SPQR SF Review

Take your significant other on a date here. Very well balanced and flavorful Italian. Its in an intimate setting which is always great.

Best restaurant I have ever had the pleasure of eating at. The food was amazing and the service was top notch. They have an amazing wine selection and some very good beers to choose from. I will be back next time I'm in San Francisco.

Good food. Had the salmon belly and the squid ink chittara and both were pretty great. Seems like a great place to come for a prix-fix. Great wine selection and knowledge staff for pairings.

Everything I ate that night was delicious. It is a Michelin star dinner in a relaxed setting.

Can t recommend the donuts and coffee enough. SO good and piping hot from the fryer.

Check the menu before you sit down. They may not have what you want but will tell you that only after you've decided to order. Service was not upto standard. Had to leave the restaurant without eating.

Food was great. Tables are a bit close together... which can be annoying if the people next to you are LOUD.

The food was good but by no means worthy of a Michelin star -it doesn t come close to their competition. This is even if I ignore the $60 supplement for white truffle which was basically like shaving nothing onto a plain tajarin pasta dish with under salted fonduta. If I take that into account I don t see SPQR rating a single toque.

A great northern Italian Piedmontese restaurant with some very interesting barbarescos on the wine list. The food was wonderfully prepared. It's a small restaurant with a european feel to it.

Underwhelming food that doesn't measure up to the menu. Salads were fine but pastas that promised 'blood sausage ragu' and 'duck heart' lasagna had no discernible morsels of meat. A pork chop entree was about 3 bites. A packaged place that reminded me of equally disappointing RN74; for real inventive Italian cooking try Incanto.

Insanely great food and down to Earth for a Michelin restaurant. The servers are incredibly knowledgeable and many have been at the restaurant for a long time. This is my favorite and most visited high-end restaurant in SF; every time they surprise me with a creative new dish and reliably one of the best wine lists in SF.

Meat and Potatoes Couple Meet Culinary Excellence

In celebration of our birthdays this year, we traveled to Northern California for a week s vacation. Our last night was spent in San Francisco, and we asked a local friend in the culinary sciences to recommend a restaurant for a kick ass dinner to close out our vacation. When he recommended SPQR, we were skeptical we are basic meat and potatoes folk, and the menu looked a bit wild , plus one of us has gluten sensitivities; but, we decided to go for it, and to be open to new tastes.

We cannot sufficiently describe how magical the evening was. SPQR is a lovely little restaurant sandwiched in a long block of various businesses. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, with no excess fru-fru . We were assured a table with our reservation, but opted to sit at the chef s bar and have a front seat view to the artistry and skill at play in the creation of the various dishes. We were in awe as we watched the care and precision used to cut and prepare the ingredients, the swirl of activity as dishes were created and cooked, and the critical eye used in the final presentation and inspection of the meals before being approved for delivery to a diner. Chef Matthew was brilliant as he moved from place to place, preparing the dishes personally with the well-orchestrated and clearly well-rehearsed assistance of his staff. Chef frequently dipped clean tasting spoons in his creations and thoughtfully sampled items to ensure a high quality experience for his guests.

We ditched concerns about our waistlines for the evening and went all-out. We are completely unfamiliar with Italian wines, so our waiter assisted us in selecting lovely red and white wines aligned with our tastes. We started with appetizers: broccoli, hen of the wood mushrooms, smoked gouda, bread pudding and acorn prosciutto on a broccoli pesto bed; and an incredible sunchoke soup with truffle crema that is out of this world. For entrees we had buckwheat fusilli with pork, and almond crusted sturgeon and sturgeon sausage (prepared gluten free and flavor full). Both were a delight in each and every bite. For dessert we had caramel budino with toasted meringue, and a delightful citrus granita shaved ice preparation for a gluten free option. We finished off with a rich cup of espresso and a rapturous glass of Isole E Olena Chianti/Trebbiano (another on-the-spot recommendation by our waiter).

All the food was amazing, and comprised what we agree is the best meal we ve ever had. The wine was perfectly matched to our tastes and our meals. Chef Matthew was amazing in his grace and mastery of his kitchen and staff. The wait staff was excellent: attentive without hovering and anticipating our every need and desire The restaurant was comfortable and inviting, with enough activity to be interesting and enough quiet for intimate conversation. We cannot image a dining experience superior to this one. SPQR is a not-to-be-missed treat.

Artisanal pastas and simple, refined dishes are served at this quietly upscale Italian restaurant.

Had the three plate sampler menu, which was extremely nice. Delightful service and lovely wine made this a meal to remember.

