The Garden Court

Ronald Fuentes

Because when you walk into the location, its main entrance is on Market Street. While you walk through the lobby back to where the restaurant is, you are amazed by the ceiling. Yesterday was a bright sunny 92° day and the light that came through the ceiling and through the stained glass with marvelous magnificent, and yet the room was in great temperature. The service was spectacular. The food was excellent. The ambience was superb. The waiter and the staff were excellent. The hostess put us in the middle of the room, which ironically enough there was a wedding party seating behind us and at no time did you feel like it was a noisy environment the rosé from Paso Robles was spectacular. I had an excellent hamburger and my guest. My business client had a marvelous salad whether you’re going here for lunch for a business meeting or to celebrate an event you will enjoy the atmosphere in the opportunity and by the way on new Montgomery there is a valet service as well.

Ms Oriz

Just my favorite place in SF. We went there with my partner for our anniversary, and the staff brought us the most adorable cake to celebrate. The big room with chandelier creates a magical atmosphere, the music is chosen with taste (only classical), and staff is extremely polite and competent. It’s a great place for special occasions or a treat to yourself!

L VK

I recently hosted my daughter's bridal shower at The Garden Court in the Palace Hotel, San Francisco, and it was an absolute success. From start to finish, everything was flawless, and the event was a delight thanks to the exceptional service provided. The assistance of Miss Sarabjeet Anand, the food and beverage coordinator, was invaluable. Her professionalism, attention to detail, and support throughout the planning process ensured a stress-free experience. On the day of the event, Gregg Kelly and the attentive staff made sure everything ran smoothly, contributing to the overall success of the shower. The ambiance of The Garden Court was enchanting, complementing the delicious and beautifully presented food served promptly to the guests. The feedback from my guests was overwhelmingly positive, and I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out. Sarabjeet's dedication truly elevated the experience, making it truly memorable. I am grateful for the exceptional service and attention to detail provided by the team at The Garden Court. I look forward to returning for future special occasions, knowing that I can trust them to deliver a flawless and delightful experience every time.

I’m not aware of the prices since I stayed at the hotel and breakfast was included. It’s a buffet with a variety of choices such as smoked salmon, fruit bar and pastries. The restaurant is beautiful inside with high ceilings and 1800 architectural arts. Had a great experience.

Absolutely Exceptional Experience The Garden Court at the Palace Hotel is, without exaggeration, one of the most extraordinary dining experiences in San Francisco. From the moment you step into the space, the atmosphere is simply out of this world. The iconic glass dome, soaring ceilings, and historic elegance create a setting that feels timeless, grand, and genuinely special—an experience in itself before the first course even arrives. Breakfast is outstanding. The menu offers an excellent range of high-quality options, thoughtfully prepared and beautifully presented. Every detail reflects care and consistency, from the ingredients to the execution. It is the kind of breakfast that elevates the entire day. What truly sets Garden Court apart, however, is the service. The staff delivers a level of professionalism, attentiveness, and warmth that is increasingly rare. Service is seamless and refined without ever feeling stiff—anticipatory, gracious, and genuinely welcoming. This is not just a meal; it is a destination experience. Whether you are visiting San Francisco or a local looking for something unforgettable, Garden Court at the Palace Hotel exceeds expectations on every level. Highly recommended and unquestionably deserving of five stars.

The Garden Court has a special place in our hearts. We ate here the morning after our wedding. We ate here again as one of our last meals before our 1st child was born. And it's been a while, but we just brought our teenage daughters here for a little staycation treat for New Years! The atmosphere and service are always 5 star. Staff was friendly and attentive, they made us feel special. The food is good, basic breakfast food, plus dim sum, plus a great fruit and charcuterie spread and some fresh pastries. I'm a sucker for good juices, and they were really great. A really yummy meal. The price isn't bad (under $50) considering it's the most gorgeous venue in SF and that it's all you can eat. We don't come here often, but we've never been disappointed and we will be back for special occasions!

We had a wonderful holiday breakfast the Garden Court. The setting and decorations are stunning and Sam our waiter was exceptional, he certainly added to the experience to make it all the more special. He helped us with our selections, and continued to check on us to make sure we had all we needed but was not obtrusive The breakfast buffet was excellent. Highly recommend. The only downside was the rude guest at the next table who was conducting his Zoom meeting on speakerphone- really dude?

