SPQR

Overall, my experience at this restaurant for a birthday dinner was interesting and seems to reflect what others have shared about this place.One notable issue was the handling of wine pairings with the truffle pasta we had just ordered. The waiter initially suggested pairing the white truffles with red wine, which I found unusual. When I specifically asked for recommendations for white wines, he mentioned he had one in mind and could pour me a sip to try. However, he returned with a full glass already poured, offering no explanation about the wine or what I had just committed to. To make matters worse, the wine was intended to accompany the truffle dish, but the timing was completely off--the truffle dish didn't arrive until an hour later, by which time we had long finished the wine. Missing the pairing entirely was disappointing, as it was supposed to be a key part of the experience.The appetizers were the highlight of the meal, featuring unique and well-balanced flavors. The white truffle pasta was okay, and I appreciated that they were able to prepare it off-menu. However, despite explicitly asking for three portions, we were served only one (small) portion to share, which felt inadequate. The risotto was decent, though not particularly memorable, and the spinach-based pasta was a surprise. It featured an interesting combination of freeze-dried spinach and seaweed, which was tasty, though the pasta itself was somewhat unusual, and I'm not sure I'd order it again.Dessert service was another misstep. After finishing our meal and already ordering and eating dessert (with a request for candles), we were finally presented with the birthday dessert just as we were about to leave, forcing us to take it to go. While I appreciated the gesture, it felt poorly timed and more like an afterthought than a thoughtful part of the celebration.On a positive note, the water service was excellent, with staff frequently refilling glasses. I don't think I've ever had so much water at an Italian restaurant before. Truthfully, that was the main redeeming quality of the restaurant. The ambiance was also a highlight, with dim lighting and a stylish, moody vibe that elevated the setting.While there were enjoyable aspects of the meal and ambiance, the poor timing of the wine and truffle dish, combined with other service inconsistencies, left me feeling that the experience fell short--especially for the price point of the restaurant.

We visited last night and it was the 4 course meal option only. We both thought that the presentation was beautiful and high class but the flavor and taste did not match. The cooked fish dish was sadly under cooked & had a weird flavored lentils under ( wanted to send back and did not finish it). There was 1 of 4 dishes that weas absolutely delicious, the pasta course! It was so yummy and perfect. Service was decent, the ambiance was ok, the tables were pretty close together which we always dislike. Had high hopes but was underwhelmed. Cannot confidently recommend but I would return for their pasta flight they have during the week nights.

This restaurant been around for a long time just never seemed to have gotten to it over the years. Don't frequent Fillmore all that much well after 20 years my friend was like let's go. I'm taking you for your birthday. I was so excited. On the plus side the staff is very professionally trained but a little too stiff for such a small casual restaurant. But extremely efficient at their jobs.Unfortunately, The food was probably the worst meal I've had in years. It was an edible. I never ate my $50 entrée because the meat was so smoky and salty. I couldn't even finish a second bite. and they never offered to take it off my bill they never offered me something else. I'm a foodie. I've been eating out in San Francisco for 30 years. I also worked restaurants for over 11 years I think this place is overrated. My dinner partner was also quite unsatisfied with her dinner.Such a disappointment and just confused on how people ate the meal I ordered it would've sent me to the hospital. And when they make fun of small portions in movies or comedy shows this is the place. My melon appetizer had two pieces not slices two pieces the size of a silver dollar each of melon We got wine pairing, etc. but the absolute worst part was they had the front door open. It was pouring out and freezing, and they sat us right next to the front door. I was so cold the whole dinner I had to wear my coat on my legs, I had pants on, and I wore my scarf over my shoulders and around my neck, and I still froze. I'm definitely not going back. ;(

Food (1 of 2 stars): Came on a Saturday morning for the donuts. Got one order of Apple Cider and one of the Cinnamon Sugar. The Apple Cider donuts were really good, especially fresh; they had apple cider pie-like filling. The cinnamon sugar was good too but had a wine-taste to it, maybe something in the batter? The texture of both donuts, though, was really good overall. Service (1 of 2 stars): Workers were really kind but since it was only outdoor seating and ordering, didn't interact much with them.Ambiance (1 of 1 star): Only outdoor seating but it's on Fillmore so good ambiance overall, especially on a nice Saturday morning.Overall, would get the donuts again. It's more so a grab and go situation so don't expect to be blown away, especially from a restaurant that is also a fancy sit-down later in the day.

