Octavia

Food was good although a bit short of special, which I had hoped for. My biggest gripe was with the wine. I was told Octavia serves wine at "cellar temperature". That tuned out to mean, cold. It may have been very nice wine, but at 50f, all wines taste the same, and that's the first thing you learn when studying wine. I could understand it if it was a special bottle of wine that they do not expect to sell that day, but it was for one of their wines sold by the glass. Maybe it is a new trendy thing to do, but I sure hope it passes soon.

The tall young man of color who greeted me at the door and delivered a few of my dishes was wonderful.

A lovely Valentine four course prix fixe dinner with attentive service, without being intrusive. My partner and I were probably 30 years older than most in the room but they weren’t condescending or patronizing the way some young staff members are.

Not worth the hype. Better 1 Michelin starred restaurants in SF.

Exceptional restaurant. Had the chef's tasting menu and it was incredible. Will definitely return.

Date night in the city.
Second time at Octavia and we really enjoyed our meal.
Had the parsnip soup and Chicories salad , both were beautifully presented and well seasoned
For entrees , we enjoyed the wagyu beef and striped bass, once again , both fish and meat were cooked to perfection and the garnish on both dish was delicious.
We shared a lovely carrot cake for dessert.
Bread service is also not to be missed , house baked, generous serving with cultured butter and olive oil
The service was attentive , beautiful plates and bowls are used for service.
No detail is forgotten. Love this place . Thanks to the hard working team behind this great restaurant.

Food was outstanding, but tables are a little too close together!

Octavia is a wonderful restauant. Great food. Reasonable portions. Great wine list. Love to walk there from Nob Hill and Lyft home. Great evening

This place is a block from where we live. We've strolled by now for over a year, longingly, like Tiny Tim looking in the window at all of the warm guests in the soft warm light, all smiling, conversing happily ... Finally, Sunday night, we took a friend from out of town. We loved it!

Amazing food in an elegant but not stuffy setting. Loved the chef’s innovative use of different types of citrus in every dish. Will definitely go back.

We had been to Octavia once before and remember the food and service to be really good. We were excited to return. Unfortunately, we were quite disappointed. Most of the food was okay - except for the exceedingly spicy devilish egg that was a part of the tasting menu we ordered that was un-edible for me (there should have been a warning and alternate option) - but nothing even remotely exceptional. The tasting menu should highlight the best of the menu (and this is how it was sold to us too) but the pasta with crab was barely edible - it was SO fishy and frankly, gross. The entrees were pretty good but we still didn't even eat all of it - and we are not ones to leave any food behind.

From now on, we will forego coming back and instead return the Melissa's other SF based restaurant, Frances. A much better meal, with exceptional, low-key service and a better value even too. But I shouldn't be sharing this because I don't want it to be even harder to get a reservation there!

Overall we had a great experience.

Service was... bizarre. Unenthused and very slow. Did not check up on us and had to wave them down every time. Took over ten min to get first round of drinks. But the food was good - wagyu beef was delicious. Would have been a 5 start experience if the service was exceptional.

This was our first time at Octavia. We thought it was a very nice neighborhood place, great ambience and decor. However, we were a little bit disappointed with the food - it was not bad but not outstanding either. We sampled a few different dishes; the beet salad was excellent, and so was the beef and the chocolate cake dessert. We found the parsnip soup too creamy, the fish somewhat over cooked, and the slices were a bit too thick in the crudo/ sashimi dish. Overall, we thought that the food was quite interesting; it definitely has a lot of potential but could be further refined.

The food was excellent and we were seated promptly by the courteous hostess. The only complaint was the long wait from the time we ordered our food until it arrived (nearly 40 minutes), and there was no communication from our server.

Hands down still our FAVORITE restaurant in the city we live in, SF!!! So grateful for everyone there, feels like family and also get a great meal and wonderful wine!!!
Kim and Clarence Barker

Definitely do the chefs menu! Everything came out beautifully and tasted just as amazing as it looked.

The service seemed to be lacking. Not that the service was bad, it was also just not outstanding. The food was nicely prepared with quality ingredients. The food itself was tasty, but it wasn't anything surprising.

The food is excellent! I had the mushroom risotto and parsnip soup. My husband and brother shared the prime rib (was sufficient for two people) and Brussels sprouts. My sister had the chicory salad and bass. We loved every dish that we ordered.