Friendly & helpful staff, good food, and interesting decor.

The desserts were probably my favorite course of the evening.

Disappointed with the Wagyu.

Worst Michelin Restaurant I have been so far (out of 20+). Long waiting times between courses, inattentive service, pasta was less than 'al dente', my husband and I had to repour our glasses,... I could go on. I seriously wonder how they got one star - or if they will be able to keep it... Look somewhere else for a nice evening experience!

Restaurant should get ready to loose its Guide Michelin star. (Otherwise the criteria to get a star is questionable. In Europe SPQR would be ignored by Guide Michelin and Bib Gourmand)

Very disappointed. Inattentive staff all the way from greeting at the door, recommending our party walk down the street to nearby bar/restaurant for a drink because reserved table not ready and there was "no room" for us right then. The chicken liver mousse came with very sweet jam mixed in the pot, and very thick garlic toast killed whatever was left of the liver taste. Scallops were ok but too many other items came together in an uninspired manner on the plate. Waiter never asked us if everything ok at our table, not friendly and disinterested in the quality of our experience. One of us left plenty of food on her plate, but waiter never asked what was wrong. This showed again that staff assumed a lot about the quality of food and level of service that was not actually being delivered. There are so many better choices for Italian restaurants here. Again very disappointed....

This is a great spot. It's almost an institution by now with incredibly innovative Italian food.

Amazing food, service. Try something different you won't regret it. Staff is amazingly knowledgeable

I've been there on 31st of December and they had a special menu. I spent 2 hours and 30 min there and I couldn't reach the dessert... service was fine, but the kitchen must rethink his process. I would not came back.

Good, but expensive, and the food has never been as good as the first time.

Food was fantastic. Felt put off by the service because we are not wine drinkers. Felt we weren't appreciated because of that.

This place is REALLY popular and you should make sure to get a reservation pretty far in advance, especially if it's a special night.

Every since Flora my Florentine friend moved to Brazil I ve had nothing but soggy, bland, rather disgusting pasta. That putting it generously. Until I found this mashup. What joy. Even Dante himself wouldn t be able to compose a vile couplet about the food.

Favorite spot in Pacific Heights. Well worth the $.

SPQR is definitely must go place if you are a big fan of italian experiences, All dishes from antipasti to dolci are perfect!
You will be overwhelmed by all the tastes, artfully decorated plates, fantastic aromas dishes bring out.

Amazing food, great service. Will definitely return.

Don t really get the hype. There s better pasta for cheaper, the meat was rather dry, nothing was really how I would ve wanted it to taste

Pasta. Tasting. If it's your first visit to SPQR, don't mess around trying to choose just one of the incredible dishes here. Dive right into the tasting menu for six different pasta experiences that will make you wonder how you'll ever eat a box of Barilla again. Make a reservation a few weeks ahead and request to sit at the chef's counter for a full view of the action leading up to the meal

Food and service are excellent, especially the wine selection. The duck bolognese and fettucini with a quail egg were small but rich dishes. The panna cotta was amazing.

Tables basically put you shoulder to shoulder with your neighbor. This is
so you can get in and out without shifting the table, but it looks a bit odd at first.

Great, intimate date spot. Price is steep, to be expected. Worth a trip at least once.

Delicious pasta and nice options for Vegetarians too! Michelin 1 star rated but our experience did not reach up to that level, but a great meal nonetheless!

They were out of lunch menu options by 2pm, and I ordered a gnhocci that was past the point and mushy, tasted good, but it was careless cooking in my opinion

My first experience in a Michelin star restaurant in the US and what an experience it was!
Got the foie grass and chicken liver to start with both of which were delicious and we enjoyed it despite the tiny portions.
Also got the truffle risotto which was the special
of the day. This literally melts in your mouth.
The ambience and service here is great too!
Reducing a star because I think it's a bit too overpriced. Nonetheless a great place for an occasional splurge.

Legit 5 star experience. Service was amazing without being stiff (napkin is folded and placed on your chair when you leave for the restroom, our waiter pointed out the items on the menu that were raw/unpasteurized when we mentioned my wife was pregnant, flatware was replaced and table was wiped down between every course). The wine list was mind boggling, literally the best I've seen outside of Italy.
All of that and the food was still the best part. Black truffle gnocchi, deconstructed tiramisu, roasted buffalo burrata with smoked gouda and pancetta, snap pease over ricotta. Absolutely perfectly prepared and delicious, could not find a single thing to improve.
Pricey but worth every penny, not to be missed.

We had the tasting menu and the flavors where really good. We left full and satisfied!

