Perbacco and Barbacco Restaurants Review

Great service but the food was mediocre. We had our group holiday lunch for 15 people. The restaurant did their best to accommodate the large group. The servers were very courteous. Unfortunately, the food tastes plain. Desert was an exception. Nicely made.

Wonderful. Absolutely great food, impeccable service, and a really nice wine list with a sommelier who matched our dinner with the perfect wine. Only downside is it's pretty noisy.

Excellent food, excellent service! We were greeted warmly and sat on time, which was impressive considering how busy the place was. The wine list is extensive but contains many well priced bottles. We started with the carne crudo and octopus, both were amazing! Then we opted for the parpadelle and scallops, excellent as well. Finally, we finished with the triple chocolate cake covered in cream. Everything was perfect, we were the last table in the place, and the staff never made us feel rushed.

Chef Stefano Arrigoni has changed the way I taste Italian food ... The food is incredible and memorable. Life will be hard without his homemade pasta.

I am also amazed that he did everything in the kitchen by himself. It is truly a handmade cooking.

Upscale, friendly bar staff. Good drinks. Didn't taste the food but looked good

Amazing meal! I made a reservation for my fiance's birthday as he loves Italian. We were greeted promptly and my fiance was wished happy birthday. We were taken to our table which was perfect - nice, cozy, and private. Again my finance was told happy birthday and was given a card - nice touch! The service was great and the food was fantastic. We never waited for a thing - bread, water, food, clean up, etc. My fiance ordered the pork and loved it. Dessert included yet another special touch with happy birthday written in chocolate. Overall just really great service and it made for a memorable evening.

Tasty, reliable dishes. Nice ambiance. One star deducted because of strange service choices, like having a separate person present bread when there's only one offering (just leave it in a basket on the table) and too many different people bringing and removing dishes. Still a solid, enjoyable night.

Among the best Italian restaurants I ever ate at. Service was on point and staff was very helpful. Pasta porcini and truffle was to die for.

Very nice and upscale. The short ribs were out of this world.

Fairly Decent Italian food with nice ambience and service

Amazing meal, the food Bs drinks were superb. Out of this world. Service was excellent.

Wow -- best dinner I've ever had was here. The tab was $300 for 2 people so it is not for the faint-hearted but damn it was worth it. Every time I thought that the food couldn't get more delicious, I was proved wrong. The vitello tonnato is AMAZING, I'm seriously drooling just remembering it. The gnocchi was melt in your mouth and the beef cheek was soo tender. Their wine list is also fantastic and they have a sommelier that is very sweet and comes personally to your table to pour. Definitely will come back (maybe after my next bonus - haha!).

Delectable wine menu, perfect dinner and impeccable service.

I had the ravioli. They were fabulous. Service outstanding.

Nothing to write home about. Mediocre Italian food, but nothing particularly tasty.

Always a great place to take clients for lunch or dinner or even a date night. Pastas and salads are awesome

In a city known for it's excellent Italian restaurants, Perbacco is a stand out addition. Creative and tasty traditional dishes sit on the menu next to innovative ones. The wine list is extensive, with some of the best Italian selections in the city. Service was a bit slow and the place is quite noisy, but the sublime food makes you forget about the racket. Try a glass of the well balanced Vin Santo for dessert.

There's a reason this restaurant is a San Francisco institution. Top service, cuisine and ambiance. Hard to beat if you want quality Italian.

Amazing food, decent wine list, good service, a tad loud but not oppressive. Just good to know if you're going with folks hard of hearing or need to have private conversation. Ask to sit upstairs if the case.

Incredibly wonderful dinner with the perfect level of service, this wine from the Val d'Aosta made it incredible. Fernet bright like with smokey manzanita and berry fruit background

The food is good, and they've got a great selection of a variety of eats for both lunch and dinner. It's a beautiful setting in the Financial District and perfect for company meetings with hi-profile clientele. It's definitely a workers eatery but at least it's filled with coats and not tourists.

Try out the burrata cheese and risotto (two separate dishes)

Have been here multiple times and I've yet to taste anything I didn't like. I don't usually have Italian food, but I find this place worth talking about. It's a warm atmosphere and friendly. Pappardelle for days.

Don't bother SO many better places here for dinner..
Service was non-existent. Waiter took our order, gave our food, and spent the rest of the time on his laptop. We had to go to him to get our check to leave.

Great Italian restaurant! Good atmosphere, great wine list and really fantastic dishes for all courses.

