The Stinking Rose

I've been waiting to visit this place for a long time as I wanted to be with my family as we all enjoy garlic so much. It seemed that the garlic caldron wasn't fresh and the bread they served was not very good. Not baked or hot, just plain doughy nothing in your mouth taste. I was expecting something more spectacular being that San Francisco is known for bread. The mashed potatoes were the consistency of baby food. The flavor was fine, just a weird texture for potatoes. I ordered the lamb and was unable to finish. It wasn't that great. I was disapointed I didn't order the pork chop. The waiter was disenchanted with his work. Didn't want to be there. Good wine selection. over all I was disappointed with the restaurant walking away feeling kinda sick. I spent the rest of the night not feeling well. UGH! I will always remember the experience being with my family even though it was not a good one. My wife's meal was OK. My sons' was OK too.

Overall, enjoyed the atmosphere and food - would definitely visit again.

The restaurant is dated, and hopefully the garlic is fake because then it’s just dusty not moldy. The food was bland. For a restaurant whose gimmick is garlic the most flavorful thing is the pesto for the bread. The 40 clove chicken was bland no salt no seasoning and covered in burnt garlic and the shrimp hot plate the shrimps were actually burnt to the plate. Spent about 60 dollars on the most mediocre food in sanfrancisco

Absolutely love this place, always on the itinerary when in SF. Mussels and shrimp a gastronomic delight....they make a mean martini as well! Very friendly and attentive wait staff, Luis our Mairtre d was on top of everything. Suggest reservations as this place stays pretty busy.

Continuation of Valentines Day

Waited 15 min on two Espresso and left without eventually

Great food, very pricey, but the quality was 2nd to none. Definitely a must for a special occasion if you love garlic.

Restaurant was not busy for a sunday for a big party. Server barely came to our table to check if we needed anything. Had to ask another server for water and soda. Worst part was when we asked for more bread the server used his hands to put bread in the bowl. Unsanitary! Overall good food but expected better service.

We got seated crammed between two parties of twelve at some table out of the main restaurant, through the kitchen and upstairs. Nothing about the meal tasted fresh, it was all cold and greasy. Pretty terrible for the price. No thanks.

The service was good. The helpers and waiter were very nice. But the food was not good. The portions and the flavor weren’t worth the price at all. It was our first time going there and we won’t be back.

The Stinking Rose met our expectations in every regard. The sizzling mussels and shrimp were excellent, as was the Caesar salad, and the service!

Great food!!

The staffs were really friendly. I ordered the Garlic Chicken Pasta and my boyfriend ordered the Baby Back Ribs. We also ordered the Hot Tub of Garlic, the Blood Orange drink, and Sangria.

Garlic Chicken Pasta: Chicken was very tender and I love it. Never had chicken that tender. Usually chicken are more dry so I was a little worry. It was not as garlic-y though, which is kind of disappointing, but food was still amazinggggg.

Baby Back Ribs: Delicious. The BBQ sauce was amazing and using it on the mashed potato made it even better.

Hot Tub of Garlic: <3333 Loveeeeee. It was amazing on the bread or by itself.

Alcohol: Delicious. I didn't taste as much alcohol in there, which made it better. I rather have a drink that I can't taste the alcohol as much. Dangerous, but delicious.

The only thing about this was that at a garlic restaurant, I thought the bread would be garlic bread. We had the garlic on the side to complete that, but yeah. Dont know...


Overall, I would come back and try another dish.

It was a great time! We were seated in one of the booths which gave a very romantic vibe. The food was amazing and it came out pretty quickly. Our server, Nick was awesome!

We came to dinner here bc the food is awesome and vibe is great. We will definitely come back.

Awesome food if you love garlic it's the best experience ever. Our whole table of 9 love garlic they we're amazing to is. Prices were on the high side but maybe normal for San Fran.

