The food was excellent. The cocktails were perfectly made. The duck was delicious, the onion soup fantastic, the wine perfectly paired. The service was impeccable, attentive without being intrusive.

Working with Open Table is a REAL problem. I needed to change the time of my reservation, but did not find a way to do it. I could not fine the phone number of Absinthe so that I could call directly when I realized that I would be late. Trying to figure out the directions of Open Table was impossible. Please realize that not all of your "customers" are computer knowledgeable. I am 82 years old and don't even know your terminology. We are not all under 60 years of age. Kudos to Josh at Absinthe for taking care of me and my guest perfectly. He was a gem! Thank you,

Sally Porter

Spectacular food and impeccable service make an enjoyable and memorable dining experience

The duck was fantastic! The new chef is excellent!!!

There was a new chef and we were extremely pleased with our selections. Duck was amazing as was the arugala salad, Lyonaise salad, beef rib and brandolino fish. The prices have risen considerably from our last pre-covid dinner there but we were still happy we went for our post-Thanksgiving celebration.

Great service, yummy food. Quiet enough to easily have good conversation but still felt like a lively venue

The only suggestion I could offer would be that the $29 burger (that was amazing) price be lowered for those not wanting the truffle cheese. Our server, Emma C, was delightful. We were warmly greeted when we entered. Our meals were outstanding. We will return.

Had brunch at Absinthe over the weekend. All of the food was amazing, as usual. The croque monsieur was especially good.

We had a beautiful table at the window & our waiter Dan was so friendly & attentive. We had a great experience & would love to come back.

I’ve never had a bad meal here, nor bad service. My out of town friends, and work colleagues love it.

We were having dinner after an opera matinee. We greeted and our vaccination records checked, which we very much appreciated. There six of us and we were give at an isolated table in an attractive room, which we also appreciated. Our food orders were taken and delivered hot in due course. We asked the wine steward to guide us through their formidable wine list. He listened attentively, asked a question or two and recommended a modestly priced wine which we all enjoyed. It was a very pleasant evening. We will return, often I think.

Excellent food, my chicken cassoulet was innovative and tasty. My wife was very happy with her branzino. Caesar salad was large and dressing delicious, interesting touch was a fried egg on top instead of the raw egg recipe calls for. Dessert was a deconstructed pumpkin tart that was a little too sweet for me.
Good wine by the glass list

Dave the server is AMAZING. The food was perfect too

We have been coming here for years. often having lunch before a Sunday matinee at the SF Opera. Service is always extremely quick and competent, food is excellent, setting couldn't be better..

Ingredients are good but flavors are a little off. Tried it twice but will take a break for a year and see if they get a new chef.

Disappointed in their burger which used to be my favorite. They changed the ingredients and the taste. The fries were limp. My fish was okay but not special
The onion soup continues to be excellent as was the service and cocktails

Great wines by the glass as well as wine list. Food is fit for Foodies and a very French menu. It is a cozy, intimate dining experience.

Ate outside in their parklet with heat lamp and table separators - very cozy, felt like a private dinner. Staff was amazing - our table was visited and serviced by David, our waitperson, and Carl and Josh, managers. They were very attentive to our need to leave by a certain time to make a show nearby. Food was great as usual. Two small criticisms: Absinthe needs to update their online wine list, as they no longer carried a bottle we had identified, and post the current dinner menu as well. Also, there were only 7 entree options on the menu, two of them vegan/vegetarian, and one was Bouillabaisse for two and one was a burger. They could offer one or two more choices.

So disappointing. I used to love Absinthe. Neglectful service. My croque monsieur was so over toasted I couldn't cut it and the onion soup was clogged with way too much gooey cheese. For shame.

Unfortunately my lunch companion ordered the croque monsieur sandwich combo. Although she didn't notice it at first she soon found that the sandwich had neither ham nor cheese on it. Just dijon mustard slathered between 2 slices of bread. Further, the salad was overly salty; the onion soup was quite good if very rich. To his credit, when we pointed the issues out to our server, he took the meal off our bill.

