plouf

40 Belden Place
415.986.6491

Seafood in Financial

what a delightful restaurant! it's location, in cute little belden alley, takes you away from san francisco and makes it seem like you have actually travelled to another place just to have dinner. dining outdoors adds to the non-citylike atmosphere (though the tables are a bit close together).

the food was delicious. i had the "new zealand bass en croute with haricot vert, caramelized onions and truffle glaze" while my friend had the "ahi tuna au poivre with jerusalem artichokes, escarole and sauce beurre rouge." the sea bass was one of the best that i've had (my favorite has to be the sea bass in chicago), the fried and breaded outside was light and tasty (fried stuff, so good!) with the inside sea bass perfectly flaky and tender. the ahi tuna was, as ahi tuna almost always is, delicious. nearby, a pile of mussels were stacked high on another diner's plate - next time, i'm trying those.

the waiters, when present, were all very friendly; they answered all our silly questions and helped us with all our pronunciation difficulties. service however, was only average; it was sometimes difficult to get the waiters attention. moreover, near the end of our meal, it seemed like the waitress was trying to free up a table just so she could seat one of the many people waiting in line; when she asked us if we needed a dessert menu, she mistook our "yes why not?" for a "no thanks."

although the portions are a little on the small size and the service is only average, for the atmosphere and for the food, i would come here again. (i would also come early just to beat the crowd that begins to form later on at night.)

-s

*** Edit: I've been here a couple of times for lunch during work and I think it's just average. I think the only things worth getting are the mussels with different types of sauces (and you can just get a side order of fries for dipping). - k