Asqew Grill

Not as good as California St site. Ordered chicken grill — where was the chicken ???
Not very clean, service– forgot my order.

I had the pleasure of having lunch at Asqew Grill during a visit to San Francisco from Phoenix. Great food and atmosphere. The staff was very friendly. The restaurant is on the small side but it’s perfect for looking at the fun pictures on the walls. This place will definitely be in my list the next time I’m in town.

I’ve gotta update because while dead men tell no tales and it’s not nice to speak ill of the dead, this wasn’t a person, it was a business, and a business should behave in a businesslike manner.
I used to love Asqew. I was so sad when they closed all of them. I even tried to contact the owner to purchase some of the photographs off their walls, and I was going to hang them askew in my flat in homage to a wonderful place that meant so much to me when I first moved to San Francisco and for three or four regular, active years of visiting afterward.
But the HealthySF surcharge fiasco makes me think the guy knew about it. Hell, maybe they can still go after him, and good for them (the government) if they do. He was very generous in many ways, so again, I don’t want to pretend I ever disliked walking through those floor-​to-​ceiling windows at 1607 Haight Street, because I never did. Never. Not even after I had missed it for the 37^th time.
First impressions may be important, but you also usually remember the last thing people say to you, especially if they die soon thereafter. Ouch.

Tried ordering from Asqew again and they got all of our allergy requests right. Thanks Asqew!
Edit 3÷6÷13: so sad to hear this place closed. :(

I’ve been coming to Asqew fo many years now.
I’ve never had a bad meal here! The prices aren’t bad for SF and the menu is great for vegetarians as well.
I’ve always loved the chicken skewers, but the fish ones are awesome as well. Garlic mashed potatoes are sooooo good, and this is coming from a girl who doesn’t like potatoes!
The place is generally pretty busy so getting a table can be hard, but well worth it. I would suggest this place to anyone who has worked up at appetite while shopping on Haight :)

Tried the same things as last time.
Just wanted to update the half grilled chicken weren’t really good this time around. They were too dry.

yum — my new fave is the artichoke halves. love coming in here and watching the dynamics of the staff — endless entertainment. When you have high stress people, mellow as hell people and hungry patrons on Haight — shenanigans ensue. My only concern — watch out for the cost of booze… it’s a schosh high, but tastey nevertheless.
I highly recommend going next door to Hobson’s Choice and ordering food from here — they deliver and it’s fab!

We wandered in here after debating outside whether or not it was Unilocal worthy. After checking in, we came inside to see the huge menu posted on the wall and decided on skewers with Mac and Cheese and grilled asparagus for our side dishes.
Here’s the breakdown:
Cilantro Lime Chicken over Spinach Salad– They don’t skimp on the chicken here– The chicken chunks were *huge* and really tasty. The spinach salad was pretty basic with some dried cranberries, and blue cheese sprinkled on top. I appreciated the fact that they had all the dressing on the side.
Balsamic beef and thai bbq beef– I had a piece of this from my friend’s plate and it was dee-​lish. Tender juicy beef.
Grilled Asparagus– I’m a big fan of asparagus and the asparagus here was great. They served it with a dipping sauce but honestly, it was really good just on its own.
Mac and Cheese– Decent stuff.

It’s hard to find places with true barbecue but this place is it! So delicious! I’m a vegetarian so it wasn’t the traditional asqew experience but it was
a great experience nonetheless. their grilled veggies were amazing! The potatoes may have been my favorite. And all sides came with this delicious sauce the waiter told me it takes them hours to make. So worth it. If I could have eaten meat, i would have had the ribs. I peered over at m neighbor and they looked to die for. Great portions, service and ambience.

This is a good place for when you’re having beef and want beef. They cook the beef and do it slow enough to work out your beef.
Then you can go home smelling like a campfire.

Asqew (er) for you, 2 for me! I ordered: 1 Balsamic Beef Skewer & 1 Cilantro Lime Chicken Skewer with a side of Grilled Mascarpone Polenta.
The skewers are a bit pricey but they were definitely delicious. The meat could have been a bit more tender but the tasty sauces it comes with provides aid and extra flavor. I can’t get over the grilled polenta — buttery with a grilled crust and its flavor balanced by the simple tomato sauce it’s served with. If you have time, I’d recommend a sit-​down meal at this location.

I made the mistake of ordering from this Asqew while house sitting around the corner. I ordered the ½ Lemon Chicken from the Barbaque menu with mashed potatoes. While I was eating my chicken I noticed there was an inconsistency in the texture of my chicken. I looked at it closely and realized my chicken was not only cold but horribly undercooked. The thigh meat I was so happily enjoying was still bloody at the bone. Eww!
I immediately threw my food away and thought my only punishment would be going to bed on a mostly empty stomach. I couldn’t have been more wrong. By 3am the next morning I was sick. really sick. I will spare you the details but I can safely say this was the worst case of food poisoning I’ve ever had. You’d think my torture at the hands of Asqew would be over but unfortunately this story only gets worse.
On day 3 of my food poisoning odssey I decided to call the restaurant to tell me about my ordeal. Steve; the manager I spoke with not only refused to hear my complaint but hung up on me! Needless to say this is far from over. Not only am I going back to the restaurant to confront the GM but I’m also reporting this incident to the heath department. I can deal with cold food, under cooked food or even a rude manager but this trifecta of crappiness is too much to just walk away from.
In closing I would like to say avoid this cesspool of salmonella at all costs! Your stomach will thank you :)

