Liholiho Yacht Club

While delicious, relatable food isn't all about accolades, how Liholiho Yacht Club doesn't have a Michelin star is one of the bigger mysteries in the SF casual fine dining scene. Having eaten at a number of bay area restaurants with the coveted star, this spot is just as deserving as any of them, especially with the fairly priced and fun $85 "let us cook for you" option.Choosing the chefs selection of food brings 10 courses, each one in the 2-5 bite range, covering the entire menu from appetizers to desserts. The environment is elevated but not stuffy, with friendly service that delivers each of the 10 courses at a perfect pace for enjoying each one without ever feeling rushed or getting too anxious for the next to arrive. The menu spans amazing dishes from lemongrass-tinged hamachi sashimi to a brilliant endive salad to sausage stuffed shrimp, a swordfish katsu, and an immaculately rare and sweet Wagyu beef. The only item I tried that didn't really work for me was the liver mousse on banana bread, but I'm not really a liver guy in general so I didn't expect to love it, especially with a rather odd but respectable sweet pairing (and...pickles?!).Liholiho also has some of best, most thoughtful and potent cocktails I have had in recent memory. Most notably, the Tiger Uppercut packs a serious punch of balanced boozy delight and flavor that goes splendidly with the pronounced Asian flavors of the Yacht Club experience. This is a spot fine enough to go all in and celebrate a special moment yet comfortable enough to drop in for a drink and some elevated appetizers -- Liholiho is the real deal.

I LOVED this restaurant. Walked in on a weekday night without a reservation. I've known of this restaurant for a while but only recently had a chance to go. Was able to be seated right away for a party of two, but it seemed that the main choices for walk ins were sitting at the front bar or at the community table (big table where you might be seated with other parties). I came for the Baked Hawaii (was on a long time craving for Baked Alaska, and this helped satisfy that craving!) which had POG sorbet rather than ice cream. Here's the ranking of what I ate:1. Swordfish katsu: perfect crispiness of a traditional katsu but great flavor of the swordfish without being too fishy! Would order this one again. 2. Chips and dip: an unassuming dish with a great level of furikake seasoning on the chips. The dip was surprisingly creamy in the best way possible. 3. Baked Hawaii: like the toastiness of the outside and the flavor of the POG, although the nature of this dish always makes the inside harder to eat because it's so frozen. 4. Tuna poke: one of the two "single portion" bites, but I'd argue it's two bites (so shareable if you wanted it to be!). Was craving poke so this hit the spot + the nori cracker was sturdy so it doesn't fall apart while you eat despite looking fragile. 5. Celery Root: pleasantly surprised because it reminded me of a potato dish but with celery root (firmer) instead of potato 6. Duck liver moose: not my pick so not surprised I wasn't surprised I didn't love this one. It was fine but the 5-spice overpowered some of the other flavors like the banana bread the mousse is on. The interior of the restaurant was great. There's an open kitchen in the back half that I'd want to sit by next time I dine here.

I had the opportunity to try out Liholiho Yacht Club's Ohana Table. It was truly a memorable experience, and I left feeling very full.The experience is a pre-determined menu (featured on their website), and ranges from their appetizers to main courses. I really enjoyed their take on a Hawaiian meets fine dining experience. Everything was beautifully served, and the flavors were extremely creative. A personal favorite was the Tuna Poke. It had the slightest note of acid, and I loved the cracker that gave a crunchy texture to the dish.The Lyc Spamm was also extremely delicious. It felt like a "step-up" from my childhood favorite of spam fried rice. The thick piece of spam was well-browned (think caramelized), and it was served atop fluffy rice with some fresh, acidic cucumber.I also tried both the Hojicha Highball and the Autumn Sling. I actually enjoyed the Highball more. It is definitely whisky forward, but there was just the slightest note of hojicha at the end that was extremely fun. The Autumn Sling was definitely more on the sour, fruity end and paired pretty well with some of the richer menu items.

