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Categories: Steakhouses, American (Traditional) [Edit]
845 Market St 4th Fl
386 reviews
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
"For my birthday this year, one of my best friend's back in LA got me a t-shirt that says: MEAT IS MURDER Tasty, tasty murder. And while…" read more »
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We had the prix fixe dinner which includes the pot roast which is so great, a caesar salad and dessert which was an apple compote. My gf had the 6 ounce petite filet ($29.95)with a side of corn with salad ($7.95). We shared a reisling which was unusual tasting, a bit heavy for that grape. The service was fine. The dinner was $100 which is a bit pricey for a meal for two with one glass of wine.
My friend and I went there for dinner and we sat at table in the lounge. The service was good and our waitress was nice and friendly.
I ordered the 28 day aged rib-eye steak, medium rare. The steak was very good, tender and juicy. I would have given the place 4 stars but the price of the steak was a bit to high for it. I was expecting a very good to excellent steak. I've been to other places with the same or better rib eye steak and it was cheaper. Our side was the cream spinach and it was okay. Next time, I will probably order the regular rib eye steak. Over all, a nice place.
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Just finished a nice meal at Lark Creek Steak in the beautiful Westfield Mall here in downtown. Service was rendered very professionally and quite attentive. The tomato salad was very nicely done and quite delicious. My entree was the 16oz boneless rib eye, medium and it was perfect. Only disappointment was the accompaniment with the entree, crisp potato pancakes. It was bland and the fuji apple compote and creme fraiche was not much desired. The dessert was OK, it was the carrot cake with the sugar dome. This was my second time here and will recommend this to my many colleagues who like to have a great steak here in the City.
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I love steak. My daughter loves steak. Medium rare on the rare side. We have that sort of tradition that for every event (like b-days, mother's day or any other happy day) we go get a filet mignon.... And today is my birthday! So, even if my sweet one had a big bad cold, we had a fabulous steak! For starters, we shared a heirloom tomato salad... yummy... except for the mozzarella that was kind of warm and my daughter didn't quite like it that way (I can't say a word on it coz I can't have dairy...).
Anyway, the steak was PERFECT. Really. And I know what a perfect steak tastes, believe me. The only little problem I had was that all the sauces they have contain dairy (ouch) but why (oh why) can't they serve real French mustard? Gray Poupon is not mustard!
Since it was my b-day, the house offered us a dessert (dairy free) of 3 FABULOUS sorbets: chocolate/lavender, watermelon and grapes with a little candle and "Happy Birthday" written in chocolate sauce. Thanks!
I typically don't like going to chain restaurants when I'm in SF because there are so many unique eateries. That being said, I love this place. I like to go here before a concert at the Warfield. I live in Walnut Creek and so i BART it on in for the concerts. Lark Creek is right about the BART station and only about 3-4 block away from the Warfield. It's a perfect location.
This is the perfect place for drinks before a concert. My drink of choice is an extra dirty Chopin martini. I like to order some apps and split them with friends or in most of my cases, my then girlfriend. I recommend the steak tartar and the biscuits. I know the biscuits sound like an odd choice, but you won't be disappointed. They also have a very nice wine selection. I try to stick to the wines from the central coast since I went to college down there.
The ambiance is very nice. However, I don't like that the restaurant is in the Bloomingdales mall area. The mall itself is more upscale than many, but it's still a mall. That's why I'm docking this place one star. Well, that and it's a chain.
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When you walk in your greeted with a beautiful crème and brown bar stocked with every alcoholic beverage with wine bottles lining the counter top.
For starters we had the prosciutto and asian pear salad over arugula and sherry vinaigrette that tasted sweet because of the pears but tangy thanks to the sherry, almost like a sour patch kid candy. We were told that a must try was the hawaiian blue prawns wrapped in dough with a side of sauce that was in what looked like a shot glass (it was horseradish and celery remoulade). The prawns were cooked and seasoned well without the dough being too crispy and burnt. The sauces being served in layers created a beautiful and tasty presentation!
Oh and my bone-in rib eye was mouth watering delicious! The beef was aged and cooked well. It was as if they cut and massaged that piece to get all the kinks out just for me! One cut and the juices flowed out and the smell of goodness rose through my nostrils. What I love about the presentation is that they serve the steak with a few pieces of veggies to that the steak is the center piece. They don't blog it down with mash potatoes, veggies, rice and all that other nonsense.
