Conduit
Category: American (New) [Edit]
Neighborhood: Mission280 Valencia St
(between 14th St & Brosnan St)
San Francisco, CA 94103 (415) 552-5200
- Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
57 reviews
Neighborhood: SOMA
"I am impressed. I have been missing my deeeelllicious pasties from London and I have been disappointed by American knockoff's - even ones…" read more »
144 Reviews for Conduit
where do you go to have drinks when you realize everything else has closed around 10? THE GREATEST PLACE IN THE WORLD. an absolute godsend. saved my life and several of my friendships.
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I vaguely recall eating at Conduit. I think there might have been food. Maybe some amazing hamachi, perfectly cooked sea bass, still a little glassy but flaky with a buttery crust, and a peach cobbler with ginger-infused cream that could make you cry.
But it's all in this haze. I really only remember hanging on my hot date's
every
single
word
and leaving in a cloud of happiness.
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The cocktails were great. I'd go back to hang out in the bar in a heartbeat.
But the food lacked flavor. I LOVE truffles, so when I saw a fettucine truffle appetizer, I was thrilled. When it arrived, there were black specs sprinkled on top, but zero taste of truffles. I had my companion taste it, and he couldn't taste any truffles either.
Maybe that set in motion of series of lowered expectations, but our main courses and dessert were also bland. Pretty to look at, but no wow.
The only wow of the night came with the bill. Wow! I don't know how we spent so much and yet tasted so little.
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Was quite excited to try this place after my friend suggested it.
Started off with hamachi appetizer. Hamachi were very flavorful. At the first bite, it tasted a little salty, but after chewing, the flavor disperses.
Halibut- to die for! Cooked to the right texture, flake pieces fell right off, but it wasn't too soft. The almond pieces complimented the fish with it's crunch, along with the sauce and vegetable. Who knew almond went well with fish??!!
Usually I don't go for dessert, but the entree was just the right amount so that you're not overly stuffed. When asked what the waiter recommends, he did an excellent job describing the desserts. So good that it made me salivate just with his mere descriptions. I opted for the Boca Negra- chocolate and espresso- made of a very light and airy cake topped with a dollop of whipped cream, which tasted nothing like the heavy whipped cream. The cake was infused with rum, which you can't really taste at all, and it went well with the coffee ice cream.
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This is the best food I have ever experienced in San Francisco.
The presentation and atmosphere are incredible.
I highly suggest this restaurant 5 stars guys thanks
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I had a great 'date night' here last week.
[+] The host, a really pleasant woman, seated us early with no issues.
[+] Our server was very attentive- immediately asking about water
needs. He was tremendous with wine pairings and -timing-
...never showing up at the wrong moment.
[+]Bread was served shortly thereafter. Amazing... or was that the
butter? Tasted like ACME.
[+]Hamachi rocked. Great flavor & presentation.
[+]Beef/fettuccine app made me feel like I was at Babbo. Tasty!
[+]Halibut was fantastic. Really flavorful, great, creative combinations.
I liked the addition of almonds a lot.
[+]My date really enjoyed their pork entree, but I can't speak to it myself.
I will definitely go here again- I'd like to try everything on the menu. In addition to the food, they nailed the atmosphere. It was conducive to my being totally lost in conversation... which I will pay for any day.
This is my new favorite place to eat in SF. The food is absolutely amazing; simply prepared and delicious. That is saying quite a lot for a place that doesn't cater much to non-starch eating vegetarians, but the chef prepared a special and well-thought-out dish for me. I must say though that the best part was the bellini cocktail, made from fresh organic white peach puree--to die for!
The decor is industrial-urban-chic, and the staff is welcoming and attentive.
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My boyfriend and I had an amazing dinner at Conduit the other night. The atmosphere was sleek and modern, and unlike anything I've seen in San Francisco. Noise levels were low, and the service was quite good.
The food...ahhh...the food...
I started with the little gem salad with dungeness crab. WOW. It was amazing! The little gems were tender and topped with a delicious green goddess dressing. The crab was lightly tossed in the same dressing, and was tender and sweet. My boyfriend had the duck confit, which was great...but how can you really go wrong with duck confit?
