La Terrasse

My friends & I came for Sunday brunch to celebrate a friends birthday a few weeks back. It was a clear perfect day to sit out on the terrace and enjoy mimosas and watch the bay. I hadn’t looked up the reviews till now and was bit surprised of the low ratings and negative press. At least we were able to try the restaurant at least once before they closed their doors.
–Wood Oven Pizzas (Margarita, Proscuitto & Argula, Mushroom, Roquefort And Walnut)
–Mussels
–Brie Omelette
–Croque-​madame Eggs Benedict

BRUNCH REVIEW —
We went here the afternoon of New Year’s Day and this place was PACKED. It was almost as if they didn’t anticipate the whole SF would want to go out and enjoy the beautiful SF day and told all their staff to have the day off! We called at noon anticipating long lines and the man who picked up was very turt with us and just said that they are open and would be able to accommodate us and immediately hung up on us. Well, a very happy new year to you too!
When we arrived, apparently there are 2 entrances to the restaurant but they failed to notice that. We waited for almost 15 minutes and NOBODY came to the front desk to see how many people they needed to seat. Finally, i looked outside and saw another separate line from the outdoor entrance and walked over. I was standing behind a man who had already finished eating and was waiting in the to be seated line to let the staff know that he needed his bill to pay and leave. OUCH.
Again, it was almost as if they told all their staff that they had the day off and the owner was running around with his head chopped off trying to take orders, seat, serve food and deliver check. Poor guy.
The reason for the A-​OK review is that despite the shotty service, the food was very delicious! we ordered the Californian benedict and the turkey bacon avocado sandwich. the breads are very delicious, the ingredients are fresh and tasty, the plate presentation, beautiful! the cooking staff seems very knowledgeable and knows how to delivery quality food despite the busy day. I was full, but I wanted to keep on eating!
Let’s overhaul that service and I think we could have a 4-​star restaurant here on Unilocal

With the new cooking team in place, this restaurant is worth giving a try.
I found prices to be reasonable, the staff professional, and location unique.
Try the Tartare Ahi Tuna, 62° Egg, Mussels, Duck Leg Confit, & Crème Brûlée.

I don’t know why this place get so many low ratings. Although I usually come for lunch on a sunny day. The service crew has changed but they’re good enough for the level of the restaurant. They offer the specials and take care of the customer. Good enough. The food is usually pretty good and the views are great! I usually get the fish or steak and it’s always cooked perfect. The desserts are delicious too!
I wouldn’t say this a 5-​star place but definitely a strong 4 with delicious French food. This is a good place for weekday lunch when you have some time to enjoy the place.
Parking is in a lot but you have to pay at the meter, $ 1 an hour.

So there we were, my fiancé and I, driving through the Presidio. It was our first time back in San Francisco in over two years, where we had previously lived for over a decade.
While driving, we were scouring for somewhere that I could grab some water. I had a pretty awful lung infection and desperately needed some H2O. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw what looked like a small café, so we pulled in.
As we approached, I realized that it was a restaurant, but decided it was worth asking about anyway.
The waiter saw us approaching, but turned and walked away as opposed to greeting us. I approached him anyway, and asked very politely if they by any chance sold water.
The waiter looked me up and down and answered, «We do…»
I said, «Great! Can we buy a couple of bottles?»
He says, «Sure. But they’re VERY expensive.» I said fine, no problem.
As he starts punching in some buttons on his computer, he says, «Well like I said, they’ll be VERY expensive… We’re a restaurant, NOT a convenience store.»
I was stunned and appalled by the way I was spoken to and treated. If it was a problem to sell me water, don’t answer from the get go that you have it for sale. Or why not say, there is a water fountain by the bathrooms. I couldn’t help but think that the way I was being treated was based on how I looked and was dressed, which wasn’t even that bad. Jeans, sneakers, but a decent jacket and really nice (and expensive) scarf.
Was he trying to scare us away by saying the water would be expensive? Thanks for assuming we had no money because why — I had converse on?
So I simply said, «You know what, we’re good. That’s just a little too much attitude for me.» and we walked out.
Hey waiter, fix your attitude. I’m sure you have experienced someone judging you based on nothing. And I’m sure you know it feels like crap. Shame on you.

