11/24/08

Decent food but nothing special for San Francisco

by citydavid

We tried Anchor & Hope recently, hoping for a really good fish restaurant. The food was fine but definitely not worth the new-restaurant-hype and I don't think we'd go back. It may be a great raw bar but we're not into sliders. The appetizers were good, not great, and we shared a whole roasted fish for our main course. When it arrived, the head had been removed, probably before it was even cooked. I've never been to a restaurant that serves a whole fish but serves it without the head. I asked the waitress about this and she said they'd received feedback that people prefered it without the head. Maybe they should server tuna out of a can too. Sadly, the fish was quite bland. I'm not loking for something spicy but I've had lots of really great roasted fish that is delicate yet flavorful. This was delicate but flavorless.

• Pros: It's new, lively atmosphere
• Cons: Food wasn't anything special

08/04/08

Once was enough

by DonnaChang

Stopping in for an early dinner a few weeks ago. We thought the location and the space was great. It took about 15 minutes before our server acknowledged us. He was apologetic because there was some confusion on who our server was. We didn't even get bread and water, until AFTER our server had made contact. OK...so the service is still working out the kinks. We ordered and got our appetizers quickly...the fries w/ eyes tasted divine and we're lovely and lightly fried, however, for $12, we got maybe 8 or 10 fish that were the size of a small women's pinky finger. Our server apologized for the portion size as he served us. Not good! The couple next to us ordered the same thing and the woman sitting next to me commented that "you can never find fried smelt in restaurants", but I could tell you that Rose Pistola and Kottari do a terrific job. Next we had the trout salad and uni...both were delicious, though you would have to order maybe 6 starters for 2 people to fill up. I don't know...the seafood was fresh and well-prepared but I can't say that I would go back, especially without a liquor license. There are better seafood restaurants that are a better value in the city. Of all the restaurants owned by this team, I would go back to TownHall and we also enjoy Salt House the most.

New England-style fish house finds a West Coast home in a renovated warehouse.

by Chelsea Sime

From the outside, it's hard to distinguish this restaurant's gray brick façade from the construction sites and office buildings that line Minna Street. But inside the turn-of-the-century warehouse is a wide-open dining space that juxtaposes smooth stainless steel against rustic wood accents. A chalkboard outlines the oyster selection, and the menu reads like an aquarium brochure: clams, smelts, crabs, scallops, lobster, halibut, sea bass and anything else with a shell or fins is available in sandwich, soup and entrée form. And for the picky eaters and shellfish-allergic, there are a couple of meat options and also a choice for vegetarians.

Photo by Joseph Lubushkin