Great quality, incompetent service. At the sushi bar, everything served almost simultaneously. After chef said sashimi comes first, then sushi, then cooked food , I got the cooked food almost immediately, the sushi two minutes after the Kama (yellowtail cheeks), then soup comes two minutes after so I have to put the soup in front of the chair next to me and the Kama in front of the seat next to that.
I saw no budget options that warranted bib gourmand. Fish was great but service made it unenjoyable, especially for $200.
Tbh, Iām kind of baffled by the proliferation of tasting menu restaurants in SF. I kind of wish chefs/restauranteurs would take note about what is happening in New York and Paris and start opening more casual, a la carte restaurants and wine bars. I would kill to have a place of like Claud in San Francisco.
Being tethered to a dinner table for 2-3 hours to be forced march through a tasting menu is getting old.
I like San Ho Won, but other than that, I canāt think of a single new higher-end restaurant that has opened recently that has been particularly exciting (though I may just be out of the loop). (granted, Mijote is also solid).
Iāve read the most recent posts in this topic but still have an open question: Where do you advice me to dine in three weeks time if I just want two-three courses, preferably french/italian bistro/trattoria food of high quality? These tasting menus do not appeal to me at all when I dine alone and Iāve no knowledge what so ever on the SF dining scene. Wine list is secondary even a good list of course is preferred. Please advice.
TIA
I did just this at Flour & Water. They do their pasta courses in half sizes so I tried three half portions and really enjoyed it. They accept walk ins and have a communal table or bar for individual guests.
All of the above mentioned are good a la carte options. Here are some others:
For Italian, I like Cotogna a lot. Pastas are consistently excellent (itās the casual sister restaurant to Quince). Delfina in the Mission is also good, though I would probably go to either Cotogna or Flour and Water if I could only go to one Italian restaurant. I havenāt been to Sorella yet, but I hear good things (sister restaurant to Acquerello ā wine list is pretty good too).
Maybe it is just me, but I actually donāt know of too many standout casual French bistros in SF. Monsieur Benjamin (run by the same team that runs Benu) serves well-executed Bistro classics, but is a little boring, perhaps. It also has excellent desserts. Mijote is a prix fixe menu (3 or 4 courses if I remember correctly), but not a tasting menu death march. Food is more creative than Monsieur Benjamin.
If you are willing to expand to New American food, you canāt go wrong with the following: State Bird Provision or The Progress; Ernest; Rich Table; or Octavia.
Swan Oyster Depot would be a fun, only-in-SF experience for lunch if you are willing to endure the 1 hour+ wait. More convenient would be Hog Island Oyster Co. at the Ferry Building, sitting outside looking at the Bay and the beautiful view of the Bay Bridge. Sotto Mare in North Beach serves a great rendition of Cioppino if you want to try something inimitably SF-specific (Anchor Oyster Bar also has a good Cioppino, though I prefer Sotto Mare).
I was at State Bird last night and 3/4 or more (several dishes) of the passed dishes were vegetarian. And there are a few on the permanent menu. The person sitting next to me at the counter was vegetarian and he was very happy. Not sure how many were Vegan. I had 5 or 6 of them and all were great.
Any recs for a fun daytime wine bar? Iām planning to do lunch at Cotogna but no other plans for the one day Iāll be in the city. Been a number of times so done all the standard touristy things. Thanks!
Robertās recommendations are great. I will add that the wine bar is actually next to Absinthe (which is the restaurant); itās called Arlequin. Great selection and a nice patio area to sit (but we havenāt been in years, so that information may be outdatedā¦)
Oakland actually has the best wine bars IMO if youāre willing to cross the Bay. Punchdown and Ordinaire are top (natural wines, of course ;)) as is Snail Bar (although they open a bit later in the day).
Went to Bodega tonight, upscale Vietnamese with really creative dishes and super yummy flavors.
They have a ādecentā wine list with some Rieslingās among others.
We did the 9 course tasting menu which is a collection of stuff on their menu - they are flexible with substitutes.
Highly recommended.
Btw bodega stands for Bo De Ga which means beef lamb chicken.
