Local Kitchen & Wine Merchant
Categories: Wine Bars, Italian [Edit]
Neighborhood: SOMA330 1st St
(between Folsom St & Guy Pl)
San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 777-4200
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Mon-Wed 5:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Thu-Fri 5:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
Sat-Sun 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Sat 5:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
Sun 5:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Music: DJ
- Best Nights: Thu, Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour: Yes
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
- Smoking: No
- Coat Check: No
238 Reviews for Local Kitchen & Wine Merchant
One of Local Kitchen & Wine Merchant's Favorite Reviews
Local is one of my favorite places in SF to eat/drink. Not only is the space amazing, sexy and interesting but the food is great. The portions are a great value for the prices and that is so surprising to me! The pizzas are great, the fish dishes are always impressive. It looks like the news stand at the front has gone away and that is okay. If you are here with a date most likely you'll be talking rather than perusing a magazine. Anyone I take here is impressed which makes me look good! Thanks Local.
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Free wine tasting at Local! And I love it!
Local's wine tasting room usually has wine tasting/featured wine merchant from time to time and it's always free. We were there on a Wed and the place was full. Though, Thursday nights are always the best.
Mark, the sommelier/partner is always nice to us when we visit for food and drinks. Get any of the pizzas, truffle fries, and appetizer to share. Yummy!
I have been to Local Kitchen 5-6 times now and I am always satisfied when I leave. I love the atmosphere and staff inside as well as the food.
Last night I was there with a friend and we started out with the mussel and clam appetizer and a fresh mozarella salad with arugula and chili peppers (the peppers were a nice change to a traditional caprese salad!). For our main course we shared the pizza special of the day which was a chicken sausage pizza with goat cheese. And for dessert we had the chocolate pine nut torte. I thought everything was delicious! I cant wait to go back.
Also they have a wine club that you can get two bottles of wine per month for only $50!
Too much build up might have tainted my experience here.
I was so excited to finally try this place out. Two of my friends and I got ourselves together and were making a night of it. Dinner and drinks. My friend picked Local and we were thrilled.
The menu looked good, things were going well, the conversation was good, except whoops...is it only me or has it been forever since we ordered? No, it wasn't only me. After about 40 or so minutes are every-so-congenial server informed us that there was a slight mix-up with our food and that it has been delivered to some other table and now, they were making our order over again. Don't know why she hadn't mentioned it before, but of course I was famished because I hadn't eaten anything all day. She (semi) made it up to us when she brought us over 3 glasses of wine, compliments of the manager. However, they should have brought us over a platter of fries had they really been trying to make it up to us. C'mon now...everyone loves fries, much less a platter of them! Whatever, guess it's the thought that counts...
Thank goodness we had ordered a pizza as an app. The pizza was SO good. Thin, crispy crust, topped with cherry tomatoes, basil, and goat cheese (though truthfully I had to scrape that cheese off of my pizza because I'm not too big on cheese). Shortly after gobbling down my share of the pizza, our entrees finally arrived. I had ordered linguine with chorizo and clams and crushed red pepper. Hmm...packed less of a punch than I would have liked. I ate it, but I was mostly jealous because the mussels and fries and scallop risotto that my friends had ordered looked and probably tasted so much better than my linguine. Darn!
Well at least I enjoyed the pizza and the nibble of parmesan/truffle oil fries my friend let me have.
I do need to give this place another shot though. Perhaps brunch?
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Our French server was terrible and rude. He basically went to our table and said -I would really appreciate it if you all ordered your drinks at the same time so I don't have to yo-yo back to you table. What happened to customer service? Surprising though since the bartender and the other wait staff including their general manager were completely professional and very accommodating. (GM apologized and comped some apps on our table - which was nice Im giving this place - two and half stars - coz of this)
Food was average at best - Pizza crust seemed like it was crackerbarrel crust (how classy). Toppings sogged up the crust - yuck!. Risotto was overcooked and mushy. Highlights were the Salmon and the heirloom tomato salad.
Its really too bad that we had such a bad experience - the restaurant is really pretty and love that you can purchase wine next door and open it for a 10 dollar corkage fee.
