Warm and inviting. Wonderful gracious service from the time we stepped in the door. We got there early to meet some friends that had made reservations for 8. The hostess couldn't find the name but somehow and graciously found a way to squeeze us in. We waited near the gorgeous bar with a couple of rather potent, nicely poured and not cheap drinks while we waited for our friends. We finally got in touch with our party, they said they were inside waiting for us. What? We've been there for half an hour waiting for them. It ends up they made a reservation at a diner restaurant in Daily City that has a similar name and were already seated waiting for us. Damn, I was looking forward to eating here. I explained to the hostess what had happened. She was as warm and gracious as when we got there and apologized for our inconvenience. I was befuddled because we were the ones that were the ding dongs, why is she apologizing? Anyway, after the treatment we received at the front door we will certainly be making a visit very soon.

AVOID this trainwreck.. Wow. Where to begin...

To celebrate my wife's 30th we flew in from Vancouver to San Fran to meet up with my in-laws for the Canadian long weekend. My father-in-law was told by a friend of his that Boulevard was can't-miss. We were in the midst of a great weekend with cloudless blue skies and summer temps so everyone was cheery.

We walk in a half hour ahead of our reso to get a drink at the bar. 10 minutes in, the hostess/maitre'd comes up and tells us our table is ready - perfect. We had just received our drinks and asked if we should bring our drinks with us or will someone bring them for us (I for one can bring my own drink, but some nice restaurants would prefer if you didn't - either way I don't really care). She mumbled under her breath, "sure" - and started walking towards the table before any of us could get out of our stools (?!?). We look at each other, confused, and race to catch up with the hostess who was marching well ahead of us. Five minutes later, our drinks show up, except for my father-in-law's - we tell the hostess and she looks at us, doesn't say a word, and returns towards the bar (WTF - by this point, I'm starting to get a little uneasy). She comes back a few minutes later and says the bartender had poured out the drink (shocker) and had to make a new one so he makes one with the amount of vodka and soda he thought was left - WHAT? Instead of making a new drink, she has him do his best at remembering how much was left in the original drink and match it - THIS PLACE IS CHARGING UPWARDS OF $50/PLATE and wouldn't make a new drink after it was her mistake to leave them? HUH? Most nice places would have someone with a tray come with the party as they're seated to avoid this situation.

As our server for the evening approaches our table, I catch the hostess pulling her to the side, pointing at our table, shaking her head, and walking off - weird and obviously an assumption on my part... The server was indifferent and sorta cold, returning to the table every five minutes to take our order even though we were early and were hoping to enjoy the last evening with our family - not a single smile, nothing. A bit of a buzz kill. My father-in-law asked for a wine list - it was apparently already on the table, under a couple of other menu binders - she looks at him, says nothing, and picks up ALL THREE menus (dessert, etc) and hands the stack to him, and walks away. SO F'ING RUDE. The rest of the ordering was annoying but as the night wore on, she warmed up a little - maybe because we ordered big bottles of wine and starters, and $45/entrees, and dessert, and coffees...

If after all of this B.S., the food had been superb, maybe we would have shrugged it off and been able to say, "at least the food was good"... but it wasn't. My filet was cooked the way I ordered it, but was cold to touch. My father-in-law's salmon was dry as cardboard - everyone else was indifferent. COMPLETE. FAIL.

Honestly, this place is horrendous - my wife and I are foodies and love a good meal. I worked in a top tier restaurant through university, which is not to say I am any kind of authority, but I know the kinds of things this place should be doing - and they are doing few, if any.

The interior is boring/cheesy/80s. The servers wear bowties and aprons, and the overall vibe is flat. I wouldn't even call this place stuffy; stuffy implies some level of sophistication. This place is TIRED. The kind of place that attracts has-beens, never-wases, and never-shoulda-beens out of the financial district where it has made its home for way longer than it deserves. I work in finance and have been "dragged" to many older restaurants in NYC, Chicago, Boston, SF, etc and while they may not be my scene, I have an appreciation for the old-school because generally speaking, the service and care shown by the serving staff and their pride in a good product/experience is clear.

My third trip to Boulevard. First, the two appetizers we had:
AHI TUNA ITO-ZUKURI Hand Line Caught, "Ribbon-Cut" Ahi Tuna Padron Pepper Tempura, White Sesame Aioli, Togarashi-Shoyu Vinaigrette Rossa Bianca Eggplant with Wasabi Shinku Pear Dressing & Shiso It was a whole lot of ribbon cut Ahi tuna with a single tempura pepper and a suggestion there were other elements on the plate. Overall, it was bland, bland, and bland. I would never order it again.
RAVIOLI ,PORCINI BUTTER CONFIT RABBIT & A PAIR OF WILD GREENS with RICOTTA Bellwether Basket Ricotta with Borage, Nettles & Lamb’s Quarters, De Bruin Rabbit Hon Shemeji Mushrooms. Three raviolis arrived the two outside one were filled wild greens, shoes bitterness masked the Ricotta cheese. The center ravioli was the rabbit filled one. It was a decent couple of bites. The mushrooms were excellent. Overall I’d rate the dish as fair to good. I would not order it again.
The only saving grace of the early part of our meal was some excellent bread, and a great wine recommendation of a 2010 Hermitage.
Second the mains:
ALASKAN HALIBUT
ALA PLANCHA
Squash Blossom Stuffed with Rock Shrimp & Fennel
White Tomato Risotto Vialone Nano with Hearts of Palm
Olive Oil Slow Roasted Baia Nicchia Miniature Tomatoes
Tomato “Pate”, Laudemio Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Genovese Basil.
This dish made the whole trip worthwhile. Everything about it was outstanding. It will the benchmark that every halibut dish I eat will be judged by. My wife loved it as well, labeling it the best halibut dish she had ever eaten.

ANGUS FILET MIGNON
Wood Oven Roasted
Dwelley Farms Romano Beans & French Fingerling Potatoes
Confit of Roasted Tomatoes with Capers & Garlic
Caesar Fava Bean Relish, Basil & Roasted Beef Jus. The meat was perfectly cooked, but was not memorable. The roasted tomatoes were very good, as were the fingerling potatoes. It was a good, but not great dish.

CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW PIE Chocolate Streusel Crust, Manjari Chocolate Ganache
Milk Chocolate Mousse, Burnt Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Ice Cream.
I loved the pie itself, and the presentation. I was not that wild about the cookie ice-cream sandwich.

Our service was attentive. The wine, halibut dish, and pie made for a memorable evening. I disagree with the reviewers who thought the portions were small. Apparently, they have never had ‘really small ‘ portions. I would return to Boulevard and choose two different appetizers.