We dined at SPQR in San Francisco for the $165 prix fixe menu with wine pairing, which included Antipasti, Primi, Secondi, and Dolci. There were four of us, including vegetarian, so between the group we were able to try nearly the entire menu.
The staff was friendly and professional, and special thanks to Ivan for the attentive service. The food itself was pretentious and, quite frankly, not delicious. Our group genuinely enjoys good food across the full spectrum, from a simple baguette with cheese to Michelin-level dining, but not a single dish made us want just one more bite. Most plates were either bland, or overcooked, overly sauced, or strangely over-spiced. It honestly takes effort to ruin focaccia and dessert - even that was disappointing. Portions were microscopic, but the heavy sauces left us feeling uncomfortably full rather than satisfied. The wine pairing was also a letdown and felt like an afterthought not a thoughtful complement to the dishes. When you are faced with such a high bill, you hope there is something to balance it out, but aside from the nice staff, there really was not. As we walked out, the unanimous verdict was that grabbing ramen next door would have been a better choice. No recommendation, and we will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
Tommaso Trionfi
The pasta was overcooked. They try to make something interesting but unfortunately there is no flair. Something is missing on the food side. I gave them a second chance and I will not go back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Jessica Dillon
Friendly staff, fun experience at the chefs counter but disappointing food. We were recommended 1) the risotto but found the combination of Gorgonzola and short rib too rich and 2) the ricotta rolled lasagna that was too bland. Highlight of the meal was the focaccia
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Ryan Chang
Really enjoyed the ambience and the service was excellent, extremely friendly and attentive staff. The food was also pretty good overall, presentation was creative and taste was good. We enjoyed the risotto w/ beef a lot, and the focaccia.
Have to rate it down simply because the portion sizes were ridiculously small. Each entree was about the size of a dish you would receive as part of a fine dining tasting menu, but the food itself was not at that level. Was a bit shocked at the sizing to be honest.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Miray Yuce
Food is not as good as you would expect from such a restaurant. Great place and great service. Average food with high prices. Tried pasta tasting and two mocktails. Mocktails were really bad
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Michelle Mariaca
We had such a wonderful experience at this cozy pasta spot! The atmosphere felt warm, intimate, and very much like stepping into a little Italian home. From the moment we walked in, we were welcomed so kindly, and Ivan, our server was attentive and genuinely warm throughout the entire evening.
The octopus was the star of the night—perfectly cooked and full of flavor. We tried several pastas, all of which were delicious, and the short rib was incredibly tender, the kind that practically melts and can be cut with a spoon.
The desserts were a bit underwhelming, but the service made up for it. Our server’s explanations and friendly energy really sweetened the whole experience.
We’re already planning to come back to try more dishes from the menu! Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Maria Parfentyeva
While the food was amazing and the service was good, we went there for my birthday (which we added to our reservation prior ) and it was kinda sad seeing 2 tables around us getting cards and candles for their anniversaries/birthday and for us to be left out. Hope it was a mistake but we still left with a sour taste in our mouths.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 2
Brenda Moreau
Awesome!Delicious fresh pasta with bright flavours.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Carter Gibson
Excellent Italian spot with a calm, moody atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Danielle Cohen
5-course pasta tasting menu was phenomenal! Highly recommend.
Pretty overpriced, food didn't really blow us away. The shrimp pasta was quite sweet. Romesco on the bottom was nice though. The salmon was really nice, especially the skin, but the vegetables accompying it were nothing to write home about, the zucchini was especially bland. Pork seemed undercooked. Dessert took a long time to get served. Matcha cheesecake was pretty nice. Clafoutis was nothing special but the bay leaf icecream was interesting.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Marcelo Muzzi
Really nice Italian restaurant. Great service and the food was delicious
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mukilan Mohan
Food was very average. Everything was sour.. from the sweetbreads base to pasta sauce and to the dessert compote. The staff were welcoming and friendly. Service was great. Very disappointed in the food. We tried the prix fixe menu.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
Karen Zheng
Disappointed… food not that tasty and restaurant seemed short of staff.
Favorites are the wagyu steak and short rib pasta. The amount of jam on chicken liver toast made the whole piece taste weird/too sweet. The other pasta (forgot its name) tastes salty and spicy in an unpleasant way.
Restaurant also seemed short of staff - there seemed to be only 2 servers covering the 10+ tables, and while our server was helpful and did his best, it just seemed very chaotic and we had to wait some time for the food to be served and order to be added.
