Uva Enoteca
568 Haight St
(between Fillmore St & Steiner St)
San Francisco, CA 94117 (415) 829-2024
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 5:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
30 reviews
Neighborhood: Union Square
"You must experience this restaurant. First of all, they were accommodating enough to serve a group of ten, when it is a smaller restaurant.…" read more »
89 Reviews for Uva Enoteca
I have been thinking about writing this review ever since my dinner there the other night....How can I possibly convey the message to others about how bad this place is? I want to shout it from the roof tops how much I hated my meal and left there unsatisfied and annoyed. The food we had was SO bad only to be complimented by terrible service. The annoying part of the meal was that our server didn't really care that we left most of the food untouched.
There is no doubt in my mind that anyone who would give this place 5 stars either knows the owners or did not pay for their meal.
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I came here for the wine near closing time on Saturday and didn't have a chance to try the food, though I did drool over huge chunks of ash rind and blue creamy cheeses over on the cutting board. In fact, full though I was, everything on the plates of nearby diners looked good.
The service was a bit cranky but ultimately helpful - I got one of the most delicious pours I've ever had, really (a barbera, which only recently hit my radar). 8oz was the perfect size for someone like me who tends to order but has a bit of trouble finishing that second glass as we hit the am hour. Great prices considering the pour size (and none of that lame pour-line business).
The atmosphere is upscale deli and was very quiet and subdued - very lounge like without the couches.
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Just about 3.5 stars....
If I lived in the 'hood, I would make this my regular Friday post-work stop. If you like wine (and who doesn't), cured meats (again, who doesn't), and cheese (this is getting redundant), this is a great little spot for a bigger-than-a-snack-but-not-quite-dinner thing. The optimal seats would be at the bar, then you can avail yourself to all the wines available by the "taste" - 2oz pours.
The place is lively, but not too loud. It's still easy to carry on a conversation.
Pizza needs a little work. The crust was a little underdone. Also, the pea tendril salad was more like pea vines - a little woody in the stems, must have been from plants that were more mature, and it didn't work. Tasted a bit like eating a house plant. But the speck made up for any of those inconsistencies. I'd certainly go back.
Did I mention they have burrata?
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I love wine so I want to give this place more than 3 stars - but I will have to go back to revisit my review. I'll keep this quick:
- Didn't really enjoy the wine selections that the guy behind the counter recommended. After you try 3 or 4 different tastes, you feel bad and feel forced to choose one - and not one that isn't on the recommended list. That's just me I guess.
- It was CROWDED. But I went the first week it opened. Not a fair observation I guess. I do hope there is a good room around the bar area though....
- The food looked decent. Will have to try a plate of cheese and meats next time.
That's it for now. I really do want to love this place since it's on my street aka roll back home distance. An update to come.....
I haven't written a restaurant review on yelp in a long time, but I am intrigued by the wildly divergent reviews of this new neighborhood haunt. I live in the Lower Haight, and have for years, so it's always nice when a 'nice' place opens up in the 'hood...'cause there just aren't that many!
Admittedly I have yet to go to Uva for a full meal (I've only ordered wine and what I would call a 'snack,' or antipasti). However, the wines I've tried have all been good --one was truly great-- and the pours were extremely generous. They also have some very inexpensive wines by the bottle, which seems to be an increasingly rare offering in restaurants these days, but for those on a more limited budget I would say it's a welcome option.
As for the service, my experiences have been nothing but stellar -- they have always been friendly, relaxed and super accommodating to me and my friends. And no, I do not know the owners, or anyone who works there; I couldn't even tell you who the owners are.
On top of all that, they serve food until late. The bathrooms are clean. The decor is contemporary and stylish enough without trying too hard. I really can't think of anything negative to say about this place...
Very nice decor, looks like a bar in NY which seems to be the trend in dining out. You can order 2oz of wine for an average of 4$ a glass. Or the glass that I had 8oz for 12. Nice option. Do not come here if you are extremely hungry. The dishes are really small! I ordered the raw tuna......with vanilla salt...........not going to order this again. Something about the cut was very mushy. Not much flavor at all for an 8$ slice of tuna. Lots of bread!! I recommend the cheese plate!!! Served with almonds, honey, and some sweet dip. Really loud, good for getting a drink of wine expect to pay about 20 a person for a drink and one app.
