Laurel Court Restaurant & Bar - Fairmont San Francisco

We enjoyed our early dinner at the Laurel Court on Saturday night before the fashion shoe. I had read many of the previous reviews, and the Laurel Court exceeded our expectations. The dining room and the hotel are drop dead beautiful. The piano player later in the evening was a very nice touch. It's a very elegant space. The service was fine, not up to the caliber of the room, but it was fine. The food was fine. The burger and the pasta were good. The French Onion soup was very good. The menu is very limited which is surprising for a restaurant of this caliber. All in all, we enjoyed our dinner, the fashion show and the evening in the Fairmont Hotel. We checked out the Tonga Room also, and it was very festive!

We did the buffet brunch. It was good. Had a lot of choices...eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, omelette station, fruit, and much much more

Ambience was upset by a pianist playing too aggressively and was very loud.
Food OK, hamburger very average. A side dish failed to arrive .

The hotel is very nice, with really cool vintage decor. Parking is a challenge (expensive and hard to find), but the restaurant validates if you use the hotel garage. The high tea is super. I did not like the Earl Grey, but it was interesting. Others we tried were fantastic. Waiters are friendly and attentive. The micro-sandwiches, scones, and dessert pastries are delicious. To rank them a five, they'd need a live piano player or maybe a harp, rather than a TV over the bar. Seems to me the bar ought to be in a separate room or more screened off from the tea area. I may be quixotic in my tastes, however.

The service was almost non existent. Once we ordered, the wait for our food was at least a half an hour and then the food was cold. The hollandaise sauce was hardened; the French toast looked like rocks. For a Class A hotel, it was pitiful.

Beautiful room and absolutely lovely staff. "High Tea" food is good, well done if not inventive and quite reasonable priced. Go for the experience!

Always enjoy the food and ambiance of Laurel Court.
The piano player makes it all the more special so book a night when he is playing.
Brunch is also outstanding. Wonderful selections to please all diets.
Good food and luxurious, historical surroundings transport you to times gone by.
Our servers Jeshua and Kim took time to visit and make a connection with us and this made our memory more special.
Can’t wait to go back.

Good option for afternoon tea. Atmosphere was classic SF. We enjoyed the selection of tea sandwiches and desserts. Service was a bit slow and hard to locate our server at times. Overall, good experience.

Service was terrible and they messed up several dishes / didn't do anything to make up for it. Hugely touristy and limited menu on weekends which is odd. Likely won't be back until the fix the service quality.

Delightful overalk experience at your charming, iconic venue.

It was a good night after the Special Cabaret Performance. Food & Service was good.

I expected this to be much better. The finger sandwiches were just OK. One of the scones was dry and crumbly. The tea was excellent but the lady with the water rarely came around and I actually ran out of tea! I was there for high tea and I ran out! Bad service.

Sunday brunch with friends visiting from Boston. Great buffet w lots of pastries, eggs, meats, waffles & all the accompaniments. Juices, fruit, great coffee. Full bar available. The surroundings are beautiful & staff are helpful & efficient. Room to breathe & conversation friendly.

We had a great time at the Laurel court tea room. Good ambiance and food! Place is beautiful. I want to go back again for celebrations!
It’s Worth the drive uphill. Valet parking is available at the front entrance and free 2 hr validation of parking will be provided at the restaurant.

I recently booked for cocktails and dinner at the Fairmont to celebrate my mother's 80 birthday and was sorely disappointed by the experience. Even visiting the hotel a few days before to book a table for drinks and a separate one for dinner didn't secure them on the night. On arrival there were no cocktail tables available and a sub-standard dinning table was all that was initially offered. I explained the importance of the occasion and eventually got a different table for drinks and was offered complimentary champagne which was appreciated. Things got worse however when we were shown to our table for dinner and found the air conditioning so cold some of our party were shaking uncontrollably. Despite asking for the AC to be turned down nothing noticeably changed with the temperature. The menu however was the biggest let-down because as we discovered it mainly catered for bar food and snacks for an office crowd, not fine dining, which I'd assumed one of the grandest hotels in the city would have offered. We eventually left without eating and ended up in Hakkasan and had a much better experience.

The food was good, the drinks over priced (but expected), the service horrible! We sat for extended periods of time with no drinks, no one checking on us, no food, and what appeared to be no regard for us by our server. This is a beautiful historic place and it represents San Francisco's elegance, hospitality and love of good food and drink. It needs an over-haul when it comes to service! I suggest the staff there go to another 4 or 5-star restaurant and observe good service! I will not be returning despite being a local, and I won't recommend it to anyone I know.

Had the club. Very nice atmosphere and surroundings.

Surprisingly mediocre food and slow service at the Four Seasons. Very few people in the restaurant and maybe the food quality is a key reason. I think the menu needs a major overhaul. At the moment it seems like pub fare or a good mall restaurant, not the Fairmont!

Expensive breakfast.

