Top Asian Fusion Restaurant in San Clemente
B Star
127 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118, United States
My Take: yummy Asian fusion || Went For: Wednesday night dinner || The Vibe: the wait was too much to bear at their parent restaurant, Burmese Superstar, so their younger and hipper joint was worth a trip || Special Dish: B Sprouts || Avoid Their: overly tomato Mussels appetizer || Price Point: get in before 7pm for their sweet happy hour || The Service: good stuff, but not overly stuffy || Reservations: n/a but these two restaurants have a great system and customer service to keep their patrons happy || FYI, FRIENDS: they also have 2 pints during HH to get your ass drunk! -- Eat up, Kimmie
New Mandarin Garden
111 W Avenida Palizada, San Clemente, CA 92672, United States
Confusingly aggressive staff??? The service at the restaurant is truly deplorable. The people are rude, unnecessarily entitled, condescending and flat out unpleasant. When you try and order by phone they have a tendency to scream or even hang up on you when you ask fo something as simple as extra broccoli. No matter how kind and sincere you are they act like you just asked them to make the sky green and the grass blue and have it ready for pick up in 10 minutes. HOWEVER, having said that, the one undeniable thing this restaurant has to “bring to the plate” (pun intended ;)) is that their food is a actually quite delicious. Perfect for a greasy Chinese food take out and watch a moving at home! Do not recommend dining in however is dirty and unpleasant to be around such a staff and they do not make it easy to have a comfortable and leisurely dining experience but the younger staff who do not act like your every order is a great inconvenience are actually quite lovely and a breath of fresh air! Watch out for their return on your bill though! That have a frequent tendency to not give you back the correct change and hope you don't notice.
K-Elements BBQ
2140 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121, United States
I really hope this was a one-off thing, but my experience in this place was abysmal. I will start off by saying, no one was rude and in fact the staff seemed pretty nice despite how busy it was. The problems in my experience can be summarized as, a total mess in ordering, extremely slow service, and constantly lost orders.They have this QR code ordering method which at first glance seems like an effective strategy, if not for the fact that there is no clear sign as to how large a portion size is (this is a place that will charge you for leftover meat, so this is important) and for some weird reason, they charge you for lettuce, garlic, and peppers. It wouldve been even fine if that was the only problem, but they kept forgetting about half the order every time in addition to taking around 10 min to bring out any food at all.There were several instances when my party had to get the attention of a worker to remind them of the missing items, especially in the cases of the drink orders, as they all contained an additional charge. So it became increasingly questionable as to how the bill was charged. My colleague had to request their drink 3 separate times in order for it to arrive at the table. So I wonder if that drink was charged those times (did not see a clear breakdown of the bill too).It is not clear what is to blame in this case. It could be faulty ordering system, insufficient staffing, miscommunication among staff, among several other things. If anything it was VERY obvious that the place needed to limit capacity to something they could manage. Half the time, I had to turn off the grill because it would be burning since it could not be changed as often as it needed to. For that problem, I genuinely both pity and commend the worker that came by to replace the grills as he seemed to be the only person on duty to do so, and was always hustling about table to table.I do not intend for the justifiably negative experience to be blamed on the workers, if anything this was a clear sign of terrible management. I have been to kbbq spots in Korea, NY, and LA, and even the worst spots there were nothing compared to the service at this place.For the record, I do not even wish to be contacted back, as there is no way I would want to be reminded of this place. Its honestly such a shame. I at least hope the workers got paid well working for that hell of a night.
