After taking in some of the San Francisco Pride parade, Suzanne and I headed home. We we getting quite hungry by that point and our first destination, Tu Lon, was closed. We thought Basil might be a good choice, but alas, they were also closed. Now that we were on Folsom we decided to head back into SOMA and find something that was open. We happened upon Triptych, which neither of us had been to before. That and the fact that they were advertising brunch was plenty for us to decide to give it a try.
We settled into a bright window table and Suzanne went in search of the restroom. When she came back she suggested we reseat ourselves on the patio in the back. And we did. The walk to the back of the restaurant had a bit of a “cutting through the kitchen” feel to it, but there was some interesting art on the wall to be perused on the way.
While the main dining room looked fine, the “patio” left something to be desired. It looked like they ran out of funds when they got to the back of the restaurant. The “patio” was a fenced off area with a raw concrete floor, and a standard blue plastic tarp stretched overhead. The steps down to the patio were a couple of pallets with loosely covered with plywood. Other than a nice selection of plants along the walls, the overall effect did little to make the space cozy or inspire confidence. That said, the effect on that afternoon was nice, the plants, the shade from the tarp, and the quiet from being away from the street did make it a pleasant enough space in which to share brunch. It could be a really pleasant space with a bit more money and work.
Service, however was not great at all. There was an overall feeling of haphazardness to it. We noticed that we had received different menus than the next table, and they soon had their menus replaced. Also, it had taken far too long for us to receive our menus. Then it took far too long for someone to come along to bring us water, or take our order. While we were waiting, Suzanne suggested I check out the restroom. I did. It was a homage to the 80s & the disco era:
We eventually had our orders taken. We asked for the crab cake (mini crab cake with spicy dipping sauce) as an appitizer. I ordered a Club Sandwich (grilled chicken breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado) with a side salad, and Suzanne had the Fritatta Blanc (egg whites, mushrooms, roasted tomato and onions, spinach & avocado cream). In time the entrees arrived. When the server returned (eventually) we commented that our appitizer was missing. It eventually (notice that word seems to be a theme) arrived, after we had finished the rest of the food. Since I’m talking about the crabcake now, I’ll comment on it here. It was too greasy, and the serving size was barely enough as an appetizer for one. I was not impressed, but to be fair, my initiation into crabcakes was in D.C. at the famous Market Lunch.
The entrees were passable. My sandwich was fine, with a nice side salad or mixed greens. One thing I found odd was that in contained only two slices of bread, whereas a club sandwich, by definition, involves 3 slices. Suzanne’s “Fritatta” was more like an open-faced omelet: essentially some fried egg white with sauteed vegies and such piled on top. Like my sandwich (which I shall refrain from referring to as a “club”), it was tasty enough, but was not quite what was expected from the description on the menu.This kind of bullshit really bothers me at a restaurant. It makes me think that they simply don’t know what they are doing.
In summary, the place was physically sloppy, service was very poor, and the food was mediocre and didn’t well match what was on the menu. I doubt very much that we’ll be back, given that there are so many better places in the area, and in the city in general. It’s definitely not worth going for the food, though maybe to check out the 80s restroom.
