Last night, my boyfriend took me out to dinner in San Francisco. We go out to dinner often, but what made this particular night unique was the restaurant. He refused to tell me what the name of the restaurant was, but when we arrived at the pier, I assumed we were going to the Hard Rock Cafe. When we walked right past it and down toward the water, I was confused. My boyfriend was headed for a small gray telephone located at the end of a long dock, right at the water’s edge. He used the phone to summon a shuttle boat. I had no idea what was going on, and at this point I imagined we were going to have dinner in the middle of San Francisco Bay. Surprisingly, my assumption turned out to be correct. The boat took us to a small island, and as the wind blew, the palm trees weren’t the only things moving; the entire piece of land was moving. I found out later that this was because Forbes Island is a man-made, floating island.
We dined next to a huge fireplace in an underwater dining room with small portholes all around, which offered incredible views of the bay, all beneath the water’s surface. The menus were quite brief and exclusive, lacking many options. Nevertheless, the food was incredible. After dinner, we walked up an antique, spiral staircase to the top of the lighthouse. From there, we could see the entire bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, even the huge skyscrapers located in Downtown San Francisco.
I was shocked that I had gone to the pier so many times and never noticed this floating island restaurant. This might be due to the fact that it was originally built in Sausalito, by a millionaire houseboat designer to be his own, private floating home. The island was moved later to its recent location at the pier in San Francisco. The experience was utterly amazing and I can’t wait to go back, perhaps for Christmas, when lights will shine all over the city. Although somewhat pricy, it's my duty to recommend this place to anyone looking for something entirely new to try.
We dined next to a huge fireplace in an underwater dining room with small portholes all around, which offered incredible views of the bay, all beneath the water’s surface. The menus were quite brief and exclusive, lacking many options. Nevertheless, the food was incredible. After dinner, we walked up an antique, spiral staircase to the top of the lighthouse. From there, we could see the entire bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, even the huge skyscrapers located in Downtown San Francisco.
I was shocked that I had gone to the pier so many times and never noticed this floating island restaurant. This might be due to the fact that it was originally built in Sausalito, by a millionaire houseboat designer to be his own, private floating home. The island was moved later to its recent location at the pier in San Francisco. The experience was utterly amazing and I can’t wait to go back, perhaps for Christmas, when lights will shine all over the city. Although somewhat pricy, it's my duty to recommend this place to anyone looking for something entirely new to try.
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