I've been wanting to come to The Stinking Rose since I was little. Garlic is one of my favorite things ever, truthfully. I'm a certified garlic girl. My dining experience here was nice! The restaurant has a nice theme to it, creating a fun vibe for you and your party. Different parts of the restaurant have different styles, I think that's super cute. My party opted to sitting outside though. Upon being seated we were helped rather promptly. 3 servers kept checking in on us throughout our dinner, and they all were so helpful! Very kind and funny, added to the energy of the establishment. Ok now for what you are looking for, the food! Bagna Calda: 5/5 Garlic roasting in a hot tub of oil, literally. At least 30 cloves of garlic was served to us, roasting in a dish of olive oil. It was delish, what could go wrong with something like this?! It's served with 2 small rolls of bread, so I'd recommend getting an additional load of acme bread or even go for some cheese bread! Burrata Prosciutto: 4/5 Huge fan of burrata so had to get this. It's served with thin slices of prosciutto, an arugula salad with balsamic and garlic, as well as 2 crostini. Tasted good but I'd expect an actual garlic flavor from this dish. The restaurant has a vampire tax, meaning the dish has no garlic. This was not labeled with that so I was disappointed to not have that garlicky kick. Also, I wish the angular was dressed better, it was basically plain with a slight olive oil flavor, not even balsamic! Yummy dish, but some expect it to be garlic forward. Count Vlad Garlic Ribeye: 3.5/5 Tasty, however it was lacking garlic again. Steak was just your ordinary ribeye and the potatoes it was served with weren't too garlicky either. I mainly tasted that sweet yukon gold flavor, nothing else. I liked their texture, had to add pepper and they tasted better. The steak was cooked great, a nice medium rare. I wish the fat was able to render better and again, wished for more garlic!! This was your ordinary steak meal you'd find anywhere, which I guess isn't a bad thing haha! Short Rib Ravioli is Garlic Relish Sauce: 4.5/5 Had a little taste of this, soooo tasty! The ravioli were nice and cooked well, and the sauce complimented it perfectly. The only knocker was I found the filling of the ravioli to be a little too salty. The richness of the sauce helped cut this but if I was at home I'd add a squeeze of lemon to cut that salt. So good nonetheless! Overall, The Stinking Rose did not disappoint. It's a fun spot to hit up on your own, for a date, or for a party! I am interested in going back to try a few other dishes on the menu. Totally stop by this iconic restaurant!
Nicholas B.
I celebrated my birthday with 8 friends on 04/05/2024 for a reservation at 8:00PM. My experience was one of the best I've ever had for my birthday. The staff was very nice and our service was amazing very attentive! Drinks and appetizers came right away and the food was great as well. I personally got the ribeye. It was cooked to perfection, my taste is medium rare and the meat was very tender :) I will definitely be coming back and making this place my new tradition!
Yamour AlObaidi
Best food, service and pricing. Highly recommend it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fish & Chips
Reema P.
Love a restaurant with a theme! I appreciate the full commitment to the garlic theme, it made for a fun girls night out. We made a reservation and were seated very quickly. I did like the food at the restaurant but the quantity was so small for the price, I don't think it was worth it for some pretty simple and basic dishes. A big factor in us choosing this restaurant for GNO was because of the fun cocktail menu but we really felt like they have very very little to no alcohol so they really aren't worth it. Service was also just ok, it took us a long time to get water and the service was a bit choppy. Overall we really liked the vibe of the place but I'm not sure I'd go back. Also some mints at the end would have been nice haha
Marvella W.
I haven't been here in almost 30 years! I don't know why I hadn't been back sooner this last time my cousin took me here for my birthday. We chose the bagna cauda of course, along with shrimp fettuccine, a whole crab, and the sea bass. For dessert I got the garlic ice cream. Everything was delicious. All the seafood was fresh and cooked perfectly. Don't be afraid of the garlic ice cream after the second bite you don't taste the garlic flavor anymore! The initial bite was interesting to say the least.
Nic H.
Stopped by with coworkers and had the yummy avocado salad. I enjoyed the dish and being vegan it wasn't a hard decision.
Linglong Z.
We were lucky to sit at the street facing outdoor seat. We ordered a pizza and a pasta. The food was delicious. Reasonable price, the cocktail is under $10 which is rare in San Francisco. Definitely will go back again
Victoria J.
Loved the theme and dedication to garlic in the majority of dishes. Gotta roll with the interior which is purposefully kitschy and makes for a fun 'I Spy' experience. The waitstaff are incredibly attentive and if you order the crab, you'll even get some fun little bibs to protect your clothes. Can't go wrong with crab and the dipping garlic butter sauce was especially addictive. The highlights however are the garlic hot tub (comes with bread for dipping!) and ice cream (very large portion!) which are honestly the must-gets. The flavor is unique and pleasant surprise and fully embodies what you're expecting! Although all the food was very very good, some dishes can be a bit pricy in addition to being staples that can be commonly found at other restaurants. Definitely no regrets but would have loved the theme to be pushed even more after hearing others' say 'be prepared to sweat garlic for 3 days!'.