For dessert we were told it was their "chocolate festival" we were given choices of desserts with chocolate galore! We had the trio of chocolate ice creams (milk choco w/ toffee, dk choco and mint ice cream sandwich and white choco cone) all made with guitard chocolate!
The wine list is impressive with red, whites and champagne almost all from California wineries. I had the choco covered cherry martini (vanilla vodka, choco, kahlua and cherry juice).
Bright spotlights line the wooden ceiling making it a romantic atmosphere at night. You can sit at the soft crème booths or at tables located over the hedge (yes that's what I call it). Looking around made me feel like i was in the country eating inside a lodge off a creek (hence lark creek maybe?) Our waitress was tentative and patient as I was indecisive about what I wanted. As for price, you get what you pay for (good food = $$$$). This trip reminded my why this is one of my fav steak houses of all time.
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I was in San Francisco for a short vacation. I had pretty much decided where I was going to eat dinner each night. However, I couldn't decide where to go on Friday (9/12). While getting dressed, a program came on the hotel TV that showcased the different neighborhoods. One of the restuarants highlighted in Union Square was The Lark Creek Steakhouse. It looked good and was just around the corner from my hotel.
Keeping my fingers crossed, I called to see if I could get a reservation for that night. Since it was Friday, I didn't have much hope. As luck would have it, I was able to get a table at 8 p.m. Since I was alone, I was expecting a table in the corner somewhere. I was prepared to ask for a more centrally located one, but there was no need.
I was greeted by a very friendly young girl, who took me to a table in a nice spot. The decor is very muted, but well done.
My waiter, Troy was really great. I was mulling over the wines, when he suggested the '03 Rombauer Merlot. I planned on having more than one glass, so this was perfect. It came in a half bottle. Hey, why pay for 2 glasses when you can get 3 for the same price or less.
I started with the arugula salad with grilled peaches, prosciutto, shaved parmesan and balsamic vinagrette. I loved this salad. For dinner, I chose the 8 oz. fillet, medium rare, topped with bernaise sauce. It was accompanied with whipped potatoes. The knife cut through the steak like butter and was seasoned perfecltly,. Take that, you vegitarians!
I only have 2 complaints about my meal. I wasn't able to finish the steak (the 6 oz steak would have filled me up) and the bernaise sauce was too rich for me. I should have stuck with my first choice, blue cheese. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal.
I was going to order desert to go but unfortunately the seletions that caught my eye needed a freezer. Oh well, who needed more calories after that meal.
Went for lunch during the week and was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the tuna salad which was delicious. There was a ton of meat on it which I always love and it wasn't drenched in dressing.
The restaurant is very nice with the dark woodsy look, very mysterious, very downtown. You definitely don't get the idea that your in a restaurant in the middle of the shopping mall. The service was great, our server was really cool, joked and talked with us and let us take our time choosing our entrees. We started off with some cocktails, and let me tell you..you cannot go wrong with the cucumber mint collins. Delicious! so refreshing, crisp and just plain yummy. Food wise, we had some appetizers to start..and the biscuits were just absolutely divine..so flakey, and so moist, i wanted more! We also had the mussels and those were delicious, not fishy tasting at all. We also ordered some creamed spinach, very good, not too creamy and spiced just right. also had an order of the potato pancakes..i would pass on ordering these again, they just tasted like hashbrowns, and for $10 a pop? pass...
I ordered the $49.95 prime rib steak...medium, and it came just right...however, i was not that impressed with the actual steak itself. I've had better at Outback steak house!! The meat itself wasn't the problem, there was no actual burst of any flavor when i bit into the meat! Now for $50 bucks?? that steak better be phenomenol..i was sorely disappointed.
For dessert, we had the butterscotch pudding, it came with a frozen banana, and it was just SO thick and rich that it wasn't edible. I think we had like 5 bites between 2 of us and couldn't touch the rest. Shame.
