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Mezzanine Private Dining Space - Foreign Cinema, San Francisco, CA

Foreign Cinema

4.8 (8987)
$31 to $50
Californian
2534 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 95 times today
Experiences are available.

About this restaurant

  • Good for special occasions
  • Lively
  • Great for outdoor dining
Foreign Cinema is a one-of-a-kind, nationally acclaimed restaurant blending independent films with California-Mediterranean cuisine. Enjoy a stylish indoor dining room with a full bar and fireplace, or relax in our heated and covered outdoor courtyard where 35mm film screenings begin at dusk.

For those seeking a more intimate experience, our private dining options include the mezzanine, amate terrace, and gallery, thoughtfully curated by Modernism West. Our vibrant DJ/live music bar, Laszlo, serves craft cocktails, zero-proof options, a full dinner menu, and lively tunes to end your night.

We are currently accepting reservations for both the heated and covered outdoor patio and indoor dining up to 60 days in advance. Standard seating refers to indoor dining. For groups of 9 or more, please reach out to our private dining department at janine@foreigncinema.com for booking details.

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Californian, Mediterranean
  • Hours of operation
    Brunch Sat, Sun 10:30 am–2:30 pm Dinner Mon–Thu 5:00 pm–9:30 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–10:00 pm Sun 5:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (415) 648-7600 ext. 0
  • Website
    http://www.foreigncinema.com/
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Executive chef
    Gayle Pirie & John Clark
  • Private party facilities
    We provide distinctive private dining spaces for up to 350 guests, from intimately sized cocktail events, to large, formal seated events. Our chefs personalize each menu, matching, seasonal and market availability with guests’ special preferences.Inquire via email, janine@foreigncinema.com
  • Private party contact
    Janine Jacobson: (415) 648-7600 ext. 124
  • Location
    2534 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110
  • Neighborhood
    Mission District
  • Cross street
    Between 21st and 22nd Streets
  • Parking details
    We recommend parking at the Bartlett Garage located on 21st St between Valencia and Mission.
  • Public transit
    MUNI: 14 Mission bus; BART: 16th & 24th/Mission station; Mission-Bartlett Garage: 3255 21st Street San Francisco, CA 94110
  • Entertainment
    We show a film starting at dusk only in the outdoor patio dining room. This is to provide a lovely ambiance, dialogue is not audible. While we take into consideration all requests for courtyard seating none are guaranteed.
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Dog Friendly, Entertainment, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Indoor Fireplace, Non-Smoking, Outdoor Firepit, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, Vegan, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Featured in

Experiences

  • Guest Chef Series: Cowgirl Creamery

    Oct 16, 2025 only
    Our Guest Chef Series is a collaboration with remarkable chefs who have made their mark in San Francisco Bay Area culinary history. Sue Conley and Peggy Smith ignited the farm-to-table food movement in the artisan cheese industry. Join us as we imbue our dinner menu with their delicious recipes from their iconic Cowgirl Creamery Cooks (Chronicle Books, 2013). Viva la fromage! Join us to experience and taste the memorable flavors of these distinguished culinary leaders. These are non-ticketed events with an à la carte menu.
    Guest Chef Series: Cowgirl Creamery Photo

  • Guest Chef Series: Jeremiah Tower

    Sep 25, 2025 only
    Our Guest Chef Series is a collaboration with remarkable chefs who have made their mark in San Francisco Bay Area culinary history. Let's bring back the alchemy of Stars, the legendary San Francisco dining institution led by Chef Jeremiah Tower, where he defined California cuisine. Join us to experience and taste the memorable flavors of these distinguished culinary leaders. These are non-ticketed events with an à la carte menu.
    Guest Chef Series: Jeremiah Tower Photo

Private dining

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Menu

Foreign Cinema's menu was last updated on 2/1/2022.

View menu on restaurant's website

What 8,987 people are saying

Foreign Cinema reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.8
4.8 based on recent ratings
  • 4.7Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.8Ambience
  • 4.4Value

Noise • Moderate

Loved For

  • San Francisco

    Californian

  • San Francisco

    Most Booked

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Foreign Cinema offers a unique dining experience in San Francisco with its charming ambiance and classic movie screenings. Guests rave about the "warm and attentive service" and "sublime" food, including standout dishes like the duck and halibut. The restaurant is perfect for special occasions, consistently delivering "a splurge-worthy dinner".
8,987 Reviews

  1. greg

    San Francisco Bay Area2 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    After 26 years Foreign Cinema is are fantastic as ever.

