SPQR SF Review

Good restaurant with yummy small plates. Great vibe, if you can get a table that is.

As always, the food here is impeccable and the service is top-notch! I can't recommend this place more!

Great ambiance with an intimate (and quite) dining experience. The service was great and a few of the dishes were outstanding. Specifically, the ravioli and the chicken liver mouse were both delicious.

It's on the expensive side but certainly worth a visit if you can afford it.

I am surprised that this restaurant was able to procure a Michelin star. The service was fine and the food was underwhelming.

When we arrived, we had to wait 15 minutes for our reserved table. The bartender was friendly and knowledgeable about the wine selection. Be aware that only beer and wine are on offer.

The first thing we noticed was that one of our first courses was dry and we had to ask for olive oil to finish it. Secondly, the second course of lamb was not properly seared and very fatty. Lastly, the California wagyu was tough and chewy, despite it being prepared medium-rare.

It is rare to go through so many courses without someone stopping by to ask how the meal is going. We were only asked how the meal went at the end of the final course.

Even ignoring the fact that the tables were close enough to smell our neighbor's breath, I have never been asked to pay so much for such low quality food. Comparing this to equally priced restaurants in DC and NY leaves no comparison. We were thoroughly disappointed.

A phenomenal Michelin dining experience. We began with the truffle 'sformato al funghi' antipasti, a white creamy custard paired with a variety of mushrooms, each prepared in different ways. This dish was insane. The different textures of the fried, roasted, and sauteed (?) mushrooms perfectly contrasted each other and complimented the creaminess of the custard. The truffle-y, woody, and sweet flavor of the mushrooms was incredible with the smooth, rich custard.

For mains we went with the lemon abalone 'alfredo' and the squid ink corzetti with octopus and mussel. The lemon alfredo was fresh and light, yet rich and creamy at the same time. We were blown away. The pasta was a perfect al dente, and the bouncy noodles along with the smooth and buttery abalone were fireworks in our mouths. There was not a single drop of sauce left in that bowl. The corzetti was also delicious. Packed with fresh seafood and smothered in a flavorful marinara.

Although we had food packed to our throats, we couldn't turn down the snickerdoodle and black pepper gelato our server kindly recommended. The dessert was delicious - the cookie wasn't as mindblowing as the rest of the meal, but the black pepper gelato had such an interesting flavor, I loved it!

All in all, an absolutely phenomenal night. If Italian's your thing, don't skip this restaurant!!!

Not bad but overly hype place. The food is rather good but not outstanding, the Italian wine selection is huge; the service is really good. The bottom line is this is overly pricey with regard to the quality.

Update: I've just realized this place is supposed to have a one Michelin star. I've had dinner in many other restaurants with no star but which I consider better.

READ BEFORE DINING AT THIS RESTAURANT...

We made reservations at SPQR and called the restaurant to tell them that we aren t sure if we will be able to make it to our reservation. We spoke to the hostess who had a name that began with G to tell her about our plans. She told us that we will be charged $25.00 if we decide to cancel our reservation. Unaware about the charge, I told the woman that I will call her back to tell her if we will decide to cancel. When I call back, just to confirm my plans that we will be attending, the incompetent hostess tells us that she cancelled our reservation. She assumed that the call back was to make sure that our reservation was not cancelled whereas, we completely meant and said the opposite. WHEN A CUSTOMER DOES NOT CALL YOU BACK YOU DO NOT CANCEL THEIR RESERVATION. YOU WAIT FOR THEM TO CALL YOU TO CANCEL THEIR OWN RESERVATION. We didn t even walk in to the restaurant and already had a taste of the bad service in our heads.

An ok restaurant surviving on a history of success. I ve given this place the benefit of the doubt 3 times and consistently revived poor service and mediocre food (for the price). If prices weren t outstanding this place would be 3 stars at best.

Some of the best/most interesting pastas in the city, along with Perbacco and Incanto. Try the urchin or the pig ear app.

Lovely settings and service!
Food is good.. what else?!

Fine dining. Great atmosphere. Definitely a date night kind of place.

I wish it was more Ancient Roman like. They need to hold to the name.

Absolutely amazing dishes. Everything we had was outstanding, particularly the beef gnochetti and the straw and hay. The homemade pastas were perfectly done and worth the large price tag. The service was the only downside, with the time to take our order and then the time between courses being unusually long. All-in-all a great experience though and would highly recommend for a special occasion.

This place met all of our expectations. We were greeted with a complimentary glass of wine for our anniversary which was a nice touch. Pastas were unique and delicious. Pricey but that's to be expected. And omg the chicken liver mousse was AMAZING. If I go back it will be for that appetizer.

