Avis ABSINTHE San Francisco

Deserts are perfect, we tried Chocolate pot and citrus caramel. Also truffle burger was good.

I visited Absinthe for a family celebration. I have celiac disease and came prepared with a celiac safe meal in my bag. Family and I both tried calling ahead of the event and were not able to reach the restaurant to confirm if Absinthe has the ability to make a Gluten Free meal that is celiac safe.

The short version of this review is that they can’t, or didn’t, accommodate a celiac safe gluten free meal. At least for me, after sharing they could.

When I arrived, I stepped aside to the hostess stand to ask to speak with a manager about my dietary needs. She happily confirmed for me what I could eat from the menu. I was told that the sole was an entirely gluten free meal option. I confirmed “yes but can it be made separately of other gluten containing meals, no shared pans, fryers, grills etc with cross contamination, and can the chef also prepare my meal separately?” All yes.

As the server took my order, I noticed he didn’t write “gluten free” on his order pad and asked him to please note it. He did not but instead said he had already put it in the computer. I accepted this.

When my meal came out, there were 2 other sole plates in hand. I asked the person serving my meal to me if they were sure this one was made specifically gluten free and celiac safe. The server said “let me double check.” Came back, seemed hesitant, and said yes it is. The main server then came over and started speaking loudly and dismissively as if he was annoyed I was asking his colleague this question. “This is gluten free. Enjoy.”

When I questioned how they know, without marking my plate that this is gluten free, yet it was served at the same time as 2 other identical plates, likely all cooked together and placed under the warmer together, he simply repeated himself, again raising his voice at the table.

I do not like for my dietary disability to draw attention to me, and I did not want it to take away from my family celebration. I noticed this was beginning to cause a scene. So I got up and said “let’s talk over here, please.” And then asked for a manager once we got away from the table. The manager assured me that ALL of the sole is gluten free and could not possibly have cross contact as it is individually pan fried with rice flour (noteworthy that the server told me it was almond flour.)

There was butter on my plate, and fried potatoes and in hindsight, I simply should not have trusted this place to safely feed me. I suspect either of these two things could have been cross contaminated, especially if the fried potato topping is cooked in a shared fryer.

My body’s reaction tells me that there WAS cross contamination. Perhaps not blatantly serving me gluten, but also not the celiac safe meal they assured me I was receiving. It has now been 4 days and I am still experiencing the adverse effects of being glutened. Again, I had a celiac safe meal with me in my bag. If they were honest with me, or fully knowledgable that they could not accommodate, I would have 100% have happily eaten that.

If you have any dietary needs, don’t trust Absinthe. I am giving them 2 stars because my family enjoyed the restaurant and everyone else was happy.

I did try to call them to let them know for the safety of others that their gluten free is NOT celiac safe, but again could not reach them via phone.

Service was terrible. The waiter ignored us for the longest time, forgot a side we order, didn't check if the food was good, we had to ask three different people before being able to order dessert.

Perfect place to go before a ballet. The food and drinks were delicious.

Beautiful romantic eatery for a date night or business meeting. Unique flavors and eats.

A great place for a cocktail, a glass of wine and a fantastic meal. The menu is amazing. The food is delicious. Even the simplest dishes are executed to perfection tion with a special twist. Love this place

This would be a great date night, but came for work. It's a bit pricey but definitely delicious.

My husband and I are visiting from Upstate NY and this restaurant was recommended by my cousin who lives here. The ambiance was chic and romantic, the food was delicious, and the service was great! Our waiter was helpful and answered any questions we had. It was my first time having French food and escargot, I enjoyed it very much! We had a lovely evening.

A little piece of Paris in our own city. Food and service and atmosphere were absolutely excellent. The cocktails were delicious too. This will be one of our regular spots now. Also, whoever came up with this peach dessert is a genius!

