Locanda

Reviews 6

SA

Samantha Berg

I have to say, I was a little disappointed with my recent visit to Locanda. I had been here once before, years ago, and while I cant remember the experience specifically, I do remember loving the ambience and the food. My visit the other day, though, left me wanting more. We came in at 6:00, and though our reservation wasnt until 6:30, we were seated immediately. Our waiter was great - he recommended cocktails and food and explained all the ingredients and flavors to us to help us decide what to order. We ordered: Prosciutto - Salty, fine, and fatty. Maybe my favorite part of the meal, which is kind of a bummer given its just cured meat, the restaurant didnt necessarily have much to do with it. The meat came with bread on the side, which was warm, crusty, and salty on top. You can order just the bread (the "pizza bianca") but I wouldnt when you can get it on the side with actual food. Jewish Style Artichoke - A single artichoke with the petals splayed out, then fried with salt and pepper and served with lemons. The petals were nice and crispy and the artichoke itself was very simple with salt/pepper/lemon allowing the artichoke flavor to truly stand out. It wasnt overly greasy and was actually quite nice, though it definitely didnt justify the $8 price tag. Tortelli - Creamy inside with chanterelle mushrooms and pinenuts in the dish. Tasty, though you definitely couldnt taste the mint. Im a huge sucker for mushrooms though, which along with the pinenuts, were plentiful and hearty. This dish was definitely better than expected, though the pasta got quite hard in the time the dish sat out (see more about this below). Pork Saltimbocca - A very thin piece of pork with crispy prosciutto on top. The sage leaves on top as well as between the pork and prosciutto added a really nice flavor that complemented the white wine sauce served on top. Unfortunately though, the thinning of the pork caused it to be quite tough not juicy. You had to cut, HARD, with a steak knife to get through it. The sauce really good though, especially on the leftover bread, but as the dish sat out the sauce became filmy. It didnt affect the flavor but it certainly looked a lot less appetizing. While the waiter was great, the servers were less so. They brought our entrees before we were even halfway through our starters. The table for two was cramped to begin with, and adding two entree plates didnt help, plus the food sat out getting cold while we finished our starters. The food was good, but at the end of the day, it was nothing special and it certainly wasnt worth the price that it came at. There are just too many really awesome restaurants at this price point in SF to warrant coming here over any of them. Though I had been super excited to revisit Locanda, I dont think Ill be going out of way to come back any time soon.

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RI

Rich Singer

So good. Went twice this week. First time had the: - shaved artichoke - excellent, great salad with some unique flavor. - pasta with achovies - if you like achovies this is a winner. - brocolli romanesco - just a side dish but I love this vegetable from outer space. I also tried a bit of the pasta with sausage which was very tasty but probably better split since it was a little salty. 2nd time: - jewish artichoke - ok, but not exciting. - fresh greens side dish - ok if you want something light with your dinner. - pasta with some sort of pork from the pig jowls. This was amazing but glad I was splitting it since the meat had a very strong salty taste that was excellent but could overpower if you ate too much. It was almost like a good bacon. - grilled trout with that brocolli romanesco - grilled in their wood over this was among the best fish Ive had. They served us a giant portion of perfect trout. There was enough meat for another 2 people. Bonus is the wine list. Lots of unique italian wines. The staff is extremely knowledgeable. They also make sure to give you options at various price points. Extra bonus, they tell you the prices when they tell you the daily specials. Also, the bar is a very good place to hang out. Excellent and unique mixed drinks with top ingredients. Valet at $12 for the night is a good deal in that area.

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ME

Melissa Pocek

Theres countless ways to describe this hipper (not to be confused with hipster) side of the restaurant scene in the Mission. Though, its simple enough to sum it up in a few words: modern dining with Mad Men inspired cocktails. My friend and I went here and played gastro-roulette where we let the waitress pick out some of her favorite unique dishes for us. She was not only wonderful, but also incredibly intuitive. We were served Jerusalem artichokes and oxtail along with complimentary bubbly to celebrate their second anniversary. What pairs nicely with oxtail? Surprisingly an old fashion. What tops one old fashion? A flight of old fashions which were each uniquely made with different whiskeys, sugared rims, and bitters from exotic parts of the world. We rolled out of Locanda with full bellies and smiling faces.

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NE

Nei Ng

Recently came here again, and I was sad to find that the oxtail entree was no longer there. We ordered the Linguine with Clams and the Whole Fish Acqua Pazza. The Linguine with Clams was not what I thought itd be. I was hoping for more garlic and white wine, but their sauce was a little too sour. It also had this bitter pepper flavor that I didnt like. I normally love Linguine and Clams, but this one was not my favorite. The Whole Fish that night was cod, and it was cooked pretty well. The fish was soft and tender, but it couldve used some more seasoning. There was a light tomato based broth that had an herby highlight from oregano. Although the broth was pretty tasty, it wouldve been better if the fish had more salt or something. With some more seasoning, the fish wouldve paired better with the broth.

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KE

Kevin Colas

Two for the service, some good wines in the selection and the design but the core in a restaurant is the food and the food is all but hand made here. For all customers, stop watching around and look into you place keep you taste buds active without drinking too much and taste the food, really taste it. You will see that tortellinis and black mushrooms are dry items bought at Costco & Co, tripes are probably a can too and very fee things are hand made in that place. Guys, there is no chef behind this kitchen, its an illusion! And not a cheap one. For this price, absolutely everything should be hand made in the restaurant! This is the craft and when its well done. people can pay a lot for it. But not for that. Thanks. Last time I go there and I wont recommend it to anyone.

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LI

Lilian W

We went on a Monday and it was packed! Cauliflower pizza bianca (3 stars; I like cauliflower but the puree sauce was just a bit too much for me), the fried duck egg (5 stars; super rich with a surprising combination of ingredients), the veal casoncelli (4 stars; I thought it was unique but not amazing), bucatini allamatriciana (5 stars; distinctive and delicious flavor and the texture was just perfect). No dessert here; we went to Bi-Rite (: Update: Went again with a party of five. We ordered two bottles of wine, Jewish style artichokes, early girl tomatoes, several pasta dishes: the bucatina, fettuccini, spaghetti, the fish; my favorite was probably the spaghetti, which comes out not looking like spaghetti at all. All in all, it was again a 4 star experience.

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