Marlena Restaurant San Francisco - Buy Reservations

The more I think about it and recently go out,The more I feel this restaurant deserves one less star.The food as a whole wasn't bad, but for 100-130 dollars there are SO many options in the Bay Area that I personally prefer wayyy more.Some examples are state bird provisions, the progress, alto vino or belotti For a way lower price you can also get a similar experience at Trestle.The portions are comparatively small even to other niceish restaurants and the dishes are generally creative and delicious, but overall the only ones that stick to mind are the pastaOur bottle of wine we brought in got broken by our server which was a bit of a downer but I wouldn't say that's why I gave them this review I just somehow think the food was ultimately not that great and the competition at this price range is very high.

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It's a nice restaurant and the food is good, but not great! We were here for Valentine's this year. I'd say the experience was just okay! The food is NOT amazing and not Michelin level. It was not bad at all but didn't impress me at all. One weird thing was to see all the staff wearing their regular cloth and by them walking around on a busy day inside the restaurant looked like a busy bar/club. Everyone had their own jeans and sweater and shirt like the guests sitting. It was hard to say who is guest and who is working there. I'd usually expect a fancy restaurant making their staff wear similar cloth (usually dark ones) to make it more professional but that was not the case at this place. It was just weird to me! Is it a new hip thing I don't know about?! I'd come back here maybe in a few years if they're still open but the experience didn't make me wanna try it again anytime soon!

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For the 4-course prix-fixe offered that night, I ordered the Cylindra Beet, California asparagus, seared black cod, chocolate/coffee, and the Marlena milk bread (extra $2.5pp). Overall I think the price was decent especially considering the restaurant has earned its Michelin star this year. Out of the courses, my favorite was the beginning and ending courses: cylindra beet and chocolate/coffee. The entry course brought out the natural sweetness of beets, which was a very refreshing start. The final chocolate dessert course I got was really a work of art in terms of presentation. The chocolate topping was rich with the subtle hint of coffee aroma. In terms of the entree though, which was a piece of seared Black cod, I can say it was decent but nothing else about it stood out to me. My least favorite was the California asparagus... which was farro topped with a thick layer of smoked hollandaise sauce. I really couldn't convince myself how the texture works together in this dish, plus the hollandaise sauce was very rich and in my opinion disproportionate to the amount of farro. Toward the end of the cup, it was just not really enjoyable. I would indeed recommend the milk bread though for the table. The bread is served hot, fluffy, and went really well with the salted butter. Overall I did enjoy my night here, but the food wasn't exactly my favorite. I personally would probably not return, but for a small fine dining experience without having to break bank, it could be worth a trip.

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Tried the tasting menu here on Saturday night and was fully satisfied! I had the cured hiramasa first course, the asparagus for the second, the pork for the third, and the pistachio cake for the fourth. We also did the milk bread add on (x2) for the whole table, which I would highly recommend. I wouldn't say that I'm someone particularly into bread, and even I couldn't stop eating this bread!! The pork was probably my least favorite course because I found the pork pretty bland. This would be a 3 star review if it weren't for the amazing bread and amazing service! The service was truly great, and we had a dog with us out on the patio, and there were super easy-going about it and even brought the dog water during the meal. Come for the bread and the service, leave the pork!

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Our first visit to Marlena. We tried the 4 course tasting menu: caviar, orichietta, beets, fish (main), and pork. Caviar, orichietta, and beets were all excellent—inspired flavor combinations and great balance. The pork dish needs more onions and mushrooms as they enhanced the pork tremendously. The first fish course was good but we felt that it lacked something. Desserts were inventive and good but not inspired. The wine list was refreshingly approachable in terms of cost and provided great variety of grapes and regions. Excellent service. They need to put a drape in front of the door when the weather outside is cold. Every time the door it opened, one side of the restaurant 7 of the 12 tables) gets bathed in cold air. Customers at a Neighboring table had to wear coats throughout their dinner.