Really great food and wonderful service. Great for work related dinner or event.

Great food and service. We ordered 2 orders of brussel sprouts, heirloom tomatoes, meatballs, squid, orichette, angliote, and halibut. Everything was delicious and though that is a LOT of food, we almost had no leftovers!

We used open table to reserve a table for 4 on a Wednesday and did it 15 minutes before the time we wanted. The food was good but nothing to write home about.

Negroni popcorn started it all. Campari and vermouth in the caramel and dusted with gin botanicals salt? Yes, please. Several friends and I met there on a recent Saturday evening and occupied a booth in the bar area for a couple of hours. We enjoyed shared salumi, crudos, buratta and pastas all so we could get to dessert. Of course if you're going to serve Negroni popcorn you'd better be able to make the cocktail well, and they do. We had several at the table: up, on the rocks, this gin and that. The popcorn didn't disappoint but the entire experience was even better. Thank you!

Quick dinner: pasta, at the bar. Great time, great food!

Decent Italian entrees with a number of great appetizer choices. We had veal, breads, and some other goods followed by tagliatelle and gnocchi and lobster dishes. All were very good, and their drink menu (wines and cocktails) was great. I would definitely come here again.

Elegant Italian cuisine for pretty reasonable prices. I would certainly return.

Ah the authentic feel of a United Club lounge in the middle of San Francisco... Except that United Clubs offer "all you can eat". I even pulled out my laptop there.

Food was just ok and felt rushed by our waiter. Going by the reviews and price I would expect a better experience. Would not recommend.

Decent Italian food - the agnolotti were good, but the other pasta dishes are quite unremarkable. Ambience is nice, wine list is good.

Umberto, your restaurant never disappoints! Time and again, we come for dinner and are thrilled to find our favorite dishes alongside ever changing seasonal choices, as well. The wine is outstanding, of course! Love the Italians!!! Baci!!

Went here for a birthday lunch with my coworkers. Very nice atmosphere. Food was quite flavorful. Envious of what my coworker ordered. The chicken looked quite good. Portions a bit small for a seemingly traditional high-end Italian place.

Best Italian food ever in sf, just too posh for me to feel comfortable

Owner paid for my dry cleaning after a sever spilled sauce on my coat. Very authentic, refined Northern Italian menu. The vegetable side dishes are fantastic.

Food was very good, but the excellent, but the noise was deafening. Would avoid at peak hours.

very good food. very good service. only wish they weren't in the financial district

Fell short of expectations. Food was "ok" but not great.

From the moment you arrive you're politely greeted by a host that makes you feel welcomed and comfortable. They're flexible if you need a few more minutes for your table or they will also let you know if your table is ready before the time, in case you're in a rush.
Their lemonade is the perfect balance of sour, acidity and sweetness; very refreshing. The bar service is professional, and efficient.
Their table service is incredible, kind, polite, efficient, calm, knowledgable. They will happily answer your questions, give you advices, help you with pairing and recommendations.
I celebrated my birthday here with friends and it was an amazing experience. I can't wait to come back. Their price is worth the quality of service and food and ambiance.

Hmm, I wish I could say that I liked this place, but I honestly wouldn't care to recommend it to any of my friends. We had the following:

- seared octopus
- brown butter brussels sprouts
- pappardelle with short rib ragu
- risotto with porcini mushroom

Out of all the dishes, the seared octopus was my favorite, but that's not saying much as I've definitely had better. It wasn't as tender as I would have liked it and was a bit on the chewier side. The brussels sprouts were alright, but not a must have. The papardelle and the risotto were equally average, which basically sums up the overall dining experience. Frankly, it'll be a while before I decide to try this place again.

Have you ever felt panic when your entree arrived and you were running out of wine? And you had to look around for your waiter as if you were drowning and flailing your arms? Ok. It happened to me here. I recovered and got the wine, but it took away from what could have been a 4 star experience.

Highly recommend the squid ink pasta with octopus. It was rich and satisfying with the right dose of umami. Parpadelle was a little too salty for my taste but was delicious none the less and the pasta was a perfect al dente.

Excellent and attentive service. Brought some visiting partners here for dinner and we thoroughly enjoyed our mean and the experience. Several members of our party arrived an hour late but we didn't feel rushed -- even though the place was booked for the entire night for dinner. My duck was nice and firm without being chewy -- although it was a little tepid but I think that's because they held it to come out with the halibut which several members of our party ordered. Wine selection was great as well as the specialty cocktails.

