Piperade

Good atmosphere; great drink selection including cocktails and wine, excellent food and good service. Service was a bit slow, but not terrible. Great place to dine with a client.

Dinner review.
Mushroom tartlet — 7×7 — ⁵⁄₅
Roasted rack of lamb — ⁵⁄₅
Braised pork cheeks — ⁴⁄₅
Gâteau basque — 7×7 — ³⁄₅
Peanut Butter chocolate rocher — ⁴⁄₅
Overall, «as good as it gets.»

Terrific food and atmosphere! Service was attentive and informed. A little pricey, but certainly in range of SF restaurant prices.

We went here as a family to celebrate Mother’s Day. Overall my biggest disappointment was the wait staff (in particular our main waiter).
I came with my child so I entered just after he brought drinks, but it would be twenty more minutes before I could get his attention long enough to order a drink for my husband or me. From here on out nothing was once assumed or offered. Everything had to be requested and begrudgingly given to us. This was extra annoying when it turned out they were out of so many things. Such as having only Diet Pepsi for soda. But rather than say that you had to go down the list of sodas first.
For the price most of the food was bland and much to small a portion for the cost. Of the things we enjoyed were the braised pork cheek. Otherwise I would not order anything again…
I don’t plan to return here.

Looking for tapas?
Want to swoon someone?
Dinner date?
Hidden in the North beach area
Ambiance: chic and modern
Service: great
What’s hot on the menu?
Twice cooked Oxtail, Napa cabbage pickled pepper
Stripped Steak Crudo
Chilled Foie Gras
Stuffed Piquillo Peppers
Dungeness Crab salad
Blue nose Seabass
Braised Duck confit
Lamb shank
Dessert
Dark Chocolate Cake
Orange blossom beignets-​i didn’t like

Came here for lunch on a Friday — we had reservations, but this place has been around for a while so it wasn’t too crowded. Ambiance is upscale and classy, but not stuffy. Good spot for a fancier date or more formal business meeting.
We had the Butter Lettuce (average), Strip Steak Crudo (very good — the fingerling potato chips were a nice touch), Stuffed Piquillo Peppers (yummy combination of flavors), Warm Sheep’s Milk + Ham Terrine (very good, though a tad salty), and the Seasonal Mushroom Tartlet (not my flavor — but I don’t like crème fraîche).
A bit pricey but I would come again for a special occasion.

Booked marked this place over a year ago mainly for their mushroom tart. finally had a chance to dine here! Took mom on Wednesday for an early birthday celebration and we had an amazing time! Mom was pleased with the entire dining experience! (my mom’s a chef and most of the time very hard to please!) You guys get an A+!
We started with the mushroom tart, which they split for us! Delicious flaky crust, mushrooms were very well seasoned! A must try! Also had their foie gras special that was served with bread, salt, pepper and a chutney. so good! I probably shouldn’t have eaten so much of it!
Next we shared the rack of lamb and the halibut. Both were cooked to PERFECTION!!! We asked for rare for the lamb and the halibut to be cook m/rare…both came out so beautifully plated and the flavors were fantastic!
DESSERT!!! Apple tart and they brought out a complimentary chocolate cake… ok YUMMY!!!
Great wine list as well!!!
Our server was so wonderful and showed us a really great time! SO happy I finally had a chance to try this place, will definitely go back!!!

We were on a lucky night, I guess? The chef and owner was the one cooking.
We ordered the warm sheep milk and ham appetizer along with the pacific calamari. The first was a little on the salty side for my taste but the calamari were perfect!
As entrees, we both ordered rack of lamb and were very pleased with the cooking and flavoring: it tasted deliciously fresh and didn’t have that «goaty» smell /​after taste. Definitely had a unique citrusy flavor without comprising the texture.
We also had several desserts:
— bignets, which to my disappointment had no filling (never heard of that before)
— a typical gâteau cake, which had again orangey-​floral aroma (delicious!)
— a typical well executed chocolate cake.
The service was outstanding (one of the waiter also escorted us to our cab, because it was dark and were two women) and I felt overall the price points reflected the quality and preparation time required for the food.
All flavors were subtle and unique, so if you are looking for the Barbeque ribs or greasy ribeye this is not the place.

