Pasta in San Fran

[sxfan]

I'll be traveling to San Francisco in July and was looking for the best pasta experience to be had. I'm a baig fan of the pasta tasting at Babbo in NYC and would like to try something along those lines. Any help would be great.

[weinoo]

We've had some wonderful, and reasonable pastas, at A16 on Chestnut St. in the Marina (and I would imagine SPQR does some good pasta as well).

Incanto in Noe Valley also offered some wonderful house-made pastas.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Weinoo, shockingly, I think SPQR's pasta is their weakest offering and many on other boards have confirmed similar sentiments.

I have continually suggested that folks walk a block beyond SPQR to Vivande for the best fettuccine in the city -- it is made throughout the day and when you dine at lunch, you can see them working on in the open kitchen. I'll maintain that it is the best I've had.

Others are very, very fond of Quince which is a few steps above Vivande in service, ambience, and cost. Vivande has a piece of butcher paper over the tablecloth while Quince is close to white-glove service. You can get into Vivande practically every night but a reservation at Quince takes some planning.

But my go-to, pasta-craving moments, I head to Vivande.

[weinoo]

Weinoo, shockingly, I think SPQR's pasta is their weakest offering and many on other boards have confirmed similar sentiments.

I have continually suggested that folks walk a block beyond SPQR to Vivande for the best fettuccine in the city -- it is made throughout the day and when you dine at lunch, you can see them working on  in the open kitchen. I'll maintain that it is the best I've had.

Others are very, very fond of Quince which is a few steps above Vivande in service, ambience, and cost. Vivande has a piece of butcher paper over the tablecloth while Quince is close to white-glove service. You can get into Vivande practically every night but a reservation at Quince takes some planning.

But my go-to, pasta-craving moments, I head to Vivande.

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Wow, that is kind of shocking, but we didn't get to eat there, so no first hand experience. Always liked Vivande. Quince was certainly great for our one meal there...don't remember which pastas we had.

[fiftydollars]

If you have to stay in San Francisco, Incanto and Acquerello can usually deliver some solid dishes, but I wouldn't compare either to Babbo... at least not favorably.

I would suggest Oliveto in Rockridge (Oakland).

[sxfan]

If you have to stay in San Francisco, Incanto and Acquerello can usually deliver some solid dishes, but I wouldn't compare either to Babbo... at least not favorably.

I would suggest Oliveto in Rockridge (Oakland).

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can we take a cab there? What should we expect the the round trip to cost?

[Carolyn Tillie]

If you have to stay in San Francisco, Incanto and Acquerello can usually deliver some solid dishes, but I wouldn't compare either to Babbo... at least not favorably.

I would suggest Oliveto in Rockridge (Oakland).

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can we take a cab there? What should we expect the the round trip to cost?

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At least $40 each way, plus tip = about $100.00

Although it *is* on a major BART line (Rockridge exit - about 100 yards to walk to the restaurant from the BART station), I am an Oliveto detractor -- it is good, but not worth the effort of the trip, in my opinion.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Weinoo, shockingly, I think SPQR's pasta is their weakest offering and many on other boards have confirmed similar sentiments.

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Wow, that is kind of shocking, but we didn't get to eat there, so no first hand experience.

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Sad, but true.

Examples: This report, "the entrees were not good until recently and the pastas had a tendency to be very overdone. I had the first really al dente pasta there last week--spaghtetti cacio e pepe. Before that, I told the staff there that there pastas were mushy."

And this: "I don't think their pastas were ever consistently good. The one really unsuccessful dish I had there was a baked lasagne casserole in mid-November: watery sauce, overcooked pasta, undersalted. I loved the flavor of the rigatoni alla carbonara, but totally understood other people's complaints about the texture being wrong due to the guanciale being in strips instead of diced."

And another: "The appetizers were good (braised chard, calamari, chicory with anchovy) but the pastas weren't as good as I'd expect. The linguine and clams suffered from gummy, oversalted pasta."

[fiftydollars]

If you have to stay in San Francisco, Incanto and Acquerello can usually deliver some solid dishes, but I wouldn't compare either to Babbo... at least not favorably.

I would suggest Oliveto in Rockridge (Oakland).

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can we take a cab there? What should we expect the the round trip to cost?

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You can take a cab, but I would take BART. It's right across the street from the Rockridge station and the ride will cost you about $5 as opposed to somewhere around $75 for a cab.

[Swicks]

I will wholeheartedly second A16 and Acquarello.

Carolyn, I'll have to give that place a shot next time I am up there. I rarely go out for Italian food but I guess I will have to make an exception.

Edited April 17, 2008 by Swicks (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

I will wholeheartedly second A16 and Acquarello.

Carolyn, I'll have to give that place a shot next time I am up there.  I rarely go out for Italian food but I guess I will have to make an exception.

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I was thinking of having sushi for dinner, but I may have to go out for Vivande pasta now that I have re-read this thread...