Great pasta at this place! The other courses are fantastic too, but the house made pasta is unforgettable!

Amazing pasta! Loved the 5 hour pork sugo. Currently one of my favorite restaurants in the city.

We had a superb in this restaurant. We liked the amazing ambience and the menu. The staff members were super friendly. I m happy we eventually decided to try this place.

One of the best restaurants in SFO.

Finally normal portions and great simple taste.

Really great dinner. Authentic Italian. Enjoyed the wine recommentation from the owner.

Lovely and interesting food, gracious service. Very reasonably priced under these circumstances.

A+ service, ingredients, wine list. We had the kind of lunch that kept me thinking (good thoughts) about it for a few days.

The service was great. The food was average. So disappointing.

The food here is fresh and tastes great, today service was really slow. Took 15 minutes to be acknowledged, and we had to flag someone down first. It is not a place to go if you want to talk, very noisy.

Good service but the food was average. I recommend it.

One of the best italian restaurants in SF!!! Taste was totally amazing! What i loved from octopus salad was so fragrant. I ve never seen such salad with dill on top! So fragrant!! As far as i know, all pasta is freshly handmade! Squid ink pasta was definitely pure italian experiences and top notch! What a pasta!!

I really wanted this review to be better and perhaps the lower rating is due to these high expectations but there were far too many things that were average at best with my experience with the meal.

I had looked through the reviews here and on other sites and many people went on and on about the grand experience here so suffice it say, I was salivating.

The decor was grand and indicative of a post work eatery in the Financial District of any big city and with its tiled floor and mahogony bar I felt like we were in store for a meal that was so good I'd be tempted to slap my mama.

Let's get down to it --

Appetizers

1) Burrata Cheese / Black Olive Condimento / Arugula / Grilled Filone
2) Roasted Octopus / Saffron Poached Potato / Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette / Salsa Verde

The Burrata was what you'd expect. Straight forward cheese with a slight bit of resistance when sliced but roasted and creamy when spread on the bread and balanced with the olive.

The Roasted Octopus however had some winning moments as it was trying to morph into a foie gras with the soft texture and taste. This was a pleasant surprise.

Dinner:

1) Two of us had Liberty Farms Duck Breast / Brussels Sprouts And Apples In Padella / Pancetta / Passato Di Sancrau
2) Coniglio Al Civet - Devil's Gulch Rabbit / Spiced Red Wine Sauce / Otto File Polenta


The duck breast that I and a friend had wasn't tender even though it was presented medium rare and sadly a tough duck really is a mess. The brussel sprouts were decently prepared but didn't bring a redeeming factor to the meal.

My wife had the rabbit and the saltiness was a bit overpowering and the sauce didn't compliment the meal in the least. It was as if the sauce was the star as opposed to the pasta portions.

The winner of the meal was certainly the short ribs as noted by other posts. It won far and away as the other meals certainly left us flat but also because it's just done correctly. The meat was tender and braised and matched so well with the pasta.

If I were to ever go back I'd certainly have that meal but I doubt that I will.

There were some great aspects to the restaurant -- the drinks were made very well and were replaced with an easy frequency. And the overall bill was only 200.35 for the food and with a total of 10 beverages.

I do have to say that our service was a seriously negative factor with the meal. Our server was hard to locate and hear, granted the place was full and she was scampering about trying to attend to far too many tables. One really odd part of the evening was when we were totaling up the bill -- we each were paying 60 dollars. So like any we have done in many other restaurants, we threw in a myriad of payment options. One person threw in 60 in cash and the I and another person decided to use a credit card.

When we gave the server the bill, I said please put 120 on my card, 60 on the other card and use the cash as well. When I got the bill back I had a total of 140 and the cash was gone. Apparently she was so enamored with her service of avoidance and whispers that she gave herself a sixty dollar tip. Now it's not too far off from the 40 we were leaving but I'd never heard of anything like that before.

It was a slight hassle correcting the matter but at least it was done with. Just an odd experience overall.

I would recommend this place as a great spot to meet and greet for drinks and maybe eating at the bar but as for a dinner, there are more than enough restaurants in SF to venture to.

very good mouth watering food good location at piedmont.
nice decore.
if you put some spices woulkd be very nice. plenty of parking also.
v.
eryb freindly servers. I really liked the food.

Lobster jus sauce with halibut was amazing, vegetables cooked perfectly in the sauce. Highly recommend.