We a splendid meal at Piperade, an elegant but comfortable Basque restaurant while on vacation in San Francisco.
The dining room was nicely laid out and the service was outstanding. We sampled a number of dishes, all excellent. Pork cheek. Garlic soup. Plum gâteau. And more.
Highly recommended, particularly for a group.

We had new coworkers from another state come over, so we came here on a recommendation. The ambience of the restaurant is classy and has a sophisticated feeling behind it.
I ordered the Roasted Rack of Lamb (don’t be fooled it’s just 2 lamb chops), Merguez, Fennel, Roasted Bread, Pecan, Cumin + Date Relish. I felt the lamb chops weren’t that great and the sausage was extremely gamy. All of this was $ 32 bucks — not worth it.
Overall, a solid 3 star restaurant. I wouldn’t really come here again as I looked at my group’s faces with no satisfaction either.

Went to Piperade with some coworkers for dinner before heading to the Exploratorium on a Thursday night. They have seating outside which we chose since it was a nice evening. I give Piperade 4 stars for ambiance!
I ordered the garlic soup with egg, bacon, and shrimp but it wasn’t what I expected. Anything with bacon and shrimp must be good?! The soup was just ok but the texture and taste seemed more like a watery egg drop soup. I was expecting something a little heavier, maybe cream based.
I had the duck confit for my main entrée and I thought the duck was a little on the over cooked side.
Overall I give Piperade a 3 star. I’m not sure if I would go there again since there are so many other dining options in the area.

Delicious food! Impeccable services. Great wine! Very cozy and chic atmosphere!

I had lunch today at Piperade. My first time dining here. I was very impressed! They had a great and extensive menu. Many different appetizers and many different entrees. We started with Stuffed Piquillo Peppers… stuff with goat cheese, pistachios and golden raisins… yum!
Another starter was the Basquaise Salad, Frisée, Serrano, Ossau-​Iraty, Green Apple, Pine Nuts, Cider Vinaigrette… yum #2.
For my entrée I had the Seared Tuna Salad, Arugula, Fingerling Potatoes, Fennel, Egg. It was delicious and just the right size.
NOW…I would like try it for dinner.
Oh, and the atmosphere is really pleasant, brick walls, wood floors, spacious.

Wonderful place, quiet and out of the huddle of SF, that has become so noisy. Nice evening meal with my 2 foodie friends. Stuffed peppers, calamari… Steak .mmmm just wonderful
. David our server was so informed of the meals offered. A wonderful bday dinner for me.
Thank you Karen & Stacy & Piperade
.

Good San Francisco classic. It has fallen a bit behind in terms of name recognition, but the food here has always been good.
The cheeses and pastries here are typically very good. So if they are available on the menu, definitely get them.
They also are very good with seafood, particularly fish. One of my favorite dishes here is the Mediterranean bass, when is generally crispy on one size and moist on the other. Almost always very well executed.
Class European service here too. And they do a mean coffee, and chocolate cakes. Highly recommended local classic, without too much frills or being overpriced for what you get.

A nice, big restaurant serving Basque food in North Beach. I had a delight time with my friend here. The decoration inside is very classic and European-​style, which I would see as a nice break from hipster and trendy places I frequent mostly. Most customers were dressing up and with their colleagues/​partners from business. But I didn’t feel very uncomfortable in my casual normcore-​style clothes.
We shared 5 appetizers and 2 desserts, which was a lot for 2 girls. 3 dishes stand out the most — stuffed pepper with goat cheese, pistachios, and raisins, grilled calamari, and mushroom tartlet.
Stuffed pepper looks really fluffy and adorable — pink-​red pepper skin is paired with cream-​white filling, which looks more like a dessert than an appetizer. And the taste lives up to the look! The goat cheese filled my mouth with crunchy pistachio pieces and sweet raisins. Simple yet sophisticated taste and texture. Love it!
Grilled calamari is very fresh and with great texture — not too dry and over-​cooked, and not too raw and chewy. The sauce itself has a nice sour taste, and could be easily sopped up with bread.
We also tried Orange Blossom Beignets. While I think it does smell like blossom and spring, the taste is not as vibrant. And would be nice if it’s softer and more fluffy.
Overall, if you want an adventure for Spanish food in the city, this one should be on your list!

