Sociale

Heard a lot about the place and decided to try it on my partners birthday. Reserved a table for 4 and unlike other restaurants our table was ready when we arrived. Their service was really bad. We got no bread being in an italian restaurant and our server never returned after taking our order until we asked for our food 45 – 50 mins later. After we finished we were looking around for our server for the dessert menu but all none of them were looking at us nor would direct our server to come help us. When she finally arrived we ordered dessert. The ratings for the food as follows:
Game Hen: Try it. It was delish with the fried brussel sprouts. But damn the portion size. I was still hungry.
Fried Olives — Nice — 5 stars.
Quail — Our guests loved it so 5 stars there too.
Lamb Meatballs — Amazing
Portabello Mushroom — my guest loved it.
Dessert. Well we bought the choc cake and it was horrible tasting. Bitter.
For dessert try some other place. They suck.
All comes down to :
Service — Minus one star.
Dessert — Minus one star.
Food — plus one star.
Ambiance — plus one star.
Overall — plus one star.

Very cute spot tucked into a secret alley in Pac Heights. How romantic. The food here wasn’t bad… it just didn’t stand out.
We had the squid ink tagliatelle, the pici bolognese and the pappardelle with braised duck. Portion was not as small as I had braced myself for, but those with a large appetite could get hungry. The duck was soft and the pasta was al dente and bolognese is always safe, but it was just so average, especially for a fine dining restaurant. For the price, there are much better alternatives.
The service and atmosphere was excellent though, and there was an extensive wine list. The ambiance makes it an excellent place to catch up over dinner with friends but for the foodies looking for food that impresses, this may not be the right place.

Delicious. We came here for NYE and had the 4-​course tasting menu. Every staff person is gracious and attentive, such great service. This really reminds me of Quince pre-​North Beach when it was in Pac Heights, it has a quaint, warm neighborhood feel.
The by the glass wine list is solid with a nice range of prices, and great half + full-​bottle deals.
The sommelier or wine manager was resourceful and gave spot-​on description and recommendations. Favorite for the evening: Barolo «SAN PIETRO» — 04’
For the food, started the evening with Potato Sformato and Radicchio salad. The potato dish was delicate, with a strong truffle flavor *yum!*. The salad was well dressed and an overall balance. We had an identical second course, as their was only one veg option, Ricotta Casonsei, and it was mouth watering good (Quince quality pasta). Our third course, again the only veg option, the Portobello Mushroom. The dish was more reminiscent of a polenta and was perfect, sitting on a roasted red pepper sauce. Dessert was tasty but not memorable, we had the sorbet which was light and tasty but not exciting, along with the blackberry parfait that tasted a bit like a deconstructed lemon cheesecake, it was good yet similar to a lot of dishes I’ve had before.
Overall, a strong presence of truffle and mushroom throughout, more variety would have been nice.
Great evening, spent close to $ 300 with tax and tip, 4 glasses of wine and 2 espressos. A little pricey yet reasonable. Would definitely go back.

This is your classic neighborhood restaurant… Italian. Small quaint and in a great neighborhood. We sat at the bar cause we were walk-​ins the place filled up rapidly. We had the special of the night Pork Shank over polenta with Marsala mushroom sauce. It was done perfectly and large enough for both of us to share. We had the bartender pick our wine from a large by the glass selection of Italian wines. The menu is great and well balanced and the food is spot on in execution and presentation. I would go back with no hesitation.

We came here last night for my early birthday/​pre-​Eurotrip/​pre-​holidays/​nice evening dinner.
Such a lovely place, from walking down the intimate alley to sitting under the heat lamp, surrounded by trees with lights. The music is a nice touch. It could be a tad louder. Essentially, this is my perfect ambiance.
Now, the food. They appear to change their menu a lot, which is a great sign, to me, despite not being able to get items that look amazing in others’ Unilocal pics. We ordered their current seared scallops, brussel sprouts, squid ink pasta, steak, and a couple glasses of wine. Everything was fresh and delicious, except the noodles were pretty bland.
The service was attentive yet not overbearing. Our waiter was semi new, but he did an excellent job explaining the specials and making us feel welcome.
Thanks, Sociale, for a taste of Italy.

I selected this restaurant for a birthday treat for my roommate. This restaurant was soo cute and charming. The food was amazing… I particularly liked the root vegetables with burrata and almond crackers and the kalettes and brussel sprouts… My roommate loved the sole. Everyone was nice and accomodating but I have to say our waiter Matthew didn’t miss a beat. He was nice, attentive and warm. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes a cozy familial atmosphere with delicious food.

Such a cute and romantic spot tucked away in a small alleyway. It’s pretty small and a reservation is definitely needed. There’s outdoor seating you can take advantage of when it’s warmer.
Got the squid ink tagliatelle which was REALLY good. I’m always in the mood for seafood and having a clam-​filled pasta really hit the spot. The service + the food + the ambience = a very positive dining experience. Also get the pear galette for dessert!