I am a very reactive celiac and Sam took such good care of me! Everything was delicious and I had no doubts that I was taken care of. We went for the tea service, my friend isn't gluten free and her food also looked delicious! I would whole heartedly recommend. My advice would be to put your gluten free request in when you make the reservation

Curtis Chinn

The Garden Court has a special place in our hearts. We ate here the morning after our wedding. We ate here again as one of our last meals before our 1st child was born. And it's been a while, but we just brought our teenage daughters here for a little staycation treat for New Years! The atmosphere and service are always 5 star. Staff was friendly and attentive, they made us feel special. The food is good, basic breakfast food, plus dim sum, plus a great fruit and charcuterie spread and some fresh pastries. I'm a sucker for good juices, and they were really great. A really yummy meal. The price isn't bad (under $50) considering it's the most gorgeous venue in SF and that it's all you can eat. We don't come here often, but we've never been disappointed and we will be back for special occasions!

Kevin Dehart

Absolutely Exceptional Experience The Garden Court at the Palace Hotel is, without exaggeration, one of the most extraordinary dining experiences in San Francisco. From the moment you step into the space, the atmosphere is simply out of this world. The iconic glass dome, soaring ceilings, and historic elegance create a setting that feels timeless, grand, and genuinely special—an experience in itself before the first course even arrives. Breakfast is outstanding. The menu offers an excellent range of high-quality options, thoughtfully prepared and beautifully presented. Every detail reflects care and consistency, from the ingredients to the execution. It is the kind of breakfast that elevates the entire day. What truly sets Garden Court apart, however, is the service. The staff delivers a level of professionalism, attentiveness, and warmth that is increasingly rare. Service is seamless and refined without ever feeling stiff—anticipatory, gracious, and genuinely welcoming. This is not just a meal; it is a destination experience. Whether you are visiting San Francisco or a local looking for something unforgettable, Garden Court at the Palace Hotel exceeds expectations on every level. Highly recommended and unquestionably deserving of five stars.

Marie Dreissen

We had a wonderful holiday breakfast the Garden Court. The setting and decorations are stunning and Sam our waiter was exceptional, he certainly added to the experience to make it all the more special. He helped us with our selections, and continued to check on us to make sure we had all we needed but was not obtrusive The breakfast buffet was excellent. Highly recommend. The only downside was the rude guest at the next table who was conducting his Zoom meeting on speakerphone- really dude?

Stephanie Fullam

I am a very reactive celiac and Sam took such good care of me! Everything was delicious and I had no doubts that I was taken care of. We went for the tea service, my friend isn't gluten free and her food also looked delicious! I would whole heartedly recommend. My advice would be to put your gluten free request in when you make the reservation

It’s pretty nice environment and setting, cool and stylish. Food has pretty above average quality, not much variety tho, most importantly you have most healthy choices in here, align with the city.

I came for the breakfast buffet and this hall is beautiful. Service was good and food was tasty. I would check it out of your in the area.

Went here for the Afternoon Tea experience. The Garden Court is insanely beautiful. Soft golden light, intricate ceiling, glittering chandeliers— atmosphere was magical (we even had a harpist play during the tea). The food was delicious with variety of classic finger sandwich flavors with artful presentations. Quite a few desserts as well. Our waiter, Min, was so attentive and kind. Service was top tier from the whole staff! The only reason I give it 4 stars is the price. The food and tea options itself weren’t really worth $125 but I guess it’s the service and ambience you’re really paying for. Overall, Garden Court was a delightful place to spend an afternoon

Sam

I came for the breakfast buffet and this hall is beautiful. Service was good and food was tasty. I would check it out of your in the area.

Gracee

Went here for the Afternoon Tea experience. The Garden Court is insanely beautiful. Soft golden light, intricate ceiling, glittering chandeliers— atmosphere was magical (we even had a harpist play during the tea). The food was delicious with variety of classic finger sandwich flavors with artful presentations. Quite a few desserts as well. Our waiter, Min, was so attentive and kind. Service was top tier from the whole staff! The only reason I give it 4 stars is the price. The food and tea options itself weren’t really worth $125 but I guess it’s the service and ambience you’re really paying for. Overall, Garden Court was a delightful place to spend an afternoon

Leslie

Can here for brunch on Sunday. The food is pricey, but the quality and ambience make it worth it. It's beautiful inside. Very ornate yet bright and airy at the same time. The sticky buns were so good! Just the right amount of sweetness, the burger was huge and juicy and the crab toast was so decadent (see before and after pics)

Loved the splendor of the space. The food was very tasty and the wait for it's arrival was reasonable. The service did not align with its surroundings. It was pretty flat actually, and not what you would expect. There was only one server, and the server assistant didn't seem to speak or understand English. The menu was extremely limited, only offering 2 desserts? I was never presented with a detailed bill, which I would have appreciated. I get the feeling based on the age of the staff that the money is good and the position is highly competitive, but they are likely too comfortable to care enough to provide exemplary service. If I return I would prefer to try the Pied Piper, or the Afternoon tea.

