December, 2006

Rating : 9 out of 10

Tariff: Dinner for 4

• 2 cocktails
• 2 appetizers
• 1 soup
• 4 entrees
• tip
• $145

Atmosphere

Tommy Toy's is a renowned Chinese Restaurant on the edge of San Francisco's Chinatown. This is a formal dining experience from start to finish. The host leads you through a well decorated entry hall, past rows of photos featuring the owner and all the famous diners who have come to Tommy Toy's: movie stars, singers, even a president! You pass through various dining rooms, divided by doorways hung with rich draperies. The rooms remind one of an elegant French salon. A veritable army of professional waiters hover nearby to take orders, serve, clear, silently checking in on each room in case anything is needed. I this regard, the service is impeccable. I found it to be a bit stuffy, though, in several respects: The first is that diners are first told about an elaborate prix fix menu (almost a 'hard sell') and then only if you request a menu are you given one. During the meal, if you have a question, the server will insist you talk to your waiter--as if only he can possibly handle any question or concern--a distinction I'm not accustomed to having to figure out. I also detected a hint of frustration with questions, requests for items we'd ordered but which weren't brought to the table, and our desire to take home leftovers (maybe I'm not cut out for this kind of dining experience!).

Food

The Signature Dinner Menu (mentioned above) sounded delicious but was more per person than we wanted to spend as we were dining with the kids. It included Minced Squab Imperial, Seafood Bisque, Fresh Whole Maine Lobster, Peking Duck, Medallions of Beef, Four Flavors Fried Rice, and Peach Mousse. We did, however, try two of the included items with our ala carte order. As you would expect, most items ordered were beautifully presented, albeit in dainty portions.

Drinks

My cosmopolitan cocktail was strong and good, but then the head waiter made the inelegant comment that I must have liked it because I drank it already(!) when he returned to check on us.

Appetizers

We tried the pot sticker dumplings with chili soy sauce--nice but not exceptional, the vegetarian spring rolls--two light and crispy rolls sliced on a diagonal and artfully arranged, and the seafood bisque, which was rather thin for a bisque but was presented dramatically with a huge puff of pastry baked on top. When we removed the pastry we had to wait some time for the molten soup to cool, and we smiled when we realized that the chefs had commandeered big round ceramic coconuts (most likely meant for tropical drinks) to use as the soup bowls!

Entrees

We ordered Duck Fried Rice, Vanilla Prawns with raisins and fresh melon, and Peking Duck for two for our dinners. The fried rice was simple and tasty, the vanilla prawns were rich and sweet, but the Peking Duck, what we had come to Tommy Toy's for in the first place wasn't at all what we expected. It's not that it wasn't good--it was a tiny serving of sliced duck on two puffy white steamed buns with some scallions and hoi sin sauce. The duck was very fatty--the biggest no-no of Peking duck. We ate it and waited for the next course. We continued to wait. Finally, with some embarrassment, we had to ask whether there was a next course. No there wasn't.... Well, could we have some more of the duck then? Great concern and confusion. Waiter rushing off and whispering to other waiters. (Keep in mind, we had previously been shown a large, roasted half duck, beautifully browned and crisp looking and it was whisked out of sight before we were served our two buns each.) To further explain, we have eaten Peking Duck a number of times and in a number of places--from other US Chinatowns to Hong Kong. Before Tommy Toy's our experience was always a delicious full first course of sliced duck breast and crispy skin served with pancakes, scallions, and hoi sin sauce, followed by a second course of the remaining duck, seasoned and stir fried with vegetables, and several times we've received a third course of duck soup! So, we were at a loss to understand how this was a Peking Duck dinner for two. I guess I'll have to put on a search for a restaurant that serves traditional Peking Duck in SF. But I digress. Tommy Toy's is a very elegant, gourmet Chinese restaurant and it has the atmosphere and service to match--great for a splurge, or for business entertaining.

Tommy Toy's Cuisine Chinoise
655 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
415-397-4888