I would also like to commend the server who was tasked with handling a large number of tables. He was extremely professional, courteous, knowledgeable. In fact, at one point the bartender came out from behind the bar to help with service & take orders. As the above problem was not owing to our server, we left him a large tip (as if the bill had been for both meals). He deserved every penny of it!

We won't be back anytime soon.

Delicious spot. We've enjoyed this restaurant for many years. Love it here! The staff is always, truly welcoming, very attentive, but not intrusive. Food is always good. The butternut squash soup was outstanding, as was potato crusted salmon.

After years away, I am so happy to have rediscovered Absinthe! Everything was wonderful -- food, staff, atmosphere. Thank you for keeping an old friend going strong!

Great bistro feel. Waiter perfectly straddled the line between ennui and eye rolling condescension -- straight from Montmartre's central casting. Great experience and fine food and drink.

We had a delicious dinner, and our server was very friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable. I had the best onion soup that I can remember, and our drinks and wine selection recommended by our server were perfect.

We were so happy to get back to Absinthe and the SF Symphony. The menu has changed, but we had a delicious meal with great wine 🍷. Everyone in our party enjoyed the meal and the experience. Welcome back Absinthe!

Our server was terrible, not accommodating. He was very rude, gave us a check with our dessert. At one point he disappeared for so long we had to ask another server to help us. It was a terrible experience

Very delicious highly recommended.

We really wanted to like this place but the service was really poor. The person wasn't helpful and just took our order. Seemed like they didn't care wether we were there or not. When I asked questions I would just got one word answers. Not sure if they were having a bad day or what but for the cost we just wanted to have a pleasant time and an enjoyable experience. It doesn't take much. Unfortunately we didn't get that here.

The food and drinks were all excellent. The service was also great.

We have not been to Absinthe in 2 years due to COVID and we’re very disappointed to see that the entire menu had changed and all of our favorite dishes were no longer offered. We were told that there was a different chef. Unfortunately,the new menu was not very exciting and the food was just mediocre. Very disappointing

We had lunch here pre-theater. The staff was very accommodating of our schedule. We dined outdoors, heaters kept us warm. The food was delicious - I had the classic Caesar salad (mmm anchovies!) and my husband had the Croque Madame (Monsieur with a fried egg) which he absolutely loved. It was too much food for us to finish, and we are enthusiastic diners. We will be back!

Very good French bistro fare. We especially enjoyed the savory beignets and the chicken cassoulet. Atentive service.

While the outdoor seating was pleasant and the waiter efficient, the food left a lot to be desired. My wife and I had the chicken cassoulet that was really quite bad. The beans had no salt and were not fully cooked. The chicken and the sausage were mainly flavorless. Anyone with a cookbook and a bit of skill in the kitchen could have done better. We didn’t even look at dessert after the main course experience.

The menu is pretty limited now and their famous Coq au Vin not available, replaced by Cassoulet, a pretty rich replacement. Our main courses came out far too quickly (they wanted to make sure we made our curtain which was still 1 1/2 hours away). It's still a beautiful restaurant but we were more than a little disappointed as we remember the vibrant and accommodating restaurant is used to be.

Menu items a bit limited for entrees. The only meat dish offered this evening was a steak at $65.00 and nothing in between. Food was delicious though.

Extraordinary food, service and ambiance. We went back a 2nd time before returning home. Loved it!

We were there for lunch before theater. The lunch combo was fabulous! Service excellent. I can hardly wait for the next show to go back again. BTW, it was a 10 minute walk to the Orpheum Theater.

What happened to the great burgers? We should have known when our waitress recomended them medium and not medium rare. The meat came out as two very flat patties that reminded me of fast food burgers from a nameless chain. The sauce was overpowering as well. These used to be some of the best burgers in the city but now I would have to say this counts as one of the worst. The place is lovely of course and service is top notch. Hopefully other menu items have not faced the same fate.

The food didn’t have the same quality as in past years. Nearly every dish was subpar and the service was so-so. The experience was somewhere between bland and bad. Very disappointing because Absinthe has been a go-to restaurant for decades. Perhaps it was an off day.

Great brunch options, and food coming out quickly. Lovely setting, nice attentive staff and an unbeatable and convenient location. Really made our lazy Saturday to start there for brunch.