Equinox - CLOSED
Category: Restaurants [Edit]
Neighborhood: Financial District5 Embarcadero Center
San Francisco, CA 94111 (415) 291-6619
- Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Dressy
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
56 reviews
Neighborhood: Potrero Hill
"I love this place...It is around the corner from my house and its an easy breezy bar....no scene here..just mellow, cool, good old fashioned…" read more »
78 Reviews for Equinox - CLOSED
To my surprise the Equinox is closed? This was the first fine dining restaurant I went to as a child and I loved it fact it was a revolving restaurant. You can enjoy views of the bay bridge and the East bay. The only problem was there was a huge skyscraper next to the Hyatt so it obstructed the view for a good 15 minutes.
Dinner was pretty good and the changing menu offered some great selections. The Equinox was the best place for drinks and dessert after dinner. A bit over priced for drinks and dessert, but you were there for the view and the intimate environment.
It's too bad Equinox is closed! Although the spinning gave me slight motion sickness (haha), I really enjoyed the view and amazing service. The food was just so-so but every thing else definitely made up for it. I went to Grandview recently and it's not comparable. :)
Awww! That's too bad Equinox is closed. It provided a different and unique experience while in Downtown San Francisco. We made dinner reservations for our 4th year anniversary. Since we were only visiting and didn't have anyone to leave our (then) 8th month old tot, we came as a family and didn't get any attitude about it. We had a lovely dinner. It will be missed. If you're visiting Atlanta, GA, and you're looking for something like the Equinox, go check out the Sun Dial Restaurant. Although, I really can't imagine what kind of view you'll get there.
Last visit: 10/05
Oh whaaaaaaaaat?!?! The spinning restaurant closed!??! Wooooow my parents used to take me and my sister here all the time as kids so its as if a part of my childhood died with this news. The food here really wasn't that great but the view of the city was amazing. Equinox, you shall be missed.
So very sad this place has closed. I would strongly urge them to reconsider and/or re-open. This place has always had a stunning view and that has always been the main attraction. True, the food and service were always hit and miss, mostly misses, BUT you could always get a decent virgin pina colada and tasty dessert. Since I first went there it seems as though more buildings have obscured the view over the years.
Still, I give this place a fiver based on there's no other place like it in SF. It will be sadly missed by me.
Since this placed closed, my life has been dark. Where do I go now for drinks and dessert after dinner?? It was one of my favorite places in the city because it was something different. You could enjoy the sf bay and bridge as you sip at your 13 dollar daiquiri and slice of cheesecake. Yeah the prices are a bit high but for a luxury like this I think it's worth it. The thing that frustrated me about this place is that their menu always changed! Once I developed a favorite (banana fosters cake with dulce de leche icecream) AH it was heaven!!! Never had it again...but the raspberry white chocolate cheese cake substituted it although there will be none like the banana foster cake. =(
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I've only been here for spendy dessert for my uncle's birthday. The view is great, and I think that's what you're paying for, as well as the novelty of it being a revolving restaurant. I'm sad to say that I never got to experience an actual entree here, though.
Ever since I was a child growing up in the bay area, I always wanted to eat at this restaurant. When I was in college, I had a wonderful chance to, and I loved every minute of it. The staff was fantastic, the view was great, and the food was very good (even if the portions were small).
It's too bad that it closed.
Here's the official blurb from their website: The Equinox Restaurant is now closed indefinitely as of June 1st, 2007.
The Hyatt Regency San Francisco and the Equinox would like to extend our sincerest thank you for your patronage over the years.
It makes me sad that it closed! My boyfriend and I are on a mission to eat at all the rotating restaurants in the US, and I'm so glad we had a chance when we could.
I bothers me that the place so full of my teenage/college memories is gone.. It's been gone since May of 2007 and still there are reviews pouring in. What the heck?
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Even though the place was incredibly touristy and you'd actually witness plenty of marriage proposals, being able to visit as an adult to relive the many memories you spent going there as a kid growing up in The Bay Area, was a lot of fun.
People are still writing reviews because they are disappointed the place is gone....the restaurant where the floor moved!
Same as Lizzie, we came only for dessert. It was okay. Nothing special except for the view. Service wasn't that good.