Good service very informed staff. Great clean bathroom! Presentation was beautiful. I will be back and sit at the bar again. A nice addition to the area.......
This space reminds me of the places I worked in NYC! SF please don't loose your edge:)
The service and food was great! I would recommend the cheese plates with the truffle honey dip.The bottle of LaCrima wine was amazing and I would make the trip over for the gelato alone.
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Che novitá favolosa nel quartiere! Stupenda in tutto.
Che servizio
Che ambiente
Che luci
Che tagliacarne
Che carni
Che vini
Che formaggi
Che insalate
Che pizza
Che ragazzo é Boris
In veritá ho sempre sognato di aprire un ristorante come questo, ma
Uva Enoteca é riuscito meglio di quello che io avrei potuto fare.
Sono strabigliato. Cinque stelle.
La mia critica originale conteneva qualche errore in italiano. Questi
sono adesso corretti. Mordetemi.
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Oh Uva, I think I love you. I can go on and on about the pizza or the creamy burrata or the semolina gnocchi but I would like to highlight the following: Uva serves meat on a plank. Yes, order the assorted meat plate and it comes to the table on a wood plank. And what amazing meats we were served! Prosciutto, Speck, Bresaola, Mortadella, Sopressata...my mouth is watering just thinking about it.
I glossed over the pizza a bit but shouldn't have - we ordered the two pies on the menu and both were fantastic. Come to think of it everything we ordered was great. See, here's what I loved about eating at Uva - you order a little bit of this, a little bit of that and wait to be amazed at the constant stream of food brought to your table.
Make sure and save room for dessert - the pistachio gelato lasted about five seconds between the four of us (we should have ordered one each!) and my afogato was serious stuff.
Uva exceeded my expectations on every level. Awesome food, great wine and reasonable prices. What's not to love?
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I love how people are constantly complaining about the portions. Look. IT'S NOT TGI FRIDAYS or CHEESECAKE FACTORY! If you're looking for a trough by all means go there. If you're looking for an experience and to actually be able to focus on the flavors and to just enjoy life come to Uva Enoteca. I really dislike how people in America see food as a medicine and not as fun, lively, and challenging. If you can't understand what is on the menu ASK. The only stupid question is one never asked don't worry about looking like a novice. I found the staff very welcoming a simple "hey how's it goin" kind of demeanor which I find very San Franciscan and I like it. High five guys I'll be back.
RE: douchetard flytrap
I can't believe the average rating of this place. All the good reviews must be written by friends of the owners.
The food was bad, the menu was exclusively in Italian, and they were blasting really bad rock music that I expect is popular in the suburban high schools of Michigan.
I imagine this place is owned/run by a group of friends who have never worked at a restaurant before. The waiter was bad, and so was the food. Everyone else in the restaurant seemed to know the staff and they were just shooting the shit with them instead of running a restaurant. Reminds me of that bad movie with that guy from Mad TV about a bunch of guys trying to run a restaurant just to meet girls.
Oh, but the decor is nice. Makes you forget you're in the Lower Haight.
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This place may seem misplaced in lower haight but another high end restaurant in this area was much needed. I've been to Uva many times since they opened and have have nothing but great experiences. The cheese, meats and wine are all fab. They also make great pizza's and brucetta too. The wine list is outstanding and the prices are right. They just opened for Brunch on the weekends, I tried it last Saturday and wasn't disappointed I had the mushroom quich thing, it was very savory and moist....yummy! I recommend this place to any foodie.
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Cute inside decor. Went with 3 friends and split some of the small plates. The waitress recommended what to get (mainly because we could barely read the menu) and her choices were good. The meal would have been a bit better if we had more bread, but at the end of the night the panninis and pizza left us all full and happy. If you go with a group I definitely recommend ordering a LOT as the meat and cheeses were minimal.
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One of the advantages of exposing myself to deviant sexual acts starting in the sticky awkwardness of pre-cum and ending in panicked flight, physical and mental abuse, insults, acrimony, and a bunch of sick motherfuckers otherwise known as my friends is that nothing surprises me these days. You just robbed a Walgreens? That's nice. You got double-fisted by two burly bears? Did that yesterday. You just set your lover's bed on fire -- with him in it? YAWN. I cast an unblinking eye at the ugliness of the world. I wear my post-foundational "liberal ironist" mantle (60% Rorty/30% Williams/10% Nietzsche [for stretch]) with pride and reside in the house of disillusionment, at least that's the public impression I convey.
