What a treat , the decor, the atmosphere, the service , the presentation, the flavors… it was our first time and for my wife s birthday who turn out to not “typically” like most of what was on the menu (except the lobster but she was hoping for crab but was no longer in season) but LOVED every dish she had and so did I. They offered an extra dish but there is already plenty. I would have been very happy without the quail dish which felt like a lot after everything else but we just came out of a detox and tend to tend toward vegetarian (not a good place for those purists!); still an amazing place we will get back to when we can.
Vegetarian options: No options it is a lot of seafood plus quail topically with no option to swap .
Dietary restrictions: No way to tweak the menu much, a no go for our vegan and vegetarian friends !
Parking: Busy street paid parking until 8p Mon-Sat but can find it in back streets with patience ?
Kid-friendliness: No, very quiet and very strict / fancy menu
Wheelchair accessibility: Seems so, table are quite spaced out !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
John B
I’m still thinking about the gailbi. Maybe the most delicious thing I’ve had in my life
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dawid Perkowski
The fact that they are only a 1 star is an injustice, they deserve at least 2 stars! Easily best Korean food in SF! You can tell everyone cares
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Masaru Ohnogi
This is a Michelin-starred Korean restaurant in San Francisco. As you can see from the pictures of the dishes, the cuisine is contemporary, and my first impression was that it had French elements. In fact, the head chef has experience in French cooking. Every dish looked exquisite, and I could see the thought put into designing the full course menu—how they skillfully combined ingredients and seasonings to create their own unique flavors and presentation.
I was curious about where each ingredient came from, and I expected the staff to explain this when they served the dishes. As a Japanese foodie, I tend to focus on whether ingredients are sourced from the best places and seasons. The flavors were great, but my only concern is that I wanted to taste each ingredient more distinctly.
The service was excellent, and they offered a good variety of liquor options.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Emrick W
When you think nostalgic North American music and oak furniture might be a weird combo for a Korean restaurant - just wait for the dishes to arrive. They're really French + Korean fusion, not very traditional Korean. Most of the food we had from the tasting menu was pretty good. The short rib and jackfish were standouts, but I wasn't a fan of the quail. Service was top-notch. A bit pricey for what you get, though.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mochi, King Crab
Heyju LM
I went last week and the appetizers were really new and good. But the main menu was very disappointing. Quail is actually one of the most difficult ingredients, but it was smoked a lot to get rid of its unique smell. As soon as I took a bite, the smell of smoke rather than the taste of meat hit me like a punch in the back of my head, so I felt repulsed. The additional steak I chose was so salty that I couldn't eat even one piece. It cost a little more than $1,006 in total, and it's a place I want to go back to just for the atmosphere and service, but considering the main menu, I don't want to go there again. Considering the price range, I think the main menu needs to be supplemented again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Jason Krikorian
Totally awesome!
So happy that I chose to visit SSal this past weekend and can’t even tell you how impressed I was!
The food, the service, the organization, the timing, the atmosphere, were all consistently perfect.
I think this restaurant should be very proud of what they are doing, to say the least!
Can’t wait to return
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
W. Jessie L
The restaurant has such a welcoming atmosphere, it's like dining in your own home. The generous spacing between tables provides a sense of privacy. The chef's innovative fusion of Korean and French flavors is truly impressive, creating a feast for both the eyes and the taste buds. This is a place I'll be returning to again and again！
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chang Liu
My favorite fine dining restaurant in SF and I’ve been to almost all of the restaurants on the Michelin list. In my mind they deserve at least 2 stars. Every single dish we had was absolute perfection; there were no misses. All the flavors were perfectly balanced. The dishes were innovative and hearty. It’s been 7 months since we went and I’m still thinking about some of the dishes to this day.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chris Cheng
A very disappointing experience. Very unaccommodating and lag of skill chef and indifference staff. My wife is lactose intolerance and I mentioned in the reservation in advance. We asked the chef to substitute butter if possible and was told he will. In all but one dish everything was served as is with butter prepared sauce or creamy dessert. My wife repeatedly ask for substitute butter in the cooking and was promised. In fact for the quail dish, even though the chef fully knew the sauce has butter in it, instead of giving an alternative or ask for putting the sauce on the side, he just walked up to my wife and pour the sauce on her plate and walked away. He fully knew my wife will not enjoy it and deliberately do it to spoil the experience. For dessert and petit four, there is no adjustment and everything just drop on the table. When asked, the waiting staff just said, you should not eat it and walked away. This is not what Michelin star restaurant chef or staff should do. It just showed the chef simply doesn't have the skill to adjust and the heart to please customer. And the wait staff is just unprofessional. Bay Area has a lot of Michelin restaurants, I dinned in Single Thread, Madcap and Nisei (one block down the street) during this summer. Everyone of them have skilled and caring chefs that tried to accommodate our request. Only SSAL gave us the attitude and unprofessional experience like this. Very disappointing.
