Boulevard opened in 1993, and I have eaten several meals here, mainly in the 1990s. This San Francisco institution was opened by Nancy Oakes. Nancy is a self-taught chef who previously ran neighbourhood bistro L’Avenue. She picked up culinary knowledge on her travels through Italy and had brief stages at Paris restaurants Taillevent and Guy Savoy.
It has a wide, appealing menu that concentrates on the char grill and the rotisserie. Nancy Oakes’s kitchen prepares meat dishes particularly well, but the overall standard is high. Ingredients are good e.g. diver-caught scallops that were timed very well, and an excellent pork chop on my last visit, but sauces and extras can be more variable. The dining area is relaxed and the service excellent in my experience.
Dave Brown
I was lucky enough to visit Boulevard in August 2008 whilst on a trip to see various Silicon Valley companies. It was very busy, but thanks to booking well in advance we had a lovely table looking out over the Bay Bridge. The food seemed a little confused taking influences from many different regions. I plumped for a scallop starter, followed by a leg of lamb - and both were heavenly. The somelier was top notch and picked a couple of cracking local bottles which worked a treat with our dishes. We had a couple of quite long chats with Nancy who is a superb host and very generous after she surprised us all with an extra taster dish of soft shelled crab which was divine. All in all I'd recommend the Boulevard to anyone visiting San Francisco. And as for San Francisco - it really should be on any food lovers hit list, you really can eat in a different part of the world each day without leaving the city - a truly great place.