After our blissful few days enjoying wine tastings in the Sonoma wine country, my wife Jun and I headed down to San Francisco for spend a few days. It’s been a while since we last visited the city which seems to have changed so much during the pandemic era, not always for the positive reasons. I always had fond memories of the culinary experience in the city, however, and was looking forward to checking out a few places we hadn’t visited before. One of them where we met Jun’s long-time friend who moved to the Bay Area a few years ago (and her newly married husband) was Octavia from chef Melissa Perello. After closing during the height of the pandemic, the restaurant re-opened in 2021, and had emerged as a reliable dining destination in San Francisco. We were somewhat distracted during the meal while catching up with Jun’s friend and getting to know her husband, but the dinner at Octavia was overall solid.    

My favorite part of the meal at the restaurant was in the starter dishes. The trio of beef carpaccio (with bluefin tonnato sauce and watercress), demi-sec beets (accompanied by horseradish in green garlic salsa verde) and cabbages (with black masa miso and root vegetable crumble) were all stand-out dishes that made me realize that Octavia is not just another California restaurant and the kitchen is quite skilled at elevating simple dishes to make them extra special. If you are in need of a pasta fix, you would be quite satisfied with agnolotti with roasted pork jus and sunchokes.

The main dishes were slightly mixed. While the black cod with caramelized cauliflower was capably cooked, the pork loin with rutabaga was a bit of a head-scratcher because the texture of the meat was uneven. On the other hand, we also enjoyed the chicken breast and sausage along with celeriac puree and Brussels sprouts, another above average dish that you probably had encountered in other places before but nevertheless would’ve still enjoyed at Octavia. I do recommend getting one or two desserts before finishing up the meal at the restaurant, especially considering how much Jun enjoyed the two dishes we split together, chocolate semifreddo with peanut butter whipped ganache and tiramisu with ladyfingers.

Octavia is a fairly popular restaurant (the dining room was full in the course of our meal and we continued to see diners coming in at 9 p.m. and beyond), so I would suggest booking reservations in advance. The restaurant has a broad wine list with selections not just from California but from many places in Europe, particularly Italy and France. The cozy and inviting neighborhood restaurant vibe is an added plus, although the noise can get slightly overwhelming during peak hours. Octavia is one of those places that quite aptly represents the ethos of California cuisine; its focus on seasonality and fresh ingredients demonstrates why the state has long been considered one of the best culinary destinations in America. I encourage you to visit the restaurant with a group larger than two and try to order as many dishes from the menu as possible to fully enjoy the meal at Octavia.

Address: 1701 Octavia Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

KenScale: 8.0/10 (Jun’s Score: 8.0/10)

Website: https://www.octavia-sf.com/

Reservation via OpenTable