I don’t get into SF very often and am an adventurous eater, though like a traditional French bistro too. I’m meeting a friend who lives in Noe for dinner and was wondering where we should try that won’t break the bank. I’ve been to Commonwealth, Tartine, Dosa - not big on Japanese, don’t like Mission Chinese. Saw Blue Plate is still good
Recommendations?
There are a bunch of new Bernal places I’d like to hear about, so thanks for opening the thread!
Are reservations a must, and is this a weeknight or weekend? I frequent, without reservations on weeknights:
Old Jerusalem
Pizzahacker
Wise sons
La Santaneca
Namu Gaji (not a good pick if you don’t like Japanese)
Udupi palace
Contigo has a $46 tasting menu that’s great
Angkor Borei Cambodian
Lots of Mexican if you want suggestions …
Tuba is good too and usually had spots on opentable.
Some neighborhood spots:
Hamlet has a fantastic burger, I haven’t tried the rest of the menu
Hoffman’s Grill (grilled romaine salad)
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Heirloom cafe
I love this! We lived in Noe Valley (is it now called Noe?) for about 20 years and I’ve never heard of any of these places. Looking forward to more.
thanks - great list. It’s a week night
some others I’ve come across and welcome any feed back on are
3rd cousin
Red Hill Station
Flour + Water has been on my list forever - is it still good and how long would one have to wait on a weeknight around 7 or 8?
Noe valley still sucks- we nearly always walk to the Mission or La Lengua (the only Noe on my list above is Contigo and Hamlet. We are blessed to have Pasta Gina, a takeout deli with housemade pasta and Chocolate Covered, a chocolate shop with lots of single origin stuff, and a store specializing in German products)
Oh, sonomajon is suggesting Flour + water (I don’t know what the wait would be), so my pricing assumption was askew. La Ciccia (Sardinian) would be my top Noe pick. La Nebbia for more casual Salumi and Italian.
Another vote for La Ciccia.
Lolo is fun. Try the incredible duck larb at Lers Ros, superb Thai. Pizzeria Delfina or Pauline’s Pizza. …just to add to your widening list of good choices.
I’ve found Firefly to be a reliable comfort-food place.
Red Hill Station is really good, very seafood oriented. [disclosure - I’m a friend of one of the owners – but unfortunately she has never been in when I’ve eaten there so no special treatment!]. I recently had a really good meal at Trick Dog with incredible cocktails. Beef tartare was one of the favorite preparations I’ve ever had, giant kale salad, trick dog burger, chicken nuggets – excellent elevated bar food. Be forewarned though it is shockingly loud [and I’m not usually bothered by loud places]. Even though the bar area downstairs was completely packed we were able to get a table upstairs right away on a Friday night as they reserve them for diners.
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If you want to go to La Ciccia, get a reservation now.
I love Aster on the corner of 22nd and Guerrero. $59 prix fixe and really worth it, 1 Michelin star. (Have a cocktail at Lone Palm too.)
Can’t stand Flour + Water. The value just isn’t there.
Namu Gaji is Korean.
Blue Plate is bo-ring.
I had a very good dinner last Friday at Front Porch. The place may be growing on me, and their bar (Rock Bar) across the street makes fantastic cocktails.
One of my favorite restaurants is Le P’tit Laurent in Glen Park (“farmhouse” French).
Front porch is a great suggestion.
Namu Gaji has a lot of influences, Korean being the foremost as you suggested, but they have several Japanese inspired dishes: Lamb tsukune, probably the best okonomiyaki in town, Tokyo noodles, and ramagnolotti (ramen dough dumplings)
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Huge renewed fan of Blue Plate - even better than it used to be. I find their food quite thrilling actually - a beet salad that tasted like a Reuben? genius.
Flour + Water dd not live up to the hype for me.
La Ciccia is great, as is La Nebbia.
P’tit Laurent is good. I may prefer Garcon but it has a little bit of a New Orleans flare to it.
Hoffman’s Grill is very good. besides the rotisseried items i had a charred romaine salad that was to die for. plus they make their own bread.
Namu Gaji is fun and delish. love their okonomiyaki.
Front Porch - their chicken is ok (a bit overhyped) but i absolutely loved their shrimp and grits.
I’m a huge fan of Lolinda’s too - I’ve eaten there a least two dozen times, taken multiple friends, always leave happy. much more than “just” a steakhouse.
Lers Ros is amazing. get their pork belly appetizer - get two.
I was unimpressed with Wise Sons
Old Jerusalem is great for middle eastern, but so is Arabian Nights, despite the Disneylandish feel to it.
Heirloom is a favorite but mostly for the starters - and you can certainly make a meal from those. lovely wines, too.
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Thanks for this. NV was our old nabe so like reading about what’s going on these days.
their shitake dumplings are a dream.
Hamlet is new to me - menu looks great.
Did you mean the Pork Shoulder (Koh Moo Yang) at Lers Ros? That’s a delicious dish. Any other favorites there?
I keep meaning to go to Heirloom, and the starter’s tip sounds like a great idea.
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yes! it’s so good i always forget it isn’t pork belly!
my other favorite is Koong Chae Nam Pla - Fresh raw prawns with chili and lemon grass with lime based salad dressing, served with sliced garlic and mint leaves. nice and spicy, super fresh tasting.
those are my two absolute must-haves there. i think when Ms. Lingua and her hub were in town, we also had the Som Tom Poo - som tom with raw crab. also quite fresh and spicy.
i know we had other things… @linguafood - do you remember? i know we ordered the prawns and pork shoulder app twice…
i think i’ve loved their duck larb too in the past.
re Heirloom - yes, in particular i would not recommend the “secret” burger that is sometimes on the menu, sometimes not, but always available on request. it sounds great, but it was a disappointment. it’s a ground sirloin burger with Époisses mixed in - what could be better? but for us the cheese should have been a hunk in the middle so it would ooze out. instead, the whole thing had a strange, spongy texture and was kind of a waste of good stinky, runny cheese. but yes, the starters are consistently good, the wines beautiful, and the owner is also a sommelier and will sit and talk wine with you all night. the space itself is lovely, soothing. i need to go back!
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