I had dinner recently at Acquerello, an Italian fine dining restaurant in Nob Hill that’s been open since 1989. Acquerello (“Watercolor” in Italian - thanks Google) is owned by Giancarlo Paterlini and chef Suzette Gresham, who has been in charge of the kitchen since its inception. The chef de cuisine is chef Gonzalo Agliozzo, formerly of Quince and Bellota. It currently holds two Michelin stars.
This was my first visit to Acquerello, but I’ve enjoyed their cooking during the pandemic lockdown when they were offering meal kits via delivery as Acquerello at Home. And I’ve also enjoyed a dinner at their sister restaurant Sorella down the street. Acquerello is a bit more formal than Sorella, and its one of the few Bay Area restaurants with a dress code. I put on a sport coat for dinner 
Acquerello has several menu options - a four course menu where one can pick from a selection of courses ($165), a vegetarian tasting menu ($215), and a seasonal tasting menu ($275). I had the latter, and also opted for the wine pairing ($180) as they are known for their Italian wine program.
The dining room of the restaurant is elegant and not very large. It once used to be a chapel and has high ceilings.
The seasonal tasting menu along with the listing of wine pairings. There’s also some supplements - a caviar, sturgeon, and beet course for $85 and a cheese service for $30, but I didn’t opt for either.
Chef’s surprises for the evening
Giacometto, Erbaluce di Caluso Spumante Metodo Classico Brut 2013
Dinner started with a trio of surprises. In the suggested order to eat, there was a Shigoku oyster with a slightly tart passionfruit sauce, a small tart like morsel with Dungeness crab, creamy avocado, and pomelo in a crispy shell, and a slightly sweet duck liver cornetto that exploded in your mouth. All of these were good but I liked the crab bite the most, with the duck cone a close second.
Oyster
Dungeness
Duck Liver Cone
There was also bread and house cultured butter from Vermont along with flaky salt. The bread was replenished regularly as desired and was very good. That night there was a rosemary sourdough and an olive bread.
Rosemary Sourdough
Olive Bread
Hiramasa crudo, Pink Lady apple, fennel, bergamot
Giovanni Rosso, Etna Bianco ‘Contrade Nuove’ 2023
The next dish was a crudo of Hiramasa, aka Yellowtail Amberjack. This was served with thin slivers of apple and fennel, which were slightly sweet and crispy and complemented the meaty fish well. There was also some bergamot - an Italian citrus also found in Earl Grey tea - which also added a slightly herbal citrus flavor. Quite nice.
Hokkaido scallop, leek, cauliflower, Vin Santo zabaglione
Dettori, Vino Bianco ‘Renosu’ 2024
Next, more seafood in the form of a scallop. This was delicious - a perfectly pan fried scallop atop a creamy savory custard that I believe had cauliflower in it and also Vin Santo which is a sweet wine. Some fried strands of leek provided a different crunchy texture.
Wolfe Ranch quail, parsnip, kumquat, coffee, cocoa nibs
Nusserhof di Henrich Mayr, Vino Rosso ‘Elda’ 2018
The next course was quail - which came in the form of a leg and a breast. A meaty sauce was poured on the quail at the table. This was also delicious! The quail was perfectly cooked - tender and a little gamy. The bone was still in the quail leg to eat with your hands. On the side there was also a roasted parsnip with dabs of creamy sauces, kumquat slices, and some cocoa nibs which added an interesting coffee flavor.
Duck caramelle, Taleggio fonduta, fig, hazelnut, balsamic
Enrico Esu, Carignano del Sulcis ‘Nerominiera’ 2021
Next was a pasta dish, caramelle, which are named after their resemblance to wrapped caramel candies, filled with duck confit. This was great! The pasta wrappers had a very nice toothsome texture, and the cheesy fonduta sauce was creamy and rich. There were also some sweet ripe fig bits and some sweet and sour from an aged (25 year old I think?) balsamic vinegar that was drizzled on top at the table with a dropper. The wine pairing for this dish was a red wine from Sardinia which had a lot of acid to stand up to the richness of the confit duck in the pasta.
Ridged pasta with faux “foie gras,” black truffle and Marsala
Maculan, Breganze "Torcolato’ 2022
And then a signature Acquerello dish - tubular ridged pasta in a mock “foie gras” sauce that had black truffles and Marsala wine. This was so good! I guess its a signature dish for a reason. The pasta were toothsome, and the rich silky duck liver sauce was perfect - perfumed with truffle and the sweet Marsala wine which gave it a flavor reminiscent of a brandy but not too sweet. The wine pairing for this dish was a Torcolato, a dessert wine from the Veneto region described as an Italian analogue to a Sauternes and was great with the pasta - not too sweet and acidic enough to cut through the luxurious sauce.
Torcolato wine pairing with the “foie gras” pasta
Anderson Ranch lamb loin, potato, green garlic, artichoke, Black Trumpet mushroom
Petrussa, Friuli Colli Orientali Schioppettino di Prepotto S. Elena 2020
And then the main course, which was a lamb loin medallion with a fried mashed potato oval and tender artichoke pieces. This was very good. The lamb was again perfectly cooked and flavorful with a delicious meaty sauce that was spooned on top at the table.
Carrot and mandarin sorbet, citrus granita, basil
After the main course there was a refreshing palate cleansing intermezzo of a creamy sorbet surrounded by a citrus granita, with a little herbal note from the basil.
Pear crema with pecan and hibiscus
Visintini, Friuli Colli Orientali Verduzzo Friulano "Toriòn’ 2019
And then dessert, which was a multi layered creamy thing that I forgot to take notes on but I remember was quite nice. There were some very nice crisp cherries on top.
But wait, there’s more! A dessert cart came by with a selection of mignardises. I asked for one of everything 
I didn’t take notes on this either but they were all nice. Among the little bites were chocolate truffles, pâtes de fruits, a custard like thing with some jelly on top, a pink marshmallow, and a lollipop.
And even more! A box of biscotti to take home.
This was a very enjoyable dinner. Everything was very good to excellent, and the top highlights for me were the two fantastic pasta dishes. The wine pairing was excellent as well. I’m not very knowledgable about wine but I thought the wines were very well matched with the dishes, and the sommelier was quite informative about each pairing.
