SPQR – Yes, it’s in San Francisco

Absolutely no clue what it stands for or even how to pronounce, but I don’t care! I loved it! Taking over the former Chez Nous spot on Fillmore @ Bush St., another hit for A16 chef Nate Appleman and Daniel Holzman of Campton Place. They are serving up weekday lunches, dinner, and weekend brunches and seating is on a first come, first serve basis so get there early!

Appetizers galore! Each antipasti platter falls into one of three groups: cold, hot, or fried. Each one is $7 or choice of three for $18 or five for $28. I voted for all 5 of the fried apps! Everything sounded great that it was hard to choose. All apps were made with fresh vegetables and herbs. The flavor of each item was really enhanced by the perfect seasoning as well. We started off with the brussels sprouts with garlic, capers, lemon and parsley, potatoes with pancetta, chiles and pecorino, fried chicken livers, white beans and puntarelle, and the polenta with pork soffrito. Not being a huge fan of polenta, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The texture was very thick and creamy but the best part was the pork sauce over it. The clear winners were the brussels sprouts and the potatoes. Both were crispy, caramelized and full of flavor!

They offer a variety of pastas with very simple sauces and toppings. We went with the carbonara – guanciale (which is pretty much bacon), eggs, black pepper, and pecorino. They also have a trombette with broccoli that was a favorite of the waitress. They also sell their fresh pastas for $5/lb.

For the entrees, we ordered the pork shoulder and beef brisket. Both were amazingly tender and full of flavor. I would like to go back to try the whole fried young chicken with lemon. This came out at the table next to us and was the cutest little fried chicken!

I was a little disappointed by the desserts. None of them really caught my tastebuds. We tried the panino with caramelized milk, pears, and shaved chocolate and sea salt. The waitress described it as french toast. Sadly enough, fairly accurate. The chocolate panna cotta more resembled chocolate pudding. The crispy walnut topping was pretty tasty though!

Wine list is pretty much all Italian, so brush up on your chiantis or ask for a recommendation!

(415) 771-7779