I really wanted to give a better review, but our experience wasn't the best. It was restaurant week in San Francisco and we found this place close to our hotel. We liked the menu, decided to give it a try. The place itself is underwater themed, which was pretty cool. The server gave us a brief history on the place which we enjoyed. For the food, we decided not to try the special as it was heavily sea based and not for me. I had the filet mignon, well done, which came with a potato risotto. Initially when I got my meal I cut into it and Blood came out, so definitely not cooked to my liking. The server apologized and took it back, advising me it would be a few minutes. My wife tried the grilled lamb chop, she asked for medium/well and it came out more well. So I think what happened is they switched the temperatures on the meats in the kitchen, since mine came out blood and hers well done. She still ate her food, it wasn't bad, just not great, particularly because of the temp it was cooked at, but she didn't want to send it back once she started eating. Once I received my meal it was cooked correctly, but the flavor didn't do it for me. It tasted heavily of brown sugar which seeped into the risotto, I still ate most of it but I wouldn't recommend. The garlic bread was good, service overall was good, everyone was nice, but the food failed to excite us. For the price I just expected a little more.
JustJack52
Service and kitchen here leave much to be desired. The restaurant wasn't very busy (now I know why). The server forgot to bring one dish and apologized. There was an inordinate amount of time for the food to arrive, about 40 minutes. I have to say the food was quite good. After finishing, the used plates were never cleared, even once I flagged down a person to get the check and paid it, still the dirty plates on the table. This was a rather unpleasant dining experience, recognized by the manager who comped us 50% appropriately. They automatically charge 20% server tip which was not deserved. I don't think there are going to be any Michelin stars in this one's front window.
Antigone S.
Love this restaurant! The atmosphere is serene and fun at the same time. My favorite dish that needs to be tried is the eggplant carpacio and who doesnt love a beautiful, scrumptious branzino!!! You gotta try this spot.
JohnR
WE came here because we used to go Farralon (the restaurant previously in the space). The fixtures are all still there if you want to go to reminisce, including the cave-like ceilings and the marvelous jellyfish lights. We received excellent service, friendly and quick and the ambience was good, it sort of creates itself with the underwater interior theme. The food was oily/greasy. We left most of the dishes, we ordered Garlic Shrimp. Crab Cake, Tuna Tartar, Octopus Carpaccio. The restaurant needs a jolly good clean, especially high-level. Thick layers of dust on the lights. High expectations of the old days of Farralon were dashed, sadly. Hopefully this beautiful restaurant place gets better chefs and we can try again.
Mary ..
We had a very relaxing and delicious late night meal here after attending the theater. The decor is serene and beautiful. We ordered several tapas with wine and enjoyed all of them. The eggplant is especially good, and do remember the bread. A delicious foccacia with butter and/or oil and vinegar. The portions are quite large and we ordered too many but it didn't stop us from finishing them! Our waitress was attentive and relaxed. Wonderful evening.
KyleF
Ula is an absolute must go! We went on an abnormally quiet Monday, but it gave us an opportunity to chat with Neeraj, the owner. He gave us a tour of the restaurant, its old Hollywood glamor and fantastic. Ample seating with private spaces. Our bartender served us fantastic martini's and wine. We did a few tapas, Octopus and the garlic shrimp and share the BRANZINO. Its so was crisp and delicious, we will be back to try more.
Sandra D.
Everything was great. Ambiance was great, food quality great, service perfect by European standards...by American standards he wasn't around often but when he was around the service was perfect. The only criticism I have (and it wasn't worth knocking down a star) was their portions are too big for " tapas . ". We ordered several things and after the first two items I had to have most of the remaining items packaged to go. The okra by the way was by far my favorite! The hummus plate was more warm veggies than hummus and since it was to-go obviously cold by the time we ate it. We could have used some olive oil for the hummus, it was dry and could have benefited from paprika. We had bread that I also had take away that I ate with the balsamic, garlic, oil...which was great. The cream brûlée and pecan tart (to-go) were both fabulous. My husband was less impressed as they were out of the filet which is what he wanted to eat.
Exquisite and attentive service from everyone! the hostess, our waiter, Red, and all the ancillary staff. All the dishes came beautifully plated and lavishly seasoned. The beautiful nautical decor and glass jellyfish just added to the magic! A perfect prelude to our evening at SFJazz.
Candy
Great Food & Service. A lot of VG & GF choices. All dishes are delicious with great presentation. We got three different waiters during our short lunch visit; I am not sure why. Water is $12 + tax & tips per bottle which is pricy. I have to pay for a bottle of still water which we did not drink.