Had tea at the Laurel Court for the first time this year. The service was outstanding, the restaurant is beautiful and the food was delicious and creative. My only disappointment was the ambiance of the restaurant. With the bar, visible in the corner, with its large screen TV and the game on, and the high level volume of the other patrons, it did not have the cozy, quiet experience of a tearoom, which really took away from the overall experience. If the management would consider perhaps screening off the bar with potted plants or a painted screen during tea, and piping in soothing music to encourage a quieter ambiance, the afternoon tea experience would be perfection.

I went for High tea and it’s so worth it and not expensive as I expected .

There is no service whatsoever. You have to raise and wave your hand to catch someone's attention. The sandwiches were pretty good but a few of the bread was crusty. The dessert is horrible. The cookie was as hard as a rock and the flavors of the scone did not go well with the devonshire cream and lemon cure.

Great Experience Overall.

NO

Meal was expensive compared to other places we have eaten in SF. Food was all right. Nothing special. The waiter was so great, it really made the evening better. Picked only because it was close to the evening event we were going too.

French onion soup, green salad with cherries, steak and chicken entrees were all delicious. We had mentioned our anniversary and were treated to strawberries and cream with chocolate mousse and a brownie. Staff was very attentive.

Having made a reservation, the wait was 20 minutes+ in an almost empty restaurant. The service was the very worst I have ever experienced.......... beyond incompetent............... the food was mainly almost inedible........... nicoise salad without any tuna........... a cheese sandwich with dry bread and swimming in cheese,,,,,,,,,,,, warm champagne, which took three wait people to bring...................... coffee served with out saucers............................... way over priced..................... an embarrassing experience.....................

We ended up at the fairmont as our reservation at the palace was cancelled at the last minute
Sadly the fairmont leaves a lot to be desired
The tea and service were good, but the food was just sad
The finger sandwiches were dry and boring, the scones were ok and the desert plate lacked anything creative, some were dry and frankly boring
If it wasn’t for having good company I probable would have left

Just not worth the money
The tea is boring, poorly executed and needs a total overhaul.
As someone who grew up with high tea and lucky enough to try them around the world, this one is at the bottom.....

The omelette bar is terrific here and there is a good selection of things under the buffet option . Come with an appetite !

Unfortunately this was extremely over-priced for the value. The service was very much lacking given the very few tables in the dining room. I would recommend going somewhere else in the city for tea since there are so many options. Overall the server was very nice just never present. Both the food and tea were sub-par.

My wife was looking forward to brunch at the Laurel Court. What a disappointment. Food on buffet was dried out while other items were not replenished. We had to track down the omelette maker who was not at the station. We tried the honey from their bees and it was delicious. Don't waste your money, go somewhere else. Fruit was old & spoiled. What a waste of money.

i think i expected something more for a price i paid. id int really get the "afternoon tea" vibe because there people having wine , drinks around me....during the "afternoon tea time" like people wear sneakers and shorts inside the room, i feel like it should be more appropriate if everyone is dressed up for the "afternoon tea"

The food was fine and the atmosphere was nice but the service was not great. There were not enough servers so it was very hard to get service.

I’ve been there many times and it has a great bar and restaurant. It’s a real gathering place for hotel guests and the staff are very attentive. My server Oscar, was great and wanted to make sure I was pleased with my wine selection.

We love the Laurel Court Breakfast Buffets on Sundays and Holidays. Such a GORGEOUS atmosphere and love the Fairmont Hotel Staff. Christmas is especially festive!

Our visit today was for my niece's coming of age Birthday! I wanted her to experience the San Francisco I recalled as a little girl. The Fairmont did not disappoint! They loved the beauty and grandeur and our party of 6 loved our conscientious server Tony who did a great job taking care of us. The Menu was perfect with its favorite dishes and Greyere Popovers, French Onion Soup and selection of delicious entrees. During our visit we marveled at the beauty of the Laurel Court. We loved visiting the boutiques and sitting in the Lobby. Our concierge was timely with our car and he even took a group photo for us with our camera. I can hardly wait for my next excuse to come visit and stay!

We make it our go-to place before concerts at the Masonic. Consistently good and great ambiance.

Lovely ambience in old world hotel. Service was great and the LC burger was really tasty.

I love afternoon tea and will try it anywhere I can find it. My first visit to the Fairmont for their afternoon tea service. Did not disappoint. Of course the room is stunningly beautiful, our server was great but would have liked to see him come by for tea refill one more time. They even let you switch teas throughout your meal so you get to try a few teas. I've never been given that option before at other afternoon tea destinations. The food was very tasty and the four in our group were really impressed. Very reasonable pricing considering it's the Fairmont. We spent nearly three hours in very comfortable seating and a quiet, elegant atmosphere. Would definitely return again.

Location and setting is great - Sunday brunch spread was decent. Husband loved the deviled eggs and salmon. Unfortunately, two very loud men sat adjacent to us for the last half of my husband's birthday brunch - and one man used profanity quite liberally - which was quite disturbing when you are trying to have a quiet celebration and conversation. We left early because it became so unpleasant.

Came for the Sunday Brunch. Overpriced for an utterly underwhelming buffet. Plus, they automatically tack on a 15% gratuity even though we got indifferent service, cold coffee, no refills, etc.

Would not ever go back and would recommend you go elsewhere.