Tucked away in the Presidio, this small building fits the military fort feel. A rectangular one story building, the doors open to a hallway from both sides of the building, and to one of the sides is the bustling La Terrrasse.
The cuisine here is no longer French. The new chef and sous chef have done up the menu as New American and change it every month, according to the season. Fresh local food is starred and used, and the new concept of New American fit the table.
The new Executive Chef, Mike Fredsall, reigns with 11 years of experience with 3 Michelin Stars restaurants under his belt, Madera, Aqua, and Campton Place when he was presently there. Along him comes, Monica Lopez, the Sous Chef with 2 Michelin Stars from 2 years at Madera and 5 years of experience.
The white corn soup garnished with roasted corn, fried corn silk, cojita cheese, and tarrgaon oil is poured at your table after the chef or waiter explains. The fried corn silk set atop the corn and cojita cheese melts finely like threads of gold inside the New American dish.
The seared scallops on lime avocado mousse, sits on top of hash browns and garnished with mango salsa and an orange sauce.
The tartare of ahi tuna is one of my personal favorites. It’s garnished with Yuzu sesame vinaigrette, black tobiko, and piment d’esplette aioli. A side of fried wonton chips are provided. Ask for more and topple with the fresh seafood.
The slow cooked Wild King Salmon is cooked for 15 minutes. The pink becomes so soft, the seafood melts in your mouth. Adorned with butternut squash, melted leeks, and duck fat roasted potatoes, the ornaments sweetly compliement the salmon.
What I deeply suggest getting is the Kobe Iron Flat Steak with your meal. Listen to the waiter and get it medium to medium rare. This must have been the best steak I have ever had in my life. The meat is succulent, as Kobe should be, but this tears apart and onto your tongue then disappears. Matchemade with fennle purée, fennel confit, wild mushrooms, arugula salad and bordelaise sauce, this dish needs no other adding of seasoning, extra sauce, and additional senses. It doesn’t go out of season. It’s a perfect dish all year round.

I’ve been to this place several times and while it’s never been spectacular, it’s never been this bad. The location is nice, great views and patio outside, full bar also available. My husband and I took his parents here for lunch on Friday. The place was virtually empty since it was an off time, we ordered soups and sandwiches.
All of a sudden I see the sandwiches come up, no soups, and we all know the soups are pre-​made so the waiter apologizes and they scramble to get the soups. The butternut squash soup was pretty good, but the onion soup was nothing but bread and cheese.
Then the sandwiches arrive, while we ordered salads on the side, one arrives with fries. The sandwiches themselves were horrible, the bun was huge while the piece of salmon inside was thin and dry, there was hardly any aioli and then it was accompanied by lettuce and tomato. Absolutely does not fit.
We couldn’t get out fast enough. An at the end our waiter tried to apologize to us but he mumbled his apology as he was walking away.
I’m not sure what’s going on here but it shouldn’t be that hard to get soups and sandwiches for 4 people when the place is empty. I shudder to think what would happen when it was packed.

I just had the first half of a dinner here!
I have been to la Terasse several times and had a great experience the food and the atmosphere were just wonderful. Tonight’s experience was very different.
The waiter was very friendly but I could hardly understand him when he gave me the specials… way soft spoken and thick accent. He then offered water and asked me if I would like still or sparkling I said sparkling and then proceeded to bring me a bottle of sparkling he told me at no charge when I asked, I told him I was just fine with tap water,. This was no real problem but I was thrown off.
For my first course I ordered an heirloom tomato salad and nice soft cheese and balsamic dressing which was delicious.
My difficulties came with my second course which was the trout done with berre blanc and almond. The dish came with a very thick white sauce on it and I asked if it had cream in it which causes me an allergic reaction. Certainly not what I would call a traditional berre blanc sauce or what I had been served here on my previous visits.
The waiter was very kind and the service good, had the kitchen make a second plate with no cream. I must also say that the vegetables that were served with the trout looked delicious but because of the other problems I never got to try them. The second trout dish arrived dry, with a butter sauce on the side. The inside of the trout was stuffed with a kale and what appeared to be an almond sauce. So far this is not looking anything like the previous almond trout dishes that had there and enjoyed in the past. I took my first bite of the fish and was assaulted by the overwhelming taste of salt in the almond paste, I got no further just awful. The menu description of the dish is «Pan Seared Trout with Berre Blanc Sauce and Almond Butter»
The waiter offered to have me order something else but I was pretty fed up by then. Still hungry and very disappointed, I asked for my check. Now at home and a I just had a great tasting bowl of granola.
This is the first time I have ever left a restaurant without eating a meal. I am to understand that the chef and owner are on a vacation, they should have closed the place down instead of leaving it in poor hands.
I might try another meal again, but it will be quite a while. To bad since I live near by and love the atmosphere and quiet which is hard to find in quality dinning these days.

My wife and I ate here last night. The restaurant has outdoor seating and it was nice to sit under a heat lamp and look out over Doyle drive to the bay and angel island.
For appetizers, I had the butternut squash soup and my wife had the french onion. The squash soup was a little bland, needed a little salt and spice but the french onion was very good.
For my main dish they had a crab salad special which was delicious. A very generous portion of crab, lobster and shrimp with mango, papaya and spinach. My wife had the margarita pizza which was also very good.
The service was great. Very helpful and friendly staff. All in all, a solid 3-​star experience.

