Alfred’s Steakhouse

Absolutely loved the atmosphere of this place: enjoyably old school and sophisticated. Food was excellent! For 2 people had: 2×10ounces filet steaks, double baked potato (which sort of also presented as a portion for two), and fries. Service was great as well, attentive waiters and good food recommendations. Overall, loved everything! As far as I understood, the place is under a new ownership and was well remodeled (~2 months ago). Definitely looking forward to coming back!

Good steak house. Menu somewhat limited but if it’s good then that’s fine. Prices are really high end considering location. That said the food was excellent, the flavours good. 14 oz Steak, potato and a salad with 2 glasses of house wine for $ 110 struck me as a little high however!
That said staff were friendly and well informed. I guess I am just a cheapskate!

I was lucky enough to dine here two weeks ago with a friend. The décor just set a perfectly warm, old San Francisco tone. I felt like I had been transported back in time in which good taste ruled. The Oysters Rockefeller was excellent. I had the prime rib, and it was superb! The Manager Andrew made us feel like we were the most special people in the restaurant. He prepared the flaming banana dessert at our table, and it was a perfect coda to our dining symphony. What a great time!

Lunch there today… we both had the business lunch special. which proved to be a «Caesar-​based» salad – romaine, tomatoes, croutons, fennel (!), watermelon radishes (!!), anchovies, in a bitter dressing that was somehow still wine friendly (!)…plus swordfish, which proved, in its turn, to be, not a slab of grilled fish, but a small filet over large white beans (perfectly cooked), dressed with vegetables including exciting (if you can believe that) peapods and a Romesco sauce. I had a glass of Cabernet Franc from the Loire; herself had a Gruener Veltliner, all good, all good. About $ 85 for the two of us, which included a house-​calculated 20% gratuity. «Service compris,» if you will.
Two quibbles…
one is with another reviewer who said this Alfred’s had preserved the classic steakhouse red-​flock décor. Not so much: I’d say, the décor is that deep red we all remember, but the furnishings, fittings, and so on are updated and sleek, in a good way.
Second is… well, maybe my bad luck, but the menu offered, on the business special, tri-​tip. which I wanted. but they were out.
THAT’S an excuse for a return visit.
oh, and: GREAT background music. Sinatra, okay; Ella Fitzgerald, great, but as we were being shown to our table, the jazz classic, Joy Spring was to be heard; and later, Lester Young playing I didn’t know what time it was.
impeccable (cliché, sorry) service, too

Went to Alfred’s for a birthday dinner and was very pleasantly surprised after reading some of the negative reviews. Our waiter Robert was very professional. He had great suggestions, was knowledgeable and funny, and paced the dinner just right. The steaks and the sauces are some of the best I’ve had and the sides were delicious. I recommend trying all the Manhattans and the Bananas Foster for desert.
Alfred’s is definitely worth the money if you’re looking for a special dinner in a nice environment.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen!
This old school red-​banquetted steak house has been my secret weapon for years. The classic service, well-​aged beef and perfect martinis are the last thing you expect to find tucked into this little Chinatown alley. I impressed many a client or visitor by bringing them here.
Sadly, Alfred’s has changed hands and while all of the outer appearance remains, the service has been gutted. Our party of 3 had a very long wait to order after being seated, appetizer and salad service was sloppy and disorganized, then they completely forgot one of our steaks. Ouch.
The end of an era.

Wow this place has really gone downhill — I use to eat there 3 – 4 times/​year. Last week’s will be my last for sure as I was extremely disappointed by the steak & some aspects of the service:
1. The Steak. I ordered the $ 55 14oz ribeye steak, one of my personal favorites. What I got was an very uneven cut end piece that no butcher/​chef in their right mind should present, let alone sell for that price. Oh yeah, it was WAY overcooked. They did offer to cook another, but looking at the steaks for the rest of the table, none were really much better, so I decided to just deal w/​it.
2. The Sides. 4 men having steaks, we ordered 3 sides for the table. I guess I should have asked/​remembered, but the portions are individual. I’d expect a top notch restaurant to at least mention that or scale the sides for the table.
The venue is great as usual, but when the STEAK is terrible, it just kills the whole deal. Still wishing I had just gone elsewhere cause ~$ 100 all in per person is just saddening…

Delicious steak house. Steak was perfectly cooked, asparagus with sunny side up egg was more than delicious and the mash potatoes was on point perfectly seasoned. They offer a sauce for the steak but to me a real steak doesn’t need sauce it makes its on…