FoodLover F.
We had the $75 restaurant week menu: lamb chops crab cakes and bread pudding I ordered the garlic shrimp tapa (came with a salad so it was very filling) Everything was just ok. Food was average at best. Nothing wowed us What did wow us was the restaurant itself. It is gorgeous Bruce (who was not our server) was on his way home, but stopped to give us tour of entire restaurant and was charming and very interesting. Our waiter was great We saw 39 steps next door at sf Playhouse it was ok at first but got repetitive and boring during second act. Zzzz
Food was great, as was the service. It was early on a slow night so noise level rating might not be accurate. This restaurant is located in the Kensington Hotel in the space formerly occupied and designed for Farallon. Much of the beautiful artistic glass and ironwork are still in place. Drinks are little on the skimpy side of the pour but the starters are all large and delicious. We did not have any mains. An assortment of starters were more than enough.
Courtney G.
Went to Ula last week and couldn't have been happier. It's so beautiful inside! All of the dishes we orderd were excellent (oysters, Halloumi app, crab ravioli and capesante). The cocktails were delicious (guava fino-wasn't too sweet, and 2 martini's because the first one was so good), and our waiter, Alex, was such a delight! Everything about the evening was top-notch. Thanks, Ula!
Baker456
We selected this restaurant for my daughter's birthday. She liked the ambiance. It appeared nothing has changed in the last 23 years since it was built. Still pretty but some aspects were dated. The food was quite good. We ordered many tapas—-all vey tasty. The lamb chops and seafood stew were excellent. Great service.
I V.
Food and service was perfect, our server was very nice.. He checked up on us, they served us wine before we sat down. Everything was wonderful along with the interior architecture which was marvelous. The inside has an upside down pool/sea design to it. No music from what I saw and heard but everyone is talking at a respectable volume. Although the hostess wasn't wearing proper attire, seemed a bit unprofessional as she and her coworker both were wearing different style clothing. The food was a bit expensive but i'd definitely go to this place at least once a year for a special occasion as the food was fulfilling.
Classic
Ila, formally Farallon, is beautifully decorated with beautiful undersea decorations, but it is much more than a seafood restaurant. Delicious steaks and lamb chops, the best thin sliced octopus I've ever tasted, and perfect salmon were served gently and efficiently at our table. We felt pampered. Well come back with each visit to the SFPlayhouse and any other time we are in downtown!
I really wanted to give a better review, but our experience wasn't the best. It was restaurant week in San Francisco and we found this place close to our hotel. We liked the menu, decided to give it a try. The place itself is underwater themed, which was pretty cool. The server gave us a brief history on the place which we enjoyed. For the food, we decided not to try the special as it was heavily sea based and not for me. I had the filet mignon, well done, which came with a potato risotto. Initially when I got my meal I cut into it and Blood came out, so definitely not cooked to my liking. The server apologized and took it back, advising me it would be a few minutes. My wife tried the grilled lamb chop, she asked for medium/well and it came out more well. So I think what happened is they switched the temperatures on the meats in the kitchen, since mine came out blood and hers well done. She still ate her food, it wasn't bad, just not great, particularly because of the temp it was cooked at, but she didn't want to send it back once she started eating. Once I received my meal it was cooked correctly, but the flavor didn't do it for me. It tasted heavily of brown sugar which seeped into the risotto, I still ate most of it but I wouldn't recommend. The garlic bread was good, service overall was good, everyone was nice, but the food failed to excite us. For the price I just expected a little more.
Service and kitchen here leave much to be desired. The restaurant wasn't very busy (now I know why). The server forgot to bring one dish and apologized. There was an inordinate amount of time for the food to arrive, about 40 minutes. I have to say the food was quite good. After finishing, the used plates were never cleared, even once I flagged down a person to get the check and paid it, still the dirty plates on the table. This was a rather unpleasant dining experience, recognized by the manager who comped us 50% appropriately. They automatically charge 20% server tip which was not deserved. I don't think there are going to be any Michelin stars in this one's front window.
Love this restaurant! The atmosphere is serene and fun at the same time. My favorite dish that needs to be tried is the eggplant carpacio and who doesnt love a beautiful, scrumptious branzino!!! You gotta try this spot.
WE came here because we used to go Farralon (the restaurant previously in the space). The fixtures are all still there if you want to go to reminisce, including the cave-like ceilings and the marvelous jellyfish lights. We received excellent service, friendly and quick and the ambience was good, it sort of creates itself with the underwater interior theme. The food was oily/greasy. We left most of the dishes, we ordered Garlic Shrimp. Crab Cake, Tuna Tartar, Octopus Carpaccio. The restaurant needs a jolly good clean, especially high-level. Thick layers of dust on the lights. High expectations of the old days of Farralon were dashed, sadly. Hopefully this beautiful restaurant place gets better chefs and we can try again.
