We dined at Zuppa last night - a 'classic' SOMA establishment (exposed rafters and concrete walls) serving a range of Italian cuisine. Patricia stepped up to the plate and recommended our restaurant this month and even made the reservation. Thanks, Patricia!
Great group:
New parents Scott and Melissa withthe youngest dine about goer yet - 6 mo. old Teddy - who was a perfect baby and even woke up for a while to check out his surroundings, smile at everyone and drink some milk.
The regulars: Phu, Winnie, Patricia, Yoseph (I"m sorry if I'm not spelling this correctly - please advise!), Jon and Mollie
Out of town 2-time dine about diners - Jerry "doesn't like fish but gave it a try", and beets please" Elna
Summary of the night:
A concerning start. We shivered outside until after 9pm for our 8:30pm reservation, waiting for an oblivious big party who lingered and lingered. The hostess didn't handle the stress well and appeard very frazzled.
Things picked up. We started drinking wine and the staff put together a small, but more quiet table in their upstairs area. From there, the food started coming and we were much happier.
Now, on to my ratings:
Service: 65 - upon further reflection, I have decided Zuppa could have received a relatively high rating from me (above 90) if the service hadn't resembled that of a button-toting TGIF kid (an accurate description from Phu, embellished a bit by me). A self-absorbed, young waiter tried his best (and even got sage guidence from Phu), but ended up delivering a very hurried experience. It's tough to call out what exactly made the service poor, but needless to say we didn't feel comfortable and things didn't flow smoothly - maybe others can fill in the details!
Food: 88 - this is where Zuppa has moments of greatness. The meat platters and octopus salad where delicious, as was the very tender and tasty pork dish. Pizzas, risotto, and crab pasta were good, but average, and fish and steak had limited flavor. The beats and carrots, a special request, did add a little extra zest and desserts (the cotta something or other and hazelnut tort) finished the night off strong.
Atmosphere: 85 - nice, but typical SOMA, nothing special. Plus, if you're going to make people wait, at least have a bar or more than a 4x4 plot of concrete w blustery drafts to stand on.
Sub-category: facilities: 60. We will have a new section, "Jon on the Jon" that Carter will add. But, for my own review: can you say, strip mall like bathroom? Nice restaurants need nice restrooms, period. Why do so many restaurants fail in this area. How hard is nice lighting, maybe some scented flowers, candles, etc.
OK diners and non-diners alike. All you have to do is click on the "0 Comments" to add a comment (you don't have to log in or anything) and blather away! Until next month. . .
Mollie
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Jon on "the John":
The debut of my very own sub-article! Too bad such profound observations and witticisms are wasted on the John at Zuppa's.....read on:
The casual bathroom-user at Zuppa's is greeted by two small unisex rooms hidden in a corner, beside the kitchen. While at some joints (like Frisson) the unisex experience could be described as titillating, the Zuppa experience falters: the user is heralded by an industrial-type sign on the door indicating what lies within is only slightly better than the bathroom at Target.
Upon entry, the overly-bright lighting reveals paper towels on the floor, an empty mega-roll toilet-paper dispenser, and a toilet seat which may or may not be clean (I could only bring myself to touch it with the bottom of my shoe). Close examination reveals poorly-hidden rough plumbing. The only saving grace was paper towels to dry with, so that I could open the door without touching the door handle....who knows tha last time that was cleaned?
One of the worst bathrooms the DASF group has encountered! Jon's rating: 35.
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