I came here with my boyfriend for a prie fix menu and found that it was really nice and fancy inside, but other than that the price and quality of the service and food wasn't really worth the price. Good: - The bisque was actually quite tasty! I liked how big it was too - The bread was so good - love free bread - The short rib had good flavor but it was a little bit bland - Portion sizes were good - I couldn't end up finishing it all - Beautiful interior Bad: - Service was slow - the lady that was waiting our table was still really nice! It felt just a tad bit old school and slow - Really expensive - about $100 a person in the end - Tables are really far apart even if it's a two person table - how do you have a date here?? Wouldn't come again but for a unique experience, it was nice and I had a fun time.

MacCracken Owski

Loved the splendor of the space. The food was very tasty and the wait for it's arrival was reasonable. The service did not align with its surroundings. It was pretty flat actually, and not what you would expect. There was only one server, and the server assistant didn't seem to speak or understand English. The menu was extremely limited, only offering 2 desserts? I was never presented with a detailed bill, which I would have appreciated. I get the feeling based on the age of the staff that the money is good and the position is highly competitive, but they are likely too comfortable to care enough to provide exemplary service. If I return I would prefer to try the Pied Piper, or the Afternoon tea.

Jenny Xu

I came here with my boyfriend for a prie fix menu and found that it was really nice and fancy inside, but other than that the price and quality of the service and food wasn't really worth the price. Good: - The bisque was actually quite tasty! I liked how big it was too - The bread was so good - love free bread - The short rib had good flavor but it was a little bit bland - Portion sizes were good - I couldn't end up finishing it all - Beautiful interior Bad: - Service was slow - the lady that was waiting our table was still really nice! It felt just a tad bit old school and slow - Really expensive - about $100 a person in the end - Tables are really far apart even if it's a two person table - how do you have a date here?? Wouldn't come again but for a unique experience, it was nice and I had a fun time.

Went to breakfast at 8:30 AM on a Sunday. Had a reservation, still had to wait about 10-15 mins to be seated. Quality of food was pretty good, but it was not hot. They need heat lamps over the food because the fire burning below the catering trays was not sufficient to keep the food hot, especially as people forgot to close the lids. Breakfast potatoes were not crispy and dim sum was a bit overcooked (but love that dumplings were offered). Service was exceptional for a buffet. We had a very nice male Chinese server who was over the top friendly and excellent at keeping the table cleared of our many plates. For such an expensive buffet breakfast, I expect all the food to be hot and perhaps something extra like an omelette station and complimentary espresso drinks.

J

Went to breakfast at 8:30 AM on a Sunday. Had a reservation, still had to wait about 10-15 mins to be seated. Quality of food was pretty good, but it was not hot. They need heat lamps over the food because the fire burning below the catering trays was not sufficient to keep the food hot, especially as people forgot to close the lids. Breakfast potatoes were not crispy and dim sum was a bit overcooked (but love that dumplings were offered). Service was exceptional for a buffet. We had a very nice male Chinese server who was over the top friendly and excellent at keeping the table cleared of our many plates. For such an expensive buffet breakfast, I expect all the food to be hot and perhaps something extra like an omelette station and complimentary espresso drinks.