For entrees, I had the game hen. It was seared perfectly, and placed on top of some delicious pea ravioli. My boyfriend had the short ribs...they were the BEST I've ever had. If you're a beef lover, definitely order these.
We finished off with some dessert drinks, and a delicious chocolate dessert. The bartender here really knows his stuff...he's able to create some extremely interesting and yummy cocktails, with inventive ingredients.
I was extremely impressed with Conduit to say the least...I will definitely be back!
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I liked the largeness of this space, we were able to have quite an intimate dinner without any inteference/evesdropping from the neighbors. It was GREAT. Living in this City makes you surprisingly immune to being shoved intimately up against your neighbors during a meal, so this was a lovely suprise.
We started with the arugula with cheeries and cornbread and the ox tail tortellini. I thought both were excellent. I especially liked the cheese in both. The arugula had a nice sliver placed on the bottom of the plate and the tortellini had a chrispy piece seated on top. Very clever presentation and great taste with the food.
I had the pork and my date had the short rib. Seriously, how many times can I be a big fat idiot and try to order something besides short ribs? Seriously. Haven't had a short rib this good since 1300 (yum, see my review), so head on over. My pork was well cooked but pretty boring, hence the four stars. There was very little flavor and the corn and fava on the bottom didn't contribute much. I was a little dissapointed. I saw the Halibut walk by and was pretty jealous, it looked GOOD.
We finished with the upside down cake. It was soooo soooo good. I believe Tablehopper mentioned how good the pasty chef is here. She wasn't lying, it was amazing and came with a fresh rasberry puree and creme fraiche. Wow, usually dessert is just whatever, not here. I would recommend stopping in for a glass of wine and just dessert if you want to oogle the space.
Great meal, good company, and privacy, what more can you ask for?
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This was a great experience for date night. The decor is industrial cool, which made me think of Mike Myers' turn on "Sprockets" on SNL in the 1990's... this is the part of the review where we dance...
I ordered the Beet salad as an appetizer, and my companion had the gem lettuce. We tried to order the asparagus with crab meat, but alas we had an old menu and it was not being served. The beet salad was delicious, as was the gem lettuce, which had a great crab cake on the plate as well.
She wasn't too hungry, so she had the fettucine with the sugu (btw, another example of the current obsession with Italian grandmother styled cooking). It was delicious and really popped in the mouth.
I had the cornish game hen with green pea ravioli and mushrooms. Very delicious. The pasta was fresh, and the sauce creamy.
We washed it all down with the Sicilian red on the menu.
The service was attentive, and helpful. Overall, a great evening, and not too terrible on the wallet (we got out of there at about $100).
I recommend it... now, do you want to touch my monkey?
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I've enjoyed everything I've eaten here (three visits within last two months) but highlights are:
Appetizers: HAMACHI crudo (aka shashimi) appetizer -- not to be missed! crab salad (TO-DIE-FOR)
Entrees: halibut or spare ribs
Wines: They have a nice Alsatian white, which was recommended by our server to go with the hamachi and crab -- an excellent pairing, a good selection of both reds and whites
Dessert: Nothing to write home about. This is the only area they need to work on: portions are small and there's been nothing particularly remarkable or tasty, even, about any of the four or five different desserts I've tried here.
Service and atmosphere, coupled with outstanding salads, starters and savory dishes, still earn them five stars in my book.
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Great food, and nice decor.
I did not get too modern without character vibe at all. Lighting made it cozy and sexy. It's in interesting part of town, and getting a table is surprisingly not too bad. We arrived there somewhat late, and one of my girlfriend who got there on time was pissed. It was all our fault, and we had to compliment on her dress and shoes to change subject. They still held our table, and service was superb and swift.
We ordered 3 appetizers and 3 entrees with a bottle of wine, and finished with 2 desserts among 4 girls, and after generous tip for this cool spunky waitress, damage was only $60/person.
Fettuccine appetizer is amazing. I can have 2 of them as my entree. I will ALWAYS order it whenever I have chance.
Short rib is so tender and delicately flavorful too without being drenched with sauce. Duck Confit and Pork was very good too. Halibut and hamachi was decent but weren't our favorite.