Enjoyed my birthday dinner here with a group of nine friends. Service was excellent and everyone left satisfied. Others in my group ordered the pizza and fries and seemed content with those in addition to their wide variety of entrées. I had a light meal - Caesar salad with grilled chicken, everything I wanted on the side was left on the side, dressing was good, salad itself crisp. I had a sip of my friend's rosé and on that very limited sample give the wine bar a thumbs up. My surprise lemon-chocolate pine nut dessert was pretty tasty! Gratuity for large groups is a bit on the high end at 20%, but again, service was good. Atmosphere was also great, excellent decor, not too noisy (we had a private room, though). I will be back.
Been a fan of Ola Fendert since he was running back and forth between Chez Papa and Chez Mama up on 18th street-- managing both at the same time. The guy can cook and Local reflects his talents.
Good pizza, great fish and the truffle fries are amazing. Desserts are well crafted. Prices are low for the quality of the food.
The place is beautiful and refined. Love the paintings behind the gauze/ scrim and the giant front doors are cool.
Wine list is well crafted but prices are a bit much--- $14 per glass seems a tad steep.
I'm surprised at all the good reviews. Perhaps I hit an off-night with an off-server.
There were a few things service-wise that bugged me (forgetting wine - but not forgetting the smoke break was one). The food was average and bland. Sure, the wine was good, but I pretty much expect a 13 dollar glass of wine to be good.
Perhaps if you don't expect too much, you might not be too disappointed. It's pretty inside, but that's about it.
Well, for me, Jen and Mo's first installment of our monthly "Dining with my ladies", it was Mo's choice and she went with Local Kitchen.
Nice choice. Chic, simple decor with a cute room up front that hosts larger groups or tastings. The service is very friendly but in between our pizza appetizer and our main course, we waited for quite a while...I'd say 30-40 minutes until our server said something. Apparently our order was given away by mistake to another table, which is completely understandable but keep us updated, you know? Still didn't ruin our time and they treated us to a nice glass of wine because of our wait.
I had the mussels and clams and fries appetizer as my meal and was even able to substitute the truffle and Parmesan fries (that's right, you heard me, truffle and Parmesan) for a small price. My meal was good, nothing spectacular, but the fries were good and the serving was a good size for me to have as a meal.
One thing I will say is that the pizza we had was excellent! Very different, very Californian, with a thin but not super thin crust that is more soft than hard and crispy like you may expect, halved cherry tomatoes and goat cheese on top, along with the regular sauce and cheese. Great flavors that went well together. I think I'd go with the pizza as an entree next time because it was really good.
Good restaurant for a nice weekend dinner before heading out. Simple, precise menu but I do think the pizza is what they do best, nothing else really wowed us.
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had a great time here. Good food, good wine & great friends!!!! Just make a reservation, they get pretty packed.
A gorgeous restaurant, with lovely ambiance and and a very chic decor.
Amazing wine selection.
The menu is decent, though not terribly vegetarian friendly, with a few nice surprises like french fries in truffle oil with parmesan cheese. The food was decent, but out of my price range to be honest, which is one of the reasons why I give it 3 stars instead of 4.
Another reason is that the service is very slow!! Not inattentively slow, just "take your time and enjoy every little thing" slow, and, call me an impatient American, but sometimes I just want some food now, pleasekaythanx.
So if you have the cash, are on a nice date, and have some time to kill, I wold absolutely recommend this place. But since I usually don't have any of those in my life, it's not a favorite of mine.
*This review is for the wine shop bar only*
Great little communal table in the middle of the wine shop. My friend and I had kir royales before heading to a concert. It makes a nice stop if you want to have a glass or wine (or two). I do want to go back and try their food. I get the sense it's a bit overpriced for the quality, but there seem to be lots of deals available since they're trying to draw people in (check restaurant.com). Bottom line, yet another new place in the up and coming SOMA/Mission Bay area that's got a nice trendy atmosphere, makes a great setting for a drink, but isn't really a restaurant to go out of your way for as far as food. Since I work walking distance though, I plan on checking it out for lunch some time (I think they offer all three meals of the day, which is kind of nice).
