Restaurateurs Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani, have truly outdone themselves in creating Ame their most recent food endeavor. Ame is housed in the graceful St Regis Hotel in San Francisco. This restaurant epitomizes zen elegance in both setting and food. Given the sublime flavors that are served here, Sone and Doumani couldnt have picked a more appropriate name for this restaurant. Ame, in French means soul and the masterful menu that combines Japanese, American, French and Italian influences is divinity that truly touches ones Ame! I tried the tasting menu but got to sample a vast array of dishes from what my family ordered. Oh Ame! What a gorgeous meal with fabulous service its a dining experience that truly speaks to ones soul! I, for one, cant wait to go back. therestaurantfairy.com.

A nice surprise. Our stay at the St Regis was complimented by our visit to Ame. The server was very patient with my family. She had great suggestions, including the delicious asparagus soup and Brussels sprout salad. My girls were thrilled w the pasta and fries (kids!) and we loved the half lobster and mirin cod.

Great tasting menu! Wonderful wine pairings!.

My wife and I celebrated our anniversary at the Ame. The meals were wonderful. The portions were just the right size, and left room for dessert ..... made that a very nice 3-course dinner. The staff were very friendly. We liked it very much..

Maybe Not..... If you ever think about coming here, save your money and pain and go to Namu. Way better executed food! Many things here from the service on the floor to the cocktail menu to the food, are not superb. This is our third restaurant with one Michelin star in the Bay area and again we felt like the restaurant didn't carry itself up to the reputation. Food: 3 stars We had: chawanmushi, "Ezo" abalone and Miyagi oysters, the pork chop and the cod. I was annoyed by the over usage of Japanese terms that are not true. When a Japanese person hears "Ezo" in front of abalone, we would think of a juicy fat one from Hokkaido. Apparently, this abalone is from Kona, Hawaii, and it's a farm raised tiny baby one. Which led us to wonder if the oysters were really from Miyagi pref. "Onsen Tamago" on the tartar is of course not cooked in the hot spring, but slow poached in the high tech oven. So why not just put as "slow poached egg"? Chawanmushi was average, and big, hence the $17 price tag. Chawanmushi litter ally means tea cup steam and it's usually served in tea cups in Japan. So that was a bit odd. The shellfish with shimeji was pretty good, but the heavy butter soy based sauce was a bit much. The pork chop dish was like breakfast on super charge with buttered up potato cake looking thing, and the pork itself not so wow. And the cod dish really looked like somebody just dumped the components in the bowl. The server gave us spoons to try the broth for the cod dish, and it was bad. There was no balance between sourness, salt, umami, and after 5 minutes into eating this dish my tongue started burning. This cod dish also came with 3 shrimp wonton looking stuff with undercooked dumpling skin. Beverage Program: 4 stars Major plus for their hot jozo sake with Fugu fin in it. 6 oz serving is perfect and we thought it could almost be served as soup. It was delicious. The cocktail list seemed like they focused too much on the sweeter side, to support the myth of Asian food should only be matched with sweet drinks. Wine list and sake list looked decent, and we loved the 05 Sauternes they had on the dessert wine list. Great! Service: 3.5 stars Was it because it was Sunday that they didn't care as much? Service here is very much like the one at hotel restaurants: polite and not personable. Our server was knowledgeable and nice enough, but not memorable. I don't know about their uniform. It makes them look like they are working at Holiday Inn. Decor/Atmosphere: 3.5 stars We loved the dark wood theme there. The restroom is stunning with this dark wood motif and marbles! Great to have an open kitchen, but then it should showcase energetic and passionate chefs. They all looked somewhat unfocused, hence the food. It was probably the "no-boss" night. The uniform of the servers, massive display of cheaper wine on the wall and the outdated table cloth liner really bring down the sophistication of the place. The fugu sake alone is not enough to bring us back. All of these above including tip was $175. This restaurant was build by a very smart Japanese person who decided to capitalize on Western fine dining scene's obsession and ignorance of Japanese ingredients..