What a place! If you turn your head, you might catch a glimpse of Monroe and DiMaggio to your right and a glimpse of the rat pack at the table to the left. Alfred’s is classy and the steak is good (medium rare, of course), not to mention the oysters and champagne hit the spot!
What took this place down a few notches, or more like, a few floors… a few mountains… a few dimensions, was the service. Our waiter took a while to give us menus and order drinks. After my friend and I decided to order, he was back sometime after to bring us our drinks… which wasn’t too bad, but should have foreshadowed the rest of the night.
Our waiter took so long checking on us. Our drinks were gone by the time the food came and he didn’t offer to get us a new drink or simply remove the empty glasses from the table. I believe the host came over and did it after a while. Then, they got the order for the table next to us wrong twice, which is none of my business, but it’s hard to enjoy a meal having the host, sommelier, and waiter coming back between the tables and asking, «Is anything wrong now?», every minute, to the point where I heard the party say, «I just want to eat».
After we were finished with our main courses, it took 30 minutes just for the empty plates to be cleared, our waiter was busy at his kiosk and not helping any table for most of the night. When we finally ordered dessert, we opted for and shared the chocolate mousse. Save your money! It tasted as if someone mixed coca powder, too much salt, and a sour tangerine. I literally took a bite and had to spit it into my napkin, it was too salty. Perhaps my palate isn’t quite developed yet. Maybe the cheesecake would have been better. I hope the starving babies in the world can forgive me for wasting it, but I doubt they would have enjoyed it any more than I.
When we paid, we also found the automatic 20% surprising, we wouldn’t have had such a distaste for it (we understand various fees, such as Healthy SF and such), but I found it extremely tacky that the waiter wrote on the receipt, «Not a tip, don’t forget to tip». #keepitclassy. Overall, this place has a cool cat vibe, super chic and classy. The steaks are delicious and the oysters quite heavenly, give it a try, but you certainly don’t get what you pay for when it comes to service. Better off getting a good burger and decent service at Mel’s or Loris – more bang for your money.

Very very slow slow slow service. Inattentive unresponsive service. They automatically give themselves 20% as a gratuity — so no incentive to deliver satisfaction. Beware. Food was fine. Recommend you go somewhere else.

UPDATE: So glad I went back. In just a month the new owners have fixed their issues and the spirit and spirits of the old Alfred’s are back: the lively wait staff, the great martinis WITH sidecars, and the steaks are better than ever. Whew! This SF landmark is back to being one of the treasures of the city.
Previous review on ³⁄₂₂
People want to know. Did new ownership wreck one of San Francisco’s storied restaurants? Maybe. But what they’ve broken can be fixed.
I was a huge fan of the old Alfred’s, so I was really looking forward to what had been promised to be an upgrade under new ownership. No doubt, the steak itself is better. We had the filet and the New York, and both cuts were tastier and better prepared than in the past. They also cost substantially more, and Alfred’s was never inexpensive.
The service was not good. The old wait staff was jovial and engaging. They’re gone. Instead, we were rushed, even though the place was filled with empty tables on a Friday night. We were in and out in an hour and 20 minutes, with coffee and dessert, unacceptable at this price point.
Alfred’s was famous for its martinis (Jack Kerouac drank them and wrote about them in «On the Road») that came with the shaker as a sidecar, so you could top off your own drink. No more. The glasses are much smaller with tiny shriveled tasteless olives, and you don’t get the shaker unless you order their house martini, which involves orange bitters (not really a martini) and sounded terrible. And as an example of the poor service and rush, the moment our martinis were placed on the table, a different waiter appeared to demand to know what we wanted to eat. He didn’t even give us a moment to take a sip, and by the time we were allowed to imbibe the drinks had warmed. What’s the point of an icy martini if you can’t drink it right away?
No peppercorn sauce as an option anymore, even though that was the most-​ordered sauce on the old menu. I was actually looking forward to the fancy new chef’s interpretation of a peppercorn sauce, since I suspect he’d give it a fabulous foodie twist.
All of these issues can be fixed. Bring back the old martini shakers and routine. Retrain the staff so they understand that a customer’s enjoyment is part of the experience. And create a peppercorn sauce.
This is coming from a fan who has spent countless evenings over the years at Alfred’s, and I’d hate to lose it as one of my go-​to places in San Francisco.

