My recent dining experience at Nari was unfortunately below expectations. Although the restaurant’s reputation suggests a high standard of cuisine and service, several issues detracted from the evening.
Of the six dishes we ordered, two were not the dishes requested. While mistakes do occasionally occur, the substitutions were neither explained nor acknowledged by the staff at any point during the meal. In addition, the chicken entrée was noticeably overcooked, resulting in a dry texture, and the steak dish arrived significantly oversalted, which obscured the underlying flavors that the restaurant is normally known for.
More concerning was the lack of response when we attempted to address these problems. We politely asked to speak with a manager on two separate occasions, yet no one ever came to the table. The other matter I attempted to address with the manager involved the restaurant’s apparent non-compliance with ADA Title 24 requirements, which was also ignored. At this level of dining, attentive service and appropriate follow-through should be expected, particularly when a guest raises a potential accessibility concern.
Nari has a distinguished reputation in San Francisco dining, and I recognize that many guests have excellent experiences. However, based on this visit, the food preparation and service oversight did not meet the standard we anticipated. I hope the restaurant will take this feedback constructively, as the concept and atmosphere remain appealing, and I would welcome an opportunity for a more positive experience in the future.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Cullen Holt
Food was delicious. Had a multitude of options, but my favorite was the pork belly with collard greens. Alcohol list is expansive. Service was excellent as was atmosphere. 5/5, would love to go back. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hani AlMalki
Great inventive Thai inspired food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
V. M.
Lamb shank was phenomenal
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wook Chung
Nari has powerful flavors. It exemplifies traditional Thai spices and ingredients, a lot more orthodox than I expected, but presented in a modern fusion style. Being newly awarded a Michelin star, we walked in with high expectations.
Let's get done with the amazing aspects. Modern, chic, woody atmosphere at the Kabuki Hotel. Already perfect for a date night to impress. Airy space. Contemporary decor. Soft lighting. Bustling yet not noisy ambience. Good table spacing. All amazing. And the service was fabulous. Again, everything screamed of fine dining without the unnecessary level of snootyness.
The food is punchy. Every single dish can stand on its own and again, tries to scream in your mouth that they are special. Flavor layering is well done especially with the bit-sized appetizers. The sauces also play a very important role, whether they are pre-applied or poured on top of. The spice profile tries to run towards the moderate middleground but again, the chef is not compromising but rather giving you a bit of break. Otherwise, jumping from one dish to another is a powerful but taxing experience.
The food is great and for the tasting menu price of $125, we think it is really well worth it. But Nari's tasting menu also highlights that more is always not necessarily better.
Due to the powerful flavors, your tongue and brains get tired half-way through. There's no breather. No palate cleanser. And many of these dishes in Thai are served with rice or roti. But as a tasting menu, these neutral carbs cannot be the star of the show. Hence you get punches after punches.
And then the quantity. It's just a tad bit too much. When you are trying to down a tasty curry after 6~7 courses of tasting, it just overwhelms. Either make everything bite-sized or reduce the complexity of the main course.
Nari can easily take this to the next level by balancing out their course better. Every dish screams to be special, and they are. But the harmony of them put together in a sequence is where there needs to be tuning. And feel free to remove a dish or two and replace it with neutral flavors like a mild soup, etc.
Finally, I higly recommend ordering a light, netrual and more earthy wine. Without it, you will really have a tough time jumping from one dish to the next. And trust me, you'll feel exhausted after you finish.
It's a great experience overall. There's more that Nari can do!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Saswati Koya
Great food and ambience. The server patiently explained what to expect of items on the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Xavier Quinn
Great food and cocktails. Everything was flavorful and very well balanced
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Matt Clark
REFUSED TO ACCOMMODATE BASIC FOOD ALLERGIES! Their reservation system will allow you to select “celiac” and “gluten allergy” while making the res. Then you receive an email confirmation explicitly saying they won’t accommodate people with this dietary restriction. I emailed the cancel my res stating the food restriction issue and the business replied saying they would waive the $60 cancelation fee. A week later I was charged the cancelation fee and now I’m fighting with the restaurant to get my money refunded. Avoid this business at all cost, terrible service!