Lured by the window display, I ordered a latte and a cinnamon sugar donut, thinking it looked a bit pricey but I wanted to support our local restaurants. Little did I know I was going to be served (on a tray -- very low contact) an adorable little latte and a small white paper bag weighty and warm in my hand with a full half dozen freshly made donuts that had been just rolled in cinnamon sugar seconds before. I sat on the steps of the nearby church and consumed them all like I was an orphaned Victorian child in a Frances Hodgson Burnett novel, marveling at my extraordinary good fortune to live in this city and be warm in the sun right now. Reader, I ate them all while still warm. It was marvelous.

were the pasta worth $26? i beg to differ.

yes, i understand that spqr is now a 1 michelin star restaurant, but com'on, you're selling pasta. yes, the experience of sitting at the chef's table (aka chef's counter/bar seating) was definitely awesome to witness the food presentation and the meticulous preparation of the ingredients (some including removing veins from mandarin oranges, de-shelling chickpeas and green peas, scissor cutting herbs, etc.) but i still don't think it's worth the $26/small plate of pasta.

i ordered the squid ink pasta with broccoli creme with sea urchin and garlic breadcrumb, was i in love? yes, but not $26 in love.

spqr is a nice to eat, but not must eat. i think there are better michelin restaurants in town to drop your wallet on.

i'd like to applaud the spqr team for the outstanding service, though!

The pasta is always the best. Try several when you visit

Really disappointed, borderline feeling robbed

I don't mind an expensive meal but this restaurant is clearly trying to rip people off.

It's overpriced basic pasta dishes. The first course dishes were very confused with competing flavors.

Atmosphere isn't good either. They play 90s music and cram people in but dinner for 2 is $200+. Service was horrible also - I was waiting for the server the majority of the meal to order $13 per half-glass wine.

By the time dessert menu came around we were too sick of waiting to indulge.

Extremely high-caliber italian restaurant.

We had the tomatoes with burrata and Japanese beef to start. The burrata was creamy and served with super fresh, sweet basil and fried green baby tomatoes. Probably my favorite part of the meal.

I ordered the bacon risotto for my main. It was great. Lots of complex flavors (candied almonds, I think?). My friends' dishes were great too (lasagnette, blood sausage, pumpkin pesto).

For dessert we had the pear bread pudding and something donut-y with pomegranate. Divine.

Service was excellent. I had a sprained ankle + crutches and they accommodated my graciously.

Ambiance is upscale but not overly hip, pretentious, or stodgy.

Waiter recommended the wine "Vigne di Janno Piro - Ischia Rosso doc" which was delicious. I don't know anything about wine, but we requested something "earthy, medium-bodied red under $60," and I'll be asking for that again!

I will be back!

I was quite impressed with the food. Each successive item in their pasta tasting menu was amazing from squid ink spaghetti with uni, rabbit ragu pasta to lasagna... It is italian food taken to the next level. Very good service too. Good pace. Easy to only get a couple glasses of some the pairing wines and it was offered to serve those in two separate glasses so we could share more easily. The dining room is quite busy and noisy but that didn't impact whatsoever the pleasant experience.

Good food but I do not see myself coming back. AND that's ok. Many do go back. For me: I came, I saw, I ate, I'm done.
Next!!

We came here for our last evening in SF. After being seated we waited 30 min before speaking to anyone. Our server couldn t explain anything on the menu to us, I don t think he knew what the items were. We ordered a bottle of wine, pretty sure it was his recommendation, but we are not sure.

Update- 35 min-
Wine was delivered. No obligatory tasting, just an open bottle delivered.

Update-45 min-
We have crossed the 45 min mark of no food. We have spoken to a server once so far, he assured us we would have food in less than 10 min. I m concerned we may be ghosts and no one can see us....

Update-55 min-
Got our food, it s was okay, not mind blowing, but okay. We were also delivered bread, pretty sure this was supposed to be delivered when we sat down, you know, the keep us happy snack. We have spoken to our server a total of 4 times. Hands down the most disappointing dinning experience we have ever had.

Absolutely incredible, best meal we've ever had in San Francisco.

I have been coming since year 1. It deserves the 1 Michelin star and in a few years will hopefully step up to number 2

Absolute best food on the planet!! Staff is incredible and their wine knowledge is perfect for pairing all the dishes!

Food was great. Portion size felt small but was actually about right as we did not leave hungry and had no leftovers. That said, for the portion size I expected to pay a little less.

Favorite spot for a romantic evening for two. One of the best wine menus in the city and a great sommelier service to boot. Not snooty, willing to help you if you ask for it. Excellent pasta, fresh and rich in flavor without over doing its portions either. I always leave satisfied, never stuffed and very happy.