Super friendly staff. Elegant and tranquil ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
My Bach
SSAL SF is an incredible dining experience that I keep coming back to! The ambiance is modern yet cozy, making it the perfect spot for a special night out in San Francisco. The staff are always attentive and knowledgeable, ensuring my dining experience is flawless every time.
The food is the true star of the evening. Each dish is a masterpiece, blending traditional Korean flavors with innovative twists. The presentation is exquisite, and every bite is a burst of flavor. The chef's dedication to quality and creativity is evident in every dish.
It is a must-visit place in San Francisco. I've been back many times, and it never fails to exceed my expectations. If you're looking to enjoy exceptional modern Korean cuisine, this is the place to be!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Will Pickering
Very unique menu; everything was innovative and more importantly, delicious. Exceptional service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nicolas Darveau-Garneau
The best meal I’ve had in years. Run to this restaurant as fast as you can!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
db
Yes, the food was very good but seemed overdone and formulaic…the photos you see online is what you get and not much else. I left feeling a bit swindled overall and I did not enjoy the blinking cameras pointed at me from every corner while I ate or the huge neon exit sign suggesting I might be eating in a nail salon. In addition the tables are round and sized for large parties so two of us felt shoved off to the side of the circle seated very far apart. Not very intimate. In conclusion, compared to other top-end restaurants I’ve eaten at, this one is not worth the cost.
What a treat , the decor, the atmosphere, the service , the presentation, the flavors… it was our first time and for my wife s birthday who turn out to not “typically” like most of what was on the menu (except the lobster but she was hoping for crab but was no longer in season) but LOVED every dish she had and so did I. They offered an extra dish but there is already plenty. I would have been very happy without the quail dish which felt like a lot after everything else but we just came out of a detox and tend to tend toward vegetarian (not a good place for those purists!); still an amazing place we will get back to when we can.
Vegetarian options: No options it is a lot of seafood plus quail topically with no option to swap .
Dietary restrictions: No way to tweak the menu much, a no go for our vegan and vegetarian friends !
Parking: Busy street paid parking until 8p Mon-Sat but can find it in back streets with patience ?
Kid-friendliness: No, very quiet and very strict / fancy menu
Wheelchair accessibility: Seems so, table are quite spaced out !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I’m still thinking about the gailbi. Maybe the most delicious thing I’ve had in my life
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The fact that they are only a 1 star is an injustice, they deserve at least 2 stars! Easily best Korean food in SF! You can tell everyone cares
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is a Michelin-starred Korean restaurant in San Francisco. As you can see from the pictures of the dishes, the cuisine is contemporary, and my first impression was that it had French elements. In fact, the head chef has experience in French cooking. Every dish looked exquisite, and I could see the thought put into designing the full course menu—how they skillfully combined ingredients and seasonings to create their own unique flavors and presentation.
I was curious about where each ingredient came from, and I expected the staff to explain this when they served the dishes. As a Japanese foodie, I tend to focus on whether ingredients are sourced from the best places and seasons. The flavors were great, but my only concern is that I wanted to taste each ingredient more distinctly.
