So, I just have to share with those of you on the hunt for a great meal at a great price:

There are some amazing values happening in San Francisco right now. Because the slump in the economy is hitting restaurants so hard, a large number of them have decided to lure eaters back with fixed price meals that are a great deal! The program started in January for a month and was called - Dine about Town. Because of the success some restaurants have continued the menus (they change the choices weekly).

The two that I ate at just this past week are:

I Fratelli, 1896 Hyde Street (@ Green) 415-474-8240. I just ate there last night and they have a 3 course fixed price meal for $18.00! It was a great value. The price included:

Soup, Salad or carpaccio
Main dish
Dessert
Coffee or Espresso

And:

Hawthorne Lane, 22 Hawthorne Street (at Howard), 415.777.9779, http://www.hawthornelane.com

Their menu is $29.95, but this is one of THE BEST restaurants in the city. A single entree here can cost as much as the 3 course fixed price menu - so I call this one a real value. It is my favorite restaurant right now.

I would love to hear about more restaurants doing this. Anyone else have some news to share?

No news to share, but just wanted to thank you for posting this. I'll be in San Fran for 2+weeks in mid-April, travelling with my parents (who my brother and I always treat). This will allow us to eat well and save some pennies (paying for four can get expensive). I'll do a search for other participating restaurants too!

A point of clarification - the I Fratelli menu is only available Monday through Friday.

Hawthorne Lane is available every day of the week.

I agree, Hawthorne Lane is an excellent restaurant. Also, try Momo's - it's a relatively new place right across from Giants Stadium. If you like pan-Asian, Betelnut is good, and for inexpensive but really good Chinese, Brandy Ho's. Of course, there's always the Fog City Diner on Embarcadero if you're looking for touristy.

Hi Sharon. Thanks for getting the info out about the fixed price meals in SF. Sounds like Mark and I will have to drive up to the City for dinner!

Hey, Betsy!

Great to see you on the site. Just in case you do not remember, I Fratelli is the restaurant that we had the Fodors gathering at. Nice people, nice place, nice food!

Take care!

Lark Creek Inn in Walnut Creek, as well as all of his restaurants at least through April, has a 3 course dinner for $24.95. I had a delicious salad, salmon, and creme brule last week on my birthday. Plus you can enter a contest by eating at 2 or more of his restaurants, filling out a form and saving your receipts. He has restaurants in SF, Marin County and I believe the peninsula also.

Gail,
Great lead! I called One Market (one of the restaurants in Lark Creek Restaurant Group) and, yes, they are all doing the 3 course dinners. They range from 24.95 - 29.95. The restaurants include http://www.larkcreek.com/ :
One Market - San Francisco
Lark Creek Inn - San Mateo
Lark Creek Inn - Walnut Creek
Lark Creek Inn - Larkspur
Birch Creek - Roseville
Yankee Pier - Larkspur
Parcel 104 - Santa Clara

This is a great deal - these restaurants are wonderful! One Market is one of my favorites. Up there with Hawthorne Lane... WooHoo!

All can be booked through http://www.opentable.com

Keep the information coming!

Sharon

Ooo. Here is another one.

Moose's in North Beach has a 3 course dinner Mon - Thurs for $24-$29.

Thought I would send this to the top to see if I could get more people to respond now that taxes are behind us all.

I don't like I Fratelli---find it very heavy and very garlicky. But news of Moose's is great. Also Chapeau, a little French restaurant with a great wine list in the Inner Richmond, is offering $19 fixed price dinner before 6 pm on Sundays, and Ana Mandara down near Ghiardelli also has a fixed price. Is Hawthorne Lane getting better? It was great to start and then I guess the two owners divorced and the restaurant went downhill. I hope it's coming back, it used to be wonderful. Also, for anyone wanting to try Farallon (not one of my faves) they have a fixed price lunch that is reasonable for Farallon at least.

I just received an email from opentable.com listing a long list of places in San Francisco that are now offering fixed price menus:

http://www.opentable.com/promo/prefixe.asp?id=4

Here are just a few (go to the link above to see them all):
A. Sabella's
Ana Mandara
Black Cat
Chapeau
Equinox
EOS
Hawthorne Lane
Lark Creek San Mateo
Lark Creek Inn
Maya
One Market
Roxanne's
Waterfront Cafe
Z Restaurant

I guess this is a conversation mostly with myself, but I hope someone is benefiting.

kam,
i forgot to thank you for your additions and to answer your questions about hawthorne lane. i agree it went through a rough transition with the divorce. they lost some good people. but they have really pulled it together, and i think the cuisine is right back on top. i have been back twice for the fixed price and each time i will thrilled with my food AND the service. really caught me off guard, but made me very happy.

i am with you on farallon - never really understood the hype.