Amarena

Not as good as it used to be. $ 70 for a cucumber salad ($ 9 with three pieces of cucumber and two tomatoes) two pastas and only one glass of wine. Not a good value. Too bad since it’s such a cute place.

I picked this spot for my birthday dinner on a recommendation from a co-​worker. It was also conveniently close to my friend’s house where we were having a pre-​dinner bottle of champagne.
We had 7pm reservations — but called at 6:30 to see if we could push it out to7:30 — no problem at all they said.
We got there and there were very few tables occupied. We sat in the main room and ordered some wine (the next day my husband said — «the food was cheap/​reasonable — it was the wine that was expensive.» (now it was my birthday so I don’t know the final bill)
We ordered a lot of food. The charcuterie platter — LOVED the fried bread it came with. ALSO we had the lasagna, the veal chop and the parpadelle. The veal chop was nice and crispy. and the lasagna had lots of flavor and very delicate homemade noodles. We also asked if we could get ½ order if the gnocchi, our waitress said no, then came back and said the kitchen would do it.
the service was just a little weird, I am not sure if she was new, or just confused, but she didn’t know much about anything when we asked questions.

Service the first time I went here was decent. Second time I went here the waitress was very rude to me and my friend and also said all the tables were reserved however a guy by himself came in right after us and got a table.
Every pasta from here is super yummy so I will be coming back again but they need some new waitresses.

This place is incredible! Amazing food, great atmosphere, and friendly staff! This is my go-​to dinner spot in SF.

Some of the dishes were pretty good and some fell flat. Ambiance okay as well. At the price point I won’t be returning but had an enjoyable meal.

i loved everything about amarena. it’s an intimate restaurant in russian hill that serves up some delicious pastas and entrees. came in with a group of 6 for dinner last night via reservations on opentable. place was pretty empty so we got ALL the attention. not sure if that was warranted because as soon as the wines started flowing we got super rowdy (of course). the wine list is great — lots of delicious italian varieties to choose from.
we ordered (A LOT OF FOOD) — calamari, beef carpaccio (skip) — a slew of pastas: gnocchi with gorgonzola, gnocchi with truffle (they were very generous with the truffle), seafood linguini (a giant serving), bucatini, the pappardelle with wild boar ragu — and finished with mains — veal milanese (large portion) and osso buco on polenta (larger portion). everything was pretty freaking delicious! the pastas are for sure drool-​worthy, as was the veal. i really liked the attentive service, they kept checking on us every few minutes too make sure everyone had enough wine. would definitely come back!

Nice low key neighborhood Italian place. It seems to be slightly off the tourist path which is a pleasant surprise given its location I have been here a few times, after considering various menu items, I always end up getting the butternut squash ravioli, which is delicious. I also like the polenta and the burrata, although I wish the burrata came with bread or crostini. It consists just of tomatoes and cheese, which is a little messy and unweildy to share — everyone ends up just eating off of one plate.

Came here last night with the hub for my 30^th bday dinner. Great homey ambience, we’re from Boston (no living in SoCal) and this place reminded us so much of it!
We began with the beef carpaccio, it was soooo tender and flavorful!!!
My husband had veal — which he only ever orders at our favorite Italian place back home, so the standards were high. He loved it! Amarena’s recipe adds in sage and it has the most beautiful flavor!
I ordered the broccoli rabe and Italian sausage pasta. I only ever have it when my father feels like cooking it. How was it at Amarena? Phenomenal!!!
Absolutely delicious, it made me homesick!
This place has a fantastic wine selection, and our waitress was sweet, and had great recommendations.
For desert we had the chocolate salame, different — and tasty!
My only tip to the owner — the bathroom needs an update! Please :)
Other than that — this restaurant is amazing!!! A 100% gem!

Ordered the chicken was told it would take longer she suggested an appetizer (we no longer had the menus) she suggested one with fried bread with mortadella and prosciutto. When the bill came that little appetizer was 18.95!
She should have told us and we should have asked. New to the neighborhood we won’t go back!