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I rarely write bad reviews but felt compelled to write one here. Food was 4-4.5 stars. 1 star for service. I arrived on time and was shown a table at the back by the bathrooms. I saw some open tables in front and asked to sit there instead. The hostess said "sure" and sat me there no problem. What she NEVER said is that we would have to vacate the table after less than 1.5 hours. It wasn't until my friend came in that she said the hostess awkwardly and somewhat rudely told her that I asked for a very nice table and that we had to be out quickly. At that point we felt it was too late to move. I would have never taken the table if I was told that when seated. The wine glass pours are also very stingy. So after our glasses, we ordered a bottle. As soon as the dessert plates were cleared, we were told we had to leave. We didn't even have a chance to finish our bottle of wine. It says on their website that there is a 2 hour limit per table. We clearly didn't get that courtesy. And while I understand restaurants need to manage reservations and tables, everything was just handled very badly. We felt very unwelcome. There are other Michelin star restaurants in SF that get both the food and the service right. This one is a miss.

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We are both impressed with the colorful presentation of every dishes. Milk bread, cylindra beets and mandarin orange desserts are the highlight of our dinner. Seared covina is a better choice for main dishes compared with the pork collar. The texture of pork collar is too thick that I am a lil' bit disappointed. Overall, it still deserves the Michelin !

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I was looking for a place to celebrate our 10 year anniversary when I came across Marlena. The reviews were pretty good so decided to give it a try. Reserving a table was easy through Resy. We were seated right away. They only do pre-fixe menus 4 course for $65 which is not too bad. We started off with beet salad which had this amazing blend of sweet and sour flavors. We got their milk bread with cultured butter as an add-on which was warm and buttery. This was followed by the second course: pasta with ricotta filling dipped in french onion broth which was kinda okay. My husband got the bisque which had very nice flavors to it. The third course was the Berkshire pork collar: the meat was a bit gamey for me and lacked much flavor according to me but my husband liked it. The last course (desserts) we each got one of their choices. The pistachio cake was kind of bland and we didn't enjoy it much but the chocolate crumble dessert was quite good. Service was pretty good. Overall we enjoyed our experience.

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Made a reservation for Marlena a few weeks in advance on a Saturday at 7:45pm. For the prix-fixe, I got the cured hiramasa, roasted sunchoke bisque, berkshire pork collar, and pistachio/rhubarb. I splurged and got the add-ons: the creme fraiche panna cotta, milk bread, and grilled A5 wagyu ribeye cap for the table to share.The hiramasa was amazing. Simply put, it was like sashimi. It broke apart so easily, and the fermented turnip and kelp vinaigrette paired so nicely with it. The bisque was on the sweet side. It wasn't bad, but I didn't really prefer it. The texture was so smooth, and it was so rich. The berkshire pork collar had the perfect amount of fat, and it cut like butter. I've never had pork that soft. The mustard leaf gave such a nice contrast to cut the fattiness. The pistachio/rhubarb was okay. The grapes cut the sweetness of the sponge cake, and the mascarpone added a bit of acidity. The sesame shortbread didn't seem intact, and I wanted to have a crunch to the experience. The osetra caviar creme fraiche panna cotta tasted like an elevated sour cream and onion chip, heavy on the sour cream. When you picked up the milk bread, it was heavy. However, it was so light, and the butter just melted easily upon application. The wagyu was so good. The amount of fat to meat was perfect. The bordelaise sauce coated your mouth, which I didn't prefer. It left almost a sticky feeling in my mouth. The potato fondant was delicious, and the small beef tongue was the best I've ever had. The meal was really filling. I definitely felt stuffed at the end and struggled to finish my meal. The staff are very friendly and intricate about dish placing. The prix-fixe meal is enough to fill you. The additional courses weren't worth it to me, but the staple courses for $65 per person isn't bad at all.

