La Briciola, San Francisco

La Briciola is located at 489 3rd Street in San Francisco.  It's been a while since Rachel and I have had a poor dining experience here in San Francisco - probably because we tend to stick with a select few that are favorites.  The dinner we had at La Briciola this past Saturday evening was by far my worst experience with Italian food while in San Francisco and is up there as one of my all time worst meals.

I'm not sure if it was just that night or in general but this restaurant was mis-firing on pretty much all cylinders.  The menu was a bit confusing featuring a crepe dish as an appetizer (French) and an olive oil/ bread starter with kalamata olives (Greek) mixed in with the oil.  The Pinot Grigio I ordered was not only over-chilled but lacked any flavor and almost tasted watered down.  The Barbera that Rachel ordered was off and what was worse is the second wine she ordered (Sangiovese) wasn't any better.   Three strikeouts in the wine department.

The biggest dissapointment was the small piece of Halibut I ordered served in a large ceramic dish that felt like it was 350 degrees.  The fish was overcooked void of flavor or texture.  As an entree featured in one of the second course sections of the menu, we thought it would come with roasted potatoes and vegetables but no such luck.

Rachel's spinach and ricotta ravioli dish had traces of freshness but covering the small portion of raviolis was an unexciting marinara sauce - it actually tasted like it was from a jar.

Our waiter was nice but not very attentive and he failed to come by to check on our entrees (maybe fearing the response).

All I could do is look around to see if anyone else in the restaurant shared my displeasure.  Maybe the restaurant was playing a practical joke on me?  

Needless to say - we left very disappointed never to return and cruised up the street to Bacar to finish the night off with dessert and a nightcap.  A much better experience at Bacar, great dessert (Milky Way) paired with Grahams Tawny 10 year and Rachel had some Vanilla Pot de Creme paired with an Apricot flavored appertif.