It was my turn for our monthly “discovery” date night and after discovering there was a parade going on in Casco Viejo, chose somewhere closer to home with good reviews - which led us to this hidden gem.
It’s located in the heart of San Francisco’s restaurant “alley” as I call it, many alternatives are in close proximity. There are a few parking spots beside it, however, they offer discretionary tipping valet service, which is certainly the way to go.
We were greeted right away at the entrance and they were expecting us from my reservation. We were immediately seated at our intimate table, just past the glass encased private dining area. The dining room is very neat, clean with comfortable seating. Love the pristine white tablecloth with intimate lighting at each table. The ambiance is fantastic - we felt a bit as if we were transported to France with the decor, menu and understated background music. It’s more spacious than the exterior implies, making for a very comfortable and relaxed ambiance.
On to the meal itself - the menu offers French/Mediterranean cuisine fused with Latin influences, making for a variety of tasty offerings.
We landed on the following:
Appetizer - Steamed veal filet dumplings: Excellent starter, covered with a very tasty brown sauce that added the right amount of sweet yet slightly spicy flavor to extremely tender veal filet filling. An absolute winner!
Main course (wife) - she had the Creamy Risotto with mushrooms and skirt steak - very tender steak, cooked to perfection, with a really nice risotto that was a touch salty than ideal.
Main course (me) - I had the half rack of lamb with house fried potatoes - the lamb chops are pistachio crusted, served with a delicious sauce of chimichurri, masala, quinoa and squash that was a perfect marriage with the precisely cooked lamb and fresh pan fried potatoes. I hadn’t had lamb chops in years and this was an ideal way to end that streak. Chased it with a glass of Malbec, it was a great combination.
Desert - Tartar tatin - another winner, a great way to finish an excellent meal. This is a caramelized apple hojaldre a la mode with vanilla ice cream that was just sweet enough, without being heavy. Ideal portion and taste to end the night.
The service was very attentive, everyone made us feel welcome and at home and appreciative that we chose to dine with them. Milena was our server and was excellent throughout. Chef Alfredo is clearly top-notch and runs the kitchen like a well-oiled machine. The timing of all our plates were perfect and combined with the ambiance and food quality, this was one of the dining highlights of the year so far, for us.
If you’re looking for an intimate, classy, high quality dining experience, in our opinion, this is a must do.
