My friend Jeremy and I got together for dinner on Friday night. He wanted something fun and new and so I told him to check out the section on my website “Josephine’s List of Places to Try.” I’m really glad he picked up on my ESP because I was hoping he would pick Conduit. The vibe at Conduit is minimalist and modern. I was really impressed with the open space and architecture. I’m including quite a few more pictures of the restaurant itself than I usually do because I found it so unique. Conduit by definition means a pipe or tube and as such, the restaurant is flowing with conduits. As you enter the double doors, a large fireplace centers the restaurant with a small bar to the right. They have kitchen counter seating along with a back private room. With minimal black tables and chairs, the main decor is steel and copper colored conduit lining the walls and ceilings.
We arrived a few minutes before our 8:15pm reservation and were warmly greeted by both the host and hostess. They appeared to be a little backed up on their 2 person reservations as we slowly saw several couples being seated from the bar. After about 15 minutes, the host was kind enough to bring us complimentary glasses of prosecco while we waited. There would have definitely been a cupcake docked had he not! Finally seated, we studied the menu and popped open a bottle of wine.
The menu is very focused with an interesting combination of poultry, fish, and meat. For the
appetizers, we were intriqued by the fettucine with beef pork sugo and black truffle ($12), hamachi with avocado, cucumber, and lime ($14), and the tortellini with braised oxtail, french onion, and gruyere ($12). We decided to go for something a little out of the ordinary and got the quail, served two ways with a fried green tomato ($14). The dish was very interesting in that the quail was breaded and fried and served over a tomato and the other was grilled and served over a fried tomato. A little play on opposites. Although quail is often tiny, we still got some tasty bites and it was excellent!
For the entrees, the waiter recommended the roasted pork with sweet corn and bacon ($26) and halibut with roasted summer squash ($26). Going against both his recommendations, we went with the short rib
($26) which I heard was fantastic and the game hen with pea green ravioli and wild mushrooms ($24). I was really curious about the game hen as it was prepared sous vide. For those of you that are not familiar with that term, it is a French method of cooking ingredients in a vacuum sealed plastic pouch submerged in hot water well below boiling point for a long time, sometimes well over 24 hours. The result is a juicy, tender piece of meat. Both entrees were fantastic and the portions were good sized. Each component of the dishes had big flavors that balanced well together and everything was perfectly seasoned. We were too stuffed to even look at the dessert menu. Perhaps next time…
Conduit turned out to be everything we were looking for – fun and new. A great date place, a great place to catch up with an old friend, a great place to grab a drink, or somewhere to experience good food in a warm environment. My only complaint for Conduit was that they seemed to be off on their timing the whole evening. From the beginning with reservations to the dinner lag between courses. Definitely go with someone you can easily share conversation with!
Neighborhood: Mission280 Valencia St
(between 14th St & Brosnan St)
San Francisco,
CA
94103
(415) 552-5200
www.conduitrestaurant.com