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Now, Marlena is not terrible. The reason I say I wouldn't come back is because I would not spend the money to come back, but if someone spent money for the dinner, I'd say sure. However, I think I'd recommend something else honestly. The bill was $357 including a 20% tip, tax, and the sf surcharge. I don't mind spending that money if the food blew my mind. Marlena did not. Recommend: the osetra caviar with sun choke chip, the bread and butter, and maybe the black cod main course. Here's the rub: 2 out of 3 dishes above are additional things to order, in addition to the $65 prix fixed menu. The bread even tasted like an en elevated Hawaiian roll. Only the black cod was part of the normal menu! I also ordered the additional wagyu course, the normal Berkshire pork collar, the farro bean mezzalune, and the Black Forest dessert. None of those dishes excited me and some actually made me sad eating them.Berkshire pork collar: one word-- dry! It was slightly over cooked to the point the pork had no juice coming out of it. The fermented takana leaf was wilted and not crunchy. The only good thing was the pickled maitake, but they gave only one tiny branch piece. Definitely couldn't save the dish since it wasn't big enough. Mezzalune appetizer: it was a farro bean and ricotta filled mezzalune in an onion brodo (Italian vegetable broth). I know mezzalune meant a half moon in Italian, but I didn't expect to see 4 dumplings in a shoyu style broth. It was weird. I liked the ricotta, but the bean had no business being mixed with the shoyu(?) inspired broth. I do think it had a bit of soy sauce, but as politically incorrect as this statement will be, the dish wasn't Asian enough. I would have expected pork if it had this style of broth. The vegetarian filling couldn't stand up to this broth. If it had some mushroom, maybe. But the ricotta and bean were just too light and weak overall.The wagyu was sad. Sad and depressing. The meat was perfectly seasoned and cooked. It was soft, a beautiful rare color with the right amount of char. And everything was messed up by that sticky bordelaise sauce. I've had bordelaise sauce before, but this was sticky. Almost like honey and it killed my beautiful wagyu. Wagyu is such a delicate flavour and this sauce would have been better served with a tougher cut of beef, like Chuck or New York strip. The beef was also surprisingly difficult to cut (it was sticky too, maybe because it was initially cooked sous vide style?).The desserts were uninspiring too. The Black Forest one was fine; a more crumbled style cake with a hint of salt and pretty chocolate sticks that resemble pine needles. The rhubarb and pistachio dessert was too tangy and sharp from the unsweetened rhubarb and the green leaves (maybe from the rhubarb?) tasted like lemongrass. It was an odd mix of flavours like sharpness, sourness, tinge of sweetness, and a refreshing quality from the green leaf. Not a fan. Service was okay, but I think we threw them off when we came early and wanted to change seats. I get it, so my review is solely on the food itself. Overall, not impressed. There are great places with both great food and service, including Gary Danko or Seven Hills in the city, Kiraku in Berkeley, or even Han no Daidokoro in Oahu. There are also some amazing cheap eats too in the city that cost only $30 for two people (10% of today's bill) that would have left me more satisfied.

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One of the best meals we've had all year, each dish more unique, balanced and flavorful than the last. Don't skip the milk bread (we got two orders) and come with friends so you can try bites of everything!

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Although the wagyu was brought the the table at room temp both times that I visited.

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It's my first time visiting a Michelin star restaurant and it was very satisfying. Service, food, atmosphere were all great and I love its situated in a corner house next to a park. Very warm and cozy.Friends and I ordered the 4-course meal with extra order of bread and a bottle of wine. It was a very lovely evening and I would love to go back to try the wine-pairing menu.

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Every dish was utterly delicious. Not surprisingly, the service was also outstanding. No complaints. Make sure to add on the bread and wagyu.

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I am thrilled to have found Marlena’s. The restaurant boasts a daily 4-course menu and I was lucky to dine on an evening when they were also offering a 7-course menu. The chef did a phenomenal effort navigating my aversions and continued to surprise my palate from dish to dish. The sommelier was simply delightful and put together a creative and fun pairing. Looking forward to returning over and over again.

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We were 15 mins early. They made us wait till the appointed time even though there are cleaned and empty tables in the restaurant. The assigned waiter clearly has no idea what to do. He did not engage us or have any suggestion. A dumb waiter would have done better. The trout as the first dish came from the supermarket with a sprinkle of lemongrass oil. All finished in one mouthful. A super noisy restaurant, saw someone asking them to tone down the music so that patrons can talk. Thank goodness. Totally underwhelmed. Left the restaurant hungry. What made it even more irritating is that they added 20 percent as tip without any option from me. With service at such sub-par standard, they don’t deserve any. Perhaps this automatic addition of service fee explains their disinterested attitude. Quite appalling. I will not be back. They do not deserve a M star or any mention at all. I would have given them a one star review here if not for for one small saving grace- the black cod and the pork collar were better than average.

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