A Taste of France At Cafe Des Amis
Walking into the glam back dining room of the new Cafe Des Amis in San Francisco’s Cow Hollow neighborhood, I felt like I should have donned an elegant Hermes scarf for the occasion.
If only I owned one.
The three-month old restaurant, a short drive from the Fairmont Heritage Place San Francisco, was four years in the making. But it was worth the wait.
The former Prego Italian restaurant has been transformed into the ultimate brasserie that encapsulates tres French chic with antique marble floors, a nickel bar, deep red walls, crimson leather banquettes, a classic limestone fireplace and an enormous bejeweled chandelier.
Attention to detail is evident, as when the table next to ours was reset and a busser actually brought out a cordless iron to smooth the creases in the white tablecloth.
On a recent Saturday night, when I was invited to dine as a guest of the restaurant, the 200-seat establishment that stays open daily till 1 a.m. was bustling with diners. And this was a slow night, according to our server.
The Bacchus Management Group — which also owns Spruce in San Francisco, the Village Pub in Woodside, Mayfield Bakery & Cafe in Palo Alto, and numerous Pizza Antica outposts — joined with Perry Butler of Perry’s restaurant in San Francisco, who acquired the old Prego spot, a half block from his famous bar, in 2005. They brought on board Chef Edward Carew, who has cooked at top New York spots such as Grammercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park and Craft, as well as San Francisco’s Florio, where he was the executive chef.
You may not need an Hermes scarf to enjoy yourself here. But deep pockets help if you want to order a few of the dishes, such as the “Cote de Boeuf” with marrow and frites at $86 for two.
I started with a “Greyhound’s Tooth” ($11), an amber-colored cocktail of Benedictine, vodka, house-made grapefruit bitters, and lemon served in an old-school, bowl-shaped champagne glass garnished with a big, bold curl of grapefruit peel.
