Villon

Very cute restaurant inside the Proper hotel (note, you must enter from the Proper Hotel entrance). It was smaller than I expected, but we went around 1pm on Sunday and there were only 2 other tables. Service was kind, attentive, and helpful.Our server lit up when he recommended the polenta so I went with that and was very pleased! The braised pork was incredibly tender. The ice cream on the waffle was also very delicious and the sandwich was massive and fresh.

Villon restaurant is amazing! I reserved a table for two about a week in advance, and I received a call from a staff member, confirming my reservation and asking if I had any special dietary requirements to request to the chef. That was very impressive and it was only the beginning. The restaurant and lounge was beautiful. It was an old building that cleaned up well to say the least.The food was superb ! Apologies for no pictures

Amazing interior and service! Delicious food on top of all beauty! We got there for lunch next day after Thanksgiving and really enjoyed! I ordered Carolina Gold Grits and it was really good and delicious. Others ordered Proper Cheeseburger which was really really delicious! So everything was great! I recommend the beautiful restaurant!

My montra- "Good food, Good fellowship, Good friends". That said, let me describe Villon (pronounced Vi Yon), a very unassuming restaurant on the first floor of the Prospect Hotel on Market; smack in the center of downtown San Francisco near Union Square.Villon is a relatively new restaurant that came to life by Michelin Star Chef Jason Fox. The serve breakfast, lunch, brunch and dinner. Dimly lit atmosphere with an outstanding bar area is Villon that seats about 50 people tops all at the same seating. The service was excellent starting at check in. We were a tad early but they were able to seat is immediately. No sooner than our seating came our waiter James who took our adult beverage orders and gave us moments to peruse the menu.A touch of class! Amuse bouche came soon after our order was placed. We chose to dine" family style" meaning we ordered several dishes and we would try each and all of the dishes. That said, we had octopus, beef tartare, Uni Toast. (Note- my best was the octopus). For entree's we ordered Pork Katsu and Halibut. A word of caution is the pork katsu is fairly large and it fed three of us and we had take home of it. The halibut was nicely prepared. It was moist and the sauces surrounding it was tasty.A touch of class for the home run! The gave us dessert since we were celebrating our friend's birthday. They brought a chocolate cake/parfait and Baked Alaska. How cool is that? I was impressed with everything of this Establishment including their price point of the food. I look forward to my next visit; maybe next time I'll do afternoon tea.Points to consider: 1) Hotel parking and Valet Parking available for $24 per hour (SFO residents should use the public transportation) Food portions are large so sharing plates go well here. Villon's POS is Open Table; you can make your reservations there. Happy Birthday KyraFun Fact- Michelin Star Chef Jason Fox had Restaurant Commonwealth in the Mission District for nearly 10 years. Today he has this unassuming restaurant known as Villon. Do make time for a visit.

Villon was our dinner destination of choice by one of my most thoughtful friends and fellow Yelper, Terry K. Terry flew out to San Francisco for a short visit to celebrate my birthday. We all had a lovely, memorable, and exceptional dining experience at Villon!My friend made reservations for us and we arrived earlier than anticipated. They were kind enough to seat us early. We came on a weekday after I got off work and the restaurant was pretty relaxed. Villon is modern yet elegant emulating the business casual vibes of downtown San Francisco. Service is on par with the ambiance--friendly, accommodating, and formal. We were checked on and they graciously treated us to birthday desserts.We came around dinner time and glanced through their dinner menu. They offer small plates, soups and salads, entrees, and a table-side menu. Plus an extensive drink menu! We chose to eat and order family style. We ordered: Sea Urchin Toast, Octopus, Beef Tartare, and Parker House Rolls for appetizers. My favorite was the sea urchin toast it was creamy, lightly sweet, and crunchy. The octopus was well-cooked with a savory spicy sauce and the rolls had intricate seaweed butter. We chose to share the Halibut and Pork Katsu as our entrees. Both were beautifully presented, cooked to perfection, moist, and well seasoned. Out of the two, the halibut was my favorite. I'm curious about their afternoon tea and brunch menu, as it also seems popular!If you're downtown and want a different scene or experience, Villon is a remarkable option. The restaurant serves New American cuisine within the Proper Hotel off Market Street. They do validate and there's street parking and public transportation. I would've never come here if it weren't for my special friend, Terry K. This a perfect place to celebrate with some of my closest friends.

Absolutely fabulous meal. I made sure to wait until the buzz from their delicious cocktails wore off to write this review, lest it color my review and even in my tragically sober state, I still love the meal (and the leftovers we took home). Read about it in SF magazine and was drawn to it because of their description of the interior decor (which is beautifully done - art deco?). The cool interior of the hotel is like a fun art museum (with all local artists) and the restaurants design did not disappoint.The halibut was delicious, with a glaze I've never seen done quite as well on fish. My pork tonkatsu was tender and perfect, well complemented by the Shishido peppers, fresh herbs and light coleslaw. The service was easily one of my best dining experiences in San Francisco. The staff is friendly, very knowledgeable and incredibly down to earth and approachable. Will definitely plan on coming back.P.S. our terrific waiter was kind enough to help make a reservation upstairs on the rooftop bar afterwards for some drinks, which I also recommend checking out.

