Octavia — Restaurant in San Francisco

Dare I say that Octavia is better than Frances. Yeah and I totally did during the entire meal. Repeatedly. A lot. And probably enough to annoy my husband but what do I care - he is married to me and stuck with me. I'll be as bold to say it's the best restaurant right now in SF (and totally better than the overhyped State Bird Provisions - which is good but not GREAT).

We tried to recap what we liked the most, so here it is in the order of MY favorites (different than my husband's):

Beef tongue: Apparently beef tongue is fatty, delicate, and pulled-pork like in its consistency. It's not at all chewy. This stuff just melted in your mouth. I had no idea that beef tongue was so delicious. I was always grossed out by the concept, but this dish totally converted me into a beef tongue fiend. Forget the steaks. Cut off all their tongues and give me their milk. Also, I now have a mental note to go to fancy butcher shops and buy a lot of beef tongues to cook.

Chocolate torte (dessert): I thought this would be a standard fare but was feeling the idea of having dessert. I was delightfully wrong. I went to Liholiho for their baked Hawaiian (which is EXCELLENT) but this actually outdid it. It was chocolate HEAVEN. Best of all, the salted caramel melted into the hot torte... and then there were crunchy chunks of dark chocolate around it (yay for food texture!). I kept making awful jokes to my husband (that were pretty serious in nature) that I wanted to kidnap the baker and bring him/her home with us. Then lock them in a room with an oven and cocoa.

Romano beans: Had thought of not getting it. So glad we got it. Flash fried so it was very lightly crispy and then there were small fried onion bits on top of it. Second favorite starter.

Halibut crudo: My husband's favorite. For sushi and tartare lovers. Halibut was raw and silky, avocados were buttery and firm, and the crisps were (duh) crispy.

Saffron tonarelli: Tomatoes were fresh and acidic. Saffron was present but not overwhelming. Dish had just enough oil. So good.

Butter beans and garlic with mushroom soup: Buttery. Creamy. Delicious.

Deviled egg: Poached egg with melty yolk and a lot of hot spicy stuff. Very good. Surprised it wasn't my favorite dish - the egg specials are usually my favorite at every restaurant I go to. Goes to show the caliber of Octavia. Soooo good. This probably would have been my favorite at any other restaurant.

Chilled squid ink noodles: Excellent but not as memorable as the other dishes.

Oysters: Good.

Also the complimentary bread was served perfectly warm, the butter was fresh and light. Everything was perfect. Wine was excellent (I think it was the Tenuta 2010). Service was attentive and on pointe. Really have nothing bad to say about the restaurant. Ranking the dishes was incredibly hard. Please take...

Food was good (not great), service was disappointing. Get why hard to go after star after pandemic but today they’re just not at the level to even try.

Glad we went to try, wouldn’t come back.

Good: Brassicas was excellent, so was the agnolotti. Quail too, we just had to wait too long. Budino good (but also hard to mess up), chiffon cake too although for a farm-to-table concept the blood orange should have been more prominent in flavor. Crab-cake was just ok, not very innovative or flavorful.

Needs work: Bread. For $8, with a standalone item with other starters, recommended as THE thing to have and with all the hype we were really disappointed. I’m Danish, I know exactly what good sourdough is and this wasn’t it. Crust ok, but bread itself had too little salt/flavor and was def not fresh baked (at best, early morning, at worst day-old).

Service: started of well, good pairing suggestions on glasses. But after pastas we waited +1 hour for mains. No one checked in on us until chef comes out. “Can I ask you an awkward question” (not sure what we were expecting then but intrigued). “Have you had your quail yet”? (no) “Ah; yeah something went wrong with the numbers” (leaves to go back to kitchen). Would have been great with an apology for the wait. Also thought weird they a) didn’t check sooner as we were also missing our other main (crab-cake) and b) why ask us and not our server if we had been served our food yet.

Our server just didn’t come out until after we finally gotten our mains, at which point she was super timid/mood changed with tables (we speculate she’d been told off by the kitchen).

After we finished, she did come out and asked us if we wanted desert and that would be on them + they did end up comping us the quail which was nice gesture and tbh...

Last night, I had the privilege of dining at Octavia, and the experience was truly exceptional. The restaurant's ambience strikes a perfect balance between classiness and homeliness. The staff went above and beyond, treating us like royalty and catering to our every need with attentive care. They were knowledgeable and gladly answered any questions we had.

The wine pairings were spot-on and complemented everything we ordered. However, the true highlight was the food itself. We savored the delectable bluefin tuna carpaccio, mouthwatering caramelle, rich Brentwood corn lasagna, and fresh fettuccine. Among them, the lasagna stole the show with its vibrant colors and comforting flavors, reminiscent of a well-done elevated version of Thanksgiving corn casserole.

The pastas were simply out of this world, bursting with delightful flavors that left us wanting more after every bite. It was a bit sad when they were all gone, but it only served to show how much we enjoyed them.

The desserts provided an incredible ending to the night. We relished the watermelon sorbet, heavenly brown butter friand, decadent cocoa chiffon cake, and luscious fresh berries. The friand was particularly impeccable, and its taste was indescribably good.

In conclusion, I was deeply impressed by everything we experienced at Octavia. I wholeheartedly recommend anyone to spend an evening here and savor the greatness of this extraordinary...