restaurant that is only 25% full at best?
I think Lincecum would be disappointed, and I may even stretch it to say Bonds would too.
I’m giving it a one for the «service» and a three for the food.

This was by far one of my most awful experiences at a restaurant in some time. It had a lot to do with the waiter. So, we had a party of 7. When the waiter finally came by after the busboy dropped off the ice water, he explained the specials of the day and then only took drink orders for 3 of us and then walked away before he finished the rest of our drink orders. We had to stop him 5 minutes later as he walked to another table to get the rest of our drink orders. He asked us if we wanted appetizers and after he took that order he walked away. He seemed to be in a daze. It wasn’t after our appetizers arrived that we asked about soup and salad. He apologized about not offering to take a soup and salad order. After taking our salad order, he finally took our meal orders. Aren’t you supposed to take the meal order after you drop off the appetizer order to the kitchen?
When my glass was empty of soda, he asked if I would like another and I said yes. He forgot to bring me back the refill but came back 10 minutes later and apologized and said he would bring my soda immediately.
The food was good for the most part but the scalloped potatoes and macaroni and cheese were too salty.
The ribeye steak and risotto were tasty and cooked perfectly.
Our waiter did not come by very often and we figured out why. He spent most of the night standing and actually sitting at the bar and watching the basketball game. When he did come by to check on us, I felt like asking, «what’s the score» or «what’s the over/​under?» It was just awful.
When the bill came, it was about $ 495.00 We divvied up the bill and included a 12% tip. We all felt like leaving less or even none, but decided against it. He was confused when we asked to have equal amounts put on different credit cards (including the tip) and one of my friends had to go to the computer and calculate it for him. What really bugged us was the he came back to us and said, «you guys are leaving me $ 66.00 tip which is 12%. Are you guys really leaving only 12%?» We said, «yes.» I cannot believe that he came back and asked us. We all felt that he deserved significantly less and that his behavior was unprofessional. We thought about consulting with management but decided against it.
If I were to rate this restaurant based on food only, then I would give it 3 ½ stars… but the horrible service left a bad taste in our mouths and made this restaurant only deserve 1 star. We were truly disappointed as I have had better service before.

Went to Acme tonight before the Giants game — and was surprisingly disappointed in my meal. I’ve heard great things about it, and I was excited to go. I even pulled up their menu on PDF to check it out before hand. I walked in and was impressed by the décor and design. Sat in a booth for four and later ordered our dinners. Shortly after, former owner Peter Magowan sat in the table next to us. Kinda semi-​celeb sighting — but only to a Giants geek like me.
I ordered the Baby Back Ribs, with corn on the cob and a buttermilk biscuit. I was really turned off by the seasoning/​sauce on the ribs. They were honey mustard, not traditional BBQ sauce. They just didn’t do it for me — don’t know if I just wasn’t used to it or what — but it just didn’t please me like «normal» baby backs. To make things worse, the corn was mealy — no crunch or sweetness to it… just a soggy mess. The biscuit was also a disappointment.
Maybe I went on the wrong night, or maybe I ordered the wrong item — but I know of plenty of other spots nearby or in AT&T Park that blow it away, and for a fraction of the cost.

It’s fascinating to me that ACME is virtually always empty. Yet, across the street… MoMo’s is PACKED with douches.
I came here for drinks after yesterdays Gigantes games.
The bartender put like 2 – 3 shots of ketel one in each drink. That’s what I’m talkin’ bout. That’s how you keep customers. That’s how you get tipped fat.
Never eaten here, so look at someone else’s review that for that info…

This place needs an Extreme Steakhouse Makeover.
Since it’s debut back in the early Pac Bell ballpark days, it has taken a beating, both on it’s façade and in it’s reputation. I went the other night and it is still struggling to maintain it’s definition of a high-​class steak house, because it acts much more immature, from the service to the lackluster entrees. Why force it? Change the menu to a bit more approachable, everyday items (half of the menu is already there), change up the atmosphere a tad and expand the bar area. Stop pretending this is something it isn’t — a decent steak destination, and get on with a life of casual, fun ballpark comfort food joint with great drinks.