Ugh! I took clients here for a business lunch a few weeks ago, and probably had the worst service I've ever had in San Francisco. Even though we had a reservation, when we walked in the door, they kinda acted 'put out' because they were very busy and had to set up a table. We were seated right in the middle of the restaurant, and were completely ignored. I couldn't wave down a service person to save my life. We totally felt invisible. All the tables around us had olive oil to accompany their bread [which was actually very good] After having asked for OO for our table 3 times, 3 different servers, I went over to the kitchen to ask. It was promptly served.
We also each ordered a salad for our entree's and asked for the fries and mixed veggies to accompany our entrees. They not only didn't come with our salads... we were done for about 5-10 minutes before the fries and veggies finally arrived.
Fortunately for them I was with clients, so I didn't really express my frustration. Unfortunately for them, I really don't think I'll be back for a while, and i certainly won't take clients. I hope to give them another chance since there are so many good reviews about this place.
I was only here once before [again with a client] and they had just opened so it wasn't crowded at all. The service wasn't very good then either, i just chalked it up to a new place.
The food was great and the wine was delicious.....we had a great time with family...the ambiance is wonderful...and well they shoud get 5 stars for the studs that work there ;)
for all you single ladies out there....definite must...
As soon as you walk in you're greeted with what seems to be a 2 story door. Meaning heavy to open (ladies, i hope you're with men who haven't dumped chivalry to the curb).
The ambiance was nice. Definitely a lively place. Lotsa chatter which means lotsa noise.
Like wine? They have a pretty decent selection of fermented grape juice from around the world. I thought I'd be adventurous and try a chardonnay from...::GASP:: China! Yeah, I said China. Whoda thunk it that not only do they mass produce 90% of the worlds goods in crappy quality, that their wine would be the same? One word...ICK!
My dish was a Scallop and Pesto Risotto. OMG! Bland Bland and did I mention BLAND? I had to twist the salt and pepper shaker dispensers about 20x before there was ANY taste at all. And even then, I only tasted salt and pepper. The 2 scallops however were decently cooked.
Had their panna cotta which really was the highlight of the night. I can't believe I went to a restaurant for dinner and the only nice thing I have to say is "the dessert was ok".
Oh and the service was quite slow. We were there sitting and waiting for our order to be taken for what seemed like 30mins+. We didn't even know who our waiter was to flag down!
Only going here in the future for wine and maybe a dessert. Otherwise, not worth the trip.
I've been to Local a handful of times just because its, well, local.
If it were 'Cross Town', I would not have been as many times.
Once you figure out how to operate the front door, the restaurant is done up well.
My first couple visits, I ordered the thin-crust, brick-oven pizza which later I found to be the best item on the menu. The next few visits, I toured the menu to discover average food, but in line with the price.
Bottom line, there are better restaurant options with similar food to come back too often...unless I just want something 'local'.
I went here on a recommendation from a friend who raved about it. The ambiance of the place was cool. I liked the decor and that big door... big deal for those who are haters on their reviews. The food did not disappoint, but the selection of wine on the actual menu did. I wish they had as many of selection from the actual store as they did for the menu. Otherwise not bad for the price.
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Local Kitchen is one of those places that manage to maintain a familiar, informal feel even if the decor and location scream SOMA steel and concrete loft.
On Mondays I have regular meetings not to far from Local that end around 9:30pm. Most appreciated is the fact that in more than one occasion the staff at Local accepted us for dinner well after 10pm, which is still an exception in San Francisco. Even late, the place is abuzz in an understated way, which I like.
Food fares well, overall. Their pizzas are non-traditional thin-crust and benefit greatly from the wood-fired oven. Light seafood dishes are my entree of choice at Local. The place is also a wine bar, so the wine list is pretty good.
I live close by and Local is a place I frequent for dinner and drinks during the week. I was impressed with the seafood dishes, truffle parmesan fries, and reasonably priced wine selection. I was hoping their pizzas were a bit more crispy since they use the brick oven. The staff is friendly and courteous. Overall, a decent neighborhood establishment.