But I'm not unflappable.
When The Ex told me -- after a wonderful and surprisingly affordable (around $30/person) visit to Uva Enoteca with two mutual friends consisting of
- Expertly house-cured carne assortito on a serving block. The Sopressata and Culatello were especially excellent.
- Another serving block of seven artisanal cheeses with candied fruits and truffle honey on the side. I highly recommend the Cremosina and Fontina val d'aosta.
- Roasted Asparagus with meyer lemon and moliterno, which were taut and crisp.
- Semolina gnocchi. If memory serves, there were six lovely pan-fried puffs filled with potato and paired with a salty speck that made my lips curl with delight.
- Piadine containing prosciutto, asparagus, and a creamy layer of moo cow Moliterno cheese.
- Panini with thin slices of a Bresaola hinting of cinnamon and a zestily tart lemon aioli dressing.
- A carafe of a dry Piemonte dolcetto with an exquisite mandorla finish.
-- that he had been dating a woman he met at a gay bar for around three weeks now, I almost lost it. The voices in my head were saying WHAT?!? ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU'VE TURNED INTO A MOTHERFUCKING PATROLMAN WITH THE PUSSY GOBBLING PLATOON?!? SERIOUSLY?!? YOUR CLOSET DOOR SWINGS BOTH WAYS AND YOU RE-ENTERED *AFTER* DATING ME?!? WHY DON'T YOU JUST BLOW MY BRAINS OUT WITH A DOUBLE-BARRELLED SHOTGUN, IT'LL BE QUICKER! SONO STANCA DI QUESTA MERDA! SEI UNA PUTTANA MERDOSA, VAFFANCULO!!! and I wanted to die or puke or plant one of Uva's well-weighted stainless steel knives in his skull. But because I was more than satisfied with the food, ambiance, and professional service (In all fairness, things did take rather long to reach our table), I simply nodded and wished him well.
Funny how noshing and drinking at a classy establishment gives me a sense of decorum.
Behold the power of the Ova -- I mean, Uva.
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I promised myself I was only going to write movie reviews. Dammit! I have too much time on my hands. But this place and it's damned delicious pannini's and "Italian quesadillas" and it's little plate of raw fish laid out next to a vinegar soaked salt lick. It's forcing my hand.
The experience was much like going to see a movie. Lets say, for argument's sake, say, an ITALIAN movie. There was progression and movement throughout the meal.
I arrived and was freezing. Sat in the back, hot guy walked by and we locked eyes and I warmed right up. I'm a sucker for a man with short dreads - Well, he looked straight from the front, but totally gay from the back (skinny jeans, what can I say.) My pardner arrived. We ordered the little morselly foods first - gnocchi with speck, perfectly dressed salads, Kampache with a salt lick. We told clever and hilarious stories, complained about work. We tried carafe after carafe of medium bold Italian reds. Then came mediocre fig dish. Mid meal, we had to send back the eggplant capanata because it tasted like raisins and sugar, and things went south for the second act.
The gorgeous skinny jeans guy was reading Vanity Fair which means there was no way to tell whether he was gay or straight. (I must put people into boxes! But hate it when they try to box me...) Then the pardner and I had a huge silly fight over which of our previous devious lovers who were never really ours was more full of shit. ("Well, yours was married." "Well yours had a kid and lived with someone." "But yours took vows." "But yours had cooties." Like that...) Then we moved on to the really heavy wild ass sweet Italian wines (just ask the damn server the names cuz those people know EVERYTHING about the wine they serve.)
And for the third act, out came the big crunchy melty savory panninis, and Lambrusco: It's red, but it's also cold and effervescent (that's bubbly to you old friend)... and my pardner and I were smooching like bonobos in no time.
I think we totaled 9 dishes and 8 carafes. And that only ran us around $60 each. Speaking of running, I ran into the owner on the street the next day (OK I was lurking and wanted another pannini cuz now the taste is in my brain and torturing me). I told him how great I thought his place was, and he was like... "yeah, I remember you, you were at the back eating us out of stock."
