Funfeasts: Fish and Farm

Bacon Martini (yes, it does have a strip of bacon in it!)

Buffalo Mozzarella Shooters

Fresh Corn soup (very good!)

Fish & Farm
339 Taylor Street San Francisco, CA 94102
415-474-3474

It was ladies’ night for us and we selected Fish and Farm located in the Mark Twain Hotel. It was also Dine About Town (preset menus at killer prices) and the first night for the new chef Chad S. Newton. A bit of a minefield if you think about it but we survived with our stomachs and humor intact.

While I must admit I didn’t do backflips for the food, it was solid and reasonably priced. The atmosphere was comfortably elegant and the restaurant itself allowed for good all-around service due to it's smaller size.

The service actually surprised me a bit because (here’s the “price to value thing”) they have a VERY interesting concept where “the price you see is the final price you pay.” HUH? What it means is that the $12 gnocchi on the menu includes both tip and tax. So, say you order the following: 1 dinner salad ($10), 1 entrée – in my case it was a smaller pasta appetizer ($12) and a dessert ($10) your total would be (do the math here) $32. No more or less. And while it’s still not in the price range of say Denny's (not that you'd want it to be and not that Denny's is a terrible place) mentally you feel better knowing just how much moolah you really need before you arrive.

Even cheapo me felt a little bad wondering if the server might go home and eat the lint off the floor because the tips feel invisible. However, our server remained helpful, cheerful and efficient throughout our experience. Hat’s off to the staff!

My dinner (the gnocchi with fava and ham) was delicious as was the salmon a few of my dining companions ordered. The salmon appears to be cooked “just so” and it’s got a different texture (almost like sashimi – but cooked) than you’d normally expect. I have read a few reviews online and either you LOVE it or don’t. All the people at our table loved it.

Desserts were good, and the salad I tried was good - proper balance of dressing to leaves - although a tad plain. The bacon martini, while intriguing, seemed an odd mixture but that’s just me (ok, and the person who ordered it as well.)

Here’s my two cents on this place: if you’re in the ‘hood you should stop in. Try the ribs (I didn’t, but hear they’re fantastic) fish and chips (again, I didn’t try but a friend thought they were worth mentioning) the salmon and gnocchi. I am sure as the chef settles in reservations will get harder to secure – so the time to go is probably now!