Restaurant
Lulu
San Francisco Photo Essay
Restaurant Lulu San Francisco
Restaurant Lulu is a great open warehouse style nice restaurant with a
wood-burning roasting oven. All of the food at Lulu is served family style to
share with friends. We paid a recent visit to Lulu on a Friday night and it was
one busy place. The room is one very large and open square with a high
ceiling. Active conversations permeate the restaurant for engaged diners.
When we arrived, Restaurant Lulu was quite busy seating a banquet room.
After waiting for the hostess service, we took a seat at the full bar.
There is also a separate wine bar and an extremely extensive wine list spanning
many pages. We enjoyed a bottle of Rombauer Merlot for $55 with excellent
bar service. We were seated about 15 minutes after our reservation time,
which was no problem as we were already relaxing at the bar. One comment
on Lulu - the hostess service could use some improvement. A combination of
attitude and disorganization for the hostess area did not make for the best mix.
We were seated in the center of the cavernous Restaurant Lulu dining room. Tables are
set quite close as is common in San Francisco. However with the general
noise level of conversations you can enjoy a relatively private meal with your
companion. The dinner menu allows for a variety of combinations to share
including wood-fired pizzas, small plates, antipastis, and oysters. We
decided to sample the "3 choice antipasti" and tried a plate of beets (yellow &
red); a cheese tart; and fig and melon. These were excellent. The
vegetables were fresh, tasty, and unusual - and the goat cheese tart was made
just right. This plate was a great start to the meal. The exact
dishes were roasted beets with walnuts and ricotta salata; leek, goat cheese,
and bacon tart; and summer melon and black mission figs with sliced prosciutto.
The three antipasti items cost was $14.50.
All of the food was excellent-- the vegetables were fresh and thoughtfully
prepared, and the meats were cooked just right. The smoked flavor in the
pork was delicious. One note - some of the mixes in the vegetables were
not quite as shown on the menu. For example, the carrots and snap peas
were about 95% carrots.
For desert, we enjoyed the Profitores (~$8) filled with a fragrant and
flavorful homemade coffee ice cream; covered in a delicious and slightly bitter
chocolate sauce with almonds. The dessert was really special and a big hit
with our table.
We relaxed for a while at Restaurant Lulu while our main entrees were
prepared. We ordered the fennel scented pork loin with olive oil mashed
potatoes from the oak fired rotisserie ($17). My companion tried the
roasted black cod with rainbow chart, Christmas lima beans, fine herbs, and
toasted baguette ($26). You can add vegetables and sides to
your meal -- we added the carrots and sugar snap peas with red pearl onions and
thyme; and the pole beans with whole grain mustard vinaigrette (each of these
two dishes was about $5).
More Restaurant Lulu San Francisco
Photos
We highly recommend Restaurant Lulu as a San Francisco experience. Its
got great food, vibrant atmosphere, and not priced out of this world. We
were out for about $100 with tip & tax, excluding that bottle of Merlot.
Reservations are highly recommended, and valet parking is available for $11 plus
tip (2005). We've included We review some excerpts from the Restaurant
Lulu menu for your dining pleasure:
Oysters & Shellfish -
Fruits de Mer Platters with a selection of Oysters, Clams, and
Prawns |
$25 - $49 |
Oysters: Malpeque
(PEI); Eld Inlet (WA); Summer Ice (BC); Barron Point (WA);
Kumamoto (OR); Steamboat (WA). |
~$2.50 each |
Antipasti |
Select 3 for ~$15 |
Roasted Beets with Walnuts and
Ricotta Salata |
Olives with Garlic, Rosemary,
and Lemon |
Duck Liver Mousse with Dijon
Mustard and Cornichons |
Fromage Fort with Crostini and
Chives |
Leek, Goat Cheese, and Bacon
Tart |
Cured Salmon Crostini with
Fennel |
Heirloom Cucumbers and Tomatoes
with Chili Flakes and Mint |
House Cured Anchovies with
Baguette and Parsley |
Summer Melon and Black Mission
Figs with Sliced Prosciutto |
Rabit Rillettes with
Tomato-Onion Jam |
Small Plates |
Most around $10 |
Fennel and Potato Soup with
Parmesan and Chervil |
Bowl of Baby Lettuces, Herbs,
and Bread with Zinfadel Vinaigrette |
Fritto Misto of Artichokes,
Fennel, and Lemon with Aioli and Parmesan |
Chopped Salad with Tomatoes,
Cucumber, Fennel, and Romaine |
Iron Skillet Roasted Mussels
with Drawn Butter |
Grilled Octopus and Mussel
Salad with Oven Dried Tomatoes, Preserved Lemon, and Frisee |
Baked Chevre with Pesto, Red
Pepper Relish, and Grilled Olive Bread |
Grilled Sardines Escabeche with
Spring Onion, Radish, and Arugula |
Endive and Watercress Salad
with Pears, Walnuts, Buttermilk Blue Cheese and Champagne Syrup |
Wood Oven Roasted Whole
Portobello Mushroom with Soft Polenta |
Assortment of Artisanal Cheeses
with Fresh Fruit, Fig Jam, and Toasted Walnut Bread |
|
Pizza and Pastas |
Most around $15 |
Spicy Prawn Pizza with Overn
Dried Tomatoes and Basil Pesto |
Gypsy Pepper Pizza with Goat
Cheese, Olives, and Tomato Sauce |
Fennel Sausage and Fig Pizza
with Tapenade and Sage |
French Pear Pizza with
Caramelized Onion and Prosciutto |
Potato Gnocchini with
Persillade, Roasted Peppers, Gaeta Olives, and Bucheron Goat
Cheese |
Pasta Pistou with Early Girl
Tomatoes, Chanterelle Mushrooms, and Gruyere Cheese |
Roasted Garlic and Goat Cheese
Ravioli with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, and Pine Nuts |
Chicken Risotto with Roasted
Garlic, Pancetta, Spinach, and Pedorino |
(Total bill with tax and tip but excluding wine: ~$95 for two in 2005)
816 Folsom 415-495-5775
Reserve Lulu online
with OpenTable!
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