Hello there. It’s been a while since we had a restaurant review on Just One Cookbook. We want to share with you today one of the restaurants we enjoy around Union Square, The Rotunda.
When Nami and I were dating, we used to go to downtown San Francisco about once a week for dining and walking around. Near downtown Union Square, there are many restaurant choices and you could almost find any food you are in the mood for. One of our favorite restaurants in Union Square is The Rotunda restaurant located on the 4th floor of Neiman Marcus.
On Mother’s Day, we celebrated with our friends and their family by going to the Rotunda for lunch. We had made the reservation many weeks prior and were promptly seated when we arrived. Children were provided a fabulous coloring book and crayons. I was surprised on the last page of the children coloring book, Neiman Marcus actually shares their delicious popover recipe.
The meal started with a savory shot of consommé and cheese puff pastry. The consommé is very rich with the perfect amount of flavoring and definitely leaves you wanting another shot.
After the consommé, we were served the popover and strawberry butter. The popovers were a crowd favorite and kids absolutely loved the strawberry butter. See recipe here.
Since there were a few of us, we were able to order a variety of our favorite dishes, including soup, salad, and main courses. The soup we had was lobster bisque with crème fraîche, chives, and lemon oil. The tasty creamy soup is filled with sweet lobster essence. It’s a bit on the heavy side so I recommend sharing it with another person.
The seared miso scallop salad with marinated shimeji mushrooms, cucumber, carrots, wakame, in the yuzu-soy vinaigrette was very refreshing. The generous serving of scallops were seared just right and the light dressing didn’t cover up the flavors from the rest of the ingredients.
The only disappointing appetizer we had was the lobster egg rolls which is usually superb. Not sure if it was Mother’s Day and the restaurant was extra crowded, but the egg rolls feels like it’s been sitting there for a while. The egg rolls contain Maine lobster, glass noodles, tree ear mushrooms, and bean sprouts served with a sweet chili sauce dip.
The overall food presentation that day was not as great as they usually are plated. The children shared a burger and grilled chicken. The burger was juicy and loved while there was plenty of leftover chicken.
For the main course, we shared achiote and lime marinated flat iron steak sandwich, two orders of the lobster club, and grilled filet mignon. The lobster club is one of the primary reason we went there, the applewood smoked bacon, avocado, arugula, and lemon aïoli served on a toasted brioche is amazingly good. The presentation subpar but tasted just as great as before.
Both the filet and the flat iron steak sandwich were average and I would recommend trying something else on the menu instead if you are there. The filet was tender but not very flavorful, it was served with heirloom tomatoes, grilled artichokes, and chimichurri on the side.
We were too full for the dessert but couldn’t resist the special Mother’s Day complimentary chocolate from the Rotunda.
Overall, it was a fun experience for us celebrating Mother’s Day with our friends and children in the city. Even though the food presentation isn’t as good as it usually is, the service was great. Our server was very attentive to all our needs even though it was a super busy day. We’ll come back to Rotunda again to enjoy our favorite lobster club and popovers, but definitely not a busy holiday.
It’s been awhile since I’ve been in a Neiman Marcus restaurant, but their popovers and strawberry butter are worth the trip. Sounds like you had a great time even though the food wasn’t all that it could have been – that must have been a bit disappointing. But I’m sure the company of your family and good friends more than made up for that! Good review – thanks.
Beautiful place! The food looks SO! good!
What a gorgeous restaurant this is and a treat to share this place as a memory with Nami! Thank you for sharing this review, Shen. It was very interesting and next time I’m in San Fran, I’ll have to stop in.
This looks delicious!!!! And your photos are just gorgeous. Neiman Marcus should hire you for their menu! 🙂 I love how bright the restaurant is too. Looks like a great place to dine. Hope you all are enjoying the start of summer. 🙂
What a great restaurant review and I’ll be sure to take note of your suggestions next time we go. Thanks for sharing this! Nami, I shall miss you during the summer but I look forward to your updates from Japan (oooh wish I was going, too!) Enjoy and safe travels 🙂
Thanks for sharing the review and the food photos! The salad looks really delicious, and it looks like a great summer-y choice as well. And that special piece of chocolate looks so cute. =) Good luck, Nami, with the preparations for your trip to Japan!
Hi Kimmi! Sorry I just found this message in my inbox which I haven’t responded. Thanks for your kind feedback. I’m enjoying our stay in Japan. Hope you are having a great summer so far too! 🙂
It was one honest review. The next time I am in San Francisco, I’ll check this out and will definitely follow your recomendations.
Definitely putting the Rotunda on my list of restaurants to visit next time I’m in the San Francisco area. Believe the stop might be worth it just to get the popover recipe =) And the miso scallop salad does look very tasty….Glad Nami-san was treated to a beautiful Mother’s Day =)
What a pretty restaurant! All that food makes me hungry. 🙂 Thanks for a peek into your life.
What a fantastic restaurant – I can only imagine how incredible the presentation of the food must be on a less busy day – I’m sure they were extra busy with it being Mother’s Day.
🙂 Mandy xo
Wow!!! What a gorgeous building…So elegant! — and all dishes look great. I wish I still live in the Bay area to have a meal at the Rotunda.
Hello and a big ‘thank you’ to someone across the Pond as to what to expect from a SF restaurant currently! Clear, concise, fun 🙂 ! Lovely surroundings! Great that children were acknowledged and catered for . . . Hmm, the food to me seems somewhat a mixed bag . . . perchance I’m simply not ‘into’ sandwiches’, however good, at a celebratory lunch!! Actually the scallop salad was the only one which would have made my tastebuds tremble in anticipation . . . Trust you had a wonderful time nevertheless . . . 🙂 !
Hi Eha! Oh the scallop salad was wonderful! I try to copy the same salad and I still need to tweak a little bit to finalize the dressing. 😀 Thanks so much for your kind comment! xo
The Rotunda looks like a very elegant place for a date and a Mother’s Day Celebration.
Your party enjoyed a delicious assortment of dishes especially that lobster bisque and the seared miso scallop salad. Although the lobster egg rolls sound great as well even if they weren’t too fresh on that day. I just had a lobster for supper today and can’t wait to go and order an couple more … maybe I’ll make some egg rolls as they’re something I’ve always wanted to try.
What a perfect celebration time my friend 😀
Love this review!
Cheers
CCU
Last year I had lunch at the Rotunda for my grandma’s 85th birthday. It was so fun to dine by the window and take in the views. I think the popovers alone are worth a visit! 🙂