August (1) Five has been on my radar for awhile. A lot of people claim curry is the national dish of the UK, and I did grow to love it quite a bit while I was there. It also makes it hard to find a good place to get some amazing Indian food in the U.S. (as most places I’ve tried have been subpar in comparison), so when I heard how good the food was, it was definitely a place to give a go. Funnily enough, when I had a friend visiting from London who wanted to get brunch, it was one of the many places I suggested, and she was immediately drawn to the Indian-style chicken and waffles that was on the menu. (I swear, she can probably eat fried chicken daily.) So I booked us in for the brunch, and we arrived eager to give it a try.
When we arrived, we saw several cocktails that we wanted to try, and I decided to start with The Lebowski, which is their take on the classic White Russian (which I assume anyone who has seen the film would have figured out). It was made with actual coffee, so I not only got to start the boozing portion of brunch, but I got a hit of coffee as well! It was a great drink, and not too sweet, with a great coffee kick to it. Foodwise, we decided on the Gol Guppa to start, and my two dining companions both chose the chicken and waffles. I decided I had to go with something different, so I opted for the buffalo keema.
Now, at this point, the service was getting a bit wonky. Apparently the computer system was down, and this was a reasonable excuse in their mind. After waiting a very long time for our cocktails and starter, they finally arrived. The Gol Guppa was really tasty. It’s basically tiny, hollow shells that are filled with some vegetables, and there are some flavored waters to pour into the shells. Then you put it all in your mouth. I had them before at a street cart in London, and these ones were probably better. They had a selection of different waters to pour in. As there were only six shells, we had two each, but I kind of wanted to order another plate! We all decided to order more cocktails as well, and I wanted to have the Patiala Peg which is made out of scotch and several herbal liquors. It sounded like my kind of drink. Which was then delivered to my visiting friend. Who then wanted it for herself (as she preferred it to the one she ordered). Since I’m a kind person, I mentioned that she should order it for her next drink, and promptly took it for myself.
Finally our food arrived. Well actually, it wasn’t our food because it was neither chicken and waffles nor keema. With the lack of a computer system, they apparently couldn’t figure out exactly which tables were ordering. (You know, because no one ever had to manage tables and orders by hand. I’m pretty sure that I had to do that in the 90s, and I managed to keep it under control.) Finally they delivered my keema. To the table next to us. But they quickly realized that the keema was indeed not an avocado salad, and they brought it to me. They eventually brought the two chicken and waffles as well. There was a bit of concern as the waffle was a dosa waffle, and we weren’t sure exactly how they were going to make the thin pancake batter into a waffle.
Tastewise, the keema was clearly the winner of the two dishes. The mince had a great spiced flavor and the buns that came with it were light and fluffy. The addition of an egg on top was really a great idea, but the bacon on the side seemed a bit superfluous for the dish. I mean I love bacon, but with all the mince, a couple of slices on the side just felt thrown in. The chicken and waffles were a bit odd. The chicken was marinated chicken, but then kind of rolled up into small nuggets, so they were ended up being a bit dry. And the waffle was a bit flimsy. The chile syrup it came with was pretty special though. I think the whole table agreed that the keema was the clear star of the dishes on the table.
We also decided to try some dessert. And more cocktails to go with them, so we had an order of Patiala Pegs to go around, as clearly I had won the cocktail game as well. We decided on the sticky toffee pudding (because well, somehow I’ve become very British, and I’ve grown a bit attached to the dessert) and the chocolate fondant with butterscotch ice cream. But before they arrived, they again tried to give us another table’s order. They were both good, but the ooziness of the fondant (lava cake) was perfect, and the butterscotch ice cream was fantastic. I liked the sticky toffee pudding, but it needed to have more of a sauce on it to make it really special. It didn’t stop us from eating all of it though.
August (1) Five was an interesting brunch experience. The venue itself is fairly clean and modern, but it wasn’t that exciting visually. The service seemed all over the place (blamed on the computer system, but it does seem a bit odd), and the food was mostly really good. However, the chicken and waffles needs a revamp, as it just seemed like there were a few things wrong with the plate. The keema makes me want to go back to try dinner, but not really in a way that I’m in a rush to get back. I think if people I knew wanted Indian, then I would definitely suggest it as a place to go, but I think there’s a world of restaurants in San Francisco I’m eager to try before rushing back here.
Food: ★★★★☆
Service: ★★★☆☆
Atmosphere: ★★★★☆
Value: ★★★☆☆
Overall: ★★★★☆
August (1) Five
524 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
Too bad the service was so terrible, because the food looks wonderful! I am so curious about the Gol Guppa; I can’t imagine how they taste but they are so charming and fun! What were the flavors of water that came with them?
(I also love that your brunch included dessert and multiple rounds of drinks. My kind of eatin’!)
Brunch isn’t brunch without booze. Otherwise it’s just breakfast. The flavors are grape, fruit punch, mint, tamarand and mango.
The service wasn’t terrible, just all over the place!