Foreign Cinema Restaurant Reviews

the sea bass tartare, and the cheessecake were outstanding. The place is beatiful.

Foreign Cinema had been a long-standing favorite of mine, I think back to 2009! It's held strong with a great staff, innovative menus and lovely, well kempt space. It is on there higher $$ side, but there are options that aren't crazy. It's a popular spot so if you can make reservations for it. For brunch I find one can get in without reservations within an hour.

I don't understand the craze for this restaurant. The dishes served are not up to the price displayed. $ 26 fried chicken, served with frozen fries, no interest, pay fried chicken at Popeye for a few dollars! The dessert was a disaster, a whipped cream that has neither the taste nor the appearance of it! Restaurant that I will not do again and that I will not recommend. The setting is the only positive.

Food is typically great but service is on and off. A fun atmosphere in general but I can't say it's as good as it used to be.

Decent food, on the expensive side for me for what you get. But you can't beat the atmosphere, lighting, and the oldovie backdrop.

Came for a brunch. Good food, good atmosphere and service.

Not much food items to choose from. Burger I got was not good, was cold.

This was everything I expect from one of San Francisco's top restaurants. Interesting cocktail list with experienced mixers (the bar tender looked like Ralph Macchio), great wine list and amazing food. We started with some British Columbia oysters, smoked salmon and tuna tartare which was divine. I think the salmon may have been my favorite dish of the evening.
We shared a main course (the lamb mixed grill) which, being an Australian and considering myself a bit of a lamb connoisseur, was perfectly cooked with each different cut flavored slightly differently and served with mixed greens and quinoa. We finished with a dessert each (one chocolate and one hazelnut and pastry) and a couple glasses of port.
The only thing you need to be aware of is to pay close attention to the price. Since it is a San Francisco restaurant, it can get away from you. For all the food, a cocktail each, a half bottle of wine (~$40) and the two glasses of port, it came to about $200 for the both of us.
When we were at the bar we noticed that the indoor area was quite loud and we were glad we requested a table outside. It can get a bit cool though so bring a jacket if you sit outside.
Some of the review here suggested the service may have been bad, but our experience was completely positive. Our server was attentive, polite and had a good knowledge of the food and wine.
Definitely recommend this restaurant if you don't mind paying a bit for great food.

Great food. Great space. Great service. Expensive, but it felt worth it.

Elegant brunch setting with lots of natural light to illuminate the scrumptious food they serve. Great bloody Mary s. Awesome caramel sticky bun. Bacon is a MUST order for the table. The plates all tasted good but not a huge fan of their plating style. Someone got the balsamic eggs and I tried the duck confit. Their use of lettuces on the plate is... interesting.

Good brunch and nice to sit out on the patio when it's warm

The food here was excellent.m and the service was good. We made sure to book in advance which seemed like a very wise thing to do.

Long time San Francisco eatery still feels fresh. They are still starring and far from descending into a cameo...

With a movie being projected to a large screen, outdoor seating with heat lamps, a red carpet lining the restaurant's hallway entrance, and wonderful food, Foreign Cinema was a pleasant surprise - especially because I wouldn't have thought any of this judging from the establishment's exterior.

Although the entrees are around 20-30 dollars a plate, the quality runs parallel to the price.

At the end of the day, I would highly recommend Foreign Cinema.

Fantastic food and service in a very romantic setting. An extensive wine list of 900+ bottles, unique craft cocktails, and a respectable beer selection. The menu is small but diverse and nearly everything sounds appealing. They also offer several different types of very fresh oysters. Wine managers are available to pair wine with dinner selections as well.

Great coffee, food and cocktails. Highly recommended.

Tip: Get there at 10:30am to snag a table for brunch without a reservation.

Highly recommend this place for a romantic first date. The ambiance is unique with the films playing unobtrusively in the background. Year round outdoor seating provides shelter from the rain as well as adequate heat lamps for a breezy and delightful vibe. The food is top notch as well. We had oysters and the braised pork chop, with olives and Moroccan mint tea. All of it was excellent, as was the service.

One of my favorite spots in the Mission; a local hip vibe with amazing brunch and bloody marys!

Good food with typical SF wait. Make a reservation to save time. The bartender was very nice.

Great food. Great atmosphere. From oysters to steak to local fish to vegetarian delight. One cannot go wrong. Drinks, did I mention, are diverse and great! We visit from MA at least quarterly and never miss a visit to Foreign Cinema... Love brunch here- food is fantastic and the space is beautiful. There s an outdoor patio that s covered. Staff are lovely.

Good food, horrible service.