Would i go back? I would give it another shot, but this time, try another cut of steak for SURE. The restaurant was great, the staff was wonderful, the 2 bottles of wine we ordered was delicious...but for a steak house....the steak wasn't anything to write home about =(
This place was good, nothing too much to complain about. The food was good and the service was just fine. The atmosphere is wonderful! I guess maybe I was expecting too much going in, which is why I can't give this place more than 3 stars. My finance originally heard about Lark Creek on a "top 10 steakhouses in the US" list and since had been dying to try it out. For his birthday we went into the city and I wanted to wrap up the day by taking him out for a nice meal, and one that I knew he was excited about. He did end up really enjoying what he ordered and we both had a nice time. I just left feeling a little confused about why this place had been named on a top ten list....
I would definitely think about trying it again if every in the city, just to see if the place lives up to it's listing at the second go-round.
We came to Lark Creek Steak to have lunch in order to decompress after a hard morning of shopping at Nordstrom's.
The atmosphere is soothing, and the quality of the service eases you into your lunch. I had the tri-tip sandwich, while my dining partner had some sort of beef salad. There was no illusion that we came here for the beef.
I found the tri tip sandwich very, very tasty; however, the meat was a bit tough, and when you're pulling it out of the sandwich with either your fingers or your teeth, messiness can (and did) occur. My friend loved her salad and found the beef very tender.
The potato side dish with my sandwich was very good. The iced tea was also very good, and they gave me an entire new glass as a refill.
I would have given Lark Creek Steak 5 stars if the tri tip steak had been more manageable.
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3.5 stars. A waiter tried to start a pillow fight with me on my way in. Or he tried to battle me. I'm not sure which but either would've been fun and put me in a good mood right before dinner.
The steak I had was good, as was the salad. The carrot cake was too dense and kind of dry. I tried the butterscotch pudding as well. No more, thanks.
Service was good and they didn't shush us for laughing and almost screeching throughout dinner. I'm not saying Korean words in front of Way Shawn anymore. The way she remembers and repeats them, they inevitably end up pretty close to the words for butthole or vomit. It's uncanny.
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Stopped here for lunch today. GREAT burgers! I had the cowboy burger and couldn't finish. It's a bit pricey for an every day lunch spot... but was a nice treat with a couple of my friends. The service was decent mostly due to the fact that it wasn't a huge crowd of people eating lunch. I've been here for dinner... and their seems to be a nicer 'buzz' at dinner time. I would recommend having them offer some lunch specials. They offer a burger, friends, and a float but it's with an $18 price tag. Little steep for a burger and fries.
3.5 stars
Vegans beware, this is some serious red meat here. The roasted red pepper sandwich looks really good, but I was torn between the pot roast and the burger. I went for the burger and fries. The Arnold Palmer was weak and disappointing, and the service uneven, not from a lack of staff. Maybe there were too many fawning over us, but one of the orders came out wrong, and we had to ask for condiments more than once. We ordered a few veggie sides and split the Lemon Pot de Creme. The dessert was excellant, creamy consistency with just the right amount of tartness.
I'll come back to try the pot roast.
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Date & Time: Sunday June 15, 2008 @ 7pm
Company: Victor, Mommy, Michael
Crowd: Mixed. Couples & Families Celebrating Father's Day
Atmosphere: Sophisticated
Decor: Contemporary. Soothing, Neutral Tones & a Padded Wall. Tables for Deux by The Bar. Sleek Dining Room has Roomy Booths & Tightly-packed Tables & Banquettes.
Imbibe: Martinis & Cabernet
Devour: Buttermilk Biscuits & Steaks!
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Delicious dinner and attentive service in a nice atmosphere that could work for parents in town or a date. Decent wine list and good selection of entrees.
Took my red meat loving, midwestern born mamma here and she LOVED her steak ( small filet). I ordered a pork chop and it was tasty - and plenty leftover. The sides looked interesting, but there was little room left for them. Potato cakes and peas were both great - but again you can order light on sides and such here b/c the meat and entrees are plentiful and delicious
Definitely spendy but for the quality, not offensively expensive.
My family came here to have dinner for daddy's day. Being a fan of Bradley Ogden, I believe in his cooking & how he just doesn't brand his name for nothing.
Staying at the InterContinental again, so it made sense for us to come here, less than 2 blocks from the hotel! We were shopping all afternoon & then came here a bit later than our RSVP, but the hostess was sitting us promptly. Glanced through their 250 plus bottle that mainly American & new World wines list, very impressive for a restaurant inside a mall!
