Daffodil

For reasons I can't quite explain, I like this video...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyNjwff1gkE&feature=related...it's a rap version of William Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud", though it's better known as "The Daffodils". I wouldn't bet the farm, but I think that's a dancing squirrel.So what does that have to do with Daffodil the restaurant? Not a hell of a lot except the single daffodil in the bud vase at each table of this place....this very empty place as Jamie W. and I were the only ones dining in the restaurant portion for most of the hour-plus we were there. The bar was hopping with what I assume to be some awfully loud patrons of the adjoining Orchard Hotel. Even though we were there for the Dine Around Town deal, it appears others have concluded it' may not be worth the trek off the beaten track to get to this place at Bush and Powell.But the quiet, as the other reviewers have alluded, is somewhat unnerving because you actually spend most of the evening wondering if they are going to make it to the next payroll for their staff. It's a nice albeit generic space, dimly lit and not terribly memorable. The waitress was great, very open and helpful without being intrusive. I imagine she had to have been quite bored, but I credit her for keeping a very positive attitude throughout our meal.Ah, the meal. Well, for the $32 D.A.T. deal, we were given the choice of a hearty-looking butter bean soup and an arugula salad with pear slices and goat cheese. Neither bowled us over nor were they offensive. I'd identify my salad as hotel banquet quality. Interestingly, the D.A.T. Web site promised a duck prosciutto with frisee and an organic egg as the appetizer, but it was nowhere to be found.Better was the Braised Short Ribs with pickled parsnips and baby carrots, all on top of a mere dollop of a potato puree. The meat was tasty though the red wine reduction sauce was a bit too dominant for my taste. It was served on the oddest dish I've ever seen...it looked like a ceiling lamp fixture - the square, smoked glass kind you see in condominium rentals - and the fork and knife would scrape most gratingly on the rough surface.My dessert was a mini-apple cobbler with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream and droplets of caramel sauce. Looks 10, Taste 5. I really wish I could state that I had something mind-blowingly wonderful here, something that would make bounding up the hill on Powell a pleasure with gleeful culinary anticipation...but I can't in good conscience. If you want quiet and a decent meal you can get pretty much at any upscale hotel, this is the place to go.For oft, when on my couch I lieIn vacant or in pensive mood,They flash upon that inward eyeWhich is the bliss of solitude;And then my heart with pleasure fills,And dances with the daffodils.FOOD - 3 stars....on the generic side for such fancy eats...oh and that weird ceiling fixture as a plate...perhaps they wanted me to change a bulbAMBIANCE - 3 stars...just a hotel dining room reallySERVICE - 4 stars...a great server in a pensive placeTOTAL - 3 stars...I'm actually hopeful the owners figure out a more distinctive identity for this place (they've been open only since September 2007) so the climb up Powell is worth it for this SoMa-ite

Update: The hotel had announced in June, that they'd close the restaurant on 6/30/11, to renovate the place. But apparently they simply replaced the management and staff. Don't know about any renovation plans.*******************************While it's true that this expensive hotel restaurant cannot compare to newcomer Sons & Daughters restaurant, just a block away. The real reason for its demise was poor and unreliable service. I had avoided writing this review for a long time.The kitchen is very slow but food was usually decent and well presented. For example, the mache and beet salad http://s3-media1.px.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/VWVfy40K3S2e7ec3z4YKsw/l.jpg was simple and delicious. The short rib over buttercream mashed potatoes and veggies (half order entree) http://s3-media2.px.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/HN7Vw9fgLiprj_HNCF5c7w/l.jpg was very popular. Although I think the menu had more variety and was a better value long ago, before executive chef J. Wheeless took over.Menu prices match local pricey high-end restaurants, but service left a lot to be desired. I never understood why they always hired inexperienced waiters that get overwhelmed and disappeared for long periods of time. Often not familiar with the menu, can't remember a drink order, made multiple mistakes on my bill, and once I was overcharged after I had already signed the receipt.

If you walk past the crush of touristy Union square, up Powell to Bush, you will find a very quiet restaurant in the Orchard Hotel in Nob Hill. Definitely a bit off the beaten path, we came to find a completely empty restaurant. I'm always a bit worried when there are no customers at all but this place hasn't been open that long and we were told by our server that they just had a party of twenty five before we showed up.With that party of twenty five there were a series of hors d'oeuvres that we got sample while looking over the menu. First was an eggplant,caviar, and baby arugula spread while the second being olives and goat cheese both on mini toasts. Very tasty bites to start and that eased our worries about what to expect. After picking up a glass of the wonderful Rioja we decided on the following:- Panzanella/wilted spinach salad- Butternut squash "hash" with bacon- Seared dayboat scallops with grilled endive- Fingerling potatoes with fleur de sel- Grilled lamb chops - Short ribs with whipped potatoes and wine reductionThe restaurant focuses on small plates and this was shared across the two of us. We were pleasantly surprised that this seemingly random spread of dishes were all very tasty. The only pick I thought wasn't extraordinary were the potatoes, which reminded me too much of something I make on my own. The hash won as the most surprisingly tasty, with the contrast of bacon and squash being an excellent combination.Our server Sean was a super fun and friendly guy and since we were by ourselves there was no other focus except for us and setting the room up for breakfast service the next day. The space is somewhat typical hotel restaurant and with the location right by the lobby we were at one point inundated with a bunch of loud tourists looking for drinks. It's a little bit out there and there's no hard focus on what they serve but if you're looking for variety, solid execution, and fairly reasonable prices, this place is definitely worth checking out. 4.5 stars.