My friend who is respected for her expert alcohol knowledge says Gimlet is amazing here.
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I found Conduit to be a very pleasurable experience.
Noteworthy dishes: Hamachi app, Beet salad, Halibut main course and for dessert the Chocolate pound cake with espresso chip ice cream.
Service was on point and the price was right.
More info:http://bayareafoodiebl...
This place has the best caipirhinia I have ever tasted... and I was just in Brazil for two weeks on vacation! The bartender was talented, and even made us a special sample of a drink (Gin & Juice) from the bar menu that was almost as good as the caipirhinia. Definitely stop by for a drink sometime!
The food is fantastic as well, but be prepared to order desert... the portions are small-ish.
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Just truly good food. The decor is pretty trippy if you have a shitload of conduit lying around, try the decor yourself, but all in all, the food was damn good, normal drinks, great service, a nice spot right off Market. Easy to get to .
The very long sink reminds me that bars with giant tubs for men to relieve themsleves need to come back. I'm not sure what conduit is channeling, but the food is good. Quail, great beets, short ribs -- all the small plates were very carefully created, and the vegetables were very fresh and well sourced. The entrees emphasized mostly meats, but the small plates were so intensely flavorful that we all felt very satisfied with ordering five to six small dishes.
The interior is a bit odd -- yes, as befits the name, there are many pipes which gives it the somewhat claustrophobic feeling of being inside an outboard motor, but the flat square space makes it feel somewhat like dorm dining. It may have been the early dinner with the light coming in through the windows. I'd go when it's dark dark.
It just goes to show you these days in the Mission--you're more likely to get a shot at a world class restaurant than get shot!
I got a devastatingly delicious, piping hot meal amidst just-so strands of exposed pipes. Like post-modern bamboo, the forest of sleek pipes rushed across the ceiling and down the walls of the big room to create a plumber's fantasy. (Said plumber further throbs with delight at the sight of the glass pottie wall and long hand-washing trough...)
When my buddy suggested we head to 14th and Valencia for din, I was all, "In the projects?" Who knew this edge of Val was sporting the super trendy hot spot? Why, just the other month looking for Martuni's parking, I interrupted a drug deal in that little crack-de-sac.
But now here's a conduit to great food, tipsy-ing wine and perhaps even a good-nite smooch. The pipe's the HYPE!
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Nice ambiance and friendly staff. Our first stop in SF was here and I was mildly impressed. I had the halibut which was really good considering halibut is a fish that doesn't hold flavor too well. It was seasoned just right and came well presented.
The appetizers were all very good, the beef carpaccio coming to mind along with the quail which was very tender. Bring a nice sturdy cabernet to enjoy all the complex tastes this place has to offer. For dessert I had the vacheron which was basically a merengue sandwich with strawberry ice cream in the middle. My brother had chocolate creampuffs filled with chocolate pudding which was pretty much sex in your mouth.
Service was excellent, food was excellent, dessert was excellent, not a bad thing to say about this place except the absolutely shitty parking that you have to find yourself. Get a valet if you are reading this!
First time to conduit, dinner for four Friday night diners. I like the decor, kind of different I also like that this is a big restaurant which means the tables aren't too close together nor was it too noisy. Appetizers and mains were excellent and the service was great. I'd go back for sure.
We ate here to celebrate Father's day with out the kid. Another great place in the mission. I had the duck confit as a starter that I am still thinking about! Both my husband and I had the pork as an entree and although I thought the spinach underneath lacked any luster/seasoning there was not one thing left on either one of our plates except the bone.
My only complaint would be that I did think the delicious bottle of wine we ordered (Robert Craig 2005, Affinity) was served on the warm side..... But that will not stop me from running back to this place!
My fiance and I try to try a new place at least one a month that neither of us have been to. Majority of date nights, we think that it was good but it doesn't stand out from other SF restaurants and you never feel the need to return. Like clockwork, these places go under within a year...
Conduit was a pleasant surprise. Really cool decor, the service was great without being overbearing, the food was excellent and well-priced and we sat there for a good 2.5 hours and never felt like they were trying to rush us out of there. We will be back, for sure!