Coming as a group I had a much more disappointing experience. They messed up a person’s drink orders 3 times.
When I asked for a wine bottle recommendation the guy looked at the menu carefully and suggested something which I initially said yes but after looking closer I asked if 375ml was a normal bottle. He said yes but then after I looked at him really questioning him he said it might be a half bottle. So it was literally 2x my price.
The time between courses was also really long and I’d used they just had a much busier Thursday night than expected.
Meat and food was overall still very well prepared but the service was very disappointing.
I’m not sure for a group of 8 if they just throw the worst server figuring it is mandatory gratuity but it wasn’t up to the standard I expected.

Food was great.
20% gratuity added on at the end (only two people) with no notice anywhere was not cool. Less cool was the server telling us «By the way, that 20% gratuity is just for the kitchen staff, if you want to tip the service, that’s extra».
Servers: Find a new job at a different restaurant, the management is screwing you over
Management: You should really be ashamed of yourselves.
It ended what was a great dining experience very awkwardly. I’m not loaded — that was a splurge, and I budgeted myself to give a 20% tip, not a 40% tip.

I am so very sad to write this 3 star review for the new Alfreds.
Since 2008, I have eaten at this restaurant 30+ times so was a regular. The steaks were good, but the value is gone. In the past 2 of us could have dinner here with salads, steaks, sides, and dessert for around $ 120. Tonight we skipped the deserts and only drank water and the bill was $ 180!
If something doesn’t change, I will not return. Something that I am very sad to say.

Not much has changed as far as the décor, goes, which is a good thing. I love the old skool feel of this place. One thing that has changed that’s not a good thing in my book — the caesar salad is no more. Waah! Alfred’s previous had one of the best in the area, imho, a real old fashioned tangy caesar. Their new signature salad was just meh. They use this same salad for their dungeness crab salad, sans the crab. Not impressed. The young greens salad was a winner however. Loved the pea shoots. My lunch companion had the king salmon — it looked like it was cooked perfectly and it came with nice fat asparagus.
I ordered the french onion soup — I wouldn’t order this again. I don’t care that there was just a few chucks of small croutons for bread — there simply was not enough cheese and you really could not call this a soup — it was more an onion stew — you could stand a spoon in it — and it had a flavor I couldn’t quite place –maybe some kind of smoky pork in the broth? I enjoyed the bethel-​heights by the glass though. Service was efficient, as always.

After returning from world travels… Stopped by San Francisco on the way back. Was staying nearby and figuring out where to eat closeby. Hotel concierge recommended that we go to this spot. It’s more old school steakhouse with the modern steakhouse prices.
I was mostly bothered by the limitation in choices for mixed drinks. It’s unfortunate since I really liked the old school feel. The only noteable drink that I liked was the martini. The red wine selection was decent.
Tried a few things:
— Oyster Rockefeller: Good and I thought the spinach they used was fresh instead of frozen.
— Wedge salad: Very middle of the road. I don’t know if it holds true to a real wedge salad. I just expect a wedge of lettuce, blue cheese, and bacon.
— New York Strip: Delicious and better than the Alfred cut (tried my bf’s) which I believe was a bone in ribeye. Wasn’t as rare as I would have liked it.
— Twice baked potatoes: Would be better if they offered sour cream and more cheese
— Creamed spinach: Tasted identical as the one on the oyster Rockefeller… not sure if I thought it was the best as many reviews claimed. It was good. We did not finish it all.
— French Fries: Ehhhhh. for the prices, thought it could be better.
I would recommend this place for proximity. not sure if I would say it’s a lot better than Ruth Chris or other chain shops. It definitely has the same prices though.
No bread… that was disappointing. And the service was okay… we waited a long while before we could order.

I really hate to give bad reviews because I know how hard it is to run a good restaurant.
My wife and I went to the new Alfred’s with very high hopes that it would be an excellent experience. While we have always liked the ambience of the place the service and food quality has been lacking recently. We hoped that the new management would change that. When we entered the environment it was nice to see the same decorations. We sat promptly and waited for the waiter. It is obvious that they have not upgraded the waitstaff and our waiter was not particularly helpful. Halfway through the order he knocked an entire glass of champagne across the table into my wife. He returned with one extra napkin and no apology. The table was so wet we asked another bus boy to change the table cloth which he agreed to do. There was no hurry or hustle and it took almost ten minutes. We pointed out that the table under the cloth was also soaked but that somehow got lost in translation
For the first course she had a salad and I had the artichokes. The artichokes were fine but not great. The cold burrata was an odd foil to the lukewarm chokes.
We both had filets and I had added mushrooms and grilled onions. It is weird that one has to choose between a 5 ounce filet — quite small, or a 10 ounce. The steak was fine and the side of Bernaise was actually quite good. The mushroom was a whole chanterelle and lacked flavor. We skipped them. The onions were also odd and not so good.
We skipped dessert and never saw the waiter again or heard any apology. When the check came there was a mandatory 20% tip added even though there were only two of us and no opportunity to leave less tip. There was a very loud group of folks right behind us and we were so happy for the opportunity to leave. The place was half empty at 9:30 and a truly mixed crowd of tank tops and people with small kids as well as nicely dressed folks. This is clearly a place that has not found its footing yet. Hope they do.