Jennifer Y.
This restaurant is made for garlic lovers. Almost all dishes are flavoured by garlic or as they say they season their garlic with food. We ordered the bagna calda (garlic in oil with a side of bread), iron skillet mussels, ribeye stake, foggy wharf salad with crab to share. The mussels were a bit too burnt and crispy and the ribeye was undercooked (we asked for medium rare but it came rare). Overall, the food was very average. The service was not bad - they kept refilling our water and the food arrived relatively quickly after we ordered. It could be interesting for a one-time experience but don't think if it's worth coming back.
Laura H.
This probably deserves somewhere between 2 - 3 stars. I wanted to like this place and it's an SF staple, but the food was below average and expensive. Most dishes are around $25 (which isn't abnormal for SF) but the quality just didn't match the price at all. My brother had a calzone that was exceptionally salty and I had a bowl of pasta that had almost no flavor (or salt). There was no complimentary bread, and no one ever came by to refill water. I will say portions are a decent size and it was easy to get a table without a reservation.
The food was amazing I enjoyed my homemade pasta here, welcoming environment. The servers are great, friendly also very proactive. The outdoor seating was very aesthetic. Great for a girls night, date night, solo date, and family gathering.
Elisa H.
It has been sooo many decades since I had been to The Stinking Rose. It was a place I frequented in the early 90s when I was a Marina girl and we wandered into North Beach for a change of scenery. I was dubious about the choice of this venue to celebrate a girlfriend's birthday. I remember drinking a lot, a loud boisterous atmosphere and thinking that the food was average and quite expensive... How wrong I was! The menu is so varied, quite reasonable ( especially for steak or seafood) and everyone loved their food. This goes to shoe you the cluelessness of 23 year old me... i ordered the seafood pasta, resplendent with crab snd mussels, large prawns and calamari ( tentacles and rings. Fettuccini was homemade and the sauce featured just tie right amount if garlic, a lot, but not so it knocked out the taste of the briny fresh seafood. we were kind of surprised that entrees were The other ladies in our raucus, festive party got salads and either pasta or seafood. The newish ( don't ask me how long they have been here) location is across the street from the original restaurant and is smaller with more subtle decor. We had an amazing waiter! Ten stars fir the affable, incomparable Rigiberto, who took such amazing care of us. Tiny touches like bringing me my Chamomile tea with the package pre opened and keeping our glasses filled were appreciated. This was comfortable, casual, excellent service, by a man for whom serving customers is a career and not a job. This was Ringiberto's 19th year at The Stinking Rose snd his dedication shone like a beacon. Both our table and the one next to us were celebrating birthdays on this Leap Year day and Rigoberto happened to mention that the next day was his birthday. " Rigoberto!, we asked, " how are you celebrating!!" " I am working a double shift! I love it here!" We suburban girls all agreed it was a seminal night. We were celebrating over two decades of friendship and a long hard road of raising both neurotypical kids and young men with autism. Of course we closed down the restaurant. our tables serenading and toasting the simply awesome Ringoberto. We hope to see you again soon and we all hope you enjoyed your birthday as much as we enjoyed our special night!
Paul S.
This is hard to write as an SF native. In short I've been going to this restaurant since it opened in the 90's. Always had good food and good service. Yesterday was my daughter's 17th birthday. Even after providing ADVANCE notice of a seat request and the special occasion, not a mention from anyone. In fact, we were sat upstairs away from everyone. Happy birthdays sang throughout, not for my daughter. So disappointed. I guess it's just another tourist location now.
J. L.
3-4-24 Last week was my first trip to San Francisco. I looked forward to seeing what I had only seen in movies. Lol My brother and his wife had visited several times years ago and raved about this restaurant. So, my friend and I made it a "must do". I will tell you that, like some of the other reviews I saw, I was disappointed in the small amount of wine and food portions they give you for such an expensive price. At first I thought we were being taken advantage of because we told them that it was our first time. But these pictures are proof. $26 for THIS plate of pasta? Really? And the Waiter argued that this glass was 9 ounces of wine. Really?? I don't think so. Anyway, despite the delicious taste of the food, we didn't think there was anything special about the interior ambiance or the service. The choice is yours, but should you choose to go, expect a $60+ check (for 2 adults) and a half full stomach. : /
Sjw-rx W.
I had an unexpectedly fabulous time and experience at the stinking rose. The waiter Rodrigo (sp) was top class. He managed our party of 6 to perfection. I had the arugula salad + fettuccine with mushrooms, chicken, and Brie. I will come back. Best pasta I have ever had.
