October, 2005

Rating : 7 out of 10

Tariff : Dinner for 5

• 1 round cocktails
• 1 appetizer
• 2 salads
• 5 entrees
• 2 bottles wine
• 4 desserts
• tip
• $220

The Washington Square Bar & Grill is a comfortable traditional pub/restaurant in North Beach. The walls are covered with memorabilia. It's fare is Italian/California cuisine--simple, comforting food. An institution for over 30 years, nicknamed the "Washbag," it changed to something else for several years, but now it's back. Early on a Sunday evening we found the place at about only 1/3 occupancy, so we were surprised to be directed to the bar for cocktails; we were, in fact, seated in the separate dining room rather quickly.

Food

The waitress brought us complimentary bruschettas with a fresh tomato topping, a nice touch, as well as regular bread. We tried the spicy fried calamari appetizer, very nicely battered and fried until crunchy, which I like. We gobbled up two delicious butter lettuce salads with walnuts, grapes, gorgonzola, and a light honey-sherry vinaigrette dressing.

Entrees

One special was halibut, cooked with several shellfish over white beans; it was tasty, but messy to eat with all the shells! The petrale sole doree, served with spinach and over a mound of garlic mashed potatoes was light and flavored with lemon and a sprinkling of crisp-fried capers. The agnolotti were homemade half-moon ravioli with a creamy eggplant filling arranged artfully on the plate and topped lightly with fresh pureed tomatoes and a bit of basil. The rosemary-scented lamb bolognese sauce was a rich, heavy meat sauce with good lamb flavor over al dente pappardelle pasta. The rigatoni with peppers and tiny sausages from a local butcher was nothing exceptional, but the sausages were good....

Wine

2001 Atlas Peak Sangiovese

Dessert

For dessert we tried the bread pudding with a custard sauce. Although it was a small portion, it was crispy on top and soft inside and the creamy sauce was perfect. A lemon panna cotta was okay a bit gluey. We also tried the rich chocolate cheesecake.

The atmosphere was noisy but not too loud--just fine to talk and laugh without feeling self-conscious. By the time we were finishing, we noticed the piano playing on the bar side of the restaurant--a nightly show.

Washington Square Bar & Grill
1707 Powell Street
San Francisco, CA
415-982-8123