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Zuni Cafe (California cuisine)  $$$$

 9
JaT Rating

1658 Market St, San Francisco, 94102  (Directions)


415.552.2522


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California Mediterranean mix of slow cooked meals, oyster bar, fine foods


Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 12/29/2006
Rating: 9
My photo gallery 		Zuni Cafe is consider one of the big heavyweights on the restaurant circuit and I've been wanting to visit for years. Reservations are recommended although they accept walk-ins if you're willing to endure 1-2 hour wait. Their bar is stocked with plenty of top shelf liquors and I hear their oysters are wonderful, so waiting might not be a bad idea. Parking is hellish as I circled around the 1 way streets for 25 mins. I finally took up residence in a parking spot with a missing meter. Zuni offers valet parking but don't have the heart to park my 4k beater.

I called the day before and secured a late lunch for 2. I knew ahead of time what I was going to order and my friend trusted me with ordering. If you only have one chance to visit, the most famous thing on the menu is the Roasted Chicken bread salad. It's expensive at $39 but the real eye opener is the 1 hour wait time for it to cook. Sure they bring out this fantastic tuscan bread (image 6) with unsalted butter but there's no way I can for 1 hour watching everyone else eat while munching on slices of bread. I had to do what any hungry individual would do, order an appetizer and another course.

Shoestring fries (image 7) - Matchstick fries would be a more appropriate name. Awesome fries, perfectly cooked and so tiny! Not out to offend the chefs, but the fries tasted like mini-crispy in-n-out fries without the excessive grease. Difficult to eat in a nice restaurant because you have to eat in small bunches and not make a slob of yourself. Heck, if I was eating this at home, I'd be grabbing handfuls and stuffing it down my throat making a mess on the floor. You have to try it to believe me.

Hamburger with Mountain Gorgonzola (image 8, 9, 10) - I am a burger buff and hearing so many praises of this being the best burger, I had to try it. Definitely not your burger stand type but, more on the gourmet side. House ground beef on focaccia bread with fancy red onions and pickles. I had my doubts about the focaccia bread but it worked well with these toppings. Meat cooked medium and juicy beyond belief. I've had plenty of burgers and on the juicy/tasty scale, this meat ranks high, really high. Meat was light on seasoning and had crumbly texture. Mixed with salty Gorgonzola and it's aromatic vapors, you achieve a heavenly flavor. This burger is excellent but, I wouldn't call it the best burger I've had. I know this burger is an entirely different style of burger but my heart belongs to the likes of Darlas, Mo's, Val's. Would I drive back up to the city, endure the parking, make a reservation, and order another burger, hell yeah.

Roasted Chicken bread salad (image 11, 12) - The chicken is cooked in this wood fire brick oven. Served in a shallow bowl with greens and bread. Yeah the salad is descent but the real star is the whole roasted chicken. I'm sure they do a crazy salting ritual, hiding of herbs under the skin, and special wood because I honestly have never had chicken like this before. The smokey flavor penetrates the meat and there's no visible heavy seasonings on the roasted skin. Whatever they did to the chicken, it was fantastic, literally the best roasted chicken I've had...ever.

Was the wait worth it? If it wasn't for the fries and burger, I don't think could have made it. 1 hour is one hell of a wait time while you're starving. $39 is outrageously expensive for 1 whole chicken but I'd say it's completely worth it until you find me another place that makes chicken better.

Overall the service was a bit of a rollercoaster. The host promptly greeted us when we walked in and made sure we were notified when our table was available. We sat about 10 minutes too long for menus and waters to arrive. Our waitress (omg, she's a beauty), picked up the pace and provided flawless service after the slow menu/water thing.

The food, service, the atmosphere, I definitely want to come back. The menu changes daily but I've attached the standard items menu. The total lunch bill was $60 for food, $40 for drinks, $30 for tip. Zuni Cafe lives up to the hype and surpasses all my expectations. I want to say the rating is somewhere between 9 and 9.5 but will round down to 9 because of the parking situation. Other than that, It's the real deal and should be a on your things to do while in San Francisco.
 
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