Friday was my fourth visit to ACME Chophouse, but first since my Giants last played in the postseason (2003). When I got a call from the restaurant that day, I thought they were just calling to confirm my online reservation. Instead, they called to inform me that «bobbleheads will not be given out at the restaurant entrance.»
How did they know I was going to the game??? Oh, that’s right. I made dinner reservations for 4:30 pm on the day of the game. It’s a safe assumption, I suppose.
As soon as you walk in, you can’t help but notice two things: first, the bar area to your left is noisy and crowded and second, there are way too many people wearing hooded sweatshirts. Yep, there’s no denying it’s a nice restaurant, but a nice restaurant at the ballpark. I am sure ACME feels a lot quieter and a lot more sophisticated on non-​game days. The décor of the restaurant is beige and brown, in other words, very generic and forgettable. Again, I need to remind you that ACME shares its address with AT&T Park.
We showed up really early, but even at 4:40-ish, most of the small booths were taken. We were seated at a small wooden table overlooking the outside patio. In a matter of minutes, the restaurant was full of people waiting to spend money before they entered the ballpark.
Our waitress was all but running from one table to another trying to keep up with everyone and everything. Remarkably, she managed to handle all our requests, make small talk, all the while not making us wait too long. I don’t think I could last two days doing what she did. Incredible. I am not sure exactly how many tables she waited that evening, but I felt like I was getting personalized attention. Nice job!
For a restaurant whose logo features a giant letter «A» with a cleaver stuck in it, ACME is pretty stingy with. .. the knives. When they brought us the bread basket, we were presented with one butter knife for the both of us. Granted, it was the biggest butter knife I’ve ever seen – I’ve seen butchers use smaller knives – but there was still only one. Umm, I guess we’ll take turn buttering our sliced sourdough?
I ordered a heirloom tomato salad ($ 7) as an appetizer. It came on a really long rectangular plate, and the assistant waiter had a hard time trying to figure out the way to set it on the table in front of me without moving the bread plate. The salad was really good, but the tomatoes were cut into huge slices. I wish I could cut them, but I was not given a salad knife, either. I wonder if it is a security issue or a dishwasher issue? Hmmm.
My dad had a Shrimp and Crab Louie Salad ($ 10). His salad was more «Shrimp» than «Crab» and more «Salad» than «Louie.» «Less lettuce, more thousand island dressing» was its theme. My dad seemed to enjoy it.
We both ordered pork chops for our entrees ($ 22 a pop). My pork chop was cooked medium and served on a bone. It was one of the best pork chops I’ve ever had, which, in itself, is worth the price of admission. Organic pork, perfectly cooked and good to the last bite — they call it a «chophouse» for a reason. The pork chop was served with onion rings, which weren’t particularly exciting. We also shared a side of scalloped potatoes ($ 8), which were rather rich, but very good.
Our meal (including a beer and an iced tea) cost us $ 85 + tip. It’s an expensive pregame meal, no doubt, but. .. sometimes you have to splurge. Besides, inside the ballpark $ 85 buys you what? Two hot dogs, two beers and a bag of peanuts? Wouldn’t you rather go to ACME?

When you hear ACME, don’t you think of Wiley Coyote, Road Runner and TNT? We were wondering why a steakhouse was called Acme. Acme means «the highest point» per Merriam-​Webster. Now it makes sense. While I am not sure the honor of being the best should be awarded to AC, I will say that what we did order was very good. Surprisingly good in fact.
Short Ribs: Mmmm-​licious. The meat was so buttery soft that it just practically fell apart. No bone, no hassle. Just two beautiful tender strips of meat that had been slowly marinated and cooked in wine sauce. They advertise that it came from grass fed cows too, though not sure whether that’s the reason the meat was so tender.
The meat was served on super creamy mashed potatoes with 2 little pearl onions and carrots. No greenery, just meat. And it was good.
Companions ordered the Hangar Steak (which looked good but I did not try) and the Baby Back Ribs in a honey mustard glaze. This was a dry style not the wet bbq sauce type. You get about 9 bones along with corn, wild greens, and a biscuit. It was good and a healthy portion too.
Couple of highlights: We found our server Chad to be quite entertaining. He was dramatic in his service but at least it was good. Water was always filled and bread was replenished upon request. He had a good sense of humor and made it quite pleasant.
One suggestion I will say is that if you find that you can’t find your ideal reservation time on open table, call the restaurant directly. We were trying for an 8:30p reservation on Friday night but found nothing available online and just took the 7:30p. We arrived to a fairly empty restaurant (it was game night) and were peeved since we could have just come later.
No matter, lesson learned. The main meal entrees were tasty. Nothing too appealing about dessert so we skipped. Worth trying if you’re in the area and not inclined for ballpark dogs.

BAMCO rocks!
Ok…I’m going to be honest with you… I work for Bön Appetit Management Company and ACME Chophouse is a Bön Appetit account. I know my friends and I received extra special treatment but this place is a must. The food was incredible and made me so proud to be part of BAMCO.
We ordered everything of course. Oysters and Beef Tartar to start. Entrees: RL had the rib eye; he orders a rib eye from every steakhouse and he said that the rib eye at ACME was the best he has ever had! I have the honey mustard glazed ribs and those were fall off the bone delicious. And Audra and Adam had the Fillet with all 5 sauce choices (because they automatically come with the steak=too cool). 2 sides of mac and cheese, scalloped potatoes and I think we
were good and got a veggie. Dessert perfectly sweet, butterscotch pudding and a something else chocolaty and heavenly.

