We really enjoyed our meal here! The food was super fresh and tasty - i loved the beef salad! The service was also pretty good and the restaurant is pretty big and spacious - worked well as a place for a family with a stroller! read more

I LOVE FRESCA!! I've been to the West Portal one, and this one. The West Portal Fresca is very small, and cramped. I like this one better because it's spacious and parking is easy to find. The food all taste really good at both places. This particular place is good at accommodating large groups. We came with I think 12 people Their ceviche is soooo tasty! thinking about it makes my mouth water. I love the ceviche and how the fish gets slightly cooked in the acidic juices. It doesn't come with much, and costs a lot. I don't recommend getting the sampler ceviche because they split those up into a dish that has 4 small squares... so I think you end up getting less. The ceviche has great flavor and has corn kernels in it, which I love. The entrees are also very good!!! I've tried a bunch of things: - Paella - arroz con mariscos - aji panca spiced rice, calamari, clams, mussels, prawns, fish, scallops, cilantro, chicha de jora fume.-----was kind of fishy tasting, wouldn't recommend it - ahi mignon - rose pepper crusted ahi tuna, purple potato puree, pickled mango, aji huacatay, soy-ginger emulsion. **very tasty! esp the purple potato puree! -churrasco - grilled filet mignon ,roasted purple potatoes ,asparagus, shitake mushroom demi -glaze ,huancaina.** I thought the steak was pretty good, and flavorful - cordero - pistachio crusted new zealand rack of lamb, mint mojo, quinoa taboulé, truffle mashed potatoes, demi-glaze.***YUMMMM Honestly, I dont think you can really go wrong here... they're good at their seafood dishes, and the meat dishes are really flavorful. Their sangria tastes like juice tho! YUMMMMM They have a lot of exotic cocktails also. read more

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Wondering why they're only 3.5 stars...... ‍ I loved their food. Every dish we had was great! The scallop, oh my~ I don't live in the city. When I go up, I will definitely go back. Honestly speaking, my friends love Limon. I personally think this one's better. read more

It was my first time going here and I was very excited because I've never tried Peruvian food before! Went on a Friday night at 7pm and it wasn't busy when I first arrived, but the place started getting very busy as I was eating. Lomo Saltado: 3/5 I love the idea of putting french fries together with a stir fry, but the sauce does make the fries soggy if you leave them in too long. I wouldn't have necessarily minded this, but the sauce is very salty. I didn't touch my rice until halfway throughout my meal, but in hindsight, I think it would've been better to mix the rice in the sauce early on so that the sauce doesn't overpower everything else. Otherwise, the tomatoes, onions, and steak were cooked very well and the texture was great! Super tasty overall, just overwhelmingly salty Pisco Sour: 5/5 Everything about this drink is delicious! The egg white makes the drink have a rich, smooth texture, which makes it go down real easy. The flavor is a perfect balance of sour/tartness, and it's not too strong. Service was pretty good for how busy it was. Our waitress was professional, polite, and attentive. It took a while to get our check, but otherwise no complaints. read more

More like 3.5 stars - 4 stars for the food, but 3 stars for the the miscommunication. I give them benefit of the doubt and believe that the miscommunication was a one time ordeal that will not be repeated in the future, so 4 stars it is! I went with a medium-sized party and when we got there, they told us they didn't have our reservation. What? we made it weeks in advance via Opentable. So after showing them our printed confirmation, they apologized profusely and told us they'd get us seated asap, nonetheless we still waited for 30+ min past our original reservation time The ceviches were very tasty, more so than some of the other tapas bars in SF like Chachacha & Limon. There is also a great selection of ceviches - we ordered 3 different kinds that night (spicy shrimp, scallop, and good ol fish + calamari) I also recommend the sangria, it's very flavorful and sweet, and they are definitely not stingy on the fruits they put in the drinks! As for main entrees, I ordered the steak, which was decent, the paella & pork shoulder were delish (had a taste of my friends' food) They are very generous with portions, whether it's appetizers or main entrees. They also have an "open kitchen" where you can basically see the chefs work their magic. The waiters don't really chit-chat with you but that's understandable since they seem at bit short-staffed and the line is out the door. A by-product of that is slow service....we waited for about 45 min to get our food. Mixed feelings about this place - somewhat peeved about the service but my taste buds convinced me to let that slide read more