    Is this helpful?

  2. Michael

    San Francisco Bay Area1 review

    5.0

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Best meal out in a long time. Everything was prepared perfectly and the best focaccia we’ve ever had. It made for a memorable celebration.

    Is this helpful?

  3. Bonnie

    San Francisco Bay Area34 reviews

    4.0

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3
    As usual, the food was delicious, Paige, our service person was excellent, and the environment was lively. All good!

    Is this helpful?

  4. Sarah

    San Francisco Bay Area1 review

    5.0

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Foreign Cinema is the best brunch you can have in SF. Fantastic food, incredible service and a beautiful ambience. Would recommend to anyone! I’ve been multiple times and have never had anything to critique, the experience is always perfect.

    Is this helpful?

  5. Justen

    San Francisco Bay Area4 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Amazing to go here and discover that Foreign Cinema is still delivering such a high quality experience. It's not inexpensive, but it's definitely worth the splurge. Plus the bartenders at Laszlo are also friendly and pro mixologists.

    Is this helpful?

  6. Francine VIP

    San Francisco Bay Area20 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We celebrated my husband‘s birthday at the Foreign Cinema and everything was just perfect. Our server was very friendly and gave us some good suggestions. The food was amazing. The wild Alaskan salmon melted in your mouth. The halibut ceviche was divine. We loved the pasta dish and the Arugula with strawberry salad.  I’ve been telling everybody about the restaurant and how they need to get there to try all those wonderful dishes. Can’t wait to go back. 

    Is this helpful?

  7. Lisa

    Tahoe / Reno Area1 review

    5.0

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Incredible meal! From the moment we sat down the server Jouse was amazing!!! His recommendations were spot on and our dinner was everything we wanted it to be...very special!! Best meal we have had in SF. We will back! Thank you.

    Is this helpful?

  8. bruce

    Utah2 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on July 7, 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    The staff was very attentive and helpful. The majority of the appetizers and meals were very good. Unfortunately, I had a pork chop that was undercooked asked for it to be re-cooked. They did for a little bit very promptly, but it still came back undercooked and the closer to the bone I got it was rare so in my opinion, the chefs missed the mark this night. 

    Is this helpful?

  9. Jazmin

    Baja California1 review

    5.0

    Dined on July 7, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    El restaurante está muy agradable, la comida riquísima y los empleados muy amables

    Is this helpful?

  10. Andrew

    New York City1 review

    4.0

    Dined on July 3, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    I had booked an outdoor seat (that's kind of the point of this place) and was initially seated indoors until I pointed out that we were booked for outside. They got it sorted out and apologized. The waiter was sweet, but seemed kind of distracted and left us sitting unattended for a while. For the price point, I was a bit disappointed.

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

Foreign Cinema offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (415) 648-7600 ext. 0.

Foreign Cinema is rated 4.8 stars by 8987 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

  1. Home
  2. United States
  3. San Francisco Bay Area
  4. San Francisco
  5. Mission District

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 95 times today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for Foreign Cinema

2534 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Cross street
    Between 21st and 22nd Streets
  • Neighborhood
    Mission District
  • Hours of operation
    Brunch Sat, Sun 10:30 am–2:30 pm Dinner Mon–Thu 5:00 pm–9:30 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–10:00 pm Sun 5:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Californian, Mediterranean
  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    We recommend parking at the Bartlett Garage located on 21st St between Valencia and Mission.
  • Public transit
    MUNI: 14 Mission bus; BART: 16th & 24th/Mission station; Mission-Bartlett Garage: 3255 21st Street San Francisco, CA 94110
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Gayle Pirie & John Clark
  • Entertainment
    We show a film starting at dusk only in the outdoor patio dining room. This is to provide a lovely ambiance, dialogue is not audible. While we take into consideration all requests for courtyard seating none are guaranteed.
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Dog Friendly, Entertainment, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Indoor Fireplace, Non-Smoking, Outdoor Firepit, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, Vegan, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine
  • Website
    http://www.foreigncinema.com/
  • Phone number
    (415) 648-7600 ext. 0
  • Private party facilities
    We provide distinctive private dining spaces for up to 350 guests, from intimately sized cocktail events, to large, formal seated events. Our chefs personalize each menu, matching, seasonal and market availability with guests’ special preferences.Inquire via email, janine@foreigncinema.com
  • Private party contact
    Janine Jacobson: (415) 648-7600 ext. 124

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