Rendezvous Tapas Lounge

I came here on Cinco de Mayo to celebrate my best friend’s birthday, and we thought that because they were having an event that there would be more people hanging out (even though other Unilocal reviews said it would be empty). NOPE. My party was the only party there, and while the cocktails and tapas were great, it was just plain creepy being in such a large space by ourselves. We left after about an hour to find some place with more people.
That said, the service was great. We were offered deals on bottle service and specials, but I’m pretty sure we were offered these deals only because they didn’t want us to cancel our reservation. Also, their phone is disconnected, I recommend emailing them.
I think this place would be great for a private event. I’m definitely going to keep it in mind for that reason, and that reason alone. It’s a great space in a bad location. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a party of at least 50 people.

it’s pretty much how everyone else said: this place was EMPTY!
When we got there for our 6:30 reservation, we couldn’t even tell if it was open. Upon entering, it looked like an empty bar/​club with one big dining room table for all of us. it felt maybe special, but more so odd. at least there was a group of us. i can see this place being VERY awkward for a date, or anyone who didn’t check Unilocal first… haha.
3 stars because
–the food was all really GOOD. Favorites were the wild MUSHROOM RISOTTO, north beach pizza (potato/​pesto etc), NY Strip steak, truffle fries, lamb sliders… yuM.
–the service was great too (as it should be, we were the only party!) but the waiter wasn’t dressed formally or anything.
–Happy hour till 8pm, $ 5 house wine :)
–complimentary brownie for my friend’s birthday
It was perfect for us but it definitely needs help as far as attracting and keeping customers. I’d go again just for the food though & maybe even for drinks at night (nice cocktail list), but always in a large group. oh yeah, we did family style and it worked out great.

I hosted a birthday dinner at this intimate setting. The manager was able to work out a great deal for the amount of food we had. 5 stars for that!!!
Lamb Sliders were ah-​ma-​zing!
Sweet potato fries were delish
Mushroom risotto was flavor goodness.
We also had salad, crostini, and dessert. 5 stars for full tummies!
Although there werent too many other customers, it was the perfect setting for me. I was able to talk to all my guests, we had a lot of food, and there was a leisurely vibe between eating our dinner and being able to order drinks at the bar. The music was playing in the background, but it wasnt too loud so I didnt have to scream during my conversations.
I would highly recommend hosting dinner parties at Rendezvous. The food is a hidden gem in this neighborhood. They are very accommodating to your needs. Give it a shot!

This place is tragic. As soon as I walked in, I knew it’d be a bad experience. At 7:30pm on a Wednesday night there were 4 people in the restaurant, all employees. The space is huge, cold and empty. My hubs and I couldn’t figure it out:
–Is it a bar?
–Is it a lounge?
–Is it a restaurant?
–Is it a warehouse?
This place has no ambiance. The big and cold. It’s a lil shabby. There are no paintings on the wall. There is one lone plant in the corner. It’s so sad.
As for the food, you could get better hummus at Safeway and the truffles fries tasted weird. There were only 3 redeeming qualities: the lamb sliders were delicious, the server/​bartender was very nice and her drinks were good.
I feel bad for the server/​bartender, I’m not sure how she makes a living. There was only one other party the entire time we were there and they left after 1 drink. No customers, no tips. We also saw lots of people, stop, look inside and walk right back out. NO AMBIANCE, whatsoever.
This place is a Debbie Downer.