Food is pretty good--especially the black truffle gnocchi special. It is expensive.

I had the pasta with uni. After going to Italy and having freshly made pasta, all was ruined for me (in pasta terms) until I came to SPQR. The pasta...I can't describe it other than a beautiful symphony of taste in my mouth. You're probably going yeah...whatever, but I'M TELLING YOU THE PASTA IS PHENOMENAL!

One of our best experiences in SF. We were sat at the kitchen bar and it was wonderful to watch Chefs at work. We never saw such a coordination of movements in such a tiny space they call kitchen. It was almost a magic. As for food, service and ambiance - everything was PERFECT. Food was very creative, interesting and delicious. We left very satisfied and will be back every time we are in SF.

I'll start with the good.
The service is good!
The front woman at the door kylie was very nice, the waiter was also tolerant and nice... BUT, I don't go to restaurants to smile at the workers so the food HAS to be great as well.
AND Especially when it's a Michelin star restaurant....
You should know that most of the menu is with meat so I didn't have many vegetarian options to choose from.
The main dish was called: Bucatini: paste with blue cheese that was extremely SALTY!
The desert was horrific.... are you seriously serving deserts like these ? Had one bite and asked for the check- Definitely NOT a place I'd go back too.....
Much Improvement necessary.
See you!

The caviar produced by Matthew Accarino is fabulously perfect paired with a biscuit and sour cream! Good boy! matching right with the integral PS. Thank you! Impeccable service, staff prepared and kind
P.S. pappardelle are fabolous

If you are looking for a relaxing evening and great hospitality please reconsider patronizing this establishment. In our experience staff is more concerned about closing shop than providing excellent service. We made reservations days prior,arrived early and no more than sat down and were told they were keeping the kitchen open for us and we needed to order immediately. We hadn't even had the opportunity to choose a wine yet. I asked the server why they offer a reservation at this time if they have no intentions on letting their guests dine appropriately and he simple replied "I don't know."
We decided to dine else where as we wanted to enjoy a great space and staff versus the fast food style/drive thru operation being extended at SPQR. No surprise to us we have meet others since that have had similar experiences on other nights at SPQR.

Sit at the bar if you can! Watching this chef team is like going to a show.

The bleu cheese walnut brown butter pasta was quite possibly one of the best things I ve ever eaten.

Truly the most amazing culinary experience of my life. Matthew Accarino is on another level. Course after course I had my mind blown in ways I didn't know possible.

Amazing gastronomical experience. Everything tasted delicious and flowed well together.

Came here for a business date but it would have been better for a romantic occasion (sorry no photos this time). The space speaks more to an intimate occasion with smaller seating of 2-4 person parties.

I'm going to disagree with the 4.3 rating and I would put it closer to a 4.5-4.6 range. My only downgrades are the prices but it correlates with the location and size of the space. The meal began with the little gem sale which was basic as a whole. You really can't screw up a gem. We went with the squash soup which was very rich but perfectly seasoned and the portion was just about right. I also got the buffalo cheek which was delightful in every way. Before writing this review I saw that they don't have it on the menu so they probably rotate certain dishes out.

The highlight of the meal was the "timballo" ragu. The pasta was very unique unlike anything I have ever had but they sauce was rich, hearty, and the perfect portion to share. We went with the suggestions on wine pairing by our server and this really is the way to go. I just gave her the region and similar type of wine I had in mind and she matched our dishes perfectly. If you live in SF, you have to go this restaurant at least once.

Book a chef's counter table and the unusual pasta tasting menu for a unique experience. You maybe thinking I can't do a whole meal of just pastas but it is nothing short of satisfying. The corn raviolini is sweetness, crunch, al dente heaven. Watch the chef's at their craft and try not to wolf down every tasty dish.

Great food. Excellent service. Great for intimate dinner experiences.

Appetizers were interesting though not outstanding for me. Got the ricotta salad which I thought was lacking, the octopus which was tasty though not the best texture that I've had, and the wagyu beef "pastrami" which we liked..but all were really just opening acts for the main event..the PASTA.

Recommended by locals and the online community alike, this highly regarded restaurant serves traditional and updated Italian food. The room is extremely tight. You can expect to be sitting elbow to elbow with your neighbor. The food is as advertised, and quite good in terms of quality and variety and inventiveness. However both my partner and I had some difficulty enjoying it crammed next to the other patrons. Value for money is limited, however if you re coming to this place it s probably not what you re concerned about anyway.

oh man, that lamb, hazelnut and goat cheese pasta is to die for

Good pasta dishes, very loud but fun to sit at chef's counter.