The new Alfred’s by the Daniel Patterson Group is a contender for best steakhouse in The City. The Patterson kitchen producing meals utilizing locally sourced beef/​produce combined with the mid-​20^th century nostalgic vibe of Alfred’s dining room is sure to be a hit with locals and tourists alike.
My party greatly enjoyed a recent dinner outing on opening weekend of the latest incarnation of Alfred’s. We started with champagne and the baby grand fruit de mare platter, photo attached. The seafood platter offered a variety of delicious oysters, pulled Dungeness crab, shrimp cocktail, mussels & salmon tartare. All were fresh and delicious!
For the main course, our party of three had the porterhouse and lobster, bone-​in ribeye and lobster and the French onion soup. My wife found the onion soup to be overly sweet and would not order it again. My son had the porterhouse and lobster, he was very happy. I had the bone-​in ribeye; it was prepared perfectly!
We shared a few sides amongst the table. The double baked potato seemed a bit sweet to me but the rest of the table enjoyed the dish. We also had the roasted carrots and yogurt, very tasty.
At this point, we were stuffed but I felt it my duty to have dessert to properly finish this review. The pineapple upside down cake is reminiscent of an olive oil cake with baked pineapple. I found it to be quite good but it could be a disappointment for those expecting molten brown sugar. My son had the Spumoni ice cream sundae, it was mostly traditional including chocolate and pistachio gelato.
Overall, Alfred’s comes out on top in comparison to The City’s other venerable steakhouse institutions like Harris’ and House of Prime Rib. I’d recommend Alfred’s to tourists looking for a bit of old San Francisco or for locals who visited Alfred’s in decades past and want to see what has become of the old boy…

Farewell to another part of old time San Francisco history.
This restaurant dates back to a time when locals had a strong sense of pride in its tradition and community. Originally located above the Broadway tunnel, this old time steakhouse often set the bar for fine dining with waiters in tuxedo like uniforms and Alfred’s name was often synonymous with «class». There were valet parking guys to guide the incoming guests to the front door after exiting their Lincoln Continentals or Cadillacs. When you walked in, you’d think of a scene in the movie Godfather and look for some «made guy» to walk in. Fast forward to the ’90’s when the restaurant moved from that hillside location to occupy the old time Financial District hot spot, the Blue Fox. Last summer, the owners announced that they sold the business to Daniel Patterson’s group (Coi, Aster, Alta, Il Cane Rosso, etc.) who intends to keep the steakhouse theme with a revamp. Working in the area, my friend is very familiar with their lunches and suggested stopping here for one last dinner before they close the original.
We stopped in two days prior to their last night and dined on the following:
Appetizers
1. Caesar’s salad (shared) (
) — This was one of their signature dishes as this used to by tossed tableside. Loved it when they added the whipped raw egg to the salad bowl!
2. Fried calamari (shared) (
) — Served crispy with a choice of marinara and tartar sauce, great munching food to open the palate.
Entrée
3. Bone-​in NY steak with ravioli (
) — Not feeling particularly hungry, I passed on their porterhouse and had this. It was cooked a perfect medium rare and paired well with my ravioli side.
4. Side order sautéed mushroom and onions (shared) (
) — Least of my favorite as the flavoring wasn’t very enjoyable on this. Needed a kick whether it be olive oil or the tang from wine vinegar.
Our waiter and the bus staff were very efficient in all facets of the service side (clearing dishes, filling water glasses, etc.). The bread came in extremely handy in sopping up my ravioli sauce and Caesar’s dressing. As we left, I asked the owner (founder’s son) for a copy of the menu and thanked him for the many enjoyable meals shared by friends and family throughout the years. Though it will be interesting to see and taste the new steakhouse, it still is a bit sad that this marks farewell to another era.
Thanks, Alfred’s, for the memories… I feel like Bob Hope now!