One star off cuz the amazingly knowledgeable server spoke on a decibel level that only dogs can hear so I had no idea what she was saying. But I nodded, smiled, said, "You decide for me!" And she totally scored. Shit, I'm an old deaf bitch so I guess I shouldn't mock the low-frequency impaired. Forget it, the one star off is for the figs and the eggplant.
I have to go get a Pannini now.
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Oh god, at some point tiny portions become just ridiculously expensive! Guys you sell food, not art...
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What a great addition to the Lower Haight. I met my guy there last night for a late dinner and I was very pleased to see that they serve food until 11pm and closes at midnight. We sat at the bar and received great service and felt very comfortable. We enjoyed a very tasty pizza, a fresh and well seasoned arugula salad and a delicious prociutto and arugula paninni. We also enjoyed two glasses of crisp white wine, an 8oz pour served in a little carafe. I like the decor and the feel of the place, I felt the portions were just right and the prices very reasonable for the quality of the food. The menu is all in Italian (so brush up before you go) and full of meat and cheese dishes, yummy, so I would go somewhere else if I were dinning with vegetarians.
Beautiful design, simple and sophisticated, esp for Lower Haight... Nice brick, dark wood, warm lighting. Decent amount of bar seating.
Great service, cool staff.
Delicious: Salumi, cured meats, burrata, and asparagus.
Bland: Some crostini which was 3" tall bread with bland pureed green something. Not very good.
Didn't try any bigger plates.
Cool: $10 mini-carafes of wine.
Good date place or for a group of friends...
I JOINED YELP TO TELL YOU THAT UVA HAS BRUNCH.
Of the several good restaurants that have opened near me this year (i.e. L'Ardoise, Poesia) Uva is the most exciting. It combines great food & wine with a casual elegance that is a welcome addition to the Lower Haight.
I have enjoyed dinner there several times, and today was the premier of Uva's brunch. It was fantastic. We had a fruit plate with burrata, French toast with cherries & star fruit, and fridos. A frido is like an omelette, but made with cheese instead of eggs. After trying the frido with speck, we had to try the one with potatoes too. Both were good, but the speck was my favorite.
I highly recommend trying brunch, it will inevitably get crowded.
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Beautiful decor (especially at the bar). Nice wines, reasonably priced, and you can get just a "taste" instead of a full glass.
However, please note they don't really have a kitchen here. The "cooked" food is not good enough to justify the prices. The cured meats and cheeses are pretty good, especially with the wines.
Update. I have been to Uva approx. 20 times in the seven weeks they have existed. That's 2-3 times per week. I've spent somewhere in the four figures. I have never done this with a restaurant before much less anything I've mentioned on Yelp. I hope that is saying something.
Just some highlights:
1. They do amazing things with greens I've never heard of. It's all about the pea tendrils. Zucchini blossoms (not deep fried) -- crazy. Barley-corn-fava-squid! Some other shit I've never heard of nor could remember if you asked me apart from it being delicioso. And this is "supposed" to be a meat/cheese kind of place first and foremost.. Even the veggies are interesting.
2. The staff is universally adorable. And professional. I have to imagine that any dings in service are completely attributable to their being slammed at times.
3. The carne, cheese and most of all *wine* are all geared towards sampling and experimentation. It has kept me interested all this time and they keep it fresh.
4. Do not be afraid to go girly with the rosato, pignoletto, in bocca al lupo prosecco cocktail, salads, crudos.. Not every meal has to be heavy with tannins and fat.
5. You probably know about the crudos and the cheeses but their *condiments* are standouts in and of themselves.. vanilla salt, son!
6. I mentioned this before but it's worth mentioning again. The wine list is broad, interesting and pretty reasonably priced.
7. Do not miss the sorbet. It's really creamy and fruity. Not at all sugary/icy.
Something to keep in mind is that this is a perfect place to meet with friends and have a casual meal with wine. Each dish is around $4-8 and the wines are all $10-14 or so for 8 oz. carafes. 2 oz. pours are exactly a quarter of that price. Within that framework it is a fantastic experience. The atmosphere is airy and conducive to conversation. Their pricing structure and menu is very much geared towards sampling and experimentation, so I suggest you take advantage of that and explore stuff. And drinking. It's very good for drinking.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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04/22/2008
Boris and his team are bringing a top-notch wine bar to exactly the neighborhood that I believe will… Read more »
Loved the crudos (Fatted Calf and Boccalone) and the cheeses. The honey truffle condiment paired with the blue cheese was heart stopping good. Can't get better than ending it with salt sprinkled vanilla bean and hazelnut gelato.
