Late dinner near Hilton by Union Square
Arriving late on Thursday night so I'm looking for a place to grab a quick dinner within a 10-15 minute walk from the Hilton (O'Farrell between Mason and Taylor). I'll be dining alone so I'd prefer something quick and reasonably priced. R&G Lounge looks good, but they close at 930 pm. I probably won't be eating until 10 pm or so. Any recommendations in the area? I'm coming from NYC so prefer something unique to SF. Thanks!
By krystle920
on Nov 17, 2010 11:42 AM
View »
Any thoughts on Lahore Karahi, Thai House Express, Lers Ros, or Kim Thanh?
Permalink | Reply
The first three are all great! Thai food is a little better suited to a single diner, I think, since you don't have to share plates. And there's more seating at Thai House and Lers Ros than Lahore.
Permalink | Reply
Lers Ros is among the very best for Thai in the Bay Area with amazing array of dishes (do a search on this board and you'll find many rhapsodic recommendations), fabulous seasoning, good value; the room is more "upscale" than most other Thai restaurants and there is often a lively late-dining crowd. But the neighborhood is not safe for walking at that hour and BART is 4-5 dark blocks away, so be sure to cab both ways.
Permalink | Reply
I wasn't aware of the safety issues. It seemed on Google Maps that it was only 5 blocks (half a mile) away from my hotel. Would you really recommend taking a cab for that?
Permalink | Reply
Maybe a bus. The 38 Geary comes pretty often.
It's not a pretty part of town (great food and bars, but a lot of junkies). And considerably less safe than NYC these days.
BART's the wrong direction and wouldn't help.
Permalink | Reply
That section is worse than most parts of NY - my NY friends are usually scandalized. I personally would walk it, but I'm a 6 foot male with very broad shoulders.
Permalink | Reply
Yeah, much of the Tenderloin south of Geary is reminiscent of the pre-Giuliani bad parts of Manhattan. Geary itself is more like the Taxi Driver-era Times Square.
Permalink | Reply
Altho I enjoy walking around Manhattan all hours of the nite on my own, the difference is SF streets around there are usually kinda empty late at nite. I wouldn't walk it myself. And while taking a cab there 5 blocks might be feasible, i think it would be a challenge to get one from the resto to the hotel.
How bout Farmer Brown's.
Permalink | Reply
Thanks for the input. I'm craving Asian comfort food today so I prefer Chinese/Vietnamese/Thai. Would it make sense to walk to Kim Thanh? Are there other places that are closer and safer?
Permalink | Reply
Take a cab to Lers Ros, it's fantastic, and it's a cheap cab ride. Get them to call you a cab to go home.
Permalink | Reply
Kim Thanh is fine to walk. More like two or three blocks. You could also walk to Shalimar on Jones.
Lers Ros is great though.
-----
Kim Thanh
607 Geary St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Permalink | Reply
Lers Ros is tops, probably different from what you get in NYC, and they're open until midnight. Take a taxi there, get a card from the driver, have the restaurant call to get a cab back to the hotel, or use your cell phone to call.
Right across the street from the hotel there's a Naan 'n' Curry (cheap Pakistani) that's open until 4am.
Permalink | Reply
We walk around that neighborhood a lot, and even later than 10pm on the weekends (which may be different than a Thurs night), and although I have heard it isn't safe, we have never had any issues. Just another thought. Anything more than a few blocks away we will cab it back and forth to the Hilton, so maybe that makes more sense if you are concerned about the safety issue.
Permalink | Reply
I think there's a difference between a couple and a group who know their way around walking that way, and a single person who doesn't. I've walked to Lers Ros when it's dark by myself from BART, but I wouldn't walk back to BART or towards Union Square by myself when it's late.
Permalink | Reply
Yes, agreed. If you've walked that stretch in the daytime and know where you're going--well, you'll still be stepping over addicts and trash, but at least you won't have a target on you that says "tourist."
Most likely nothing will happen, but it's an unpleasant stretch for a tourist just getting off a plane nonetheless.
Permalink | Reply
Fridays and Saturdays there are so many people bar-hopping along Geary that the atmosphere is quite different.
Permalink | Reply
Planning on walking from Parc 55/ Powell St. BART stop to Lers Ros on a Friday night around 10:30ish, would it be safe at that time? It just seems silly to take a cab since it's such a short distance but want to be safe...there would be 2 of us and looks like it would be easiest to just walk up Ellis St according to Google Maps.
Permalink | Reply
Walk down Geary. It's hopping on Friday and Saturday nights.
Permalink | Reply