Ayala Restaurant

Great food, I came here looking for something new and refined in the dishes. Guess I founded it here. I came in with a friend and took seating based on my wait time. The host was gracious and escorted us to our seats. Afterwards, I ordered food and the dishes looked amazing. Best part is the the food tasted clean and no off taste. I can imagine comming back here for a holiday dinner. The prices were also reasonable as I didn't expect a place like this to charge any less.

We were a group of four - had the English muffins (quite tasty), rhubarb tsukune (good but a little salty), baked oysters (good but overpriced at $5 a pop!!), Nori Spaghettini (this was superb), and the cioppino verde (quite forgettable). Portions tilted to the smaller end and it was an alright meal. I feel like you can get better in SF for this price point.

While some dishes are pretty pricey, the food is outstanding, presentation is lovely, and taste combinations are clever and really work (except for the olive oil on the panna cotta). We did 3 shared plates, each better than the one before, and the first was delicious. 1. Salad Louie, 2. Grilled Snap Peas (over olive oil drenched pureed tuna, which tastes way better than it sounds). 3. Nori Spaghettini. Dessert was the Panna Cotta, which was good, not as amazing as what came before. Blueberys Targaryen cocktail was worthy of its name. Great dining experience at a leisurely pace.

This is a great find! It's right off Union Square, but only a block away. Service was great, the food was amazing and not as expensive as you would expect. I'm really surprised that with drinks, we got away with spending $150. I had the split pea ravioli - called essence of spring by the chef - yeah super corny, but delicious! The other dish was the seafood platter. That was awesome. If you ever want a not too strong, but good alcoholic drink, try the French 75. It's a mix of lemons, something like triple sec and sparkling wine.

The sea urchin and chicken liver mousse are insanely delicious. Strong dessert game. Acoustics are not so great -- you'll struggle if you need to have a quiet conversation. Bathroom is through the hotel lobby and up a flight of stairs -- super inconvenient for folks like my dinner buddy who happened to be on crutches today.

The Martini Hour is quite the deal, especially for the excellent selection of (as the name suggests) spirit-forward cocktails - particularly enjoyed the Inverse Gibson and Signature Martini. Would get the fish with eyes, and katsu sandwich (I usually prefer a denser bread), perhaps not the bone marrow. Definitely on my list of top happy hour spots for drinks around the Union Square area.