Belden Taverna

My co-​worker used to work across the street and recommended this place for dinner last night. We had the following to share:
— bruschetta with prosciutto, fig jam, and burrata (4.5 stars): delicious but a little bit on the sweeter side due to the the fig jam (ok with me as I love sweets but be beware)
— pear and gorgonzola salad (4 stars): also very good and I liked how they cut the pear (in thin strips vs slices)
— beef carpaccio (5 stars): soooo amazing! everyone enjoyed this the most of all the apps
For dinner, I had the ravioli filled with short ribs (4.5 stars). It was fabulous — just the right amount of short ribs, pasta, and sauce.
For dessert, we split the limoncello crème brûlée. This was also a winner (5 stars). All in all, we had a wonderful dinner and had to roll ourselves home :).

Of all the restaurants in the alley, this one has become one of my favorites because their menu has a good variety, the food is always fresh and hot and the service is attentive. I’ve eaten at every one of the restaurants in the alley and Belden Taverna is consistent for Lunch, Dinner and Happy Hour. And I should note, their Happy Hour is awesome. There are lots of food choices, not the typical fried-​only stuff, but $ 1 Oysters, Fish Tacos, Deviled Eggs, Sliders, Crab Cakes, and a great number of other yummy things. They offer beers and wines for $ 5 too. For Lunch, I enjoy their Burgers both Venison and Beef, Flat Iron Steak and their Pork Chop (love it). The meat is cooked to perfection and very juicy. They are often accompanied by vegetables of some sort but not just boring steamed broccoli. I like to get a delicious pasta for Dinner to soak up the booze. Franz, the owner/​manager is always on hand which I think is nice and necessary because things can go wrong and he’s able to fix it. He’s there to greet and make sure you’re taken care of and he’s not too pushy when you’re walking through the alley but will suggest things to entice you and sometimes it does the trick when I’m not sure where to go for that particular excursion.

Prime outdoor seating.
Heat lamps, comfy couches and chairs.
Romantic atmosphere.
Small, yet terrific wine list.
Small, yet comprehensive menu.
Feel good food.
Outstanding service.
Alexa, our server, is top notch at what she does. Alexa took care of us with ease and sophistication. We’ll be back.

Franz assisted me in hosting my IT department team party. He and his staff were amazing. They kept the food coming and the drinks flowing. It was the perfect spot for our party of about 40. The food was delish!

Good food but portions could be bigger. Cold breeze blowing through the indoor seating area. Quaint outdoor alley seating with heaters. If you sit inside, expect to hear a constant slamming front door that shakes the whole place. Liquor selection is just okay. A few decent beers on tap.

Competition on Belden and around it for lunch $ is brutal, and Taverna is just OK in that context. I liked the ambiance, and service was prompt and very friendly — our wait staff was truly nice. The menu is surprisingly void of any carbs, like risotto and pasta. Yes, it is an Italian steakhouse, but even so I think the menu should have some pasta/​risotto options. Instead you get small plates, salads, and beef/​chicken and seafood entrees only.
I had the skirt steak in blue cheese and arugula, and it was good. Prices are comparable to the other establishments in the area, and that’s the problem; with food quality appropriate of a «tavern» so do prices need to be realigned.

This was a nice place to have lunch but the service very slow and the meatballs were cold when they finally arrived to my table which could only mean they were waiting in me just as long as I was waiting on them. Also check your receipt prices on receipt a dollar more than on menu.

The food is overpriced and not worth the cost. Overall the service was good, but the the pasta with clams was lackluster. There are better restaurants in the city that cost less.