You really can't beat the view of this restaurant. But that's pretty much all it has going for it.
When I first moved to SF, my parents and I came here for a celebration - yes, of course we'd end up at this restaurant with all the other tourists flocking to SF!!
The revolving restaurant is pretty cool - I was a little apprehensive at first because I thought it was going to make me sick, spinning all night didn't seem like it should go hand in hand with fine dining. Well, the "revolve" moves so slowly that you don't even notice and if you get lost in conversation, you'll suddenly realize that you are facing an entirely different direction. That was fun.
But everything else about this restaurant was just soooo mediocre, which is really disappointing. I've been to many other Hyatts and they have GREAT restaurants - what's up with this one? Service was actually QUITE poor, they weren't attentive at all and my Dad and I both had a steak which was so well done that we didn't even really want to eat it. Very, very disappointing.
Food alone, I think I'd give it a two. The view brings it up to three - but it's not that great of an asset if the food is no good! The SF Hyatt needs to get their act together, we like our food here too!
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The drinks here are strong! I was sad to see this place is closed. I think the restaurant revolved too slow.
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my boyfriend took me here as a suprise last year and it wasn't all that I thought it would be. The portions were really small and its kinda pricey, what you really pay for is the view.. The food didn't stand out to me much, the service was mediocre.. i'm not too upset that they closed. ;P
5 star for the view, but 3 stars for dessert and cocktail. My friends told me the food is below average here. Unfortunately my drinks were really weak...need more alcohol!! But we had a good time here.
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Two words: Union Employees
Seriously, the staff here must be union because it just oozes out of their pores and attitudes. We came here for dessert, irish coffee and port late-ish one evening and the server couldn't have been more...um...indifferent is probably the best way to describe the service.
I find this restaurant somewhat claustrophobic. You're just in this cramped circular tube going 'round and 'round. Seriously, if I were some union employee stuck in this space year after year feeling like I had to stick around because of my senority or whatever, I'd probably go nutz and be all surly, too.
So, we're sitting there admiring the view when um, STUFF starts rotating by on the window ledges. Technically, I guess it was us rotating by the stuff. Whatever. First we see some lime wedges, then we see this little sculpture...it was something like a wine cork, a grape and a butter ball. My bf handed me a sprig of mint and I added it to the sculpture by wedging it into the butter ball (wouldn't you?) Then, more random stuff came around. We were cracking up. Hey, we could have had a server that told us some jokes, or at least maybe cracked a smile, but instead we had rotating butter balls. Eventually, notes started showing up on the ledges, like "s.o.s." and "I need money" and then...they stopped. So then, Equinox started being totally boring and claustrophobic again and we left.
I'm giving it three stars (instead of less than three stars) because the dessert/irish coffee/port we had was good and because we had fun while we were here. If you come here, please consider doing your fellow patrons a favor and decorate the ledges with a treasure hunt of unexpected objects. Oh, and whomever you were that entertained us that night: thank you, thank you...you rule!
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I go there just because of the view and for a few cocktails with my girlfriends. Been there a few times for dinner and also once for the Sunday brunch. Dinner was okay but nothing spectacular, however, the brunch was really good - you got a variety of pastries to choose from. The staffs were nice and very attentive. Would def. go back again but too bad they closed.
I definitely paid the price for taking a friend up to this swanky slowed up gravitron ride. Ugh! I felt embarrassed but I was dizzy the entire time. The prices don't make it easier on the queasiness either. In any case, it's a one off for those tourist friends and family that come to visit. I can't believe I haven't yelped this place. In any case, go there for fun, ride up and down the elevators, have a $9 non-alcoholic beverage and put a napkin on the ledge and see if you can retrieve it after one go around.
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Too bad it is closing May 30. After that the place will be used only for private events. Equinox is a good place. I think the hotel didn't market it sufficiently. I, a native of San Francisco, didn't know it was up there until I saw the recent mention of its upcoming closing in the Chronicle.
Good food. Great service. Wonderful views. The appetizers we had, scallops and tuna, were of appropriate sizes for their prices. Our server warned us of one appetizer that wasn't. Our server all helped with the wine selection. Too bad it's closing. All around good experience.
