Italy In SF

Is Ideale the ideal restaurant?
if you are looking not only for an authentic Italian restaurant, but also a genuine one, the answer is yes, Ideale is the ideal restaurant. If you are looking not only for good food but also for a warm welcome your answer is yes – again. Even on a crowded Friday night you can have a fun conversation with the owner about food, children and whatever else.
In the heart of North Beach, where you can find tons of restaurants offering pasta with Alfredo sauce as if it were authentic Italian pasta, Ideale is a pearl of Italian cusine. Do not expect to eat sophisticated dishes but always fresh and delicious ones. And, in addition, they bake their own bread- and it is to die for!

We started with the best grilled calamari we ever had in town. We were pleasantly surprised to find in the menu grilled and not fried calamari, as usual (you can not really use frozen fish for grilled calamari). Served simply with olive oil, parsley and diced fresh tomatoes, calamari were very tasty, soft, and really, really fresh.

We ordered the evening’s special for primi, Ravioli con Granchio (ravioli filled with crab) served with a smooth tomato sauce. Delicate but not memorable. Fresh, light and real italian was our choice for secondi: Sogliola alla Mugnaia. This is a very traditional dish in the Italian cusine. The sole filet was cooked with a soft butter sauce and served with boiled and baked vegetable with capers on top: simple and sophisticated.

We finished our dinner with panna cotta with hot chocolate and strawberry puree. Pleasant but not the best dessert you can find on the menu. Sometimes we go there only to have a dessert (better late and not on weekends). You can find the best Italian profiterole in town!

Ideale
1315 Grant Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 391-4129

Filed under: Restaurants, San Francisco