Fresca - Peruvian Near Me - San Francisco, California

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I love this location 10 times better than the West Portal one, but the food...not so much. I came here for late lunch with a girlfriend on a Saturday. I ordered the fish tacos, and she ordered the steak salad. The portion of my tacos were a bit small, it only came with two. They were not very good. It was topped with pickled cabbage but it was way too much. The tacos were overall a bit dry to me. The worst thing about this restaurant was the service. It took forever for our waiter to take our order, and then it took forever to get our bill. Our waiter seemed to be playing every role in the restaurant. Most of the time he was missing, and the other times he was at the bar making drinks. He was just really slow. I won't be back for any of Fresca's locations. There's just nothing spectacular about this restaurant at all! read more

Fresca - fish tacos - Peruvian Near Me - San Francisco, California

One of my favorite bottomless mimosa brunch spots in the city. Great service and plenty of tables - a good spot to catch up with friends. GET THIS: - Tequenos: crispy crab + cream cheese wontons. Delicious spicy mayo dipping sauce. - Ceviche Mixto: very fresh! You can also ask for a side of plaintain chips for $5, which is pretty steep (but depending on the waiter, you may/may not get charged) -El Toro Salad: Most of their brunch entrees fall on the heavy side, so this dish is a nice alternative. The steak is flavorful and cooked just right; the creamy cilantro dressing is delicious! But ask for it on the side, or else your salad will come out drenched. - Bottomless Mimosas: For $12? duh. SKIP THAT: - Picarones: peruvian beighnets that were too sweet and came out soggy - Jalea mixta: came out bland with too much batter - Pan con lomito: not nearly as exciting - or tasty - as the pan con chichurron Tips: - The mimosas are pretty strong (we've seen them make it on multiple occasions - 20% OJ, 80% champagne) If you come for weekend brunch, be prepared to clear the rest of your day because you will not see the bottom of your glass! - Be sure to ask for the tray of dipping sauces! Fresca does a great job with their dressing/sauces read more

Fresca - Steak salad with creamy cilantro dressing. Perfect if you want something light to go with your bottomless mimosas! - Peruvian Near Me - San Francisco, California

I gave this place a shot while in the area. The food was really good, the Fresca Pisco Sour was a nice twist of the original Pisco, even better I must say. Then we had to order desert, everything looked so good. And we didn't regret it. The alfajores were awesome! And even the typical peruvian dessert (can't remember the name) made of sweet potatoe was good, we were a little sceptical but ended up been good. The service was great. Our waiter looked too serious at the beginning, but he was really nice with us and even made great suggestions. We were seatted at the end of the restaurant just besides the kitchen. It was not too noicy, but if you go there on a date ask to be seated somewhere else! It just drops all the atmosphere down! We'll be back for sure! read more

Fresca - Great atmosphere. - Peruvian Near Me - San Francisco, California

A great seafood mix. Awesome drinks. Tasty desserts. Attentive service. But lacking in the vibe department. We're local and walk by all the time wondering why this place isn't always packed. I think it's missing a vibe, some music, an atmosphere that attracts and engages. There should be someone who appears to be in charge running the place, controlling the lights, the music, the noise level, etc. But again, amazing food! read more

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Fresca is a stylish Peruvian restaurant with 3 city locations and a menu that changes often. I'm not sure why I haven't been before, but after my excellent meal I am looking forward to going back. We started our dinner with ceviches, both their signature 5 Elementos (a spicy mix of Halibut, red onion, lime, salt and Aji) and the special wild King Salmon. The civiche is a great way to enjoy Salmon season. For my entre, I had the Halibut served with prawns, white bean Tacu-Tacu, a black beer cilantro sauce and onion salad. I especially enjoyed the Tacu-Tacu. A friend had a whole fried Branzini served with clams and a spicy tomato broth. It was perfectly prepared. But, the star was the duck, served in a large portion and cooked to a perfect medium rare. Despite being stuffed and a bit warm (it was already an uncharacteristically hot night and we were seated right next to the exhibition kitchen), we ordered the desert sampler. We had a mango cheesecake with mango tartare, a tasty chocolate cake with lime lacuma mousse, and the amazing tres leches cake with dulce de leche ice cream. Save room for the tres leches when you visit. read more

Fresca - halibut, branzini and duck - Peruvian Near Me - San Francisco, California