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i loved the view that this place gave a 360 degree angle of the FIDI. the surf and turf entree was good, as well the point reyes seafood appetizer platter. we didn't pay a single penny at this place since we were hooked up by the GM.
I remember the very first time I was here. It was years ago and I was uncomfortable in a stupid long prom dress with a dam corset and everything. I felt like I couldn't breathe, and the damn rotating restaurant made it a bit worse.
What I do remember is that my steak sucked. It was overly well done. How the hell did I wind up with that?! I ordered it medium rare!
Don't mess up my meat! A girl has got to have her meat every now and then you know!? I was in high school and a bit shy and meek (believe it or not.. I get that way sometimes) and didn't send it back. I didn't want to be an asshat, especially during *GASP* prom night!
So anyway, that was $40 wasted. I've gone back a few times but seriously, you're paying for the view.
Mint mojitos are good here though, so they get a star for that, and the service is always good.
3 stars.
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I only loved my experience here because my then-boyfriend, now fiance bought a dress for me to wear out and he surprised me by going here. It was a clear night so you can see the buildings, the sky, and all. I do remember however that my chicken was dry. Pooey.
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This is the place that I've longed for since coming back to the Bay Area.
It HAD beautiful skyline views of the Bay and excellent cocktails and dessert. BUT... I did not know that it was freakin CLOSED for the past 2 months!!!
How dare they....
So... Im giving them one star. Until they straighten up their act and open up again. I MISS YOU EQUINOX!! COME BAACK!!
I ended up taking my business to the Fairmont and Top of the Mark on California ave.... 2 great places for views, cocktails and good company...
Alohaz...
Boring!! I took my BF because he's never been. (Lived here for 27 years and NEVER been to the Equinox?!? NO WAY!!) When we first got up there, they asked us if we had reservations. We said no, how long was the wait? When they told us 30 minutes, we must have looked like we were going to bail because they shoved one of those flashing pagers into our hands.
We took the elevator back downstairs and before we had been sitting two minutes on one of the sofas downstairs, our pager was flashing blue. We went back upstairs and were seated with, I have to admit, a pretty nice view of the Bay Bridge.
Go for dessert, drinks, and view. It's worth it for that.
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I would have given this 3.5 but seeing as i can't , 3 it will have to be !
So, i had a welsh bird in town , visiting SF for the first time ... woo hooo!! One of the things we wanted to do whilst she was in town was to dine in a restaurant on top of a building ( even though she's petrified of heights ! )
After much deliberation and shit reviews of pretty much all all of them we settled on Equinox as it revolves ! What a novel idea!
We made a reservation on the morning of our booking and arrived approx 30 mins before we were due to be seated. There were no signs as to how we were supposed to get to the top of the building. On entering the lobby (which was absolutely stunningly decorated for Chrimbo ), we asked directions and were told where to go. The restaurant has its own service lift.
I have got to say this part was disappointing for a few reasons. 1. it was very disorganized and 2. there was no where to sit and wait while the guy sorted his shit out. The chap then pro ceded to hand us a paper ticket with our name and a table number on it and off we went into the lift ! .....
The lift was cool as ! with views of the hotel it was a bit like something out of Charlie and the great glass elevator.
The restaurant itself was interesting. The decor a bit outdated, the lights weird but the experience exceptional. The revolving took a little to get used to but the views were spectacular.
The food...... we had the chicken skewers for starter and that was pretty good and then the fillet Mignon to follow which was delicious obviously with a side dish of Garlic mash ( ooooh yeah! ). The sauce with the steak was out of this world. The presentation was brilliant.
All in all we didn't think this restaurant was at all over priced - 2 courses, a coffee and bottle of plonk for 2 $140 - not bad ! The waiter was polite and accommodating, the rest rooms were tidy like and the food served quickly.
Definitely a place to take a date or family from out of town. The views just top it off!
I don't think it necessarily deserves the harsh reviews. Maybe we were just there on a good night!