**Try the soft crab app or the hamachi. For entrees, game hen was excellent or the ribs. Cheese platter for desert all the way!
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A solid meal with semi-NYC feel, this place is great. My friends screwed up on the reservation but the very polite hostess seated us anyway and proceeded to treat us very well. I had the arugula salad (secret ingredient is spicy nut) with mighty tasty cornbread. Then on to baby back ribs which were just plain amazing. No dessert, but everything looked good. The portion size overall was a little small (at least according to american standards.) And the service was a little slow at the get-go. But things picked up and the waiter was genuine in food recommendations. Solid place to take friends from out of town but not spectacular.
You know when you really want to like something, like the next M. Night Shyamalan movie, but you end up being disappointed despite making as many exceptions as possible? Yeah, well that was Conduit for me a few Saturdays ago.
I had been keeping up on what people were saying about the place, both on and off Yelp, so thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. The space, as has been pointed out, is definitely captivating: it's conceptual without seeming to try too hard, and I appreciate that.
While waiting for the rest of my party to arrive, I hung out at the bar, and was taken care of with a classic Negroni, one of my favorite cocktails before, during and after any meal. Nicely done, and both my bartender and the hostess who greeted and eventually sat us down were highlights of the night.
So when we were taken to our table, I was fully ready to expect an amazing experience. Our first waiter was a bit clueless and seemed to forget about us enough that we were lucky to have another waiter who did check on us, and offered up some nice wine selections and knowledge of the menu.
We decided to try a few different items and share them, starting with the asparagus and the beet appetizers. Sadly, all in our group felt the former was only ok and even confusing (what was that masked ricotta side?), while the latter was relatively tasteless. Still the wine gave us hope, and we continued on.
The gnocchi from the pasta section was admittedly quite tasty, garlicky and with nice sizes of Dungeness crab. However, it didn't help make up for the NY Steak we ordered. At $30, I was hoping for a juicy piece of meat, cooked to our standards. What we received was an underwhelming (although decent-sized) steak, overcooked and managing to lack any real sort of flavor. Let's put it this way, one of the people in our group was so non-plussed, we ended up getting the bill and skipping dessert.
Could this have been an off night? Perhaps, and I'd like to think it so. But San Francisco can always use more ambitious and creative restaurants, and that's worth something. So here's to hoping Conduit do somehow fix those defective and rusty pipes, figuratively and culinarily speaking.
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ambiance was great! this is a really cool spot. the waiter was very friendly and knowledgeable. I went with four people and 3 of the four entrees were great! the one I got was very overcooked and the artichokes were not peeled properly so were inedible. however....we brought this up to our waiter, he took it back to the kitchen, took it off of our bill, and brought me a great glass of dessert wine to go with our desserts. I would go back....
beet salad was awesome
the hamachi appetizer was also great
oh...and the pot smoke wafting in from the street also a treat! :)
If you like an austere feel then this the place for you. Lots of metal piping (thus the name Conduit) and metallic colors schemes. But the food is the main attraction here folks. I give it a much better than average rating. It rivals Range (just up the street) for food taste. I had the halibut and it was cooked to perfection. The asparagus appetizer was only so-so but my dining mates had the duck confit and that was rocking baby! Very good service with Jolie...she did a great job in handling my group of guys. Conduit has a private dining room for those of you who need to entertain a business group....it looks to be one of the best in the city.
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Have eaten here a few times now, thanks to its handy location just around the corner from the bf's, and it's growing to be one of my faves in the city. For me, the decor is indifferent, but then I'm one of those people who couldn't care if they had straw on the floor & dried mud walls - I don't go for "dining experiences", I go for delicious & memorable food.
Dishes I've eaten -
Game hen - very nice, liked the pea & pasta combo, though my bird was a little overcooked at the end.
Steak - decent, though nothing terribly memorable.
Fettucine - delicious. Perfect pasta & a superb sugo.
Tortellini - yummy. The crispy bit of gruyere on top was the perfect finish (for the life of me, I can't think what it's called, but if you've ever had fondue, at the very end you get that crispy bit of cheese at the bottom of the dish, well that's what it's like).