Love this place. It's gotten fancier in recent years (I think I heard they got a Michelin star?), but if you love creative pasta this is a wonderful restaurant, and I highly recommend getting a bottle of prosecco, their selection is great. One word of warning -- vegetarian options are at a minimum, we had a hard time finding options for my vegetarian friend and the suggestion from the waiter (the special) was twice the price of anything else on the menu.

Amazing fresh Italian food in a cool, comfortable ambiance. The smoked fettuccini was the best pasta I ve ever had, no idea what they do to make the sauce so smokey. Portion sizes are small but if you get multiple dishes to share you end up pretty full! I was a little scared by some of the snobby negative reviews on here...but I m not someone who frequents Michelin Star restaurants or has a company card and wouldn t dream of giving this less than 5 stars.

Amazing 1* Michelin Italian. Knowledgeable staff, exciting and unusual wines. Go for the pasta tasting if you can. Chilled car seats for solo dining

Delicious pastas and the cozy-yet-upscale atmosphere is great, but taking off a star as it's a little pricey for what it is.

Love the use of pork in this restaurant. They also have great noodles. Sat at the bar because of the long wait time one night and the chef gave us some amazing appetizers to try.

I loved the duck lasagna and blue cheese burrata. Service was quick and the atmosphere was okay.

Food was amazing. Was hoping to do the tasting menu but that is only Monday through Thursday, however the regular menu was delicious. Definitely recommend SPQR.

Fantastic Italian restaurant. The food is amazing, as is the wine list. Leave room for dessert!

Tajarin and truffles... The pasta was delicate and delicious. My friend buckwheat fusilli, also so tender and tasty. The main course was Wagyu beef with fregola and arugula. The flavors of the pasta paired really nicely with the steak. Our waitress was really well versed in their wines and helped us pair the performing wine with our meal. Service was warm, friendly and gracious.

Fabulous -- best Italian food outside of Italy. House-made pasta is always delicious, relatively long list of Italian wines that pair well with the food. Impeccable service.

Dinner here was fantastic, but the bill ran a bit ahead of the experience and the quantities. Definitely reserve coming here for something more special than a hungry stomach.

Really delicious tasting menu and dessert. Fun to sit at the counter and watch the chefs work. Only downside was I went when they had a Thanksgiving theme second course and I'm not a fan of turkey or cranberries, though they did manage to make it pretty good, just not good enough that my personal preferences were overcome to think it was anywhere near as good as the other 4 courses.

Phenomenal food and service. Worth the price, so make an occasion of it and plan to drop some money on really special food and dining experience.

5 stars for food but 3 stars for price. It's super expensive for pasta, $30+ per pasta and it's not a huge plate. They have 1 michelin star which is why they raised their prices. I've heard from others who recommended the restaurant to me that it use to be cheaper and much easier to make reservations to.

MUST GET: uni pasta (it doesn't have a very strong uni taste in case you're someone who doesn't love uni. The bacon they put in the pasta goes really well with the uni taste. The uni is more like butter in pasta and gives it a creamy smooth .) Any of their gnocchi dishes can't be missed!

DON'T GET: everything we had was beautifully made so no complaints so next time we'll try other dishes!

PRO TIP: book with time in advance and request for a table by the chefs counter bar so you can watch the chefs in action! Much more fun than sitting at a table. :)

Very good italian restaurant. SPQR has a michelin star, and it is well deserved. Excellent pasta options with an unconventional italian menu. I recommend checking out lunch, they have a pre-fixe pasta menu for $39.
Dinner can get crowded, so I definitely recommend a reservation. SQPR only has wine and beer, there are no hard alcohol cocktails.

Upgrading to 5 stars. Visited 4 years ago when it was good, but now it is excellent! Will surely come back for its pastas.

This is one of my favorite Italian restaurant and taste is so good for Japanese.

Super expensive. Went to meet friends for a non-alcoholic beverage. A Coke was $6.50!!!! Are they mad? Very, very noisy. My Coke was a 2*, but since I cannot rate the food, I added one more.

Amazing! They even have a kid's pasta that our 4-year-old liked! Loved it

Really hit and miss. Had 3 dishes and 1 was excellent one was so so and one pasta dish was completely undercooked. We told them and to their credit they offered to make it again, but it came out exactly the same. Pasta was undercooked to the point where biting into it you could see that the raw flour was white and grainy.

Shame, it s a very cozy spot and has a lot of potential, but for those prices you d expect a lot better.

I thought SPQR was good but not great. Nice ambiance, good service and decent food. We really liked the antipasti but weren't crazy about the pasta dishes that we got.

