Quince
470 Pacific Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133
For my first meal after The French Laundry, we went to Quince to celebrate my grandmother and aunt’s birthdays on Christmas Eve. The restaurant recently re-opened after relocating to a larger space in the Financial District of San Francisco. The space is very elegant and modern, and uniquely, one of the first things you see is the kitchen from the exterior.
As it was Christmas Eve, the restaurant was offering a special 4-course menu, as shown below. I’m not really a fan of ‘special’ holiday menus – sometimes I feel like it gives the restaurant a chance to charge more for less (it does), and I usually like to try some of the dishes the restaurant is known for.
The first course began with a Maine Lobster salad.
There was a lot of lobster on the plate, which is a good thing. I thought the ratio of lobster to fruit and vegetable was rather high, though. Lobster was cooked well, however.
Second course is a fagotelli of housemade ricotta.
This was a nice pasta. The pasta was al dente and the filling smooth and creamy. Chanterelles added a nice touch. The third course was an option between goose and beef.
The goose, prepared in two ways (the breast and in a sausage):
The goose was disappointing. The meat was rather tough and had some gristle. The sausage was flavorful but rather dry. The spit roasted rib of beef was better:
For dessert was the “buche de noel,” which was actually a mousse concoction resembling a buche de noel. This was pretty good – light and not too sweet.
To finish off the meal, we were brought some mignardises.
There was a chocolate brownie, coconut gelee, and a gingerbread cake. The coconut was probably my favorite with a bright coconut flavor, followed by the chocolate brownie.
Quince was a little disappointing, largely due to the main entree (and maybe because I had a great meal the night before)). The other courses, however, were solid. The holiday menu definitely was not a great deal on this night. I probably would come back to try their regular menu, especially pasta tasting menu, as I was a fan of their pasta dish.
