Marina Restaurants
A16
2355 Chestnut Street in the Marina
San Francisco
Tel: 415 771 2216
Overall: Good for a late night low key date restaurant if you like wine, pizza and meaty bits.
Izzy's Steak House 3349 Steiner
"This is it! Nirvana for a steak lover on a budget." Stu Smith
New Yorker's Buffalo Wings 2499 Lombard
"But by far the greatest option is the Dog Deal. For $3.25, you get a wiener that's about the size of a Dirk Diggler, a soda, and your choice of fries or chips." Edward Champion
Plutos, 3258 Scott
Soups and sarnies. Hip and healthy.
Baker Street Bistro
2953 Baker
Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
Phone: (415) 931-1475
Gosh, how can you go wrong with a daily Prix Fixe dinner menu under $15? The Baker Street Bistro is a steal, and serves some great French Bistro food at the same time. Tucked away down a residential street in Cow Hollow/Presidio Heights, it's popular with locals and probably unknown to most tourists. It's decidedly not trendy, and a good date restaurant. By that I mean, it's reliable, it's intimate, and it's not a scene. The restaurant is little, and the tables are piled on top of each other which I love. Cosy. Tables also spill out onto the sidewalk which is pleasant on rare warm evenings though I'm not sure I've ever actually seen anyone eat out there in the evening. The service IS slow but unless the restaurant is totally crappy this is not something I care about. Most Americans do though, so go forewarned.
On my most recent visit, I tucked into the endive salad for my appetizer. Quite tasty, the endive was presented as a lattice of leaves with (too large) chunks of blue cheese and candied walnuts in between. Then I had the daily special of fish, seared tilapia (a flat white fish) quivering on a bed of mashed potatoes, asparagus spears and ratatouille. Other good bets on the menu are the Sonoma rabbit, the filet mignon, and the escargots.
There's a decent selection of French and Californian wines by the glass for under $7.
Always make a reservation or you could end up shivering outside in the cold with a glass of wine for quite some time. Which doesn't sound so bad but gets old quickly!