Serving Since

San Francisco

Serving since

1949

77 years in San Francisco

House of Prime Rib

San Francisco · American

Go here for
Prime rib carved tableside · Yorkshire pudding · Creamed spinach
Why go
Prime rib carved tableside from rolling carts, with Yorkshire pudding and creamed spinach, on Van Ness since 1949.
Local character
Locals + visitors. Time Out says it is just as popular with tourists as with locals.
Good to know
Reservations are hard to get, especially for larger parties.
Directions Official website

Why it matters

Lou Balaski founded House of Prime Rib in 1949. Joe Betz bought it in 1985 and ran it for 40 years, until his death in September 2025. His sons, Michael and Steven Betz, now own and run it.

The menu is narrow: prime rib carved tableside from meat carts, with salad tossed at the table, Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. The official site says the beef is aged 21 days.

During the pandemic it closed for about six months. Joe Betz said it would take roughly two weeks after "6 months of being closed" to rehire staff and age the beef, and it planned to reopen in mid-October 2020.

The story

  1. 1949Lou Balaski opens House of Prime Rib3
  2. 1985Joe Betz buys the restaurant3
  3. 2020Announces an October reopening after about six months closed5
  4. 2025Joe Betz dies; sons Michael and Steven Betz take over2
  5. TodayStill serving San Francisco

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Details

Address
1906 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94109
Ownership
Family-owned
Status
Open · verified Sep 2026

OldScore

A secondary, editorial measure. The founding year above is the fact that matters most. How it works.

Age22/ 35
Continuity15/ 20
Local significance10/ 20
Local food culture5/ 15
Independence10/ 10
OldScore62/ 100

Local character: Locals + visitors. Time Out says it is just as popular with tourists as with locals. This is separate from OldScore: a place can be popular with visitors and still belong here.

More like this

Sources

  1. House of Prime Rib (official site) Founding year, Address, What to order, Current status
  2. San Francisco Examiner, Natalia Gurevich, "House of Prime Rib maintains Joe Betz legacy during holidays" (Nov 27, 2025) Founding year, History, Ownership, What to order, Current status
  3. The San Francisco Standard, George Kelly, "Joe Betz, owner of House of Prime Rib, dies at 86" (Sep 24, 2025) Founding year, History, Ownership, What to order
  4. Gazetteer SF, Olivia Peluso, "The prime of Mr. Joe Betz" (Oct 1, 2025) History, Ownership, What to order
  5. Hoodline, Jay Barmann, "House of Prime Rib readies to reopen at 25-percent capacity" (Oct 6, 2020) Founding year, History
  6. Time Out San Francisco, 'House of Prime Rib' History