Asparagus & ricotta - very nice, though I wish they'd used regular lemon instead of meyer, as I felt it could have done with a slightly zestier punch. I realise meyers are terribly trendy, but they have their place and this wasn't quite it.
Pork 3 ways (shoulder with polenta, sausage with nettle, loin with fava) - outstanding. One of the best dishes I've ever had & one that is hard to forget. I'm more used to being stung by nettles than eating them, but the sausage/nettle part was heavenly.
The highlight of dinner has to be dessert, though - their pastry chef is a real gem & definitely my favorite, so far, in SF. The bf & I usually split three desserts, that's how good they are.
This was one of the best(if not the best) new restaurant dining experiences i have had in SF in many years. We went as a group of 8 and literally tried every thing on the menu(which was suprisingly small but kind of like it that way)..i have the crab appetizer which was amazing. Topped it off with the game hen(v tasty) and a great dessert(boca negro?) and i was one happy camper. Go here soon before all the surbanites start crashing the joint!
Conduit please stay the way you are and dont you ever change..thank you for a great evening!!
My friend Ed bought us all dinner here because he just got his tax refund and wanted to share it with the people that he loves. That, and he was drunk and didn't know what he was doing. Yay alcohol!
So, while Ed was drooling and slobbering all over Amir (Love was in the air that night. Haaaaaay!), I was savoring each morsel of tasty halibut. The cut was small and cost like a thousand pesos, ($27 American dollars), but since I wasn't paying and didn't have to perform oral sex, I didn't let the size of the meat become and issue. It also came on a bed of legumes and tasty roasted nuts, which made the dish more satisfying.
The red wine Ed ordered was amazing. It became part of my tongue. Almost as if, once I stopped drinking the wine, a large chunk of my tongue would be missing. That would suck because I would have to talk in a lisp for the rest of my life. So obviously, I was drinking wine constantly. I think everyone else had the exact same thought, because multiple bottles were ordered.
By the end of the meal I thought Ed was going to throw up on me, which would have been a horrible travesty because people are starving in Bosnia and would NEVER throw up expensive pork. Fortunately he only dropped his knife on the ground, belched, and tried to make out with Amir at the table. So I considered the night a success.
Thanks Ed!
Side note: The bathroom is co-ed, and the stalls are kind of see through. So if you push your face against the glass you might be able to see some guys wanker, or at least startle someone while they're peeing for a good laugh.
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I LOVE this place:) Sit at the bar in front of the open kitchen to see your wonderful local, seasonal, organic ingredients being prepared before you. The wine list is excellent (love the Cabernet) and the menu isn't extensive that you feel like you've walked into the cheesecake factory and have no idea what to order....
I definitely think that one should order at least 3 courses- an appetizer, a pasta, and then a main course because the portions are small enough. Desert each time I went was fantastic as well. The service is exceptional, the interior is "modern" (although I'm growing weary of the whole steel and wood look), and the restaurant is a hop-skip-and-a-jump away from the bars in the mission in case you want to keep your evening going. The only negative comment is this: guys, please don't hit on us ladies in the communal bathroom, nothing says 'Tacky' more than that....
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I'm really rooting for this place, and I believe they deserve to "make it" despite a really tough location for foot traffic. The place is really inviting, and the staff is exceptionally friendly and knowledgeable. They're real professionals.
The drinks are solid, and it's a good eat-at bar. The wine list is the best thing about the place. It has an interesting, well-mixed selection at great prices. This is a very good place to go if you care about wine at all, whether it's on the high or low end. Everybody wins.
The food is good but not great, and I think they'll continue to improve. I suspect that they're trying to get very inventive with the aim of setting themselves apart from the crowd, but haven't quite yet fine tuned their act. I give the food a B or B+, and that's the weakest link in the place - so consider that a very good thing.
beautiful, sexy architecture by stanley saitowitz. i loved the fireplace in front and the open kitchen.. ..we went on a sunday nite and it was not crowded - parking was easy, breezy.
the food was stellar. small limited menu - which sets the bar high. that means they better do a damn good job on each dish and that they did! we shared the beet salad and it was divine. i had the hen and it was sooo tasty. cooked perfectly - just the right portion size and the most delish pillows of pasta underneath - accompanied by a trio of mushrooms.. all in a wonderful sauce. the waiter recommended the perfect white to accompany it, and i was very pleased. i also love loved the schott zweisel stemware--sexy. i am a big riedel and speigelau stemware fan and have discoverd a new line to add to my collection! yay!