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this is a great place to eat or to go to the bar for a light dinner or just a glass of wine.
I really like the selection of wines and the cheeses/charcuterie. It's like being in Italy. The crowd is also very cool.
This is a good place to go for a date, to catch up with a friend or on the way to another bar
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I came here to raise a couple glasses of barbera to Nominee, soon-to-be President, Barack Obama. Despite my anxiety, ("Is it over? Like really really over? Or just kind of over, sort of?") I had a great time toasting to Obama's hard-fought victory.
Politics aside, Uva Enoteca is a simple, nice wine bar/restaurant. Large selection of wine, knowledgeable employees and less uptight than you might think, based on its surface. Good breadsticks that come wrapped in plastic covers. Yeah, those. I've said in previous reviews for wine bars that I usually don't come to these places to eat-eat, limiting my choices to wine, cheese or meat slices. Three stars because I didn't have (or come for) a die-hard, Yelperiffic experience, but I'll maybe come back and give the food an honest shot.
On a slightly related note, this has to be the best block in Lower Haight. Despite a cranky-inducing, roundabout cab ride that took us, literally, in a circle from SoMa to Haight in order to boost the fare (asshole!), I was happy to be back here. Memphis Minnie's, Rosamunde's, Toronado, Noc Noc and Uva Enoteca? Yes?
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They don't have an actual kitchen so don't go there for food. Go there to have some wine with friends after dinner or meet up for a drink in the afternoon.
Good date spot. But if you order the cheese, she's gonna have stinky cheese breath afterwards!
The wine is exclusively Italian and I don't know nothing about no Italian wine. But the waiter was helpful enough and the four of us got 4 different wines in a total of 16 glasses so we each had a taste of each wine. That was nice.
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Although I have to agree with everybody that this place is a great addition to the 'hood, the food just wasn't all that. Truly, this 'hood sure needs a place like Uva.
We had a few servings of cheese (microscopic - and tastewise, just so-so), a few thin crust pizzas (not nasty, but definitely not good), a dish that looked like an Italian version of a quesidilla and a few glasses of wine. The experience was all just one big "EH".
The server was also hurried - we never saw her between the time she took our orders and the time we complained about extra items on our bill that we never got.
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Nice design, lovely place to meet up with friends for a glass of wine. As far as the food for dinner, it was far less than stellar. As an enoteca, they have a ton of pork & beef on the menu. Great for meat eaters, not great for me ( I don't eat red meat or pork :). Our waitress showed me a few vegetarian sandwiches and salads on the menu, but I was really hoping for the summer squash pizza. Unfortch she told me they were out of the squash, so I got an asparagus + prosciutto pizza minus the prosciutto. I probably shouldn't be admitting to that...but thems the brakes when you're a picky eater!
Still even without meat, this pizza could be vibrant and delicious. Instead the sauce fell flat and the only spice I tasted was huge chunks of black pepper. No basil, no oregano, nothing. just pepper.
A real bummer was when the host (who I believe may be the owner) filled up our glasses (of purchased Italian still water) with tap water. awww man.
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OE is in my hood so I thought to check it out. Went with some friends and we hung out at the bar for maybe 3 hrs. Lots of fun. I didn't have any of the food but the wine was great and the staff very helpful in answering all of my questions. Nonetheless, there's something about the vibe here that I didn't like and I can't put my finger on it, maybe it had to do with the lighting? I wish I liked this wine bar more since it's w/in walking distance from my place but I can't say that I do. Give this place a shot, I'll probably need to go again to see if my opinion changes.
Disclaimer: The owner is like a brother to me, but I always write my reviews without bias. Promise.
Thursday evening, around 9:00 pm. We'd decided to try out Uva Enoteca on a regular open night (I came to their soft opening, but was determined not to review it until I'd tried it out thoroughly). The place was packed (but not as packed as the next night, I hear...Boris told me that there was an HOUR wait!).