We had a very relaxing and delicious late night meal here after attending the theater. The decor is serene and beautiful. We ordered several tapas with wine and enjoyed all of them. The eggplant is especially good, and do remember the bread. A delicious foccacia with butter and/or oil and vinegar. The portions are quite large and we ordered too many but it didn't stop us from finishing them! Our waitress was attentive and relaxed. Wonderful evening.
Ula is an absolute must go! We went on an abnormally quiet Monday, but it gave us an opportunity to chat with Neeraj, the owner. He gave us a tour of the restaurant, its old Hollywood glamor and fantastic. Ample seating with private spaces. Our bartender served us fantastic martini's and wine. We did a few tapas, Octopus and the garlic shrimp and share the BRANZINO. Its so was crisp and delicious, we will be back to try more.
Everything was great. Ambiance was great, food quality great, service perfect by European standards...by American standards he wasn't around often but when he was around the service was perfect. The only criticism I have (and it wasn't worth knocking down a star) was their portions are too big for " tapas . ". We ordered several things and after the first two items I had to have most of the remaining items packaged to go. The okra by the way was by far my favorite! The hummus plate was more warm veggies than hummus and since it was to-go obviously cold by the time we ate it. We could have used some olive oil for the hummus, it was dry and could have benefited from paprika. We had bread that I also had take away that I ate with the balsamic, garlic, oil...which was great. The cream brûlée and pecan tart (to-go) were both fabulous. My husband was less impressed as they were out of the filet which is what he wanted to eat.
Exquisite and attentive service from everyone! the hostess, our waiter, Red, and all the ancillary staff. All the dishes came beautifully plated and lavishly seasoned. The beautiful nautical decor and glass jellyfish just added to the magic! A perfect prelude to our evening at SFJazz.
Great Food & Service. A lot of VG & GF choices. All dishes are delicious with great presentation. We got three different waiters during our short lunch visit; I am not sure why. Water is $12 + tax & tips per bottle which is pricy. I have to pay for a bottle of still water which we did not drink.
We had the $75 restaurant week menu: lamb chops crab cakes and bread pudding I ordered the garlic shrimp tapa (came with a salad so it was very filling) Everything was just ok. Food was average at best. Nothing wowed us What did wow us was the restaurant itself. It is gorgeous Bruce (who was not our server) was on his way home, but stopped to give us tour of entire restaurant and was charming and very interesting. Our waiter was great We saw 39 steps next door at sf Playhouse it was ok at first but got repetitive and boring during second act. Zzzz
Restaurantji Recommends
Food was great, as was the service. It was early on a slow night so noise level rating might not be accurate. This restaurant is located in the Kensington Hotel in the space formerly occupied and designed for Farallon. Much of the beautiful artistic glass and ironwork are still in place. Drinks are little on the skimpy side of the pour but the starters are all large and delicious. We did not have any mains. An assortment of starters were more than enough.
Went to Ula last week and couldn't have been happier. It's so beautiful inside! All of the dishes we orderd were excellent (oysters, Halloumi app, crab ravioli and capesante). The cocktails were delicious (guava fino-wasn't too sweet, and 2 martini's because the first one was so good), and our waiter, Alex, was such a delight! Everything about the evening was top-notch. Thanks, Ula!
We selected this restaurant for my daughter's birthday. She liked the ambiance. It appeared nothing has changed in the last 23 years since it was built. Still pretty but some aspects were dated. The food was quite good. We ordered many tapas—-all vey tasty. The lamb chops and seafood stew were excellent. Great service.
Food and service was perfect, our server was very nice.. He checked up on us, they served us wine before we sat down. Everything was wonderful along with the interior architecture which was marvelous. The inside has an upside down pool/sea design to it. No music from what I saw and heard but everyone is talking at a respectable volume. Although the hostess wasn't wearing proper attire, seemed a bit unprofessional as she and her coworker both were wearing different style clothing. The food was a bit expensive but i'd definitely go to this place at least once a year for a special occasion as the food was fulfilling.
Ila, formally Farallon, is beautifully decorated with beautiful undersea decorations, but it is much more than a seafood restaurant. Delicious steaks and lamb chops, the best thin sliced octopus I've ever tasted, and perfect salmon were served gently and efficiently at our table. We felt pampered. Well come back with each visit to the SFPlayhouse and any other time we are in downtown!