Parallel 37

Best meals I had while in SF this trip. The foods here are delicious! My sister lives across the street and we’ve been here twice already. So glad I tried this place. They make tasty cocktails as well and we had great service.
Hoping to come back here a couple more times next week before I have to return home.

********************* 1534 ***********************
I’ve been wanted to come here for a long time since the new chef Michael Rotondo arrived from Charlie Trotter, the iconic Chicago restaurant. Chef Rotondo was the right hand man there for almost a decade long until the day the restaurant closed down.
The anticipation was high and I got to dine with 2 fine dining foodies/​Yelpers, although they are not Elite but they have dined around the world at some of the best restaurants. My kind of dining partners Kenneth L. and Cindy C. Thank you for joining me.
Parallel 37 design and layout are more modern than what I expected of the Ritz Carlton style. The place is spacious, plenty of space between table which I love. I don’t want to smell the cologne of the guy next to me haha.
The bar is a bit uninviting for my taste. It’s too structure and had that cold feeling to it. I love the entrance with that gorgeous wooden piece, that’s the warmest thing of the entire restaurant.
The beautiful smile hostess greeted us nicely, but our table wasn’t ready. The Tuesday after the Memorial’s Day weekend.
The cool bartender has been there since the Dining Room day was nice, recommended Banshee’s wine to me which I enjoyed. Made a tasty cocktail for my friend, and a cold beer for another.
We literally tried a bit of everything on the menu. We ordered the a la cart so three of us could share everything. Great idea, we got to try 9 dishes and I was beyond full, fat and happy afterward.
Everything was delicious!
— AMUSE BOUCHE
— CAVIAR — I was heavenly in love. Thank you chef.
— LOCAL BACK COD green beans, cucumber — delish
— SEARED OCTOPUS, green shiso, crispy garlic — unusual dish, refreshing taste.
— PAPPARDELLE PASTA asparagus, red wine, fennel sausage — I love this dish, the way chef rolls the pasta, beautifully presented.
— ALASKAN HALIBUT polenta, wild fennel, manila clams, bacon — moist, perfectly done, so much flavor here.
— HERB CRUSTED RACK OF LAMB 48 hour braised shoulder, potato gnocchi, arugula — ORDER this dish! Thank you to our waiter recommendation.
— CENTER CUT RIBEYE dijon mustard, spring onion, short rib — it was cooked to perfection.
Dessert with chocolate and more.
Service was good but not present all the time, they were very busy and the servers seem to rush to run to the next table. We had to wait a bit to order the wine. I would expect a smoother service from the Ritz.
Since we already know what we wanted. We didn’t ask for the Sommelier. Next time I would like to have the Somm recommend us. Their wine list is quite nice. If you get the black AMEX to spend, I need a third job to afford my dining out habit haha!
We also got to meet the chef. He was super cool, down to earth, warm, and we truly love his food. The dishes were beautifully plated, fresh ingredients, technique, and full of flavor. I got to chat with chef a bit about his time at Charlie Trotter. I used to live in Chi Town also.
We all love the food, and I can’t wait to come back to try other dishes with my parents.

Restuarant is very good but something is missing. I can’t identify it. Food was very good but did not make it to the outstanding level. The décor was drab. The carpets, the tables, the chairs while all nice just did not flow together. I felt in general left down but enjoyed a good meal. Perhaps being located in the Ritz Carlton raised my expectations too high. My husband and son, on the other hand, loved their whole experience here.

Yummy brunch alert! They have wonderful friendly service, a delicious menu, and gluten-​free pancakes! The only thing that could make this restaurant better would me more natural, incoming light to break up the dark, den-​like décor. The lobby lounge at the front of the hotel is airy and light-​infused. But the food and service make up for that. Will be back on a rainy/​foggy day!

We ordered the chef’s tasting menu and were pleasantly surprised at the flavors Chef Michael Rotondo presented. With the 8 course menu he had a very summery lemon theme that ran across many complex dishes and did a wonderful job executing on his vision. A notable favorite was his spin on foie gras with strawberries and balsamic vinegar. Two of my husband’s favorite dishes combined into one! Needless to say we loved every dish which has never happened before! We will be coming back!

Really delicious food. It takes a while for them to make but I’m assuming it’s because everything is handmade, or so people say.

