Acquerello

“Acquerello San Francisco – A Legendary Two-Michelin-Star Italian Culinary Experience If you are looking for the best fine dining in San Francisco, Acquerello is a legendary must-visit restaurant that defines high-end Italian gastronomy. We dressed up in our jackets for this special visit to the Nob Hill district, and while the atmosphere is undeniably refined, it’s also incredibly welcoming—I even ended up taking my jacket off halfway through as the room warmed up! The dining room interior is stunning, featuring some of the most beautiful floral displays I’ve seen. The warm tones and sophisticated lighting provide an elegant atmosphere that is perfect for a romantic dinner or a special night out in California. The world-class service is exactly what you would expect from a 2-star Michelin establishment: professional, attentive, and absolutely amazing. Throughout my global culinary adventures and visits to over 90 Michelin stars, I have only ever ordered a dedicated cheese course once—and it was here. That cheese plate was a revelation! I still think about how all those complex flavors worked together so perfectly; it is easily one of my greatest memories in food. From the technical pasta courses to the theatrical Affogato dessert, you simply cannot go wrong here. San Francisco is so lucky to have such an amazing restaurant. Highly recommended for anyone seeking an authentic Michelin-starred experience!”

“Fantastic experience! And considering what we have paid for other Michelin experiences, the value is here- especially for a 2-star restaurant in San Francisco. Overall, every dish hit the mark except one diner didn’t care for the Ridged Pasta (too sweet)- though this diner happily finished it for them. Service was impeccable and the atmosphere was fun yet relaxing. Wine pairing was on point as well with an extremely knowledgeable sommelier. Overall- just an excellent experience and well worth a visit.”

“We came here to try out its tasting menu. The cooking is excellent. These dishes exceeded our expectations and left a long lasting memory to us: Wolfe ranch quail, Ridge pasta with faux four gras, Millbrook venison and Pear crema. The restaurant environment is traditional and classy. The service is outstanding. I would recommend it for special occasions or you just want to enjoy a spectacular Italian dinner at San Francisco.”

“ok TLDR super lovely vibes & main courses were BOMB but dessert and service disappointed for a 2 michelin. i’ll start w the positives. fav dishes: the amuse bouche was so unique and i loved. hokkaido scallop was so fresh and had a decadent sauce. foie gras pasta is probably the best pasta ive ever had in my life. so creamy rich and the freshest truffles. and the quail was so tender and caramelized and idk how they made the parsnip so flavorful. crudo was also v fresh and good. the duck caramelle was super unique and i didnt know fig could pair w pasta so well i personally wasnt super impressed w the venison. they said medium rare but the inside wasnt warm but the flavor with the jam and stuff was actually pretty good. the pear crema literally tasted like pear apple sauce with a cream on the outside idk not my cup of tea. the tiny tiramisu they brought for pedros bday was infinitely better. the bon bon cart was super fun but i tried 5 of them and they were all just bad except the black sesame caramel was fire. the service….i actually really like a long meal but it toon them 30 mins to bring the first course which is a bit excessive. 4 hour meal for 9 courses is kinda wild like ive had 22 course meals be shorter. ALSO i think we just got a new server but he was so nervous, stumbling over his words and we caught that he explained a lot of stuff completely wrong bc he brought out the cheese plate and after tasting them we were like uhhh whatever he said was the goat cheese was clearly the pecorino and the jams tasted nothing like what he said and after listening to the other server explain at the other table, we realized that a lot of the things he said were very different. we laughed about it but thinking now like when ur paying $750 for a meal part of what youre paying for is the excellence of service which just wasnt there (i feel like a snob but). overall, the food is 2 michelin level but im surprised theyve kept both stars w the service we received”

“I wanted to like Acquerello, but just couldnt. The food was seemingly prepared well with at least solid presentation, but the flavors just didn’t hit. This usually happens 1-2 times at a good fine dining experience, but when it happens for the overwhelming majority of dishes, it becomes a pattern. There is a chance this isn’t my type of Italian cuisine, since the meats were prepared on the gamier side and I typically am not as much a fan of that. But I do try to be genuinely open-minded. I didn’t take a picture of the final lamb course, but that one I couldn’t finish as it was so gamey. Some may like that, though. They really take care of you here and the atmosphere is quite nice. I have to rate based on the food as that’s really what matters.”