We stood at the comfortable bar and Chris, the bar manager, hooked us up with wine that was "chewy" and "full-bodied" as I'd requested. I'm not sure what it was, but it was exactly what I'd asked for, and I like that it came in a large pour.
We sat down five minutes later at a gorgeous 2-top table in the back. We had been perusing the menu for about ten minutes but were still a bit confused (it's all in Italian!). The meats sounded good, as did the cheeses, so we told our sweet waitress that we wanted to have an assortment of delicious and random meats and cheeses. I wish that they'd come with tags on them so that I could remember which ones we ate, but I tell you, they're all pretty darn good, and they satisfy anybody's taste.
Upon ordering our bottle of wine, we had a lot of assistance from the sommelier. He was very knowledgeable and listened to our requests. He told us that the Dolcetto would be right up our alley, so off he went to get a bottle. Upon returning, he opened the bottle, took a whiff of it himself, told us that the wine wasn't quite at its peak, and rushed off to get us another bottle. Now that's customer service.
The plates may be small, but they're deceptively filling. We didn't try the pizza, but it looked delicious, and the asparagus was cold and freak-out good. We saved no room for the gelato, but the couple at the next table seemed to have liked it. And they carry Ritual Coffee Roasters coffee. Yum!
Their water closet rivals the bathroom at the Mark Hopkins Hotel. Seriously. They really did a bang-up job with it.
I can't wait for them to be open during the afternoons so that I can sit at the bar and enjoy a glass of wine with some meat and cheese on a Sunday afternoon.
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The SO: "Let's go to ooo-vah ee-noh-teck-ah"
Me: "ooh bah what?"
(has mental pictures of some midwife droid in Episode III going "oo-bahhhh")
Really, it wasn't until I saw the signage that the weird sounds made sense. This is a wine bar with snippets of food. Tastings at generous 2 oz pours run $1.50 to $2.75. Flights are encouraged but quickly crowd the table.
Free bread came with a small plate of olives, and 3 small bowls with black truffle honey, a mustard-like sauce, and cherries. They didn't give us a stink when we asked for more bread.
The menu was confusing. They have a broad selection of cheeses and deli meats. Almost every other dish on the menu incorporates one or the other, but you can't tell until you double-check the word against both lists. VERY troublesome if there are certain meats you just don't eat. Vegan? Stick to the wine.
But ooo, what I could eat was quite delicious. They encourage you to make your own cheese platter, pick 3 for $10. Many of the menu items are under $10. The duck and cherries salad with pea greens came with slices of duck cooked just this side of rare in the center. The greens tasted like pea shoots but with more texture. The bowl of minced eggplant and toasted pine nuts came with the surprising spice of cinnamon and heat of chili flakes. Pizzas were sold out but the paninis were filling (albet a bit too crunchy for my taste).
Perfect spot to bring a bunch of friends for a round of nibbles and dabbles in wine without breaking the bank.
4 1/2 stars.
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GREAT addition to the neighborhood!!
A friend and I decided to try this place out after a movie for some nice wine and cheese. We walked in and I assumed that it was full from what I could see; however, the place is much bigger than it looks from the outside.
While scanning the menu, we realized we had absolutely no idea what we wanted. So when our VERY helpful server came by, we confessed our dilemma, and she simply asked a few basic questions and out came EXACTLY what I wanted to a T.
Word.
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Good Place for Appetizers and Wine. You got to like cheese and meat, that's their specialty. Great wine list. Small, hard to find place on Haight Street. Worth going for apps.
What a great addition to the neighborhood! Yahooo! or Grazie mille!! The staff was friendly and knowledgeable, the wine list interesting. I would highly recommend it to anyone who would like to enjoy a delcious and different glass of wine and some very good cured meats and cheeses.
What a terrific -- and much needed -- addition to the Lower Haight. As the name states, it's an enoteca experience, which as far as I can garner, is the Italian version of a French bistro, that is a casual eating and drinking place.
The first thing you see when you enter is the main bar; there are about 10 seats total but definitely a great spot to start your evening. Actually, I take that back, you probably will find Boris (one of the owners) greeting and chatting away. He's a good guy, and treats you like an instant regular the moment you step in.
Anyhow, order a glass of wine (their list is refreshingly all Italian), or a wine-based cocktail from Camber Lay (she of Epic and Range fame). Talk it up with the other patrons: the first time I was there the guy next to me let me try his glass and then when my party sat down we ended up ordering a bottle of the stuff.
