Best American Restaurants in Forest Hill / West Portal

We go as often as we can -- definitely at Christmas. This time we were in a cozy room with a fireplace. Dinners was DELICOUS as always. Everything included -- just a few choices to make and drinks aplenty! Great martinis and service that is beyond (Trevor and our carver were fantastic). A San Francisco institution!

The holiday experience is in full swing at Joes of Westlake. It’s beautifully decorated. The waiters were bustling around, very busy. We had a 3 pm reservation and they seated us by a lovely open fire pit. The only drawback was that our waiter left and as far as we could tell, a new waiter did not take his place until we called someone over to us to ask about our waiter. We were told he left, and two other waiters came to help us. So it all worked out in the end.

We have been many times and Ryan is the absolute best! We enjoyed every one of his suggestions on food and wine :) He is the definition of customer service; someone consistently goes above and beyond to help customers, demonstrating genuine care, empathy, and a commitment to resolving issues effectively, creating a positive experience that builds strong customer loyalty :)

Absolutely incredible meal! Everything about it from start to finish was near perfection! Firstly, the hospitality is on point. A server is always right there when you need them to be and they made the amazing suggestion to get half an order of each of the pancakes rather than a full order of one. The servers that come around with the trays of food also know what they’re doing. When I ordered a single oyster for myself and my partner made a comment about not liking oysters, the servers gave us an extra one for free just so my partner could try it. This was an absolutely amazing opportunity to show not just above-and-beyond hospitality, but also that the restaurant truly believes in the quality of its food. And you know what? My partner did say it was the best oyster he ever had! They’re known for their quail however, I just think it’s not meaty enough of a bird for how it was prepared (Most parts were more breading than quail). As for everything else I tried, I just can’t think of any criticisms at all. I guess I could complain about my glass of rosé but that’s entirely my fault. I went with sparkling when I should have gone with still. The hit of the night were the blue corn-pepita pancakes with braised bacon and coffee butter. I wasn’t even going to order it until the server made the suggestion and I’m glad they did! The pecorino and ricotta pancakes are good too just not as good. The wedge salad is all the right balance of flavors with a nice crunch of lettuce to feel extra bright and fresh. The fried brussel sprouts are paired with an incredibly deep cashew satay sauce. The umami richness is impeccable. The almond financiers with duck liver mousse are another example of perfect balance in flavor. The financiers are light and fluffy and the mousse is smooth and delicate. I thought the burrata and bread dish came a too late into the night for us to fully enjoy however the peanut milk was the perfect cap to our evening.

Outstanding food, particularly the signature duck and the Guinea hen. Kai is a superb waiter. He should own his own restaurant. Price reasonable for San Francisco.