New Year’s Eve is handily on a Friday this year, and practically every restaurant in town will be open, serving a prix-fixe menu at two seatings. If you have a favorite place to dine at, call and see what they’re doing! But in case you need some fresh ideas, here are some that sounded like winners to me.
~LA CICCIA~ is hosting one of their family-style dinners, with multiple courses, including roasted whole Monterey calamari, and of course some Sardinian fregola, plus side dishes, and dessert. 7:30pm, $130 for food and wine (tax and gratuity not included). 415-550-8114.
If my writeup of ~ACQUERELLO~ got you all fired up last week, they’re hosting a special chef’s tasting menu. Two words: lobster lasagna. $250 per person for food and wine, excluding tax and gratuity (or $200 excluding the wines, tax, and gratuity). 415-567-5432.
PIPERADE is so delicious, and I thought their New Year’s Eve menu was no exception: $100 for a three-course prix-fixe menu (plus amuse bouche and glass of Champagne) with entrée choice of seared filet of duck with chanterelles, cipollini, and quince; filet of beef Rossini with gascon fries and truffle sauce; bluenose sea bass with Brussels sprouts, bacon, and brown butter froth; or roasted chicken with parsnips, red pepper dumplings, and chorizo jus. 415-391-2555.
A place that is built for celebrating is ~JARDINIÈRE~. There will be a five-course menu at 5:30pm until 7:30pm ($125, not including beverages, tax, and gratuity); and then a six-course menu at 8:30pm until 10:30pm (includes party favors and a Champagne toast at midnight, $175 per person, not including beverages, tax, or gratuity). There will be live music from 8pm-1am from the Terry Disley Experience, performing Latin jazz and samba. (The J Lounge will also be open for guests who want cocktails or Champagne, and items on the Lounge menu.)
Of course ~FOREIGN CINEMA~ is doing it up with a theme. This year is Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band at Foreign Cinema, with guests encouraged to dress up in 1964 English bohemia (the film for the evening will be a surprise). The menu will include four courses. The first seating ($85) begins at 5:30pm, and the second seating ($100), which includes a Champagne toast, begins at 8:30pm. $15 children’s menu; $50 for wine pairings; all prices exclude beverages, tax, or gratuity. 415-648-7600.
Maybe you don’t want to make a big deal out of your night, but still want to have some delicious food and cocktails. ~COCO500~ is offering a four-course menu, with two choices per course (vegetarian and vegan options are available), for $75. A beverage/wine pairing option will be available for an additional $35, with some very unique selections from both the cellar and the bar. 415-543-2222.
Kudos to ~NAMU~ for serving a five-course menu for only $40! Japanese New Year’s Eve involves eating specific foods to symbolize joy, health, and energy for the coming year; drinking sake (duh); and the ringing of a bell 108 times to flush away the previous year’s 108 sins (no more, no less!). There will be oysters, dashi-braised daikon and oxtail, crab noodles, and more. (Candida, vegetarian, and gluten-free options are available with advance notice.) Reserve your table for the special menu via 415-386-8332 or on OpenTable.
Another budget-friendly option is at the cozy ~PICCINO~: for $55, you get a four-course menu which will feature a surprise pizzetta, their version of San Francisco’s classic cioppino, a seasonal winter salad, dessert, and Blue Bottle Coffee. In addition, they’ll be sourcing a few special bottles of wine. You can make reservations for two seatings: 5:30pm and 8pm. 415-824-4224.
~COMSTOCK SALOON~ is offering a three-course dinner for $45, which includes prime rib! Wine and cocktail pairings are an additional $25. 415-617-0071.
And ~CONTIGO~ is doing a $50 six-course dinner, with dishes like Manchego churros, jamón with persimmons, fried artichokes with harissa aioli, oxtail canelons in housemade nettle pasta, and roasted suckling pig. Wine pairing will be $25. 415-285-0250.
Photo: © tablehopper.com.
Event Info
Friday Dec 31, 2010
