The House Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Since 1993, The House has been cooking up top notch Asian fusion cuisine in San Francisco’s North Beach. Using local ingredients and blending American foods with Asian accents is their strong suit. Their mastery of sauces is evident in many dishes. The House flies under many foodie radars. Our last visit was in early July 2010.

The Larry Tse Chef Owner and wife run The House and ensure a high level of consistency. We have been visiting this restaurant for years and can fondly remember their now closed 2nd location by Golden Gate Park.

Decor, Vibe – The House is a small, cramped, noisy 40 seat restaurant. Wood wall paneling, black and wide pictures on the walls, pretty basic wooden tables and chairs. Mostly small parties in their 30′s and 40′s dining who already knew about this place. A smattering of lucky tourists.

Picks:

Steamed mussels with garlic infused shrimp broth comes with a bunch of mussels in a tasty broth. We usually order rice to sop up all the delicious broth.

Deep Fried Salmon Roll ($8.50) with chinese hot mustard is a signature appetizer.  Crispy on the outside, tender and moist on the inside.  Excellent miso soy wasabi dipping sauce. The salad has a little kick to it.

Daily Special: Seared dayboat scallops ($11) with micro greens and ponzu sauce had 3 perfectly carmelized scallops and very light mango citrus sauce.

Daily Special: Miso Cod ($25) while not as good and rounded as the Sea Bass, is cooked perfectly in a ginger soy sauce and includes some Chinese yuk choy veggies.

Grilled sea bass ($24) with garlic ginger soy, green beans, and noodles is a signature dish. They cook the fish perfectly. Beans and noodle are perfect to round out this reference dish.

Niman ranch pork chop ($21) with pomegranate currant sauce, asparagus, and mashed potatoes is also a signature dish. Cooked to a perfect juicy doneness, the sweet and zesty sauce is a perfect accent to the decent sized, tender, bone in  cut. Best pork chop in San Francisco.

Bittersweet fudge ($8.50) with coffee ice cream. How can you make a bad fudge cake? Good stuff.

OK:

Sesame soy glazed salmon ($18) in a bonito sake broth with seaweed was a good dish, but the sea bass is better. This is drowned a little bit by the broth.

Mango Tapioca ($6) was average. With entrees and appetizers so strong, this could use a tune-up. Too creamy.

Pans:
None

The House’s service was good but not stellar. Their weakest area has been and continues to be dessert, you can skip it and get dessert in Chinatown or North Beach. Be sure to make a reservation, as it is a tiny place with few tables. If you are looking to save money, visit them during lunch time.  Keep in mind that The House is not a place for a long romantic dinner.  The food comes fast and few people linger. Glasses of wine from $7.

North Beach spots of note include decent Italian Restaurant – Ideale Restaurant

Chinatown restaurants City View for dim sum lunch, R&G Lounge.

$25 Dining Certificate for $5

The House Overall Rating: (Excellent 3)

Come Back?

Food Rating:	(Excellent)
Service Rating:	(Good)
Atmosphere Rating:	(Good)
Value Rating:	(Very Good)

Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Below/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary

Alcohol:	Beer, Wine
Attire:	Casual
Hours:	Mon-Sat 1130am-230pm, Sun-Th 530-10pm, Fri-Sat 530-11pm
Parking:	Street (Hard)
Reservations:	Yes
Prices:	$12 - $25