Perbacco, San Francisco CA

Experienced racism from servers
- only requiring to order without checking
- already opened bottle of spring water provided
- asked to warm bread but ignored
- already ordered but several different servers checking again
- food looks just warmed from ready made
- even food is left, server took dish without asking

Good food and crowded, lively atmosphere even for a nearly weeknight dinner. While Perbacco features pasta, we had the duck and halibut, which were both excellent. Service is friendly but a bit over-extended due to the packed crowd, they omitted items and were slow. But if you're not in a hurry it's a good site. Valet parking is back, despite its webset saying it is not.

Barely tasted or smelled the Alba truffles on our dishes and the dishes themselves were forgettable. The atmosphere was also a bit sterile. Aside from not tasting any truffles at all, the waitress never offered help, suggestions or a sommelier to help with our wine selection. She just let me choose the wine. I think because we were having so much fun as couples at the table, it didn't even occur to me to ask for the sommelier. I was completely distracted. After we started to eat, I realized I chose the wrong wine as it did not add, but detracted from the meal. I feel at this type of fine dining, you are there to be guided a bit through the experience. Thinking back, I would have liked the waitress to offer wine selection help, especially when our meals were at the price point they were at as a good wine pairing elevates and adds so much to the food being served. Perhaps this was why we didn't taste any truffles on our dishes. (They definitely gave us the right amount, brought out scales, etc.so the quantity of truffle was not the issue.) Aside from the selection, the wine took forever to arrive to our table and arrived lukewarm (white wine). On the flip side, the salads were really fresh and our before dinner nibbles were tasty (egg in particular). If it were a less expensive meal, would've given 4 stars. But at this price point, I expected more from the wine service.

Amazing food, cozy place and bad customer atention.
The ragu parpadelle was amazing. The negative part is the customer atention. At the phone they told me that I could bring my onw bottle of wine with a charge of 35$ the first bottle and 15 for the second one. For our surprise when the bill arrived they charged 35 per bottle, they told me that I miss understood the information and didn’t assume their mistake. This is not true, because the first thing I did when they sat us at the table was to confirm the price of each uncork.

Amazing services & Italian approved authentic house made hand cut pastas. We happened to be dining during their Festa dei Tarfuto (white truffles festival) with a special menu. Absolutely well worth the splurge. Fresh truffles shaved at table side. The aroma is just intoxicating. I highly recommended the Tajarin with freshly shaved truffles. Something about the most simple ingredients show case their qualities! The bar is legit too. One of the best Vespers I have had.

We wandered here on a Wednesday night with no reservation. The restaurant definitely came off as upscale and cozy. However, we didn’t get any weird looks despite our super casual attire. Anyway, let’s get to the food!

Appetizers: We ordered the terrina and the piastra roasted octopus. The terrina had a different texture than expected. We thought it would be spreadable like pate. The octopus was good but wish there were more. Definitely not your value option here haha.

Mains: We ordered the tortelli con fegato d’anatra and the rigatonicini neri. The tortelli was easily the best we’ve had. Each one was filled with rich tasting pate. The rigatonicini paled in comparison. The pasta itself tasted bland despite being covered in squid ink. Maybe it’s the wheat used? That’s all I got from it but I did tasted the herbs and sauce. Highly recommend the tortellini though!

Desserts: There’s always room for desserts, right? We each got our own desserts: wildflower honey panna cotta and the pear crumble. Both were delicious. I don’t see it in their menu anymore. Hopefully they were replaced with equally tasting selections.

Drink: We’re both lightweights so we shared the parklet. We picked this because we have a thing for egg white in cocktails. The other selections look great as well so choose what looks best!

It’s hard to knock this restaurant down a star since we all have different tastes. Sometimes we order things that may not meet our expectations but we’re here to explore and try new things. The quality of food and service was consistent, and the atmosphere was great. I can comfortably and confidently say this is a 5 out of 5.