Charming, well lit interior... not sure what kind of food to expect just going off the menu. For appetizer, I ordered the spinach salad with roasted beets, smoked mozzarella, and roasted tomato vinaigrette. Big mistake. A big massive pile of baby spinach leaves straight out of the supermarket pack. The beets were not roasted (they tasted like the ones you get in the cafeteria). The smoked mozzarella tasted like small cubes of cheddar cheese. And the roasted tomato vinaigrette tasted like dressing from a bottle. The entree was a big bump up. I ordered the salmon with roasted fennel, brussel sprouts, bacon, and smoked tomato sauce. The salmon was just the way I like it. And the bacon with fennel and brussel sprouts was a perfect pairing. The sauce was also a good element, and together... we had a good turnaround.Cue the dessert. A supposedly delicious granny smith apple cobbler. CLOYINGLY sweet. And it didn't seem right... almost like baked apples with some cookie crumble sprinkled on top. I couldn't finish. It was that sweet.

First things first, San Francisco Twins [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Twins] sighting! I was baffled, to say the least. I had never seen them before nor had I heard of them. So it appears that for most of my life, I've been living in a box! The fact that the year they won second place as "Best Local Character" [2000], I was away for school, MIGHT be a reason why I didn't have any idea who they were. They weren't dining inside Daffodil, but they were trekking up the hill along Powell St. between Sutter and Bush. Their steps were in sync, and they wore identical outfits - hats and purses too.While I am quite certain that my experience at Daffodil last night couldn't possibly be mirrored unless you also have the hook-ups OR you have $$$$ tattooed on your forehead, I am going ahead and writing my biased review. You're the reader. You know what you're getting into. Daffodil is located in the Orchard Hotel, one of San Francisco's "greenest" hotels. So essentially, it's a hotel dining room. The furniture has a flower print that looks like it hasn't been changed in a very long time. Meh. It is sister restaurants with Roots at the Orchard Garden Hotel several blocks away, which from what I heard, is a little busier. Okay, on to the food. Ingredients are fresh and local. We were served a tasting menu, so a little bit of this and a little bit of that.Starters [in order of appearance]: - Pizza of the Day [mushrooms and bacon, crisp, cheeeesy]- Soup of the Day [corn chowder with potatoes, bacon, corn]- Mache Salad - Endive - Chive Blossom - Strawberry Vinaigrette [fresh strawberries were a nice touch]Mains: - Scallops - Morels - Fava Beans - White Corn - Pluot Sauce- Arctic Char - Butter Bean - Fennel - Spring Onion - Peas - Mache Vinaigrette- Red Wine Braised Short Ribs - Potato Puree - Miniature SquashDessert PlatterIt was a 7-course meal that left the three of us stuffed and struck with food coma, and it was fantastic. Everyone working was super nice. Daffodil is not very large or busy. It offers the perfect setting for a private party [they cater!], an intimate date, or maybe just a 7-course [or fewer!] meal to catch up with old friends.Nestled somewhere between "A-OK" and "Yay! I'm a fan," but closer to "Yay! I'm a fan."

Horrible. Honestly, probably the worst experience I've ever had at a restaurant.I'm not going to waste time going into details, but read the bad reviews below, then roll it into one evening and that basically describes our meal. Menu confusion, SLOW service, entire entrees were forgotten, the waiter claimed he had to lie to the chef to honor the menu they'd promised us when we made reservations...I could go on and on. The best part? We were the ONLY party in the place on a Saturday night!!!! We seriously considered simply leaving when we could not find anyone to give the bill to. We should have - they definitely did not deserve the 18% gratuity they tacked on.There are so many good places to eat in the city - do yourself a favor and avoid this.Chef Jeremiah Wheeless - who the hell do you think you are? Our waiter claimed you were responsible for our menu confusion, poor service, and entrees coming out in 15 minute gaps, and late or completely missing desserts. Seriously, consider a new profession if you are unable to accommodate less than 8 customers at a time. Avoid Daffodil at all costs.