This is how I imagine the Star Trek Enterprise's dining room would look. Modern look and feel without having any warmth to it. Something tells me this is not a good date spot at all --- wrong vibe.
Ok onto the food -- this place needs work. Lots of work. We were a party of 8. First off where was the bread? They were out! No friggin bread!
I had the pork belly appitizer. Everyone who knows me understands this is NOT a big suprise. While the pork belly here was still pretty solid, the top layer was carmelized so much that it stuck to my teeth like milk duds.
Entree wasn't much better unfortunately -- I ordered the Steak medium rare with bone marrow and potatoes. Bone Marrow is fantastic --- however what am i going to put it on? They tell me no bread. I am annoyed. I ask for toast points. They have this! I am impressed for 3 seconds.
Steak was totally overcooked and everyone else's food was ho hum at best.
I hope they are still working out the kinks here as its a recent addition to the mission but only time will tell if I ever show up again. I'd stay away until they work out some of their issues.
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Some of the best food I've had in recent memory. I was walking by on my way to Delfina and stopped to look at the menu when from inside my old friend Jolie spotted me and convinced me to give it a try. Jolie used to work at Delfina and Salt House and is surely an SF institution. I had the little gem lettuce salad with an avocado dressing and a timbale of crab on the side and it was my all time favorite incarnation of little gems. One thing that contributed to that impression was the fact that the lettuce was chilled, giving it an extra bit of crispiness. Then the short rib tortellini, which was good but not outstanding (the flavors just didn't quite pop), followed by the halibut, which came just as I dream about--a bit of crispiness on the exterior, but flaky and tender on the inside, on a bed of artichokes and mushrooms. One of those rare experiences where expectations are exceeded! I'll definitely be back. PS. Anyone complaining about the prices (which aren't bad, by the way), just doesn't have a clue. I was just in Europe and at any top restaurant you will pay 40-60 for just a main course. We are totally spoiled in SF.
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4 1/2 stars for the taste of the food (very flavorful)
2 stars for the miniscule portions (but at least they give you a heads up so you know to order 4 of each one, lol)
3 stars for having to try and flag our server down toward the end of the evening whenever we needed something... but granted, it was a friday night, and 3 of our large party had arrived late for our early reservation, which may have made him fall somewhat behind...
4 stars for the conduit design (funky, mod, cool)
4 stars for a cool-LOOKING bathroom, but...
1 star for having frosted bathroom stall walls in a co-ed bathroom (ewe! WTF? not recommended if you're female)
5 stars for the sundae dessert (YUM, YUM, YUM - could have eaten 5 of them!)
would i go back? yes. but maybe not on a friday night, or with a large group... too slow.
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My friend and I had dinner at Conduit on a busy Friday night. The restaurant was jumpin' during Pride Weekend- it looked like all the hottiesd came out to play and chose Conduit as the place to start their weekend. Everyone was dressed in their Friday evening designers- and everyone seemed to be happy that they were there, which lended itself to s great vibe! The host was busy- but pleasant and accomodating. The servers seemed rushed and overwhelmed, we thought maybe our server wouldn't be attentive- but was delightful in the end. We happened to sit next to the Architect/Owner and friends- who recomended the short ribs! The beginning of the meal was good, not great, we had the fettucine as a starter and then beet salad- they were simple, perfectly salty, and tasted very old skool Italian. The entrees came out- halibut and short ribs! WOW! They were cooked to perfection and paired with flavorful sides. It ended up being a great meal! Our server recommended a beautiful red wine to pair with our dinner and add to a stellar experience. The space was well thought out, innovative, spacious, yet still felt private. The ioptin to sit at the chef's bar is appealing- and very Iron Chef.
