District

Wandering San Pedro Square prior to a Sharks game without a plan is usually not a good idea, luckily for us District was available to save the night. While sitting at a table usually requires a reservation, the bar does not require any and you can have food there so it's a great arrangement. It's much bigger on the inside than the outside lets on with really high ceilings and wide dining area that surrounds a large bar. We came in during happy hour which offered $9 drinks, $8 wings, ceviche, and deviled eggs, and $7 basket of fries. In addition to this we ordered a mushroom pizza and some Guinness Business. The food was very good and the drinks were well made, the Guinness Business made great use of a Guinness reduction and had great balance. The happy hour was very worth it and I would make this a prime location for when I'm in San Pedro before a Sharks game.

I would like to start by mentioning that the only good things about this place were the French fries, our espresso martinis, and the amazing, moody interior design. The restaurant has a dark, intimate, and alluring contemporary atmosphere.Unfortunately, the service left much to be desired. The bartender primarily focused on serving drinks with minimal nonverbal interaction. You have to make eye contact and raise your hand to get her attention, and only then can you place your food order. She never returned to check if we wanted more drinks or food. It's no surprise that there were no patrons during peak hours on a Saturday night in a popular downtown location in San Jose.I even asked if they could bring a dessert with a candle after dinner, and I was willing to pay for it; it didn't have to be free. However, nobody followed up on my request. The person at the entrance only said, "Happy birthday!" and I assumed we were on the same page, but they never brought what I asked for. When it was time to pay, I was not shown an itemized receipt; I was only given the total amount. After that, the bartender left the terminal, and I couldn't ask for the receipt. When I pressed the print button, nothing happened--it didn't print. While the bartender wasn't very friendly, she did have some pretty cool tattoos! I won't be coming back, but I hope they can improve their service. They have a nice restaurant, good food, tasty drinks, and a great location in downtown San Jose.

Came here on a gloomy cold Wednesday night. Was told there was a short wait even though there were a number of tables open - said tables were reserved. Grabbed a drink at the bar and by the times our drinks came we then got sat at said reserved tables. During our whole stay, nobody else came to fill the reserved tables. The place was moderately filled, not packed but the service was very absent for a not busy day. When we got sat, our server took a while to realize we didn't have menus. Once the food came our server never came back to check in, but had plenty of time to chit chat with coworkers. The food was ok. The fries were old and the leftover nubs. The fried chicken sliders were pretty good. Overall for price and what you get between food and service, I rather spend my money elsewhere.

My friend and I had Sharks tickets at SAP Center and wanted to do dinner first. This was a new place to me so we thought we would try it. My friend got there first and it took quite a few minutes for someone to come over to the host stand to greet her. It seems they were very short staffed that night, at least earlier in the evening. My friend finally got seated at one of the high top tables which was fine. I arrived shortly after. Then it took quite awhile again for the waitress to come over to take our orders. The food came quickly though and it was tasty.I had the ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH PIZZA: goat cheese crema, malted onion, sage, hot bourbon honey. This was very flavorful but the hot honey did not taste hot to me and I have a low spice tolerance. Overall a really good pizza. Loved all the items on it.My friend had the BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN SLIDERS: pickled fresno chili slaw, spiced honey remoulade. She thought they were tasty.Overall good food but the service was lacking. More staff did end up showing up later in the evening so service got better. On Sharks game nights, they really need to staff up a bit earlier in the evening as people will be there.

We like the vibes and previously had positive experiences so we decided to bring friends. This time unfortunately was different. We made reservations and the tiny girl who greeted us asked if we'd be okay with a high table and I said I'd prefer a regular table. She then became very curt and said the low tables were for reservations, which I pointed out I made one. She then said I should've requested a regular table, which the reservation process did not offer the option. We sat at the high table and I didn't give it more thought, but she apparently was stuck on it as I noticed people who came after us were having their orders taken ahead of us, their drinks we're coming out before ours and so on. Luckily the polite young man was their and began assisting us. Sadly professionalism was lost on her.We otherwise had a fine time and enjoyed our shareable and cocktails except for the Manhattan.

We came for a post holiday date night and had a great experience. The service was exceptional. Our server was so attentive as were the other staff. And they made sure everything was meeting our needs. The bourbon selections were great (though disappointing they were out of Weller 12 year, one of my favorites) but gave me another Weller at the same price. When the one I selected wasn't what I wanted, they changed it out with no issues. The food was good. We had the Winter Roasted Pear Salad, fried Brussel Sprouts , arancini and whipped buratta. The buratta was disappointing. Almost like a cottage cheese. But everything else was good. Beignets were ok, kinda doughy on the inside. Drinks were fantastic. Had old fashioneds with our choices of bourbon. Bartenders are really good and make a lot of their mixers and syrups in-house. Overall lovely experience and will be back.