Beautiful pasta that is as delicious as it is pretty.

I liked the squid ink pasta, but that's about it. Service seemed a little distant. Overall, probably not great for value.

Italy by way of Northern California. The pastas are excellent

Small but delicious plates. Great place to go to share food with friends. Highly recommend sitting at the Chef's counter to watch all the action as it unfolds.

1 star Michelin. Going for 2 starts. James Beard nominated. You definitely see it in the food, presentation, and decor.

Seriously, it comes down to the details and they have it all!

Great wine, pasta, and apps. Is a lot more on the pricy side - $32 for pasta dish with minimal protein is hard as a typical wknd out meal but still very good. Chicken liver mousse and uni quail egg pasta are mainstays.

Courses were absolutely amazing and service was impeccable

Sometimes I dream about this lunch we had one Saturday afternoon. A and I thought were were going to move away from the neighborhood, so we figured we had to go for the pasta tasting menu, so we walked right in and were seated immediately.

He had the tasting menu and I had this AMAZING saffron rotini with veal bolognese, golden squash, garden rosemary and chard. The pasta is all handmade and has the perfect amount of chew. The menu is seasonal, so I am pretty bummed I may not get to chance across the same dish again.

Pretty much kills my experience eating pasta at any other joint every time.

Did the pasta tasting menu and the wine pairing on a rainy Thursday evening... AMAZING! I'll happily skip the pasta course for the rest of the year! After savoring 5 courses of pasta preparations where each was unique, complex, and bursting with flavor. You know where those dollars are going with each mouthful... bring your wallet: $$$$ Space is small and a bit stuffy, if you sit at a 2-top you will be inches away from the table next to you.

Amazing pastas and wine. The tasting menu just gets better and better!

Losing it's mojo.
Pasta overly complicated and rich. Losing the essence of simple yet delicious Italian food, and what made this place used to be known for.

Disappointed.

Service was very good though.

Can't believe we got a table here at the last minute. And oh emm gee is it amazing! The food, the wine list, the food.. drool! Can categorically say that the pork rib starters were the best ribs I have ever had the pleasure of eating. The mains and desserts were outstanding too. And it's not too expensive for what you might expect from a 2 michelin star restaurant. 10/10 would recommend

great food, but not sure if it quite makes up for frustratingly poor customer service since they never answer their phone (making it difficult to get a reservation), and they self-proclaim that their kitchen is slow so if you have parties of 5 or less they won't guarantee your dishes will all arrive at once!

Food, cocktails, service, atmosphere - everything was SO good!

Nice, quiet lical spot, food was grear, staff was attentive and knowledgable. Mature clientelle and neighborhood fixture.

Too expensive and very small portions only four pieces of tortellini, if four for entree!!

Fantastic creative Italian fare, loved the cocoa spaghetti! Nice wine list, nice ambience as well.

Hard to rate this place since my friend's biggest complaint was resolved extremely professionally.

Spot on Italian influenced cuisine with excellent service. Would come back in a heartbeat.

Update 3/29/2019 - Visited again, 6 years later, and SPQR is still great. Thanks to Sam for excellent service with a small child. Note to self that the pasta tasting is only Tues-Thurs. Would visit again, hopefully sooner than 6 years from now.

A lovely dining experience with delectable creations.

For me spqr is everything a restaurant should be. Innovative yet relatable, dishes that stand on their own but are also in'synce. Great list of wine to pair and excellent friendly staff that actually know and seem to care what they are selling. If your a sucker for local sourced ingredients and perfectly homemade pasta dished served in a refined yet aprochable way you found it.

Solid high-end Italian food, great wine list. We loved their pasta (every dish we tried), as well as the duck egg in brioche.

Excellent place to enjoy a weekday pasta tasting menu for much less than $100. Their pastas are exquisitely prepared and sauces so good, I kept asking for bread to soak up every last bit. If pasta isn't your favorite, that's okay - their octopus appetizer is one of the best preparations of that protein that I've ever had. It's a definitely must order. The broccoli and hen of the wood mushroom appetizer is also a clear winner.

3.25

I stumbled upon SPQR when I craving some good Italian food. The ambiance here is definitely great. The atmosphere feels upscale and the service was great.

Upon sitting, I got the octopus appetizer that contained pistachio, chickpeas, and vegetables. The piece of octopus tasted pretty good. It had a nice texture and I was just wishing I had a bigger serving!

