Octavia

Had the chance to dine here again and had a great time. We chose the "chef's tasting menu" and the food was fantastic. Service was also outstanding with a friendly, professional and informative team.

I've always walked by this place but never been yet. Decided it was time to try it out and was able to snag a last min Saturday night dinner ressie. | v i b e |The restaurant is on the smaller side but has ample seating. I adore the parklets! By the time we booked a ressie, there was only outdoor seating available. Upon arriving, we were worried it'd be cold sitting outside, but it ended up being very cozy. There are heaters inside and cute little lights! | s e r v i c e |Shout out to our server Zachary! Loved his humor. And he gave us great dish recommendations. | f o o d |Every dish we had was solid and well-thought out. I thoroughly enjoyed every dish we ordered.You must get the duck liver mousse! The rolls with the lavender salt + the mousse is delicious.| t l ; d r |A solid dining experience if you're looking for a new restaurant to try or a nice night out.

KenScale: 8.0/10Visit: December 2023After our blissful few days enjoying wine tastings in the Sonoma wine country last December, my wife Jun and I headed down to San Francisco for spend a few days. It's been a while since we last visited the city which seems to have changed so much during the pandemic era, not always for the positive reasons. I always had fond memories of the culinary experience in the city, however, and was looking forward to checking out a few places we hadn't visited before. One of them where we met Jun's long-time friend who moved to the Bay Area a few years ago (and her newly married husband) was Octavia from chef Melissa Perello. After closing during the height of the pandemic, the restaurant re-opened in 2021, and had emerged as a reliable dining destination in San Francisco. We were somewhat distracted during the meal while catching up with Jun's friend and getting to know her husband, but the dinner at Octavia was overall solid. My favorite part of the meal at the restaurant was in the starter dishes. The trio of beef carpaccio (with bluefin tonnato sauce and watercress), demi-sec beets (accompanied by horseradish in green garlic salsa verde) and cabbages (with black masa miso and root vegetable crumble) were all stand-out dishes that made me realize that Octavia is not just another California restaurant and the kitchen is quite skilled at elevating simple dishes to make them extra special. If you are in need of a pasta fix, you would be quite satisfied with agnolotti with roasted pork jus and sunchokes. The main dishes were slightly mixed. While the black cod with caramelized cauliflower was capably cooked, the pork loin with rutabaga was a bit of a head-scratcher because the texture of the meat was uneven. On the other hand, we also enjoyed the chicken breast and sausage along with celeriac puree and Brussels sprouts, another above average dish that you probably had encountered in other places before but nevertheless would've still enjoyed at Octavia. I do recommend getting one or two desserts before finishing up the meal at the restaurant, especially considering how much Jun enjoyed the two dishes we split together, chocolate semifreddo with peanut butter whipped ganache and tiramisu with ladyfingers.Octavia is a fairly popular restaurant (the dining room was full in the course of our meal and we continued to see diners coming in at 9 p.m. and beyond), so I would suggest booking reservations in advance. The restaurant has a broad wine list with selections not just from California but from many places in Europe, particularly Italy and France. The cozy and inviting neighborhood restaurant vibe is an added plus, although the noise can get slightly overwhelming during peak hours. Octavia is one of those places that quite aptly represents the ethos of California cuisine; its focus on seasonality and fresh ingredients demonstrates why the state has long been considered one of the best culinary destinations in America. I encourage you to visit the restaurant with a group larger than two and try to order as many dishes from the menu as possible to fully enjoy the meal at Octavia.

I came here for a date night on a Thursday evening around 6pm and we were able to get a reservation pretty easily just a few days before! We decided not to get the chef tasting and just ordered a la carte to try more dishes. Although I'm not usually someone who enjoys red meat, my favorite dish by far was the duck breast!! The sauce, the veggies, the duck itself - everything paired so well together. All the apps that we ordered were also pretty good - my favorite was the "advanced bagel" (king salmon crudo). The lobster ravioli on the other hand left much to be desired :( There were only a few pieces and the filling was so dry inside!! The pacing of the dinner was on the quicker side, from the time we sat down and left the restaurant it only took about 75 minutes.

This place is so cute and the food is delicious. We ordered from the a la carte menu and it's perfect to split about 5 things (assortment of apps, first course and second course) plus one dessert. We had a fish crudo with kiwis that was my absolute favorite - and their homemade sourdough is absolutely delicious! My other favorite was the pichana steak that was so tender it literally melted in your mouth. The service was fantastic too. They coursed everything out in a good cadence so we weren't rushed but also weren't sitting there waiting for our next dish. They also have a chefs tasting menu that I think I will try next time. They include off menu items when you do the tasting menu and those items coming out of the kitchen looked great.