Next is the food, they actually offered a kid menu with more than 5 choices for kids & the wonderful tasty strawberry lemonade that my nieces Jess & Jamina love so much!
We started out with the perfectly done Oyster Rockefeller on a bed of salt; the tasty fresh Monterrey bay, pan-sauted calamari garlic butter, lemon, cannellini beans, red pepper flakes; the flavorful victoria island farms asparagus soup creme fraiche, pistachios; & the Caesar Salad with Bradley Ogden signature! My borther's family & my parents were warmed up at this point!
Dad, being the most health conscious in the family, had the Halibut & it was nice & perfectly cooked for him
Mom, she always tells me "real women eat red meat ;-)" she had the 28 days aged 16 OZ rib eye. She finished faster than any of us!
My brother, the recycle bin, had he New York Steak & he loved it!
My sister in law, the conservative who is the only person on earth eats well-done beef!, had the 8th-rib, she too enjoyed it!
Jess, the quiet one, my 9 yrs old niece, had the rabbit food veggies & macaroni & cheese. She licked the dish afterward... ill ;-(
Jamina, the never-stop-running-around-all-night, my 4 yrs old niece, had the burger & fries, she finished all the fries & half of the burger.
'Moi, the older version of Jamina ;-) had the rib eye, like mother, like daughter ;-)
Troy, our wonderful server was so attentive & really care about my dad & nieces. He made sure that we were enjoyed our meal. Lucky us that we got to sit in the smaller private room. He didn't even add the automatic tips to our table!
My dad had a biggest smile on his face leaving the restaurant & that's all it matter to me ;-)
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Pretty fancy shmancy place. Didn't really have $85 to spend on the kobe ribeye that I soooo really wanted and my mouth was druuling heavily. Yeah...it was my girlfriend's birthday. Service was bland. Oh my gosh so bland, but the guy was the only server I think, so he did a great job. Forget what I just said. His helpers (runners and bussers) were amazing though. I just ordered the pot roast, and my girlfriend ordered the Halibut.
Potroast: I've never had a better potroast. The jus was perfect. Potato puree was creamy. Nice combo of radishes and carrots to accompany the perfectly tender and juicy braised beef. F-ing best meal I've had in a long time. If you can do pot roast right, something so simple as that, you're on the mooneyhan.
Halibut: Perfect orange, golden sear, juicy and tender in the middle. The broth that came with it was the perfect accompanyment. Boo yah ka shah!!!
I'd come back, but I better save a little first. $85 Kobe....I'm comin' after ya.
Went here for another DAT dinner. I had planned on getting the $31 pre fixe option, but once our wonderful server Troy started giving us recommendations, I couldn't resist the call of the $51 28-day aged bone in ribeye, in all its 16 ounces of glory. My companions ordered the filet mignon.
Food ratings:
SIDES
Creamed spinach - ok
Whipped baked potato - good (although a little underheated)
Green beans - good
Corn - great. This is supposedly a new side they just added to the menu. Sweet corn from Brentwood that is roasted to bring out the flavors, then mixed in with sauteed mushrooms. A really good side dish.
ENTREES
Ribeye - great great great. Full of meaty flavor and just the right amount of marbling. All steaks come with a "sauce" on the side. Being a steak purist, I didn't think I'd want any, but we all ordered one sauce each to try it out. The red wine butter was actually excellent. It went well with the intense flavor of the aged ribeye. Just a little pat added some subtle flavor to an already incredible cut of steak. The horseradish and LarkCreek signature sauces were not great and overpowered the flavor of the meat. Luckily they are served on the side, so no harm there.
Filet-great. Although I did not sample this, my dinner companions thoroughly enjoyed it.
DESSERTS
Warm chocolate chip cookies - good
Butterscotch pudding - great, although it's TOO much, if that makes sense. They could have served half as much and it would still make a sizeable dessert. If you're already full from your meal, you might want to split this with someone.
Carrot cake - great great great. Best dessert of the night. Again, very sweet and very filling. It's actually two layers of carrot cake and two layers of cream cheese frosting topped with a sugar that has been melted and formed into a dome.
All in all, a very enjoyable meal, if not a bit pricey. I guess that's the price you pay for great meat! =) I would most definitely go back again.
