Pearl is two doors down form Pizetta 211 and was opened by the same folks as I understand it. Beautiful space, full bar, nice tight wine list. Sorry for the bad photos but it was pretty dark.
We had Acme bread with salted butter ($4, nicely warmed - my daughter gave it a 7, I would give it an 8, for reference she gave Le CouCou’s bread and butter a 10); Chicory caeser salad with crispy prosciutto ($12, excellent, large portion, 2 people should share this); baked ricotta ($8, mild and kind of boring, would not order again); Squid ink pasta with spicy tomato sauce, clams and maybe some other seafood ($20, excellent, perfectly cooked pasta, nice portion); Handkerchief pasta with white Bolognese ($19, handmade pasta was perfectly al dente but the sauce was heavy and one note. My daughter ate about half - I wouldn’t have gotten trough that much). All cocktails are $12 - I had the Calypso Orchid with tequila, amaro, vermouth, lemon oil - it was OK. Glass of La Stoppa Italian wine ($11) was great. Overall I really liked this place and think you can have an excellent meal if you order right.
Went there for brunch today. Waited maybe 10 minutes for a table for 3 around 1:15 ( they close at 2pm).
I split a celery root soup with my partner. It was a decent warming and comforting soup with a nice touch of crispy guanciale and espelette oil to balance out the celery root so it wasn’t one note.
Chicory caesar - again, an excellent textural experience from the croutons/crispy prosciutto with a rich dressing balanced by the bitterness of the chicories.
Our final dish was the dutch baby - it was like a fluffy pancake/crepe with orange marmalade and whipped cream topped with almonds. Good if you like sweet desserts - it was very airy and not too sweet.
We went here for breakfast not long ago. I thought the celery root soup was to die for and great for breakfast. You don’t really need anything else because it’s super filling.
Had another great meal here last night.
Salt cod brandade fritters, tuna tartar, chicory caesar salad, blistered shishito peppers and gnocchi with grilled corn, mushroom, pea tendrils and truffle butter.
A lot of things on the menu sound boring because you see them on menus all over town, but they really elevate and nail them. The brandade fritters were more complex than just cod and potato and came with remoulade and some lemon - I could have eaten half a dozen; the shishito peppers came on a bed of smoked baba ganoush, with feta and some edible flowers; the chicory caeser is my favorite salad in SF, just perfectly balanced with citrus and creamy notes, homemade croutons and crispy prosciutto. Tuna tartare is something I haven’t ordered in a restaurant in years, but this one was prefect, with preserved lemon, basil, Persian cucumbers.
The gnocchi was good and had a strong flavor of real truffles from the truffle butter but I think where they really shine is with their apps and “snacks”. I think I will just order a bunch more small plates next time and skip the pastas and mains.
This is one of my favorite SF restaurants, the atmosphere is great and it feels organic rather than some slick restaurant group concept.
[@sck or @hyperbowler can you edit the title to this post, it should be Pearl 6101 - thx.]
.
