Acquerello

[ProfessionalHobbit]

We celebrated my hubby's 60th birthday tonight at Acquerello.

 

Highly recommended and much better execution than our recent experience at SPQR which is another place that does "new-style Italian cuisine".

 

 

Orange juice and vermouth

 

 

Smoked mascarpone and herb financiers

 

 

Lobster beignets with espelette pepper

 

 

Savory egg custard, mint and pea puree, white chocolate-almond dust", pea shoots

 

The custard was lighter than air which told me that someone in the kitchen has serious attention to detail. It made me sit up and take notice.

 

 

Butter is house-made, topped with lava salt. The dish with the sea salt has a mother-of-pearl spoon.

 

I judge restaurants by the bread they serve. At Acquerello, it's piping hot, fresh from the oven.

 

 

Venetian seafood salad - with mackerel, pickled shrimp, calamari, trout roe and finger lime

 

 

Smoked sturgeon galetta with leeks, crème fraiche, brioche and ossetra caviar

 

 

Risotto with abalone, roasted turnips and seaweed.

 

B prononced it one of the best he's ever eaten. Each grain of rice was distinct and fused with flavor.

 

 

Raviolo with slow-roasted tomato, ricotta and Parmigiano-Reggiano crema, served with brown butter and balsamic.

 

 

Turbot with Taggiasca olives, potato, clams and brown butter.

 

Not very visually appealing but it did taste wonderful.

 

 

Sea scallops, cauliflower, blood orange, candied kumquats.

 

This was interesting and well-prepared but not something I would order again. Flavors were on point though. FYI, Acquerello's food is "modern Italian". I thought it was operating at a higher level than that of SPQR.

 

 

Cheese cart.

 

All selections are Italian. The cart is arranged so that cheeses in the background are hard and those in the foreground are soft. Cheeses on the left side are the most intense and those on the right side are fairly mild.

 

 

Vin santo

 

 

Cheese plate.

 

Clockwise from upper left: buffalo milk cheese; aged cow's milk and sheep's milk cheese mixed with Barolo wine; sheep's milk cheese; hazelnuts and raisins mixed with chestnut honey; apricot marmellata; candied fennel.

 

 

Napoletano - strawberry mousse layered over pistachio mousse, surrounded by chocolate mousse, covered with white chocolate and served with 66% dark Caraïbe chocolate.

 

When I reserved, I mentioned to staff that my hubby's birthday was the occasion and they pulled out all the stops.

 

 

Birthday dessert plate.

 

Clockwise from left: lychee-apricot panna cotta with apricot coulis; meringue; dark chocolate truffle over chocolate ganache; chocolate bar.

 

 

Clockwise from foreground: vanilla spongecake stuffed with pastry cream, soaked in Italian liqueur; chocolate caramel; almond cookie.

 

 

 

 

Total bill was $459 (including tax and 20% tip) for two people. 

 

This place is definitely on our "return" list. Simply lovely.

[heidih]

@ProfessionalHobbit  wow!  I'm more of a rustic girl but the dishes really appeal to me. It was overwhelming so I'll go back and re-read. How long did you guys linger?  Seems like a "several hour tour"

[ProfessionalHobbit]

3 hours ago, heidih said:

@ProfessionalHobbit  wow!  I'm more of a rustic girl but the dishes really appeal to me. It was overwhelming so I'll go back and re-read. How long did you guys linger?  Seems like a "several hour tour"

 

We had a 9:45 pm reservation and showed up a half hour early. We didn't get out of there until 5 minutes to midnight.

[kayb]

@ProfessionalHobbit, that looks absolutely amazing. The smoked sturgeon with caviar really got my attention. Was it as wonderful as my imagination makes it?

 

[MetsFan5]

Wow @ProfessionalHobbit I wish I had visited that restaurant when I was in town 2 weeks ago! Something to look forward to. Happy birthday to your husband. 

[MSRadell]

18 hours ago, ProfessionalHobbit said:

We celebrated my hubby's 60th birthday tonight at Acquerello.

 

Highly recommended and much better execution than our recent experience at SPQR which is another place that does "new-style Italian cuisine".

 

Total bill was $459 (including tax and 20% tip) for two people. 

 

This place is definitely on our "return" list. Simply lovely.

 

Looks like you had a great meal! I went and looked at the menu and it looks great but this on the bottom of the menu "A 4% surcharge is added for San Francisco Employer Mandates" is something I find very upsetting. Whatever those may be they are just a cost of doing business. I'm assuming they are trying to get a point across to government officials.

[ProfessionalHobbit]

6 hours ago, kayb said:

@ProfessionalHobbit, that looks absolutely amazing. The smoked sturgeon with caviar really got my attention. Was it as wonderful as my imagination makes it?

 

 

@kayb - it was definitely a high point.

 

@MetsFan5 - thanks!

 

@MSRadell - that refers to http://ggra.org/issues-advocacy/healthcare/

 

Quote

A business has the discretion to charge a surcharge for any purpose as long as it is disclosed to the customer prior to purchase.  Businesses that choose to label a surcharge for health care expenses, HCSO, etc., will need to report to OLSE what percentage of that surcharge was allocated to health care expenditures and will need to report their expenditures, which need to be equal to or less than the amount collected.  If the amount collected from the surcharge for employee health care is greater than the amount spent on employee health care, the employer must irrevocably pay or designate an amount equal to that difference for employee health care. Surcharges are sales taxable.

 

The surcharge disclosures are designed to prevent consumer fraud; you should include any surcharges on your menu as well as label them on the bill representing the percentage or fee amount.  If you have a surcharge for “Healthy SF” or “Health Care”, your customers (and the City) expect 100% of that money to be spent on healthcare. If you have an “SF Employer Mandate(s)” surcharge and some portion of that surcharge is used to cover the cost of the ordinance, you will need to allocate the appropriate percentage of the surcharge to cover costs of the Health Care Security Ordinance and report that on your annual form to the City.

 

I'm happy to pay the extra cost since it will go to a good cause. It doesn't bother me in the least.

[MetsFan5]

Yep that’s the norm in SF. And I have zero issue with it.  The less people who are uninsured, the more health insurance

costs. 

[MSRadell]

On 6/25/2018 at 1:11 AM, ProfessionalHobbit said:

I'm happy to pay the extra cost since it will go to a good cause. It doesn't bother me in the least.

I certainly agree, my point is that is just the cost of doing business so included in the price of the meal. Don't fool people with a lower price on the menu and then tack on surcharges to cover either items. If it costs you $X to cover food, salaries and benefits so be it, but that price on the menu.

[MetsFan5]

6 hours ago, MSRadell said:

I certainly agree, my point is that is just the cost of doing business so included in the price of the meal. Don't fool people with a lower price on the menu and then tack on surcharges to cover either items. If it costs you $X to cover food, salaries and benefits so be it, but that price on the menu.

 

  Every time I’ve dined out in SF, which was daily for a week recently, the surcharge was listed on the menu. 

Edited June 29, 2018 by MetsFan5 (log)