At dinner I hatched the idea of trying all the top steakhouses from SF to SJ and reviewing them. My heart will hate me but my stomach will love me.
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Major bummer here. Not a bad experience by any means. We had theater tickets and wanted to have lunch before. Keeping it simple we both ordered burgers and a glass of wine. Server was fine, although he kept calling my companion "sweetie" No big deal. I'll often refer to servers as "hun". The problem was when the runner dropped our lunch and ran. We waited 10 minutes for condiments. The steak Burger was outstanding but this place is really generic like so many other chains out there. Wine list for steak house on a scale of 1-10, maybe a soft 5.
The best part about coming here was having dinner with Goofy Couture and Juicy Bijoop (which means melancholy in Korean). Good laughs, good conversation and good beef. The filet mignon was definitely the most tender cut, as to be expected since it was NOT part of the dine about town menu.
Lame that they would charge $1.25 for horseradish. A little dish that Goofy thought would feed 5 people ... which is apparently how much me and Juicy add up to. Bitch.
While it was a delicious meal, what made it memorable is not the grey / blue striped shirts that all the male staff wore, it's not the paintings on the wall of pumpkins and hay fields ... rather its of my girlfriends. Smart, sexy and beautiful women that I can say stuff like "wow, you look less fat today!" and "learn to be more considerate you bitch" and to and know they will still love me and delight in me despite my many flaws. I'll cheers to that.
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What a perfect day. After seeing the amazing Kahlo exhibit. Mt friend Erin brought me here to celebrate a belated b-day. The air outdoors was getting to me due to the smoke and fires so the air conditioned mall was more than welcome. They have an excellent wine list. I had the cowboy burger and she had the steak burger. Both perfect and tasty. 5 stars for having a full stocked bar in the mall. The decor is nice and relaxing too. The open kitchen is fun to watch too. There were about 8 chefs prepping for dinner, open grills.
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Love it! The bf and I have been here a few times and have never been disappointed. I'm not a huge eater (I like to graze throughout the day) so a 9oz New York is perfect for me. Pair that with the mashed potatoes that have those yummy, crunchy onion strings on top and I'm in heaven. The bf usually gets the rib eye and brussel sprouts which are also delicious. My steak is always cooked perfectly and the service has always been excellent. Plus, you can't beat having a few martini's and then hitting up Bloomingdale's.
I like this place. I have never had bad food or bad service. Let's be clear it is a pricey place, but I think it is worth it.
The trip through the mall is a bit cacophonous, but once you are inside it is a quiet oasis.
Oh and the bar is a delight, big cold Martini's just like mom used to make.
The food here is incredible - wonderful steaks, sides and some of the freshest peas I've ever eaten. Unfortunately, our server was completely bizarre and unfriendly. It's like he came from another planet - or was just on some really heavy medication.
It wasn't just the waiter either, the bartender had been so slow earlier in the day, that we left after 10 minutes of waiting for our drinks, because we had to catch a movie. There were only about 10 people in the entire restaurant. I have no idea why it was taking him so long to pour wine. We came back after the movie for dinner and encountered more bad service.
I'm sure it's hard to get good bartenders and waiters to work in the mall, but come on. For these prices, the front of house team has to do a much better job. Kudos to the kitchen though.
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Another yummy chophouse! You have to go through the bloomie mall to get to this restaurant. We came here for a business meeting and there was no wait at all as it was only a weeknight. I had the "28 day dry-aged usda prime bone-in ribeye steak - 16oz" and it was exceptionally tasty! As for dessert, I had the butterscotch pudding and that in itself put me into a state of happy food coma. I'll probably come back here again and try the other steak variety.
service - good
appetizer - good
steak - excellent
dessert - excellent
hostess - hot
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This place is consistently excellent. I've been here many times for lunch, but only recently had dinner here for the first time.
Our table started off with the buttermilk biscuits which included a sausage spread and a fruity compote. I don't know what possessed me to order chicken at a steak house, but I got the half chicken. It was a bit salty for my taste. My friend ordered the halibut, which, again, WHY, but whatever. The guys had some variation of red meat, with one getting the hamburger and the other a slab of steak.