Great food. More garlic than you can shake a stick at. Avoid the vampire pizza...:). We went for Valentine’s Day and it was packed! Didn’t know they had an upstairs room, but they do and it’s very quiet and romantic up there. Highly recommend the baked Brie. Order with Extra Garlic!

Don't fully understand why The Stinking Rose takes reservations on OpenTable when everyone, regardless of whether they have a reservation or not, gets put on a list when they arrive and are served on a first come first serve basis.

Food was amazing but seating was way too tight. You can tell they're trying to fit as many people in there as humanly possible. We were seated in a retrofitted storage unit on the 2nd floor behind the kitchen ... would've liked being seated in the actual restaurant.

The place is nice, the meat was very good. Not that impressed with the potatoes. My husband had the chicken he enjoyed it but also wasn't that excited about the potatoes. Over all it was overpriced in my opinion for what we got.

We had a great time. The service was wonderful and the food was fantastic. Thank you.

The Stinking Rose is a fun restaurant with a fun, lively vibe. Our server was excellent and the garlic boat appetizer was delicious.

Food was surprisingly good. Place is a bit campy but I enjoyed it.

The Stinking Rose staff was outstanding and their food was amazing too. We were very late for our reservation, and yet the were waiting for our party with a table, and took excellent care of us. I will go back and recommend it to my friends.

Small menu food wasn’t all that great. I can get same quality food at a much lesser price than this else where.

Birthday celebration

Our Waiter was awesome. He gave great recommendations. Two of us had never been there before, one was a vegetarian and was delighted at the choices they had to choose from. We were celebrating a birthday and it was made very special by the wait staff. A wonderful dinner and we will be back.

Really good prime rib. The steamed clams were also delicious. Our whole crab was a little dry though.

Food and service was good but overall it was overpriced for what it was.

Nice place. Friendly staff. The food is good, must like garlic :-)

Food was delicious and we loved the ambiance! It was about $200 for an app, 4 drinks and 4 entrees

This was place was super awesome the food was delicious and the service was excellent . I will go definitely come back again soon

I had good memories of this place from many years ago, so I made a reservation while in SF on a short trip. While the ambiance is still great, the food just wasn't very good. The best way to describe it is bland and overpriced. The service, however, was just fine. With so many other great options nearby, I will definitely try a different stop for Italian food next time I'm in town.

No one ever asked for or took a beverage order only brought water to the table, ordered two entrees and an appetizer, was not happy with any of the three and it was very crowded. I will definitely not return!

The food is really quite bad.

Traditional, old style Italian restaurant vibe, in the heart of North Beach. Back dining area, across from bussing station is a great area for a date or party of four. It’s a little more private and the walls are covered in classic black and white photos of famous celebrities throughout the decades.
The food was great! I had the pork chop for the first time, it was amazing!
Our server was nice, but expected him to have better knowledge of the wines. Wine selection is minimal, so bring your own, since they don’t charge a corkage fee! Very cool.
It’s an older restaurant, but could benefit from a thorough dusting and cleaning of decor, walls and some fresh paint.
Overall a great dining experience would definitely recommend!

Loved it!!! If you love garlic, you must eat here! Not your typical tourist spot. Food is actually amazing!!!

We were on vacation and this place was recommended. It did not disappoint. Our table was ready on time - we had a reservation. Our waiter was friendly and gregarious. He was very informative on all the items on the menu. They offered items that didn't have too much garlic and they were very good. Those that wanted the garlic were also happy but surprised that the food wasn't overly garlic. Nobody complained - and that is the biggest compliment I can give knowing our group. We had a great time - good food, great service, enjoyable ambiance, and fair price. You can't ask for much more than that.

A couple recommend while we were visiting San Fran. A great win and we’re happy we are here. Wonderful food! Fun and happy staff! Win win!

My son is tall and couldn’t fit his legs under the table and had to straddle the table legs. My fish was dry and over cooked. The bread with the garlic oil dip was wrong. Should not be a soft sweet bun like it was. Just ok

A most stinky (meant loving garlicto the max) evening dinner....👍😎