Wow. We are frequent SF diners and are rarely motivated to actually write a review, but Denise really did it for us. We loved the restaurant's atmosphere, and we thought the food was delicious, bit it was the SERVICE that will put Perbacco directly onto our personal short list of standout restaurants. She took the time to describe each of the signature dishes, as well as highlighting her own favorites. The wine she suggested and profiled (4 different glasses total) were absolutely perfect for my Roasted Octopus, my husband's Vitello Tonnato, the Short Rib Langaroli, and of course, the famous Papardelle. She didn't miss a beat, even as we observed how busy she became in a short ten-minute span as tables filled up quickly around us. To top it off, she must have overheard us talking about our Anniversary (because we hadn't mentioned it to either her or the host) and brought out a wonderful surprise of house-made hazelnut cookies with the message "Happy Anniversary" written in chocolate! There is a 100% chance we will be returning.and hopefully seeing Denise again! Thank you Perbacco for making our evening a true experience.

Amazing! Our server was Alessio and he was absolutely incredible. His wine recommendations were superb and his service was just wonderful. The food is SO GOOD. Will be coming back and hoping for Alessio to be our server!

My friends took me there for my bday. Such a nice experience, food is super delicious, their homemade pasta is very delicious and perfectly cooked. Our Waiter (I forgot his name, my apologies) was super nice and polite, knowledgeable and always there. Highly recommend this place

Very good Italian restaurant in downtown SF. The pasta is a must-try, and we particularly enjoyed the pappardelle and agnolotti. Also ordered appetizers and dessert, but they didn’t shine through as much. I’d still order the fried veggies to start!

Unfriendly service, wait despite reservation, 80% of the dishes not typically Italian, unclean toilets and stink very badly, but food quiet ok

We called the place and asked if we can walk-in. They told us to come over. As we reached the place they said they there is nothing available indoors for the entire night but their website was showing availability after 30 mins. Very disappointing. We have been to this place multiple times and always had good experience but won’t be going there after this.

Outstanding food. The burrata appetizer was very good. The pastas were delicious. Good service. Panna Cotta dessert was excellent. The pistachio mousse dessert was ok. Not spectacular. That was the only slight disappointment otherwise I strongly recommend this place.

Modern take on Italian. Great pasta dishes and fried shishito peppers. Strawberry shortcake dessert was super flavorful. Very good.

Dropped by without reservation, yet they generously found me a spot at the bar. Bartenders Tony and Quentin took great care of me. Great food and wine recommendations! Wonderful hospitality. Can’t wait to return.

Went for SF restaurant week. I had a carrot soup with crème and honey which was tasty, feeling all three ingredients was special. For the main dish I had wide pasta with slow cooked short rib which was unexpectedly bland, I was at the bar and the server was super friendly and helpful and gave me some Parmesan that enhanced the flavors, for desert had blue berries, huckleberry and ice cream and it was a delight too! Amazing service although I wish I had gone for the roasted pork loin for the main dish instead.

Eating at Perbacco feels as if one is dining in Italy! The pesto pasta, grilled octopus, market salad, and chicken were prepared and cooked perfectly. Dessert was their burnt-caramel gelato and merengue, both heavenly. Service was impeccable. I cannot wait to return with my family!

Their Octopus from the appetizer menu is incredible. I came here for lunch, wasn't hungry at all, just wanted some tasty food. It was exquisite. And the wine list is quite long

We started off with the Prupisceddu in Umidu (octopus stew) as I was told by many it was simply amazing. It stood up to my expectations 100%. The octopus was tender and the sauce was a nice deep dark red tomato spicy sauce with tons of flavor. I dipped my bread into it and I couldn't stop eating it. I would have probably drank it if I could! Delish!

The next course was Spaghittusu cun Allu Ollu e Bottariga. This dish was also done to perfection. The pasta was done al dente with just the right amount of sauce and egg roe. The portion was a decent amount for two to share.

Antipasti and drinks was enough to satiate! Possibly best octopus I’ve ever eaten. Cocktails are to die for.
Meghan at the bar was a literal angel.
Will definitely be coming back.