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Thank you for your support throughout our year with you!
We made an Open Table New Year's Eve dinner reservation at this restaurant...only to find it CLOSED. Very frustrating, to say the least.
This restaurant is closed when we were there.
Service was really friendly and attentive. For the price, there's better food in SF. As many reviews have mentioned, it's noisy and i didn't think it had a warm ambience about it.
Had a wonderful dining experience @Ayalya! The food was tremendous, and wine list superbly complementary (Dry, flavorful whites: Sparkling and wine options.) The Nori Spaghettini and Whole Red Snapper were flavorful and plentiful. Sooo tasty...
Very small menu. Oysters were good, fresh. Liver pate was another good dish. Not enough choices on menu.
Noisy, limited menu and drinks-apparently closing soon to revamp.
Our experience was superb . Our server, Alena D, greeted us almost immediately, and never left us wondering. She was responsive to our menu choices and needs for some adjustments in preparation if the food. Everything was delivered as ordered in a well timed sequence. She never left us waiting, and checked in regularly to make sure everything was running smoothly! She met our every need-friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient. It was the first time I’ve chosen a 25% gratuity for a server! Well deserved!
The restaurant was too loud. Only two out of the five dishes that we ate was good.
$20 or more for tiny appetizers portions and $30 or more for small entree portions. Food was excellent but not worth the price. I work in the area and am always looking for places to take people for dinner or recommend to those going to the theatre. I just can’t recommend at these portion sizes and prices.
Everything we ordered was amazing, and we ordered almost everything on the menu. The Whole Red Snapper and the Roasted Chicken are a must. We will be going back soon!!
Very tasty. Wait staff was super friendly and quick to serve our food.
We had a strange experience with a waitress asking us to please not put in appetizer/oyster/starter or any orders until we had our full dinner order ready because their kitchen couldn’t handle small orders or something? My friend and I were mystified as to why we got lectured for trying to order a round of apps first. We didn’t say anything because we were just taken aback, but then she went to another area of the establishment & our next waiter was the perfect host & gave none of the previous waitress’ kitchen rules. Other then that little bit of strangeness it’s a nice location & we enjoyed our meal!
Food was delicious, service great!! Chef Roland has paired comfort food with high end dining in a way that is unexpected! Every dish was full of flavor and we could not get enough of the brusselssprouts, fingerling potatoes or baked oysters! The portion sizes are perfect, we particularly enjoyed the nori spaghettini and the charred squash main dishes and savored our ice cream sandwiches !
Decent food, not outstanding
Interesting menu, fresh seafood, delicious flavors, friendly service staff.
Interesting food and decor. Did not enjoy the wine recommendation to go with the seafood platter. Could do better on the wine list given that this is California.
Good overall. Wish it has been a bit quieter as I have a bit of hearing difficulty. Food was delicious. I'd take the Bananas Foster ice cream in a different presentation any day of the week. The sandwich format doesn't do it justice.
I went in a group of 6. All the dishes were exquisite. We had one person with food sensitivities, and they were most accommodating, adjusting the food as needed and guiding us through the menu. Awesome place if you like seafood, and the chicken was equally amazing. Excellent choice for a nice dinner.
We both had the nori spaghetti and were left speechless! Amazing food and great cocktails.
Mediocre on all levels. Nothing bad, nothing to write home about. In a city like this, there are better options.
Wonderful dinner, servers were great and we had a great bartender. Portions were on the small side so definitely order some appetizers and desserts
Great food. Wine very expensive though.
Great suggestions from the waiter and continuously checked on us. They also took our commentaries on food (chicken was over salted) and made ajustements. Dessert was phenomenal! You need to try all three especially the banana ice cream sandwich.
Waited more then 15 min for seat. Menu was limited. Food was extremely disappointing given the reviews. The seafood platter was minuscule and barely fresh. The cioppino was one of the worst I ever had. The artichoke came dried with the inedible skin left on and almost no centre. The only redeeming part of dinner was the wine. Which thankfully was made by a talented winemaker and not their woeful kitchen. But they had to spoil even that by charging us more for the wine in the cheque then it was listed the menu. The sommelier deserved recognition and staff service was prompt. But the food... us$211 later before tip; left us hungry, annoyed and with an empty pocket.
