by Edison Schrimsher on I went here based on a recommendation from a friend who works for Murphy's, plus I had a $25 gift card. And I like Concentrics restaurants. When I first drove down the narrow street it's located on, I thought I was lost. I always figured there wasn't anything down here except the Musician's Union (I'm a musician, which is the only reason I know that), so I was surpised to find that One Midtown Kitchen was also there. The entrance is in fact the large industrial metal door that confused me even further. Through the door and curtains, I arrived at the host stand and realized, yes this is indeed One.Midtown Kitchen. Now I went early on a Tuesday night, around 6. The restaurant was empty save for another table of two, so I expected service to be exceptional. It was not. It took our server several minutes for him to acknowledge our presence and a few more before he stopped talking to his colleagues long enough to get our drink order. And for the rest of the meal, he was slow to get drink refills and disappeared often. Cigarette break? I don't know. The food was alright. I ordered the calamari for an appetizer and the portion was huge. The calamari was served not in the typical manner of ringlets, but long, thick strips that could have been mistaken for chicken fingers. The sauces on the plate with the calamari were definitely unique (molasses?!), and actually kinda good. For my meal, I ordered the flank steak with parmesan fries. And it was just alright, nothing spectacular. The meat was prepared well and the fries were dusted with parmesan cheese which added an interesting flavor. But I just wasn't that impressed. And I don't even remember what my boyfriend ordered. Did I get the wrong entree? Is there something I'm missing? The decor was modern and interesting to look at while our server was taking his time bringing drinks and food. And, the host was very friendly both when we entered and left and seemed generally interested in us and not our credit cards. That was probably the highlight of the experience.
by Ruth C. on The bartender was nice, the free photobooth was novel, and the double-mirror window in the men's bathroom was funny to hear about. I guess I'm just not too keen on the crowd, and I'm glad we got there early enough to snag one of the couches in the back and avoid the cover charge.
by Tim T. on Some of my favorite shows of all time have been in this place. It's the epitome of the uniqueness of San Francisco. Dark and dingy, but cozy at the same time. If it's a smaller show, there's plenty of room to dance, and there's even a handy mini bar by the stage so you don't have to brave the crowd. The performances here are always intimate, and the sound is top notch. Not to knock the folks behind the bar, but on two separate occasions, I've left a tab open behind the bar on a credit card, with over $100 worth of drinks ordered, and they've lost my tab, which means both times they only charged me $11 for a night of heavy drinking with many friends. (I guess you could say that alone gives this place five stars) On just about any given night, you can catch some great indie rock as well as large national acts doing solo or acoustic shows here. I once heard a story about a rainy winter night when the place flooded and the show still went on.
