Service Beyond Compare at Cotogna, San Francisco!

For my very special birthday this year, my family took me to Cotogna in San Francisco. Ok, well I chose the restaurant as I always like to do my research ahead and make my selections carefully. I was opting for something that was not too over the top and yet would satisfy my foodie tastes. Cotogna hit the mark for sure, but the pleasant surprise was the incredible service and attention we received that really made our night!

We had to wait a bit as it is a small restaurant and our table was still filled with guests from the prior seating. However, the staff went out of their way to ensure our comfort and were more than gracious about it. It gave us an opportunity to enjoy the ambiance and watch the radiant fire in their unique wood burning oven. That was a treat in itself.

My oldest son always selects our wine as he is both a Level One Sommelier and a Certified Specialist of Wine. His expertise has never let us down on selecting something both delicious & original giving us an opportunity to expand our repertoire of fine wines. In this instance, the restaurant did not have their own Sommelier and their list was complete with wines originating in Italy which made our choices more difficult. Our server came to the rescue with an abundance of knowledge and offered a tantalizing discussion resulting in a collaboration between the two of them and some great wine for us!

We ordered a variety of plates to share; my favorite way to dine paving the way for a spectacular dining experience. For starters we began with their:

•  Grilled Artichoke Salad
• Fava Bean Sformato
• Trofie with Mussels & Pesto.

They were all very unique and quite delicious. The winner of these was the Fava Bean Sformato. Fava beans, being a favorite of mine that I often plant for my winter garden. I understand the care and time it takes to unleash those little jewels from their outer layers which elevates them to a caviar-esque level. The sformato itself (a soft, molded custard) was rich and delicate and utterly succulent. Paired with the fava beans, it was devine!

Another bottle of outstanding wine…

For our next course we selected three more items to share:  

• Wolfe Ranch Quail, Farro, Turnips & Rhubarb Mostarda,
• Strozzapreti Cacio e Pepe
• Hanger Steak with Anchovy-Mustard Butter.

Impossible to select a winner from these three as they were all very different and wonderful in their own way. Top quality ingredients cooked to perfection and well balanced as a group. Food fit for a king!

We were quite full at this point, but being my birthday celebration, we had to indulge in at least one dessert to share. We decided on their Rhubarb Clafoutis & Sicilian Pistachio Gelato. Oops, we forgot to take a photo of this before devouring it almost completely, but you can see we enjoyed it!