Service: 1
Jea Kim
Ok, this might be a hot take, but my friend and I didn’t enjoy our meal here nearly as much as another friend who went with the course menu.
Since the course didn’t include some of their most popular dishes (like the Eggplant Curry), we stuck with à la carte. The logic? Popular dishes are often made more frequently, which should mean better consistency and dialed-in flavors. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case here. To be honest, I much preferred the elevated casual Thai I’ve had in Boston and NYC.
Naem Khao Tod – Crispy sticky rice, so texturally it was fun. But it was way TOO spicy. Even my friend with a higher spice tolerance struggled to finish without chugging water. There were a lot of peanuts, which added a nutty depth, but overall, the heat just overwhelmed everything. I couldn’t remember any flavor details an hour later, only the fire.
Miang Pla – Branzino was better, but again, the dish leaned way too heavily on chili sauce and peanuts. Like, an ungodly amount of peanuts.
Squid & Pork Jowl – The only dish I genuinely enjoyed. The flavors were familiar. Very reminiscent of Korean charcoal-grilled marinated pork. Super tender meat and squid, and the leftover juices made for a great pour-over on sticky rice.
Eggplant Curry – Good curry, but not worth the hype. The curry was too watery, and despite a creamy coconut base, it was still aggressively spicy. The fried eggplant added crunch but not much flavor. Maybe the kitchen was having an off night, but this didn’t come close to the best curries I’ve had.
Gaeng Som Pla – Probably the most unique flavor profile of the night. The concentrated fat of the lightly cured kanpachi worked well against the sharp, tangy red curry. It was also very spicy, but unlike the others, the natural fat from the fish gave it some balance and contrast.
Service was quite poor for a Michelin-starred restaurant. Arguably one of the worst I’ve experienced at this level. After taking our orders, our server was largely absent, and she seemed more engaged with her colleagues and resetting empty tables than checking in on us.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 3
may
biggest fan of the squid and pork jowl. I felt like the dish was a little too salty for my liking. For the second course we decided on the prik king gai (crispy chicken) and namprik kapi pla. The prik king gai was good and has a small kick to it; I did think it was a little too crispy as I couldnt really taste the meat. The namprik kapi pla was paired with jasmine rice, and was very flavorful. I'm not the biggest fan of spice and curry, but my friends seemed to enjoy this dish. We ended dinner off with dream of lod chong (pandan parfait) and wan yen which was an iced dessert consisting of fruits, sago, and jelly. I def recommend the wan yen, it was easy to share and had a lot of fun textures and a variety of sweet treats in the mix, making it a very delightful treat to end the night. The ambiance to Nari is very nice. It was the perfect atmosphere for dinner, with dimmed lights, and modern/contemporary interior. It's beautifully decorated. Overall I had a wonderful experience at Nari.
The restaurant has a lovely atmosphere with a vibrant, stylish vibe. Service was warm and attentive, definitely a highlight of the experience.
That said, the food didn’t quite meet Michelin-level expectations. Most dishes felt overly oily and heavy, with the exception of one standout that was well-executed. Flavors lacked the balance and refinement I was hoping for.
The cocktails, however, were excellent, creative and well-crafted. I’d recommend stopping by for drinks and ambiance, but overall, the dining experience felt more average than exceptional.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Michael B
Every time I visit San Francisco I will eat here at least once. Went to Hed 11 and it was extremely mediocre compared to this. This is probably the best Thai food you can find.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chris Loo
I’d give 0 stars to the service if I could. The restaurant tries to scam customers by charging us a $40 “cancellation fee” despite we showed up to our reservation on time. The male server with a glass is the rudest ever, despised me and my wife for asking paper napkins, we’ve dined at 100+ Michelin star restaurants and this one is an absolute disgrace. Most Jack in the box would have better service than this restaurant
Food: 4
Service: 1
Brianna Park
Flavorful, definitely on the pricier side but their portions are generous
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ali Khan
Amazing food with great service and the bronzino was delicious with a creative cocktail selection
My recent dining experience at Nari was unfortunately below expectations. Although the restaurant’s reputation suggests a high standard of cuisine and service, several issues detracted from the evening.
