Nopa

Doesn't Recommend

drsomm

Joined 6 years ago

One word - Pretentious. The food is very average, yet people love this place.....WHY?? It's so loud you can't have a conversation and the service was below average.

Although I live in the neighborhood, I still will not go back. It's just not worth the time.

Doesn't Recommend

jmorrow

Joined 6 years ago

Average, at best. I don't get it. Why do people like this restaurant? We live in the neighborhood, and were very excited for this place to open. When it did, we were very disappointed, and we still are. It seems like a destination place for marina denizens and they don't really seem to care about the people who actually live in the neighborhood, which is a very working class kind of neighborhood. The food is very very average and the service is lackluster as well. The restaurant itself is very loud, and it's difficult to actually hold a conversation. The food was average, at best.

Overall, a mediocre experience, and, for the price, not remotely worth it.

Recommends

kathypsf

Joined 11 years ago

Crowded, a bit slow, but really good food. I enjoyed my experience overall at NOPA. It is loud, a bit expenseive, and it took a while for our main courses to arrive, but everything we ate was delicious. Due to our wait, they comped us with free french fries. We split an arugula salad, one person had the steelhead, which they loved, and two of us had the rosemary chicken, which was excellent as well, with fantastic seasoning. Our server was very polite, nice and knowledgable, and had several tables in our section, along with some of the tables at the bar, so he was working hard. I would definitely like to see the menu expanded a bit, but overall it was a very nice dining experience.

Recommends

foodluvr17

Joined 7 years ago

trendy, pretty average. a friend of mind recommended this restaurant so we went. when you come inside, its a very trendy place. cute cartoon murals on the walls and lovely bar. we had a reservation at 10:45 but decided to go early and get a drink. it was pretty packed on a saturday night and loud. we got seated earlier than our reservation which was nice. the food was pretty much your usually dishes but with a gourmet twist (fries with an aoli dipping sauce, porkchop with lentil beans, pasta baked in a terra cotta dish, etc) the porkchop is very tender for its thickness and the flatbread was pretty good. reminded me of extremely thin crust pizza. i had baked pasta. it was pretty good, but a little too salty for my liking and it had some kind of red lettuce or arugula in it that i was unaware of. it didn't taste that bad though. service was average, though the busboys frequented the table more often (switching silverware and clearing out plates) overall, the experience at the restaurant itself was good. it was pretty noisy, but bearable.

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a_springer23

Joined 7 years ago

Overhyped, Average at Best. This restaurant is not worth the hype. If you enjoy overpriced, average food in a super loud obnoxious environment, then maybe this restaurant is for you. The food wasn't bad, it just wasn't great. And when it's priced at $20/entree, it should be better than your average corner restaurant.

Almost all of the food we ordered was average, including the calamari dish with olives and capers (overpowering with too much salt), steelhead salmon (too bitter) and london broil plates. The only thing that was worth the hype was the butternut squash flatbread. The service was great, but the noise definitely travels with the hardwalled ceilings.

If anything, maybe I'll go back for the flatbread and a drink at the bar.

Recommends

Gina Goff

Joined 9 years ago

Locally sourced, Cal-Med cuisine and late-night hours make this lively "North of Panhandle" eatery the it-spot for restaurant industry insiders.. The Scene
Soaring ceilings, funky walls with cartoonish murals of San Francisco and a jovial din set the stage at this buzzing restaurant. Diners in possession of one of the few coveted reservations huddle around closely packed tables and snug booths in the two-tiered dining room, while those without settle for a seat at the long wooden communal table. An adjoining bar area hosts a crowd of stylish 30-something singles seeking flirtatious conversation and each other's phone numbers.

The Food
Friendly servers slither between tables, alternately offering suggestions from the rotating menu and delivering plates of organic, Mediterranean-influenced Cal cuisine. Appetizers range from hearty comfort food--like creamy baked goat cheese served warm with a bottomless supply of crostini--to light and artful, such as wild salmon carpaccio sliced paper thin. Entrees flair in the rib-sticking genre, like a juicy rotisserie chicken or medallions of spit-roasted London broil arranged alongside whipped potatoes and gently spicy horseradish crème fraiche.

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emssk8s

Joined 6 years ago

Mediocre entrees with terrible service. From the moment we walked in the door we knew this place was not worth the hype we had heard. We had a reservation on a Wednesday night at 6:45pm (the only one left) and the hostess told us it would be a few minutes till a table was ready. We tried waiting at the front of the restaurant but instead we were told to wait in the bar area. Obviously they need to make extra cash at the bar. While waiting, we counted 8 tables that could of held our party, all but one was suitable. We of course were seated at the unsuitable table. It was located on the second floor at the top of the stairs. We had to move our table in towards the other tables so that our friends could sit down without being bumped by the people coming up the stairs.

The waitress had no idea what was good on the menu and instead of giving us a canned description of what was good about the entrees she hadn't tried, she told us she wouldn't eat that because she doesn't eat meat so she wouldn't know. Well thank you for your help!!!! The appetizers we enjoyed were the flat bread and the goat cheese. Both were great. But the bus boys kept returning and trying to take away our plates before we were even finished with the food. After rushing us through the appetizers we waited 15 minutes for our entrees and boy were we disappointed. The portions were small and I could have made better food at home. My recommendation is save your money. Check it out for appetizers and drinks and move on to a better place for dinner.

Recommends

sfnhoj

Joined 6 years ago

Fine dining experience. It has fun atmosphere and has friendly knowledgable waiters. Good wine list. Was there with a group of 8. Dishes were cooked to perfection.

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muhlberg

Joined 9 years ago

Excellent customer service, yummy food, and good atmosphere. LOVED OUR SERVER JEFF!!! Everyone there was very attentive and accomodating, even down to the offer of a magnifying glass to read the menu (I'm farsighted). The food was tasty and the portions were perfect for sharing. I recommend the goat cheese appetizer, fries, and the doughnut holes with rum caramel sauce.

Recommends

jroder

Joined 7 years ago

TERRIFIC. Thank you NOPA for creating such a wonderful experience. From the time we made the reservation through the meal and paying the check it was all great. We thought our waitress was great (very knowledable on the food and what wines to pair with it), the food was incredible (a must order, the vegetable tagine, the white beans, roasted chicken), and the place was full with great energy, and when the check came - the prices fair. We truly enjoyed every minute.