Probably one of the worst «restaurant» experiences so far. My friend and I were very hungry and La Terrasse was the only place around. When we walked in, an angry waiter told us «We’re closed». It was maybe 4 pm, and they were closed? Then, I’m assuming, the owner came and told us to have a seat. The angry waiter was even more angry!
All the time we were there, he had this attitude like «I hate you for coming and I’m gonna spit in your food». Whatever… We ate our «Pizza» which was practically bread with fish over it and some sauce on top. The salad was not even cut! He brought us full leaves of lettuce with some vinegar over it! For all that I paid $ 37. Definitely not worth it, won’t recommend it to anyone and definitely won’t come back.
Oh, and not to mention a little mouse that was running around and eating crumbs off the floor…

La Terrasse is what you call a hidden gem, because it is truly just that — hidden. If you know it’s there, you know, and if you don’t, you’re surely missing out.
I had lunch here on a quiet weekday afternoon, and it was the most pleasant dining experience I’ve had in quite some time. Nestled in the middle of the expansive Presidio with nice views of Angel Island from the outdoor patio, it’s a great escape that is known to few.
I ordered the onion soup gratinee from the appetizer section as my main entrée, and it was plenty of food. La Terrasse also offers dutch crunch-​style sliced baguette to start with, so it was a perfect combination for a light lunch.
Prices were a tad higher, but expected from a French restaurant, particularly one in a location such as the Presidio. Service was attentive and friendly. I’ll be back to brunch here with girlfriends!

I am a little baffled by the mixed reviews of this place. I thought it was awesome. We were starving after walking through the Presidio and the Walt Disney Family Museum. This restaurant was the closest place we knew of to grab a bite. Honestly I was wary after looking at the menu… nothing looked appealing and the prices were a little higher than I liked.
The service was great… our water was filled right away, the waiter brought us coffee quickly (and it was GOOD coffee), and we got some bread and butter too. That help as I was starving.
I ordered the cheeseburger, which was great. Maybe it was because I was so hungry, but I thought it was really tasty. It was cooked perfectly, juicy, and it didn’t drip all over the place. The bun was really good — soft and tasted fresh baked. It also came with A LOT of fries so I could share.
My bf got the avocado omelet which he said was just OK. He thought it would have chunks of avocado in it, but it was really something more like guacamole.
I was very impressed that the food came out very quickly. it couldn’t have been more than 5 minutes. The waiter was polite and friendly. We came on a Saturday around 2 pm and it wasn’t busy, but you might have a hard time sitting outside because that’s where everyone was. But the layout of the place is so open that you could be inside, yet it feels like you are outside anyway. Great views!

Our friends live right around the corner from here so we were taken here when spending the night at their place. They really love it — one of them was even there for lunch that day so I was feeling hopeful even though it’s french food and not really my thing. The bartender was very cool — and our waiter/​the manager? was a nice guy as well and the service was fairly decent.
Our friends recommended the burger but I wasn’t up for one and it turns out they were out of hamburger buns anyways. Two of our friends ordered them anyways without buns but after having had a bad hamburger experience a few days prior I wasn’t feeling the love. Nothing else on the menu sounded like anything I’d eat so I went for the goat cheese and mushroom pizza. Meh. It was edible but not great.
The place itself is very cute with great ambiance — I’d say it’s a great spot for drinks perhaps but I wasn’t sold on the food and from the looks of their ratings not too many others are either.

While the price range was a little steep, my main problem with the place is that my «beef bugnion» was really a beef pot pie… the kind with only a fluffy pastry crust on top. It was pretty watery and the beef was some how dry. My glass of wine was also puny. The soup and my dates beef dish were pretty tasty though.
If you want a bite to eat and you are in this area, it’s not bad, it’s just not that great. The service was really slow even at the bar. Good thing breaking news of the Japanese Tsunami was on to keep us occupied… though not really setting the mood to enjoy luxury food.
Overall, I don’t think I’ll make an effort to go back.

SAYING «IT’S THE FRENCH WAY» DOES NOT MAKE IT OK
So the BF and I wanted a quick lunch. We came here because of the easy parking.
We were a little taken aback by the menu prices ($ 14 for a sandwich… really?), so we decided to split a pizza and a salad. I even told the waitress we were sharing.
Well, maybe when you say you want to share, you don’t get any bread & butter? Because we never got any.
The beet & goat cheese salad came… overall it was just OK. Small dollop of goat cheese on a single crostini — hhm, The portion of beets were good, but needed salt.
Then we wait a good 15 minutes, Mind you, only about 4 other tables of customers.
Finally our Prociutto & Argula pizza comes out. What we get is a thin round crust topped with slices of procuitto and a shower of lightly dressed argula. No cheese, no sauce. Sorry, in my book, this is a NOT a pizza. And, while the Procuitto was tasty, the slices were on the thicker side and very dry. It was hard to cut through in one bite.
We mentioned to the waitress our surprise on the lack of cheese on our pizza, to which she replied «it’s the French way.» Well, ma cherie, that may be so, but give us Americans a little warning that it may leave us hungry.

