Age has taken its toll on this restaurant...
Written: Mar 19 '04 (Updated Nov 30 '05)
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Pros: Great ( false ) reputation...historically so-so
Cons: Overhyped and overrated ( but when was the last time they actually ate there?? )
The Bottom Line: At some point, this was probably a great place; sadly, time has taken it's toll...it's off the path and off the mark.
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| PollyEster's Full Review: Fior d'Italia |
UPDATE: This restaurant recently burned to the ground. No plans as of yet by the deceased owner's children as to reopening.
As any visitor to San Francisco knows, food --good food-- is virtually everywhere. And nowhere is this more evident than in walking through Little Italy in North Beach. One only has to look down Columbus on a warm night and see the sidewalks lined with outdoor tables, crowded with people having everything from calamari to a cup of expresso. Here, you can SEE the food as you walk by ( menus are also, as a rule,posted outside ) and eat as late as you want ( most places serve food until 11 PM on weekdays, later on weekends ). So when one hears that one of the best places to eat is at one of the oldest continuously-serving Italian restaurants in America, one's ears usually perk up...but in this case, old does NOT mean good.
Let me back up a bit. I used to live in the City, and --like New York's Manhattan-- thrived in the energy that came at all hours. People of all cultures were wherever you walked, and in SFO, walking 2 blocks out of a bustling Chinatown led you smack dab into a thriving Little Italy. Here, people actually SPOKE Italian ( or spoke it well enough to fake out those of us that didn't ), so the food HAD to be good, didn't it? But upon my return some 7 years later, much had changed. Old, traditional hangouts such as Ginsbergs ( SFO's first outdoor bar ) and Little Joe's ( whose tag line was, "Always A Line, Always Worth the Wait" ) were now gone ( well, Little Joe's has moved to Van Ness and become a sports bar ). The streets were now lined with coffee shops and looked more like Little Europe than Little Italy. Still, our hotel ( The Tuscan Inn ) raved about Fior d'Italia...but had they even BEEN there?
Off we went, settling into the Mona Lisa Ristorante the first night, cajoled by a fast-talking owner who quickly cleared an outside table and planted us down. An excellent Chianti arrived, along with a terrific chicken piccata and a sauteed calamari dish and suddenly, I was back, chatting and people-gazing and just savoring the experience. Nothing had changed, or so I thought. But alas, we were soon to discover quite the opposite.
The next night, taking the hotel's advice, we met some friends and headed to Fior d'Italia, expecting an even more spectacular experience of both Italian cooking and Italian atmosphere. So after settling in a booth, we ordered some wine ( average price is $10 per glass...Chateau Souverain merlot, $10.25, and R.H. Phillips sauvignon blanc, $8.75 ) and gazed at the menu. A very friendly waiter arrived and we were quite happy...but other than the arrival of our food, it would be the last time we would see our waiter.
My friend ordered cioppino ( $32 ) which arrived in a plate instead of a bowl; unusual, we thought, but perhaps this was different...it was, without a trace of fennel, and thick, as if a marinara sauce. My other friend's escargot was burnt-tasting, in her opinion, and rated a 3 on her scale of 10. Next came a dish of mussels and clams ( $21 ), small and chewy, the classic signs of overcooking/steaming; this less-than-flavorful dish also rated a 3. But wait, soon to come ( yes, we were served approximately 5-minutes apart ) was my "lightly fried calamari covered with sauteed mushrooms and onions." Unfortunately, my calamari ( $19 ) arrived heavily fried, also quite chewy and topped with VERY oily veggies; it is rare for me NOT to finish a calamari dish but after eating about half of this dish, off it went to the side.
Our $170 bill was brought by our smiling waiter ( his third appearance ) and my friend commented, "They're a bit snooty in here." Yes, I agreed, and seemed that they couldn't give a blank about this fast-turning touristy crowd. So we got in our cab and grumbled to our cab driver who acted surprised..."people say that that place is the best Italian food in town." No, we politely told him, it is far from the best...
Bottom line, skip the tourist books and hype and follow your nose and gut. There are simply too many better places in this neck of the woods. Sure, like many of the places I remembered, Fior d'Italia probably WAS the best place some 20 years ago; but even well-known places such as Caffe Sporte have plummeted in reputation with the original owner passing on and a splintered family trying to keep the dollars increasing. That may have been what's happened here. Everyone at Fior dItalia just doesn't seem to care whether you enjoy your food/stay/experience or not; it's not that they TRY to be unpleasant, but rather that they just seem nonchalant, as if, who cares, we'll never see you again...and you know what, they're exactly right!
Recommended:
No
Kid Friendliness: No
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations If it''s history you want, then by all means wander in and look around. Nothing overly special, but worth saying you were there...then turn around and go eat elsewhere.
Best Suited For: Trendy Crowd
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Epinions.com ID:
PollyEster
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Location: Salt Lake, UT
Reviews written: 235
Trusted by: 27 members
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