Newish place (opened in the Summer) with scarved Top Chef contestant Mattin Noblia, formerly of Iluna Basque, as Exec Chef.
We came @ 6:15 on a Wednesday. The bar area was empty and two parties were seated. There was some house music on low-​ish volume to further remind us of the nightly transformation.
Definitely set up as a lounge with very few tables other than the booths along the back wall to keep a dance floor area clear. The lights were bright and gave it an empty banquet hall feel.
We were disappointed the octopus carpaccio mentioned in several reviews wasn’t on the menu and went with a small dinner of truffle fries, cazuela of prawns, and mussels marinière.
The truffle fries were OK. Subtle truffle flavor which we liked. Very light fry; we prefer something a bit crisper.
The cazuela of prawns was poorly done. The prawns were overcooked and rubbery. We did like the lemon caper butter sauce and were dipping bread into that.
Mussels were the best dish. The deep iron serving pot looked nice, but made accessing the broth challenging until we’d cleared through half the pot (
). There was some variability in the size of the mussels so a couple of the smaller ones were slightly overcooked, but nothing like the prawns.
Fries: 3 star
Prawns: 2 star (bonus point for the sauce)
Mussels: 4 stars

What a weird weird place.
Completely empty on a Friday night.
Weird tombstone decorations, more appropriate for a kindergarten classroom than a restaurant — and a balloon drop — a sad 50-​balloon one. WEIRD — TWILIGHT ZONE-​ISH.
And the food. The food reminded me of what one would cook for a dinner party as they are transitioning from dorm life to adulthood. There was no cohesion, a lot of superficial sweet and saltiness — was not restaurant quality.
Truly, as my friend described it, the place has no soul.
The only redeeming quality was our sweet, young, chipper, eager waiter. I’d like to find him a new job before this place closes.

This is a newer restaurant a block from house of prime rib, the bar area is huge, serves almost all the drinks you can think of…
We had tapas, fried calamari was pretty good… and quite a few more…
The place is very intimate for a party of 6…
We were here last night for a fundraiser for the Starr King School and it was awesome…
Customer service was superb but it did get a little chaotic with all the cameramen and recordings going on…

Don’t ever come here for a dance party… unless you want to go to a high school dance with bright lights. Horrible, worst waste of $ 20 cover EVER!

In one line — this place suck isn’t as good as it looks.
Had to wait a long while just to get our food serve and when the food finally came out it was cold and i think food prices on menu is overpriced for what they serving.
But There is this Bottle Runner Girl Name Lillian. She provided the best service constantly checking up on us and putting a smile on faces after a bad dinner service.

Dropped in here on a Saturday evening after walking by and seeing their sign for Tapas Happy Hour from 5 – 8. We were here from about 5 to 6:15 and had the place to ourselves. While this can be fun, it really is a shame for others who just don’t know about this place yet!
The prices were quite reasonable for happy hour for sure! We had a couple drinks each and small plates and left satisfied only spending about $ 30 each. The octopus carpaccio was really nice! We also tried the cazuela of prawns which was buttery, juicy and delicious. The capers were a fun touch. The pear and brie triangles were good, I almost felt they were a little desserty. The chicken meatball skewers were awesome! I would have all four dishes again, but need to also get back here asap to try their other dishes. Even the bread was great!
They had music on in the background, maybe like a Moby Pandora station type mix which was great because it was nice mood music that wasn’t overpowering the ability to converse. Well done Rendezvous!

I had the impression that this place was a club, so I was slightly thrown off by the people inside asking if we were registered to vote in their county (nope).
I can’t comment on the price because we got in for free. ;) This was the continuation of my friend’s going-​away-​gathering.
It’s rather small in there, and I’ve never seen any Asians in one place aside from, perhaps, my high school and my internship. Whoa there! :O I would not have felt out of place sporting my ever-​so-​awesome fake fob accent (an innate talent, if you will).
I cannot comment on the food because we ate before we got here. It was hard to hold conversations with people since it was pretty loud. The dance floor was pretty small, and no one really started dancing until our group went out there, so hooray for starting things up! It was fun. :] It was devoid of the creepers that tend to frequent clubs and other such locations, so that was also a definite plus, although I had little to worry about since my friend is awesome and rather talented at keeping creepers at bay.
The DJ’s choice in randomly cutting out bits and pieces of the song was kinda iffy, but he definitely gets an E for effort though; it was obviously something he really enjoys doing, so it’s cool.
Finding parking in SF really sucks though. Just a thought.