I've been wanting to come to The Stinking Rose since I was little. Garlic is one of my favorite things ever, truthfully. I'm a certified garlic girl. My dining experience here was nice! The restaurant has a nice theme to it, creating a fun vibe for you and your party. Different parts of the restaurant have different styles, I think that's super cute. My party opted to sitting outside though. Upon being seated we were helped rather promptly. 3 servers kept checking in on us throughout our dinner, and they all were so helpful! Very kind and funny, added to the energy of the establishment. Ok now for what you are looking for, the food! Bagna Calda: 5/5 Garlic roasting in a hot tub of oil, literally. At least 30 cloves of garlic was served to us, roasting in a dish of olive oil. It was delish, what could go wrong with something like this?! It's served with 2 small rolls of bread, so I'd recommend getting an additional load of acme bread or even go for some cheese bread! Burrata Prosciutto: 4/5 Huge fan of burrata so had to get this. It's served with thin slices of prosciutto, an arugula salad with balsamic and garlic, as well as 2 crostini. Tasted good but I'd expect an actual garlic flavor from this dish. The restaurant has a vampire tax, meaning the dish has no garlic. This was not labeled with that so I was disappointed to not have that garlicky kick. Also, I wish the angular was dressed better, it was basically plain with a slight olive oil flavor, not even balsamic! Yummy dish, but some expect it to be garlic forward. Count Vlad Garlic Ribeye: 3.5/5 Tasty, however it was lacking garlic again. Steak was just your ordinary ribeye and the potatoes it was served with weren't too garlicky either. I mainly tasted that sweet yukon gold flavor, nothing else. I liked their texture, had to add pepper and they tasted better. The steak was cooked great, a nice medium rare. I wish the fat was able to render better and again, wished for more garlic!! This was your ordinary steak meal you'd find anywhere, which I guess isn't a bad thing haha! Short Rib Ravioli is Garlic Relish Sauce: 4.5/5 Had a little taste of this, soooo tasty! The ravioli were nice and cooked well, and the sauce complimented it perfectly. The only knocker was I found the filling of the ravioli to be a little too salty. The richness of the sauce helped cut this but if I was at home I'd add a squeeze of lemon to cut that salt. So good nonetheless! Overall, The Stinking Rose did not disappoint. It's a fun spot to hit up on your own, for a date, or for a party! I am interested in going back to try a few other dishes on the menu. Totally stop by this iconic restaurant!
I celebrated my birthday with 8 friends on 04/05/2024 for a reservation at 8:00PM. My experience was one of the best I've ever had for my birthday. The staff was very nice and our service was amazing very attentive! Drinks and appetizers came right away and the food was great as well. I personally got the ribeye. It was cooked to perfection, my taste is medium rare and the meat was very tender :) I will definitely be coming back and making this place my new tradition!
Best food, service and pricing. Highly recommend it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fish & Chips
Love a restaurant with a theme! I appreciate the full commitment to the garlic theme, it made for a fun girls night out. We made a reservation and were seated very quickly. I did like the food at the restaurant but the quantity was so small for the price, I don't think it was worth it for some pretty simple and basic dishes. A big factor in us choosing this restaurant for GNO was because of the fun cocktail menu but we really felt like they have very very little to no alcohol so they really aren't worth it. Service was also just ok, it took us a long time to get water and the service was a bit choppy. Overall we really liked the vibe of the place but I'm not sure I'd go back. Also some mints at the end would have been nice haha
I haven't been here in almost 30 years! I don't know why I hadn't been back sooner this last time my cousin took me here for my birthday. We chose the bagna cauda of course, along with shrimp fettuccine, a whole crab, and the sea bass. For dessert I got the garlic ice cream. Everything was delicious. All the seafood was fresh and cooked perfectly. Don't be afraid of the garlic ice cream after the second bite you don't taste the garlic flavor anymore! The initial bite was interesting to say the least.
Stopped by with coworkers and had the yummy avocado salad. I enjoyed the dish and being vegan it wasn't a hard decision.
We were lucky to sit at the street facing outdoor seat. We ordered a pizza and a pasta. The food was delicious. Reasonable price, the cocktail is under $10 which is rare in San Francisco. Definitely will go back again
Loved the theme and dedication to garlic in the majority of dishes. Gotta roll with the interior which is purposefully kitschy and makes for a fun 'I Spy' experience. The waitstaff are incredibly attentive and if you order the crab, you'll even get some fun little bibs to protect your clothes. Can't go wrong with crab and the dipping garlic butter sauce was especially addictive. The highlights however are the garlic hot tub (comes with bread for dipping!) and ice cream (very large portion!) which are honestly the must-gets. The flavor is unique and pleasant surprise and fully embodies what you're expecting! Although all the food was very very good, some dishes can be a bit pricy in addition to being staples that can be commonly found at other restaurants. Definitely no regrets but would have loved the theme to be pushed even more after hearing others' say 'be prepared to sweat garlic for 3 days!'.