First, have to say, what a FABULOUS location, wonderful façade on the outside of the restaurant, and super adorable and cozy interior and atmosphere. We had reservations for six and they were very prompt about seating us when we arrived. They did have to put two tables together, which seemed strange since we had reservations for six and I would have thought, with a reservation, the tables would have been ready. But no big deal.
This was for my birthday and it was definitely a quiet evening. The other patrons in the restaurant seemed to be enjoying themselves and that was a good sign.
We ordered a couple bottles of wine, a couple of appetizers and our main entrees. The wines seemed reasonable in price.
However, the appetizers were so minuscule and overpriced, it was a little disheartening. We ended up having five of us show up for the dinner and we ordered the eggplant, the calamari, and the salmon tartare. The eggplant was literally three small bites or so. I had a teensy little piece to be able to share with everyone. I didn’t have any of the calamari (due to it also having shrimp and I am allergic to shrimp — probably should have said it contained shrimp in it on the menu), and the salmon tartare, once again was such a small portion, I ate two corn kernel size bites to ensure others could try it. It was very disappointing. The tartare was completely bland with very little flavor. If it had not been for the arugula to give it a little zing, it would have tasted like air.
The eggplant marinara sauce had great flavor other than at the end, you got a note of it being a little burnt, meaning the simmer was too high.
For dinner I ordered the lamb chops. I ordered them medium rare and received medium well, dry, bland teeny (3) little bite sized «coin» style drenched medallions. The mash that they came with, I picked up in one scoop with my fork and they retained the round scooper shape when I did it. I had a couple of what looked like tempura battered veggie sticks on the plate. DEFINITELY an overpriced dish.
My friend ordered the Spaghetti Vongolese and we decided to share each others dinner. She had some of my lamb and I took a few spoonfuls of the spaghetti. Again, the spaghetti was super dry and bland. I actually took a spoonful of olive oil and some pepper flakes and made it have some flavor.
Everyone else’s dishes looked delightful (Gnochhi w/​truffle, Short ribs, and Veal Scallopini) were the other dishes. They all seemed very happy with their choices.
Service was very good and attentive and the server did a great job of taking care of us, even though my water remained empty the entire dinner, after I had drank all of it the first time.
I don’t think I will go back to this restaurant. However, I harbor no ill feelings on the matter. Just not as goos as some other Italian restaurants in the area.

I mean, can it get any better!!!
I brought my honey here for a date night and I am so glad he enjoyed it as much as I did.
I first learned of this amazing place when my girlfriend’s parent took me for an early NYE dinner. The whole time I was there, I was thinking «I have to bring my babe here bc he loves Italian.» I had their Wild Boar pasta dish and it was AMAZING! The sauce was magnificent!
The second time around, I had their Seafood Linguine. Loads of clams and mussels and a few pieces of jumbo prawns to fill me up! And the sauce… THE SAUCE! It was so freaking delicious I took the rest of the bread we had left to soak it all up! The boyfriend called me a Piglet in the process. What can I say? I LOVE FOOD!
My honey babe boyfriend had a tube pasta dish with some kinda cured meat (maybe?) and that was just as amazing as mine. I will definitely try that on my next visit.
We had a wonderful time over perfected cuisine. The service was just as amazing; very attentive.
**salivating as I’m writing this review…*slurp
Thank you, Amarena!

Excellent service, fantastic food! Loved the homemade pasta and ravioli. Perfect for groups!

Butternut squash ravioli is amazing here. Must try. Staff was very polite, bread served was very soft and fresh

Pretty cute neighborhood spot. Food was yummy and probably on the 4 star scale (not 5, best meal of your life but solid home made pastas). I had the salmon which was great and shared a pasta. The best was the pasta with Italian sausage.
Why 3 stars?
Went as a group of 7 and tip was included. $ 63.10 on a $ 291.01 bill. Yep, 21.6%. Nothing wrong with the service, but come on, that is steep. 18% is what I would expect, 20% I would understand given the group, but going above that merits a dock in a star in my opinion.
General feedback, the plates are thrown in the bin during clean up with no care causing it to be VERY loud from simplely plates banging around. Could be a cute, quiet neighborhood spot, but you find yourself trying to talk over the cleanup. Think they could take their time removing plates, and maybe move clean bin back to kitchen so not as loud in the eating area.

Solid Italian restaurant in Russian Hill. It was a beautiful afternoon, so the hostess set up some tables outside, and we were able to enjoy the sunset with our meal. Great service!
The beet salad and lasagne were both delicious, along with the burrata. Although it’s hard to mess up burrata… this one was paired with perfect heirloom tomatoes.
They make all of their pasta in house — it makes a difference!

Came with a party of six on a Saturday night with reservations. It is a small corner restaurant with valet parking since the parking in this area is super hard. Once we entered we got greeted and seated right away. The owner/​manager was really friendly but a bit hard to understand with his strong accent.
Forgot the name of the red wine we had but it was very light and had a mild after taste which was awesome for my likings — and that says a lot because I don’t like to drink lol.
We started off with two appetizers:
–Beef carpaccio: very delicious especially with the arugula and cheese toppings. The beef was a bit hard to tear apart when we were trying to grab our own pieces but I was a big fan of this dish.
–salmon: can’t seem to find the name of the dish, but it was like a salmon poke dish. The salmon was soft and topped with arugula which went well together as well. Not bad but nothing spectacular.
Entrees:
–Truffle gnocchi special: this wasn’t on the menu but a special that our waiter told us about. The gnocchi was very soft but a bit bland without the truffle sauce. The sauce was made perfectly and I truly enjoyed every bite.
–Butternut squash ravioli: my favorite entrée of the evening. This was my boyfriend’s dish and I took one ravioli and immediately grabbed a few more after the first bite. The butternut squash was perfectly sweet with the cheese and filling! I will definitely order this again when I’m back.
Desserts:
–Tiramisu: didn’t try this one because I am not a fan but everyone else really liked it and the presentation. It was in a cup with pieces of tiramisu bites with a milky substance.
–Crème brûlée: this dish was okay, nothing special. Starting to realize I’m not a fan of overcooked sugar on the top of the Crème brûlée too :/​
–chocolate crêpe and vanilla ice cream: my favorite dessert of the three. The vanilla bean ice cream was very delicious and was paired with a chocolate covered crêpe. I enjoyed the ice cream more than the crêpe: p
This place has good service, good food, and not too expensive! Will definitely be back!

Really amazing. From start to finish. Perfection. Service exceptionally warm and friendly. Had a nice meal where the music wasnt blaring, all service staff was there to assist in any way and never rushed us. True european dining 1.5 hrs later our meal was complete. Nice wine by glass and bottle selections.
Food fresh, elegant yet approachable. Seasonal features. Home made delicious pasta. Desert unique and delish!
A hidden gem and must try!

Excellent, authentic little Italian restaurant in Russian Hill. Warm and intimate ambiance — high ceilings, white tablecloths neutral walls distressed to give the feel of old Italian architecture.
My entrée was spectacular. They had fresh black truffles in house and had a few menu items featuring them that night. I chose the homemade gnocchi — certainly some of the best I’ve ever had — perfectly tender and done in a rich sauce with porcini mushrooms and fresh truffle shaved on top at the table. I’m drooling a bit thinking about it right now!
Our group shared a few small plates as well including the Frittura Mista, which was nicely fried and not too heavy; porcini mushroom done with garlic, parmigiano and polenta (didn’t blow me away honestly, though the folks I was with absolutely loved it), and an eggplant dish with a tomato sauce.
The serving sizes were generous, and we packed quite a bit home.
Ultimately a great little find!

The food here is delecious and I love that they can make all their pasta gluten free!
Definitely the best gnocchi I have ever eaten before. The burata salad was really good too. The service is great, they made good recommendations and made our pasta vegetarian on request.
Will definitely go back there!

Exquisite Italian food. I can’t stress how difficult it is to find a gem like this. It’s like I stepped right back into Rome.
— Hands down best gnocchi I’ve had in years.
— The Amatriciana was perfect.
— bruschetta that I’ve been missing since Rome
Our server was sweet and funny. It was nice to speak Italian in an Italian restaurant again.
I highly recommend this place.

Outstanding Restaurant! Cozy italian Restaurant with high quality ingredients. The native italian waitress was very welcoming, friendly and competent, the service was prompt.