Came for my birthday on a Thursday and was super excited to do the pasta tasting menu, originally thinking it would be a full meal. Be warned - each plate is just a few pieces of pasta at best. I left full because of how slow we were eating (took about 20 minutes per plate), but overall not a ton of food for $59/person. All of the dishes were very innovative, seasonal, and well plated so it felt like an incredibly elevated dining experience, but overall fell short just because there needed to be more pasta on each plate to get a full idea of the flavors. Loved the Stonefruit Gnocchi, was my favorite dish out of the tasting. I would highly recommend ordering this a la carte. Corn Cappelletti was my second favorite, would also recommend this a la carte! Both had a perfect balance of sweet and savory, and very unique dishes you wouldn't be able to find somewhere else. The other 3 items on the pasta tasting menu don't seem to be available on the dinner menu - perhaps for good reason. I would pass on all of these a la carte - Rabbit Farfalle (not enough meat in the filling, pasta was undercooked and hard), Buckwheat Fusili (sauce was too loose, basically a soup), Spinach Casarecce (good, not great. Needed more salt or parm). Restaurant was extremely quiet and dimly lit. Maybe needed some music or something to elevate the vibe. If you're coming to celebrate a birthday, this is maybe not the place. It was my birthday and I paid the bill, so I saw the charge for the birthday dessert before it even came. Strange.

Went to SPQR for a birthday dinner on a Thursday night. We did the pasta tasting menu (which everyone at the table has to participate in, $59 per person). To start we also ordered focaccia with butter which was very delicious but not complementary. Overall the pasta was pretty good, although I only really enjoyed 2 of the 5 tasting dishes. 1st was 1 small ravioli type pasta with corn and mushrooms. This one was really delicious though quite small. 2nd was 2 farfalle noodles with rabbit and shishito peppers. The orange sauce that came with this one was quite good but the pasta was so al dente it was almost crunchy, and there wasn't much meat on this one. 3rd was fusilli with pork, this one tasted pretty okay but wasn't very exciting, and it seemed like the plates our table got weren't consistent, some of us getting 1 piece of spinach and no other vegetables, others getting multiple vegetable pieces. 4th was the stuffed gnocchi with 3 gnocchi. This was definitely my favorite and the apricot inside the gnocchi combined with the sauce was delicious. 5th was spinach pasta with crispy leaves on top. This one seemed like an unexciting note to end on, especially after the gnocchi tasting which had been a little sweet. The crunchy leaves added some nice texture but overall the flavor of this dish was too bitter and one note for me.We were here for a birthday and additionally were charged $7 for gelato which we didn't order. We saw this on the bill before they even brought the gelato out so it spoiled the surprise for our birthday guest. This was a little disappointing and I think the order of bill and dessert should probably be switched and dessert not added as a charge if it wasn't selected by us. Overall pretty good food but a little pricy for the amount received with the tasting menu and the underwhelming flavors of some of the dishes.

I had a great time at SPQR, and some of the dishes were wonderful. The staff took great care of us at the bar, and it was a memorable evening as we closed the place. However, we came in to enjoy the five course pasta tasting menu and ended with a bill of $281. Some of the dishes we ordered. Yet, dessert arrived unannounced, and we ended up paying for that. My glass of wine cost $58. I should have been warned ahead of time.San Francisco is an outrageously expensive city. I know that, and SPQR has very good food. Was it $281 good? Maybe, but I like to know what I'm paying for ahead of the expenditure.

I've only ever come here for the coffee + beignets and they are DELICIOUS- light and airy and fluffy. Coffee is great too - get the classic powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. The ones with a filling are ok ok

Wow looks like the reviews are super divided between the breakfast grab-and-go option and the dinner service, this review was for the dinner service! Honestly when my partner and I came here and I saw the reviews I was SCARED!! like are we about to drop $100 each on a meal that sucks?? I was pretty stinky to my partner about it hehe and he was STRESSING for sure but let me say the meal pleasantly surprised me!!!! Like it was yummy!!! It's definitely pricey so keep that in mind but honestly I ate deliciously and overall had a positive experience. We both did the prix fixe menu but it was a tad confusing because it was hard to distinguish how to choose prix fixe courses from the printed menu because I figured there would be a separate selection for the prix fixe courses but turns out we were able to pick a selection per section on the menu as our prix fixe courses. We had a lot of free rein and I feel like that option for like ~$100 is much better value than ordering a la carte. Each dish was delicious and yummy, small as everyone notes, I ended with a cheese plate which ROCKs as a dessert y'all don't knock it until you try it. The service was slow, like dude it took us 20 min to get a menu and then like another 20 min before the focaccia came out ... But it's okay, once the food came out it came out in a good pace. Okay the highlights were the arancini and the whitefish! The menu rotates pretty frequently so you probably won't see the same options I did though rip. We did not do the wine pairing bc neither of us are wine people but honestly judging from the other reviews it might not be worth it heh

We had a reservation for 830 and ended up being seated 40 minutes later. The food was good but considering the price, I was not impressed and honestly it was not worth it. It lacked originality and creativity which is something I'd expect at a place that charges $90 per person . Definitely I will not return and do not recommend it.