CHAD you are the man!
Chad was our waiter and hands down from all the places I have dined he by far has the best personality, charisma, and charm I have ever encountered! He made our wedding anniversary dinner better than I expected.
The scene was nice and quiet. The giant’s are out of town. Our drinks were nice and strong. Our food was quite delicious. Chad checked on us often to make sure we were doing well, but not too much that I was annoyed.
To start we had oysters which were just as good as ones I have had in Seattle. My husband had the rib-​eye which was 30 days aged and well worth the extra few bucks. I had the filet mignon. We had biscuits, mac-​n-​cheese, and mashed potatoes. To end the meal we had a peach tart butterscotch pudding.
I definitely give Chad and Acme two thumbs up!

I’ve been to Acme 3 times — 1^st time my company gave me a per diem and the next two times I used a discount card (2^nd entrée free). I’m rating Acme 4 stars based on the reduced prices I paid.
The first time, I shared the 22oz. ribeye with someone else. I never realized that 22oz. could be so small. My friend is a small girl (at most size 2) and she and I were both incredibly hungry after we finished eating. We sat outside and had lunch with a group of about 6 people. Our waiter was ridiculously slow and really uninformed about the menu. When I asked him about a certain item on the menu, he simply read the description to me. Thanks a lot, but I can read!
The next two times, I ordered the baby back ribs which was really delicious. I went for dinner and sat inside. Service was much better. I did feel a little bad going to a steakhouse and not eating steak. On a side note, the mashed potatoes are good.

/​/​This is a lunch review //
If you’re looking for overpriced salads and mac & cheese, then look no further. This place can afford to charge high because of all the visitors it gets from the baseball park. Some people would rather pay a little more for a convenient place to plop down after a game. I’m sure the atmosphere is probably better at night after a game because of the crowds, but lunch time is a little depressing. I would gladly pay $$$$$ for an impressive meal, but I was not impressed by Acme!
I would recommend any of the fish, but do not get the salads! The salads come in meager portions. The pastas are plain. The burger is big and juicy. The desserts are pretty tiny and you could do better to go somewhere else for dessert. Good complimentary bread.
Momo’s has the olive Heart of San Francisco and Acme has the baseball Heart of San Francisco. This place won because it was inside and we were able to see the other one without having to eat there since it was placed outside.
BOTTOM LINE: not worth the price, but worth it for the Heart.

I’ve been to the ballpark like a million + times and never ever ever had a meal at the Chophouse. Yesterday, I was in the city of a business meeting at AT&T, so it was an obvious choice for lunch.
To start we had the steak tartare and it’s definitely one of the best I’ve ever had! Yum! It’s a very small portion, but enough to share if it’s an appetizer. It comes with quail egg and capers and red onion and deliciouness!
For lunch I had the crab fritters with arugula salad. The salad was way to spicy for my taste but the fritters were delicious. My colleague had the mussels and clams which I tried and they were so fresh and good I would go back just for that! We had an order of french fries on the side and those were just OK.
Service was a bit slow. The ambiance of the place is awesome. I liked the bread they served before our appetizer.
all in all, this was a good experience. I would recommend this place for anybody 21+. Not such a good spot for the kiddos!

Yum Yum Yum!!! My dbf and I ate dinner here last Thursday for DAT. We had reservations fairly early (530) and we weren’t too famished or anything, but we thought our meal was just delicious.
We ordered exactly the same thing. May be we could’ve differed on our desserts:
course one: Baby Romaine, Smoked Trout, Meyer Lemon and Goat Cheese for our salad — ooooh it was sooo good!
course two: Marin Sun Farms Flat Iron Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Chimichurri Sauce. My flat iron steak, medium rare was cooked to perfection. the mashed potatoes were nice and fluffy. So divine!
course three: Chocolate Cheesecake, kahlua caramel, whipped crème fraîche, was just heavenly.
Even the bread was good!
Thinking about it, makes my mouth water.
Service was on point and friendly.
I’m definitely going back!

