Abacá

Review summary

1. R

   Ron

   San Francisco

   3 reviews

   4.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   We had the a great experience for dinner. We’ve been here beforehand for brunch. We’ve been wanting to come for dinner for a while now. What better time than my wive’s Birthday. We had the tasting menu which is not our normal because we like to try almost everything on the dinner menu. The tasting menu was a good amount of food so come hungry. We even ordered a lot of the stuff that was not on the tasting menu. My parents are so use to family style Filipino food. So when the amuse bouche and the oysters came out, my parents were making fun and saying “this is the kind of place you eat when you’re on a diet.” I said, “just wait.” All of a sudden the second course came out,let’s just say they were very much overwhelmed and got full. I said for them to pace themselves. They were full by the second course. Main course and desserts still haven’t came in. Great experience and good food. One thing I would say, is maybe offering the rice with the second course because in Filipino tradition, you eat rice with everything. All in all, fantastic meal!
   

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2. M

   Matthew

   San Francisco

   2 reviews

   4.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Kind of interesting that was auto-grat 20% on a 3 top. Usually those are for larger parties. That’s my only concern.
   

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3. H

   Hailey

   Las Vegas

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   The sampler was good and the brut was too. The main dishes were bland. Overall, overpriced. The decor inside looks cheap and plastic and while there’s good natural light, the configuration of the seating prevents most guests from enjoying it. The host was lovely, but the male server was somewhat rude.
   

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4. M

   Michelle

   San Diego

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Really great pastries! The pastries were the highlight of the meal. The Ube milk bread was especially delicious. The scrambled eggs were well-cooked and we enjoyed the crab omelette as well.
   

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5. D

   David

   San Francisco

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Allie was fantastic and provided a wonderful experience and the food was excellent. My girlfriend and I had a wonderful time and would recommend to family and friends. The tasting menu was delicious and satiating. Would absolutely go back.
   

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6. J

   John

   San Francisco

   95 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   95 reviews

   Dined on November 19, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   If you want a completely new and different dining experience, you want to try Abacá. The food and the drinks are unique and spectacular. I recommend the smoked lechon, the crispy rice, the sliced pork skewers and their signature bread for a few. We were noting that while food at many restaurants can be very good, these days it rarely is surprising and great at the same time. Abacá is an exception.
   

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7. A

   Alana

   San Francisco

   6 reviews

   5.0

   6 reviews

   Dined on November 19, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   This was my 2nd time dining at Abaca and just like the last the food was phenomenal every dish was packed with flavor. The service is fantastic, very attentive but not intrusive. I noted that the tables nearby were also enjoying their dinner's immensely. Even got to chatting with the table next to ours about how amazing our mutual dinner experiences were. The menu changes seasonally as they try to create there dishes with seasonal local produce as much as possible. The creativity of re imagining traditional Pilipino dishes is extraordinary! For example, they take lumpia to a whole new level. Each bite is a flavor explosion in your mouth. I will be returning for sure!
   

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8. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Washington DC

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined on November 17, 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 3

   Overall, the food was fine but not inspired or inspiring to either of us. The drink was good, but we wouldn't choose to go back. My partner and I went here last week, and neither of us were overly impressed. Very fragrant, as she described it. The drink we had was excellent - we thought the Payamanin was nicely balanced with good flavor. As for food, we had the rice dish ("Sigsig fried rice"), the dumplings ("Kaldereta dumplings"), and the duck balut (from the "secret" menu). The balut was definitely a first for us; I was fine with it, she found the texture off-putting, but we agreed that it mostly tasted like chicken and egg together. The rice dish was good, we both liked it, but it wasn't especially exciting. The dumplings were disappointing. We knew only 5 came in the dish, and that it came with some wagyu beef, but the dumplings were basically gnocchi and the beef was like three thin slices. It was tasty, but not worth $32. We also got two desserts, the banana donut thing and the steamed-rice-in-a-banana-leaf dish. The banana donut was pretty tasty, and we'd probably get that again - good texture, not too sweet, and the green apple slices on the side didn't do as much to make the dish tart as the server suggested. The steamed-rice dish was far less exciting; softer than mochi, a little gummy, and not sweet or really even very flavorful. The sorbet with it was the best part.
   

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9. T

   Tran

   San Francisco

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on November 15, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Came for the collaboration dinner between Chef Francis and Chef Tu. Completely impressed with how they curated the menu and executed the dishes. Excited for Chef Tu’s upcoming wine bar - Gigi’s! Will definitely come back to Abacá for more collabs!
   

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10. L

    Liz

    New York City

    5 reviews

    vip
    3.0

    5 reviews

    Dined on November 12, 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 5

    My husband and I were really looking forward to this meal, as we have Filipino family and saw this on top restaurant lists for San Francisco. We visited during restaurant week and went with the special menu. The 1st course was very good, 2nd course was ok. Our experience was really dampened by the service. We waited 20+ minutes in between courses, and our server never came back to take another drink order. We wanted more cocktails to help with the extended wait times, but no one ever came back except the bus boy. We were there on a Monday night and it was not incredibly crowded. Unique food options and good atmosphere, but overall not a great time for us.
    

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