La Folie San Francisco

La Folie is a small French fine dining gem in San Francisco. The dining room is not very large, but had a cozy and elegant feel to it which made our time dining at this location very enjoyable. The service was fantastic and our waiter was very attentive, informative and knowledgeable about all the food on the menu. I chose to order the Chef's Tasting Menu and our waiter was able to suggest potential off-menu changes which really helped to enhance our experience even further. My first course consisted of the Foie Gras Terrine and it was expertly prepared and absolutely delicious with the bread and jam. This was my first time trying Foie Gras prepared this way and it was a delightfully unique way to consume Foie Gras that I definitely hope to try again. For my second course, I had the Butter Poached Lobster. This dish was incredibly tasty and decadent and was essentially an elevated version of lobster bisque. Overall, this may have been my favorite dish of the night but was slightly marred on my last bite as the chef had accidentally left the shell on the piece of lobster which I didn't notice until I had already begun chewing. That wasn't the most appetizing way to finish what was otherwise an incredibly well-executed course. My third course was the main event, consisting of the Snake River Farms Eye of Ribeye and as suggested by our waiter, topped with a second course of Seared Foie Gras. This dish was absolutely decadent and well prepared. The steak itself was very well prepared and tender which combined with the Seared Foie Gras was truly special and incredibly flavorful and tasty. I would recommend this particular combination to anyone who is a fan of steak and foie gras. Next came the cheese course, which I was rather excited for, but sadly this was the low-point of the meal for me. While there weren't any notable flaws in the preparation, it just simply wasn't for me. This is, of course, subjective and I'm sure there are many who would enjoy this dish as it was, but I found it to be not particularly enjoyable. Particularly, the combination of Fig with edible flower and cheese was beautiful, but simply not to my taste and I actually found it difficult to even finish. Your tastes may vary from my own, so it's possible you will have a very different experience with this course, but for me, this was not nearly as enjoyable as our other courses. I ended with the "Dark Chocolate Opera Cake" and thankfully this was a return to a high note. The chocolate was very tasty and the cake was light and fluffy which mixed with the berries resulted in a very satisfying end to the meal. The portions throughout the meal were just right. The five courses, in addition to the amuse bouche and surprise second round of dessert featuring some small delectables, left us very full and satisfied. The meal overall was very enjoyable and we're likely to give this restaurant another try in the future. If not for a small mistake on the 2nd course and the low point during the cheese round, this definitely would have been a 5 star experience. I will look forward to giving this restaurant another try in the future.