Accessibility (Parking /​Wait Time)
¹⁄₁ Star: I walked there but parking at night didn’t look like a problem. There are also public paid parking lots in the area. No wait for a table for 2.
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Service (Waiter /​Cleanness /​Ambiance)
⁰⁄₁ Star: poor service by everyone from the host, waiter, and someone who looked like he was supervisor or owner. The outdoor table and seats were on a slant. Seating is cramp. The Ambiance for this place wasn’t nice, there was graffiti on the wall and a bird feather that dropped on the table. Looking up you’ll see the nice lights of the other street restaurants which was nice.
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Taste (0=Not Edible /​1=Edible /​2=Good (average) /​3=Must Try!)
¹⁄₃ Stars: the food was edible but it wasn’t great. The crab cake tasted like salsa and the stroganoff meat was really dry.
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Overall Experience
²⁄₅ Stars
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Last Words
Interesting how this was one of the more busy restaurants in the ally.

WOW, if ever in the Financial District looking for some bomb crab cakes, very happy happy hour (out-​of-​this-​planet-​award-​winning bubbly pear included), or a go-​to dinner date spot with friendly faces and pretty lights…
If not, go anyways and share a laugh with the owner. He knows what’s up.

Came here for happy hr. Cute lil place the staff and owner was friendly but the food was a bit to salty the drinks were good might come here only for the drinks next time.

Four of us had a wonderful dinner here several weekends ago before going to a comedy show.
We sat outside & the weather was just perfect.
We started with some appetizers.
Lobster «Escargot» — was tasty
Arancini was quite enjoyable as well.
For main course I had Filet Mignon. It was cooked perfectly (medium rare)
My husband had spaghetti with clams which he liked.
Our friends had Cioppino (restaurant had a different name for it) & Kobe Beef Short Ribs. Both were delicious.
Special mention goes to the Cocktail that I had. It was called «Omar’s Revenge» & I absolutely loved it. I very rarely drink but I had to have two of those, which left me a bit giddy & very happy.
Others had red wine.
We finished our meal with an Apple Tart & Vanilla ice-​cream. Did not enjoy the tart.
Our server was efficient & fun.
We had a wonderful evening with good food & great laughs.
Can’t wait to go back for some Omar’s Revenge!

Great place in the Belden Place alley. Food is great. Staff very nice. especially the owner.

What a cool vibe. All these great restaurants in an alley way (Belden Place) in the Financial District. About 8 restaurants with outdoor seating. This particular restaurant Taverna was amazing. Was seated by a gentleman that said, «Come and eat in my restaurant. We have great food.» Well… YES THEY DO! The service was great. The food was amazing. No complaints whatsoever.
We will definately be back!

My dinner here could have been great if Franz the manager had not used the indoor dining room as a locker room platform for his bigoted misogynistic views.
I opted to sit at the bar as I was alone for dinner on a business trip. There were a few men and one lady at the bar when I started my dinner.
Franz boisterously gave commentary on the game on TV (which was muted… something Franz might learn from).
When the lady left (she seemed to be a regular as he spoke quite familiarly with her) he asked the bartender if on her previous visit she had brought any «pretty girls or just her fat friends» with her.
He continued his penile opinions on sports endorsements from Addis and referred to a sports player as «a faggot».
While the bartender was nice and his menu recommendations were very good, I prefer my food seasoned with a little less hate.

Stumbled upon this gem while on vacation in SF. Excellent service! I had the oriecchette, which was great! However, it was nothing compared to the fried chicken my hubby ordered. I wanted to steal it from his plate. All of it. And I don’t even really like fried chicken. Someone please tell me how it’s made. Living in TX, it’s not likely I’ll make it back anytime soon.
The only downside was the very loud bartender, and his very loud friend at the bar. Quite annoying!
Will return if we make it back to San Fran!

Make sure to get the seasonal mushrooms. Got them last time and can’t wait to go back and get them again.