I've been here twice, and both times the quality of food is quite good.The first time was with a party of four where we pre-ordered our food and signed a contract, and the second time was a reservation with a party of eight. It's quite conducive to hosting larger groups of people and the restaurant got back to my inquiry relatively quickly. I would say the pre-ordering of the food did not affect the speed at which the dishes came out, though. We spent a long time waiting for certain items to come out, which did negatively skew my perception the first time I came here. I'm not too sure how it works in the restaurant business, but please correct me if I'm wrong in that pre-ordering your items should mean that they are completed faster. We basically ordered a bunch of stuff on the menu, so let me give my honest opinion in a laundry list format (the price is not being factored into consideration in my review since they were both corporate events):Chef's tasting board: the toasted bread, accoutrements, and charcuterie meats were very good. The cheese was not good, but no one in my party was particularly a large cheese fan. The goat cheese taste in particular is very strong and lingers. It'd be nice if they added a palate cleanser to this board for that purpose.Oysters on the half shell: really good, I had about four or five of these. The first time I had them at EMC on Santana Row I did not have a decent experience afterwards, so I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have the same issue with the oysters at District. They're fresh and pair really well with the champagne mignonette!Ahi tuna poke: this was a hit, we ordered it three or four times. I'd say that it's a little too salty and it'd be better if they toned down on the sodium, but overall really delicious and plated in an aesthetic manner. Always a fan of crispy rice and raw fish!House cut fries: really good, can't go wrong with these. Love the truffle flavor, I don't like parmesan but could barely taste it with these so it positively impacted my personal experience. If you're a parmesan enjoyer, maybe tell them to be a little more heavy handed with it when you're ordering. Roasted cauliflower: sauteed really well and is a great pick especially if you have any vegetarians in your party!Sea scallops: also has an issue with the sodium to be honest, it's already paired with crispy pork belly that I initially mistook for bacon. Overall quite good, the seafood at District is quality. Gambas al ajillo: came with six large shrimp. Not a big fan of risotto, the sauce it came in was pretty refreshing!Crispy spiced chicken wings: also has a sodium issue, but the chicken itself is quite tender and the breading is good!Smoked chicken empanadas: these were huge. Quite savory and one of the more filling starters, I would definitely order these again.Sandwiches:Buttermilk fried chicken sliders: so hard to fit in your mouth, they're tall! It's super good though, the chicken is juicy and the pickled chili slaw is flavorful and adds a nice touch of tangy sweetness to the flavor profile.All natural beef sliders: quite good, I didn't enjoy them as much as the chicken sliders. They both use the same bun, but that's about where the similarity begins and ends.Pizza: Margherita pizza: uses fresh ingredients for sure, was my first time trying margherita! Dessert:Beignets: definitely a table favorite, the rum caramel dipping sauce had an interesting deeper nutty flavor to it than plain caramel due to the rum!Chocolate pot de creme: I liked this one a lot, the mousse was rich and creamy while the whipped cream added an airy texture to each scoop. I love that District has a lot of innovative dishes that put new spins on classic dishes (the combination of chocolate, graham cracker, and marshmallow in a non-s'more context)House made ice cream trio: could skip this, I'm not a fan of airy ice cream and prefer creamier textures.

District has an excellent selection of appetizers. I had Brussels sprouts and ahi poke. Brussels sprouts were crispy, nicely seasoned, and mixed with pork belly. The tuna was beautifully presented over crispy rice but it was cut so small that I couldn't really taste it. The pizza was decent and arrived super hot so that was nice. Our servers were also friendly and very attentive at the bar seating. However, the 6% surcharge should have been printed on the dining menu as well, not just the drinks menu. I didn't order any drinks, so it came as a surprise. Overall I probably wouldn't return for a full meal but maybe for happy hour and appetizers.

I came here just for happy hour. It was actually really good--drinks and food. The old fashioned was $9; yes, please! :) The fontina and spinach arancini was soooo good! I definitely wanted to get another order, but we were eating somewhere else afterward. The fries were pretty good, too. Our server was super nice and checked up on us. I would definitely come back for happy hour, and I would want to try the other food on their regular menu.

Came here on a Saturday as soon as they opened! There were already a few tables taken, but not busy yet!Service was great and consistent. However our server didn't seem to know some details on the menu, but was always quick to come back with an answer!Tried out some finger foods like the oysters, deviled eggs, chicken wings, and charcuterie board. Everything was really good, including the drinks!The ambiance of this place is really nice! Has a fancy but comfortable vibe to it! Will definitely be back to try out some of the other food options!