Top other services in San Clemente:
MRK Public
1402 S El Camino Real, San Clemente, CA 92672, United States
Loved the short rib sandwich, the taste I had of my wife's burger, and the lemon ricotta beignets. Short rib was incredibly tender and moist. Onion crisps helped make sure it didn't feel soggy. Flavor combinations were unlike anything I've had before. Just the right amount of peppers and horseradish crema so it didn't dominate the sandwich. Side salad had pickled red onions that added just the right zest. Clearly a chef in house who knows what he/she is doing. 30-40 min drive for us, but definitely planning to come again. Well worth it. (Doesn't hurt to swing by San Clemente beach for sunset stroll while we're there)
Breadbelly
1408 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118, United States
As a working professional my Sunday afternoons consist of finding a nice coffee shop to enjoy a cappuccino (or two or three), open my laptop and start prepping for some activities for the coming week. This has been my usual routine for as long as I can remember. My spot is usually determined by where my activity from earlier in the day was. Often thatll be Saint Frank in Russian Hill, Sightglass on 7th, Stable Cafe in the Mission, or Home Cafe in the Richmond. On my way to Home Cafe in the Richmond I passed by Breadbelly which I had never seen before. It looked super cute and inviting from the outside. Thats where the positives ended.Once my wife and I went in and started looking at the menu we saw Wreckingball was their coffee of choice. The price for my cappuccino ($4) which is typical fare in SF. However, we did notice that Lattes are $5.5 which is nearly a 10-20% premium compared to other similar shops. Their BB drinks though were $6+, a bit steep but hey worth a shot since its signature right so we settled in on a Black Sesame Horchata.Once we took a seat (right by the owner/cashier), my wife and I cracked out our work and laptops. In a short amount of time they delivered our drinks and made no mention of the laptop or books. Then about 10 min midway through our coffee the owner interrupts us with one of the most awkward and most tone deaf customer service experiences Ive had:Owner: Hi, I just wanted to mention that we typically like to have a no working Sunday policy at our store. I apologize, weve been meaning to put a sign to state that but havent gotten to it.Me: Ok, so what exactly are you asking of me at the moment?Owner: You need wrap up and close your laptop.Me: My whole afternoon is based around getting my work done, and this just throws a giant wrench into that.Owner: Were going to have to ask you to wrap it up.This interaction would have been totally acceptable if there were signs saying no working on Sundays. Home Cafe does a pretty good job about that on specific tables that are identified as no laptop tables. The part that irked me the most was that the owner admittedly knew he had no signs and knew it was a problem. Also what made this worse was that the cafe was at most a quarter filled at the time. I could understand if we were occupying a table with a nearly full room or queue forming. All in all this was one of the most ridiculous experiences Ive had in a neighborhood coffee shop.After reading some other 1 star reviews for this place, it seems this is almost a carbon copy of other Sunday laptop experiences. You would think that after a couple times, printing a sign would be that much easier in the spirit of customer experience. It seems they are more than happy to take your money and ask you to leave. With a service mentality like this Im hoping there are mostly one and done visitors like myself to this place.
Wako Japanese Restaurant
211 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118, United States
A michelin star place coasting with minimal effort.Summary: The experience was well below my expectations - from being surrounded by fake plastic plants in a quaint little space to having a sushi tasting menu where the care given in preparation was negligible. To our disappointment, the sushi was not prepared with care with uneven ratios of rice in the sushi as well as shockingly ending with O-toro which had a ridiculous amount of silver skin.I wanted to share my perspective on the dining experience at Wako breaking it down to ambience, service and quality of food.Ambience: The space is small - about 8 tables. Wooden table surrounded by minimalistic décor. I can appreciate that the focus should be on the food however, being next to fake plastic plants isnt very appealing if you are going on a special occasion.Service: The service overall was very fast - perhaps too fast. We went on a weekday night at 9 pm and perhaps this was too late for them but the dishes were discussed in a very rushed manner that made it seem like more of a formality than an experience. So if you are looking for an okay sushi tasting menu and want to get it over with fast - this would be the spot.Food: Let me preface this with some background. We are some detailed foodies celebrating some recent success and wanted to try this highly recommended sushi place so our expectations were high.The appetizer platter was probably the highlight of the night. The natural progression from baby eels ending with the cheese and tomato was well thought out - we enjoyed it. However, to our disappointment the sushi tasting was average at best. The first 4 pieces were actually below par with minimal flavor and odd ratios of rice to fish. It seemed like the sushi was prepared in a rush and not enough thought and care was given to the preparation and portioning. The Mackrel and trout were perhaps the best out of the tasting. The tasting ended with two pieces of tuna - soaked in house soy and O-toro. The soaked tuna was good but the O-toro which is the real indicator of the quality of food was pretty bad. I just could not believe that my O-toro had a significant amount of silver skin. Ending the meal on that note was very unpleasant.Perhaps this was a one off experience since it was late on a weekday but the expectations for a restaurant this highly rated were naturally high and Wako really failed to meet our expectations, to our disappointment.