I just came back from dinner at Daffodil. I didn't feel like cooking, it's raining and this place is a block away from home, and they're participating in Dine About Town. Seemed like 3 pretty good reasons to check it out. This place was alright, and because it's so close to my apartment I'll probably be back, but I was unimpressed. I'd give it 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 because the servers were pretty nice.The D.A.T. menu is quite different from the one on the D.A.T. site, although I guess you can't expect them to have the same stuff every day. First course was choice between soup or an arugula-blue cheese-asian pear salad. Main course was between petrale sole and short ribs. Dessert was between pecan-crusted chocolate tart and whiskey-caramel ice cream.I started with the soup - I think the soup they brought me was actually different from what's listed, but I would need to see the D.A.T. menu again to be sure. It had fava beans, some spinach, and little chunks of butternut squash. It was ok, nothing special. Then for the second course, they were out of the braised short ribs and were substituting the pork loin (they wouldn't do the steak for me, even though it's only $1 more than the pork). The pork loin was very tasty, although it wasn't a huge portion. The side salad it comes with, consisting of celery root and apple compote, was interesting but could use some work. For dessert, I went with the ice cream, which was a bad choice. You know how sometimes you leave ice cream out too long, or don't get it home in time, and a lot of it melts but you put it in the freezer anyways and forget that it happened until the next time you pull it out and it has that gross texture and altered taste? That's how this ice cream was. The flavors seemed like it had been good ice cream before, but I couldn't eat this shit. I was really disappointed. I didn't bring it up with the wait staff because I didn't care much about dessert tonight and I came right before closing time so I didn't want to keep the servers there longer than necessary.Oh, and to drink I just had sparkling water. They don't have S. Pellegrino, instead they have Saratoga brand water, which comes in bottles that were I think 16 oz, and cost $4 each. That definitely annoyed me. I can't comment on the wine list because I didn't look (and because I don't know shit about wine), but they do recommend pairings on the menu, which is cool.All in all this place is ok. The decor is not bad for a hotel restaurant, and the service was pretty good. That pork loin was great, so there is at least potential for a really good meal here, but they need to get some consistency in their menu. The portions are small, even on the "large plates", so after the D.A.T. 3-course meal I'm still hungry and have been debating whether or not to indulge in a frozen pizza.

Mediocrity, thy name is Daffodil. We had plenty of things to be thankful for on Thanksgiving eve, but our meal at this place was not one of them. The pumpkin soup was bland and covered in pepper to mask its dull flavor. The main course of oven-roasted herbed Cornish hen lacked herbs and was served with a rather strange-tasting apple stuffing. And the chefs were completely inflexible when it came to dessert - I don't eat fruit and fruit was the only option. They had nothing else available and refused to be creative and whip something up, so dinner sadly ended without even a cookie to sweeten it.This place only gets two stars for the rockstar waiter who was the only staffer manning the floor. He was apologetic about dessert and graciously took our wine off the bill. But all in all - $55 a head for this "feast" really was a scam. Next year we're going back to our old faithfuls instead of experimenting. I am truly disappointed and should have heeded the negative reviews on Yelp, which I did read before coming. But hey, I wanted to give the place a chance. Not the brightest idea.Oh, and if you're looking for ambiance, this place lacks sorely in that department too.

This place can't close soon enough for me. And anyone who writes a review over three stars has got to be either severely mentally impaired, stoned or paid. Look at 5 star reviews critically--WHY does this restaurant have so many bad reviews? Why? Because they ARE BAD. Friends from out of town made reservations--otherwise, after seeing the reviews here we never would have gone. I was completely dreading it because SF has so MANY excellent places to eat why waste time on bad places? Anyhow, like it was mentioned below, he was told the 7pm was full only 645 was available, and lo and behold we got there and there were NO PEOPLE. WTF??? However, we quickly used our bat senses and figured out WHY there were no patrons--What made this such an awesome experience was that they said they had a limited menu that night because they were short-staffed. Then, they handed us a LUNCH menu! LOL. I would give it 0 stars if I could because when he made the reservations they should have told him then!!! (However, I was secretly SO glad they had no food--we left).

Daffodil was a pretty great experience. My expectations were low... reading the reviews here... it seemed a gamble taking a business client here for dinner, but I had a groupon in my hand and needed a place that was in Union Square serving local and organic foods. I was impressed... it fit the bill exactly as I needed. The server we had was pretty nervous to be frank... he didn't want to interrupt us, seemed like he wasn't comfortable talking, but he was very knowledgeable when it came local and organic foods... even offered us some gluten free items... really? cool! Salad starter = YUM! Built my own burger - loved it...Onion rings rocked! no, it wasn't busy - but was perfect for us to have a serious discussion... worked out very well.