Cafe Claude Reviews

Great restaurant with great food. Excellent staff and most importantly, frequent live jazz.

Pro's: The interior of the restaurant looks great. The food is pretty good. The steak frites and cheese and fruit board was good.
Con's: Service was slow and the waiter rarely checked in with us. I'd understand if they were busy, but they were slow.

I was really surprised by how good the food was especially for the price! Everything was cooked well and really flavorful! Definitely coming back to this place. Need to explore the rest of the menu and drink menu.

French food and the scene here is quality. the staff was friendly and observant.

Swordfish dish was the best I have ever tasted. Equinox drink was first one I've had and it was **really** delicious.

Tasty steak frites. Took ages to get a table even with a reservation.

The soups are delicious.
Located in the heart of downtown.
A lunchtime favorite.

Best beef tartare I've had in SF and the cocktails are delightful.

This restraunt is absolutely the highlight of our 16th anniversary. Great food, service and jazz.

modern french cuisine with lovely jazz music ! i recommend their penne pasta and their apple tart for a dessert ! they are generous and so friendly and their waiting times arent that bad .... go there for a romantic dinner people

Absolutely delightful meal well served in a pleasant setting. We sat in the alley outside and the weather was perfect. Our party stayed well after the meal was finished and didn't have any problems.

love the setting and the service is impeccable. trying to like the place but the food was not that memorable.

If you catch a live jazz session, sit at the bar. Food is average but the ambiance is what makes this place special.

Great wine, classic french fare, and attentive service in this hidden gem tucked away in an alley near everything, yet seemingly in an other hemisphere. The live jazz was the real deal, and our waiter Robert had that certain je ne sais quoi that made our evening spectacular, with great food and wine recommendations, and constant, yet unobtrusive attention. Cafe Claude has not re invented the wheel, nor does it need to. It simply serves the food that started it all, in the great french tradition.
We were out to have a good time, and the oysters, tuna tartare, and Coq au Vin did it for us.
Merci Cafe Claude!!!!

Service was great. They only have one Cabernet by the glass. Had the Coque au Vin as an entree. It was well prepared with vegetables and very juicy. For dessert, I had the the Mouse au Chocolat. It was simply ok. Should have gotten the Creme Brulee. Oh well.

Friendly waiters, tasty food. Price is slightly higher

Wow! The biggest surprise I had in San Francisco! Lovely, insane food, jazz music! Incomparable in the area! Just go :)

Little place, amazing atmosphere, great food, friendly staff. I will go many times.

Very good. I was pleased with the happy hour menu. Prices are fitting for the quality of food and wine. It's a quaint spot, make sure you make reservations as they fill up quickly in the evening!

Cafe Claude was wonderful. The staff was wonderful. The ambience was wonderful and eclectic. The food, ooo la la! The morrow bitter on a perfect steak, and so so tasty steak were amazing. We started with a drink " perfect something" and ended with a creme brulee and apple carmel tart. Wow. The parking is a challenge but so worth it. Fun to walk around the city too.

Yummy food, we got sit in the ally side but the heaters made it warm. Delicious cheese and bread.

Nice bar great place to spend a few hours good food

Moule and Fries was great but the Saison du Pont on draft made the day.

Came with my parents for dinner and had a really disgraceful experience. The service was horrible, food was below everage and defently not worth the exaggerated price. The waiter never came to check on us, or to feel our empty glasses of water. Finally, we orders a desert and the Creme brulee crust was way too burn, completely incinerated. Will not come back, stay away.

A favorite spot for tasty French food. the service here is better than most. it has a nice atmosphere.

Good restaurant with French cuisine in the heart of San Francisco. Elegant atmosphere, good service, good food. Offer of wines and beers. Live music some nights. There is a good quality price relation.

Delicious as f***. Had the steak frites, a few glasses of cabernet franc, some Belgian beer thing, and whatever that "gimme the biggest dessert in the menu cuz they all look good" was.

Excellent food, service & ambiance...great live music too...!

this is ina hard to find area. service was ok and food was also average.

