05/26/09

Overall decline

by ovnp

Incanto used to be a hang for me. Now they have smaller portions and it is heavily salted. The wait staff used to be spot on, now it feels like a to-go place. They used to honor the bring a bottle of wine and purchase a bottle of wine for a small group with no corkage fee. Their wine list is nice and extensive but, WAY overpriced. In addition to the corkage fee and lousy service; they add 5% on top of it all. Management was also ill-mannered. The place always being empty is a sign of its decline.

• Pros: Nice atomsphere
• Cons: salty food, poor service, 5% on top of tip + corkage

08/11/08

INCANTO HAS DELICOUS FOOD & STELLAR SERVICE

by Pablo58

I had been wanting to visit Incanto for quite some time. The chef has created a menu of great dishes using local and seasonal ingredients. Others complain that he serves filtered Hetch Hetchy water but I am glad he doesn't add to the recycled plastic and glass mess we already have. Each dish we had was fantastic from the Pig's trotter w' Foie Gras, Bacon & Roasted Plums to the Roasted Maitake Mushrooms we had for a side dish. Wine choices are all Italian and not familiar to most diners even if you think you know wine but corkage is reasonable and the wine picks at the end of the wine list are very good. I would recommend this place to everyone I know. I can't wait to go again because the menu changes on a regular basis so their is always new dishes to taste. By the way the best way to eat here is to share all the dishes with the tables.

02/24/08

Pretense

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.

04/10/07

Nice dinner

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

01/22/07

Highly unpleasant expirience

by hotguy1

We had a reservation for a birthday party at 5:30 pm on Sunday for 11 people . At 8 pm they basically kicked us out telling that there is another party waiting for the same room.

At first we felt like they are rushing us a bit with food. Waiters would try to take plates before we even done with the meal. Then waiter spilled wine opening a bottle (now I guess he was in rush too). They brought us a check without us asking for it. We never had some reasonable time just to drink wine and talk. All in all, we felt like we've visited some cheap chinese place for lunch. My wife and I are definitely not going back even though the food was good.

• Pros: food
• Cons: double booking

12/23/06

Bad service, 5% service charge is ridiculous, go elsewhere.

by gcbm

Went to dinner with couple of friends on a Friday night. After telling the waiter twice we weren't ready to order because we wanted to check out the entire menu, the waiter did not return for 20 minutes. After finally getting his attention, he told us "one second" and returned 5 minutes later and said, "Now, where were we?" We were hungry, that's where we were. He didn't seem to care too much maybe it was because only one of us was drinking wine. Also, you don't get bread until you order like most other finer Italian restaurants. Maybe the 5% service charge (pre-tip) makes them think they don't need to FULLY earn your tip by providing excellent service. The food was decent enough but a little on the expensive side.

Taking the whole experience into consideration, I would not return. There are restaurants that treat you far better and earn their full tip.

• Pros: Food is good, Nice decor, sparkling and tap water
• Cons: Service, service, service, service, service. (one time for each % service charge)

11/05/06

disappointing and tacky

by genner

Very disappointing. The restaurant adds a 5% service charge to the bill for their staff. Very tacky - why don't they just raise their prices? Probably because they are already too high. Food was boring to bad. My crab pasta was so fishy I couldn't eat it. The waiter never even checked or noticed that my plate remained full. Same of our appetizer, which we did not eat.

wine and ambiance were nice, but the overall experience was disappointing.

• Pros: wine, ambiance
• Cons: poor service, poor food, tacky hidden charges

07/05/06

Very closed to Chez Panisse Cafe

by vivu

It's like to go to Chez Panisse cafe without the hype. Everything is good there, pasta, salad, seafood dishes. That's where i learnt to love beets: multi-color, not too sweet, tasty and not mushy. It's a place i'd go often if i could afford. The wine list is impressive. You cannot keep yourself from trying some new wines, and that make the check higher...then that makes you think twice before going.

• Pros: Good and simple straightforward food, there's enough room for conversation
• Cons: Expensive if you elected it as your cantine

06/28/06

A true restaurant!

by klee28

What a great restaurant....great creative menus (they change their ever so often and I cant wait to go back to see what they will do nexT! )...extensive wine list....lovely ambience! Overall a truely professional restaurant ...love the wine flights!

Kudos!!!

• Pros: Changing Menu
• Cons: a bit expensive but worth it!

06/27/06

Very solid dining experience...

by dsheldon

For my money, if I want to go to a place where I know what to expect, Incanto is on the short list. Some dishes are terrific, others average, but you get the sense with every visit that they take pride in their craft, and I appreciate that. It's a very refreshing, particularly in this era where people think minimalist decor, loud music and arrogant staff can compensate for subpar food. There aren't too many SF restaurants that can match their effort level on a consistant basis. The wine list is truly memorable and the servers I've dealt with have been very cordial.

It's not a perfect dining experience and the pricing scheme is a bit steep, but for a rustic Italian venue, you'd be hard pressed to find too many places that are better than Incanto.

• Pros: Professional all the way around. solid fresh fare and good service
• Cons: Inconsistant entrees at times, tough parking