Anniversary/Birthday dinner. I got Aji de Gallina since I needed something bland and not too spicy or potent. Halibut was good too. I finished it and I did not vomit (yay!) Service hospitable. Lava cake took 12 minutes to cook and it came with a caramel ice cream and whipped strawberry side. Yuca fries really starchy. read more

Fresca - Lava cake. - Peruvian Near Me - San Francisco, California

Great dinner! It was really busy even though we had a reservation we had to wait because our table didn't have any chairs! Our waiter was nice but didn't really take care of us. He just did his duty and never checked up on us we had to flag him down or another waiter down. But it was a busy night for sure. Make sure to get a reservation here or else there definitely is a wait especially if you're coming with a larger party. The food was delicious though! We started with the mussels and the tomato broth was delicious. I had the arroz con mariscos and my boyfriend got the steak with plantains and rice and we both loved our dishes!! They do have bigger servings which was nice. The drinks were also good and we ended up settling on wine with our dinner. Can't wait to go back! read more

Fresca - Arroz con mariscos - Peruvian Near Me - San Francisco, California

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OMG!!! If you haven't been here then get in your car and drive. We are from San Diego and are lucky to have found this place. We ordered the whole fried fish and it is in my top 5 best meals ever. This fish has a delicious sauce with a large portion of shrimp, scallops, mussels and clams to go along with it which was a wonderful surprise. Order this period. We also ordered the squid ink pasta which came with lots of fish, shrimp and mussels. I give both meals a 5+++ read more

Omg I ate the most flavorful meal here. Fresca's take on authentic Peruvian food deserves five stars. I ordered the salmon ceviche to share, i could of definitely had to myself though, yum! When the food came to our table by our very kind waiter, i was not disappointed. My dish was beautifully plated and tasted just as good. Fresh fish enhanced by flavors spicy pepper sliced and sweet passion fruit. Also ordered dishes: lamb meatballs, lomo saltado, and beef empanadas as the dishes are served family style. This place is a must-visit in San Francisco. read more

Fresca - salmon ceviche - Peruvian Near Me - San Francisco, California

Perfect for a date night or solo dinner at the bar. If it's a first date you can go light with the ceviche and apps, if you're 3 years in or going stag I'd go for the Lomo saltado or Aji de gallina. The drinks are great, def try the pisco sour or sangria. Reasonably priced and always good vibes, 5/5 from a San Francisco native. read more

This was my birthday celebration with my friend we made reservations the same day. When we got there we were greeted and sat right away. The restuarant was a little busy service was slow for only having 2 servers for a Saturday night. We had appetizers and I ordered a pisco sour and the beef empanadas, and the ceviche mixto. Yummm can I just say that ceviche was so good. For my entree i had the Lomo Saltado. The food was amazing and everything was brought to the table hot. Will definately go back! read more

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We've lived in the neighborhood for awhile so likely think of places through a neighborhood lens. While the the food at Fresca is passable the experience of being at Fresca is very much like eating at a mediocre airport restaurant. "Product" is cranked out by listless and impersonal staff setting a tone like you are at EWR waiting for your flight to Syracuse. The lack of professionalism and care evident in every exchange with the staff is dispiriting given the price point. For some time whenever we go in the place is mostly empty and feels like death warmed over. Perhaps Fresca isn't long for 24th. We come here some because the ceviche really isn't half bad but after tonight's rushed and impersonal layover, we're done. read more

The Latin Jazz playing from inside the restaurant is what caught my attention as I walked by. I was greeted very warmly as I walked in and felt instantly comfortable and "at home." It took longer than it should have to be acknowledged by the wait staff, but I didn't mind so much b/c they had a Packers/Colts game on, on one of their two flat screens above the full bar that kept me entertained. The place was lively and fun, had really pleasant lighting, candles on the tables, a great place for a first date! For a Thurs evening it was pretty packed. A couple tables had their small children w/ them and everybody seemed engaged in conversation including strangers that were sitting at the bar. I ordered the paella...it was very good, a lot of food, and they didn't skimp on the seafood. Ahhhh and what's this... the chef is walking around handing out green jello shots...sure I'll take one of those! He came out 45 min later & distributed more of these little jello goodies! I've already recommended this place to several friends and will be coming back hopefully next time w/ these friends. read more