I still think the food is OUTSTANDING (service, ESPECIALLY at the bar, needs to improve DRASTICALLY — getting rid of super moody camber would be a good start).
HOWEVER, they used to offer a 4 Course Tasting WITH Wine Pairing for $ 110. That has now changed to a 3 Course Tasting with Wine Pairing for $ 160 — representing a 45% increase! I don’t know many people who have gotten a 45% raise last month, do you?
I know this is SF and the market can price things at RETARDED levels. Just sad to see Chef Michael and Team acquiescing to the tech rubes and joining the bandwagon. :-(

This review is for the Sunday brunch. We went this past Valentine’s Day taking our extended family. We knew the prices going in, and I did see some of the review saying that the variety was smaller than what the Ritz had before, but I did have some expectations knowing we were going to pay $ 115 per adult and $ 58 per child.
The décor is pretty nice, what you’d expect from a restaurant at the Ritz. We were seated at the chefs table. There was a small one way mirror that looked into the kitchen. I was kind of thinking most of the wall was going to be glass, but it is more like a window. In fact, I was seated with my back to the window and now that I am thinking of it, the only time I saw anything was when we first sat down and I purposely stood up to take a look. Otherwise, the window is too high to see anything if you just turn around, so nothing that special. I have definitely seen a lot cooler ones. You can stand outside of Benu and watch them cook while seeing a lot more.
At any rate, for a brunch there were only 2 things I would consider breakfast. They had a french toast that the kids liked, although one of the kids thought there was coffee in it. Not sure, as I didn’t taste it. The other thing was an eggs benedict which was pretty good because of the toast, but a little watery for some reason and no hot sauce at the table. There was some if you went over to the bloody mary bar.
Speaking of the bloody mary bar, it was cool. They had 3 types. I tried the mildest because it was tomatlllos. The bartender did warn me that I had to add some acidity and other items, so I did, but I could see it being pretty bland without. I appreciated the creativity and wanted to go back to try the spicy one, but never made it back. My brother-​in-​law did and said it wasn’t spicy, although he does like things hot.
The rest of the brunch was geared more towards lunch or dinner. There was a carving station with duck, salmon and prime rib. The prime rib was pretty good if you got it medium rare. My sister likes the ends so it was medium well, but she said it was pretty tough and didn’t end up eating it. There were a few pieces of sushi, some dim sum, a lot of cheeses and nuts (filled up at least ¼ of the space), and desserts. There were more small plates here and there, but maybe less than 10 things. Nothing really screamed have 2nds for any of us, but my mother liked the salmon nigiri sushi.
At one point, I heard someone telling the waitstaff that they should have small bowls out for the soy sauce for the sushi so you can tell they are still learning.
The only thing I think that was up to par were the desserts. They had a pretty good variety and some creativity.
The service was nice and great at clearing the table, but horrendous at refilling our water. I don’t think they ever refilled our water. Not sure if we asked them to though once we were running low, but at a nice restaurant, the glass should probably never go below half. All of the adults’ waters were at or near the bottom. To top it off they tacked on 20% gratuity because we had a large party. Pretty rare to see 20% tacked on, usually 18%, but at a buffet seems really high and the fact that they never refilled our water… Not really a big deal though, but some at the table thought it was too high for a buffet.
Unfortunately, we will not be going back. I am not even sure if we would be going back if we paid the kid’s price. I know Vegas buffets are cheap because they are used for marketing, or at least I assume so, but when you are used to paying $ 50 – 60 for a good buffet in Vegas, it is hard to pay twice as much for one that is less than half the size. I was kind of expecting the buffet the Ritz used to have a long time ago, but I think this one was far from it.
The restaurant had the space to increase the amount of food by at least 30% as half of the bar was not being used so I would suggest doing that and limiting the amount of cheese for more breakfast items.