The setting alone is worth five stars! I loved it! Modern, chic, clean, crisp & fresh-it just felt new. We had great service, our waiter was so friendly and on top of everything that was going on at our table at all times. The food was good too, but just that, good. It wasn't life changing memorable-but nonetheless still enjoyable. We had the 'Butter Lettuce & Watercress Salad' (Point Reyes Blue Cheese Dressing, Bacon, Croutons, Walnuts and Apple), the 'Organic Chicken with Panzanella' (Warm Bread Salad with Balsamic Red Onions, Heirloom Tomatoes and Arugula), and the 'Pan Seared Atlantic Salmon' (Spinach & Mashed Potatoes)-everything was good but nothing that hasn't been tried before. Of course, this meal wouldn't have been complete without a bottle of Albarino-which adds zest to any meal! This place does have an amazing wine collection though with enough options for everyone. I think it's better if you just skip the food and enjoy a bottle of wine! :)
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Great food, good wine, and you will love the wine store. Fantastic deals on wine that you can bring into the restaurant to pair with the great food.
I like this place for dinner during the week. Its an easy walk from where I live and the food is tasty and reasonably priced. The ambiance is good and the wine selection is good. My only complaint with this place is the pizza. They haven't quite gotten the timing right. Its not crispy enough (despite the brick oven) but other than that its a great place to frequent. Friendly servers too!
Being fans of Oola, we were extremely excited to have the latest in their family, Local, open up right across the street from where we live. Since it's opening, we have changed the name from Local to "Dinner" or "Brunch" as appropriate, as it has become our home away from home in our busy lives. The simple but satisfying fare, from flatbread pizzas to pastas (among other tasty dishes) is complimented by a great, ever-changing wine list and the delicious parmesan truffle fries. The brunch menu is great as well--don't miss the buttermilk waffles with creme fraiche. From my parents, to friends, to work colleagues--everyone has loved Local and we will keep coming back!
Came here for a meeting and loved the wine tasting. Then the food was just so good. From the Pizza, fries, then to my entre the roasted chicken, and lastly my dessert was all delish. Compliments to the chef. The atmosphere was great too. I will be back here to share this place with friends and family.
SMOOOOOOOOCH, Local. I'm plantin' a big, wet one on you.
Just discovered that an 8-minute walk from the office is a very nice little spot for a tasty lunch. The room is great, and the centerpiece is the absolutely killer mobile and light fixture that hangs just inside the entry. The dark wood tables, concrete floor, and sleek lines make for an eye-pleasing dining experience, as does the glass-faced pizza bar and open kitchen. Seeing and smelling a fresh bouquet of lilies in the bathroom was a total surprise.
While Local could stand to put a glass of red wine on the menu that costs less than $11, the selection is very good, and the malbec I had was very tasty.
The New York steak panini special was delicious, as was the coppa and pepperoni pizza. YUM.
Would be nice to have a get-together in the private room just off the dining room - then I could plant a big wet one on somebody there, too!
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The concept of this place is great and comes through from the decor and ambiance to the menus. They have a main dining room, small wine bar and private room. They also sell wines there.
I went there with a small group for after work drinks and apps with the ladies and experienced attentive and superb service. The somelier was great and they had some very unusual wines--especially international wines.
You must get a pizza and truffle fries. Yum.
It can be tough to get a reservation --but it still is a relatively new place.
I would recommend this place for a ladies night out...it can get a little loud for a date night occasion. I can't wait to check this place out for brunch!
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Went to local on a Saturday night for dinner with friends. The waitstaff was very accommodating and put us in a private room when we mentioned the blaring speakers above our table in the dining room.
The food:
Pizza - really good
Truffle Parmesan fries - really good
Duck - not good
Beignets - not good
Wine -really good
They have a slightly goofy system where you can go into their adjacent wine shop, pick out your wine, and have it with your meal. Otherwise, you're stuck with the very limited wine list. Although this seems kind of awkward (someone has to leave the table and go pick out the wine), the wines we bought were both yummy. If this place was in a different neighborhood, I'd probably knock it down one star, but it's pretty good compared to the other choices in my 'hood, so they get the extra star. If you're looking to share some pizza and a bottle of wine with some friends, I think this is a great choice.
Recently I was tasked with the selection of nearly a week's worth of food for my team at work. Lunches delivered to the office, dinners out. Sounds simple, right? Well, not exactly.