Most of the food just didn’t stand out in any way, and they seem understaffed so everything moves slowly. Our server was excellent whenever he was around. which wasn’t very often. Plus when it’s totally empty and quiet on a Friday night, it kind of drains you of the little energy you previously had to go out and have fun.
PROS:
— MUST-​HAVES: Wild Mushroom Risotto
— Service was great — when it existed (i.e. it was s-​l-​o-​w!). Our server was incredibly nice, even when I wasn’t too happy with one of the dishes (the lamb sliders). The only really quick part of the service was how fast the food came out — I guess that’s an important part of the meal =).
CONS:
— DO NOT GET: Lamb Sliders, Strawberry Clafoutis
— Like I mentioned above, service was slow. I think they are understaffed. I came in for my reservation (albeit late, though I did call ahead to tell them and they were fine with it). The server said he just needed to set up our table and I had to wait at least 10 minutes. He was very MIA throughout the meal and just seemed to take forever with everything — getting water, bringing the water, bringing our bill, picking up our credit cards.
— I think they are pretty new — it is a really spacious restaurant but it was totally quiet and empty, which just makes it feel really dead. It’s nice in that we could get away with pushing off our reservation at the last minute. But the place just doesn’t have much of a vibe.
THE FOOD:
* Stuffed piquillos (goat cheese, golden raisins, apple cider vinegar, arugula salad) $ 7 — The raisins compliment the cheese well. But the cheese was very liquid and kind of bland for goat cheese. It was seasoned with fennel (we think). The
* Sweet Potato Fries (house aioli) $ 6 — Really nice! Good crisp. The aoili went great. This dish disappeared fast.
* Pear and Brie Triangles (phyllo dough, raspberry wine sauce, walnuts) $ 7 — The brie was incredibly strong. We all usually like brie. but it was too strong! We don’t hate «stinky» cheeses by any means (I love blue cheese for the record), but this was strong in an odd way.
* Lamb Sliders (shallot jam, aioli, piment d’espelette) $ 7 — We sent this back — twice. The bread was dry & stale and covered in oil, the meat was tiny overcooked slabs, and it had zero flavor. At least it was comp’ed from our bill.
* Wild Mushroom Risotto (green peas, truffle oil, parmesan cheese) $ 17 — Wonderful! Most popular dish of the night. Could’ve used more peas, but I love the subtlety of the mushroom flavor, which can always easily be overdone.
* Orange Blossom Beignets (orange blossom water, sugar coated, crème anglaise) $ 7 — The best of the desserts, purely because of the crème anglaise. OMG the crème anglaise. so creamy and sweet and wonderful. The beignets alone wouldn’t have been much to brag about (could’ve been more moist, couldn’t taste the orange blossom), but the crème anglaise fixed everything.
* Flourless Chocolate Tarte (grand marnier, raspberry sauce) $ 7 — Not bad (as flourless chocolate cake is always good in my book), but the texture was off — it was dense but a little dry and crumbled kind of funny.
* Strawberry Clafoutis (mango coulis sauce) $ 7 — Pretty bad. The bread was overly moist and dense, which I usually like, but here it just made it a wet block of bread with old strawberries on top. Not worth it.

This review* is for the restaurant (not bar/​nightlife)
*This may not be the fairest review as I didn’t actually stay to have dinner
Stopped in at 7pm on a weekday, while a little early, EMPTY does not begin to cover it. There was literally a couple in the whole place and that was it. Something says «run!» when I see a place with no people at 7pm.
Additionally, upon closer inspection of the menu, it seemed ridiculously limited in options and the options there did not look crazy, amazing.
*UPDATE*
The current menu (not bar menu) has 14 items listed on it, half of which I wouldn’t consider large enough for even a typical tapas plate (I’m sorry but sweet potato fries are a side item, not what I would consider a tapas).
Plain and simple, if I wanted to go somewhere for dinner, especially to impress someone, I wouldn’t go here. My friend and I instead went to Zarzuela which had a much larger range of items and wayyyyy better atmosphere.

