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(Bar
Crudo Photo)
Reviewed by David Grabstald, Special to Betty's List (www.bettyslist.com)
Bar Crudo
603 Bush Street (at Stockton)
San Francisco, California 94108
415-956-0396
www.barcrudo.com
Cuisine: Seafood Bar
Loved: quaint neighborhood atmosphere, fresh seafood, friendly service
To Die For: seafood chowder, arctic char cubes, crudo sampler
Prices: $$-$$$ (Moderate-expensive)
Hours: Dinner: Monday through Thursday 6:00 PM – 10:30 PM
Friday and Saturday 6:00 PM – 11 PM
Noise Level: Loud
Service: Attentive, if a bit leisurely
Romantic: Yes
Reservations: Highly recommended, but walk-ins accepted
Good for Kids: No
Good to Know: Great for a first date, wine corkage fee is $15
Recommended / Rating: 4 Stars (0=Don’t Bother to 5=Highly Recommend)
Good things often come in small packages. I’m not sure if that’s the
case, but when speaking of Bar Crudo, it’s right on the money. Opened
in November 2005, by twin brothers Mike (the chef) and Tim (the house
manager) Selvera, Bar Crudo has taken the raw-bar food craze to a new
level. Its precise culinary delights are prepared and served in what
must be one of the smallest dining spaces in the city.
Despite its size, it’s the perfect place to hang out with your friends
or spend quality time getting to know someone special. I’d
noticed crowds gathering in front of Bar Crudo for several weeks. At
first I thought they were party-goers and wayward smokers standing in
front of the Tunnel Top Bar next door, but on closer inspection, I soon
realized they were dedicated seafood lovers waiting to get into the
tiny 30-seat restaurant.
Atmosphere
In a former crepe house, the Selvera’s have created a marvelous modern
space with two unique dining counters downstairs, each seating five
people. One of the counters gives you the opportunity to watch the chef
and his staff prepare a wide variety of seafood specialties. The other
is near the front door, and gives you a great view of other diners and,
if you turn around, Bush Street. As you head upstairs, take a look at
the unique chandelier that can best be described as looking like
several jellyfish. It adds just the right amount of fun décor to the
place.
For the most part, the service at Bar Crudo is quite good. On the two
occasions I’ve eaten there, I’d called ahead about 20 minutes before I
wanted a reservation and was able to reserve space at one of the two
previously mentioned counters. The hostess was cordial and professional
on the phone and in person. Chilled cucumber water and warm bread was
served promptly and my server discussed the house specials with me a
few minutes after that. The other diners were quite chatty, and I soon
found myself in conversation with many of them, discussing what they
were eating, how many times they’d dined at Bar Crudo before and what
the drunk man who kept pressing his face against the front window was
screaming at us.
The Food
Chef Mike previous culinary duties include being head chef for the
opening of Café Maritime and head chef at Yabbie's Coastal Kitchen as
well as working at Absinthe, Town Hall, and Hawthorne Lane. As the
evening was rather chilly on my first visit, I tried the marvelously
rich seafood chowder with lots of fresh clams, fish, mussels, shrimp,
squid, red potatoes, and smoky applewood smoked bacon ($10). Other
excellent choices included spicy lemongrass mussels with coconut milk,
ginger, lime, bok choy, mushroom, and snap peas ($12) and delicately
seared dayboat scallops with tangerines, a sinful roasted garlic mussel
sauce, pomegranate molasses, and watercress ($13).
If you love shellfish, Chef Mike and his kitchen staff don’t
disappoint. Their menu includes a nice variety of oysters ($2-$2.25
each), little neck clams ($1.50), marinated mussels ($1.50 each),
peel-and-eat Gulf prawns ($2.50 each) and a deliciously chilled Maine
lobster ($12 half or $27 whole). For true seafood aficionados, try the
delicious seafood platters ($35 small or $65 large) consisting of a
nice variety of oysters, shrimp, mussels, clams, crab and/or lobster.
The crudo (raw fish) is the main focus of the menu and includes
gloriously spicy yellowfin tuna cubes with ginger, soy, sriracha, and
green onions ($12); Rhode Island black bass with hard quail egg,
habanero tobiko and blood orange reduction ($9); and not-to-be-missed
arctic char cubes with creamy horseradish, tobiko and dill ($10). In
case you don’t like seafood, try the artisan cheese plate with flower
honey, seasonal fruit, medjool dates, and nutty walnut bread ($11) and
the sherry duck liver mousse with green pepper corns, cornichons and
grilled bread. Their rich flavors and tempting texture blend nicely
together. And if you’re indecisive about what to have for
dessert, don’t worry. There’s only one item available on the menu,
decadent XOX truffles ($6) that were definitely worth the wait.
If you’re looking for a great place to dine alone, or perhaps with your
friends or someone special, Bar Crudo’s delicious seafood and quaint
atmosphere are definitely a winning combination.
Bio & Past Articles
Past Articles
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Betty's List Restaurant Review
Columnist David Grabstald.
An enthusiastic freelance writer, editor and copywriter with marketing, media and daily newspaper experience, David serves as senior food critic for Betty's List. His articles have been published by Macy's Westbound, Mervyn's, The New Filmore, SF Examiner, Marina Times, North Texas Daily, And Baby Magazine and others. He is an experienced writer of grant proposals, documentation plans, feasibility reports, press releases, employee procedure manuals and other formats. David has written news scripts for NBC and produced video packages for the Irving Community Television Network. David can be reached at dgrabstald@gmail.com. His website is http://davidgrabstald.blogspot.com/ |
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