Had a delightful meal at Piperade; a Basque restaurant with both folksy charm and polished sophistication. We started with cocktails from the cocktail menu and the fried Manchego cheese with pickled vegetables. The cocktails were incredible and the cheese was quite good too.
Next, we had two appetizers — the Basque salad and the grilled calamari. They split both for us without us even asking, which was nice. The calamari was some of the best I’ve had. Very tender and the sauce was so delicious that I had to sop it up with bread.
We ordered glasses of red wine, both of which were excellent, with our dinner. The lamb chops and the swordfish. The lamb was perfectly done and the swordfish also was very tasty. Everything was perfectly prepared and presented.
For dessert, we shared the dark chocolate cake (more or less a lava cake) and the lemon roll (which was not very lemony and a bit dense for sponge). I wish we would have ordered the beignets. Maybe next time!
Lovely service, very nice pace, fantastic food and a cozy yet upscale environment. Cost including tip was $ 225 for two.

We came here for dinner on New Year’s Eve and it was perfect. There were BALLOONS and LIGHTS and DECORATIONS and HATS AND STUFF TO WEAR and it was just what anyone would hope for on the last day of the year. The food was amazing – can’t speak for the prices, as I was someone’s guest – and the ambiance was very laid-​back and warm. The stuffed pepper appetizer was a definite highlight, as was the apple tart for dessert — we snagged the last one of the night! Some favorite main courses were the sea bass — my Cornish hen was not bad but nothing to sing about. The service was exceptional and overall I enjoyed myself immensely.

Used to love Piperade and have dined and recommended the restaurant many times in the last 10+ years… Tonight’s dinner/​experience was definitely not a good one :-(
Tonight I decided to sit at at the bar and ordered the side of haricots vert to start & the blue nose sea-​bass for my dinner… After a couple of minutes bartender comes back: I’m so sorry but we are out of that, hands me the menu and I decide to order the grilled calamari. Bartender again says: I’m so sorry but we are out of that also! I ended up ordering the cornish hen.
Having been in the restaurant business myself, I do understand that kitchens might run out of stuff but where I got frustrated was that I wasn’t told about it when I was making my choices but after placing the order, twice…
I did mention to the bartender that I wished he had informed me ahead of time! I guess he didn’t like my comment and after that moment service was no longer an option…
The haricots vert came and they were quite greasy and looked tired but tasted OK. The portion was also very small and it’s price definitely not at $ 12.00.
The ½ cornish hen came swimming in oil and (would have liked to ask for a strainer and a new plate but thought better of it); the ½ hen consisted in about 4 – 5 morsels in total and the menu didn’t mention it was going to be only half the little bird… $ 26.00
I am very disappointed as I really used to love this place!

My friend and I came here for dinner before watching If/​Then at the Orpheum. She wanted to cross something off her 7×7 list, and I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that Piperade was one of the restaurants I regularly pass by but had never been to.
We started with the Mushroom Tartlet, which was her 7×7 item, along with the Serrano Ham accompanied by EVOO and tomato compote. Both were delicious! The Mushroom Tarlet was perfectly flaky and had a wide array of different mushroom varieties. I LOVE MUSHROOMS. The Serrano Ham was also tasty and went well with the complimentary bread at our table.
Our tiny two-​person table got a little crowded with two appetizers, bread, and our glasses of wine… but we managed. For our main courses, we shared the New York Steak and Duck Confit. Personally I liked the steak. The fact that it had black pepper sauce immediately caught my eye. It was served with a side of super buttery garlic broccoli rabe. YUM! Would come back here specifically for this dish again. The Duck Confit was delicious as well. Was not quite in the mood for something so greasy but it’s a good dish. Both portions were huge and very filling.
We enjoyed our meal with a few glasses of Syrah before heading out to the musical. I’m thinking about taking my boyfriend here for an anniversary dinner. Perfect place for that! Professional service with a classy ambiance. Love Piperade.