I am giving 4 stars based solely on today’s visit, food and service.
I have visited Asqew in the past and gave 2 – 3 stars.
But that was then and this is now!
A great friend and I ordered two entrees and two beers. The beers came out really foamy and non-​drinkable. At first we thought the guy behind the counter was going to serve those beers to us… but we were wrong. We received two perfectly pored beers!
For entrees, we ordered:
1 skewer Thai beef (w/​veggies) and coconut cilantro jasmine rice
and
1 skewer BBQ chicken and corn on the cob w/​garlic mashed potatoes
Both meals were really good. The beef was cooked perfectly and the rice was perfectly done (unlike the first time I visited). When the food came out I thought to myself, «I’ll never eat all of this». Not true! I ate every last grain of rice!
I love the concept of this restaurant. From my experience, it is hit and miss.
Sometimes they seem really «on-​it» with service and food prep, other times they seem overwhelmed and under staffed.
Worth a visit, but lower your expectations and hopefully you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Tried this place out for the first time today… The bf was very excited to take me here…
All he could say was this place wasn’t the same… My thai beef skewer was raw and I asked to grill it a second time… It came back still raw (see pic posted) I sent the whole thing back n ate some of the rice, they didn’t even apologize or offer a refund… Don’t get me wrong I like my beef rare NOT raw… I didn’t even eat the skewer… $ 8.00 for flavored rice…
The bf got the Texas BBQ skewers n they put the sauce (store bought) on the corn then grilled it… Imagine what that tastes like… Not good… Burnt charcoal…
This place is over rated and from what the bf says NOT what it used to be… Just a bunch of hype for nothing…

Overpriced simple soul food.
Food was all burnt. My friend and i were hungry and even the lemons, salad, or warm slowly served water could save this place. Would recommend the McDonald’s down the road before I would stop at this place again.

I went to Asqew for a healthy, delicious, filling meal! I hadn’t been there in awhile so I thought it was a great idea for dinner.
Once I walked in, I was immediately overwhelmed with all the different options. My boyfriend and I shared the hummus plate, which was really filling and a perfect starter. I decided on a balsamic beef skewer with a mixed green salad. The beef was really flavorful and it came with mushrooms, zucchini, and peppers. There was a good portion of salad and the balsamic dressing was really creamy.
Asqew is a really great option if you want something healthy but still want to feel like you are eating a hearty meal. Though I only had one skewer and a salad, I was pretty full, and I didn’t feel all gross and disgusting afterward.
Next time I want to try the cilantro lime chicken and the coconut rice.

Meh.
Sorry, but… meh.
Dropping by in our search to find Zipper-​Boy more things to both wear and bitch about we dropped into Asqew intending on filling our bellies.
I ordered the Chicken BBQ skewer with mashed potatoes and he ordered the salmon and rice. Mine came out with two huge hunks of corn, his came out filled with meat.
–1 star
Either they were having a deficit of chicken in their kitchen, or the Chicken BBQ is simply not the way to go for bang/​buck. You get about three chunks of meat, which barely makes a dent and two huge chunks of corn you can’t actually cut with a knife.
Also included in my meh is the little matter of not being charged what was written on the chalkboard. I expected 8 something and paid ten something. Okay, awesome I guess I need to MENTION the deal to receive it.
.Fabulous
–1 star.
And just for annoyances and grr,
–1 star
for having the huge window open while it was FREEZING outside.
Haven’t you heard it’s going to snow in SF this week? Gads.

This is why I love San Francisco. Quaint little places like this with simple, healthy, and unique food.
Loved the citrus cous cous and shrimp skewers. It was happy hour so the appetizers were on sale — I got the stuffed pepper. Way too much rice in that thing. But after I took out ²⁄₃ of the rice it was delicious :)
I also like their buffalo wings — they’re grilled instead of fried — so a little bit healthier.

3 stars for the A-​OK food + 1 star for great service = Yay! I’m a fan!
The cashier, Audrey provided exceptional customer service. What cashier will leave the cash register area to check on you as you stare at the huge menu posted on the side wall? She asked if we’ve been there before and if we had any questions. I have actually been here but was just being indecisive. She was able to help the bf tho with explaining the different flavors of each item.
We ordered our food to-​go and she handed us two glasses of ice cold water for our wait without having to ask!
The skewers were good and grilled perfectly. I already knew about the small portions but it’s still disappointing nonetheless, especially for the price you pay. The Balsamic Beef and Texas BBQ Chicken were my faves– the grilled corn that came with the chicken was sooo good and the sauces complimented well, I couldn’t get enough of it. The Blackened Shrimp and Cilantro Lime Chicken came with a nice, buttery lime sauce. Can’t go wrong with the Garlic Mashed Potatoes, but the Cous Cous just wasn’t for me.
This place has received A LOT of awards for being the best healthy food in SF. I guess for healthy food it is pretty good stuff!
P. S. They also sell Mission Mini cupcakes. Red Velvet, Cinnamon Horchata, Banana Maple to name a few.

Today I just couldn’t decide on what to eat for lunch. I ended up here at Asqew Grill. When I walked in there were only a few folks ahead of me.
A quick glance at their menu board and my eyes quickly locked in on their Texas BBQ Chicken Skewer, served with one side or salad option. I went with the Coconut Cilantro Jasmine Rice for the side.
I placed the order and roughly ten minutes later my to-​go was ready.
The chicken was tender, nicely charred and had good flavors along with the sweet delicious corn and red onions. The BBQ sauce was tangy, started off sweet then a surprise heat kicked it — perfect!
The jasmine rice was a nice compliment to this dish.
Dine-​in or take-​out, they offered barbecued ribs, burgers and more.
Good service plus one star.
Monday blues goodbye…