I’ll update once I get a more thorough experience of Rendezvous. Admittedly, I came because my boyfriend wanted to drop by and say hello, but I did get to get a small taste of what to expect next time I come.
Tried the Orange Gin Blossom. Very refreshing and delicious! Reminds me of the Korean citron tea, but cold. It’s not sweet, but has a very delicious light orangey slightly bitter taste to it that is very familiar.
Admittedly, not a fan of their beignets. Then again, in general I don’t like this type of dessert so it’s almost expected that I won’t like this either.
I had just eaten dinner prior to coming here, so I didn’t get to try anything else, but the sweet potato fries and the lamb burger seemed really popular the night I went, and they seriously look really good.
During their normal «lounge» time that night I went, I guess I’m not old enough to appreciate the music. I certainly wasn’t expecting top 40 (not that I’m a top 40 person anyways), but I was kind of confused at the music choice. But the –1 star isn’t for that.
Definitely will come back. I am a fan so far, but I can’t bring myself to give the last star until I come with more people to really assess things.

THIS REVIEW IS ABOUT ROGER!!! AND HE doesnt even deserve one star! My disgust for the manager of this place, can be compared to my digust for mc’donalds chicken nuggets. The manager ROGER is very unprofessional and prejudice!!! (an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.
any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.
unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group.) He displayed ALL these characteristics!!!
1. We were supposed to be doing an event, in which we showed up for sound check and he NASTILY told us there would be NO SOUDCHECK with and attitude and WAS NON EMPATHETIC.
2. We were supposed to be accomodated the day of the event initially at 6pm-​645pm. When our DJ showed up (an african american) he said that they had NO mics; that their mic was at another event and would not be returned until the start of the event; which was 7pm. He also approached our DJ and said DONT PLAY ANY OF THAT GANGSTA MUSIC OR RAP only top 40’s. This was totally out of line to assume bc he was a AFRICAN AMERICAN DJ that was what he represented; THIS WAS A CHARITY EVENT AT AN SUPPOSEDLY UPSCALE LOUNGE SO WHY WOULD WE PLAY GANGSTA RAP???
3. The DJ had his own mic; he lent it to us to use. During soundcheck, maybe only 5 minutes into, ROGER asked us to turn the music low, in which we did to television volume. Then he sent someone else to ask us and we then turned to a whisper almost so that the artist who was doing soundcheck sounded mono tone.
4. Out of NOWHERE, ROGER walks past the artist and the DJ and disconnects all AUDIO during the soundcheck and stayed behind the curtain. The DJ thought maybe something was wrong with the equiptment. So I went behind the curtain where ROGER was to ask if he knew what happened with the sound. HE then RESPONDED NASTILY that the artist needed to go on at his scheduled time as he stood with the unplugged cord in his hand.
This was it!!! We had it with ROGER and decided to not do the event. Roger has a very ill approach towards us to begin with. We are ALL AFRICAN AMERICANS. Im not sure if he’s prejudice towards our AGE RACE OR MUSIC because he appeared to disrespect all 3.
He treated NONE OF US as adults! He tried to sabbatoge our performance, because when HIS SOUND CHECK GUY SHOWED UP JUSTIN kindly went to the back and grabbed the mic that was supposedly at another event according to ROGER! That event did NOT EXIST! the mic was there the entire time! This had blown us away and left a very BAD TASTE in our mouths.
ALSO WHEN I WENT TO RETRIEVE A NAPKIN FROM THE HOSTESS THE CHEF WAS IN THE KITCHEN SMOKING A BLUNT AND THE ENTIRE AREA REEKED WITH WEED!!! How do I know it was the chef? He was in clear open area!!! Even one of the servers commented that he could smell it as I approached the kitchen area. So much for a classy establishment ???
ALL AND ALL THIS MAN ROGER IS A JOKE. HE RENTS OUT HIS VENUE TO PEOPLE BUT HE WANTS TO MICRO MANAGE. HE HAS NO COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND POOR MANAGEMENT. DONT EVER DO BUSINESS HERE! I WILL NEVER RETURN AND PLAN TO TAKE MY COMPLAINTS HIGHER THAN Unilocal! BTW ROGER WE HAD OVER 20 PEOPLE COMING TO PATRIOT YOUR VENUE AND WE CALLED EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM AND TOLD THEM NOT TO COME!!! WE ARE FRIENDS WITH PERSONS FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE AND YOU LOST A GOOD GROUP OF POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
I REFUSE TO DEAL WITH SUCH POOR MANAGEMENT AND DISRESPECT EVER IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY!!! MAYBE THATS WHY YOURE PLACE IS EMPTY!