Who would have thought it possible?
My favorite restaurant in the City was born from a YEE that I crashed!
Yes, hard to believe.
Back to the meat of it, I started dining here in 2013, shortly after chef Michael Rotondo arrived and revamped this sleeping giant of a restaurant on Nob Hill. Being thoroughly impressed by the YEE meal, I quickly became a regular here… regular as in a few times a year. And the best part is that he hasn’t failed to impress me each time I’ve been back. With the latest changes, my review will be a two-​part one, so please bear with me:
1) Dinner — Having hosted a couple of special occasion dinners with relatives during the summer, I was more than happy to share this find with them, dining at both the kitchen table and their private room (the venue of said YEE). Everyone was impressed and astonished at the food quality and fine service offered here. Both times, chef Michael greeted our party and asked whether we enjoyed our meal… the five stars answers that question.
Recently, he emailed me that bison (
) was again available… I’d been chasing him about bringing that back on the menu for over a year now. Well, that was enough to prompt two more dinners for work and casual friends. The Autumn tasting menu featured this! The other highlight of that meal was the foie gras tortellini (
). As was the scallop on that menu (
)!
2) Sunday brunch — To show you how behind the times I am, I did NOT know that the hotel no longer served a Sunday buffet at the Terrace restaurant downstairs. Nor did I know that they no longer offered the Christmas Day grand… and I do mean grand… buffet in the ballroom. So it was a bit of a surprise to me when chef Michael invited me to their first rendition of Sunday brunch here in mid-​December. They plan to offer this brunch on the 2^nd Sunday of every month. I brought several friends including my best friend here to enjoy this wonderful, scrumptious meal. Knowing the layout almost too well, I felt right at home navigating myself throughout the dining room.
Please note that this buffet is one of quality over quantity as the selections are not as wide as their sister restaurant Navio in Half Moon Bay. However, let’s just say that I would be a happy boy just camping out at the hot plates and carving station in their private room. Between the in-​shell scallops and the prime rib and rack of lamb… well, you know. Trying to pare down those calories in preparation for holiday feasting, I’ve been holding back on the sweets. The dessert table here will bring you to tears. The pastry chef has macarons as well as a variety of seasonal small bites that will leave you nodding your head. My favorite were those passionfruit tarts that were topped with pomegranate seeds. (My apologizes for no photos as my phone battery died).
Well, I’ve given you two quick reasons why this has become one of, if not, my favorite restaurant in the City. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed dining here.

Go here if you want to say you ate at the Ritz but don’t want to drop $ 75 on high tea.
The service was terrible. We came at 4:30 for drinks and were told a table was clearing out. They forgot about us for 15 minutes, then someone else came by and asked if we were being helped. For the rest of the night, the service was pretty sporadic. We just wanted a quick snack, and it took us more than an hour after sitting down.
The bar food was mediocre. The duck fat fries are indistinguishable from regular fries. The sliders and such were just okay.
The saving grace was that the bar food is not any more expensive than you’d pay at other restaurants in the area.

I had the premier Tea which came with a glass of sparkling wine, my husband had the holiday tea. Excellent customer service!!! Friendly staffs. They let us to switch on the teas and have unlimited refills. Tea was great and the sparkling wine was well flavored had a fruity taste. Service was fast! Food was mediocre honestly. I hope they could use more meat for the tea sandwiches and the breads were dry, may be they were pre-​made for awhile. Because their prices were $$$$, so we were expecting higher quality for the food. But given the fact that it is located inside a fancy high class hotel, their prices are fair. I love their European decors and furnitures. Overall, We had a great experience for their holiday season afternoon tea there! Will be back soon to try their breakfast and try their afternoon tea again in the future!

Verrryyyy good if you’re looking for a bougie night out.
Basket of bread comes with a v fancy and unique assortment of butter/​oil and the breads are so good fml
I did the three course menu and got the oysters, black cod and the lamb dishes. All three were so good omfg
Black cod was by far the best thing I have eaten this month.
Restaurant is also very accommodating; made a special vegetarian/​carb heavy meal for my mom who was running a marathon the next morning.

I was greatly impressed with the food here and can’t wait to go back. We had the 3– course menu but my bf and I can’t wait to go back and try the Fall Tasting menu. His favorite dish was the duck and mine was the pasta. AMAZING.
Impeccable service and lovely fine dining food at an affordable prix fix price

The food is amazing and chef Michael is very accommodating and came out to thank us for dining at parallel 37. You can’t compare. He and his team personally goes to the farmers market at least a few times a week to handpick their own vegetables!
I’ve been here multiple times and every time I go, we usually get the prefix meal. Each time has been different and amazing. Highly recommend the prefix meals.

No one does it like the Ritz, son! 5 stars for all of it: the food, décor, and service. These peeps have got it down, never been disappointed here.
It had been several years since I had been to the Dining Room at the Ritz, it’s transformed into a very modern and artistic Parallel 37. The same elegance and world class service is there, just against a very pretty new backdrop.
We did the 3 course prix fixe and it was epic from start to finish:
1) SASHIMI OF HAMACHI (Monterey abalone, nori, meyer lemon) — Bomb dot com. The sashimi melts in your mouth, so tender and fresh.
2) HAND CUT LINGUINI (morel mushrooms, bloomsdale spinach, pickled ramps) — Very nice. The only thing that was maybe just very good versus epic; just a bit simple but still well balanced and flavorful.
3) 32 DAY DRY AGED RIBEYE (short rib ravioli, summer squash, sweet corn) — Wow. Just the most tender, perfectly aged and grilled steak, heaven in every bite. They also threw on some foie gras for me upon request, that took the dish over the top!
I really wish we remembered to come here more often, such a great experience all around.

