[mrface]

I was a bit underwhelmed by Gary Danko. Everything is nice, but just nice. I got the sense that they weren't pushing themselves as much as I expect in a place like that. On the other hand, if you like cheese, their cheese course is absolutely amazing. They have a decent selection, but more importantly the cheese is served perfectly ripe. I eat a lot of cheese and I can never find it in the peak quality they have at Gary Danko. Overall, I would say GD is a very good dining experience with solid food and better than average service, but I doubt I will go back (except maybe to the bar for some cheese).

The Dining Room at the Ritz has better food, though they may not be as consistent as GD. In my 9+ course meal there, I found a few courses amazing, but a few not so great. While the atmosphere might be more stuffy than your standard SF restaurant, I found the service to be spot on and better than GD. They definitely adjusted to the fact that we were half or 1/3 of the age of most of the other patrons. If you go, get the foie gras if you like it-- probably the best foie dish I've had. I also highly recommend the wine pairing.

Ame, while also good, I would probably skip. Neither the food, service, or experience is in the same league as the above two. I enjoyed my meal there, but it's also another place I probably won't return to.

If I can throw in another place to consider, I might think about Coi. I actually have not yet eaten inside the dining room at Coi, but after a few trips to the lounge where you can order a la carte off the tasting menu, it is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. The servers are awesome and really try to make your experience great. The other night I went there after a bad dinner, and even though it was 11pm and the kitchen was closed, the waiter went into the kitchen and put together a tasting of 3 ice creams for us. On top of that, he paired a different glass of sherry with each ice cream for the price of a single glass. Finally, before we left he gave us another dessert on the house of a vanilla milkshake with a pistachio financier.

So overall, I'd recommend The Dining Room for a nice, all-out, romantic dinner in the city. For something more casual, but with food nearly or just as good, check out Coi.