Tag Archives: San Francisco Embarcadero restaurant

The Taste of the Sea Is Better Than Ever at La Mar Cocina Peruna

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Cebiche tasting (front to back): Clasico, Nikkei, and Victoriano.
Cebiche tasting (front to back): Clasico, Nikkei, and Victoriano.

On a summer evening when the sun lingers long even in typically foggy San Francisco, there are few better places to dine than outside at La Mar Cocina Peruna.

Located on the Embarcadero waterfront with sweeping views of the Bay, this modern Peruvian restaurant by acclaimed Chef Gaston Acurio just underwent an interior refresh, too. Its Executive Chef Victoriano Lopez also has updated the menu.

I had a chance to check out both when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant recently.

Opened in 2008, it is one of 10 La Mar restaurants around the world, including the original one in Lima.

The bar.
The bar.
New fresh seafood display.
New fresh seafood display.

The San Francisco one glows in deep indigo hues. The bar features a giant squid art piece hanging from the ceiling. The dining room boasts light fixtures reminiscent of jellyfish, as well as a new display case of fresh seafood.

The covered patio has new planters, glass walls to guard against the wind, and plenty of heaters so the space is comfortable even when the evening chill descends.

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Dining Up On The Third Floor

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The incredible duck soup at The Third Floor in San Francisco.
The incredible duck soup at The Third Floor in San Francisco.

Can we talk duck soup?

Because we must.

The kind redolent of star anise plus a pop of chili. The kind with an aroma that tantalizes with warm spices from the first whiff. And the kind that soothes, satisfies, and lingers on the mind and palate long after the last slurp.

I’m talking about the superlative duck soup at the new Third Floor Restaurant and Lounge, which opened late last year inside San Francisco’s 25-story Jay Hotel near the Embarcadero.

It’s the first hotel restaurant by the Omakase Group, the force behind such celebrated establishments as Niku Steakhouse, Omakase, and Dumpling Time.

The Third Floor dining room.
The Third Floor dining room.

What was formerly Le Meridien hotel has undergone a multi-million-dollar renovation that includes a sleek contemporary yet soothing pale earth-tone interior design by AvroKO, which also did SingleThread Farms in Healdsburg. The look was inspired by the organic and natural sculptural style of the late-great Ruth Asawa.

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Cento Osteria — Italian Fare on the Embarcadero

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Mushrooms, ricotta, tomato and cotto on a puffy, blistered crust at Cento Osteria.

Mushrooms, ricotta, tomato and cotto on a puffy, blistered crust at Cento Osteria.

 

Chef Donato Scotti is on his way to building a Bay Area restaurant empire with the addition of his fourth establishment — and first one — in San Francisco.

Cento Osteria on the city’s Embarcadero joins the others in his Donato Restaurant Group: Donato Enoteca in Redwood City, Cru wine bar in Redwood City, and Donato & Co. in Berkeley.

His newest opened in May. My friend Ben of the blog, FocusSnapEat, and I were invited in as guests to check it out recently.

The dark wood interior gives the dining room warmth while its walls of windows give it airiness.

The open kitchen.

The open kitchen.

The dining room.

The dining room.

Chef Chris D’Andrea, formerly of Saison and Eight Tables, both in San Francisco, heads the kitchen.

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