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This Sociale Restaurant Review is one of our many posts tagged San Francisco. Read on for the menu, photos, and our verdict of this Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant.
Sociale Restaurant Location, Hours and Reservations
Sociale is located in Presidio Heights at 3665 Sacramento Street, between Spruce and Locust Streets. The restaurant is open Tuesday-Saturday for dinner from 5-9pm, and for lunch Thursday to Saturday noon until 2:30pm. We recommend making a dinner reservation a couple weeks in advance if dining on Friday or Saturday (or even further in advance around holiday periods), and about a week in advance for Tuesday-Thursday night dinners. We highly recommend making a reservation for the outdoor courtyard, which is kept warm via heat lamps, and is a lovelier setting than indoors.
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Sociale Menu and Food
Sociale's menu has some enduring favorites, such as the Pappardelle with Duck Ragout, as well as specials that change regularly.
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After ordering we were brought some warm house rolls (to my taste they didn't even need the accompanying butter). Given how quickly my husband and hungry teen devoured theirs, I had to ask our server for a couple more.
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We normally order several dishes to share family-style. Our server suggested having our son's order of Mushroom Ravioli served first as a starter. The wild mushroom stuffing must have had porcini in it, given how flavorful it was, and the topping included truffle oil and shaved parmesan.
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Next to arrive was the side dish of Brussel & Kale Sprouts. This was easily the best rendition I've ever tasted, so light and crisp was the fry. The light lemon aioli was gilding the lily.
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I won't lie, there was a somewhat protracted hiatus at this point, so if we had to dock any points, it would be for this slight pacing issue. Nevertheless, the wait was worthwhile given the next three dishes:
The Pappardelle with Braised Duck was just the satisfying comfort food I could imagine having if I had an Italian grandmother who made homemade pasta.
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We almost didn't order the Eggplant Parmigiano, due to suspecting we'd have too much food, but are so glad we did. As with the Brussel Sprouts, this was the best rendition I've ever tasted of this dish.
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The Llano Seco Farms pork steak, a $45 special, was another winner: rich and juicy, accompanied by greens and summer squash, it's definitely for more than one person (unless perhaps you have a sumo wrestler's appetite) so we're glad we shared it, and even then, given the other pastas we ordered, we ended up bringing some home.
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The Verdict
I used to avoid going out to Italian restaurants, since We have Italian pasta or pizza once or twice a week at home. But Sociale is the kind of place I wish was walking distance, since I'd want to dine there regularly. It strikes the perfect balance between hearty, comfort food and Michelin star dining, with dishes that are executed well above lesser eateries, yet still in a comfortable outdoor courtyard where you'll be at home in a nice sweater, or in our teen's case, a fleece. We'd happily reorder everything we tried, although the Eggplant Parmigiano, Crispy Brussel & Kale Sprouts, and Llano Seco Farms Pork were particular standouts.
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