When I heard that Alfred’s was closing at the end of the year, I decided to drop in to the bar for a beverage last week. It was my first time here in over 25 years.
I love the dark wood, darkly lighted old school splendor of the place. I ordered a Manhattan with Woodford Reserve bourbon. The indifferent bartender delivered my well-​made drink a few minutes later, which I very much enjoyed despite some men behind me loudly discussing business issues in their (tech) company. I didn’t feel compelled to order another, so I got my check for my $ 16.58 drink.
I’m one who hates seeing classic old haunts change, as sometimes it is for the worse (Gold Dust Lounge), though sometimes it is for the better (Tosca Café, Original Joe’s, Spenger’s). Sometimes it downright sucks when the establishment goes away completely (Kapp’s Corner). We’ll see
If done right, the new improved Alfred’s could once again become the San Francisco destination restaurant that it was for generations. I’ll report back next year.

Am letzten Abend wollten wir noch einmal schön Essen gehen. Das Alfreds gibt es seit 1928 und das hat durchaus seine Berechtigung. Wir haben das Menü genommen. Ein Cesar Salat ein Steak mit Kartoffel und zum Nachtisch gab es. ach herje, vergessen. Wir haben um die 40, — Doller bezahlt. Der Sercie war sehr freundlich und auch unsere Tochter wurde nicht komisch angeguckt als sie ihr Cheesmaccaronies bestellt. Das Restaurant liegt etwas versteckt gleich neben dem Hilton in dem man wohl auch umsonst parken kann (das haben wir aber nciht ausprobiert).

Wir hatten uns sehr auf dieses Steakhouse gefreut. Seit 1928 im Business und des Öfteren erwähnt wenn man nach Steak und San Francisco sucht.
Der Abend enttäuschend auf ganzer Linie. Um es vorweg zu nehen, den zweiten Stern gibt es nur fürs Ambiente. Noch freundlich begrüßt und zum Tisch geleitet vom Empfangschef machte es zuerst einen guten Eindruck. Dann der Kellner. Nur zwei, drei Worte, dann war die Bestellung durch. Das Bier kam. Kein weiteres Wort. Der Salat kam ebenfalls wortlos. Das Steak wurde begleitet here you go. (by the way, ich hatte das 46 $ Bone in Steak). Das Fleisch gigantisch (groß zumindest). Geschmacklich gut. Leider mit etwas zu viel vom aged Rand, der total verkohlt war. Ich mag es crispy, aber nicht verbrannt und schon gar nicht bei gereiftem Steak. Ok, noch etwas nachgesalzen und ca. 25 Oz. von den 30 Oz. waren gut.
Dann der Hammer. Als die Frage nach einem Bier verneint wurde (wollten unbedingt noch ins Smuggler’s Cove) kam sofort und wieder wortlos die Rechnung. Das an sich wäre nicht so schlimm, aber es befand sich ein kleiner Wisch im Heftchen mit dem Hinweis auf 17% Service Charge. Tatsächlich, es wurden direkt 17% aufgeschlagen.
Eine absolute Frechheit. Der Service mist und man hat nicht einmal die Chance das zu zeigen. 10% Tip ist immer drin hier in den USA, aber soetwas geht gar nicht.
Also ich habe sicherlich schon schlechtere Steaks gegessen, aber ein Abend für 127 $ geht auch anders.
Parken darf man für drei Stunden gratis im Hilton Parkhaus, was auch nötig ist, da in der gesamten Merchant an dieser Stelle Parkverbot herrscht.
Schade. Nie wieder !

War auf einer Geschäftsreise hier und muß sagen, dass Alfred’s hat mich begeistert. Ohne Ortskenntnis hätte ich es nicht gefunden aber der Tipp unserer amerikanischen Freunde war perfekt.
Also … wer ein «ORGINAL» amerikanisches Steak der ganz klassischen Art, in einem sehr schönen, klassischen Ambiente aus der SF Urzeit geniessen möchte, ist hier genau richtig.
Das Fleisch ist SUPER, die Zubereitung erstklassig und der Service perfekt. Zum Abschluß noch einen rauchigen Whiskey und man fühlt sich in Raum und Zeit versetzt… ein Hauch «altes» Amerika! Ein rundum gelungener Abend und der Tipp war goldwert, daher gebe ich ihn einfach weiter!
Vielleicht noch als Warnung, das Ganze ist ein wenig preisiger, man sollte in jedem Fall vorbestellen, dafür kann man aber casual antreten…