cenzosf-eats

Yelp scares me…..

After reading all of the comments on Yelp about Quince on Octavia and Bush I was a bit nervous to eat there for my birthday dinner.  The complaints were that it was too expensive, too stuffy and too snooty.  I have to admit I went there with a chip on my shoulder, especially as they could only seat us at 9:30pm on a Sunday!  I wasn’t paying though and it was Memorial Day weekend so Sunday was actually more like a Saturday. 

When we arrived at the place, and it is small, we saw that every table was full.  There was no place else to stand than the front door space.  The hostess arrived and said that our table was not ready yet.  She recommended we go to a bar down the street and around the corner.  She was nice but was politely trying to discourage us from standing in the doorway.  We walked over to the bar, they were closed….  Now I have to admit I kept having to repeat to myself, “you have a chip on your shoulder, let it go, have a nice time…” 

We got back to the place, now 20 minutes later and our table was still not ready.  The girl offered us a drink and with alcohol and a constant meditation I was OK.  The person delivering the drinks was Katrina, who I remembered from Boulevard many years ago.  She was very apologetic and sweet.  She chatted us up a moment and then went off on to the floor.  She was very upset that tables were not moving, and it kind of made it better for me.

We did get into our table about 30-35 minutes past our reservation.  They had overheard that it was my birthday, I did not mention it when we reserved the table, so they printed new menus with “Happy Birthday Vince” on them.  The wait staff was so very attentive and things just kept coming out of the kitchen.  Katrina overheard me talk about a squash blossom on one of my co-diners plates and within minutes all 4 of us received a squash blossom, which was amazing BTW.

The menu was pricey, mostly tasting menus starting at $95 per person for food.  The ala-carte was OK as long as you only ordered 2 courses, they recommend 3 and I would say the portion size agree with 3 not 2.  We had 3 courses all ala carte and we were all blown away!  The food has a French and Italian flare, very delicate, very local ingredients.  We were all just ohh-ing and ahh-ing over every dish.

I cannot say enough about this place.  Not the cheapest in town but a far better value the Michael Mina or Gary Denko. 

For menus, location, etc go to: www.quincerestaurant.com

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