How many restaurants in San Francisco do you know that can accommodate 25+ folks for dinner? Yup, keep on thinking...
I can only thank my lucky stars for Yelp; reading so many fantastic reviews helped me realize that Local would be a perfect dinner destination for our diverse bunch who had flown in from all over the country. After all, what better way to show people San Francisco than with local food and wine? On a Monday night there were able to take our reservation for 26.
We began with wine in the wine shop and continued on to a long communal table where we feasted on, among other things, butter and watercress salad (sub. goat cheese if blue isn't your thing) with bacon, walnuts and apple, coppa and pepperoni pizza, and the panna cotta of the day which was accompanied by blackberries.
I was pleasantly surprised to find my favorite beer, Hitachino Nest While Ale, on the menu. And there was consensus among my colleagues that the waiters at Local were sweet, sweet eye candy.
This was my first visit to Local but it certainly won't be my last.
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When I am allowed entrance into a restaurant through a towering glass door, I generally think this is a good start to the evening...it could prove disastrous, or graceful...
With a large group, we were seated quickly and wine was poured efficiently. Always a good thing, always. The wine selections were fantastic, and I swirled my wine joyously (of course, I don't know what I am doing...but can we all agree to just let me pretend after I've tipped a few? thanks).
The menu, created daily, was small...yet, well thought out. The pear/cheese appetizer skyrocketed me into food bliss. The pizzas were good, though not anything out of this world. Maybe they should do pear/cheese pizza, that would be stellar...
Great company, fabulous wine, excellent atmosphere...and despite my swirling, I managed to not crash into the large glass door on the way out. Bonus points.
Kudos to Miriam W on the selection :)
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As someone who loves a good frou-frou thin crust pizza and a glass of wine, I was a pretty happy camper here. Major points for effectively and comfortably accommodating the ever-expanding CM team. I loved the decor here too: a lofty industrial space, with nice copper accents and a consistently adorable fleet of waiters (do those count as decor?).
Not quite a 5 star for lack of originality in the pizza selection. I mean, pizza's pretty much a blank slate, and you can do a whole lot more creative arrangements than the usual mushroom/olive, pepperoni/prosciutto, even blue cheese/onion. I think I expected a little more flair. But I nitpick because I can. Yummy pizza, GREAT wine selections, and awesome company. And don't forget to try the tiramisu for dessert! Thumbs up.
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It's never an easy task to serve dinner to a rowdy group of 25 yelpers, but Local Kitchen & Wine Merchant exceeded my expectations. You can't go wrong with good pizza and wine....and Local Kitchen does not disappoint!
With the attempt to eat healthy I asked the waiter if he could bring me the chicken dish so I wouldn't eat all pizzas he was planning for the big group. He said it wasn't a problem and so I waited for my chicken. In the meantime I decided to have some of the butter and watercress salad (delicious!), root vegetables (pretty good), and pear and cheese appetizer (incredible- tastes like a dessert!). And then my table was presented with a variety of pizzas...enough to feed a small army! And if there's any group that may be able to eat more than a small army it's the Yelp Community Managers! I soon found myself enjoying a slice of roasted mushroom pizza followed by another slice of onion jam pizza. The mushroom pizza was sooo good, but I could have done without the onion jam pizza...a little sweet for my taste!
So much for eating healthy....
The waiter seemed to forget about my chicken, although I have to be honest and say I didn't mind because the food I had was way better than any chicken dish. I also enjoyed meeting sommelier Mark Bright, who my co-workers tell me is quite famous in the SF area....and he is also quite good looking.
Definitely a place I'd return to in the future and highly recommended for all you locals. Good food, atmosphere, service, and even some eye candy for you to enjoy...
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three stars for a mixed experience, some 4 stars, some, obviously, less. First the front doors. There's no reason for something that enormous, ridiculously heavy and confusing (it's not immediately apparent where to grasp, nor in which directly to yank or shove). Dramatic, but ultimately silly, much like any grey's anatomy episode that features Katherine Heigel. Nice looking space, although the bar in the back corner is a little odd, as if you're descending into a modern man-cave to get a drink. I guess given the design constraints, its an attractive space, but it definitely has its challenges--sexy though for what it is.