Absinthe has always been an excellent restaurant - every time I go I have a lovely meal and friendly service. However, I knocked one star off for this review (will update after I go again) because I think the quality of service has slipped. We recently went there for my birthday with a couple friends and we ordered a bottle of champagne. The server brought the bottle, had us look at it, then opened it and poured everyone a small glass, but the champagne wasn't cold. It put me in the awkward position of letting them know it wasn't cold and asking for an ice bucket with a lot of ice so we could chill it. I'm not a fancy snob, but at a nicer restaurant like Absinthe I feel like if you order a $100 bottle of champagne it should at least be served cold; the server should have realized when they touched it that it wasn't cold. It was a bummer because we had to wait a long time for the bottle to get cold enough to drink, so all four of us sat there during apps without drinks which is no fun. A few of us ordered cocktails. Eventually we got impatient so we ended up drinking it while it was still kind of warm. This felt to me like a sign that they don't care as much about the customer experience as they used to. I'll go back of course, but I'm going to wait a while as this left a bad taste in my mouth (literally, warm champagne is not good).

It is nice to still have a classic French restaurant where you can get all the expected luxuries like escargot, caviar, and Beef Bourgogne. Nice non-alcoholic cocktails. Professional service. $105 per person including appetizer, main course dessert, tip, 6% mandate but no alcohol.

The food was good but the service was below average. Wouldn’t recommend for special occasions but good for casual dinners. Given the price didn’t seem like a good deal.

After a concert at Herbst we stopped by the bar at Absinthe and so happy we did ! Quiche Lorraine for me and Steak Frites for my wife with a Manhattan and Espresso Martini to accompany. There service, food and drinks, excellent, all !

I've been to Absinthe a dozen times over the years, and it is one of the best restaurants in Hayes Valley. The staff are incredibly courteous and the food is to die for. I could not recommend the French Onion soup enough.

Everything is good here. Authentic food and attentive staff.

Lovely French restaurant in the heart of Hayes Valley.

Ambiance is very chic and lively.

Service is attentive and watchful. Our waiter was observant of when to "interrupt" conversation to get our orders and when we needed another cocktail or when it was time for dessert. In the beginning he kindly served us drinks while waiting for our friends to park.

Food was beautiful and delicious. The french onion soup was outstanding. One of the best I've had. The cauliflower soup was also a stand out.

For the main we enjoyed the Sole Meunier and Beef Bourguignon.

The dessert was pretty. But just ok IMHO. Maybe it was thr chestnut I wasn't fond of...

Overall we had a magnificent Christmas celebration dinner with our friends.

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I had the autumn Manhatten it was incredibly refreshing and smooth and reminded me of how subtle and special a perfect cocktail can be . It was very relaxing to experience the whole aesthetic hey have curated here. Come here and remember ....

Had a delicious meal and wonderful experience here last night. The Petrale Sole was incredible as was the fresh green salad. Incredibly fresh. Service was excellent and the atmosphere is really nice and not too loud. Perfect to catch up with a friend I had not seen in a few years. I will be back soon!

After living in SF for 16 years, this was only my 3rd time at Absinthe. Squash soup was good. Yellow tail carpaccio was very disappointing. It was topped with something fried (breadcrumbs?) and the fish just tasted like fried oil. I clearly chose the wrong dish!

Cozy beautiful seating. The food was expensive yet super delicious. I also love that they had a vegetarian option in each category. I'll highly recommend the squash soup and the sweet potato agnolotti. Taking down 1 star because my husband didn't enjoy his burger as much.

The food and service was amazing. The waiters were super nice. So sad I wasnt able to try the other menu's but im definitely coming back.

Went for a late bite after the jazz concert nearby. We didn't have a reservation, but we're seated promptly. The food, the service, the atmosphere were all superb! One thing that is totally inappropriate is the added SF mandated extra charge to our bill. A complete turn off.

We had a wonderful dinner with fantastic waiters!

It was a great after party for those attending the Conversation with Dr. Sheryl Davis (HRC) and Nicole Hannah Jones (author of 1619 Project).

Je me suis régalé de la mise en bouche au dessert. Tout était un délice.
Perso, meilleur endroit à San Francisco pour se restaurer.