My favorite restaurant that never fails to please is Trattoria Contadina, corner of Union & Mason. Was there last weekend and took 3 of my friends who are "native" SFers and had never been there. Found the place during my first trip to SF over 10 years ago and never fail to go each time I'm in the city. Great food, good wine recommendations, excellent service. Cozy.

This is next on my list of places to try. But last night, I finally went to A16 over in the Marina. Also fantastic ingredient focused Italian. I loved it's casual/rustic feel. But it still has some "high end" dining touches. They are known for the neapolitan pizzas. For me, however, the highlight was a ricotta gnocchi dish with pork meatballs and chiles. Fantastic!

Have you had lunch there yet? Curious as I'm going for dinner this week ...

Yes. I was underwhelmed, primarily because my expectations were quite high. Food was decent, as was the service. I was hoping for a "wow" moment with either my app or my main course. The noise level (this was a business lunch) was a bomb, we could hardly hear each other.

I actually like Nopa a lot more than the typical neighborhood restaurant. I would definitely travel across town to eat the little gems salad, runner beans and the pork chop. I also really like the large cocktail menu.

Has anyone seen the new (I think) Ritz-Carlton ad with a photo of Cafe Claude? Just found it in my SoCal 'Riviera' magazine. Makes me want to hop on a plane - what a great little restaurant & what a great photo - looks just like Paris.

Was there a couple of weeks ago. Food was good, wine list was good (not great) and the service was bad.

In case anyone is out in the East Bay, I had dim sum at the new Dublin outlet of Koi Palace (it's called Koi Garden) on Dublin and Tessajara (for those looking at a map, it's near the junction of Interstates 580 and 680). The quality was decent and the prices a bit steep, but short of driving all the way to Milpitas, perhaps the best dim sum option in that area.

Pres-a-vi feels like a diner to me, although the Sunday brunch is actually nice.
In the same neighborhood, I prefer the Baker Street Bistro (Baker and Lombard) and Terzo (Steiner and Union).

I had dinner there recently, and it was quite good. Very solid. After hearing glowing reports, I almost expected something transcendent, which can always be a problem. The pastas were enjoyable though, and we especially liked some of the cocktails if you are into that kind of thing. reservations can still be a bit difficult, but if you don't have them, you can order from the entire menu at the bar.

Food meets standard expectation. But the price is way too high for dim-sum. IMHO. But in the East Bay, dim-sum choices are very limited, given Tin's Garden in Walnut Creek.

Ditto; I ate at A16 a couple of weeks ago, and in addition to good food, the portions are quite large, so consider sharing dishes. Nice little cubbly hole, handy if on Geary west(if I recall correctly).

uhh...not quite...
 

A16 is in the marina, on Chestnut Street...never been, since whenever we go to the Marina we always wind up at the nouveau-Chinese Dragon Well for noodles and mongolian beef. We'll get to A16 someday I hope!

I had lunch in Danville yesterday at the Peasant and the Pear; I thought the prices were very reasonable and the food quality was quite good.

http://www.thepeasantandthepear.com/

Great place to take people if you're in the Union Square area. Off the beaten path enough to impress, especially visitors.