This holiday tea time with Santa was about $220/person before tax and tip. The ambience was wonderful and we were invited to take a group professional picture of Santa. Santa also walked up to our table to take individual pictures with us on our phones. My biggest complaint is the food and tea to be quite honest. I expected more from the hefty price tag. The pictures attached to this review shows the savory sandwiches you get per person and the second picture shows a dessert tower for two people. Not much food. You get to choose one flavor of tea per person but we expected to try endless amounts of different flavors as there were about 9 flavors of tea on the menu. Unfortunately when we had ask for a different tea, the service workers said they could fill up our tea pots with more hot water since the current tea leaves were already being used in the pot, how disappointing we didn’t get to try out other flavors of tea. Don’t get me wrong, the tea was wonderful as I had tried the Garden Court blend. But I was hoping to try different flavors. At the end, we went to go pick up our professional photos and they had asked us how many copies we wanted so we asked for a couple, then the workers proceeded to tell us the first copy was free but each copy after that was $40 a pop. Insane! All in all, you’re really just paying for the ambience to gaze at the holiday decorations, take a picture with Santa and to have mediocre pastries/tea sandwiches. The service was great, our waiter Sam was incredible and kind. Sam was always checking up on us and offering to pour our tea into our cups. I am just bummed that I paid $220 for myself and I expected a lot more from my holiday afternoon tea.

Tina Nguyen

This holiday tea time with Santa was about $220/person before tax and tip. The ambience was wonderful and we were invited to take a group professional picture of Santa. Santa also walked up to our table to take individual pictures with us on our phones. My biggest complaint is the food and tea to be quite honest. I expected more from the hefty price tag. The pictures attached to this review shows the savory sandwiches you get per person and the second picture shows a dessert tower for two people. Not much food. You get to choose one flavor of tea per person but we expected to try endless amounts of different flavors as there were about 9 flavors of tea on the menu. Unfortunately when we had ask for a different tea, the service workers said they could fill up our tea pots with more hot water since the current tea leaves were already being used in the pot, how disappointing we didn’t get to try out other flavors of tea. Don’t get me wrong, the tea was wonderful as I had tried the Garden Court blend. But I was hoping to try different flavors. At the end, we went to go pick up our professional photos and they had asked us how many copies we wanted so we asked for a couple, then the workers proceeded to tell us the first copy was free but each copy after that was $40 a pop. Insane! All in all, you’re really just paying for the ambience to gaze at the holiday decorations, take a picture with Santa and to have mediocre pastries/tea sandwiches. The service was great, our waiter Sam was incredible and kind. Sam was always checking up on us and offering to pour our tea into our cups. I am just bummed that I paid $220 for myself and I expected a lot more from my holiday afternoon tea.

Molly S

We ate here due to having hotel credit for food. Food was over priced and mediocre at best. The service was awful and some of the worst I have experienced before. Our server was ignoring our table. Never got offered a refill on drinks. After waiting over twenty minutes after finishing our food we had to flag down another server to get our check. Our server dropped the bill at the table not saying a word and it was the wrong bill. We had to flag someone else down to get the correct check. We tried to make reservations for breakfast around noon the day prior and nothing was available later than 730 am. What a joke.

We spent our Valentine's Day at the Palace Hotel. We had breakfast here each morning of our stay. We had reservations, so getting in was not a problem. The food was good, but the service was non-existent. After we were seated on both days we never saw another person come to help us, they only came at the endvto havevus sign the bill. . My husband had to go get us water and we had to flag down someone to get us some orange juice, this was after I had already finished my meal. I let the first day go as maybe they were just busy, but when it happened the next morning, that was unacceptable as other tables around us were receiving service. I registered a complaint with the Director of Restaurants Charlyn Contreras. She apologized and said she would have been frustrated too. She said she would follow up and took our room number. Nothing has been done. No compensation for our terrible experience. I find this very unprofessional for such a prestigious hotel. I will not be staying at this hotel or dining here again. I will choose somewhere I will not be disrespected.

The setting at The Palace Hotel is undeniably beautiful and elegant, which makes it a lovely spot for afternoon tea. However, I found the overall experience a bit underwhelming compared to the afternoon teas I’ve had in Paris. The service felt more hands-off — the staff placed the tea set on the table but didn’t really take the time to explain the pastries, sandwiches, or tea selections. I also expected the tea to be poured or presented at the table, which didn’t happen here. While everything was nicely arranged, I personally prefer a more interactive and guided afternoon tea experience where you can learn about what you’re enjoying.

Jade Marie Anderson

The setting at The Palace Hotel is undeniably beautiful and elegant, which makes it a lovely spot for afternoon tea. However, I found the overall experience a bit underwhelming compared to the afternoon teas I’ve had in Paris. The service felt more hands-off — the staff placed the tea set on the table but didn’t really take the time to explain the pastries, sandwiches, or tea selections. I also expected the tea to be poured or presented at the table, which didn’t happen here. While everything was nicely arranged, I personally prefer a more interactive and guided afternoon tea experience where you can learn about what you’re enjoying.