SPQR Round 2

So I was told that the 2nd review on a restaurant could prove to be more valuable than the first for a couple of reason. 1) If you go right when a restaurant opens up, they may have not worked out all the kinks or 2) Maybe you just went there on an off-night. If you’d like to read my first review, click here . So, here’s my review on SQPR – the second time around.

Okay, this place still does not take reservations. Haven’t we learned anything from NOPA?? We get there at 5:50pm, granted it’s a Saturday night but it’s an hour and half wait. The hostess kindly tells us to come back at 7:30pm…sheesh! I really want me some fried appetizers and pasta so we decide to wait. Luckily Harry’s had the game on so we were able to occupy ourselves with a few glasses of vino.

The menu hasn’t changed much since I went right when they first opened. There are a variety of cold, hot, and fried appetizers. $8 each, 3 for $21, or 5 for $32. If I had my pick, I’d just stick with the fried! We got some recommendations from the waitress and remembering what I had last time, we had the fried brussels sprouts with garlic, capers, lemon, and parsley, fried calamari with meyer lemon, and fennel salad with tuna converva, chiles, and anchovy. The fennel salad rocked! The crispy fennel was the perfect texture for what tasted like a lighter caesar salad with tuna. I definitely want to try to re-create this at home. The calamari and brussels spouts were repeats for me and still tasty. I also had my eye on the fried sweetbreads, house made pork sausage with braised fennel, and the lobster brodo (soup).

I remember the pastas being exceptional last time, so decided to forfeit any sort of entrees to just focus on pasta. We certainly were not disappointed! It was a really tough choice because I knew from last time the cacio e pepe ($12), amatriciana ($13), and carbonara ($13) were winners. Sticking with the anchovy theme, we got the radiatore with tuna, tomatoes, garlic, anchovies, olives, and capers. These scrunched up pieces of pasta were perfect for holding  the meaty sauce.  We enjoyed the pasta so much because it tasted like a meatier version of a puttanesca.  The other pasta we got was a recommendation from the waitress, the canneloni of pork sausage, ricotta, and pecorino. When I saw our table mates get this, I was super glad we ordered it. The canneloni shells were stuffed with the sausage and ricotta. It wasn’t overly cheesy like most canneloni. The only comment was that the pasta was a little soft. It was topped with this super fresh, bright red tomato sauce. You could really taste the freshness of the sauce. It was absolutely divine!

The entrees they offered that night were the lamb burger ($14), yellowtail with bean puree and red onions ($19), and pork saltimbocca ($19). Wines by the glass, half carafe, and bottles.

(415) 771-7779