Nopa

I have an unreal backlog of new restaurants I've tried, so here we go again--starting with Nopa!Nopa genuinely surprised me. Despite its lower Yelp ratings, everything exceeded my expectations.We were seated upstairs, which helped with the medium-loud atmosphere and noise level. Service was wonderful, even with a small snafu - still absolutely no complaints.To start, we had the soup--perfect for the chilly night. Then came the smoked trout latke, hands down the best thing I've had in a while. If you order just one thing here, let it be the latke. Trust me.Next up was the roasted lamb. Cooked beautifully, but the small potato chips on the side? Not a fan. They felt out of place and took away from the dish.For mains, we debated between the pork chop, steak, and cheeseburger. But when you see nearly everyone in the restaurant ordering the burger, you kinda have to. And let me tell you, it was the right call. A hefty beef patty, and the cheddar cheese they used was incredible. I could eat pounds of that cheese on its own - as someone who rarely eats dairy.We also ordered the chicory salad, which was supposed to replace the fries. But the kitchen forgot our request, so we ended up with both--no complaints there.Parking is nonexistent in SF. Save yourself the headache and just Uber. Thankfully, my girl friend lives nearby, so we found a spot and walked over.Good vibes, great food--9.5/10. Would definitely return.

i've had this on my list for so long and i am quite disheartened with my experience :(me and my friend were in the area and did a walk in on sunday at 8pm and got seated at the bar. we ordered the cheese burger & the passion fruit sorbet. it took 45 minutes for the burger to come out and i kid you not, every party next to us seated briefly before us, were long gone and the bar seats were cleared before the burger came out.we were definitely forgotten or not accounted for, and of course it's a sunday night an hour and half before closing so i was being understanding about the service but the wait didn't add up. outside of this, the burger itself was quite flavorless, the buns were barely toasted and still soggy :c i LOVE burgers and not the pickiest for them but this was disappointing. the fries were overall soggy with salt placed on the side for us to add for ourselves which i didn't mind if it wasn't for the blandness of everything else. the sorbet was simply three scoops in a bowl and unmemorable i'd like to come back for a proper meal but truly my experience was so disheartening with both service and food

Good service (despite being a very busy hour) and good ambiance. We tried the flatbread, goat cheese, veg tagine and fried chicken. The food taste was pretty substandard and quite disappointing for such a popular restaurant. There was not a single dish which made us feel like we need to go back. Hard pass

Great service, but the food is very hit or miss, some of it is amazing, some of it is meh. I think this is one of those places you have to go dish by dish (which is hard since the menu changes daily). The ambiance isn't bad, but it's not that great either. They do have some great desserts and some good mains, but most of the appetizers aren't so great, I would probably skip the apps if you're coming here and play it safe.Food: 3.5/5Service: 4/5Ambiance: 3.5/5Value: 3/5Overall: 3.5/5

Make reservations in advance because this place is BUSY. I love the layout of the restaurant, hip but still classy. High ceilings, cozy tables. Great date spot; although, it's a tad noisy and I felt like I had to raise my voice to speak to the person with me. Service was excellent. There was never a period of time where we were "looking" for our waiter. Also food was atypical and delicious. Dishes were unique and I would pretty much order everything we got again. Duck breast was cooked perfectly, latkes were amazing, vegetable tagine was bursting with flavor, and tiramisu was not too sweet but just right. Honestly an actual 10/10.