So happy we tried this. Just perfect. Great service! Outstanding flavors & presentation!

I saw this place last year when I had dinner at Spruce and made a note of it. I was up in SF for an event which packs just about every restaurant in the city, but figured this one was more of a neighborhood place and we might be able to get in.
This place is small inside, but with a very nice patio area. We needed to add an extra person to our party, which the accommodated without a problem. Immediately, we felt at home. And then the food…
…which was amazing. Definitely Italian, but with a modern influence. The appetizers were scallops, lamb meatballs and fried olives. All were great — my favorite was the scallops (but then they almost always are). For the mains, it was a tough choice, but I went with the duck pappardele, which is their signature dish. Absolutely amazing. It reminded me of a very high-​end restaurant in Barcelona that served a similar dish. The desserts were all fantastic — i wasn’t able to pick a favorite, but we had the caramel cream, chocolate cake, pear galette, and sorbet. We couldn’t finish them all.
There wine list was a pleasant surprise — mostly Italian wines. We picked a Brunello (which was good) and a Barolo (which was great).
Definitely recommend this place — it’s a bit out of the way, but the Pac Heights neighborhood is great for a visit.

I have been coming here for years, and a review is looooong overdue. This is a great gem of a restaurant in San Francisco. It is across the street form Spruce — see my Unilocal review — and it is just a lovely place. First, I love how it’s tucked away; already in a quiet section of Sac, you enter an alley to walk to the back into the restaurant and its patio. A small and cozy entrance welcomes you, and the décor is reminiscent of a good quality family owned restaurant in Northern Italy. The food is scrumptious, the service outstanding. We had a wonderful waitress, and the wine was delivered and served by a dark suited sommelier who very discretely whispered in my ear when serving and pouring.
I started with the white bean crostini and my entrée was the back rib. Phenomenal.

The food here was delicious, the outdoor patio is pretty great, but the service was what made this place a true standout… our waiter was great; attentive, friendly, etc.
I will definitely be coming back here — there are just so many restaurants n SF it’s hard to frequent just one spot, but this one is one of my favorites!

Easily one of the cutest hidden gems in the city. Great food, attention to detail, staff all super friendly, and most importantly you don’t have to yell at each other to hear each other. Nice and quiet hidden thru the alley. Great for all ages, loved it!

Incredible food and service. This was on a list of places to go in San Fran and I was a little skeptical when I saw it from the street but once we went through the awning on the front, it was like stepping through a little magical oasis in the city. I ordered a salmon with veg for dinner and the light buttery/​lemon sauce made me lick the plate. I normally only reserve that behavior for good crème brulee. This sauce was just THAT good.
Dessert was a cherry galette, also very good. The crust was light and flavorful. I only wish there was just a little more ice cream to go with it.
Overall, I cannot wait to go back!

3.5 stars rounding up. The wine was fantastic — we asked the sommelier for recs based on our preferences and they were all great. I absolutely love that you can get ½ glasses as well! One half glass was so good we ended up just getting a second half glass as well. You can also get ½ portions of pasta which is amazing if you like trying more stuff! Now onto the food:
— watermelon burrata salad — with citrus zest and basil. This was good but didn’t feel like the watermelon particularly went with the burrata. It was lacking a salty bite which feta usually provides to this combo. I did like the chili flakes sprinkled throughout for an unexpected combo.
— duck parapadelle: flavor was amazing and I can’t really think of anything to improve on that front. Obsessed with the truffle essence. However was NOT al dente and that’s ²⁄₃ the battle with pasta :(. I liked the flavor enough to risk it the next time I come here, in hopes of getting that perfect chewy texture.
— pici with pork ragu: pici was al dente but the pork in the ragu was overcooked :/​. Flavor was decent but would probably not re-​order this again.
— pork chop special: super juicy, I think from how they brine it overnight. Seared with a great seasoned crust as well. Really enjoyed this dish.

I’ve been here twice for lunch and sat in the shaded patio area both times. They have heat lamps even though the area is pretty protected from the wind. I definitely recommend their White Bean Crostino. Their salads are really tasty too; baby kale does not look like nor taste like adult kale at all.
I’ve had the Brick Game Hen, and that dish is surprisingly filling. The only annoying part is that it’s basically a whole bird halved and prepared so it comes with bones (I don’t really see this as a place where bite meat off the bones with your hands, especially when you’re with coworkers). The Brussels sprouts that come with it have a great crispy crunch on the outside and is still very moist on the inside – actually my favorite part of the dish and I don’t even like Brussels sprouts. I got the Grilled Halibut the second time. It was good, and although I had no idea what red pepper speatzle was, it reminded me of goldfish crackers that don’t get soggy when you put them in soup.
I definitely recommend the Rose Water Panna Cotta. I don’t like floral tastes in my food, but the rose water taste in the panna cotta was appropriately strong and was a great flavor in this thick and creamy dessert.

