A16

03/29/07

Overrated!

by mlopes at Citysearch

I found this restaurant's reputation to be largely undeserved. Too loud to have a conversation without yelling, the service was excruciatingly slow (2.5 hours for a 3 course meal) and the food was average at best. No wine list, no matter how good, makes-up for these drawbacks. There are much better places to eat in San Francisco - unless you absolutely must "see and be seen" in the Marina.

• Pros: Good wine list
• Cons: Noisy, crowded, dark and slow service.

03/15/07

Save money and time

by giome at Citysearch

I was there for lunch on wednesday,the place wasn't busy,I asked the hostess,can we seat at the

counter?She said no ,the counter is all reserved.

Well I work for really busy italian restaurant,I never eard somebody reserved a counter space for lunch.

We left the pizza counter was still empty.Save your money and time,the city is full of places better then this.

Good food,but orrible customer service,unprofessional hostess and manager.

03/12/07

Do yourself a favor... avoid A16

by sujack at Citysearch

I'll admit that I'd read the customer reviews--most of them negative--before deciding to eschew their advice and give A16 a try. My husband and I had walked by the place a few times, and the atmosphere looked so inviting, that we figured the reviews were just exaggerations, or maybe just the ventings of a few disgruntled customers who had unusually poor service. Boy, was that a mistake!

It's no joke that you'll probably have a hard time getting a table there, something that in retrospect really amazes me. But if you do manage to get seated, make sure you're ready to spend a lot of money. I can't imagine in what universe this place would be considered "reasonably-priced", but definitely not in the universe I live in! There was hardly a single affordable bottle of wine listed, at least for my husband I who have somewhat of a budget. The food was likewise expensive. While we sucked it up and enjoyed the wine we ordered, I can't say the same for the food. Honestly, it seemed like everything was cooked in a microwave, and overcooked at that! It was painful at the end of the evening to hand over a credit card... what exactly were we paying all that money for?

Needless to say, we'll be avoiding A16 from here on out. I suggest you do the same.

• Pros: Ambience is decent, decent wine if you can afford it
• Cons: Very high-priced, poor quality food

03/08/07

Best Italian and wine list

by jeffhol at Citysearch

Had a fanstastic dinner there yesterday. The buccatini with clams was amazing with al dente pasta, clams in the shell (rather than the typical shell off canned clams) so you know the clams were alive when cooked, as you find in Italy and wonderful tomato sauce. The porchetta (pork belly) roasted with lots of rosemary and crackling skin was also delicious, but fat phobic Americans should stay away. The wine list is incredible and they feature wines that most restuarants would not do by the glass because of expense, .e.g most restos only do cheap wines by the glass at A16 you can get a glass of wine for $12 a glass of Taurasi that normally retails at $70 and would be on a wine list for $140. Service was efficient and friendly. Seems like the negative reviews on this site result from people who are used to Italian American food. Prices are reasonable with the most expensive entree being $24 and with that you get your choice of side (one word for sides: beans mmm creamy delicious). The food is authentic with pastas that some will consider underdone and meats that some will consider challenging such as tripe, quail, pork shoulder, etc. If you like rustic Slow Food restos in Italy, you will love A16. If you are an adventuresome diner that gets offfal at Asian places, you will love A16. Otherwise, don't bother going and leave the scarse tables to those who appreciate it.

• Pros: Authentic food not common in the U.S. affordable wine list
• Cons: Too many people who like it so hard to get a table

03/07/07

A complete waste of money

by frankhoff at Citysearch

My wife and I visited A16 a year and a half ago and enjoyed ourselves then. So we decided recently for a special occasion to revisit. What we experienced this time made us feel that we were not only in a different restaurant, but a different planet. The service this time around was very robotic and unfriendly. The menu had completely changed; not only were there relatively few choices--particularly if you're not in the mood for pizza--but prices had definitely gone up. And speaking of prices, the wine list was also overpriced. The restaurant does offer the option of 375 milliliter carafes, but at prices that generally match those of full bottles at most other restaurants.

I settled on the quail which, at $20, was one of the less expensive entrees on the menu. The portions that ultimately arrived were tiny, as well as bland and chewy. My wife ordered the pasta with clams, and spent the entire meal spitting out pieces of shells; she finally gave up. We left soon after, still hungry, very disappointed, and much lighter in the wallet. There are too many good restaurants in the city--and on Chestnut Street, for that matter--to ever consider going back to A16 again.

