Please bear in mind that break requirements are set by legal standards that were written without regard for the flow of service or the guest experience. As a server, I am required to step of the floor when my break is due regardless of where I am with any given table. It is not professional but because of the legal structure around hours and when breaks must be given, my managers have no choice and neither do I. None of us like it.

I live in Hayes Valley and would like to add some color commentary to the above "review."

To get the late night dinner menu (serving till midnight thru Wed and 1AM Thurs thru Sat) the Absinthe Group had to sacrifice the full liquor license. The SF Alcohol Police said they could only have one or the other at Boxing Room, and since they have a stellar bar at Absinthe on the same block the choice was clear....

Kudos and props therefore to Boxing Room and The Ansinthe Group for making the right decision to encourage late night dining.

Nowhere in the above review is a mention of the price of these items, which, regardless of "authenticity" (always flummoxed by people that think it can travel a few thousand miles and be perfect- I can guarantee the veggies are better here in any respect) is nothing short of a steal. You ABSOLUTELY get what you pay for.

Kudos therefore to Boxing Room for making this great place actually affordable.

Re the service- I have had my meal "picked up" in mid course a million times by another server on staff...this happens all the time in restaurants. What I know for a FACT is going at Boxing Rom is long shifts....and half an hour breaks are therefore MANDATED by CALIFORNIA LABOR LAW. This in fact happened to us Saturday night at Boxing Room. It was no big deal..the food had been ordered, and nothing suffered as a result. We just got to meet someone else who was equally nice to us.

In fact, all kinks re service etc, were not appearance Saturday night...we were spoiled rotten.

I don't know anywhere else in the city you can get this kind of meal with this kind of cuisine and this service for such a staggeringly reasonable price. I am happy to live a block away and looking forward to sampling everything on this menu. Keep it up guys!

Tey

The Boxing Room.
When reading this review, please note that we dined at the Boxing Room on their official opening evening and, as expected, there are a few kinks to work out.
Given the well earned pedigree of the proprietors, we had high hopes and great expectations for our dinner at The Boxing Room. We were disappointed. Arriving a bit early for our dinner, we were seated at the bar while waiting for our table. That was fine with me as I had been looking forward to a well made sazerac all day. Not possible. Only wine and beer is on offer. Disappointing. Once we were seated at a great booth by the window, I had imagined that the food would be the star, given that the cocktails were nonexistent. Also not true. We started with the fried alligator, hush puppies, and squid. The fried alligator was just that, fried. The alligator meat itself was totally indecipherable from the heavy breading and cloying dipping sauce. The hush puppies were delicious however and the squid was on the better side of average. For dinner I had the half-order portion of crawfish etouffee. The crawfish themselves were sadly miniscule is size and the etouffee was a bit gritty and no better than just so-so. Having had the same dish in NoLa (perfectly prepared) and Justin's commitment to keeping it La. real, the Boxing Room's interpretation of this Louisiana staple is not acceptable. While we skipped desert given the richness of the meal, some in our party ordered coffee which was quite good. Now for the service, let's start at the bar. The bartended was busy at one point when I attempted to get her attention , she basically snapped at me and told me "I am busy and will get to you!". That's just not acceptable anywhere, anytime. Next, on to our waitress at dinner: She was honest about admitting what she didn't know when questioned by our demanding group. She seemed fine and friendly for a new restaurant, up until the point where she informed us that she would have to leave and introduced a new waitress who would be finishing our meal service. I did not like this. It is neither professional nor acceptable. If she had a real emergency and had to leave, it's understandable. If she just wanted to go home/out/elsewhere, this is not acceptable. I suppose we will never know... Now for the décor and atmosphere: This is a very cool, hip space. Lots of exposed wood, high ceilings, great lighting features, and comfortable tables make for a great evening with friends. The noise level is acceptable as well. In summary, there is great potential. Until the kinks are worked out, I would only go back for a quick snack if I happened to be in the neighborhood. For now, if you want this style of cuisine in sf go to elite cafe.

Entrée reviews from others in our group:

Smoked Chicken & Andouille Sausage Gumbo:
Even a good dose of hot sauce could not repair the lack of seasoning and flavor. Though the shredded chicken had a strange aftertaste, and left me wondering if this was the missing alligator meat from our fried gator appetizer.

Crab salad and dirty rice (2 separate items):
Salad was good, crab was fresh and tasty
Dirty rice was delicious

Brooke Author is self proclaimed. I know better bartenders that work at TGIF's.