We sat in the lobby/bar area. Service was a problem because the bartender really couldn't see us but once she got us on the radar she was On It.
Plate licking cucumber salad and tomato/peach pasta sauce. Very nice grilled artichoke. Excellent vegetarian possibilities.
THIS IS A VERY LIMITED MENU. IF ONE DOES NOT EAT SHELLFISH, YOU ARE PRETTY MUCH RELEGATED TO ONE CHICKEN ENTREE OR ONE BEEF ENTREE. AN ATTRACTIVE SETTING BUT NOT WORTH THE MONEY.
Relatively new restaurant with limited items in the menu but food was delicious and the service was very attentive.
Food was good, service was good. But not blow your hair back.
The food at Ayala in incredible—inventive, delicious, unexpected, creative! And the service is fantastic. I can't wait to go back and try other dishes (the snapper, crudo and dessert were outstanding). I also wouldn't hesitate to recommend this restaurant to locals and visitors alike!
After mulling over their limited wine selection, we settled on a syrah. Our server came with a bottle that had some discoloration on the foil. He indicated it was the only bottle they had, and he would make sure it's good. I was appalled as it should be my duty to taste and make sure it's a good bottle of wine. After taking the bottle away, he came back and said it was a good bottle. He proceeded to pour two glasses of wine. When we finished our dinner, we wanted to re-cork the bottle and take it with us but he said that there wasn't that much left in the bottle and took it away. I've never had sommelier service like that before. What he did with what was left in the bottle? I have no idea... drank it, I assume. LOL. There are so many good restaurants in SF that this one isn't worth another try.
The Arctic chard app was pretty bland unless you had some of the vinegar. The baked oysters were not worth it. They were good, don’t get me wrong but not worth $5 each. The peppers side was a great side dish though they came out before the entree. The mustard sauce worked great with the mild flavor of the peppers. The chef ended up sending out the English muffin and honey butter which was amazing. I haven’t had a fresh baked english muffin before so it was one of the highlights. We ended up with the wagyu beef flank and spaghettini which both were very very good. Honestly I would just do an entree and a maybe a side. I wouldn’t waste the money on the apps, they are very small and not worth the money.
Was excited to dine here with a friend from the uk but left a little underwhelmed.
The service was odd - quite slow and a bit dismissive. Food was good - oysters great and fish soup tasty.
Plenty of other options I’ve enjoyed more in sf so not sure I’d be rushing back again!
Great food, great service, the crab pasta is a must
Anniversary dinner celebration started with fresh oysters and white wine that pared beautiful. Followed with heirloom tomato salad, grilled artichoke and crab pasta that was delicious and perfectly prepared. Our server made recommendations that hit the target we described and provided the right amount of attention. Our meal and wine made our evening memorable and we will be back.
Great food great service. Happy customer.👌🏼I would definitely love to recommend it to anyone.
The food is the reason to go here. Nori spaghettini with fresh Dungeness crab may be the best thing I've eaten all year. All the dishes are good; the house made honey butter with muffin, chicken pate and uni appetizers are all excellent. The atmosphere is casual, service was excellent. Appreciate the nice touch of giving us a number and leaving our bag of leftovers at the maitre de's station. Every restaurant should do this. Such a turn off when they drop your "to go" bag in the middle of your table while you're still finishing conversation and drinks.
Great ambiance and the food was well prepared. Would recommend this to others.
We were a group of four - had the English muffins (quite tasty), rhubarb tsukune (good but a little salty), baked oysters (good but overpriced at $5 a pop), Nori Spaghettini (this was superb), and the cioppino verde (quite forgettable). Portions tilted to the smaller end and it was an alright meal. I feel like you can get better in SF for this price point.
Plain atmosphere. Excellent service. Good food. Good cocktails.
Food was outstanding I loved the uni and spaghetti with dung ness crab. The waiter who gave us impeccable service recommended a Fennel martini which was outstanding.
FAQs
Ayala is rated 4.3 stars by 117 OpenTable diners.