(I'm making it sound like these entrees are what you find at a roadside diner, believe me the official names were a lot fancier I just can't remember exactly what they were called. It's like in Lucky mag where a "Shimmery sparkly silk draped elegantly over your shoulders like a 1950s French gamine vacationing in Monaco" is a sequined tank top)
Anyway, the food was excellent as usual. The highlight for me was the cherry tart for dessert: nice, warm and crisp with a tiny cup of cool chocolate to drink. The very kind and patient waiter said the cherry tart was good that night, and he was right.
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The service, and the food are just incredible. The atmosphere is nice and relaxing. I personally think the resteraunt looses something by being stuck in a Westfield mall. But that doesn't stop me from giving this place five stars. The steaks are so tender and just melt in your mouth. The staff is also very friendly and accomodating, our son was teething and the staff was bringing crackers and carrots to try to help us out. We were not rushed either, as you are at some resteraunts. The staff gave you plenty of time to enjoy your meal.
4.5 stars
Last day of his visit in SF, my father told me he wants to eat steak. I called Boulvard and Harris but had no luck. I then walked up to Lark Creek and they had seats. It is rare to not need reservation on Sat night!! So my expectation was not high.
We ordered walnut and cranberry salad to share.
He ordered fillet mignon ($33) and I ordered new york strip ($28? ).
My friends also went here and tried all steak and said that the cheapest one (new york strip) was the best one, so don't bother spending $50 on aged beef and get the cheep one!
The steak was amazing. I am not a steak person but it was one of the best steak I had in the US. It was so tender and just the light size. New york strip was better than fillet mignon.
Only downfall was the waiter. He was definitely trying too hard. Called my father who is over 60, a BROTHER. I am in my 20's!! My father was really happy. Too bad I was the one who is paying and not my father. He quickly figure that out and then tried to be overly nice to us....I like good service but not the fake one.
But then I still ended up tipping 20% so it works...
As Toni said, we came here after the theater. Very attractive space with fairly good service. Toni really enjoyed her prime rib, and I enjoyed the tastes she shared with me. However, my experience was different from hers. I ordered halibut and we shared some english peas and a salad. . I had asked about making a substitution in the steak prix fix menu, trading a vegetable side dish for the carrot cake (I know, it's a vegetable, just not what I eat). The waiter responded that there were no substitutions allowed. The halibut was lovely, but came with a little artichoke and fennel in the dish, for $28. As I ate my meal, I thought back to our experience at Flemings in Walnut Creek where the waitress easily accommodated our daughter's wish for substitutions on their prix fixe menu. Prices at both restaurants are comparable, but I think that Lark Creek Steak is worth 2 visits for me; a first and last.
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Surprisingly, for a mall restaurant, Lark Creek is pretty classy looking inside. If you sit far away enough from the door, you forget you're in a mall. Except you're RIGHT UP on the table next to you, seated by two Financial District douchebags who keep talking loudly about their investments while sneaking sly glances at me or my date (or our food?).
Anyway, I came here for DAT and it was good. We got the $31 and the $41 meals. Both delicious, well cooked steaks. The salads were rather amazing, as well. The dessert was pure sugar for me and I loved it. On the side, we ordered English peas - perfectly cooked with some bacon and spinach. Throw a bottle of wine on top of that and the total was ~$140. Ouch. Not why I came out for DAT :(
Honestly though, I've had better steaks. And less awkward table-neighbors. Wouldn't come here on a normal dining menu.
This was our first time at Lark Creek Steak. We are fans of Lark Creek Inn and Yankee Pier in Larkspur and we liked Lark Creek Walnut Creek. We decided after our matinee at the Geary to stay in town for dinner, and Alan had been wanting to try this. My experience was a bit better than Alan's. He will tell you about his.
