Best Fine Dining Restaurants in Civic Center / Hayes Valley / Van Ness

We were a party of 5. 3 of us showed up on time. We were forced to wait until our friends (2 of them) showed. Not the best first impression. However, the restaurant is wonderful. Food was wonderful. our waiter, Scott, was absolutely wonderful and the music (Jazz combo) was wonderful.

This is what an excellent dining experience is about. From the greeter at the front, full of warm welcomes on a rainy evening to the general manager re-seating us due to a wobbly table we had the most amazing evening. Service is excellent, Christian and the house managers were attentive polite and professional. The sommelier as well chose our white and red wines and nailed it! The food goes without saying, we had pear salad, crudeo and pasta. The special white truffle pasta as a share was amazing. Duck, scallops, lobster pasta as mains. Benigets for dessert with a vanilla and dark chocolate sauce. Cocktails also supreme, old fashioned, martini's and a Paper Plate! We really had such a wonderful time and it reminded me of the wonder of our city and the talented restaurant chefs, and servers in the Presidio.

Our party of six had a delightful time. Our waiter was friendly, attentive and helpful. The food service was prompt, and the food excellent. I had the poached pear salad and carpaccio. Another couple had the same, while two others had the burgers . . . all to very positive comments.

I used to love this place, then I moved abroad for 20 years, but went here again, and it is just as good as I remember!! grilled perfection! the dining room is cozy and warm, the booth seats comfortable. our server was the best - attentive but not intrusive - he really did an outstanding job (don't recall his name but has worked there 9 years and has 2 little kids, brown hair with some facial hair - shout out to him - he did a great job!) appetizers arrived lightning fast - aubergine and warm pita, grilled stuffed calamari(YUM), lamb meatballs (nomnomnom), baked gigante beans. mains were lamb skewers (yum) and branzino(5star), which was insanely delish and highly recommended. dessert was baklava, which I don't normally love, but theirs was sooo good and spicy, I highly recommend, and we got an ice cream sundae which was enormous and tasty. im so pleased Kokkari is still around and better than ever. great meal - thanks to the entire team!! can't wait to go back !!

From the moment you walk through the doors, you're met with a beautiful modern room that is perfectly decorated with Japanese flower arrangements. The persimmons hanging down from one of the tables is stunning. Every server seemed to be doing a perfectly choreographed dance, as they moved across each table delivering beverages, different courses, or simply providing new utensils. Definitely an experience that I won't forget. The little bites were small in size but big in flavor. They were all perfectly plated with such attention to detail. My favorite dish, one that the chef wasn't sure about, was the omurice. I joked that I was having a "Ratatouille" moment with that first bite. Being taken back to childhood and just eating a bowl of rice for lunch. Everyone was so knowledgeable and so very friendly. Natalie, our main server was so sweet and such a blast to be around. She even knew the brand of the drinkware!