Sabella & La Torre — Restaurant in San Francisco

The crab and shrimp was very fresh! From the days catch! The service was spot on. The waiter sat us quickly, you will notice a line because the actual restaurant is in back of the many food vendors selling food, outside in front of the entrance. You choose to sit in or grab and go. Lots of tourist all over from EVERYWHERE! Lol. If your from SF bay area be prepared for that. Make sure you add your name to the lis by speaking to the host or waiter. The wait moves quickly, as I said the waiter sat us quickly (10 min wait) and gave us the run down quickly but in a proff./speedy way. We ordered, he put in the order, returned with drinks and waters with lemon as requested, and fresh bread with butter in a bowl. 👀, Yes...a fresh bread bowl 😀. I was surprised to see that a restaurant still does a bread basket at no charge. Nice! I also inspected the bathroom and was happy, it was clean, smelled clean, just looked old or worn but not disgusting. The restaurant is small so be prepared if you dont like tight spaces. Our cousin ordered the clam chowder in the bread bowl, myself and my partner ordered the Garlic Crab and Shrimp special (pictured with out a cup of clam chowder-I ate it before I took a pic, lol). The price was very affordable! The crab special was $26-cup of clam chowder, garlic roasted crab and shrimp on rice pilaf with a side of fresh veggies, the clam chowder in the bread bowl was very affordable as well, $9.50 In total for a party of three, the bill was under $60 before tip 😃😀🤗 And the restaurant can ship their different dishes to you! International shipping and domestic. 😏 Sabella & La Torre was better than any Red Lobster, CrabShack and High priced Seafood restaurant Ive ever been too. The flavors of the seasonings used were on point, the chef also cracks the crab before cooking and some how infuses a wine butter garlic sauce into the crab....🤤😮😐🙄😊 Yes! And tho the shrimp was peel and eat, I enjoyed the flavors! I prefer peeled shrimp with no tail. The rice pilaf sitting on the bottom absorbs all of the sauce and extra butter that you add and there are fresh lemon slices. The side is fresh veggies with a light seasoning if salt, pepper and either butter or olive oil. If you want a whole dungenous crab plate that is $40. And there are other seafood choices such as crab cakes, fish, lobster, prawns, mussels, scallops, etc. Also they have other non seafood choices. Seriously consider them if your in their area. Superub!...

(This is 2 reviews for 2 different crab stands right next to each other) We had family visiting from out of town & my mom went to Sabella & Torre's crab stand in front (on a weekday) & bought several crabs to feast on at home. We do this every year once crab season opens but missed out last year for some reason. OMG! Their crab was so delicious. It was cleaned & cracked and packaged nicely with lemon wedges & cocktail sauce (which I don't use because the crab only needs lemon).

It was so damn good, I ended going back the next day with a friend for more! Unfortunately, that day I ordered from the place NEXT TO Sabella & Torre's & the crab was much different & nowhere near as good, which is why I'm mentioning it here. I think that place is called "Nick's". I hate to say negative things about that place nextdoor because the service was very friendly, but the crab wasn't cleaned the same way & it just looked dirty. The meat in the body was wet & mushy and there was about a cup of liquid in the bag. All that nasty stuff was left in the shell that you're supposed to clean & discard. I know some people consider it a delicacy but I don't. It's the part of the crab (like our liver) where all the toxins get filtered. The clam chowder in a sourdough bowl from Nick's was excellent though.

I'm a 3rd generation SF native & my family & I have never eaten crab in a restaurant because it's so expensive & it's messy. We usually buy it from the fisherman at the dock but when we don't feel like dealing with live crab (and the sad worried expressions on their little faces) and cleaning & cooking it ourselves, it's so much better to get it from a stand & bring it home. We put a big bowl in the middle of the table for empty shells & each person has a damp cloth napkin & a dry one. Lol!

The crab in the photo is half a crab from Sabella & Torre's. I didn't take a photo of the other crab. Crabs are sold by weight. I had a crab slightly over 2 lbs that cost $40. I didn't eat anything else but the crab & lemon and though I was full,...

We have been coming to Sabella & La Torre for years and we have never had a bad experience. We payed a visit this Past Saturday since we were in the area after watching The Blue Angels fly over SF. We dinned inside of the restaurant instead of just grabbing food from the vendor cart.

We walked up after calling to see if there was a wait time which there was not, we were a party of three and got sat immediately even tho the Restaurant was a bit busy. It was a busy weekend and the bar was packed with people in the area for the Blue angles and people grabbing some drinks before the Giants game. The Restaurant was pretty loud this visit around because of all the commotion at the bar. it was a bit annoying, because clearly there were some drunk adults who didn't need to have any more alcohol. Other than all the ruckus at the bar it was still an overall a good experience.

The waiters brought us water and bread & butter as soon as we sat down along with our menus.

We Ordered Calamari appetizer Clam chowder in Bread bowl Linguine Alfredo pasta with chicken Linguine Alfredo pasta with chicken & Shrimp x2

The calamari is always our favorite, they are always fresh and not chewy. The Tartar sauce is always good. The Clam chowder is by far the best I've had in the city so we will continue to come here even after so many years. The pasta is always delicious tho, I get chicken and shrimp in the Alfredo and it has never disappointed!

The Restaurant is a bit small so if your looking for a place for a large party this isn't the best place for you to dine. It an oplder shop that does need a bit of a facelift but if that's not really something your concerned about and want some good food then come here. We will continue to stop by if in the area and want either fish and chips or...