For the main course, I got to try two dishes, and I'll talk about the Meyer lemon linguini with abalone alfredo first. This was.. just okay and I felt there was not anything special to this dish. I felt the lemon was a bit strong and the abalone's texture was not the best here. However, I do have to say the other dish I got, the squid ink pasta with "Fruitti Di Mare", tomatoes, and arugula was pretty good. Squid ink pasta is one of my go-to dishes if it is on a menu, and I was not disappointed. The squid ink flavor on the pasta was just right for me and I devoured that dish!

You definitely get your money's worth with the atmosphere and service here. It is very professional and I enjoyed my time at SPQR.

Definitely a stop to taste Chef Matt Acarinos innovative take on modern Italian food that always displays his very intense training and techniques. The squid ink tonnarelli w/ scallions and uni, I hope is always on the menu. If you do not order the Crispy pigs Ear and Stone fruit salad, you have gotten jipped on your trip!

It was sooo delicious!! The bar tender was very knowledgeable about wine selection and gave great recommendation. The pasta was so yummy. It was heavenly. Everything was just so great. This has been on my go to list for a long time and it was everything that I had hoped for.

The palce is expensive (you can easilly spend $100 pp.), but it's incredibly delicious.

Great food!! always packed so make reservations unless you want dinner at 9:00 p.m. Could use a little more room you're packed together pretty tight but great service and friendly staff. Took a nice bottle of wine with us usually we enjoy wine off the wine list, but had a great Pinot we were ready to open. Very reasonable cork fee $15.00 so well worth carrying a bottle with you. Enjoy.

The service wasn't bad, and the decor isn't too bright. To be honest I feel like I have had better pasta elsewhere, and the rest of the food wasn't as good as was expected. Delicious option, but of the more upscale and Michelin starred restaurants in SF there are better places.

Antipasti great flavors. Main pastas were very salty. Main pork had about 3oz of the pork and proportionally too much cracklings. Almost seemed like they ran out of meat and filled up the plate with other things. The scallops lacked depth of flavor. After wanting to try this place for years, disappointing. Wait staff was attentive and helpful.

This food is simply the best combination of Fillmore meets Italian meets Rome meets San Francisco. I mean the dinning room is chic and meals are enjoyable both inside and outside. I recently had the Sea Scallops and tasted the Pappardelle which was outstanding. Make a reservation and be prepared to enjoy a great dinning experience.

The only thing that can be a bit cheesy is the purchase of a t-shirt on the way out. But we're not here for the merchandise after all.

While SPQR has been really hyped up, I didn't feel like the meal met my expectations. The creativity just seemed a bit over the top making it certainly exciting but not delicious

One of the better Italian restaurants I've had in the city. My group and I ordered the tasting menu. It came with a surprisingly large amount of food. I couldn't finish everything and had to bring some courses home, so if you are thinking about adding onto the menu, I would think twice about how hungry you are! We ordered the vanilla nut torta for dessert and I would not recommend it. Not very flavorful and definitely not worth the $15 price tag!

The food is awesome. The service is great. The price....... the price is another story. If money is irrelevant SPQR is your spot. We went last week and we each ordered a starter (about $15) and a pasta (about $20). When the waiter takes our order he asks what else we'd like. We think we've ordered more than enough with that. He informs us that the average person usually orders 3-5 courses and that they are all very small. It was an understatement. each dish consisted of 2-3 bites. We left after two courses (dropping $100--with a glass of wine) and shared a burrito.

The place is delicious. Just expensive. And really tightly packed. I couldn't help but overhear my neighbors entire conversation.

I went here for my wife s birthday dinner. It was a great time. They served delicious dishes and drinks. Highly recommend for special days.

I got treated out for my birthday here by my best friend. It was a last minute decision and after reading Google and Yelp reviews about having to make reservations wayyy in advance, we decided to just go super early, wait in line, and sit at the bar. The restaurant is quite small and I def did not mind the bar experience at the time. It was awesome to be placed next to the wines/bartender/server so we could learn more about the food and the culture behind SPQR in general. The restaurant is definitely a bit pricier but I do believe that the food makes the price understandable. It is one of the best Italian restaurants I've ever been to! And mind you, I've been to quite a few. We got a piccolo,"fritto misto", pesce, friarelli pepper, baccala, squid and its crispy ink, an antipasti, corn panna cotta, "stinco di vitello", smoked mushroom truffle: mexican and australian, and we each had a primi, the smoked fettuccini, sea urchin, smoked bacon and soft quail egg and the lobster tortelli, nantes carrot, lobster brodo and garden herb.

Each dish was spectacular... The piccolo kinda tasted like a fried fish chip you get from Ranch 99 (crude description I know, but just telling the truth) except a classier version. The squid ink made a difference and you could tell the ingredients and the way it was cooked was just more in depth than a machine made fish chip.