I was a fan of NOPA pre pandemic and despite not going there in 3+ years, found that I still liked it. I do think some of the praise ("best restaurant in SF") is overrated. I also have found that the quality/consistency has decreased a little over the years (and others I've talked to have felt similarly). But the experience (service, beautiful space, ingredient quality) is good - you definitely pay for it though.I haven't had the burger in a long time but it was good. It used to be amazing, I think it got a little less great each time I had it but solid. I used to say it was one of my favorite burgers in SF, not sure if I'd still say that but it was good. Some of their menu changes due to seasonality but there are some dishes that are consistently on it although the specifics of those dishes like the garnishes and sauces changes with what is in season. Some of their standard dishes include the pork chop, the burger, fried chicken, a fried fish dish, flat bread, and a few others. The menu isn't huge but I think there's something for most people. I've found that there can be some seasoning issues - the albacore with peppers, roasted potatoes, aioli, and an egg which was basically a deconstructed niçoise was a great idea but the heavy handedness of the flakey salt made certain bites almost inedible. The fried chicken has a great crunchy crust but the Moroccan spices were a slightly odd addition in my opinion and the chicken itself was a bit dry. Other dishes in the past have sometimes felt over or under seasoned (they give you some flakey salt so under seasoning is honestly less of any issue because you can fix it). For me, it's more of 3 and a half stars. I round up because it is a nice experience and they have good cocktails although the prices are probably just a tad higher than I would ideally expect. By no means a cheap meal but it's nice for taking out of town guests or if you want a special meal. Reservations can be a little tough but are definitely easier to get now than before the pandemic. You can also walk in. I've had pretty good luck at getting last minute reservations as well.

Located a block from Alamo Square Park, this is a popular bar restaurant! Upscale American cuisine featuring indoor and outdoor seating. I highly recommend their Smoked trout latke, generous piece of smoked trout over a piece of orange on a fried latke. They charge for bread and butter, so I would recommend their warm olives with bread. The best item is their buttermilk fried chicken with honey dipping sauce. Thick pieces of chicken and delicious crust! Their dry aged New York steak was very smoky and flavorful.

I have to say it ... NOPA is another basic San Francisco restaurant ... it's good and has lively vibes and there's always a wait but there was nothing outstanding about the food. It's similar to beretta, Starbelly, Delfina, etc ... all of the same type of cuisine.We shared the burger (I can't even remember what it looked like), the beans and the beet "salad" . Honestly I loved the beet salad the most although it's kind of sad looking and not like a "filled out" plate. They also have a full bar and I'm sure it's good but whatever the bartender ended up serving us tasted like cherry cough syrup.Service is really good though!

Nopa is perfect. Anyone who says otherwise? A liar! (Okay, maybe not, but seriously, this place is that good.)If you can't snag a reservation, don't worry--try your luck at the bar or the communal table. The vibe is effortlessly charming, making it perfect for date night or even just treating yourself.I've never had a single bad dish here. Quite the opposite--so many dishes have completely floored me. The cheeseburger? Always amazing. The pork chop? Pure magic. I almost cried eating the tagliatelle. And the smoked trout latkes? I don't even like smoked fish, but those latkes? Life-changing.Honestly, I could sit here and name every dish on the menu because they're all worth raving about. I keep coming back to Nopa, and every time, it reminds me why it's one of the best restaurants in SF.

Nopa has been around since 2006 and always received stellar reviews as a farm to table favorite. Since we had never tried it, we decided to finally check it out though husband is not a foodie. We got a 5:30 pm reservation for inside on a November night and people were lined up as they open at 5:30. We had specified it was our anniversary yet they did nothing special to recognize it. They initially were going to sit us upstairs, but we asked to sit downstairs in a booth, so they placed us in a two top near the wall and very close to others (we could hear every conversation - congrats to the college kid and his baseball scholarship). We were dismayed to see several booths later filled with two people - were they regulars? Hubby ordered a Bulleit manhatten but they didn't have that brand, so he ordered it with another bourbon. What came out tasted like a chemicals so he sent it back (they didn't charge him). I stuck with a $20 glass of sauv blanc and it was fine.We started with the grilled calamari for $20 which was tasty but small portions and a bit chewy. The chickpeas and salsa accompanying was very good. We also ordered bread with house whipped butter for $9. Pricey but that butter was delicious,Husband ordered the famous pork chop, which was big and served with a side of sweet potato mash and greens for $49. He enjoyed it but said it wasn't the best he ever had.I ordered the tagliatelle with house made bolognese over rapini at $35, which was delicious. Sauce was made with pork and beef and I took half home, which heated up nicely the next day.We finished by sharing a mascarpone semifreddo with figs and honey, which was good but not amazing at $18. Asked for a glass of port but they only had bottles (?).Service was good and our waiter tried his best. Meal ended up at $180, they only charged us for one glass of wine each though we had two, not sure if a mistake or trying to make it better after a bad start. I would return for lunch and sit outdoors on a sunny day.