Incanto
San Francisco, CA 94131-2048
Phone: (415) 641-4500
- Price:
- $$$
- Cross Street:
- Duncan Street
- Hours:
- Wed-Sat 5:30pm-10pm, Sun-Mon 5:30-9:30pm
Editorial Review for Incanto – by Bethany Jean Clement
The Scene
With its gleaming, marble-floored foyer and spotless stone archways, Incanto feels like a rustic European dining hall that's been given an L.A. makeover. The upscale clientele doesn't mind the noisy acoustics of the big open room, which is almost always full to brimming. Servers are friendly, but can be spread too thin.
The Food
The ever-changing menu offers Italian country dishes rendered elegantly. Refreshing interpretations of classics might include a delicate Caesar-like salad of little gem lettuce with white anchovy and hard-boiled egg, or a coarse pork ragu on paper-thin handkerchief pasta. But generally, the best dishes are the more unusual ones: Sardinian fregola--tiny, tender orbs of pasta with lovely squid in salty, savory squid ink sauce, or roast porchetta, an unabashed celebration of pork fat that's house-cured with fresh herbs and served with huckleberry potatoes. The occasional misstep--chewy mussels or over-seared lamb tripe--is forgivable.
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Insider Tips
Know Before You GoThe enormous all-Italian wine list is truly impressive. The featured wine flights are also fun and a good bargain, and each wine has a little paper collar identifying it.
User Reviews for Incanto
02/24/2008 Posted by Steven2
I found Incanto to be OK but not great. Definitely over rated. I knew I was in for pretense when the menu stated that they served filtered Hetch Hetchy water. Any kitchen faucet in San Francisco and a Brita filter can produce filtered Hetch Hetchy water. False advertising. Pretense. San Francisco's tap water comes from Hetch Hetchy. I also found the food to be overly salty, especially the olive oil ice cream. The final insult was an added 5% kitchen service charge that was conveniently added to the check without telling the customer. I feel it is the responsibility of the restaurant to pay the kitchen help -- not the customer. The decor was pleasant. The service friendly and competent. It was overpriced and not worth it.
Pros: Nice atmosphere. Good wine by the glass.
Cons: Pretense. Over priced. Salty. $3.00 charge for olive oil to dip your bread in was ridiculous. Filtered water claim and unadvertised 5% kitchen tip were unacceptable.
04/10/2007 Posted by joanie881
Shoot, I didn't notice this 5% charge that people below are talking about. But we had a great experience, nice friendly waiter who let me taste the wine I'd asked about (and nice glassware). Liked the bustling room and enjoyed our meal: asparagus app, pasta and pork loin plus ginger cake w/ caramel sauce and gelato for dessert. $90 for that plus 2 beers, tax and tip isn't bad.
Pros: great service, interesting menu
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
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