A group of four of us tried Emma's on Mason above North Point on Saturday night, and really enjoyed it. Emma's is located in the Hotel San Remo at the base of North Beach where it bangs into the Tourist Zone. It is a lovely old SF place, with tile floors, hammered tin wainscotting and an immense carved bar. The walls are brightly painted, and hung with contemporary art, a contrast that works with the traditional surroundings. We arrived early to have a drink in the bar. The bartender was swamped with a large private party in the back (they didn't get him help in this, the New Day of the Cocktail?). When we got our drinks, with apologies from the bartender, they were very generously poured. The tables in the dining room are well-spaced, and there's lots of fabric on the large windows to absorb the noise. Just beyond the entrance to the dining room sits a table filled with antipasti. The menu is very Italian in format, if not always theme. The assorted antipasti can be ordered in three sizes, and the pasta can be orderd as a primi or a secondi. When the kitchen got backed up because of the large party, our server brought us over a plate to share. The combination included a smoky lentil salad, garbanzo beans flavored with prosciutto, roasted peppers, fresh mozzarella, slices of a nicely cured salami, and a great faro salad. We ordered a few oysters on the half shell, the Kumimoto were tiny and incredibly crisp and delicious, and the Yakima Bays were also tasty (oysters $1.75 each). We also ordered the tuna poke out of curiousity, because it was so different from the rest of the menu. It was served in a martini glass, a generous portion of diced ahi with rice wine and sesame-marinated cucumbers in the same tiny dice. It was delicious. Our entrees: I had the grey cod in preserved lemos, tomato and olives. There were no olives to be found, but the sauce was flavorful and the cod was as tender as Chilean sea bass. Two at the table had the spice- encrusted roasted salmon with roasted beets. The salmon was flavorful and crisp on the outside and medium-rare on the inside. The fourth at our table ordered a dish served on mixed wild mushrooms that was delicious, but I can't remember the protein component. A plate of contorni arrived with the entrees -- tasty sauteed red chard and plain lightly mashed potatoes with their skins. We had a good pinot noir with dinner, but in all the conversation I forgot to look at the label. We passed on dessert, but enjoyed a round of espresso and some after- dinner drinks. We thorughly enojoyed the food, the service and the surroundings. While the resturant was very busy, it remained intimate, never loud or chaotic. Dinner for four came to $170 with wine, tax and tip.
San Francisco, CA