Not only is it slow, but also surly. The waitstaff acts like they have way better things to do than take care of their customers. After waiting over half an hour for the bill, I had to approach the waiter and hand him my card. After 15 more minutes, I noticed he finally had rung it up but was running other errands. I approached him and asked him for the bill, and he told me to sit down and he'd bring it by the table. After some arguing, I just took the bill and went back to the table. He came by to reprimand me!

When I called the manager, she was very defensive and didn't try to address the problem.

A very nice place to hang out with friends but the service is slow and took them forever to give us breads. The food is only okay - my friend ordered a seared scallop and the scallops are smaller tgan a quarter...

Really spacious brunch place. We arrived 10 minutes after their open time at 11am and even though there was a long line, we didn't have to wait much to get seated. I ordered the Champagne-Truffle Omelet and it was delicious. The grape juice was very refreshing but expensive. Giving it a four-star because apparently their salad was too "fresh" and had a green bug oh gosh...

The atmosphere is extraordinary and the food even better. The bar was exceptional and service as good as I have experienced.

Reminds me of Zuni Cafe in terms of service and decor. That is: the waiters are attentive and wear white collared shirts, there's a wood fireplace and lots of exposed masonry. Get a pastry to share during brunch.

The interior is amazing. You really feel like you're entering a theatre as you walk in to the front desk. We decided to put our name down for a walk in around 830pm. Ended up waiting about 40min to get a table for 4 on a Saturday evening, which was less than the estimated 1 hour. We didn't get outdoor seating to be able to have the outdoor movie experience, unfortunately. The actual indoor dining area is dimly lit and beautiful.

We ordered some phenomenal cocktails. Try the Wild at Heart or the Black Dahlia if you are into fruity cocktails. They also have a variety of wine options that would probably pair better with the main dishes.

As appetizers, they provide two kinds of complimentary bread, one of which was their delicious sourdough. We ordered some oysters as well. They were good, but the mains were what really stood out.

I got the Tuscan-brined pork chop, and the rest of our group got the Bodega Bay swordfish, the Madras curry seeded spiced fried chicken, and the Lamb mixed grill. The pork chop was extremely tender and paired well with the brussel sprouts & other veggies on the dish. It was not overly salty or saucy like the pork chop at Nopa. The portions were large, to top it off.

The fried chicken dish was three large pieces of chicken. The curry flavor was very light and didn't overpower the crispiness of the fried chicken. The mixed grill had some spicy sausage on the side, and wasn't too dry, as I see the problem with lamb dishes at other restaurants. Both of these dishes had very tender meats, which exceeded our expectations.

Finally, the swordfish. We were surprised by how dense and filling it was. They used a Champagne-tangerine butter sauce which really complemented the fish.

Overall, the mains were great and I would definitely recommend all 4 of them, especially to share because you really don't want to miss out on the diverse set.

We had the honeycomb cheesecake for dessert. It wasn't anything spectacular, though. I recommend passing on dessert and finding it elsewhere.

Overall, a great dinner. The food and drinks style was very similar to Nopa. Both restaurants have amazing cocktails, and do a great job with their main dishes. I actually think Foreign Cinema does a better job with their mains, but they are a bit pricier than Nopa. The bill came down to $220 incl. tax.

I'd love to come back to try brunch, or even dinner again sometime :)

The food was + ! Wait staff as well. Cool and trendy space. The only reason it didn't get my 5 star rating; it took way too long for a 3 course meal.

Great space for an office event. The servers came around with tons of great apps and the bartenders were available to make delicious cocktails. Combined with a coat check up front made the night really nice and easy

Decided to check out what all the hype was about on a Sunday morning for brunch. I didn t have a reservation but I was able to sit at the bar while i waited for my table. The wait was supposed to be 40 minutes but it took about 30. I ordered a Bloody Mary which was a meal within its self! Filled with pickled veggies and just the right amount of spice to keep me busy while I sat there.

Definitely a young hipster crowd. It looked like the place to be although the noise level drove me crazy! I couldn t hear anything friend was saying sitting across from me!

I ordered an omelette which was decent. Nothing great, kinda small and the potatoes were cooked earlier. I left hungry! My friend had a burger which looked much better!

I m not sure what the movie night is all about but maybe I will give this place one more shot. I hate to judge on brunch only and I will call first for a reservation!!

Classic movies projected onto an outdoor brick wall , string lighting, great food (brunch and dinner), and good service makes for a wonderful night. Foreign Cinema is one of those quintessential SF restaurants that you have to try at least once. Having been there three times, I can say that it's one of my favorite restaurants in this city. Dinners are romantic and brunches are fun. They have great cocktails and you really can't go wrong with any dish. I especially enjoyed the Sticky Bun and the Robust Persian Omelette. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone that eats and likes food period.

