Collina — Restaurant in San Francisco

I’m not one to give out five-star reviews often, but my experience at Collina was truly outstanding.

Let’s start with the food, I was fortunate enough to try several dishes regularly featured on the menu in addition to all the specials available that night.

Starters: Regularly featured on the menu, the tomato arancini was an unexpected standout for me, with a simple but effective flavor combination that stood out without being overpowering. One of my favorite special items available the day I went was the squash blossom, which featured a unique flavor I had never tasted before. I also ordered muscles, which were very fresh and very tasty.

Mains: One of my most-anticipated main dishes was the truffle pasta, a special item on the menu the day we went. I am pleased to say that it met, if not passed, all expectations. It was creamy and delightful, and had enough truffle to contribute to the flavor of the dish without overpowering it as many truffle dishes often do. My personal favorite main, however, was the heritage chicken. A regularly featured menu item, the chicken was simple yet elegant. I did not expect to like this dish so much, but it was the best chicken I have had in my life. No joke. It was of the highest quality and supremely juicy and tender. It also had a slight herby taste, akin to a thanksgiving turkey, but more subtle as to leave room for the flavors of the chicken to stand out.

The dishes I mentioned were only the standouts. All the other dishes I had were supremely good and were well above average.

The service was also top notch. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t anything extravagant, but the servers really did make an effort to make my dinning experience more enjoyable. For example, when my entrees were taking longer than expected to cook, my waiter gave me extra bread and made sure to keep me entertained. The servers were also very prompt, and I never had to wait long for any service. The waiters also never came across as pushy which I appreciate.

The atmosphere and location are top notch. The restaurant is right next to the Hyde street cable car, which I’m sure tourists will enjoy. The atmosphere was very nice and was appropriate for what the restaurant aimed to do.

Finally, let’s talk prices. The prices I paid were extremely good for the quality of food. Most dishes were between $20 and $30, and my most expensive dish was the truffle pasta coming in at $45, which is still not a terrible price considering how expensive truffle is. If you’re a couple, you could probably get away with spending under $100 dollars pre tip which is completely reasonable for a fancy night out.

Overall, if I had to sum up Collina with one phrase, it would be “simplicity in its finest form.” I hope to visit...

We got a last second reservation for three here on a Saturday night. The food was excellent! We had focaccia and red wine, both superb. We got the spaghttini, lasagnette, & Raviolio as our mains. The first two were great on their own, but the raviolio? Transcendent, absolutely incredible, easily the best dish we had while in SF. A must get. We did get a dessert, the strawberry & pistachio cannoili; this was fine I guess, but would definitely skip next time, the only item I was not impressed with.

Now, the service, so remember when I got that last second reservation for three? Turns out I had gotten it for two... This was for a reservation for 45 minutes before closing, btw. Nonetheless, the host was understanding and did everything he could remedy the situation. He explained we would have to wait a little bit longer, naturally, and that we do everything to make this happen. While we were waiting, he checked in several times to see how we were doing, update us, and provide us with a wine list. After a little while, he was able to get us seated, and the service continued to be excellent throughout service. Big points here. I know having idiots make resverations with the wrong amount of people must happen, and sometimes people are doing it on purpose, so I was very pleasantly surprised how much of an effort the host made to alleviate my stupid mistake.

To wrap, the spot is cute, small, with a fittingly short menu. But the choices are excellent, the ambiance is great, and the service is first-class - with very...

We had a nice evening at Collina and came in with very high expectations after reading the many great food reviews here and seeing a few videos on instagram. First off, the restaurant is cozy and very inviting, perfect for our dinner conversation. Service was impeccable. We want to stress that nothing in this review is related to the service we had as it was outstanding. Food came out quickly, table was cleaned between each meal change, new plates/silverware, etc.

We ordered the following appetizers: olives, arancini, tuna tartare, house special baked cheese. We felt something was missing from the taste of the food, even just more salt and maybe pepper would have gone a long way. We just had high expectations coming in considering price and having been to comparable Italian places such as Cotogna.

The octopus dish was one of our favorites of the night and had a nice balance of citrus and salt.

We also ordered all 4 pasta dishes. The spaghettini was delightful, with a good chili flavor and tomato sauce. The lasagna also had a tasty meat sauce and was beautifully presented. The gnocchi dish was the disappointment. Gnocchi is really dense (should be pillow like) and the sauce almost has a grassy taste. Would not recommend ordering this dish. Raviolo was a tasty dish as well.

Tiramisu is our favorite dessert and this is a more dry tiramisu. Felt light on the mascarpone and more like a...