This place needs some serious operations help. How many people do they have on staff at lunchtime? 10? 12? 15? How many patrons? 20? Why does it take sooooooo long to be served? Everyone seemed busy, but the work just wasn’t getting done. My lunch took 45 min to be served, and was cold upon arrival. Too bad, because it would have been yummy warm. I could clearly see the problem: 4 people handled my check, 3 handled my order, 3 handled my tea. These things shouldn’t be passed around so much.
La Terrasse management — let me know if you’d like some operations advice. I think I can help you out!

I had a pretty good meal here:
We started off with a plate of cured meats and liver — the liver was actually the beast item — rich and flavorful. The second appetizer was a trio of pizzas, which were also good — while the toppings could have been a bit more plentiful, it was a tasty way to start the meal. My main entrée was roasted chicken, which was okay… it wasn’t anything particularly special, but it was juicy and cooked well. Dessert consisted of raspberry and strawberry tarts, which were really good — they had the perfect amount of custard and buttery pastry to go with the sweetened fruit.
I’d recommend this spot if you are in the Presidio and want to experience something different and fun. While I didn’t think the food was stellar, it was good and it’s nice to have something like this in an area where there aren’t too many dining options.
I would come back to try it again.

I’m torn between 3 and 4 stars on La Terrasse. Ambiance-​wise, loved the patio and the view… But for a full-​on lunch, it can get pretty pricey, especially if you have drinks, too.
I had the avocado, tomato and jack cheese melt and it was all right. My husband had the smoked salmon pizza which was literally smoked salmon on a very thin, crispy/​cracker like crust— sort of dry. My daughter had the tomato and fontina pizza which was also just all right. Nothing was bad and our service was actually decent so we lucked out there but then again we dined at an off-​time (around 2pm) so it wasn’t busy at all.
Drinks-​wise, I had the «Windy Miller» (absinthe, cointreau, hangar one lime vodka) and I wouldn’t get it again– it tasted too much like I was drinking 409 house cleaner or something (not that I know what that tastes like, but…). I wished I had ordered the mojito, a bloody mary or wine, but the absinthe lured me in.
If going back, I’d probably have a coffee or glass of wine, perhaps something light to eat and just enjoy the view.

2 stars? I mean the service was slow and the food was average but really? They automatically get one full star just for having beautiful outdoor seating, even a glass wall to block the wind but let the sunshine in.
Alright so in order from best dish ordered to worst:
1. Pomme Frites
2. Salmon Pizza
3. Andouille Omelette
The Pomme Frites were pretty delicious fries. Nothing really out of the ordinary, just extremely good ol’ fries.
The Salmon Pizza despite it looking nice and chewy on the outside was truly like eating salmon on a cracker. The caviar on top gave it a nice crunch and the salmon was generous, but this is not my preferred type of pizza.
The Andouille Omelet was a bit disappointing. It was large, and the cheddar wasn’t spread evenly. It came with a salad and some generic potatoes. Not so much a fan.
I would be interested in coming back for dinner.

Went to the bar here this afernoon and although the service was great the drinks were just okay. I had the Kirby Cove which is Gin, Strawberry Purée and Lime … but the aftertaste was not good and I was wishing I had ordered the Bloody Mary instead.
I think next time my boyfriend and I would like to try out the Crème Brulee … future reviews await.

EEEhhh, not all that– I’ve most definitely HAD better Went here during brunch time and had andoulle omelet– not exciting. BF, had the Chimaya Beer, which they served it in less than 8oz glassa, where the bottle its self is a bit less than a 40oz– I thought that was ridiculously overpriced.
Waiter was slow on service (ie. getting some more butter– we had to ask 3 times) but rushed us to take our orders and ended up getting my order wrong. I don’t know how you can mix up andoulle omlet with brie omlet?
Good view– if you sit outside and a touristy place, otherwise DON’T SPEND YOUR $ HERE FOR BRUNCH– you will be disappointed, no matter how hungry you are. Did I mention they put NASTY ASS KRAFT CHEESE slices on top of my omlet– could it look any nastier (if that is a word) Check out my ickky picture (pictures don’t lie). However, this maybe a different story if you go here for dinner…