We visited this location for tea time as a birthday activity.To start, we were not aware that for the price you are only allowed one tea option. Other high teas I have done allow you to try different options.After that, we waited about 45 minutes and having to ask 2 servers about our order before they brought out the bites. At that point, we were ready to cancel tea and order a burger off the menu because we were starved and everyone around us had received there order.The sandwiches are nothing to rave about. Also, not the tier tower you expect. More like 1 small plate of about 3 sandwich pieces. We believe the reason for the price is for the dessert options because that is what saved this experienced. Although, I would definitely still say the price should be lowered.The service was poor. I believe it was the hostess who assisted us and she was not to be found half the time. Took our order and was walkied by a server when we noted the wait. Stated our order got lost which is weird when we were the only group ordering tea time. Overall, not a experience I would return for here. Many better options in SF.

Finally got back to Villon after ~18 months. I started writing my review right after the meal and then promptly got distracted, Bah.TLDR: fantastic food, cocktails, service. It's an expensive meal, but I've paid more for way less too many times in my life. Villon is an upscale restaurant in the lobby of the Proper hotel on Market street in downtown SF. It's conveniently located right between the Orpheum and the Golden Gate theaters, so you can enjoy a relaxed meal before a show. Cocktails: We're drinkers. We like cocktails. Villon has a big drinks menu (including an entire non-alcoholic section if you're so inclined.) The Proper martini - very well made classic martini, and it comes with a backup... (effectively two martinis.)Naked and Famous - a mezcal riff on a Last Word, they did this really well. Black Star - sambuca, vodka, grapefruit, and lime. The anise from the sambuca is the star of this drink. If that sounds good to you, you will love this. (Even if you don't like grapefruit.)Billy Le Kid - tequila, lillet, peach, and lime made for a very well rounded, fruity cocktail.The food: I reserve the right to come back and do a more proper review of the food, but overall was fantastic. Go eat here.

My friends surprised me with a fantastic afternoon tea at Villon during a Friday afternoon. As others have mentioned, they do have an afternoon tea on Fridays and Saturdays from 2pm-5pm, and again on Sundays from 2pm-7pm. After checking in with the host, by the entrance of the bar/restaurant area, we were promptly shown our table, which was able to comfortably sit 6, that was towards a wall of the hallway, between the main entrance and a side entrance. She promptly took the 'reserved' sign off and told us our server will be with us, shortly.Before she departed, we informed her that our reservation had two notes: 1) we had a vegetarian and thus wanted to ensure that the sandwiches reflected that and 2) we had a birthday (me) in the party. She confirmed that they were aware.It took a while before our server arrived. We had selected our tea, but didn't pay too much mind since we were enjoying conversation and admiring the themed décor of the hotel. Before the server's arrival, I took a visit to the restroom, which was downstairs of the lobby, and noticed it was very nice too. They had a main men and women's restroom area and the handwashing stations were co-ed. The handwashing stations also had nice Aesop soap and lotion (scented). Going back to the good stuff - There was a small selection of teas available (Black, Green, Botanical, and White). The selection were each very distinct, aromatic, and delightful. I decided to choose the Golden Horse Black Team, as it had notes of Honey, Caramel, and Crème Brulee. Not sure if my palate was able to distinguish between all those notes, but it was quite enjoyable. One of my best friends ordered the Yin Hao Jasmine Green Tea. As suggested, it was very smooth and fragrant. Our other friend ended up getting the Ikebana Botanical Tea. After we all took turns smelling it, we decided that the 'Peppery-ness' almost resembled oregano.The finger sandwiches quickly arrived after our tea. There were 4 to choose from - Salmon Crepe Sandwich, Egg Salad Sandwich, Cream Cheese and Jam Sandwich, and a Cucumber Pesto Sandwich. I ended up trading my Egg Salad Sandwich (my best friend's favorite among the selection) for a Salmon Crepe Sandwich (my favorite among the selection). I was almost expecting them to provide an alternative sandwich though, but cut in fours, maybe they didn't accommodate that.The dessert/scone section arrived after the sandwiches, which felt a little out of place. We did note that it was presented that way on the menu, so it was definitely deliberate. Shortly before, our teas were refilled with hot water, and we were served 2 trays for our party of 4. The food runner, who had provided us refills, explained the selection. Along the top tier (see photo), we had the lavender macaron, a rose petite four, and an unsweetened cocoa crème puff. On the bottom tier there was a butter drenched croissant, an apricot muffin, a brownie, and a marshmallow piece. I made the foolish decision to break the butter filled croissant, advertised as a petite croissant, with my hands and had oil on them the remainder of this course. It was good, but we all agreed that it was an absurd amount of butter compared to the size of this pastry. We also noted that it was curious that they provided the crème fraiche, fresh jam, and lemon curd without having an actual scone for this course. I still took the opportunity to use each one with my croissant. Pretty light and good, as it should be. More mild than I thought.Overall, it was a phenomenal experience. I would highly suggest coming here for an occasion. My favorite course were the tea sandwiches. The desserts were all distinct and special in their own way. Definitely one of the more memorable afternoon tea experiences.

The food was phenomenal. Great ambience. Fantastic service by Josh. I had the breen and my husband and son had the steak. They have an exceptional wine list as well.