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This Alamo Square Seafood Grill review is from our summer 2024 visit to this San Francisco institution, which opened in 1998. San Francisco is a pricey city, but French-influenced seafood spot still manages to have a 3-course prix fixe for $20, a bargain just a few minutes by foot away from the city's iconic Painted Ladies Victorian houses by Alamo Square Park.
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Alamo Square Seafood Grill Location and Hours
Alamo Square Seafood Grill is located at 803 Fillmore Street, a block from Alamo Square in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. The restaurant is open Wednesday-Sunday 5:30-9pm. The spot has high ceilings but is relatively small and popular with locals, so we definitely recommend making a reservation via OpenTable.
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Alamo Square Seafood Grill Menu and Food
I liked that the menu wasn't too long and was primarily seafood oriented, the restaurant's focus; I'm always slightly suspicious of restaurants with small kitchens and extensive menus, wondering which dishes they do best.
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As mentioned above, the restaurant is known for its very reasonable $19.99 prix fixe (choice of soup or salad, chef's choice main course, chef's choice dessert) but we opted to go a la carte this time.
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There were additional choices on a blackboard menu:
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We were brought complimentary baguette with basil olive oil, which was better than most similarly priced restaurants we've been to, as the slightly sourdough baguette was warm and very fresh.
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My husband ordered the French Onion Soup as an appetizer, which I sampled. It's served extremely hot, but once it cooled enough to eat, it was tasty. It wasn't the absolute best French Onion Soup we've had (the onions could have used a bit more caramelization, the bread was a tad too burned on one end), but the broth was rich and for the price it was very good.
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For my main I chose the Blackened Shrimp Risotto. The shrimp were excellent, with great flavor, the risotto not as creamy as I would have liked, but still tasty.
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My husband's main course, the Crab Cake Dinner, was the highlight: two crab cakes with a generous amount of crab, served with lobster sauce, a rice pilaf and vegetables, all for $22.
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Definitely save room for dessert, since both our choices were excellent: a tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream, and a warm flourless chocolate cake with whipped cream.
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The Verdict
We enjoyed our dinner at Alamo Square Seafood Grill; particular highlights were the complimentary fresh bread with basil olive oil, crab cakes and desserts, but we'd happily order everything again and look forward to trying other seafood dishes, possibly on a Wednesday when there's free corkage. Be aware that at the moment the restaurant is a bit short staffed, with the owner serving all guests, so be patient.
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