I have visited Octavia several occasions and it used to be one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants. We have been away for a year and returned to SF for a quick weekend visit. The service at Octavia was terrible. Our waitress never smiled once and actually seemed annoyed during our dinner. I don’t remember her asking anything about our dinner and was simply uninterested. Food was good but has declined. Huge disappointment!

Ribeye was amazing. Best I have ever tasted. Mushroom risotto and crab tagliatelle also exceptional. Great experience.

we waited a long to order. the first course came promptly. then we waited an hour for the entree. noise impossibly loud. i mentioned all this to the manager who said that there had been a problem because of one of the diner's allergies. Nonsense. the allergy was discussed thoroughly with the server and was judged doable. my husband could see the kitchen and he remarked that no food was coming out of the kitchen at all during our hour wait. too bad the food is so good. we won't come back to try again.

Expensive-af, but so good

A pain to get a table, but it's worth it! I love this place.

I've walked by Octavia for a few years now, always heard wonderful things, and finally made a reservation. The staff was amazing from the moment we were greeted at the door. Kim and Samo(?) were helpful, charming, and attentive. I have some allergies, and the kitchen was able to make accommodations for me. The food was so delicious, I can't imagine how good it could be *with* the ingredients I needed removed. I'm jealous of the rest of you who can eat everything. Highly recommend the snapper and duck. It was a most perfect evening for us both. Thank you!

Service not as great as you would expect for Michelin restaurant. Not accommodating to allergies - I am gluten free and the salad they served had blue cheese in it (not gluten free).

The service was cold and lacking. When the first waitress took notice of our dairy allergy she explained which dishes to avoid and which dishes the dairy could be removed, great! Then for some reason a different waitress came by to take our order and we had to explain our food allergy again.. that felt irritating and uncomfortable and unnecessary. The food itself was on point.

The appetizers were on the small size. Several dishes were over salted. The wine by the glass was expensive and the wine list was too. More affordable wines need to be available. Overall the dinner was worth going to.

So good! Will definitely be back! Enjoyed the deviled egg, squished ink noodles, crude, salad, and the petite filet. Let's not forget the milk chocolate panna cota. Yum!

Amazing food, Chefs menu 10/10 recommend. Not expensive. Go here!

Service was ok . Nothing especial like our previous times we been .
The food was ok . We ordered the steak medium rare and came back rare . Disappointed on this Part . We have been coming for the past 3 yrs and definitely by far has been the only time we left a little disappointed.
I hope it was a just a one time mistake from the chief or kitchen staff .

Great food! Ever better service!!! Will be back!

Delicious, seasoned and expertly made food. The duck and brussels sprouts were both insane. Servers were pleasant and accommodating of my late friend and our early departure.

Brussels sprouts were over cooked and with too much sauce..fish (red snapper) main course very over cooked, dry and little flavor .
Will not go back.

Best meal we had on our ten day trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles

We had a great time at Octavia! All of the staff members we interacted with were great and friendly, and our food came to us quickly but didn't have compromised quality. Also, was really grateful that the wait staff could accommodate my gluten intolerance.

Had the chef's tasting menu - lots of variety and fabulous spices. The red snapper dish had wonderful flavors; however, it was over cooked and dry. The service was good; however, the pace was a bit slow. Meal took almost 3 hours.

Because Octavia received a Michelin star, I had a bit higher expectations.... overall here are my thoughts
1. Food was very good
2. They were not very good at accommodating food aversions - asked for no dairy and got a crème fraiche dollop on first course (which I just avoided)
3. Our waiter really struggled with service - waited 20 minutes for our wine and then another 15 to take our order
4. water glasses were empty had to ask for more then when they filled up again sparkling poured on top of flat and visa a versa
5. forgot our bread order but was very good once we asked and received it
6. The dessert courses were masterfully plated - when I asked for a variety of their sorbets they came out rather unceremoniously plopped in bowls. Which is fine but again with the star... I was hoping for a bit more effort
7. there is 1 bathroom for 54 seats
8. I would have given them a 4 to 4.5 rating if not for the lack of attention to detail and slow service

Best food we had in San Francisco - and our last night there too - we were about to give up on getting good food there. Creative menu and great service!

The egg and the squid ink noodles were not very impressive, but at least they didn't cost that much. Otherwise the ambiance was very quaint and lovely.