Unpretentious and French restaurant usually don't end up in the same sentence, but this time they do.

Came here for my wife's bday and it was a wonderful experience. We enjoyed drinks at the bar and then got seated at a nice table by the window. They even had live music on Saturday evening. We tried the French onion soup, Coq au Vin, and the Swordfish. All dishes were delicious but if I had to pick one, I'd go with the chicken. The service here was awesome and we will definitely come back.

I came here spontaneously with two friends.
Staff was friendly and spoke French. I assume that speaks for a French restaurant.
There is outside seating available. The restaurant is located in a small alley. There is a covered outdoor area in that alley. Inside, there was some live jazz playing, to which I was skeptical at first. I'm not a huge fan of jazz, but it was not to loud and gave the place a good ambiente.
The wine list is composed by mainly French wines (probably 50-60%). Some others are from California, and 1 or 2 from other states. We decided to go for a white wine from Washington, because we never had one from there, and the wine was excellent! (44 USD)
Foodwise the menu is not too big. As a vegetarian your choices are limited to the salads and 1 main course (and the soup of the day, depending what it is) - I went for 6pc of oysters (oysters just aren't my thing, that I can tell now) and the vegetables and lentils out of the oven. I found that a bit too boring and would have expected something more refined and complex in taste. It was good, though.
My friends had the soup of the day (carrot-ginger I believe), chef's salad, Steak Frites and another main course. According to their opinion it all tasted very nice. I can only tell that the French Fries were excellent. Nicely thin cut, crispy, not too salty.

Overall, it is a nice restaurant serving good French cuisine. From my own point of view, it should serve more vegetarian fare (How about Couscous and Ratatouille?). It's also not overly expensive. You can have a prix fixe dinner for 45USD with 4 courses.

Steak and Frites! This place is incredible for business lunches. Efficient, friendly and smart service staff mixed with absolutely delicious menu items. Highly recommend this spot - it's unlikely to disappoint someone wanting a simple business lunch.

Delicious food but the wait time for the food to come out was insanely long. We came during a weekday and we thought we were lucky to get a table for 3 around 7PM, but the whole meal was about 1 1/2 hours to get all the food on the table. They did give us some bread in advance. However we were very tired by the time we finished our meal.

We ordered the roast duck, steak and cheese plate with honey comb. Everything was lovely, no complains on the food.

I ll back again for another meal with my friends, hopefully the food wait time would be shorter.

I play hockey with a guy named Claude but he wasn t here when we went so we went somewhere else

The food was amazing and very reasonably priced. The bread was fresh. The creme brulee was made to perfection. And they have a very nice selection of wines by the glass. The service was also amazing.

Went here with my husband for a romantic first night in San Francisco. While I didn't know what to expect since I'd never been to a French restaurant before, I thoroughly enjoyed every bite. From the "Dusty Road" Bourbon cocktail, to the cheese and honey charcuterie board, to the Tartare du Chon, everything was delicious. Highly recommend!

Nice restaurant. Has the steak et frittes and it was delicious. Definitely recommend it!

This is one of the most welcoming places ive eatten at in sanfransico! I love the selection of food here and the servers are always friendly

Their croque madame is pretty good, but the service is slow and I find the menu to be a bit meh. The steak frites was on my average

Great restaurant. Good lighting and ambiance. Food was awesome!

Good setting, good atmosphere, great food. Reserve or expect to wait a bit.

Nice spot for tasty french food. staff treated us so nice.

Great food. We sat outside in alley and it felt like a different city.

One of my top places for quality French food. i was super full. the staff was friendly and sociable.

My wife and me spent 2 and a half weeks in california and finished our trip in San Francisco.
For the last night, we wanted a nice dining as it was also our honeymoon.

At first had a warm welcome from the lady in charge that night telling me that they were celebrating their 30 years anniversary.
And after that... Well that's it!
Drop us on a table at the corner and nothing...
No staff, nobody came to us for 30 minutes! 30 mn with 4 other table in the restaurant? Are you kidding me? Finally get the opportunity to have our aperitif drinks but I get so upset that nobody care about us that I told my wife to leave.
I explained the waitress that we were leaving for the lack of service and attention when she came with the drinks and she to apologies offer us the drinks...
No apologie from the lady chef de rang when we left thought...

