It’s one thing when a restaurant has a few weak dishes. But when almost every plate is disappointing, that really says something.
We ordered about half the menu. The best thing we had were cucumbers with sour cream, which is probably the hardest dish to mess up.
The final straw was the chicken shashlik. It wasn’t even close to real shashlik. And the buckwheat on the side was dry, no butter, no flavor, just bland and lifeless.
Service was average at best, with that classic old school “unhappy to be here” attitude.
I honestly don’t understand how this place still has a 4+ rating. Maybe it’s surviving on past reputation. As of 2026, this is a solid 2 stars at most.
Next day we went to Uzbek place near by, 10 times better food, service and price
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
susan
a very authentic and delicious experience...funeto be a little bit part of the Russian community in San Francisco and tast the excellent food.
sally
We really enjoyed our meal at the Red Tavern. The food was delicious, the ambiance very cozy, and the service outstanding. We will definitely come back!
Michael
Wonderful food, wonderful service. Highly recommend. Our guests from Tbilisi and Moscow We're very 😃
MRGixAGEN
After waiting 40 minutes for gulyash (30usd!) and snitzel (30usd!) we just left. Heavily overpriced place
Atmosphere: 3
Service: 1
Ivan Lebedev
A great place to taste Eastern European staples in authentic way. Happy to return here every time we are in SF.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Conor Bolen
Horrible experience, staff were rude. They lack proper etiquette, maybe because of their cultural difference. Food was a disappointment, so I won't be coming back
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Sofia Dallarda
A delicious meal before catching a cozy show at the 4 Star across the street. The stroganoff is a must-try! Come with a group to try their many small dishes!! The zucchini with smoked salmon was an especially delightful bite!
Roman Shablii
Good service, the food though was disappointing. Soup was average, served with no bread on side. When we asked for a bread we were given a lowest quality loaf with no taste and structure for $3 even though you can find good russian/slavic bakeries in the neighborhood from where you can source a decent bread. Salad was dry and ingredients felt as the cheapest ones you could get. The german beer on tap was alright. Far from a good deal for your money, prices feel unfair.
Tasty and authentic Russian cuisine, with a pleasant wait staff. I only wish the wine list had been more varied. Red and whites were exclusively Georgian and expensive. The list could surely have been augmented with some reasonably priced California wines.
Aleks Belotserkovskaya
The most DELICIOUS Russian food I've had in the US, outside of my mom and grandma's cooking. An absolute must if you are in SF.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lisa
I had the beef stroganoff and blinis and the stroganoff in particular was incredible and the best I've legitimately ever had. If I'm ever in town again, I'm definitely stopping here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Stroganoff
Artem Gevorkyan
Service and food was excellent! Live their pan fried potato and herring! Can’t wait to visit again soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pelmeni, Beef Stroganoff, Napoleon Cake, Potato Zrazy, Rack of Lamb
Viki Dani
Thank you for delicious dinner! Awesome service and food!
Incredible restaurant
It’s one thing when a restaurant has a few weak dishes. But when almost every plate is disappointing, that really says something.
We ordered about half the menu. The best thing we had were cucumbers with sour cream, which is probably the hardest dish to mess up.
The final straw was the chicken shashlik. It wasn’t even close to real shashlik. And the buckwheat on the side was dry, no butter, no flavor, just bland and lifeless.
Service was average at best, with that classic old school “unhappy to be here” attitude.
I honestly don’t understand how this place still has a 4+ rating. Maybe it’s surviving on past reputation. As of 2026, this is a solid 2 stars at most.
Next day we went to Uzbek place near by, 10 times better food, service and price
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
a very authentic and delicious experience...funeto be a little bit part of the Russian community in San Francisco and tast the excellent food.
We really enjoyed our meal at the Red Tavern. The food was delicious, the ambiance very cozy, and the service outstanding. We will definitely come back!
Wonderful food, wonderful service. Highly recommend. Our guests from Tbilisi and Moscow We're very 😃
After waiting 40 minutes for gulyash (30usd!) and snitzel (30usd!) we just left.
Heavily overpriced place
Atmosphere: 3
Service: 1
A great place to taste Eastern European staples in authentic way. Happy to return here every time we are in SF.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Horrible experience, staff were rude. They lack proper etiquette, maybe because of their cultural difference. Food was a disappointment, so I won't be coming back
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
A delicious meal before catching a cozy show at the 4 Star across the street. The stroganoff is a must-try! Come with a group to try their many small dishes!! The zucchini with smoked salmon was an especially delightful bite!
Good service, the food though was disappointing. Soup was average, served with no bread on side. When we asked for a bread we were given a lowest quality loaf with no taste and structure for $3 even though you can find good russian/slavic bakeries in the neighborhood from where you can source a decent bread. Salad was dry and ingredients felt as the cheapest ones you could get. The german beer on tap was alright. Far from a good deal for your money, prices feel unfair.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Tasty and authentic Russian cuisine, with a pleasant wait staff. I only wish the wine list had been more varied. Red and whites were exclusively Georgian and expensive. The list could surely have been augmented with some reasonably priced California wines.
The most DELICIOUS Russian food I've had in the US, outside of my mom and grandma's cooking. An absolute must if you are in SF.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I had the beef stroganoff and blinis and the stroganoff in particular was incredible and the best I've legitimately ever had. If I'm ever in town again, I'm definitely stopping here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Stroganoff
Service and food was excellent! Live their pan fried potato and herring! Can’t wait to visit again soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pelmeni, Beef Stroganoff, Napoleon Cake, Potato Zrazy, Rack of Lamb
Thank you for delicious dinner!
Awesome service and food!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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