Past Saturday invited friends from LA for dinner with us.
This place has a nice homey feel when you walk in from the street. The brick wall makes it feel warm and welcoming.
However after that it was downhill like a steep ski hill!
The duck special entrée was inedible. It was chewy and tasteless. My wife’s seafood stew was mediocre.
And to top that off it seemed our waiter graduated from the Tadich Grill school !!
What a waste of our time and money !

My friend and I came here before our date for If/​Then at the Orpheum. We needed to finish up my list and since we were in the area for work and figured I should check another thing off the list!
I ended up getting there a bit earlier than my friend so I ordered a glass of Syrah — it’s basically the only red I like other than red blends.
We started off with the mushroom tartlet (on the 7×7 list) and the serrano ham with tomato compote. The mushroom tartlet was delicious. The pastry was very well made and the mushrooms were really good too. I’m not a big mushroom fan before, but these were very well made and had a great flavors to it too. The serrano ham was also great. I paired mine with some of the tomato compote and the free bread they gave us.
We also ordered the duck confit and the steak. The steak came with this great black pepper sauce and it made the steak so much better. It also came with these REALLY buttery broccoli rabe too — good though. The duck confit came with these great lentils that were good, but not amazing. Definitely the steak was a great order option.
Protip: mushroom tarlet and the steak!

We’ve eaten dinner a few times at Piperade on special occasions, but I tried it for the first time for lunch the other day. I’m happy to report that all is shipshape during the lunch hour, with the menu modified to include a few sandwich items and simpler dishes.
My friend ordered a chicken sandwich with avocado, red peppers, and cheese, which was accompanied on the plate by a simple green salad. He devoured it and said it was excellent.
I ordered the Bizkaiko, a fish and shellfish stew in a red pepper infused sauce. From what I could tell, beneath the sauce were cod, tuna, salmon or char, shrimp, clams, and mussels. The fish was cooked absolutely perfectly, poached to a buttery consistency, and was clearly fresh as could be. While the sauce was very simple and almost bland, this was a wonderful dish, especially when accompanied by the restaurant’s signature bread, a sourdough with wonderfully coarse texture.
We also split an order of frites, which I remembered from previous dinners as being amazing. Either the memory was flawed or the product isn’t always the same. We got a generous portion of shoestring potatoes that we enjoyed eating and that weren’t awful by any means, but they weren’t «special» and they hardly justified a $ 10 price tag.
Even without appetizers, drinks, or dessert, but with Café Americanos and SF Health Mandate surcharge, the bill came to more than what most people spend for lunches in a week, but it was a very enjoyable meal for us. An added benefit was that the restaurant let us sit where we were for an extra couple of hours after lunch, which allowed two old chums to catch up on bygones and gossip.
All told, I probably prefer Piperade for dinner, when the menu is larger, more complex, and worthy of elevated pricing. However, I wouldn’t hesitate to come back for lunch if the circumstances called for a splurge.

had a great experience here a week ago. Spanish food doesn’t always mean tapas :)
as soon as you walk in, you’ll know the service will be exceptional. we were meeting friends there and they had problems getting in and were going to be ½ hour late but we were seated immediately, which was greatly appreciated. our waitress was very helpful and super friendly without being annoying.
with four people we were all able to taste a good variety. one of our group was a non-​meat eater and there were plenty of veggie and fish options.
everyone love the stuffed peppers. they’re not fried, but sautéed nicely with a goat cheese and pistachio filling. so good. the mushroom tart was also a favorite. they had a special seafood stew, almost a bouillabaisse that was fantastic. the duck confit was a little dry for my taste. the dark chocolate cake was also everyone’s favorite.
corkage is a reasonable $ 25 and they were very happy to open and serve the wine. a great option for casual, but gourmet, dining in SF

