my Chez Panisse reservation was cancelled due to the fire, so I need a couple real interesting places for dinner for four in SF. BYO or good wine list. I like Slanted Door and Boulevard, for example. What are the places we should try?
alan
Kokkari, Spruce, Bix, La Folie, Acquerello, Bobos, HoPR
Also, heard good things about Sons and Daughters but haven’t been there.
RN74 was really fun.
Cool vibe/energy, great list.
I thought the food was very good.
High end: Atelier Crenn. Very interesting to say the least.
Great at unbelievable price point: Commonwealth. Also innovative and good. Small interesting list. I BYO’d my last visit in Feb.
My two go to places are Quince and Boulevard. Quince is more upscale.
Perbacco is a good more moderate place.
I’m going to Saison and Boulevard this next trip.
Quince is top tier, but will cost you a bit more than Boulevard or Slanted Door. It’s more formal as well, though quite comfortable. Probably my favorite, though there are many restaurants I haven’t been. AQ is definitely an interesting place, bit more casual and active than Quince.
I don’t know of any place where BYO is not allowed. I do know that Aquerello is conservative on this - we brought a bottle that had several vintages represented on their posted wine list, but not the vintage we brought. There was some discussion regarding this, but they handled it professionally. Their wine service is always top notch.
I like Spruce and always Aquerello. Boulevard has slipped from the top tier of my list. Just has not done it for me the last visits out of at least a dozen or more. Still a very good restaurant, but you know that.
Perbacco was nice, but not up to the level of Spruce. The service was excellent and the attention they paid to a bottle of wine I brought in the door was outstanding. Food was very good.
I would never go to Slanted Door again. The attitude of service at the bar for lunch was poor (I was there in July), both parties on either side of me were suffering through the same, and whoever thought up their restroom plan must have been out of his/her mind. I would not go there for that reason alone.
Would love to hear your thoughts about Saison after you go.
I was at the old location, it was the best meal of the year last year (base price something like $178 for the full chef’s menu).
However the new location is insanely pricey, $248 base price, with it being $298 some days. No intermediate option available (you can get an $88 canape menu, maybe only at the bar). I didn’t know it when I made my reservation, and almost cancelled, but decided to go ahead. Food last time was absolutely phenomenal, the best meal of the year (in a year that included great meals at Jean George, Marea, Quince, Menton, Le Cinq, and others).
I went to Quince and RN74 in the fall, and enjoyed both quite a bit.
That said, Quince really feels like a neighborhood joint for the super 1%, and their wine list is priced accordingly. It’s neat to see multiple vintages of DRC Montrachet on a list, but doesn’t really help folks in my portion of the pool much… I ended up with a rinaldi barolo by the glass…
RN74 has a really exciting wine list, or to me it did. We ended up with a 96 chevillon, a 02 Montille volnay, and some Hudelot-Noellat CM from maybe 01/02, all for around 130-160 a bottle. Not cheap, but wines I really enjoyed, for prices I could stomach.
Cotogna next door to Quince is more casual and very good mid tier cal-italian. The porchetta on weekends is legendary and sells out quickly.
You can request and order wines off the impressive Quince wine list when at Cotogna. They will provide grand cru stems.
So many new restaurants in San Francisco it’s hard to say where to begin. I am not a fan of Quince and would agree it is sort of for the Super 1%. Tusk is a total prick with his staff too. That said, I have not been to new location so YMMV (Tusk won JB award two years ago and Debin his pastry chef is hot stuff right now so it might be a smart option).
For restaurants that have been around for a while Spruce is a great choice. Because it’s off in Laurel Village it’s not really an expense account restaurant like Kokkari, RN74 or Boulevard. The food is better and the staff very pleasant.
There are a lot of Slanted Door haters but I still like the place. You just need to know how to order. I have been there at least 30 times.
Frances up near Castro is great and a recent Michelin star winner. Off the beaten path too.
I’d skip Commonwealth unless you want to hang in the Mission. There are other better places like Bar Tartine, Mission Chinese and Bar Agricole.
Sons And Daughters is totally great and even more so when you consider neither chef has any formal training. They took a bad location and turned it into gold. Walking distance from Union Square.
Agree with Gene’s take on Slanted door and Frances. The few times I’ve gone to Quince I’ve brought my own wine. $40 corkage, but the service is impeccable. No idea how the staff gets treated in the back, but up front they are excellent.
Our last trip we went to Farallon for the first time and the food, wine list/som, and service as great. Would definitely go back any time were staying near Union Square.
Went to Boulevard again and loved it as others and OP have said.
RN74 and Burbon Steak have not disappointed either especially as the later has Krug by the glass.
So many great places to dine and so little time.
If Kokkari is as good as its sister restaurant in Palo Alto (Evvia) I would give that a shot. I like Boulevard and RN74, but they are less unique, IMO. Slanted Door is always good.
La Ciccia is very nice Alan. Interesting well-priced Italian list. You will be able to speak with the people you are dining with too, sometimes a plus.
We like Commonwealth but generally enjoy the Mission District.
Rich Table or A.Q.
Boulevard and Acquerello are our go to places. We have had outstanding experiences at both several times.
We had excellent sushi at Sushi Aka Tombo (in Japan Town) last time- maybe our best meal.
Lers Ros is not too far behind Lotus of Siam for Thai food.
Phenomenal Banh Mi at Saigon Sandwich. It’s a total dive. Take out only. Only open for lunch.
The food at Perbacco was very good. The service was terrible. We won’t go back.
Rich Table is excellent; had a great dinner there this month.