Mar 13 2008
First review… Bar Crudo
Name: Bar Crudo – a modern raw bar
Location: 603 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA 94108
Website: http://www.barcrudo.com/
Phone: (415) 956-0396
Reservation set for: March 14, 2008 at 6:30pm.
Self description: “Bar Crudo is a modern raw bar offering an elegant menu of cooked, chilled, or raw, fresh seafood paired with wine and an extensive selection of Belgian beer. Tucked above Union Square, the charming setting offers intimate dining for seafood enthusiasts.”
Food ordered:
1/2 Shellfish sampler: 6 oysters. 3 shrimp.3 mussels.3 clams. ½ crab.
Crudo sampler: arctic char, fluke, scallop, tombo tuna.
Review:
Ambiance:
Bar Crudo is located in a very interesting location, a few blocks from Union Square on top of the Stockon tunnel on Bush. This place is extremely small having seating areas on two floors. The bottom floor houses a bar looking kitchen, a bathroom and a seating area for around 8 people. The main seating area which holds around 24 people having the largest table accommodating 4 people. The decor was very simple yet nice.
Hospitality:
Our server was very nice and attentive. Our glasses were full at all times. The part that I liked the best was that it took us a while to eat the Shell fish sampler because of the crabs. But the remaining food was not brought or in fact I believe not made until we were close to finishing our first dish.
Beverages:
Their was a nice assortment of wine and most interestingly a large list of Bulgarian beer. Each year they have a special even where they pair food with Bulgarian beer, but I already passed maybe next year.
Food:
The food was excellent. Especially the Shellfish sampler, which was very fresh and provided a nice assortment of different sized oysters and other shellfish.The dish came with four dipping sauces: butter, spicy cocktail sauce, wasabi oil sauce and a vinegar sauce. They all complimented the shellfish very nice. The second dish was interesting yet was not very filling, although it was expected since it was another sampler. The dish contained the following:
1. Arctic Char – creamy horseradish, wasabi tobiko, dill
2. Rhode Island Fluke – fennel, cara cara orange, arbequina olives
3. Massachusetts Dayboat Scallops – vichyssoise, black caviar, chives, lemon zest
4. Tombo Tuna – lobster cream, vanilla salt, watermelon radish, licorice greens
Our favorites were the Tombo Tuna and the Mass Scallops since all the ingredients complemented the main seafood ingredient which I believe should be the showcase of the dish. On the other hand, the Fluke was overtaken by the taste of the olives and the cara cara orange. Also the Char was gently overtaken by the dill and the wasibi although it wasn’t as overpowering as the Fluke.