Fresca - Peruvian Near Me - San Francisco, California

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TIP: Go during Happy Hour. This place is too expensive for me to have lunch here, let alone dinner. That being said, Happy Hour here is the best! Pork sliders are good, quinoa salad is pretty good, a fresh green salad for $5 ---and the CEVICHE PUERTO is the best I've ever tasted. It's tangy, fresh & spicy-- tiny tender Bay scallops, fresh prawns & calamari. I don't care for onions but these are delicious. And fresh halibut. All for $7 between 3 & 6. Also they have late night HH Fri/Sat 9pm to 11 pm. If you have stayed away because of the prices, the Happy Hour is for you. The service is better as well-- less people. read more

Fresca - Ceviche Puerto afterwards! Not a morsel left it was soooo good. - Peruvian Near Me - San Francisco, California

Overall pretty good. The steak dish was just ok, the steak was way overcooked. The paella was very good. Monday night special was $1 oysters, good. The deserts were good. I will definitely come back, I'll just remember to order the steak medium. read more

Fresca - Peruvian Near Me - San Francisco, California

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I loved to order from Fresca on DoorDash. They have sweet plantains which other places don't. However, it seems like they are not delivering on DoorDash during the times specified on their website. This is unfortunate, since their food is great! read more

This was a very mixed event, the place was nice and the food was good and bad. The chicken hash dish was good but the rotisserie chicken was dry and so inedible near the bone. One star for the place. One star for the hash. 60.00 for brunch. read more

Fresca - Hash peruvian style - Peruvian Near Me - San Francisco, California

Fresca has been a gem and remains one after all these years. The Noe location is spacious and friendly. The food is amazing (try the salmon!), the staff is attentive and friendly, and the full bar + cocktails completes the experience of a fun night out with family and friends. read more

Delicious grilled steak salad with half an avocado, grilled/carmelized red onions , walnuts - delicious! It's easy to support my neighborhood businesses when it's this tasty. And a generous pour of wine, I'm happy . read more

************************************************* There are a bunch of places on my "to review" list; some have been on there for months. They just sit there because I haven't figured out how to make an interesting or funny story out of it. Every time I want to write a review I look at the list and for these place no inspiration has hit. Please bear with me while I try to get through them, the next ten or so reviews might not be up to my usual standard. ************************************************** Fresca was the last stop on an awkward date. A few months ago I met and drunkenly made out with a girl and then still under the influence posted a thread when I got home. Talk about drunk posting regret! I took what turned out to be very bad advice and asked her to brunch. Sober and in the clear light of day it turned out that we didn't have much in common. After a crappy breakfast at a place nearby where they try to pass off "soju bloody marys" we decided to pop into Fresca for some real drinks and try to get that feeling back. Ever since I saw Bush get his pisco sour on in Peru I'd wanted to try one; the drink is one of Fresca's specialties so I ordered one. It turns out that a pisco sour has a bunch of brandy in it; either you like brandy or you don't and I don't. I took a couple sips of the drink but I just couldn't get it down so I ordered a bloody mary. The waitress got the hint that I didn't like the drink and refused to charge me for it. I told her it was my fault for ordering something I don't like but she insisted that I not pay. Good bloody marys and a great attitude, I'd gladly come back to Fresca. read more

No more bottomless mimosas, and they put cheese in my omelette when I clearly asked for none. So now I'm sober and potentially gassy. Thanks. read more

THERE WAS A ROCK IN MY MUSSELS! I don't mean to yell, but there was a half-inch stone in the broth. I pointed it out to the waiter - I said listen, no big deal, but - and instead of apologizing profusely, he told me, no lectured me, on how I just had to expect that there would be rocks mixed in with my mussels. Then he took the rock away and showed it to the kitchen staff and to the manager...and nobody ever mentioned it again. A foreign object in your food should be cause for concern. On that note, I recommend NEVER EATING HERE!!!!!! read more

The lomo saltado here was buttery meaty fatty perfection, especially when I followed my friend's lead and made it more brunch like by adding a fried egg on top. Oh glorious saturated fat, take me away (in a coffin)! Like the fillmore location, the service is not that hot and you get way more value for your barely earned internet browsing all day money when you go to lunch/brunch instead of dinner, but with no wait and a bottom less mimosa, who cares? Just drink and eat your ceviche! read more