Of the six dishes we ordered, two were not the dishes requested. While mistakes do occasionally occur, the substitutions were neither explained nor acknowledged by the staff at any point during the meal. In addition, the chicken entrée was noticeably overcooked, resulting in a dry texture, and the steak dish arrived significantly oversalted, which obscured the underlying flavors that the restaurant is normally known for.
More concerning was the lack of response when we attempted to address these problems. We politely asked to speak with a manager on two separate occasions, yet no one ever came to the table. The other matter I attempted to address with the manager involved the restaurant’s apparent non-compliance with ADA Title 24 requirements, which was also ignored. At this level of dining, attentive service and appropriate follow-through should be expected, particularly when a guest raises a potential accessibility concern.
Nari has a distinguished reputation in San Francisco dining, and I recognize that many guests have excellent experiences. However, based on this visit, the food preparation and service oversight did not meet the standard we anticipated. I hope the restaurant will take this feedback constructively, as the concept and atmosphere remain appealing, and I would welcome an opportunity for a more positive experience in the future.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Food was delicious. Had a multitude of options, but my favorite was the pork belly with collard greens. Alcohol list is expansive. Service was excellent as was atmosphere. 5/5, would love to go back. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great inventive Thai inspired food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Lamb shank was phenomenal
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nari has powerful flavors. It exemplifies traditional Thai spices and ingredients, a lot more orthodox than I expected, but presented in a modern fusion style. Being newly awarded a Michelin star, we walked in with high expectations.
Let's get done with the amazing aspects. Modern, chic, woody atmosphere at the Kabuki Hotel. Already perfect for a date night to impress. Airy space. Contemporary decor. Soft lighting. Bustling yet not noisy ambience. Good table spacing. All amazing. And the service was fabulous. Again, everything screamed of fine dining without the unnecessary level of snootyness.
The food is punchy. Every single dish can stand on its own and again, tries to scream in your mouth that they are special. Flavor layering is well done especially with the bit-sized appetizers. The sauces also play a very important role, whether they are pre-applied or poured on top of. The spice profile tries to run towards the moderate middleground but again, the chef is not compromising but rather giving you a bit of break. Otherwise, jumping from one dish to another is a powerful but taxing experience.
The food is great and for the tasting menu price of $125, we think it is really well worth it. But Nari's tasting menu also highlights that more is always not necessarily better.
Due to the powerful flavors, your tongue and brains get tired half-way through. There's no breather. No palate cleanser. And many of these dishes in Thai are served with rice or roti. But as a tasting menu, these neutral carbs cannot be the star of the show. Hence you get punches after punches.
And then the quantity. It's just a tad bit too much. When you are trying to down a tasty curry after 6~7 courses of tasting, it just overwhelms. Either make everything bite-sized or reduce the complexity of the main course.
Nari can easily take this to the next level by balancing out their course better. Every dish screams to be special, and they are. But the harmony of them put together in a sequence is where there needs to be tuning. And feel free to remove a dish or two and replace it with neutral flavors like a mild soup, etc.
Finally, I higly recommend ordering a light, netrual and more earthy wine. Without it, you will really have a tough time jumping from one dish to the next. And trust me, you'll feel exhausted after you finish.
It's a great experience overall. There's more that Nari can do!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Great food and ambience. The server patiently explained what to expect of items on the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food and cocktails. Everything was flavorful and very well balanced
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
REFUSED TO ACCOMMODATE BASIC FOOD ALLERGIES! Their reservation system will allow you to select “celiac” and “gluten allergy” while making the res. Then you receive an email confirmation explicitly saying they won’t accommodate people with this dietary restriction. I emailed the cancel my res stating the food restriction issue and the business replied saying they would waive the $60 cancelation fee. A week later I was charged the cancelation fee and now I’m fighting with the restaurant to get my money refunded. Avoid this business at all cost, terrible service!
