Prospect Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Prospect is a long-awaited new restaurant from the Boulevard restaurant team – Nancy Oakes, Pam Mazzola, and Kathy King – located in the posh residential Infinity Tower complex of San Francisco’s Financial district / SOMA district. They named it with anticipation, expectation, and looking forward. Prospect is near the Millennium tower.

This new Contemporary American restaurant opened at the end of June 2010. They are trying to tap into a younger demographic than Boulevard.  We came when they opened in 2010 and revisited in 2024.

They focus on local, organic, and sustainable ingredients wherever possible. The waiter said make items are sourced from Boulevard.

Decor, Vibe – Prospect has clean modern open and airy decor with high ceilings. Windows with motorized shades lined one side of the restaurant. A small lounge and a square concrete bar up front. Rustic reclaimed wood floors, long communal table before the main dining area, main dining room with booth seating up the middle and a long banquette on one side. Very spacious table spacing was up a great to see. Lots of modern art throughout the restaurant. Private dining room in the back. The place was packed with all segments of well dressed professionals after a trade show in Moscone.

Prospect Menu

Menu changes all the time and had 11 starters and 6 entrees with 1 vegetarian entree. Classic dishes include Scallops and Pork Chop. They have a Happy Hour as well as a Take out menu.

Complementary filtered still or sparkling house water.

Prospect Food Picks:

Roasted Baby Beet Salad ($17) charred Brokaw avocado, hearts of palm, hazelnut relish
green goddess dressing, arugula was simple and well done. Not a big salad but quality produce. 9/10

Seared Sea Scallops ($39) Acquerello risotto, crispy artichokes, Chablis beurre blanc, soft herb salad reminds us of Boulevard’s great scallops. 3 medium sized ones on a great bed of risotto. 8.5/10
Northern Halibut A La Plancha ($45) cranberry beans, cream of kale, cranberry bean puree, candied kumquats was fantastic. Swear they do fish better than Boulevard. Perfectly cooked. 10/10

Vegan Entree ($32) was put together from the chef and worked well. 9/10

Grilled Coachella White Corn ($12) house made chili lime salt, sorghum, cotija was simply too salty. 5/10

Sorbet ($9) for 2 scoops, blackberry lavender and rhubarb. Clearly homemade. 9/10

Service – Prospect had seasoned team of professionals, it appears to be a training ground for Boulevard. The service was solid with a knowledgeable server, never need to ask for water, and solid pacing.

Value – Prices are higher than we expected, but considering how glitzy the restaurant is, this price level is not a surprise. $50-$75 a person with a drink, is the norm here. Appetizer, Entree, and Dessert are needed to fill up as quantities are small.

Alternatives – Nearby similarly classed restaurants include Boulevard, Epic Roasthouse, Water Bar

Verdict – Does Prospect live up to its lofty expectations?
Prospect serves up solid food in a beautiful environment with expert service. We found the food little more focused on mainstream combinations, and less on deep-fried items. Prospect may be another big hit from the team at Boulevard.

6% Healthy San Francisco surcharge.

2010 review

Mojito ($9) was well blended, balance and had hidden strength.

Yellowtail Crudo – seaweed rice cracker, cucumber, white miso ($14) had a very thin carpaccio like layer of fresh fish. Each bite provided a nice blend of textures and flavors from the fish, aoili, radish, and bits of crunchy cucumber.

Monterey Calamari – chickpeas, piperade, lemon, garlic ($13) was an unusual sauce for this type of dish but still managed to work out just fine. The calamari was fresh and cooked perfectly. Deep-fried chickpeas and the sauce, provided an exotic accent to the calamari.

East Coast Dayboat Scallops – summer truffles, summer squash, shaved sourdough, mint ($16) had three good sized scallops along with a healthy shaving of truffles. This dish was best eaten with all ingredients forked together, making for a multi-textured and robust flavor combination.

Petrale Sole – bugger bean mousseline, bacon, chanterelles, haricot verts, yellow wax beans ($24) was another excellent fish course. Perfectly cooked, good sized portion, and bundled with lots of fresh beans and mushrooms.

Halibut – tasting of all farms carrots, pistachios, melted cippolinis, basil butter ($27) was cooked perfectly and rendered tenderer and flaky. The pumpkin purée was excellent and provided the healthy touch to this dish. No heavy sauces here.

Lamb loin and rib – feta, potatoes, castelvetrano olives, pardon peppers, Lamb quarters ($28) was cooked to a perfect medium rare. High quality local Lamb with no hint of gaminess. Rib portion had a spicy/sweet rub to it. The potatoes were excellent but on the skimpy side quantity wise.

Pistachio-cardamom Semifreddo ($8) verjus roasted plums, pistachio wafer was a different type of dessert with a semi-frozen cardamom flavored bar and some very tart plums. The dish was a major contrasting flavors and not for everyone.

Peach Pie ($9) muscovado ice cream, brown butter crumble, bourbon was an excellent, warm, personal size soft peach pie with fresh peaches on the side. The ice cream was a little too salty.

OK:

Potato Dumplings – arugula pistou, crushed hazelnuts, maitakes, pecorino ($14) tasted gnoochi like and were pretty good but lacked quantity at this price.

Pans:
None

Book Prospect Reservation

Prospect Overall Rating: (Very Good 2.5)

Come Back?

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

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

Alcohol:	Full Bar
Attire:	Smart Casual
Hours:	Sun-Thu 5:30pm-10:30pm, Fri-Sat 5:30pm-11pm, bar 4pm-close.
Parking:	Street
Reservations:	Yes
Prices:	$30 - $45