This restaurant is made for garlic lovers. Almost all dishes are flavoured by garlic or as they say they season their garlic with food. We ordered the bagna calda (garlic in oil with a side of bread), iron skillet mussels, ribeye stake, foggy wharf salad with crab to share. The mussels were a bit too burnt and crispy and the ribeye was undercooked (we asked for medium rare but it came rare). Overall, the food was very average. The service was not bad - they kept refilling our water and the food arrived relatively quickly after we ordered. It could be interesting for a one-time experience but don't think if it's worth coming back.
This probably deserves somewhere between 2 - 3 stars. I wanted to like this place and it's an SF staple, but the food was below average and expensive. Most dishes are around $25 (which isn't abnormal for SF) but the quality just didn't match the price at all. My brother had a calzone that was exceptionally salty and I had a bowl of pasta that had almost no flavor (or salt). There was no complimentary bread, and no one ever came by to refill water. I will say portions are a decent size and it was easy to get a table without a reservation.
Restaurantji Recommends
The food was amazing I enjoyed my homemade pasta here, welcoming environment. The servers are great, friendly also very proactive. The outdoor seating was very aesthetic. Great for a girls night, date night, solo date, and family gathering.
It has been sooo many decades since I had been to The Stinking Rose. It was a place I frequented in the early 90s when I was a Marina girl and we wandered into North Beach for a change of scenery. I was dubious about the choice of this venue to celebrate a girlfriend's birthday. I remember drinking a lot, a loud boisterous atmosphere and thinking that the food was average and quite expensive... How wrong I was! The menu is so varied, quite reasonable ( especially for steak or seafood) and everyone loved their food. This goes to shoe you the cluelessness of 23 year old me... i ordered the seafood pasta, resplendent with crab snd mussels, large prawns and calamari ( tentacles and rings. Fettuccini was homemade and the sauce featured just tie right amount if garlic, a lot, but not so it knocked out the taste of the briny fresh seafood. we were kind of surprised that entrees were The other ladies in our raucus, festive party got salads and either pasta or seafood. The newish ( don't ask me how long they have been here) location is across the street from the original restaurant and is smaller with more subtle decor. We had an amazing waiter! Ten stars fir the affable, incomparable Rigiberto, who took such amazing care of us. Tiny touches like bringing me my Chamomile tea with the package pre opened and keeping our glasses filled were appreciated. This was comfortable, casual, excellent service, by a man for whom serving customers is a career and not a job. This was Ringiberto's 19th year at The Stinking Rose snd his dedication shone like a beacon. Both our table and the one next to us were celebrating birthdays on this Leap Year day and Rigoberto happened to mention that the next day was his birthday. " Rigoberto!, we asked, " how are you celebrating!!" " I am working a double shift! I love it here!" We suburban girls all agreed it was a seminal night. We were celebrating over two decades of friendship and a long hard road of raising both neurotypical kids and young men with autism. Of course we closed down the restaurant. our tables serenading and toasting the simply awesome Ringoberto. We hope to see you again soon and we all hope you enjoyed your birthday as much as we enjoyed our special night!
This is hard to write as an SF native. In short I've been going to this restaurant since it opened in the 90's. Always had good food and good service. Yesterday was my daughter's 17th birthday. Even after providing ADVANCE notice of a seat request and the special occasion, not a mention from anyone. In fact, we were sat upstairs away from everyone. Happy birthdays sang throughout, not for my daughter. So disappointed. I guess it's just another tourist location now.
3-4-24 Last week was my first trip to San Francisco. I looked forward to seeing what I had only seen in movies. Lol My brother and his wife had visited several times years ago and raved about this restaurant. So, my friend and I made it a "must do". I will tell you that, like some of the other reviews I saw, I was disappointed in the small amount of wine and food portions they give you for such an expensive price. At first I thought we were being taken advantage of because we told them that it was our first time. But these pictures are proof. $26 for THIS plate of pasta? Really? And the Waiter argued that this glass was 9 ounces of wine. Really?? I don't think so. Anyway, despite the delicious taste of the food, we didn't think there was anything special about the interior ambiance or the service. The choice is yours, but should you choose to go, expect a $60+ check (for 2 adults) and a half full stomach. : /
I had an unexpectedly fabulous time and experience at the stinking rose. The waiter Rodrigo (sp) was top class. He managed our party of 6 to perfection. I had the arugula salad + fettuccine with mushrooms, chicken, and Brie. I will come back. Best pasta I have ever had.