~$100 pp post tax and tip
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Rashaud Peete
Wonderful service (amazing server!), and beautiful food that tastes even better. Highly recommended; this isn't just dinner, it's an experience!
We dined at SPQR in San Francisco for the $165 prix fixe menu with wine pairing, which included Antipasti, Primi, Secondi, and Dolci. There were four of us, including vegetarian, so between the group we were able to try nearly the entire menu.
The staff was friendly and professional, and special thanks to Ivan for the attentive service.
The food itself was pretentious and, quite frankly, not delicious. Our group genuinely enjoys good food across the full spectrum, from a simple baguette with cheese to Michelin-level dining, but not a single dish made us want just one more bite. Most plates were either bland, or overcooked, overly sauced, or strangely over-spiced. It honestly takes effort to ruin focaccia and dessert - even that was disappointing. Portions were microscopic, but the heavy sauces left us feeling uncomfortably full rather than satisfied.
The wine pairing was also a letdown and felt like an afterthought not a thoughtful complement to the dishes.
When you are faced with such a high bill, you hope there is something to balance it out, but aside from the nice staff, there really was not. As we walked out, the unanimous verdict was that grabbing ramen next door would have been a better choice.
No recommendation, and we will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
The pasta was overcooked. They try to make something interesting but unfortunately there is no flair. Something is missing on the food side. I gave them a second chance and I will not go back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Friendly staff, fun experience at the chefs counter but disappointing food. We were recommended 1) the risotto but found the combination of Gorgonzola and short rib too rich and 2) the ricotta rolled lasagna that was too bland. Highlight of the meal was the focaccia
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Really enjoyed the ambience and the service was excellent, extremely friendly and attentive staff. The food was also pretty good overall, presentation was creative and taste was good. We enjoyed the risotto w/ beef a lot, and the focaccia.
Have to rate it down simply because the portion sizes were ridiculously small. Each entree was about the size of a dish you would receive as part of a fine dining tasting menu, but the food itself was not at that level. Was a bit shocked at the sizing to be honest.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Food is not as good as you would expect from such a restaurant. Great place and great service. Average food with high prices. Tried pasta tasting and two mocktails. Mocktails were really bad
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
We had such a wonderful experience at this cozy pasta spot! The atmosphere felt warm, intimate, and very much like stepping into a little Italian home. From the moment we walked in, we were welcomed so kindly, and Ivan, our server was attentive and genuinely warm throughout the entire evening.
The octopus was the star of the night—perfectly cooked and full of flavor. We tried several pastas, all of which were delicious, and the short rib was incredibly tender, the kind that practically melts and can be cut with a spoon.
The desserts were a bit underwhelming, but the service made up for it. Our server’s explanations and friendly energy really sweetened the whole experience.
We’re already planning to come back to try more dishes from the menu! Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
While the food was amazing and the service was good, we went there for my birthday (which we added to our reservation prior ) and it was kinda sad seeing 2 tables around us getting cards and candles for their anniversaries/birthday and for us to be left out. Hope it was a mistake but we still left with a sour taste in our mouths.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 2
Awesome!Delicious fresh pasta with bright flavours.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent Italian spot with a calm, moody atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
5-course pasta tasting menu was phenomenal! Highly recommend.
Restaurantji Recommends
Pretty overpriced, food didn't really blow us away. The shrimp pasta was quite sweet. Romesco on the bottom was nice though. The salmon was really nice, especially the skin, but the vegetables accompying it were nothing to write home about, the zucchini was especially bland. Pork seemed undercooked. Dessert took a long time to get served. Matcha cheesecake was pretty nice. Clafoutis was nothing special but the bay leaf icecream was interesting.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Really nice Italian restaurant. Great service and the food was delicious
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food was very average. Everything was sour.. from the sweetbreads base to pasta sauce and to the dessert compote. The staff were welcoming and friendly. Service was great. Very disappointed in the food. We tried the prix fixe menu.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
Disappointed… food not that tasty and restaurant seemed short of staff.
Favorites are the wagyu steak and short rib pasta. The amount of jam on chicken liver toast made the whole piece taste weird/too sweet. The other pasta (forgot its name) tastes salty and spicy in an unpleasant way.
Restaurant also seemed short of staff - there seemed to be only 2 servers covering the 10+ tables, and while our server was helpful and did his best, it just seemed very chaotic and we had to wait some time for the food to be served and order to be added.
~$100 pp post tax and tip
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Wonderful service (amazing server!), and beautiful food that tastes even better. Highly recommended; this isn't just dinner, it's an experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Loading...