Food/Fish was very fresh!!!. My first dining experience to Ame was just a few weeks ago on a Saturday night. I was expecting something with a little more flare being they have a Michelin Star and are located at the St Regis Hotel. There was no expectation of dress, you could dine casual or dressed for a night on the town. Staff was very attentive and helpful. We started with a few appetizers of fish the tea crusted yellow fin tuna and Chilled Capellini Pasta with American Sturgeon Caviar, Lightly Smoked Ocean Trout and Meyer Lemon Oil. Both were excellent. For our main courses we had Grilled Hokkaido Scallops, Half Maine Lobster, and King Trumpet Mushrooms on Gai-lan with Yuzu and Green Garlic Butter Sauce and Pan Roasted Pancetta Wrapped Rabbit Loin on a Ragout of Rabbit Legs, Artichokes, New Potatoes and Foie Gras Game Sauce. The scallops and lobster was a generous portion on food that I truly enjoyed. The Rabbit was rather plain and did not make any great impressions. We finished the dinner with Cherry and Noyau Souffl Glacer with Cinnamon Sugar Donuts. This was excellent and a great way to end the meal. If you are looking for just a few drinks and some sushi they have a bar menu and sushi bar in the restaurant as well. I may give this a try in the future..

Ame..Simplicity is Everything. I ate only two things a few nights ago because I had to run, sea urchin bruschetta with lardo, lemon, and sea salt and the fresh crudo of the day, being scallop and amberjack. The crudo speaks for itself, light and fresh with a nice pop of salt. The Italian lardo and uni bruschetta is a regular favorite of mine at Ame. Odd combination? Absolutely not. It works and it works very well. The lardo is paper thin and slightly warmed through, the uni is as fresh as it can get. It may be an acquired set of tastes, but this combination is beyond the standard uni on rice is a sushi restaurant. Challenge the palate and order this next time you sit at Ame's sushi counter..

Why do they deserve a Michlin star? Not recommended.. Many things here from the service on the floor to the cocktail menu to the food, are not superb. This is our third restaurant with one Michelin star in the Bay area and again we felt like the restaurant didn't carry itself up to the reputation. Food: 3 stars We had: chawanmushi, "Ezo" abalone and Miyagi oysters, the pork chop and the cod. I was annoyed by the over usage of Japanese terms that are not true. When a Japanese person hears "Ezo" in front of abalone, we would think of a juicy fat one from Hokkaido. Apparently, this abalone is from Kona, Hawaii, and it's a farm raised tiny baby one. Which led us to wonder if the oysters were really from Miyagi pref. "Onsen Tamago" on the tartar is of course not cooked in the hot spring, but slow poached in the high tech oven. So why not just put as "slow poached egg"? Chawanmushi was average, and big, hence the $17 price tag. Chawanmushi litterally means tea cup steam and it's usually served in tea cups in Japan. So that was a bit odd. The shellfish with shimeji was pretty good, but the heavy butter soy based sauce was a bit much. The pork chop dish was like breakfast on super charge with buttered up potato cake looking thing, and the pork itself not so wow. And the cod dish really looked like somebody just dumped the components in the bowl. The server gave us spoons to try the broth for the cod dish, and it was bad. There was no balance between sourness, salt, umami, and after 5 minutes into eating this dish my tongue started burning. This cod dish also came with 3 shrimp wonton looking stuff with undercooked dumpling skin. Beverage Program: 4 stars Major plus for their hot jozo sake with Fugu fin in it. 6 oz serving is perfect and we thought it could almost be served as soup. It was delicious. The cocktail list seemed like they focused too much on the sweeter side, to support the myth of Asian food should only be matched with sweet drinks. Wine list and sake list looked decent, and we loved the 05 Sauternes they had on the dessert wine list. Great! Service: 3.5 stars Was it because it was Sunday that they didn't care as much? Service here is very much like the one at hotel restaurants: polite and not personable. Our server was knowledgeble and nice enough, but not memorable. I don't know about their uniform. It makes them look like they are working at Holiday Inn. Decor/Atmosphere: 3.5 stars We loved the dark wood theme there. The restroom is stunning with this dark wood motif and marbles! Great to have an open kitchen, but then it should showcase energetic and passionate chefs. They all looked somewhat unfocused, hence the food. It was probably the "no-boss" night. The uniform of the servers, massive display of cheaper wine on the wall and the outdated table cloth liner really bring down the sophistication of the place. The fugu sake alone is not enough to bring us back. All of these above including tip was $175. This restaurant was build by a very smart Japanese person who decided to capitalize on Western fine dining scene's obsession and ignorance of Japanese ingredients.

Great Service. Had probably the best waiter I've had in soooo long at Ame. Knew the menu; made really good and confident recommendations. rolled with our confusion; made us feel welcome. and the Boudin Tart was incredible..