Annabelles Bistro

Annabelle's Bistro
68 Fourth Street
415-777-1200

Annabelle's Bistro has been around almost a century and will likely be around another century if owner philanthropist Charles Mosser has his way. Originally known as The Keystone and a fine dining establishment of the highest standards, it has maintained that distinction since first opening in 1913 at this location. It's the street level presence of the Mosser Hotel located between Market and Mission on bustling Fourth Street, and kitty corner from Metreon and Moscone Center. Well maintained and stylish with fine patterned tile floors, period lighting, large nouveau poster art and a long mahogany bar with good buzz and spirits. High ceilings, mustard walls with lots of detail woodwork and molding accented in white enamel, it's soothing and striking and inviting at the same time. They serve a good burger here and in balance the drawbacks don't really cancel the pluses. A small patty of seasoned but good beef is char grilled to order and served on a charred poppy seed bun that for me is the highlight of this burger experience. Crispy and crunchy and just about perfect in density and absorbency, the bun is a match made in heaven for the meat and melted cheddar cheese. The cheese, although melted, was skimpy as were the fixings which left a bad taste but try and they might the burger was still darn good. No tomato was on the plate and instead of lettuce there were some flat leaved greens on which were four slices of house made pickles which were outstanding. The fries were great, delicious, and I could quickly become addicted. Seasoned and saffron colored, they arrived hot and were finished before I even took a bite of the burger.

Annabelle's is an ambitious restaurant, catering to tourists, locals and regulars from around the globe and is part of the historic Mosser Hotel which adds another dimension to its customer base, so its always busy, but its intolerable when a major convention is taking place nearby at Moscone Center. The staff is not up to the standard of the kitchen and owner, but are pleasant enough. It's always frustrating to be served good food by servers who don't know anything about it, and when the restaurant prides itself on local, organic and top notch ingredients it is sad that the staff is blithely unaware and unable to answer simple questions for interested customers. The burger is good, but could be great.