Room with a Golden Gate View
Riding up the Express elevator in the Bank of America building, you suddenly realize how far up the Carnelian Room is; 52 floors. In San Francisco, this is the highest you can get as it sits up even higher than the Transamerica building. No where else can you dine on a plate of lobster and enjoy an expansive view of the Bay: Treasure Island, Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate. Of course, this depends upon where one is seated and which of its many rooms are opened for dining. If you should be lucky to be seating in one of the northeast facing tables, you're in for a treat. The rooms themselves are set up rather "traditionally": by this I mean that it has the feel of a European club. The walls are decorated with nineteenth and eighteenth century paintings and there are hundred-year-old Asian antiques in odd corners of the rooms. One gets the feeling of being a guest in some rich (and stodgy) uncle's private club. Surprisingly, the Carnelian Room doesn't have a bar area, although they have a "lounge" where one can order wine and such. Most people who arrive early for dinner usually sit (or stand) in the lounge to soak in the view. Once seated, the service was fairly prompt and the food arrived after approx. 30 minutes. We didn't mind the wait as we were provided with a basket of assorted bread (all very fresh) and a dish of freshly scooped butter. For dinner I choose the Crispy-Skinned Salmon with Lobster Mashed Potatoes. My friend picked the 2-pound Lobster Clam Bake. The salmon came in a large round porcelain bowl with a wide rim. I was surprised by the generous portion of the fish, which rested on a nice pile of lobster-mashed potatoes. I've never eaten salmon with crispy skin before but the crispy skin and the tender salmon meat really worked well together as a contrast of textures. The creamy mashed potatoes had little sweet "knuckles" of lobster and I ate it and then the salmon in turns. It was excellent! The restaurant calls itself "American" cuisine and I've always wondered what that meant at high-end restaurants. The menu here included some Chinese influence (after all Chinatown was only a few blocks away): they offered twice-cooked pork, which I didn't try but might next time around. The dining service was prompt and the waiters were courteous and not arrogant. Even though this type of service is expected at restaurants like the Carnelian Room, they are not, nonetheless, very common. It was a relief not to deal with a snooty wait-staff. The Carnelian Room keeps an enforced dress code (coat and slacks for gents). If you arrive without a coat, they provide one for you. It's a nice place to go if you want a romantic date or want to celebrate other special occasions (graduation, job, engagement, anniversary).
Recommended: Crispy-skinned Salmon with Lobster Mashed Potatoes
Food: 8
Service: 6
Ambiance: 8
Overall: 8