• Cons: Ridiculously high prices, disappointing food, unfriendly service

02/23/07

VERY Overrated

by susannab at Citysearch

We couldn't wait to try this "recommended" retaurant. The Burrato appetizer was specifically mentioned in a travel magazine and being that I am of Southern Italian descent, I was excited to scope it out before bringing my dad and other friends. I called to inquire about the wait time at 7:45pm on a Thursday night and was told it was about 20 min. but would probably be less by the time we got there. We arrived at the crowded restaurant at 8:20 pm, and were told the wait was 30-35 min. After 30 min. one of the hostesses said it would be about 10 more minutes, fine. Another couple came in after us and ate at the bar and left while we were still waiting for a table. At 9:00 the other hostess said it would be about 15 more minutes, we were already invested at this point. After a 65 min. wait we were seated at a high bar table next to the "bathroom. Waitress was great, service was prompt and attentive. The other guests were all trying to out yell each other. I wish I knew sign language to talk to my husband, luckily we can kind of read lips. The appetizers were decent, burrato not worth the 65 min. wait. Prociutto tasting was good, but 2 types for $14? Hardly a "tasting. My husband's orrechiette was so undercooked it was crunchy. My gnocchi, while light and fluffy, were totally devoid of taste as was the broth they were served in. The meatballs that accompanied them were the texture won-ton filling with out any flavor whatsoever. We should have sent the orrechiette back but are typically skeptical of eating food prepared by an offended cook. Should have stopped there, but ordered the gelato of the house as the rest of the desert menu was interesting but not appetizing. Wow, so bad, not creamy. The bittersweet chocolate flavor was o.k. but the texture was chunky and icy, not what I would consider gelato.

My family is from Calabria, we go back often and we know Southern Italian food. The menu was authentic, the taste was not. Very disappointed.

• Pros: Extensive wine menu, great olive oil, good service
• Cons: Bland food, long wait, very loud, hard to park,

01/17/07

Just make sure your server knows about wine....

by kcunnick at Citysearch

The food was fine, less expensive than I thought. We're very knowledgeable about wines except for Italian wines so we asked the server to recommend something full bodied like a cab - she recommended more of a pinot. I would have returned the bottle but she as *so confident* so we tastefully accepted it. It was a $50 mistake. Dinner would have been so much better had the wine been what we wanted. Left after $100 dinner pretty disappointed. If we return, it will only be to the bar; the bartenders were pleasant and knowledgeable.

• Pros: great service, great bartenders
• Cons: the waiters don't know a thing about wine - talk to the bartenders instead

01/03/07

Great Food, Wine and Service

by travelgirlsf at Citysearch

What a place. Great food and wine. My husband and I came down from Stockton to dine at A16 and was it worth it. The service was great and the ambience was incredible.

• Pros: Outstanding food and service

12/29/06

A16 Beware

by lasarre at Citysearch

I can't comment on the food as we never got to it. My husband, 2 children and I decided to eat at A16 for lunch. We arrived at 1:15. The hostess said the wait would be between 30 and 45 minutes. We decided to wait. She continuously said another 5 minutes. After an hour, we finally got seated in the back of the restaurant. As we were waiting, we noticed others without reservations being seated before us. We also noticed that there were empty tables in the restaurant. Once we were seated, it took 15 minutes for the waitress to give us water. She never asked if we wanted anything else to drink. After another 20 minutes, we still had not seen her again, but my husband noticed her standing next to the bar. We had enough. We walked out. My husband told the manager exactly what he thought on the way out and also told the waitress. I have never been treated that poorly in any restaurant before.

We did happen to look at the menu which is extremely limited. While the waitress was pouring the waters, I asked her what one of the appetizers was and she stated, "stomach lining" and walked away.

When we walked out, we went to a very nice Italian restaurant just down the street. Obviously, A16 has gotten too big for its britches. With all the wonderful restaurants in San Francisco avoid this place like the plague.

• Pros: don't know never got to eat
• Cons: seating, service, people skills, hospitality skills

12/28/06

Disappointed yet again....

by kattc at Citysearch

Unless a restaurant is horrible I'll give it a second shot - I did with A16 and won't be going back a third time. The service was just okay - she was nice enough but slow and would disapper for long periods of time. The food was mediocre. Pizza was overly sauced and the crust was tough. The salads were nothing to write home about - as a matter of fact my beet salad had no flavor. It was a large serving, too bad it didn't have any taste (our waitress didn't bring the pepper until we were done w/our salads even though I asked when we ordered and again when she brought the plates to the table). A friend of mine had the chicken - I took a couple of bites and thought it was moist and delicious - he said after about 5 bites it was too salty. The wine list is impressive and our server did know her wines. Not worth the money - would rather eat at Fuzio or D'Angelo's down the street.

• Pros: Wine List
• Cons: Food, service