I would love to tell you about the food but I’ve been sitting here for an hour and I have yet to taste it so therefore it earns 1 start no matter of how it tastes from this point forward this place sucks.
Update we walked out. Waiter was rude from start, worse when we left. Forget this place for their employees

Très bon restaurant, service agréable. Nous avons été placés dans la salle à l’étage où nous avons manger en toute tranquillité. Nous avons pris du vin Francis Coppola qui été franchement bon, et sur les conseils du serveur des fruits de mer. Dessert inutile, nous étions calés !
Adresse à conserver ;)

Belden Taverna
I picked this place because it was near my grand Daughters office and the Unilocal reviews we’re good. I also made the reservations through Unilocal that was kind of cool.
It’s a fun place down a quaint little alley with lots of neat restaurants. We sat outside it was a beautiful San Francisco evening. We had beef stroganoff, Rack of lamb and salmon plus 2 bottles of wine and dessert. The food was excellent the place is very charming. My stomach was full but my wallet was emptied. We next walked down the street to the cigar bar and grill and that was fun too.

I had no idea that this Belden alley area was right here, in Financial District! It’s a neat little pedestrian street with a bunch of restaurants. I highly recommend sitting outdoors. There are lights strung overhead and the temperature was comfortable while sitting and eating (although it was a warm night when I went, so I’m not sure if there are heat lamps or not). It kinda reminds me of the smaller streets in Italy.
I came to Belden Taverna with some friends for dinner since, to be honest, our first choice restaurant was closing early (what was with that?!). Anyway, this Taverna ended up being great and it was a new place for all of us to try.
Rather than getting individual entrees, we shared a bunch of share plates: mussels, pork belly, brussel sprouts, beef carpaccio, arancini and deviled eggs. Also had a few drinks (Blue Moons and bubbly pear cocktails all around) and dessert! Dessert was profiteroles — big size that was good for at least two people if not more. I was definitely stuffed by the end of all this.
Overall, the food was good (albeit pricey like the other restaurants in this area), the service was friendly, and the atmosphere was really nice. It’s a good place to hang out with friends (yo!) and also for date night. My friends and I went near closing time, but I expect the restaurants in this whole street/​alley probably get busy around «regular» dinner hours. It’s probably a good place for business dinners too.

The Food:
Came for Restaurant Week. Not bad but not outstanding either. Good flavor but temperature was an issue. Arancini just isn’t any good when eaten cold. My friend’s lobster chowder should more correctly have been called a corn and bacon chowder.
My fried chicken was suitably moist and juicy. It was a huge portion since it seemed like they gave me a whole ½ of the bird. I ate 2 pieces, shared 1 piece with my friends and took home another 3 pieces. The mashed potatoes were creamy but I wish I had asked to substitute the sauteed spinach.
One friend’s salmon was nicely grilled. She also had to take home half her meal. My other friend’s short rib was very tender if a bit stringy. The taste was satisfyingly umami. We helpfully cleaned her plate for her. There were absolutely no leftovers to take home from her plate, since we declined to pack the only thing left on her plate, the fat.
For dessert, my 2 friends elected to get the sorbet while I got the lemon panna cotta. The sorbet was orange. It was served with a vanilla crème anglaise. The dessert was a gourmet take on an orange dreamscicle. My panna cotta was nicely creamy but I think they included the pith of the lemon to make the custard. There was a pronounced bitter aftertaste.
The Setting:
It was certainly atmospheric. We were seated in the alley under the awning. The overhead heater gave just enough heat to ward of the night chill. Unfortunately, the pavement was sloped and my chair kept rocking back and forth as I had to lean forward to eat. To lounge, I had to lean back and to talk to my friend on my left, my chair automatically rocked left with me. Good thing I didn’t get seasick with all that rocking.
The place was also too dim. I’m all for mood lighting, but having to hold a menu up to your nose to read, is not conducive to setting the right mood. Fortunately, the place next door had brighter lights and we were able to catch some ambient light by angling our menus towards the neighboring resto.
Finally, our server was friendly enough but seemed to be brand new. She didn’t know the menu and repeatedly had to go ask the kitchen when she couldn’t answer our questions. These weren’t frivolous questions because one of my friends is allergic to nuts and seafood among other things. Our server was patient and made multiple trips to get answers from other staff but we could see that she was overwhelmed by our high maintenance table.
Conclusion:
Food and service was OK. I wouldn’t be adverse to returning but it isn’t a priority.