Who would have thought a building material could become so Urban Chic?? This well put together atmosphere moves up the bar for many of SF's newer haunts. The Copper and Stainless tubing create an intimate setting with graciously spaced tables. Bonus points: you can actually sit and have a conversation without yelling! Kudos Conduit!
It's my post birthday week, a good friend treated me to this NEW favorito spot! We started off by having drinks at the bar. I wanted something they didn't have - of course - but the bartender assured me he could stir up some magic ....he did! Fresh squeezed ruby red grapefruit too!
The portions of food are small so family style isn't really the vibe. There are a couple of bites per appetizer. The duck con fit and the dungenous gnocchi are a must try! The gnocchi was perfect! The main course - after two more drinks I can't remember the names but - one with fish was excellent - the one with the pork and grits was just okay..
Desserts - okay the ice cream sundae was 5 stars and as a foodie the rhubarb tart with ginger ice cream was phenomenal too! Although I think many, including my dining partner, would think the biting ginger ice cream a bit too hot...but not me!
You will see me again! job well done!!
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Decor - modern and industrial without seeming cold. 1 star.
Food - delicate and tasty, with sensible portion sizes (not too big, not too small). 1 star.
Service - attentive and friendly. 1 star.
Atmosphere - buzzing and warm without being too loud. 1 star.
Location - nice neighbourhood, easy to get to. 1 star.
Total: 5 stars! Love this place and will be coming back.
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The food here is good but not as exceptional as the prices demand. Everything I had was well-prepared but nothing was wow. The asparagus with crab salad was definitely the best dish and i appreciated that they did not go cheap on the crab, but it was just very tasting not particularly inventive.
I would have considered giving this 4 stars but I really didn't like the atmosphere. The piping is cool but otherwise the place is just dark except if one looks outside and is blinded by the glare from the large windows. They really needed to decide whether this place was going to be dark and hip or bright and lively. They didn't and the place suffers for it.
Service was good and the wine and drink list are solid.
Given its location and pricing, this place needs to be a destination restaurant to suceed, I don't think they are quite good enough for that.
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Early Wednesday afternoon, I made a reservation for 7:30p. Arriving 15 minutes late, my boyfriend and I were asked another 10 minutes "...so my waiter could catch up." Umm, okay...like she didn't have an extra 15 minutes without us there? Oh well, BAR TIME!
The interior is somewhat amazing and aw-striking. Conduit sure does hold to it's name...everywhere you look, CONDUIT! Maybe a little too much. Throughout dinner I was distracted and the boyfriend took notice. I couldn't believe how tacky the "copper" conduit looked. It was faux and I couldn't take my eyes off of it.
Yes, the bathrooms are frosted glass. Yes, you can make out the outline of the person next to you. No, it's not bothersome to me. Why? I basically sleep in a "bedroom" where two of the four walls are made of frosted glass. Voyeurism at it's best!
On to the food! We made it a three course meal starting with the gnocchi with crab meat and the asparagus. Both amazing! The asparagus was crisp and tasty without being too overbearing. To me the gnocchi was a little mushy, but definitely edible.
The BF ordered the game hen, I had the steak. If you're hungry, go with the steak! The game hen was 1/4 undercooked and inedible. Not only that, it was a small portion with about 4 raviolis. The steak however was incredible!! About 6 oz. in weight, it was cooked rare (not the way I asked for but I loved it anyway) with cubed potatoes and broccoli. YUMMY! The bone marrow was bland and was no Osso Bucco (oh well).
If you're looking for a tasty treat...order the sundae. Vanilla ice cream with caramel and a cinnamon grahm cracker with candied pecans...OMG! It was heaven!
If you're going to dine here, expect to drop some cash. Two apps, two entrees, one dessert and one bottle of wine with tip...$200.
The wait staff here are wonderful. Paying attention to every detail, they made the dinning experience...well...an experience.
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Great new place...I would have given 5 1/2 stars but they've switched their menu a couple times and never have what I want. Guess I pick the least popular items! Good news is that everything I've eaten there is really good.
The staff there is great...not all rushed and they leave you alone when when you want a little privacy. Definitely a step up for Valencia restaurants.
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