Airy, wide open spaces and a gorgeous brunch make this my favorite link in the Fresca chain. Although the menu is exactly the same across the three locations, for some reason, the food seems fresher and better cooked here. I'm always a sucker for their ceviche combos. Current favorite ceviche is Ceviche de Coco, with tuna, mango, & coconut. Favorite entree by far is the Pollo a la Brasa, which is sort of a chicken casserole thing over rice that is the *best* comfort food. (And provides a solid drinking base I've discovered, heh.) Brunches are absolutely divine, and the reason they get 4 stars instead of 3. The seafood omelettes are heavenly. The bottomless mimosas are delicious. Unfortunately, they've led to more than one embarrassing moment at this location. (The mimosas, that is. Not the omelettes!) There is a story there, which I will not tell, as I'm sworn to secrecy. Suffice it to say that I have a good friend who is banned (by her husband) from this place. I know, we'z classy bitches like that. Here's to hoping I never get banned from this place, cause it's a damn fine brunch! (But if I do, I promise to update, and share the story, because I don't think I'll swear myself to secrecy.) read more

Well, it's been a little over a year since I hiked to Machu Picchu. About killed myself on day 2, climbing 4000 ft. in 6 hours, but I made it! Wanted to relive the yummy food we ate, so decided to give Fresca a try. Trio of ceviche: -halibut, lime juice, aji amarillo, red onion, sea salt -coconut milk, jalapeño, chives, yams, andean corn, seaweed salad -squid, halibut, prawn, clam, cilantro, red onion, rocoto aji, lime juice, sea salt -lomo saltado: wok fried tenderloin steak strips, onion, tomato, cilantro, soy, french fries, steamed rice -pulled chicken stew, aji amarillo cream, yukon potatoes, soft-boiled eggs, walnuts, steamed rice -drinks: pisco sour and iced tea Total bill: around $70 before tip Pisco sour was mm mmm GOOD. Lomo saltado was okay, nowhere near as good as in Lima or Cusco. Pulled chicken stew was creamy and hearty--pretty authentic. Outstanding lobster and crab ceviche. Fresca has good food, just not sure how authentic it is. If you've never had Peruvian food, you'll love it here. You may be a little disappointed if you've had the real deal though. I'd return. It's a fun place, service is good, and the pisco sour really brought me back! read more

I take back all the things I previously said about this location. I am renouncing my belief in Fresca Noe for good. I am remarrying Fresca Fillmore and I'm never looking back. So I walk into an almost-empty Fresca today and am immediately told by the hostess, in a bitchy bitchy way, that they can not accommodate 7 of us. Hmmm...I see about 8 different tables you could easily push together...apparently, the manager felt the same way and directed her to make it work. She then snarkily replies with a sigh and a roll of the eyes, "you got lucky today". Excuse me?!?! No, bitch! YOU got lucky- I brought in 7 starving people just dying to throw money at your establishment and tip really really well on the way out! The table was prepped in about 10 minutes but then they wouldn't allow 6 of us to sit down until the 7th member of our party arrived! Once I began laughing out loud and expressing my amazement at the abysmal customer service, the manager - pursed lips and all- takes us to our table. Keep in mind- the place is still half empty. Our server was adorable but even she couldn't make the 3 hours it took for us to order, eat, and pay any less painless. The food took over an hour to come out, we weren't initially brought the pitcher of mimosas that every other party had (even though we'd ordered mimosas all around), and it took another 40 minutes to get our check after we finished our meal. Then no one bothered to process our credit cards until I walked them up to the manager myself. He couldn't have made his irritation more apparent. He immediately placed our cards next to the hostess station and walks away...20 minutes later, we are still waiting to get our cards back. Screw. That. Thanks, jerks: I missed my spa appointment because of your slow, crappy service. Waitress- you're wonderful (two stars for you alone) but you're way better than this place. Hostess- try smiling every now and then- scowling causes wrinkles. Manager- learn some freaking social skills and lighten the hell up! You're the manager at Fresca, not Michael Mina. read more

Brunch reservation for eleven people: 11:30 am. Prearranged pre-drinking time for the treacherous trio: 11:00 am. My arrival time: 11:11 am. Number of mimosas consumed before any of my party arrive: 3 Time I finally get the first text begging off our early drinking endeavors: 12:07 pm. Number of mimosas I consumed by the end of brunch: 14 Number of mimosas consumed by the rest of my party collectively: about 14 Number of times I wished the other two would have shown up just so my consumption would not seem conspicuous: about 9 read more