5 stars, no question about it.
Beautiful dining room, amazingly nice and personable waiter, epic dining experience for this veggie.
My husband and I both went for the prix fixe dinner. Wise choice, I tell you. The waiter said any ingredients that stood out, whether it be summer squash, corn, whatev, the chef could use to design a meal for lil’ me. Imagine that!
First course: mixed greens salad blew my mind (see photo). Creamy buttermilk perfection coated greens, grapes, toasted seeds.
Second course: hand cut linguini with Bloomsdale spinach and pickled ramps. So light, yet the blend of flavors slapped my tongue and seriously taught it a lesson.
Third course: spring peas, fried rice, green curry, avocado mousse. Truly, the grand finale.
The warm rolls our waiter brought out, the creamy butter I coated them in, so epic.
I can’t wait to go back!

First Review! Enjoy!
It is with great pleasure that I get to write my very first review about my experience at such a beautiful restaurant. Lets dive right into this unforgettable 6 course meal!
Bread:
The bread was heavenly. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that P37 does not make its own bread in-​house but wherever they get it from, it deserves 5 stars on its own. They had a variety of breads and a great variety of complementary spreads.
1. European White Asparagus, English Pea Custard, Coriander Encrusted Ahi Tuna
I usually eat Ahi Tuna cold, but this time, it was served in a warm White Asparagus soup. This was absolutely tantalizing on the tastebuds and a new take — at least for me — on a classic preparation of the beloved fish. Peas were in season and were cooked very slightly so it added a great crunch to the otherwise softer dish.
2. Sweet Corn Risotto, Poached Maine Lobster, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Sweet 100’s
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The Chanterelle Mushrooms had an amazing crunchy texture to them that contrasted very well with the sweet Risotto. The only minor setback in this dish was that my particular lobster was slightly overcooked so it had a tougher, stringy feel to it. Visually a stunner.
3. Liberty Farms Duck, Farro, Seared Foie Gras, Cherry
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The Duck was well prepared, but it was lackluster compared to the Foie Gras and the Farro combination. This dish smelled incredible and very rich. The Foie Gras was seared perfectly on both sides and melted in your mouth. They Cherry component left a note of sweetness that worked well.
4. Roasted Lamb Loin Crispy Polenta, Heirloom Tomatoes, Romano Beans
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As I continue writing this review, I believe I am more in awe of the side components than the supposed stars of the dish. The Heirloom Tomatoes were prepared and seasoned very well. It made a bigger fan out of this long time fan of tomatoes in general. The Polenta did not add much to the dish. Lamb was on point per usual.
5. Ginger Soda, Cucumber Sorbet
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This dessert was equally unique in its taste and components. The Ginger Soda added a carbonation and a strong ginger profile that was smoothed out by a cool relaxing cucumber sorbet. The ginger was overwhelmingly present in this dish, but the sorbet cooled it down and added a great texture to this dish.
6. Vanilla Parfait, Cherry, Lemon Chutney
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Parfait was light and a perfect end to this dining journey at Parallel 37. Cherry was again used beautifully in this dish. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would try again!
TLDR;
Pro: Worthy of the price tag, great overall experience, vegan friendly (sister had her own vegan 6 course meal), great ambience, seasonal foods were greatly prepared and paired
Con?: A more casual gourmet dining experience. We had a big party so it did not feel as formal or intimate, but if you are intimidated by the stuffy suits and getting dolled up, this place may be a great medium for a great meal that is a little less dressy.