We were here a little before 5:30 and I think we were the first ones in the restaurant. I was debating between a cocktail and wine, when our waiter told me that bottles of wine were half off this month. I said I couldn't finish a bottle by myself and that Alan didn't drink wine. He replied that half bottles were half off too. He then explored w/ me the kinds of wines I liked and guided me toward a rich and tasty California Syrah. We were brought a basket of bread w/ butter and then were presented w/ complimentary demitasses of a cold watermelon and lime soup that was wonderful. We were debating over what to order when he told us that Sunday and Monday they offer a prime rib special accompanied by Yorkshire Pudding (looked like a giant popover to me) and mashed potatoes and horseradish sauce. I ordered that, of course. The mashed potatoes were in a small side dish but were tasty and filling enough to be shared. The prime rib was a generous cut, rare as requested, w/ edges that were done enough to share w/ Alan, and it came w/ the bone. Not on the bone, w/ it cut off and leaning decoratively against the meat. I liked that, a lot. Alan had halibut. We shared a salad of balsamic vinaigrette dressed field greens w/ walnut halves that were fresh and tasty and a side dish of English peas w/ lardons, pea sprouts and shallots, if memory serves. It was good, although some of the peas were a little starchy.
It was a good dinner w/ good service. The music overhead was excellent, ranging from a piece from Wynton Marsalis' soundtrack from "Tune In Tomorrow" to straight ahead jazz. The space itself is spacious and attractive, w/ a cathedral ceiling in warm woods. The wall past the kitchen on the way to the bathrooms is hung w/ beautifully sensual photographs of produce. It doesn't look as if it's in a shopping center, which is a good thing. It was quite spendy, not surprising given its location.
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Based on other reviews on Lark Creek, this place seems hit or miss. Lucky for me, it's a hit. I'm a true carnivore and I love steak, so I was really excited to get my girls together to try it out for DAT. The hostesses were really polite and I do have to say thanks to them for accommodating an extra person in our party on a busy Saturday night. Most of the 4 stars that I give this place is for the service. They took our coats and shopping bags for us and put them in a closet. When my friend didn't like her cocktail, the waiter immediately took it back to the bar and got a new drink. And when another friend ordered a cappuccino with soy, the waiter when to the French bakery across the way to get a cup of soy. Very nice!
Food-wise, I was more impressed with the starters and dessert than the steak. Something that's not advertised on the DAT website is that Lark Creek has a $41.95 meal that serves a 9oz. New York Strip steak instead of the sirloin. The bleu cheese salad was very tasty and the whipped potatoes were excellent (but they could have given a heartier portion). I loved the carrot cake dessert and the pudding was very sweet and delicious. But I can honestly say that the steak was OK. It was not the best that I had ever had.
Overall, thumbs-up. It's a little pricey regardless if you go for DAT or not.
My wife and I wanted to go to the movies to see the latest Indiana Jones movie. We stopped here for a few drinks and a bite to eat prior to the movie.
We ordered the oysters rockerfeller and later were disappointed to find out they had run out. We settled for the tiger prawns cocktail.
For our main course, we shared the the jb black truffle steakburger -
truffled brie cheese, black truffle vinaigrette, frisee, caramelized onion marmalade. They were very nice enough to cut it in half and share the fries on two plates.
after we ordered the food, we noticed another couple besides us eating the Crisp Potato Pancakes fuji apple compote, creme fraiche. It looked so good, we had to get an order for ourselves.
Great wine selection and spirits. I highly recommend this spot.
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Another SF restaurant w/ 190+ reviews! Amazing! I ate here with my Mom while at the Westfield mall. I'd eaten at the Lark Creek restaurant in Walnut Creek and hadn't been impressed. Here, I had lunch, which was a hamburger. It was fine. Our main waiter was fine but they had a server who was totally surly and actually snapped at my mom when she inquired after her side dish. Would have been more understandble if we hadn't literally been the only people at the restaurant at that moment. Why the stress?
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Ok it is a bit odd to be eating in a fine dining steakhouse in the middle of the mall, but the SF Centre isn't just any mall right? Well, that's what I think anyway. I grew up in Santa Cruz though - those that have been to the Capitola Mall know that SF is a shopping mecca compared to dear SC. I digress....
Lark Creek was great! I loved that they didn't force sauces on your with the steaks and rather you had like five or six excellent choices (one comes free with each steak or you can pay 1.95 for extras). The steak I had was excellent as were the mashed potatoes (second only to Town Hall in terms of mashed potatoes) and of course, the French Fries (though duck fat fries from Spruce are far superior). The only two things that the bf and I didn't like were the bland caesar salad (definitely pass) and the fact that our chardonnay was not chilled as cold as it could have been. With that said, we will definitely be back. This is more of a 3.5 star review - but definitely a return visit kinda place!
Food: 3/5
Service: 2/5
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