I had a sandwich here one day...it was transcendent. I can't remember exactly what was in it, 'cuz I think I blacked out after the first bite. It was meaty and cheesy and goooo-ood...isn't that enough? What more could you want? The place itself isn't as homey as I like, but it's hip and new, so people flock here. The location really needed this trendy place...with the Real Foods market gone, that particular stretch of 24th Street really suffered. I hope they do well. I don't eat here very often...sensory overload. The food is fatty, unhealthy and deeelicious. read more

Came here for lunch with my husband when my parents came to visit from New Mexico. What was really weird was that coming into Fresca was kind of like dining at an upscale restaurant in New Mexico - wtf? Well, our service was great, the drink recommendations were perfect (Coca Sour - YUM.) and the food was wonderful. Generous (but not obscene) portions, and really tasty ceviche. I highly recommend the mussels appetizer- it was smothered in some sort of thick, spicy sauce w/ chorizo...omg, I wanted to lick the plate it was so damn good. I can kind of see some of the service issues people have mentioned - MIA bartender, totally spacey hostess and servers "forgetting" to bring change back. I witnessed all of the above while we were there, but fortunately had a fantastic experience ourselves. I think the fact that we spoke spanish to our waiter the entire time may have endeared us a bit, so maybe that's why our service rocked? I will definitely come back - seems like it might be a great brunchy-type place too...... read more

So, I have all these conflicting messages flying bombarding me about how much I should weigh. Perhaps you saw the academic study of online dating suggesting that the most attractive men were ones with a BMI of 25. I'm at 24, so that seems okay....riiiiiiiiiiiiight? But then, I'm in yoga yesterday (Crunch, Alhambra), completely mangling every animal. My "eagle" looked like a developmentally disabled chimpanzee, my "cobra" looked like a flaccid worm... and so on. Well, I look into the mirror at these amazing bodies (surrounding my somewhat less-amazing self) and think, Jesus, god in heaven, do I need to lose like 15 pounds. And gain it back in muscle. Which brings me to the topic of my Quest for the Amazing Salad in San Francisco. I ordered the Blue Crab Salad at Fresca for lunch today and it was scrumpdelilicious! It had lots of amazing crab and fresh greens and a sweet vinegarette dressing that just hummed. Mmmmmm... And it was plenty. I'm a big guy (6'2", 195) and walked away full. Oh, and it was $9.50, which is pretty decent for a crab dish, I reckon. I've also had great dinners here. The ceviche chino is delish. As are the ahi and halibut. Good vibe. Good service. I left :-) And I'm even looking a little forward to doing battle with the yoga mirror. read more

It was my friend's birthday so I let him decide on a dinner spot. He chose Fresca. Smart Guy. Smart Choice. Five Star Guy. Four Star Restaurant. We came here on a Thursday night with reservations. The restaurant was packed and we were seated immediately. Service was fast, courteous, and exceptional. We started out with the Camarones Chicama (shrimp). Holy Mole. That was awesome! He had the Lomo Saltado (grilled steak strips). The steak had a great smoked flavor to it. I had the Chanchito (pork chops). It was perfectly tender and juicy in the center. read more

I'm OK with being seated at the bar. I'm not OK with having alcohol splashed on me as you mix drinks, slamming them a few inches from where I'm trying to enjoy my substandard meal during the whole course of it. I'm OK with slow service. I'm not OK with waiting more than 45 minutes for some greasy, extremely salty paella with sand and shell chunks in the seafood and rice. I was OK with my dates steak entree and the ceviche, which I ate more of than my undesirable paella, but I was definitely not OK with the bill. Oh, and I appreciate the insincere apology I received about the paella, the explanation that the reason why it's that way is because the seafood is fresh, accompanied by a condescending look (really? silly me never knew that only the finest seafood has grainy sand in it) and an offer to comp it, no problem. Yet when the bill arrives, we are charged for everything we ordered. I paid and got the hell out of that place as fast as I could. TL;DR? Crappy overpriced food paired with horrendous service. In my mind, the favorable reviews are a result of effort justification. "I made reservations and paid so much for this meal, it must be delicious!" read more