The ambiance was fantastic. The outdoor seating area has a movie projected to drive the feel of an outdoor cinema experience. I had the flank steak, which in my opinion was a miss. However my wife had the fried chicken, which was absolutely fantastic.

Dinner: Average. Good french food, but never really hits the spot.

Brunch: Great brunch. I think the famous pop tart is a bit overrated, but they do an excellent balsamic fried eggs. I love their bloody marys.

Some dishes are a bit overpriced but nice vibes overall

Delicious food (both brunch and dinner)... they have great oysters... and the ambience is amazing, both in the morning and at night.

A cool place to go on a date. Try and pick and time where it's dark to go here so you can see the movie playing on the back wall. Some people dress-up when coming here. Worth checking out.

My partner and I went to San Francisco for a long weekend. We opted to do brunch at Foreign Cinema, as we have been here before. Once again, FABULOUS. We started with drinks (of course), followed by Baked Cheese and Duck Mouse then we split a chicken kebab and Madame sandwich. Also had the Pad Thai....which was just OK. All else . . . .delicious.

Had an excellent meal here with great service. The bread was completely addicting. Would definitely come back.

Wow the food is good here. I went for an event. There were a lot of selections considering the size of the event. I had seared tuna for dinner and the desert was a cheesecake and it was amazing. The only drawback was that the large room we were in had acoustics that made it hard to hear people.

Great place. Service, Kitchen and Ambiance. Perfect. Really recommand.

Really nice atmosphere and food is ok. It s a great date place and they often screen movies on their patio wall which is a nice touch. Food is not incredibly memorable relative to other sf restaurants at the same price range, but still a fun place to enjoy.

The food had this amazing high-quality taste. Would love to see more vegan options. Also, the place was very loud...

Delicious but no movie, it only applies for dinner and in summer its not dark enough until much later.

Food: 3
Decor: 4
Service: 4

Came here with some colleagues for a Saturday brunch.

1. Grape juice over ice 5
~Okay. I wish there were more of the grape flavor.

2. Caramel pecan sticky bun 6
~Mediocre. Overly sweet.

3. Organic fruit "Pop Tarts": grape and ginger-apricot 6.75
~Mediocre. I couldn't really taste the grape.

4. Organic coastal strawberries, Straus yogurt, toasted hazelnuts, honey 8
~Pretty good. Strawberries were fresh, and they went well with the yogurt, hazelnuts, honey, and mint.

5. Ahi tuna tartare tostadas, avocado, serrano, spring onion, lime, wasabi and tobiko 14
~Very good. The lime was quite strong, and I wish there was a bit more of the wasabi heat.

6. 2 Poached eggs, sliced duck with braised lettuce 16
~Okay. Eggs were poached perfectly, but the duck was too salty, and not enough fat was rendered off. One piece was so chewy I had to spit it out.

7. Slow-cooked brown sugar bacon 7
~Pretty good. Bacon was excellent, but several pieces were severely burnt.

Service was pretty good, although my water was empty at one point.

Food is amazing and to add to that I liked the whole ambience of the place. Server was good and explained the menu well. Would surely visit them again.

Very nice ambiance! Food is great! I recommend to anyone

Their food is really good and goes great with the films they play.

A really special place, fantastic food and service.

I am somehow always disappointed with my meal at Foreign Cinema. I have heard such great things from so many people, but every time I have come, the flavors are just okay. I will credit Foreign Cinema for teaching me that pork can be eaten medium rare, if it is high quality pork, though! Who knew...

We have been to many Mexican Restaurants, Joselitos is the best, bar none. If you like Mexican food, you would be crazy not to try this place. Best quality food, great meat. I dare anyone to offer a better place.

Food was good, service was ok. Took a long time for him to take our drink orders and for the drinks to come initially. Then we ordered wine to be brought with our entrees which came out fifteen minutes after our food, no real apologies or show of hustle even though we obviously were waiting. Didn't appreciate the service, but the food was good.

Foreign Cinema is a place where you will always enjoy every dish served here. I remember when they first opened in the Mission District and they continue to serve outstanding dishes, oysters, delicious brunch menu and amazing dinner options. Recently went back for a very late brunch and ordered half crab along with a side egg and dangerously delicious bacon and topped it off with a great cocktail! Always great ambiance, service and location!

Fun place to check out in the mission, don't expect to watch much of the movie.

Food was great, we paid a price to expect good food and good service. Unfortunately the service was a total disappointment, the back waiters just simply slam the plate on our table and rushed through their time to clear our tables and things kept dropping. What a mad dinner we had.

Best brunch in SF. And without insane waits. Get the ginger shot.

a great movie with wonderful food, what could be better?

The food and service are both excellent! The space is really beautiful and unique. Loved this experience!

Really nice meal but the outside dining space lacks some ambiance as compared to the inside dining room