I’ve been to several Ritz Carlton properties, and I was amazed that valet is only $ 10! You can park as long as you want. We drove up and the guys let us park up front! We weren’t supposed to stay long, but we ended up eating dinner here!
We sat at the bar before dinner and they had some really interesting cocktail concoctions! I’m not a big drinker, but if I were, I would definitely want to try these out. They had a drink that had vodka mixed with absinthe! I didn’t even know they served absinthe in America?
For dinner, we went with the 3 course pre-​fixed dinner at $ 65/​per person. Seriously, it was worth every dime! The food options range from fish to meats and even vegetarian. The portions look small, but they’re actually tasty and very satisfying! Presentation is sooooo pretty! The flavors are well meshed together! The taste, texture and portions were perfect! Every single one of us at the table enjoyed our meals very much! There were 6 of us!
To give you a run down on the dinner flow:
— the chef gave us something to cleanse our pallet and start off our meal. I forget what it was called but it was some kind of green mouse that was chilled. It had some kind of greens and cous cous topping. It was interesting to start off our meal
— bread basket variety
— first course: I had the ahi tuna poke. The fish was fresh, and it wasn’t overloaded with soy sauce or salty sauce. They poured a nice cucumber sauce on top to compliment the chopped cucumber. It was really nice.
— second course: I had the lobster! I liked the different elements. They used the meat, the fat, and something that tastes like octopus. I don’t know if it was, but it was good! $ 15 extra for the lobster! So good.
— third course: I had the vegetarian option, which was the asparagus with polenta and poached egg. I probably could have ordered the rib eye but I wanted something lighter. This dish had everything I liked: poached egg, asparagus and polenta! I was quite happy with my choice
— dessert: skipped because I was too stuffed to continue on
I loved that all of our food came out at the same time. Several chefs and servers came out together and presented our meals to us. They explained what they were serving, and also answered any questions we had! No one was left hungry waiting for their dish. We were all able to eat at the same time!
I also liked that they allowed us to bring our own wine. Our friends had just come from Napa all week, and they wanted to share two of the bottles they brought back. I really liked that they allowed us to do that!
I would definitely come back here! It is «uppity» compared to some other restaurants I’ve gone to, but the food and service is phenomenal. This has got to be one of the best hotel restaurants I’ve been to in California. I’ve been to a ton of hotel restaurants! Definitely a must try!

Pretty solid. My husband, son and I had christmas brunch here this morning. It was pretty awesome. We booked for the brunch buffet at Parallel 37 but they held breakfast in the lounge which was really nice because my son really liked their huge lounge chairs. He loved this place. He wanted to dig into the buffet dishes as soon as we were seated. I LOVED the apple pastries. So did my son. He had about 3 of those and he’s just a tiny little 3 year old and those pastries were huge.
The hostess was extremely helpful and provided us with AMAZING service. She made us feel right at home. I think her name was Linda and I’m so happy she was there today because she was wonderful.
My son and I also explored the ground and checked out their terrace. If you have time, definitely check out the grounds.
They had your basic breakfast buffet choices — granola, scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon as well as smoked salmon and pastries. I took out 1 star because they didn’t have an omelette station. Other than that, everything was perfect. We’re going to try and make going out to Christmas brunch a tradition. Today was great! Oh and they also validate for parking as an FYI. Definitely a place to go out and treat yourself.

My visit to the newly redesigned Parallel 37 at a YEE in 2013 was a memorable event. When a got an invite from Mike C. for a special dinner gathering for his day, I was looking forward to celebrating a special day at this fine dining establishment.
After our party of ten was seated, our waiter took our drink orders. We then sat back and enjoyed a fine tasting menu consisting of:
Amuse bouche:
A trio of Tuna Tartar, lemon cucumber and Jimmy Nardell Peppers; Courgette Essence with salmon and potato beignet; Hamachi Collar with kimchee brown rice, picked daikon. As palate openers, each of these three were tasty with their own unique flavors. (
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Sweet Corn Soup with Fried Squash Blossoms. This cream soup was not rich and had an explosion of corn flavors. (
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Heirloom Tomato Panzanella, Quinoa, Mixed Greens, Aged Balsamic. Love Quinoa and this course highlights the grain with the complementary flavors. (
)
Fiddler’s Greens Farms Carrot Tortellini, Greek Yogurt, Madeira Jus. A soft pillow filled with pureed carrots. (
)
Roasted Organic Chicken, Chanterelle Mushrooms. The chicken was so moist and tender. (
)
Aged Ribeye, Braised Oxtail, Cherries, and Bloomsdale Spinach. A delicious combination of protein. A tender piece of medium rare Ribeye and braised oxtail that was shredded and formed into a crusted cube. Very unique and rich dish. (
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Melon Granite, Compressed Melon, Basil Buds. A nice refreshing palate cleanser. (
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Pistachio Mousseline, Strawberries, Matcha. Reminded me of a delicious Budino that I had at another restaurant. One of the highlights of the meal. (
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Overall, it was a delicious eight-​course meal with unique and tasty dishes. In comparison to other fine dining restaurants, Parallel 37 needs to fine tune its service and its bread offerings. For several dishes, the waiter was not certain about the ingredients/​details. On several occasions, the dishes did not arrive at the same time. The dessert was served to 8 of the 10 guests. It was another 2 minutes before the final two guests were served. From other tasting menu experiences, guests are provided artisan bread and rolls. We were provided what appeared to be toast with a nice sweet butter. Maybe, in my next visit, it will be a true five-​start dining experience.