Epic Roasthouse (San Francisco)

According to Merriam-Webster's 10th Collegiate Dictionary, epic is defined as "extending beyond the usual or ordinary, especially in size or scope."  Not sure if Pat Kuleto, et. al. had that definition in mind when opening Epic Roasthouse along the waterfront on January 29th.  But FFF Francesca and I were there that very night to find out. 

With a name like Epic, a restaurant has lot to live up to. Though we enjoyed our meal overall and there were definitely some highlights, the place has some work to do before it really earns its moniker.

Remember this was the restaurant's first night open to the public, so take all my comments with a grain of salt.  Perhaps one of the three varieties offered at Epic's well-appointed tables.

Things that were truly epic:
- Presentation -- lovely
- The steak knife -- cut like butta
- The brussels sprouts that came with my steak (Yes, you read that right.  Epic brussels sprouts!)
- The Epic Chocolate Souffle.  I thought for sure calling it that was the height of arrogance, but the souffle was outrageous.  Decadent chocolate fudge, with salted caramel ice cream. 
- The Cookie Plate with Vanilla Milkshake.  Frankie sure did love that milkshake.  No problem - more souffle for moi!

Things that still need work:
- The "bread" and unsalted butter.  Maybe the intent was to sprinkle the aforementioned salts on our tiny popovers and corn madeleines? 
- The side dishes.  The Potatoes au Gratin were loaded with oozy cheese (yay) but the potatoes undercooked (boo).  The waiter immediately removed the dish from our check, and offered to do the same (though we declined) for the Macaroni and Cheese, which he astutely observed we'd barely touched. Passing on mac 'n' cheese is almost as rare as Halley's Comet in Fro Fro land.

I'm sure you're all wondering, since Epic is a steakhouse...how was the steak??  The requested medium rare filet came out rare, but that was fine by me truth be told.  But I'd say it was just that -- fine.  I wasn't closing my eyes and moaning a little with each bite, which I have no problem doing for food that's worthy.  But it was good enough to save leftovers for a steak sandwich the next day.

Here's a pic of it cold on Day 2, for those of you interested in examining the marbling:

Stay tuned for the next chapter of this Epic... next time I'll be in the upstairs bar, seeing if their burger merits its epic $25 price tag.

Check, please!

Epic Roasthouse | 369 The Embarcadero | 415-369-9955 | epicroasthousesf.com

Comments

[Michelle]

Thanks for the post. We're eating there tonight and will definitely have the chocolate souffle. Overall, reviews of the steak around the blogosphere have been unenthusiastic, so at least I know not to be too disappointed when it's not mouth-watering.

[Michelle]

Thanks for the post. We're eating there tonight and will definitely have the chocolate souffle. Overall, reviews of the steak around the blogosphere have been unenthusiastic, so at least I know not to be too disappointed when it's not mouth-watering.