Next up was the antipasti. This dish was a little less memorable but still interesting. I've always had panna cotta as a dessert so it was nice to try something savory. The dish melted in your mouth w/ ease and although a little salty, the mushroom truffle did help tone the taste down a bit.

Finally, we got to the primi. Ammmaaaazing! I had been waiting all night for my Uni. I'm a huge fan of Uni and it was so interesting to get this asian and italian twist. Usually I eat Uni cold too, so this time it was super interesting to try the uni warm!

THEN of course, we got convinced for dessert/dolce. We ordered the white strawberry, green tea torta, marsala zabaglione, passion fruit, and marscapone gelato. SO GOOD. too good for words. I didn't even know white strawberries existed. Didn't know I would like marscapone gelato- all I know is that marscapone is a key ingredient in tiramisu. Whhhaaaaaaaat. So mindblown on how everything came together.

Will come back again. Though maybe not to the bar cz the lady next to me talked my ear off, maybe I was just tired, she was nice. Yummmmyyy. Highly recommended.

This was my fourth visit to this "sparkling Italian jewel" of Lower Pacific Heights. Previous visits were for a special birthday and another visit with a colleague of mine in Adolescent Medicine. The ambience of this restaurant gives one the feeling of a cozy, residential setting, a small area of seating, yet very well appointed and warm and inviting. The cuisine of Mathew Accarrino has been the innovative and creative chef here since the opening 8 years ago. His concept of Italian food yields a
gourmet array of masterful blending of fine, fresh ingredients, and
anointed with just the right texture of spices and flavorful ingenious additions. The menu changes daily to keep the pulse of daily fresh available vegetables and entrees. The wine list is extensive, yet
very detailed. One may need the assistance of a Dermatologist's
magnifying glass to discern the details of the fine print describing the wine. I returned to the restaurant last evening and discussed the
complexity of the wine list with general manager, Bianca Rivera.
In choosing a Soave wine to accompany our meal on January 3rd,
it was most difficult to fine this wine from the Veneto as well as to
search out a white wine from Orvieto. I recommend a more colloquial wine list which may be better understood by even sophisticated diners.
The service (our waitress has been with the restaurant over 7 years,
the palate tantalizing menu, and the fine wine list make this restaurant
a landmark for those embarking upon one of the finest dining experiences in San Francisco.

Great restaurant! Would highly recommend it! It is very small, and very busy. I would recommend getting a reservation, which is what we did. Our server was very helpful, and they had an amazing wine list! Lots of choices!

We decided to shares dishes just because we didn't want to pick one thing only. The smoked "bacon" sturgeon was amazing!!I could have eaten just that all night! The pork belly was also extremely good!

Overall, great food, and great ambience. I would definitely go back!

Memories lowered this rating. I have eaten at SPQR in a distant past, and remembered fabulous food and wonderful times. This lunch, while certainly good, didn t match my remembrances.

With a modest decor and well meaning but amateurish service, SPQR is far from what is expected from a Michelin starred restaurant. That s okay, because Michelin now recognizes casual doesn t effect the kitchen. However, with Michelin pricing, the food should be fantastic at SPQR.

The three course pasta tasting at SPQR was very good, but not great. Certainly, the pasta creations were unique, but it should be all about taste, and the dishes were more creative than delicious. Maybe my palate is too pedestrian. Donna loved her dishes. Perhaps SPQR shines at dinner, but memories can play tricks. Only time will tell.

The fetuccini alfredo was way too greasy and the service was mediocre at best. I had high expectations from this place, but unfortunately it didn't lived up to the hype.

This place has a michelin star so the food should be great, well at least that s what I expected. To be honest, it was even better than I hoped for. What a great resto! We sat at the chef's counter and could see five people work magic in a tiny kitchen. We had soup and pasta with all sorts of rare ingredients, and our dessert was a work of art. Great location too.

We arrived an hour early for our reservation and they happily took us in, which we appreciated. Staff were spot on and very pleasant. I was surprised to hear that they didn't have any gluten-free pasta so my wife, who is allergic, got risotto, which was one of the best versions she'd ever had. I had the Sea Urchin pasta, which was quite good. The food isn't the best I've ever had but it was good. The portions are very small but I came to realize that it is more of a tasting menu but we were full. Be aware that you are almost sitting on your neighbours due to how close the tables are but the place is pretty loud so you won't notice them. I was also a little disappointed that no one picked up the phone after calling them for 2 hours prior to our reservation to see if we could bring our own wine. We brought it anyway and lucked out.