So in the end this 1 start review is not about the food quality but about the quality of service they showed us.
30 years serving people like this? I don't know how you've done guys!

We have been comming here for 25 years, and have always had a great time.

Excellent French food and jazz ambience. The bartenders are true cocktails artists. the steak tartare and foie gras are simply amazing. Wonderful staff and service.

This restaurant is awesome and broad, the food was delicious and the rates were very reasonable. quick, efficient service and very affable staff. Highly recommended.

One of my favorite places in Union Sq area to get good wine, excellent light meal, and espresso drink, with the atmosphere to match. It is located in one of those famous SF alleyways, Claude Lane. Live music several nights a week too. SF institution!

Used to be a favorite of ours. We were excited to go again after a few years.

Ambiance. Charming.
Live music. Oh yes!
Service. Helpful.
Salad. Tasty.
Coq au Vin. Underwhelming. The Coq a Vin was not good. It should fall off the bone if it s been cooked as long as they claimed. They claimed five hours. I think not. I sent it back as I was fighting to cut the meat off the bone. Sent it back in case I got an off portion. Second portion. The same. Lots of tendons on the chicken and not tender. The mushrooms had an off flavor too.
Deviled eggs. Meh.
Duck confit. Decent.

Sad. We loved this place.

Good meals and nice ambience with a jazz band on friday evening.
We taste espadon and duck...excellent and wines too.
French tourists in Frisco

We stopped in to have a drink after dinner and listen to the jazz quartet playing. Nice spot.

Had an fantastic evening! Food was spot on, service was great and Sherri and the band set a wonderful atmosphere!!

Fabulous food and great vibe. We turned up in a Friday night without a reservation and they were able to give us the last table inside. Food was amazing, service could not be faulted and music was fantastic. We are from overseas and it was one f the best evening meals we have eaten.

Took my mother, her cousin and my lady. Front room, jazz, food , service... Great.

Closest French dining outside of France. A quaint tucked away spot that is authentic.

Beautiful little French restaurant hidden in a small San Francisco alley, you'll have to look hard to find this one. The menu is classic French cooking and very well done. The cocktail list is impressive. A perfect place for a romantic meal.

Excellent food.. Fantastic service! Live Jazz music!

Food is ok but not outstanding and service is quite slow.

Come for the handsome waiters, the great live music every night and have a nice meal of Escargot, Steak Tartare or the Crouque Monsieur with their legendary fries.

Good place, although it usually has a lot of people, too much !!!!

This is a Parisian experience in San Francisco! Lovely food and wines, the bartender is on pointe! I could watch him shake and double shake all night!They have live music Thursday through Saturday night.Swingatto is the group that played tonight -a lovely jazz trio. Oh my! We went for happy hour 4-6 and then music started at 7.

I believe this to be one of the finest French restaurants in San Francisco. Last night I had an outstanding trout almondine. Service was excellent and the atmosphere comfortable, although a little noisy. I will certainly be back soon

I visit this outstanding place once a month as I like the special air that is part of this restaurant. The personel is exceptionally cordial and skilfull. The service is very rapid. Not to mention, the food they prepare is perfect. I ate there many times and I was always happy. The expense is modest. I highly recommend this place to all my friends.

The food is great, I played there with my Latinjazz trio and we love the space, and the crowd.

The menu and wine selection is pretty good. I came here for lunch and it was not packed. I would come back here for sure if I want to pay $35 for my lunch... I missed an overall different experience. My sandwich was average and the fries nothing to be impressed...

The Duck, is simply amazing...close your eyes, (you really don't have to, ) take a long sip of you Poligny Montrachet, and savor the finest Duck...and the potatoes are also amazing! Can't miss with this wonderful spot!

Ok place. There are better french restaurants in sf.