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So ten years ago, eight of us spent $500 here without any alcohol. It was embarassing because it was my friend's prom night and I was tagging along because this girl friend of his needed a date. Well, when it came time to pay, half those high schoolers didn't bring enough to cover their part of the bill and I had to fork out a bunch. With all of that said, I felt like the excitement of being way up there and sitting with a bunch of goofs might have clouded my vision about the food but I recall it being only decent. I think I had seafood pasta. The service was good and the overall experience was great. I am very afraid of heights.
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Around and around and around it goes, and where the mediocrity stops, nobody knows.
(actually the mediocrity stops at the end of May, when it's scheduled to close)
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This place is very cozy.... nice ambiance... great view... of course it's a rotating restaurant (takes approximately an hour to complete the rotation) on top of Hyatt... good for romantic dates... food is good & pricey (what did one expect), but service is not that good (that's why I rated it 3 stars only).... waiters are not that "friendly" (needs more customer service)...
GREAT FOR DATE Rapists AND DOUCHE BAGS
Man is this thing moving? After hearing about a spinning restaurant, I really thought it would be neat to have a few drinks and head to the top for some freaking dessert. I guess its one of those things that you can take the touristy folk or 17 year old girls on dates, but not if you are a native San Franciscan.
Every time I go up here all I can think of is how cool would it be to see something crazy going on in one of the buildings as you as slowly "spinning into mediocrity" as one of the past reviewers said.
If this place could guarantee something new and exciting like a boss and secretary getting it on, then I could see what they charge as justified. Either that or have a ride for the 17 years on their first dates trying to get some.
I'm not sure how much oil to spin a restaurant costs, but apparently quite a bit. They might as well charge everybody 5 bucks entrance instead of beating me over the head with overpriced bland desserts.
Awesome views!!!!!!! But I think they changed the menu????????
When I last went a few years ago, it was awesome, I ordered the lobster, but when I went back two years ago, they did not have it? And I noticed a change in the menu. The food was also not as good as it once was. So, my fiancee was not impressed. The portions are also very tiny.
Oh well, so much for a romantic dinner.
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i go here quite a bit since i have a view of my next door neighbor's kitchen window at home. howdy neighbor!
great views of the downtown/bay from up top. make sure you get a seat on the outer ring (next to the windows). don't let the host(ess) try to sit you at a table on the inner ring. you'll still rotate, but you won't have as much fun.
as for the food? blah.
drinks? get beer. they can't dilute it.
it's quiet inside so you can carry a conversation with your honeyz. the only noisy areas are by the service door and the main entrance area.
come at night. it's better then.
rating: 2 wrenches and a drain
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It was really just an OK restaurant.
If you are taking a girl on a first date, it wouldn't such a bad idea. Since you don't want to go all out, BUT you want to impress a girl and show her nice view of SF, you can take her there. Other wise, the food is not so great and expensive, and if it's your bad luck day, you might be able to see anything out of the window besides the famous SF fog.
Another suggestion is to have a couple of drinks there only, or go when there's an event going on. I went there once when a party promoter rented the place. It was almost like high school prom but with alcohol beverages, so it was fun.
My ex and I took our moms here a couple of years ago for an extra special Mother's Day buffet brunch.
When we go for brunch in our family, we always expect and look forward to lots of breakfast items. You know, the omelets, the bacon, the pastries, etc. So we take them to this fancy dining room in the sky at the Hyatt Regency high above downtown San Francisco. We are seated at a nice table along the windows; the views are spectacular and the restaurant revolves slowly, so you eventually take in the entire 360 degree panorama.
Anyhow, the menus were passed around, and we were informed that each patron could select two breakfast items from the menu and then have the buffet portion as well. This seemed suspicious, but we played their game, ordered two items each, including french toast stuffed with cream cheese and raspberry jam and some other things, and ventured to the buffet. The buffet consisted only of asian finger foods including dim sum and sushi. A poor variety of cold meats, pickles and mundane looking pastries were offered, but no hot items or breakfast looking shit. We took what looked half edible and went back to the table, disheartened.