My visit to Sociale last week (I have been there a number of times) was a disaster: indifferent treatment by the entire staff. No «hello», no «thank you» and no «good-​by»; it was like they all had just been injected with novocaine.
Main entrees are tapa size, so plan on ordering two to three. The $ 20 cheese plate, a real joke; 4 tiny pieces of cheese and a lot of arugula. Only the «no price» meatloaf was a decent portion. And get this…$ 30 corkage! Yes, you heard right.
They think they are the Italian version of the French Laundry doing all their customers a big favor. Do yourself a favor, take a big pass on this «has been» restaurant.

I came by for Dine about town back in June 2013. Being uninspired by their DAT menu, the roommate and I decided to order off their regular menu instead.
Food:
*Bread and butter
*Wagyu bavette steak ($ 32)
*½ Pappardelle with braised duck ($ 10.50)
*Seared scallops ($ 13)
*Daily pork: Pork belly with arugula and watermelon radish ($ 25)
*Grilled asparagus ($ 7)
*Coffee and doughnuts ($ 9)
*Espresso shake from Coffee and doughnuts
*Doughnuts from Coffee and doughnuts
Wine:
*Chianti classico ($ 13)
*Cabernet sauvignon ($ 16)
My favorite dish was the scallops. Tender and plump. So good! The coffee and doughnuts are a must order as well. The doughnuts went perfectly with the shake. Yum!
Service was good. The restaurant configuration is a little confusing as the restaurant seems to be split up into two different rooms. We didn’t sit in the main dining room where we checked in for our reservation. We sat in the room on the left of the courtyard. At first I thought maybe we would feel neglected as there weren’t very many people in the room when we got there. But the meal was nicely paced. Great neighborhood spot!

This one is a tough call…
Sociale is located down an alley near The Magic Flute restaurant on Sacramento.
(It’s across the street from Spruce restaurant.)
The walk down that alley was pretty cool – I never knew that this place existed as you cannot see it from the street.
We decided to sit outside on this pleasant December night. The space heaters were turned on and off during dinner because they have a tendency to provide too much heat at times. Service was fine – a bit stuffy— but fine.
The famous fried olives were just ok. They present well with their perfectly breaded texture, but all you could taste were those green olives. They were stuffed with Fontina cheese but the green olive taste completely overwhelmed any other hint of something else. To me, they tasted like the olives you would get in a martini… except those aren’t breaded and fried!
I ordered the dungeoness crab salad as an appetizer. The salad had quite a bit of crab shell pieces in it… not good for the teeth!
The pappardelle with braised duck was the best dish of the night. It was very tasty and the pasta was cooked al dente. We all shared this plate as an appetizer too.
For my main course I ordered the short ribs. They were served on a bed of polenta and diced black olives. They were too salty and the serving size was very small. The ribs were overcooked tonight.
Desserts were not good. We ordered the Chocolate Oblivion Cake. It was like eating chocolate clay loaded with sea salt on top. Too dense. Too salty. One piece was ordered for 6 people to sample and no one finished it…
The blackberry sabayon was served with 3 tiny lemon bars that were so sweet that no one could finish those either,
The one dessert that everyone liked was the Cinnamon Soaked Sponge Cake. It was moist, flavorful and served with crème fraîche,
Sociale is a restaurant that obviously tries very hard to put out a good product. For me, it wasn’t anything memorable.

Bowled over by the food here!
But that’s not all I was bowled over by … Anna our lovely waitress made it extra special by her excellent service!
I was dressed way to casual for this joint, I felt the cliental were a bit upperty if you know what i mean so make sure you dress smart, but you could get away without a tie! I just wished i had a different top on!
Food was to die for. plates were almost licked clean (if we could). Puddings are in there own to die for. best milkshake (honeycomb) ever and omg the chocolate oblivilon cake was totes amazeballs! BRAVO!

My boyfriend and I came here for our 3^rd anniversary and everything went flawlessly here. Our waiter as well as the manager were so attentive and friendly, which contributed greatly to our dining experience.
Now, the food:
As with most fancier restaurants, they value quality over quantity. The price and portion is comparable to other restaurant of its kind. I ordered the Pici Bolognese and my boyfriend ordered the Wild Boar ravioli. Both had a lot of flavor and were definitely really enjoyable, but I wouldn’t say it was the best food I’ve ever had. The dessert stood out the most for me. We got the Chocolate Oblivion cake and Rasberry Cinnamon Angel Cake? Not sure what the name is for the second one but it’s along those lines. I really loved the Cinnamon cake but the Chocolate Oblivion cake was good too. Overall, I’d definitely go again. It was a fun and romantic experience/​evening (: