Tonight I had friends visiting from out from France and I decided what better place to go than Zuni for dinner?

Zuni is my favorite restaurant in town, and though some fussy Michelin never pull out the star, to me the star is shining constantly above Zuni!

First I like the ambiance, it’s always a pleasure to have a drink at the bar and have competent bartender who know what a cocktail is! It’s becoming more and more difficult to find a good bartender in San Francisco.

The service is always outstanding. I would highly recommend for you to make a reservation because it is full all the time. When you make your reservation please ask to have Ruben as your waiter, you won’t be disappointed! He will make you feel like you his only customer. He takes his job to another level of service and that’s impressive to me.

If I come to Zuni is, of course, for the food. This is to me Californian cuisine at his best, no fuss, no super fancy plate, just extremely fresh, perfectly prepared and succulent food. Salads, soups, meat, chicken, fish, oysters, everything is great, lunch and dinner! I have been to Zuni about 30 times now and still enjoy everything. The consistency in this restaurant is what gets my respect, as well as the way they treat their ingredients.

The only thing I will have to say against Zuni: The oysters are always excellent but very often I can find bits of shell in them. But hey no one is 100% perfect and this is their imperfection.

As always when I go to dinner there, I always start by a few oysters. They are amazing and you have a huge list to choose from. My favorite, the Beau soleil and the Miyagi.

Then I always favor a soup, split it if you not that hungry, but their soups are always excellent. Tonight, Fennel and Turnip soup.

One of my guest went for the calamari. They are good but I am more into what’s seasonal. Try the caesar salad it’s the best in town!

I ordered the spaghetti with nettles. It was so good. The pasta cooked perfectly al dente, the nettles gently welted by the heat, fresh, simple, perfect!

Then of course, we shared the famous Zuni roasted chicken. You have to be aware that the chicken is cooked to order and it will take about 1 hour for them to cook it. If you have never had Zuni’s chicken, then you must make a reservation today. This is as good as it gets! Served with a salad of loose green leaf, bread, raisin and pine nuts tossed in a perfect vinaigrette. It’s superb!

Summary: I went in for a quick dinner with a couple friends. The food is as good as always, the service excellent. Zuni is one of the solid pillar of Californian Cuisine and a must! Bill for 2: $105 (tip not included)