Fresca - salty paella with dirty shellfish :( - Peruvian Near Me - San Francisco, California

Went for Saturday lunch, and it was fine as in 'okay,' I had a beef salad (Toro, $15) which was mixed greens, steak and sautéed onions. There were a couple of cherry tomatoes and a few slices of avocado too. The steak was really tender (yum) but the ' creamy cilantro' dressing was in no way creamy. It was pretty oily actually as in oil and vinegar no cream in sight. And it needed pepper, so I asked for pepper, and eventually ( ten minutes or so later) I got a tiny glass pepper shaker...ok, where's the giant wooden pepper mill which I know you must have so I can have fresh ground pepper on my salad please?! Also had French fries with aoli ($5). No aoli; waitress brought catsup....Uhm no. So I asked for the aoli....and 20 minutes later I got the aioli with an 'Im so sorry.' By then the fries were cold. Ugh. I was sorry too because the aoli was really good and would have been great with the French fries. So now you're thinking why even 3 stars? Well because Ive been here for weekday lunch and had arroz con mariscos which was really good with a side green salad that did actually have creamy cilantro dressing which was great. So I'm adding a star. read more

Being part of a book club has all sorts of perks, especially if they are Yelpers who have food foremost on their minds. So, Karl L., Rachel A., and Leandro T., and I came here after a vigorous round of conversations with Rachel and I loving Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go and most others disliking it. But I still revere Ishiguro's writing and think he's one of the best looking writers (such a cutie!). We decided to discuss the next round of possible books while eating at Fresca. My first time here. We were seated at a round booth...nearby us, there was a small petite woman with the largest lamb shank on her table. Rachel and I were eyeing the lamb shank. Rachel: It's a large lamb shank. Me: It's very large. Rachel: She's very small. Me: The shank is the size of her head. Leandro: Let's get some ceviches. Karl: Sounds good. Let's get the mussels too. Rachel: Do you think she will eat it all? Karl: Somebody distract her and maybe we could steal it. Rachel: Good idea. Sooj, you go and distract her. We will steal it. Leandro: How about 3 ceviches? Karl: So ceviches and mussels? Me: She can't finish that all. It really is the size of her face. Leandro: No, it's the size of her head. Karl: So just the ceviches and mussels? Me: Let's split a lamb shank. Karl: I like you folks. Okay, so when the lamb shank came out: Karl: It looks smaller. Rachel: Maybe we can get that small woman to come sit next to it and compare the size. Karl: Hmmm...maybe you are right. Maybe it's cause my head is so big. See, and you guys thought we just read books. Okay, onto food. Ceviches: 5 Elements: tender lovely halibut. I recommend this highly. Ceviche Chino: Ahi Tuna. I think Rachel and Karl were more keen on this than I was. For me, the tuna was too finely diced. Ceviche Costanera: Octopus, scallops... I love octopus. And this was just beautiful, lovely nice bite-sized chunks of octopus. Mussels: A large plate of mussels with a spicy sauce. If you are not into spicy, this is not for you. I could have used more bread to soak up the sauces. I wish Fresca was a restaurant that gave you a bread basket rather than just one dinner roll per person (I hate the dinner roll per person thing at fancy restaurants). Lamb Shank: It was truly a large lamb shank. It came on a bed of either potatos or yucca...I am not sure which. But it wasn't mashed, more like shredded. And it was delightful with the sauce. Don't get me wrong...the lamb shank was tender and tasty...but that shredded potato/yucca thing...I want more of that. I am making mad plans with a friend to be back here soon. Hmmm... I just saw Gabriel D's thing about the Mussels. We did encounter grittiness in the mussels; I thought it was a one-time thing. They should do more about getting the mussels well cleaned. So, one star knocked off for their carelessness towards their mussels. Which they shouldn't do as that sauce is absolutely delightful with them. But, I will still be back quite a bit. read more

I love the idea of Fresca. A cool restaurant with unique latin cuisine - who knew Peru was so yummy! I LOVE their ceviches - the cinco, mixto and chinto are all fantastic. Also, the coconut shrimp appetizer and seafood potato platter thing was lovely too. The service was good but it took way too long to fill my water. We came early so the hideous wait they are known for was avoided. Food came out quickly as well. Pisco Sour = strong and delicious. read more