Was there this week first time since Covid. Very disappointed. Mediocre food. The worst part was hall staffs were very inattentive. They damaged my credit card while using whatever pos system.

Located on Octavia street , this creative new american restaurant delivers great ambiance and is a perfect place for a date or a special occasion . Of course , the four of us went ham on the menu. We became major stewards of the economy and almost ordered everything. As foodie , it was our mission to devour and reflect . Waiter didn't think we could finish it but I couldn't let food go to waste .We paired our dishes with French Gamay wine. Fabulous selection. Wine was crisp and sweet but not sweet .Food presentation was spectacular. Highlights were the refreshing crudo with the hot hush puppies. Fritto misto were perfectly fried and vegetable gallum added that coated outside texture .For entrees , it was the duck and black cod . Agnolotti and pork shoulders were a bit salty . Dishes we ordered:housemade SOURDOUGH levain, cultured butter or ligurian olive oil (3/5)sablefish COLLAR, sauce choron, soft herbs (4/5)hominy grits HUSH PUPPIES, preserved meyer lemon & mint (5/5)grilled STONE FRUIT, hass avocado, spiced almonds, miriam's greens (4/5) 21 fritto MISTO, summer squash, walla walla onions, vegetable garum dip (4/5)eggplant CAVIAR, black garlic, blistered jimmy nardellos, pita bread 22 local (3/5)albacore CRUDO, serpent cucumbers, yogurt, miriam's sorrels (5/5)AGNOLOTTI DEL PLIN, sweetwater ranch pork, shasta porcini (3/5)CARAMELLE, zucchini, squash blossoms, calabrian chili butter (4/5)sonora wheat LUMACHE, lamb sausage sugo, pesto, bell peppers (3/5)fresh FETTUCCINE, lobster butter, cherry tomatoes, tarragon (4/5)brentwood corn LASAGNA, fonduta, shishito peppers, garlic chive (3/5)half moon bay BLACK COD, succotash, sofrito, purslane (5/5)liberty farm DUCK CONFIT, peperonata & sungolds (5/5)slow roasted PORK SHOULDER, celtuce, romano beans, unripe tomato jus (3/5)Dessert PAVLOVA, tahitian vanilla crème légère, miriam's mulberry granita, pistachios (5/5) coffee OPERA CAKE, chocolate chiffon, whiskey whipped ganache, cocoa nibs (3/5)All pictures we ate aren't shown . Phone couldn't process all my raw photos

Loved loved my dinner there. Very friendly and welcoming service, in a warm ambiance of a small room. It was a weekday and every table was taken so reservations are highly recommended. Wine selection was great. Place is super pricey but as expected for SF. Best part was how veggie forward and flavorful everything was, with clearly very high quality ingredients. Highly recommend!

Another stellar meal, Octavia never fails to impress.We got:Sourdough bread - Fluffy as always.Polenta hush puppies, preserved Meyer lemon & mint - These were a group favorite, the polenta was nice and creamy without being heavy and the outside was perfectly crispy.Grilled stone fruit, hass avocado, spiced almonds, miriam's greens - Simple and light but delcious.Heirloom tomatoes, buttermilk sauce, pangrattato, medium farm basils - Tomatoes were juicy and fresh, although probably the weakest starter for me personally.Agnolotti del plin, sweetwater ranch pork, shasta porcini - These were fun small parcels. I liked that the dish felt light (no heavy creams or sauces) and the porcinis was a nice touch, but somehow I didn't love this pasta and the filling.Brentwood corn lasagna, fonduta, shishito peppers, chive oil - Excellent as always.Liberty farm duck breast, pole beans, leek flower capers, cranberry beans - Excellent duck with a great crispy skin. Perhaps my boyfriend's favorite non-Asian duck dish in the city.Pavlova, tahitian vanilla crème légère, miriam's mulberry granita, pistachios - Octavia's pavlova always makes me reconsider my aversion to pavlova. Somehow here, it's always delicious and light and flavorful. So good.Coffee opera cake, chocolate chiffon, whiskey whipped ganache, cocoa nibs - This is a denser dessert than the pavlova, with good flavor and rich coffee and chocolate flavor.

We had a great meal in the outside parklet with our dogs. The chef tasting menu was $98 per person and wine pairing at a steal at $68. The food was delicious and wine pairing was on point. Our server was super nice, introducing each course elaborately. The wine pairing pours were very generous. I'm surprised their star was taken away. Will return for celebrations.