Our menu items arrived...cold and inedible, even the french toast stuffed with cream cheese and raspberry jam. My mom asked for some regular toast to put her poached eggs on. The response was "we don't have any". Well this is just absurd. So we summoned the manager who bickered with us over toast and explained that since the dining room was at the top of the hotel, and the kitchen is actually down at the bottom, only certain items are brought up, and those items DID NOT INCLUDE TOAST. The cackle of complaints coming from our two vocal moms started to grow. To avoid what he recognized as impending escalation, the manager said "ok, listen. I will take care of it." This, we interpretted to mean that he would take care of the bill. Were we wrong to interpret it that way? I mean, tell me if I'm wrong, please.
And this was no half price sale either. It was SPENSIVE. The four brunches would have set us kids back three hundy. So when we were done, we left and took the elevator back downstairs. Well, the manager comes running after us with a guard in tow, screaming about how we didn't pay the bill! He said what he meant was that he would take care of *part* of the bill, not the whole bill! The two moms didn't see eye-to-eye with the manager and proceeded with a vicious tag team pummelling, right in the porte cochere! Again recognizing the bitches' nest he had strolled into by re-opening this debate, he threw up his hands exclaiming "ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok, fine." and just walked away.
It certainly wasn't worth three hundy, but it sure was worth getting for free!!!! what a deal! yay mom! Happy Mother's Day!!!
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WARNING: OVERWHELMINGLY 80s slash early 90s.
I feel like this place is PERFECT if you're just going for a couple of cocktails and maybe an appetizer/dessert, especially if you want to try something new or impress out-of-towners. I don't think I'd go here for a full-blown dinner.
The actual establishment is in DESPERATE need of a makeover, it's very very very late 80s: But it's a fucking revolving restaurant!! That's hot!
We just had a couple glasses of wine and a boring chicken appetizer. (However, It was server with lotus root chips which I thought was very very original...I didn't even know that lotus had roots.) We went there for the view and had a wonderful time.
I thought our waitress was going to be stuffy at first, but she turned out to be hella funny. She was a sweetheart.
If this restaurant (actually, the whole hotel) got a fresh look, it would be a total hot spot. It's unfortunate that this restaurant is going to be turned into a banquet room, so go while you still can to check out the rotation factor.
It definately takes 5-10 minutes to get used to the fact that you are rotating!!
The point of going to Equinox is definitely for the view. I mean, the whole 360 thing, that's pretty sweet.
But the food. Eh, it's your standard restaurant with your standard meal. i mean, the proportions are way to small the insane price you pay. I mean, when the waiter served me my meal, I accidently said, "That's it?" I still wonder if the waiter heard me. But I swear, I expected some gigantic plate enough for 10 people for the price I was paying, but boy was I wrong.
The dessert was a little better. Still expensive, but it seemed like we were getting more dessert than the meal itself.
Definitely go here for the appitizer or drinks or anything other than the main course. But enjoy the view, it's fun just to sit and look out at the bay.
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Equinox is so passe.....
Good views and its cool to see the different angles of the city (revolving restaurant).
However, I would label them so poorly due to their awful service. My girlfriend and I had made reservations and planned to just have wine and dessert there, as we had dinner elsewhere. I guess that the rude eastern European waitress sensed a lower tip, so she was very short with us and sort of pushy, trying to get us to leave. Little did she know that we frequent fine restaurants in the city. This left such a bad taste in our mouths that we will not be going here again. If you want views, go to the Marriott or the Top of the Mark. If you want good food, you have a million better choices.
The view was incredible, the drinks were yumtacular and the entrees were good but I wouldn't really go here again for dinner. It's a great place to hang out on a good night and have drinks but the service was pretty heinous and entrees were good but overpriced. Some of the other people we went with said that the appetizers were mediocre too.
Blah...
The food was mediocre, the service was terrible.. it's a tourist trap. For all the wonderful hotel restaurants.. Someone needs to write Hyatt corporate!!!
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Overpriced food and drinks! What are they thinking? I do love the view though! If it's your first time there it should be fun but I think it will be your first and last time going there so enjoy the moment while it lasts!
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THIS PLACE IS CLOSED.
iI'm very sad to report that this restaurant has closed. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to go there and have a drink and now that I'm over 21 it's closed. They just closed three weeks ago and acording to the hotel receptionist at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero it is doubtful that it will ever reopen. It's sad, but it seems the era of revolving restaurants is passing.
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