Delicious Italian restaurant. The portions are small so make sure you get your primi and secondi. Great location and service too. Make sure to make a reservation a good week in advanced

Amazing food and lovely atmosphere, I totally see why it has a Michelin star. And for a reasonable price too!

quality of food is very good. The only downside is the tables are very close to each other. Not much room to sit down and relaxed.

Sitting at chef counter is fun to watch them work. Squid ink pasta is always a favorite.

Tiny, cramped and noisy but the food is just wonderful and service is delivered with a smile. We arrived early for our reservation but were seated at the appointed time; we passed the time at the bar with a wondeful bottle of wine (great items on the wine list.)

Amazing handmade pasta and general italian cuisine. Their clafoutis is amazing.

delicious. wonderful, friendly service. the only downside is that it can take over an hour to get a table!

The food was delicious. We came during brunch and it was basically empty! I was pretty surprised. We had the tasting menu. The price is not too crazy but with a drink and taxes, it added up. My favorite dish was the squid ink pasta with octopus and mussels. I don't usually like olives but this dish was delicious. The biscuits were so good too. The last dish was also really good.

This is one of my favourite restaurants in SF so far. I am giving it a 4 just because there is one dish I didn't fully like.

First of all the restaurant is very cute and well decorated. Even if it gets crowded it doesn't get loud, which is great since most likely you will not come to this restaurant alone!

Here is what we ate: for antipasti we had the warm yellow corn salad which was really good and the Suckling Pork Confitura which was tender and perfectly cooked. For primi we had 3 types of pasta: the bludnudlen which deserve an A because of the perfect balance of the flavours between the meat and the pasta (the taste seemed a little too intense at first but it was just my first reaction after having had something very sweet, the corn ravioli (A) very good with a well seasoned rich sauce and the spaghetti (or similar) with mushrooms and Australian winter truffle which I didn't like very much even if it was the daily special and was by far the most expensive item on the food menu ($48). We also shared the duck as secondo and it was pretty good.

Dessert was definitely a highlight as we ordered the coffee cake that was phenomenal and perfectly coupled with an Italian candy gelato and another cake with stonefruit which was good but not as delicious as the coffee cake.

All in all I will definitely go back to SPQR.

Solid food and a good by-the-glass wine list. There aren't many places in the city to get regional Italian at this quality. You'll pay a lot for it though. Even in the realm of fine dining there are those places that feel like a relative bargain. This isn't one of those places.

I don't understand why this place gets such hype. All of their food is over priced and mediocre. I've been there twice and had nothing worthwhile. Makes no sense to me given all of the other great restaurants in the area. If you're on the fence about going, don't. The two stars are for the service, which was on point.

We have visited SPQR several times before, and it was one of our SF favorite restaurants. Unfortunately, the latest visit was disappointing. The squid ink pasta was very delicious. The second tasting pasta, lamb ragu and the third pasta, beet gnocchi were super salty, and we couldn t finish them.
The tomato sauce pasta for the kids was very good. Overall, we were disappointed given the quality and the price of the restaurant.

Dined here on a Monday night. Didn't have reservations but were able to sit immediately at the bar. The menu displays an incredible variety of pastas and cheeses and both appetizer and primi I ordered were fabulous: rich, flavorful, and with an incredible attention to detail. Service was attentive but unobtrusive. Not a cheap dinner option, but value is strong.

Very, very good food. Service is great as long as you aren't eating at the chef's table, which can be somber. Highly recommended for locals and OOTs.

Everything was great. Attentive staff without being overbearing. Accomodated any of needs.
Food was so delicious. Started with burrata salad with Brussels sprouts and had the mushroom risotto and the smoked fettuccine with sea urchin and bacon. Finished with an Amazon chocolate cinnamon tort with persimmon and chocolate gelato served with a warm dark chocolate sauce over the top. A very memorable way to finish an anniversary trip to SF

Cozy, great service, great bartender. He chose a 2015 Praesidium Reserva that was wonderful for the price. Loved the chestnut pasta!!! Wow!!! Fantastic atmosphere, we ate at the bar.

This place is highly rated it's a must stop at place. Michelin star. Always delicious. A regular for us.

Amazing food (not surprising from a Michelin star). Grab a bottle of wine and sit at the bar to get the full experience.

Went here for lunch and was not impressed. I ordered the Rigatoni Bolognese. It cam with below average side salad, and the Bolognese wasn't even a bolognese sauce. It tasted like the threw a bunch of grade D ground beef in tomato sauce thrown on top of overcooked pasta.The warm bread brought out at the beginning was good!