Ohhhh my god what an amazing experience !!We did the "let us cook for you" tasting menu and I completely agree with others that it was 100% worth it. The flavors are so unique and there were so many things that I wanted to try a la carte that I would've ended up spending the same if not more. We got 10 courses + small cookies for $85/person.1. Tuna Poke - Delicious but I personally wouldn't pay for this a la carte. The portion is tiny so I don't feel like it's worth $11. However, the fish was SO FRESH and melted in my mouth. 2. Taro/Guava/Queso Fresco Croquette - PLEASE add this to the main menu. This was probably one of my favorite dishes from the night. The flavors complemented each other so well and I've never had anything quite like it. Perfect combo of sweet, savory, creamy, and crispy.3. Duck Liver Mousse - A skip for me. I love pâté but the banana bread really threw me off and the piece I had was pretty dry/stale.4. Kanpachi Sashimi - Very fresh, good combo of flavors. Loved the grape with it, not 100% sold on the macadamia nut salsa macha. Tasted like tahini to me. 5. Red Endive Salad - One of my faves from the evening. Savory, fresh, crispy, spicy, and creamy all at once. The coco seed brittle tasted like a chili crisp granola. I don't see gouda on the menu description but the version from the tasting menu had shaved gouda on top and it was the perfect topping. 6. Gulf Shrimp - Perfectly cooked shrimp and each bite worked so well with the crispy rice. 7. Something along the same lines of the Scallion Rice Noodle - pan fried ramen noodle blocks so they were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Loved the homemade fish cake they put on top too. While this was good, I don't think you'd miss it on the main menu.8. American Wagyu Zabuton - I would smother everything in this chrysanthemum chimichurri if I could!! So delicious and the meat was perfectly cooked. Loved it paired with the sweet potato vs regular potato for a more balanced. flavor profile.9. Swordfish Katsu - This was my absolute favorite dish, I loved the thick cut of swordfish with the perfect katsu coating. The sauce was super mustardy/horseradishy so it made the whole thing feel pretty light.10. Baked Hawaii - soooo cutie!! I'm not a huge dessert person because I don't like things too sweet so I wasn't the biggest fan of this, but I can appreciate that it was a good dessert. I was hoping the POG sorbet would be more tart to cut through the sweetness of the marshmallow. I also had a cocktail (Fhloston Paradise) - it was good but not great. Would skip for $17 honestly. No need to have a cocktail with this meal, it's good enough on its own!When I come back, I'll try the Rendang Curry, Poppyseed Steam Bun, and Mom's Butter Mochi and order the Swordfish Katsu, Red Endive Salad, and Gulf Shrimp again.**Definitely make a reservation! Restaurant was absolutely packed on a Tuesday night, wouldn't have gotten in without one!

All Yacht UpFor my first official review of 2025, I'm going to write about what might be our "best"** meal of 2024: Liholiho Yacht Club (LYC). While Michelin-rated, we can't for the life of us understand how LYC doesn't have a star or better. We've been to a few Stars, a bunch of Bibs, and quite a slew of Recommended restaurants and LYC stood out among the very best of all of them. The drinks were stiff, the service was tremendous, and the ambiance and décor were uniquely SF. And, of course, the star of the show at LYC was--as it should be--the food!If you're an adventurous eater then I highly recommend doing the "Let Us Cook For You" option at a paltry $85/per***. If you choose this option then be prepared for an 10/11 course meal that will span their menu and will include a few surprises along the way and--more importantly--leave your belly full.The only negatives are reservations (via Resy) are a must and there's street parking only, which one could've surmised being this is SF and all. But, other than a few minor inconveniences, LYC is the place to be. Now, why are you still reading this and not booking a table already?! 0_o **Best is subjective and my memory is short these days fml ***$85/per might seem pricey but for a Michelin quality meal that's a steal. We've paid double the amount for less courses and we didn't walk away stuffed like LYC.

Update:Their delicious breakfast sandwich and mochi corn bread was good for takeout. Since then, I've eaten in twice in 2024 and 2025. Shoutout to our server Sam S. And I have to say, the "let us cook" option where you get a set menu (that the chef decides) is so worth $85 pp. The baked Hawaiian was unique, the katsu is a must-get, endive salad, steak and Japanese baked potato, pate, ahi tuna, shrimp...so good. The guava cider and cocktails are also delicious and you can't go wrong with anything.

Came here for Valentine's Day and the food was so good! I highly recommend the tasting menu so you can try a bit of everything. The value of this tasting menu is soo worth because everything was such a flavor bomb and we left full!

We had reservations as I've heard it's difficult to get in here. By far, the best meal we had in SF on this trip. My bf and I both got the chefs tasting menu and it was phenomenal! Everything is served tapas style. We got to try so many dishes and our waitress, I believe her name was Megan had told us the more people you bring, the more dishes you get to try which was really cool. Service was super friendly and fast! Every dish was incredible and this restaurant is definitely deserving of a Michelin star. Cannot wait to come back just to eat here again and try new things!

3.5 stars so I wavered between 3 and 4 stars.Quick summary:Food: 4 stars (unique and innovative flavors)Ambiance: 3.5 (trendy with fun music but it was so loud it, it felt like a club)Service: 3 (pacing was off and one server must have been having a bad day)We came to celebrate and I'm really sad that it wasn't as great as I remembered. Maybe it was an off night as it was around the new yr and i remembered loving my last visir. I would visit again someday but honestly so many other spots to hit up in the meantime. We got the "let us" which is short for their chef tasting menu, "let us cook for you" for 85/pp. the food was unique but honestly the dishes didn't really standout and fit my tastes. I figured others might like it so didn't dock too much for that

Why this place doesn't already have a Michelin star I do not know. We were blown away. We had reservations and decided to do the chef's tasting menu. It came with 10-11 small plates. The service was impeccable. The food was outstanding. (Duck liver mousse with banana bread?! Baked Hawaiian?!) Honestly, we both continue to think about this meal and can't wait to go back. We've been to restaurants that have a star and never enjoyed our meal as much as this place. Highly recommend.