Great SF Restaurant find
 

We had dinner @ Giitane last evening. It's on Claude Alley and owned by the Cafe Claude folks. It was fabulous and I highly recommend it for folks coming to SF. It's a two story place that very much has a nightclub feel to it. Downstairs is the bar and upstairs the dining room. Food, service and ambience were all very,very good! Four of the 7 of us had lived in the same Paris 'hood(mostly around the same time) and remember a certain Morrocan place with affection(since going back, it's not so good) but this place reawakened our appetites and made us all long for our younger days in the 11th.

Earlier this week I reserved a table at Gitane for March 14. It seems to be quite popular. Going to Conduit tonight.

Stu Dudley

topping 'cause it was dropping

Thanks! We'll check it out on our next visit.

Pam, would Gitane be a good place for a special occasion dinner?

Thanks for the recommendation. Stu, we have reservations for Delfina on the 13th, maybe we'll try Gitane the following weekend!

The Gitane rec was from PamSF

Stu Dudley

BTW, Conduit was better than we anticipated. The menu didn't have as many "new/different" things on it as the review in the Chron had. However, our meals were very good. Nice ambience too. Quieter than most Mission Dist restaurants because the tables were not packed close together, and there was no "noise" piped on - just soft music. Perhaps because of the lack on noise, they attracted more people from the over 50 crowd - which were there at 7:30 when we arrived, but by the time we left at 9:30 it the crowd was much younger. Seems the younger crowd was better dressed than they are at most other Mission places we've visited.

Stu Dudley

Bill
We were at Gitane for a bday dinner(paty of 7). It was great for that. We drank, we languished,we drank and then we ate. Service was very good, not rushed and in keeping with "the birthday mood".

Bill~thinking about "special occasion dinner: I was delighted with the acoustics. It did not seem loud at all. The music was nice, in the back ground and not at all detracting from the whole scene. We wee a large party but it did seem the "two tops" were having an equally great time. The menu is best had with tagines, IMHO although there are pork,fish and beef entrees. It's fun! The whole "supper club" feel is a good one as well.

To give you an idea vs some other places in SF:
Quince-much less subdued than Quince but a bit easier to lose yourself in your own table's experience than Quince as well. Food is not "precious" like at Quince and I adore Quince.

NOPA~similar feel to the crowd at Gitane. Lots of young and hip folks(myself excluded)but, a much more intimate feel and not nearly as noisy!!

Price point is good. Tagines are in the $18 range and come with cousous. Big entree items like filet mignon run $26. Appetizers $8-10 as well as desserts.

<i>NOPA~similar feel to the crowd at Gitane. Lots of young and hip folks(myself excluded)but, a much more intimate feel and not nearly as noisy!!</i>

FWIW, we tried to get a reservation at NOPA a couple of Friday night's ago, and the only thing they had was 10:45 p.m. Since I'm usually headed for bed at that hour, it seemed a little late for dinner!

I didn't think NOPA was that great. In these tough economic times, Quince may have to wait for a few years before we return.

I still like Aziza
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...sn=001&sc=1000
and the new Clementine

Stu Dudley

I really do like Quince and was so-so on NOPA. But, I was trying to give Bill an idea of Gitane vs other SF places I think he might have been.

if you are into the mediterranean/eastern cuisine, try saha in the hotel carlton lobby on sutter st.
it is small, cozy and describe themselves as serving arabic fusion cuisine.
i could live on their chicken bistilla.

Thanks Pam! We're gonna try it.