The service was excellent, and they offered a good variety of liquor options.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
When you think nostalgic North American music and oak furniture might be a weird combo for a Korean restaurant - just wait for the dishes to arrive. They're really French + Korean fusion, not very traditional Korean. Most of the food we had from the tasting menu was pretty good. The short rib and jackfish were standouts, but I wasn't a fan of the quail. Service was top-notch. A bit pricey for what you get, though.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mochi, King Crab
I went last week and the appetizers were really new and good. But the main menu was very disappointing. Quail is actually one of the most difficult ingredients, but it was smoked a lot to get rid of its unique smell. As soon as I took a bite, the smell of smoke rather than the taste of meat hit me like a punch in the back of my head, so I felt repulsed. The additional steak I chose was so salty that I couldn't eat even one piece. It cost a little more than $1,006 in total, and it's a place I want to go back to just for the atmosphere and service, but considering the main menu, I don't want to go there again. Considering the price range, I think the main menu needs to be supplemented again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Totally awesome!
So happy that I chose to visit SSal this past weekend and can’t even tell you how impressed I was!
The food, the service, the organization, the timing, the atmosphere, were all consistently perfect.
I think this restaurant should be very proud of what they are doing, to say the least!
Can’t wait to return
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The restaurant has such a welcoming atmosphere, it's like dining in your own home. The generous spacing between tables provides a sense of privacy. The chef's innovative fusion of Korean and French flavors is truly impressive, creating a feast for both the eyes and the taste buds. This is a place I'll be returning to again and again！
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My favorite fine dining restaurant in SF and I’ve been to almost all of the restaurants on the Michelin list. In my mind they deserve at least 2 stars. Every single dish we had was absolute perfection; there were no misses. All the flavors were perfectly balanced. The dishes were innovative and hearty. It’s been 7 months since we went and I’m still thinking about some of the dishes to this day.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A very disappointing experience. Very unaccommodating and lag of skill chef and indifference staff.
My wife is lactose intolerance and I mentioned in the reservation in advance. We asked the chef to substitute butter if possible and was told he will. In all but one dish everything was served as is with butter prepared sauce or creamy dessert. My wife repeatedly ask for substitute butter in the cooking and was promised. In fact for the quail dish, even though the chef fully knew the sauce has butter in it, instead of giving an alternative or ask for putting the sauce on the side, he just walked up to my wife and pour the sauce on her plate and walked away. He fully knew my wife will not enjoy it and deliberately do it to spoil the experience. For dessert and petit four, there is no adjustment and everything just drop on the table. When asked, the waiting staff just said, you should not eat it and walked away. This is not what Michelin star restaurant chef or staff should do. It just showed the chef simply doesn't have the skill to adjust and the heart to please customer. And the wait staff is just unprofessional.
Bay Area has a lot of Michelin restaurants, I dinned in Single Thread, Madcap and Nisei (one block down the street) during this summer. Everyone of them have skilled and caring chefs that tried to accommodate our request. Only SSAL gave us the attitude and unprofessional experience like this.
Very disappointing.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Super friendly staff.
Elegant and tranquil ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
SSAL SF is an incredible dining experience that I keep coming back to! The ambiance is modern yet cozy, making it the perfect spot for a special night out in San Francisco. The staff are always attentive and knowledgeable, ensuring my dining experience is flawless every time.
The food is the true star of the evening. Each dish is a masterpiece, blending traditional Korean flavors with innovative twists. The presentation is exquisite, and every bite is a burst of flavor. The chef's dedication to quality and creativity is evident in every dish.
It is a must-visit place in San Francisco. I've been back many times, and it never fails to exceed my expectations. If you're looking to enjoy exceptional modern Korean cuisine, this is the place to be!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very unique menu; everything was innovative and more importantly, delicious. Exceptional service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
The best meal I’ve had in years. Run to this restaurant as fast as you can!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Yes, the food was very good but seemed overdone and formulaic…the photos you see online is what you get and not much else. I left feeling a bit swindled overall and I did not enjoy the blinking cameras pointed at me from every corner while I ate or the huge neon exit sign suggesting I might be eating in a nail salon. In addition the tables are round and sized for large parties so two of us felt shoved off to the side of the circle seated very far apart. Not very intimate. In conclusion, compared to other top-end restaurants I’ve eaten at, this one is not worth the cost.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 4
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