Fior d'Italia

My wife and I wanted a nice place to celebrate our San Fransisco sojourn and though she is gluten intolerant and white flour causes me issues, we checked out their menu beforehand and saw we still had some very promising choices. I chose the Osso Buco and she the striploin. Both meals were absolutely delicious and our waiter was attentive but not overbearing. We did make a slight flub ordering the $150 Brunello Montalcino wine as our splurge having the hopes it would match the one we had in Italy, but the $50 or $60 Chianti wine listed would have been just as good. But whatever, it was our choice. The food was great, the atmosphere was sublime rich and the experience was very appreciated .

Was here for a big group dinner. The good: The burrata salad and the ossobuco was all right. The bad: 1. The waiter we had was obnoxious and not good! We have one person with gluten free allergy (celiac!) and when the waiter brought out the entree, he did not remember which one was gluten free. Not only did the waiter not remember who ordered what, but he also did not remember which was the gluten free dish out of the 5 pasta dish! 2. The waiter also pushed us to drink the wine and sparkling water instead of bringing us water! There were not enough cups at the table and it took forever to get tap water. Our water was also never filled and instead the waiter kept bringing more sparkling water. I suspect this is because this is a work dinner so he knew that we would just pay whatever the bill is, and wanted more tips (but also didn’t even pay attention to the person with allergy?) 3. The desserts were SO BAD! They had did dish called Bacche Alla crema (cream and berries) and a version poached pear in cream and it was literally fresh fruit in heavy cream. Like watery heavy cream! 4. The restaurant smells faintly of mildew/trash smell. I don’t know if this is a function of their carpet/ building being old but it was not a pleasant smell. The waiter kept going on about the history of the place, but the basic service quality and food quality were just not there. Go here for the “character” and the Instagram pics- don’t go here for service and food.

Great food and service. Linen tablecloths and napkins. Gluten free options. Live pianist. Good value.