Gigi's Sotto Mare Seafood Restaurant to Tupelo Bar on a Saturday Night

Sotto Mare

552 Green Street

San Francisco, Ca 94133

www.sottomaresf.com

North Beach... the little Italy of San Francisco sitting between Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf is fully loaded with restaurants, bars, locals, and tourists.  With so many establishments within such close proximity you can always expect a good crowd and a good time almost anywhere you go.  You want to dine, you got plenty of options. You want to grab a slice of pizza, you got Golden Boy and North Beach Pizza.  You want authentic Italian, you got it.  You want the new Italian, you got it.  Bored at one bar, just walk right on over to the next one.  One thing I don't recommend is driving there for dinner on a friday or saturday night unless you are ready to miss your reservation or if you absolutely must.  If you do drive, go an hour early... you'll thank me later.

This past Saturday we came to North Beach for Gigi's Sotto Mare Seafood Restaurant.   Stepping in is almost like walking into a time machine... The smell, the colors, the decor, the staff, the music takes you back. To your right you'll see a wall full of pictures highlighting the past of North Beach and decorative pieces you would consider tacky if you were to find them at any of the new restaurants... but somehow it works perfectly here giving it authenticity.  To your left you see bar top dining like that of an old diner with the open kitchen on the other side also heavily armed with old decor.  The aromas from the kitchen fills every crevice possible with a little bit of Italy.  Their music, all 80's classics... and if you are lucky, you'll get to witness the entire restaurant, patrons and employees alike, singing and dancing.  If you didn't know better you'd think you were caught in the middle of a flash mob.  If you are a 70's or 80's baby, there's a huge chance we can all catch you singing along with the mob.  Don't believe me?  All you have to do is just give them a visit.

For the history of the cioppino:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cioppino

Dishes at Sotto Mare are as unpretentious as their entire restaurant suggests.  They are popular for their cioppino.  A good cioppino is a must when in SF.  Both locals and visitors alike should at least have it once.  The recipe of a cioppino holds as much history as North Beach itself since SF is where it originated when the first Italians settled here.  A good cioppino must first and foremost start off with fresh seafood and that is exactly what they offer here at Sotto Mare.  In your cioppino here, you can expect to find shrimp, dungeness crab, mussels, clams, calamari, fish, and pasta all in a delicious tomato broth.  The freshness of the seafood beautifully enhances the flavors of their robust broth without losing its spotlight.  I guarantee you're appetite will go wild as the aroma of the combination of spices hit your nose. 

Seafood Risotto enlarged for detail. I can almost smell it just looking at it.

http://instagram.com/ichompsf

Other things that are a must here are their Clam/Oyster shooters and seafood risotto.  I love how their shooters are simple, traditional, and down right perfect.  Call those shooters old fashioned but I don't see shooters too often these days like the ones I grew up having... simple combination of oyster/clam, tomato cocktail, vodka, lemon juice, and a little kick with fresh horseradish.  Their risotto... freshness of the seafood infuses into the rice along with the spices packing each bite full of flavor.  It wouldn't be a surprise if you were to find yourself replacing the job of the dishwasher because this place will leaving you cleaning off your dishes down to that very last piece of bread.  

http://instagram.com/ichompsf

Where to go after dinner?  You're in North beach.  You can go anywhere.  There is no shortage of life around this part of town before 2am.  On this particular night we walked around the block to Tupelo where we found ourselves delving into some live music amidst a plenty of dancing feet.  No cover, awesome band, fun crowd, and a couple of drinks was the perfect treat after a wonderful dinner with friends.  I grew up in this neighborhood so memories swell up each and every time I'm here.   

FYI: Just 2 blocks away, Saints Peter and Paul church makes for great photography regardless if you're religious or atheist.  Next time you are in North Beach let us know about your experience!