The food is excellent--we had a mozzarella salad, duck and pasta, all of which were flavorful and well cooked. appreciated the al dente pasta, and the duck was nicely done. the tiramisu dessert was good, although nothing too terribly exciting. The service however left much to be desired. Perhaps just because we were saddled with what seemed to be 'gallic' service (a la, the waiter that seems annoyed by your very existence), our experience was less than stellar. The guy, when he wasn't texting someone in the back corner, would forget to put things into Aloha, bring things late, them slam around the bottles on the table while presenting them. Maybe just a bad day, but he had a little bit of a "bull in china shop" thing going for him.
Wine selection has great breadth in terms of global coverage, but relatively few great wines. Seems to be they're trying to focus on the budget end (after some reviews on the site maybe), but a few more great selections would've been nice. A few things here and there for the hardcore wino, but in general, the list is simply "ok". However, since options in this neighborhood are slim at best, not a bad stop if you live in the immediate vicinity.
Nice decor and ambiance, but that's where the niceness ends with this place. Wine was over priced and the pours were very skimpy. Food was simply not good. I tried a few different entrees with the folks i went with - we had a large party. I ordered the braised beef, and it was flavorless other than being super salty and tough. I dont know how you can mess up braised beef. Butternut squash ravioli tasted like the frozen kind for costco. actually, the costco one is even better. service was slow. highly unrecommended.
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While the decor of the place is nice, I think the service here leaves something to be desired. I don't blame them for almost taking our table because 2 of our friends decided to be a half hour late but our waiter seemed a little lost at times. Literally. He came and went at random intervals and so did our drinks.
The food was ok. We had a pizza, mussels and clams, swiss chard and parmesan and truffle fries. Nothing really stood out and I can't imagine ever deciding to wait for a table here.
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This place is unique with the wine market in the front w/tasting. Beats waiting in a regular lobby! The build-out is modern, creative and unintimidating. Our server was highly attentive (in spite of a slightly obnoxious/intoxicated member of our party) and knowledgable. The food was DELISH and reasonably priced. The scallop risotto, special veggie pizza, and truffle/parm fries are all worth ordering again, and the desserts were quite tasty too. Both the pinot and malbec by the glass are excellent as well! Definitely will make return visits!
I'm not a jealous person, but I have this little issue with dining out with my boyfriend. I don't like eating at places I know he's wined and dined his previous girlfriends at. I also don't like going to the same place over and over again. Everyone knows I'm dating Euge. Do you know how hard it is to take him to a place that he hasn't
A) took his ex's too
or
B) ate at already
It's hard. Especially since he is from the bay area and is constantly going out to drink and/or eat. So when I suggested that we go to Local Kitchen & Wine Merchant, I was happy to learn that he had never been.
*pats self on back*
So as he mentioned in his review, I was departing that evening on a red-eye to NYC and I wanted to have a nice dinner before I left. This was the perfect place.
As stated in other reviews, this place is a little hard to find and finding parking can be a bit complicated. But I will go to great lengths to ensure that I eat good food. So it was worth circling the block and getting a little lost.
I had made a reservation on OpenTable earlier in the day, so when we walked in, we were politely greeted and shown to our bar seats. These were definitely the best seats in the house. Comfy high bar chairs, sitting at a thick marble bar. The only thing separating us from the kitchen was a low glass wall. We could see all the action. It's like sitting in the first row at your favorite singer's concert.
For starters, I ordered a glass of sav blanc and Eugy had the pinot noir. Both were very tasty. Actually went well with everything we ordered.
For appz:
Clams & Mussels w/ shallots, white wine, parsley and butter roasted in the brick oven - This was fantastic. And if you really like garlic and butter like I do, you'll want to submerge your bread in the sauce and stuff your face. Oh yes you will.
Charcuterie Plate (pronounced SHAR-KOO-TER-RI) - Maybe it was just a bad cut... I don't know... But this entire platter was pretty nasty. The prosciutto was downright disgusting.
Truffle and Parmesan Frites - These were awesome. I don't know how they put the truffle oil on the fries without making them soggy, but they were damn good. Huge slices and chucks of parmesan too.