There's a back room, which is a quieter but we wanted to be near the action so asked for a table up front. Now ordering at Uva is process of discovery. The menu is broken up into carne, formaggi, verdure, pizza, bruschette... I'd say order a couple of dishes from each section, mix and match, or ask your server for suggestions based against what you're drinking.
Just ordering some salume and cheese, sitting at the bar, might even be enough for some, and I can see a more industrious diner stopping in for a pre-snack before venturing off to another restaurant. That said, the prosciutto di parma and asparagus pizza is sizable enough for a small meal (but share, please), and immensely satisfying. If you hunger for more, no one's stopping you from ordering a panini or piadine!
End your meal with some house-made gelato, and for a brief moment you'll realize that everything is alright in the world.
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In my opinion, there is only false pretence in this restaurant. Try the "antipasti plate" for 17 $ and you will understand what it means. No cooking, tiny portion, food you can buy at any supermarket. That is not a good deal !!!
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Pretty good, I got a flight and some cheese with the love of my life on his birthday. It certainly is cute in there but it is a little hard to decipher the menu and some of the cheeses we got were incredibly strong. Granted, the bartender gave us a replacement cheese for the stinkiest one.
I like it! But then again I don't go to wine bars too often so I;m not a great judge. It is a great addition to the neighborhood though. It's nice to have a place that isn't an Irish bar or hair salon sneak it's way into the Low Haight.
I've spent a lot of time in Italy so I was looking forward to trying this trattoria last night. What a disappointment. The portions are laughably miniscule and would send my Italian brother in law into an apoplectic rage if he knew this place was passing for an Italian enoteca.
While the wine list is impressive, they don't know how to make a Bellini and the waitress had no idea about the wine nor could she answer our questions about the menu. To top it off the noise level made it impossible to chat. Molto falso!
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Pricey, small portions, record table-turn speed.
I know everything's multicultural now, but having an Italian menu - in only Italian - in the middle of the good ol' US of A ain't gonna work. I know about a few Italian wines and since my co-diners didn't, I look liked the hero.
The tuna was tiny. Tiny. The cheese board - it was like being in a food sample segment of Whole Foods. And the duck salad? Well, three slices of 2"-squared duck on rocket doesn't really cut it.
We kept ordering dish after dish.... when would our bellies be full and our wallets be emptied? Well, we never got full, but $120 (including a $22 bottle of Valpolicella, thank you) seemed quite pricey for what we got.
I heard it's new, so not to bitch, but I would have given 3-4 stars if they weren't so insistent on getting rid of us on a quiet Monday night. I still think $100+ is a lot of money, so I have no plans to go back.
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What's that I smell? Dried pig, pear compote, and stinky cheese, served with a healthy slice of gentrification?
Oh hells to the yes.
Although slightly out of place in the Lower Haight, I absolutely welcome the opportunity further live my life in SF without ever setting foot in the marina. Not really much else on par in the neighborhood except for RNM, and like, who even goes to that place? Sooooo random.
But anyways, back to Uva Enoteca.
Heaping piles of prosciutto, sopressata, mortadella, basturma and various other dried meats were served a rustic wooden platter and accompanied by dried cherries, pear compote, and... * wait for it *
TRUFFLED MOTHERFUCKING HONEY!!
oasdrjgf;asdjf;oasjdfo;aisdjf;oasdjfoa;sjfdasf!!!! !!11111111111111
In my personal fantasy I would have servants run me a warm bath full of this ambrosia like substance in my marble jacuzzi, while male models sprinkle gold shavings on top of my naked truffled body, Beck Hanson performs his monumental album Guerro live in the background, and Giada de Laurentis prepares a tantalizingly sexy meal for me wearing only high heels, in the kitchen. (which is also conveniently located in the bathroom)
Um yeah.....what was I talking about? *wiping the drool off my face*
My one complain is their utter refusal to provide me with adequate amounts of bread to put the cheese and meat on. I mean seriously, what do they expect me to do with three measly, miniscule slices of bread and a whole mess of things to put on it? Lets get real here Uva Enoteca, didn't you get sick of me asking for more bread, after more bread, after more bread? Cause I sure got sick of asking.