Malulu Sushi
415 E Avenida Pico suit C, San Clemente, CA 92672, United States
While not in any rush, we showed for our Google assisted reservation on time and were seated promptly. After that, the service came to a crawl. It took 90 minutes to complete our dining experience at a very small sushi place. The food came out at all different times for our party of just four and even when the place was only a quarter full it took 15-20 minutes to get additional dishes ordered. The only reason we can surmise is it is due to making a reservation while everyone else seemed to be walk-ins. The walk-ins who showed 10-20 minutes after we were seated were out of there 30 minutes before we were.Such a bummer because we were hoping this would become our new sushi spot. The head chef was more interested in talking up diners at the counter than making sure all guests were having a good experience. Food was good but the service might keep us away for good.
sakesan sushi & bistro
626 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118, United States
The waitresses here are super sweet and friendly! This is a great hangout spot if you and a group want to be fancy and bougie for a night. Its dimly lit and has this Asian Fusion Modern-esque vibe, luring in all the young boppers ready to spend their allowance. In the main dining room, they also play a variety of music videos ranging from the early 2000s to Top 40s today, so when youre bored of your friends constant jabber, feel free to fixate your eyes on the TV instead!I do have to say though their sushi is a tad overpriced and their Gambler Roll is not spicy enough! My boyfriend and I were anticipating this scorching, ghost pepper, blood inducing piece of sushi, but were sorely disappointed after we ate our last piece. We were pretty confused but didnt want to bring it up because if they perhaps-maybe-somehow-mightve forgotten to include it, there was no evidence.Nonetheless, very dope spot. Would come again on a payday.
South of Nicks San Clemente Mexican Kitchen Bar
110 N El Camino Real, San Clemente, CA 92672, United States
My wife and I went for our 1 Year Anniversary. Overall it was and okay experience. Our server was a bit slow but I wasn't upset or complaining about that I understand and get it! So I stopped him and asked for a box for the food to-go and he can take the queso, because the queso is absolutely awful DO NOT RECOMMEND. Then my wife also said two boxes actually please. So he said okay I'll pack it for you and took our food. Brought our check all that good stuff, then when it came to give my card back I asked for our food and he said he threw it away. Keep in mind my wife got full on the chips, salsa and guacamole and she only took two bites and I took a bite of her fish taco that was it. She had a full plate of food! I'm sorry for being blunt but common sense at least to me would be ask the couple again to confirm if they'd like to discard their food if that's what he heard because that's a whole plate of food! My plate had a little less than half a burrito left over so I wasn't to upset about that but still was quite annoyed. At the end we ended up getting my wife's taco's back, but no burrito or anything else. The food was overall okay the taco's are absolutely amazing and highly recommend even that one bite was to die for! Everything else though as for the burrito it was okay. Not much seasoning. A lot of seasoning was missing on all the food. Definitely an amazing place as for the atmosphere and I bet some other of there dishes are good as well! I just don't think it's worth another visit. I guess we'll see, might have to give it another chance.
Super Bowl Express
1622 N El Camino Real, San Clemente, CA 92672, United States
OMG, OMG, OMG ? ? ? WOW!No exaggerating, no kidding, my first time here and Im blown away. ? Crazy Good ?I was out Saturday ridding my 23 Phantom, heading south on the coast road. I was actually heading to a different place Ive been wanting to try and I was so hungry I about to chew my own off, when it hit me, this aroma of teriyaki chicken cooking on a grill, ahh mann I had to have it. I had to make two U-turns ( you know the coast road, No crossing the double solid yellow lines) to get back to Super Bowl ExpressAnd I am here to tell you it was Well worth the effort.The staff is real friendly, youre met with a hello and a welcome as you walk into this little Mom & Pop restaurant. The restaurant is very clean and their is indoor and outdoor seating. The menu is very extensive for the size of the restaurant ? and the portions are very generous, and prices very reasonable ? this is a Good Meal & Value establishment ?I had the teriyaki chicken bowl (first item on thier popular item menu) it was cooked fresh, and served on a perfect sized bed of white rice with a mountain of grilled teriyaki chicken on top ? then instead of drowning the chicken in teriyaki sauce, the staff lets you choose how much sauce to add, same goes for the green onions and sesame seeds. ? along with a medium fountain drink. ALL for less than $15.00 bucks.I ate every ladt bite except for about five kernels of rice, that I got tired of chasing around the bottom of the bowl ? it was sooo good???Now let me be completely honest and forthcoming, this is really a very nice hidden gem and have been in business for 31 years so you know they have to doing It Right bit they are a mom & pop shop, the owners are doing the cooking putting in the love first hand, and cooked fresh, so be prepared to wait a couple of minutes for your order ? but it is worth it ? if you only have limited time, they do offer and recommend that you phone in, your order in advance ? but if youre not in a hurry stop in have a sit down, and try this place, I cant wait till next time I come back, maybe this coming weekend. ?Enjoy ?Tell them Fred sent you ?