Service: 1
Ok, this might be a hot take, but my friend and I didn’t enjoy our meal here nearly as much as another friend who went with the course menu.
Since the course didn’t include some of their most popular dishes (like the Eggplant Curry), we stuck with à la carte. The logic? Popular dishes are often made more frequently, which should mean better consistency and dialed-in flavors. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case here. To be honest, I much preferred the elevated casual Thai I’ve had in Boston and NYC.
Naem Khao Tod – Crispy sticky rice, so texturally it was fun. But it was way TOO spicy. Even my friend with a higher spice tolerance struggled to finish without chugging water. There were a lot of peanuts, which added a nutty depth, but overall, the heat just overwhelmed everything. I couldn’t remember any flavor details an hour later, only the fire.
Miang Pla – Branzino was better, but again, the dish leaned way too heavily on chili sauce and peanuts. Like, an ungodly amount of peanuts.
Squid & Pork Jowl – The only dish I genuinely enjoyed. The flavors were familiar. Very reminiscent of Korean charcoal-grilled marinated pork. Super tender meat and squid, and the leftover juices made for a great pour-over on sticky rice.
Eggplant Curry – Good curry, but not worth the hype. The curry was too watery, and despite a creamy coconut base, it was still aggressively spicy. The fried eggplant added crunch but not much flavor. Maybe the kitchen was having an off night, but this didn’t come close to the best curries I’ve had.
Gaeng Som Pla – Probably the most unique flavor profile of the night. The concentrated fat of the lightly cured kanpachi worked well against the sharp, tangy red curry. It was also very spicy, but unlike the others, the natural fat from the fish gave it some balance and contrast.
Service was quite poor for a Michelin-starred restaurant. Arguably one of the worst I’ve experienced at this level. After taking our orders, our server was largely absent, and she seemed more engaged with her colleagues and resetting empty tables than checking in on us.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 3
biggest fan of the squid and pork jowl. I felt like the dish was a little too salty for my liking. For the second course we decided on the prik king gai (crispy chicken) and namprik kapi pla. The prik king gai was good and has a small kick to it; I did think it was a little too crispy as I couldnt really taste the meat. The namprik kapi pla was paired with jasmine rice, and was very flavorful. I'm not the biggest fan of spice and curry, but my friends seemed to enjoy this dish. We ended dinner off with dream of lod chong (pandan parfait) and wan yen which was an iced dessert consisting of fruits, sago, and jelly. I def recommend the wan yen, it was easy to share and had a lot of fun textures and a variety of sweet treats in the mix, making it a very delightful treat to end the night. The ambiance to Nari is very nice. It was the perfect atmosphere for dinner, with dimmed lights, and modern/contemporary interior. It's beautifully decorated. Overall I had a wonderful experience at Nari.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
The restaurant has a lovely atmosphere with a vibrant, stylish vibe. Service was warm and attentive, definitely a highlight of the experience.
That said, the food didn’t quite meet Michelin-level expectations. Most dishes felt overly oily and heavy, with the exception of one standout that was well-executed. Flavors lacked the balance and refinement I was hoping for.
The cocktails, however, were excellent, creative and well-crafted. I’d recommend stopping by for drinks and ambiance, but overall, the dining experience felt more average than exceptional.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Every time I visit San Francisco I will eat here at least once. Went to Hed 11 and it was extremely mediocre compared to this. This is probably the best Thai food you can find.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I’d give 0 stars to the service if I could. The restaurant tries to scam customers by charging us a $40 “cancellation fee” despite we showed up to our reservation on time. The male server with a glass is the rudest ever, despised me and my wife for asking paper napkins, we’ve dined at 100+ Michelin star restaurants and this one is an absolute disgrace. Most Jack in the box would have better service than this restaurant
Food: 4
Service: 1
Flavorful, definitely on the pricier side but their portions are generous
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing food with great service and the bronzino was delicious with a creative cocktail selection
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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