For Dinner:
Coppa and pepperoni pizza - this was really, really good. One of the best pizzas I've had since moving to cali. Fresh ingredients. The pepperoni was really yummy.
Organic duck with whipped potatoes and leafy greens - I'm a new found lover of duck. Seriously. This was really good. The greens and the potatoes and the reduction all meshed so well together.
The polenta was gross. Really gross.
And for dessert, they gave us cavolinis on the house. This was really good. Honey gelato (who doesn't like gelato!?!) with lavender caramel. Yummmm...
And at the end, a Hitachino Nest beer which is moving up the ladder towards my top 5 favorite beers.
This place oozes style. Prices are perfect. Portions are just right. Great date spot. Great place to meet for a snack and some wine. It's just a great place period.
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YES!
omg
YES!
Seriously orgasmic food, wine, experience.
Local does it all right. Cute ambiance, really great service, amazingly delicious food, wine wine wine.
Big inviting doors like that of sister restaurant Oola, cute wine bar/shop on the side. We had some wine tastings and picked a nice bottle to have with dinner.
We sat at the bar and had a great view of the kitchen. I actually really enjoyed where we were sitting - there was 2 of us and we were able to share a nice intimate dinner with the rest of the restauarnt bustling around us. It def was loud in the restaurant - but even more reason to sit close and enjoy our wine.
Our first courses included a delicious tomato and basil wood oven pizza - super thin crust, tasty cheeses, topped with prosciutto.
Butter lettuce and watercress salad good too - had all the things I love - blue cheese, walnuts, apples, bacon.
My date ordered the Bolognese, which was good but I was just so distracted with my own meal that I don't really remember too much of the pasta.
My plate was outstanding. I got the duck prepared rotisserie style. OMG. It was absolutely delicious. I am used to having my duck prepared medium rare - so it did catch me off for a second - but our waitress ensured me I wouldn't be disappointed. Boy - was that an understatement! The meat was super tender and juicy - and super flavorful. I can't wait to go back to have it again.
Loved local - I think they have done (and are doing) an excellent job with the space, service, and food.
This place looked very promising, from its ubiquitous door to the menu. It was disappointing that service here was beyond awful - the waitress took away one of our chairs even though we reiterated that it was taken. And when my friend arrived and stood in the middle of the restaurant, we still had to ASK for a chair. The fact that they're okay with the idea of a patron standing to eat dinner indicates that they don't give a crap.
While the food was all right , there are plenty of restaurants even in this part of town that are worth going to rather than this over-rated place.
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Good service, nice atmosphere, decent food. BUT - and this is a BIG BUT, WHY WHY WHY not have a single bottle of red wine on the menu under $40. Most tend toward $50 and there was not a single option under $42 or 43. I'm sorry, but that's just plain unacceptable. I guess it's suffice to say that this is not a place to go if you just want to have a casual (not super expensive) night out b/c, in my book, dropping 50 bucks for a bottle of wine is not that.
I love the look of this place, marble counters, wood table tops, ambient lighting, open kitchen and concrete floors. Completely warm, yet modern and slick, but not too slick. Also noted the beautiful floor to ceiling glass entry way with way cool door.
The food on the other hand, does not quite live up to the sleek, comforting decor. We went there specifically for the thin crust pizza, which is cooked in a wood-fired oven. The pizza we ordered was roasted fingerling, shiitake and gorgonzola. It was pretty lackluster, flat, no charred bulbous nodules on the crust, kinda dry. It seemed like it needed a bit more time in the oven with an extra drizzle of olive oil and bit more salt. We also ordered the charcuterie platter, which wasn't too bad and adequate in terms of portion and the nicoise salad. Also, not too bad, it needed a bit of extra salt. Hubby thinks they should have made the roasted peppers on the salad in house (they tasted store bought) and I thought the haricot verts were kinda old, they weren't a vibrant green. All in all the meal fell flat. Which kinda set the mood for dessert.
I didn't get any.
Dang, and I'm a pastry cook!
Also worth noting, and I am particularly harsh about this because I'm a cook, Pet Peeve #194: incoming produce STILL on the floor and left out (we were there for lunch) and not put away in the walk-in!
Mebbe I shoulda had some wine, then I coulda overlooked my hang-ups and lightened up about the whol