Citrus Club (SF/Upper Haight, Asian-fusion
1790 Haight St.
(bet. Cole & Shrader)
San Francisco, CA
(Upper Haight district)
Price: $
Rating: 7 (Rating & price key)
Last visit: 11/18/05
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Tasty asian-fusion food in a narrow, but deep space. Dimly lit, with a
long open kitchen/bar in front, and
usually with some downtempo music playing, it's got a nice mood, and
the service is casual and hip to match. We've been
here several times for dinner, and have left happy and very full each
time. The menu is a hodge-podge of mostly noodle dishes from various
southeast Asian countries, and they serve beer, wine, and sake and Han
cocktails.
I've enjoyed the Thai dishes here more than the Vietnamese ones so far, but at these prices, it's hard to be too picky. The tom kha gai (coconut hot & sour soup with chicken) was very good; the noodles, although an unauthentic addition as far as I know, elevated this usual side dish to main-dish status, and the flavor was, appropriately, citrusy and a little spicy. Sarah's quite fond of the peanut & spinach noodles. Shanghai noodles are another favorite of mine, with a smoky flavor, and nice variety of toppings atop the firm egg noodles.
Our favorite, however, is the delectable garlic edamame appetizer, tasty soy peas in their pod, doused with a delicious spicy garlic sauce. They're fun finger food, taste great, and won't fill you up too much while you wait for your entree. The spring rolls are less successful; although the rolls' flavor is good, they're marred by much-too-thick wraps and a leaden peanut sauce.
There are many vegetarian choices here (almost anything can be ordered sans meat, and most wouldn't be lacking without it), and all ingredients seem fresh and brightly-flavored. All in all, I'm very glad Sarah and I finally went here after a year of walking past it (it doesn't look like much from the outside). We've only been here on weeknights - I'm sure it gets quite crowded and loud on weekends given that it's usually nearly full mid-week.