Highly overrated
Written: Dec 07 '99
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Pleasant, casual atmosphere
Cons: Mediocre service, small portions
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| calvarez's Full Review: LuLu Cafe |
Every review I've ever read about LuLu is overwhelmingly positive, so I was surprised to find it a mediocre dining experience. Maybe in another city it would stand out more, but in San Francisco where there's more great food than one can hope to consume in a year, I was unimpressed.
The ambiance is the best thing about LuLu: it feels cozy despite being quite spacious, there's an open fireplace with rotisseries of meat turning slowly, soft lighting, and charming provincial decorations. It's more relaxed than a lot of the starched-white tablecloths and brassy-upscale looks of many other nice restaurants in the SOMA area. I suspect this is why many reviewers call it "family-friendly", although I don't know very many children who are savvy enough to appreciate the cuisine.
My party of 4 ordered 4 dishes -- which the waitress assured us would be plenty of food. I don't know what her definition of "plenty" is, but it certainly didn't match ours. The Ricotta Herb Ravioli with Walnut Sauce was excellent, as were the Sand Dabs. The Grilled Quail with Warm Couscous Salad and Black Olive Tapenade and (Tuesday's rotisserie special)
Rabbit with White Beans, were also quite good. However, the portion sizes were very small, and even with bread and two glasses of wine we left hungry.
I definitely value quality over quantity, but would have preferred that the waitress have been honest with us and advised us to add a soup or salad course. Since said waitress disappeared into thin air after bringing our food, there was no opportunity to order more. (or get more water, or wine, or bread...)
We went on a Tuesday night, sans reservations, and had to wait about 15 minutes, which is quite reasonable. LuLu would be a nice place to bring a client or a first date that you didn't know very well, but for casual dining and good food there are so many better choices.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
calvarez
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Member: Cindy Alvarez
Location: San Francisco, CA
Reviews written: 56
Trusted by: 39 members
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