I’m sitting in my cube, having just finished some Annie’s microwaveable Mac n Cheese when it dawns on me that I have yet to review Acme after my extended Va-​cay weekend jaunt to San Francisco last month… The Mac n Cheese made me think it.
Why?
Because Acme boasts some of the best damn MnC I’ve eva had. (I’m salivating now just thinkin’ on it.) But before I go there…
Maybe we had luck on our side… the Giants were in SD whooping the Padres 7 – 0 so the restaurant was far from packed for a Friday evening… it was perfect, in my opinion. Several tables of diners but not so overwhelming that are table went unnoticed or our drink glasses went empty.
My girlfriend Lauren and I decided to start the evening off with a lil bubbly to represent the bourgeoisie. We decided on the Agrapart & Fils … a champagne that is limited to no more than 5,400 cases a year… special, innit? The fellas ordered whiskey.
Lauren and I then look over the menu and decide on the Albacore Tuna Crudo for an app… It. Was. Heavenly. (and plated beautifully.) Raw tuna drizzled in olive oil… served alongside Padron peppers, an delicious tapenade and toast points… I died. Or could have… but am glad I didn’t because the best was yet to come.
Lauren and I decided to both order the halibut, which happened to be one of the specials of the eve… a gorgeous cut… I swear it was almost two inches thick… dressed nicely with tapenade and served atop butter beans and sautéed red peppers. It was to DIE. Some of the best halibut I have ever had and I’ve had fresh, caught-​by-​my-​daddy-​in-​Alaska halibut before. Divine. I swear I saw Jesus and no, I do not mean the busboy, kids.
The BF ordered the Flat Iron Steak and a side of scalloped potatoes. I tried a bite of the steak so I could consider it Unilocal-​worthy. It was nice… tender… but a little chewy for my liking… what can I say? Nuthin’ compares to mah halibut. NUTHIN’! Lauren’s significant O ordered the Ribeye wth a side of Mashed Potatoes and Macaroni and Cheese. HOLY SHI —
I die again. Lauren encourage me to try the Mac n Cheese that sat dangerously between our halibut dishes. I looked at it… longed for it… and gave in to it.
Amazing baked bubbling cheesy goodness. The best EVER.
*E*V*E*R*
I thought seriously about changing «My Last Meal on Earth» to ‘Acme Chophouse Mac n Cheese’ it is that good. The best. *E*V*E*R* (I’ll say it again.)
We had an extremely enjoyable meal and I definitely give it 5 stars.

No RSVP for a saturday night, and a black out that closed a few restaurant we ended up at Acme Chophouse to try out their tasty steak. With three small appetities that are my sister, gf, and i we decided to split the 21oz Ribeye and a side of Mac and Cheese.
Honest to god, the first mac and cheese that i’ve ever enjoyed in my entire life. I was very doubtful when my sister said anything but as with many things in my life she has proven me wrong.
The steak was good, and didn’t need the three dipping sauces, chimmy churi, or goat cheese that came on the side.
The lack of the steak coming with any sides for $ 40+ is to me a bit inexcusable.

I went here before a Giants game. This is truly an expense account type of place. I’d like to think I make decent money, but seeing this place full at lunch, I concluded that (a) there are lucky guys like me on the expense account, or (b) I don’t make as much money as a lot of these diners.
Anyway, food was good, not great. My 7 oz. filet mignon was just on the borderline of being overcooked, however it was perfectly seared on the outside, with those crunchy bits of meat evident on the crust. We split a side of mac and cheese, which was on the dry side, but had a good toasty top, courtesy of a few minutes in the salamander.
Two cocktails and four oysters later, we walked out with a $ 160 LUNCH charge, which could have been better spent buying two game tickets and unlimited hotdogs and beer. Good thing «the man» was signing off on this expense.

We celebrated a friend’s birthday at the ACME Chophouse. Though we made reservations, we still had to wait 15 minutes before we were seated.
Service: Good. Our server was attentive and responsive. She made the best recommendations. I wasn’t overly impressed, but service was still better than most restaurants.
Food:
We began our meal with ahi tuna tartare and oysters. As to be expected, I was in love the oysters. I wasn’t too thrilled with the tuna, however; it was just OK.
A friend recommended that I try their rib eye and so I did. It was the most delicious rib eye I’ve ever had. It was cooked to perfection (the only rib eye I didn’t have to send back because it was over cooked!) and served with a delicious Bearnaise sauce. Depending upon who you are, the only draw back is that the rib eye was 22 ounces large. If you’re the only one dining on the rib eye, it may give you a heart attack. You may not be able to stop yourself from eating all that goodness! I suggest that you bring a friend, a carnivore would be best.
Sweets:
For dessert, they brought us a chocolate ganache cake. The cake was slightly over done, but I really shouldn’t complain. After all, it was free because it was my friend’s birthday.
I’d love to go back to the Chophouse when I have my next hankering for red meat. I think it will be a while… I can’t devour another 22 ounces of steak.

We went there last night, on a Sunday Evening around 5:30p.m.
This was my 3^rd time going there and I have to say that I was a bit disappointed.
We were a party of 4 and ordered many items.
Large Antipasto
Fanny Bay Oysters
A Pasta and Bean Soup Special
2 Rib Eyes
and
the Swordfish special along with a Sundae for dessert.
It was extremely slow, in fact there were only about 3 other tables seated.
The Soup Special was lukewarm but being that I used to serve I didn’t want to send it back. I just ate it but was not impressed.
I think that when this restaurant is busier, they have better service and better quality of food.
The other few times I was there it was busier and I enjoyed it much better. Perhaps it was an off night but since we spent over $ 300, I felt that the service and quality could of been much better.