Ok, I am confused as to why there are all these 4 – 5 star ratings. The service is 5 stars but the food and lounge/​club environment… not so happening. I came here on a Saturday night with 5 girls for GNO. I was sadly dissapointed. We tried 90% of the menu and the one item that impressed me was the octopus carpaccio. I was reluctant to try this because I don’t like the chewiness of octopus. Surprisingly, the octopus was sliced super thin and there was no chewiness whatsoever. The rest of the food was just ok but nothing else really stood out. We even had to send back the sweet potato fries and the pear in phyllo because they were burnt (see photos).
As for the lounge, we stayed until 11 to give the place a chance but the place was so dead. I really wanted to like this place too!
So 5 stars for attentive waiters, minus 2 stars for the bartender who took forever to make our drinks and the not so memorable meal.

I would give this place 3.5 stars. Came here for my friend’s birthday. They were pretty accommodating of the large group, we could do what we wanted to do pretty freely and all the waiters were very nice even though we took a long time to organize and get everyone settled down. The service deserved 4 stars the only reason why they lost a star is because one of the waiters spilled champagne all over a couple of the girls. Of course to compensate, their dinners were on the house.
I would give the food 2 – 3 stars. The pre-​fixed menu came with really small proportions. There weren’t really enough appetizers (served tapas styled) to share between everyone; meaning, there wasn’t enough food for everyone to try even a small bite of everything. We had two entrée choices: the cod or the chicken. The chicken looked like a small microwavable meal. Definitely not impressed. The cod was slightly better, but still not as appetizing as I had hoped for the price we were going to pay. The food had an interesting taste to it, definitely some type of asian fusion but I’m not sure if I was a fan of such taste.
All in all, for the birthday party we were pretty satisfied since the restaurant turned into a lounge afterwards. As for the food, I probably wouldn’t come back here again just for that.

Review for restaurant/​bar only not nightclub:
We live nearby and were looking to have a quick drink before
meeting up with friends for a birthday dinner.
Wanting to try something new, Mr. V suggested we stop by.
We sat at the bar, and had wonderful service and chit-​chat
from the cute bartender Quinn. As we were handed our menus I
was excited to see former Top Chef contestant and local celebrity
Mattin Noblia noted as Rendezvous’ acting executive chef.
The menu boasts some tasty sounding ‘Mediterranean style’ tapas.
We were drawn to the short list of Social Hour offerings,
and decided to order the stuffed piquillo peppers, marinated
olives and cocktails. The olives ($ 3)were served warm and
marinated with cumin, garlic, and thinly sliced preserved oranges.
The piquillo peppers ($ 5) were tender, stuffed with a hearty amount
of creamy goat cheese and served with apple cider marinated
raisins. This dish went well with the tasty olive bread that was served.
Rendezvous has a nice list of signature cocktails. I went with the
Sweet Berry Fizzle, a light concoction of raw sugar/​rhubarb bitters/​
sparkling wine and berries. Although I did enjoy the cocktail I would
have preferred the berries to be muddled a bit. For presentation
there was a raspberry floating in the flute. Mr. V had a nicely made
dirty martini. Both were $ 2 off during social hour. I believe there
is special pricing on certain beers and wine as well.
We left impressed with the food and service. I hope Rendezvous
does well, and I am looking forward to returning with friends.. .
List of signature cocktails and Social Hour bites:

A few of my friend decided to dine at Rendezvous just for some drinks and small bites since some of us already ate, but the food was so good that they even ordered.
FOOD:
Hummus — I don’t usually like hummus since it has an over powering nutty flavor, but they hummus tasted so fresh with a touch of garlic.
Chicken Skewers — The meat skewers was good. Had some spices mixed into the meat. Was good even with out the yogurt sauce.
Sweet Potato Fries — Made me wonder how something so simple can be so good. The secret… Rendezvous’s house aioli sauce which had a slight hint of what tasted like curry.
Steamed Mussels — The mussels were the best. They came out in a heaping metal bowl. They were hot and not over cooked. The broth was creamy but not super thick. The mussels came with some toasted bread which was so good with the broth that I even drank some of the broth like it was soup.
Dessert Trio — I wish more places would do a dessert sampler. Make it easier it decide on what to get. The dessert trio consists of beignets, chocolate torte and strawberry clafoutis. All three were very good but my favorites was the beignets. They were so light and fluffy compared to Brenda’s French Soul. My other friend loved the strawberry clafoutis and I quote, «so good I can cry!»
DRINKS:
Berry Frais — I’m not big on drinking while eating but it was super yummy
Gin Blossom — very freshing because of the orange flavor
This place a great place to catch up with friends or for a light meal before a movie. I can’t wait to go back for some sweet potato fries!

I just couldn’t believe that a place this new was getting such consistently perfect reviews. Surely there must be some opening kinks right? I walked into Rendezvous fully expecting some minor missteps here and there but left feeling surprisingly satisfied with cravings for more beignets.
While they have been open for a month, this week marks their «official» opening and to celebrate, they were giving a free glass of sangria or sparkling wine plus little nibbles. There was plenty of seating when we got here around 7p.m. and were ordering our food in no time.
Chef Mattin Noblia of Top Chef fame and Illuna Basque heads the kitchen here and while I was disappointed the blood sausages from Illuna didn’t make it over, the menu is still pretty good. It’s simple and straightforward so no paradox of choice here.
If you could judge a place by the bread, then Rendevouz got off to a great start! It’s righteous crusty bread paired with some appetite-​inducing tapenade. It got us excited for our first dish which was the seared tuna. (
) The tuna was perfectly seared but the star was the sauce. It’s a blue cheese sauce that is a nice play on remoulade but said velvety sauce just coated the fish in some savory goodness.
The lamb sliders and sweet potato fries came after. (
) There was some good flavor combinations going on in the slider with the meaty lamb counterpointed by the creamy aioli and tart shallot jam. All this sandwiched between a little yummy brioche bun. Now I’m not the biggest fan of sweet potato fries but these might just be the best I’ve had. Wonderfully crisp on the outside but nice and soft on the inside. Perfect little snacks.
We had the chicken skewers (
) as well and they were really tasty. Well-​seasoned on their own, the mint yoghurt just kicks it up a notch though. A perfect classic combination. I had a sparkling mojito around this point and they just mirrored each other well. It’s a subtle and refreshing libation but the taste will remain pleasantly in your mouth for a while.
I’m not typically a dessert guy but our flawless server, Salvador, sold us in on the trio sampler (
) with some real good theatre of the mind and I am SO glad he did. On their own, the flourless chocolate torte and strawberry clafoutis would probably stand out but I was truly blown away by the orange blossom beignets. Incredibly light and fluffy, they were the perfect receptacle for the sinful crème anglaise. Perfect little dessert treat that wasn’t too sweet, but incredibly gratifying.
Time will tell if Rendezvous thrives. Foot traffic is lower here but the food is pretty good to make it a destination if you’re in the area. It does seem to lean towards more of a late-​night club that happens to serve food, but I think I’m going to stick with the earlier crowd for some good grub, libations, and excellent service.