Well — this is NOT the place to go if you’re lookin’ to «cut-​up, get funky and get loose.» Piperade is a bit buttoned-​up. But it is EXCELLENT for a business lunch (never too noisy, moderately priced and wide menu selection). It’s a bit off of the beaten path — but service is solid and the food NEVER disappoints.

Piperade offers original and authentic Basque dishes in a cozy, warm environment.
We enjoyed the sautéed calamari, beans, oxtail, and pizza as well as a scrumptious dessert. The portions are large and can be easily shared. Our waitress was exuberant and engaging, making our experience special. Everything is made fresh, in house. Piperade deserves to be on the Chronicle top 100 list.

We came here with some older, more «prim and proper» kind of family who chose the restaurant. The setting matched the company for sure. The service was very friendly, but the vibe, menu and atmosphere feels very outdated and I’d guess it hasn’t changed much in the last 15 years or so.
— Stuffed Piquillo Peppers, Goat Cheese, Pistachios, Golden Raisins:
This was VERY creamy, as the goat cheese was large and in charge. It was a bit overwhelming, and we didn’t finish it. (And I LOVE goat cheese)
— Pacific Calamari «a la Plancha,» Garlic + Lemon Confit:
The calamari was cooked very well. The portion was pretty substantial for an appetizer. Other than that, it was pretty simple and standard. I’ll write this up as a dish that focused on simple, well cooked seafood.
— Alaskan Halibut, Corn Pudding, Toy Box Tomatoes, Olive Salpicon:
This was probably the most interesting of the dishes we tried. The tomatos were bright and added a nice fruity balance to the heavy corn putting. The olive added a good amount of salt to tone down the fresh tomatoes. I felt like the fish was lost a bit, which was a shame because it was executed very well.
— Blue Nose Sea Bass, Spinach, Fried Garlic Vinaigrette:
Very very boring. My fiancé was very disappointed with this. It was bland and unimaginative.
Overall, we were pretty disappointed, as this was our first time trying Basque cuisine.
I did end up getting stomach cramps and very very sick throughout the night (my hunch is from the calamari), so I will definitely not be back for that reason mainly.

Nom nom nom. It wasn’t what I was expecting, which was traditional tapas/​paella/​sangria, etc., but it was still delicious. For four of us, we got stuffed peppers, warm sheep’s milk cheese & ham terrine, grilled calamari, oxtail, potatoes gratin, and two orders of the braised pork cheeks. The only thing that was disappointing was the terrine; the taste and texture was just like cold cheese and ham squished together. We snagged the last gratin of the night, but I wish we could have ordered one each. The oxtail was also a tad dry but delicious none the less. The braised pork cheeks exceeded expectations – it came with a temperanillo sauce which had me like YAAAAS.
They also have an extensive selection of wine. There were a ton of Spanish wines, but we ultimately decided on a cab from Napa. Thankfully the three other people in my party can’t handle that much wine (amateurs) so guess who got to drink about half the bottle? MEEEEEEE!!!

Please read my last review, this is just an update.
Six years later and this classic but quiet SF institution has only improved with time. This is one of the very best restaurants in the city, but hardly the most famous or expensive or anything else.
Nominally Basque, this is basically a serious but somewhat informal French restaurant owned and overseen by a very serious chef. Typical restaurant service. You come, you’re seated, they ask for a drink order, wine bla bla, appetizers, main entrée, desert, or you could ask them otherwise.
Service is a little weird at times, a cast of fairly experienced but personality-​rich characters dealing with dinner service.
The food is at times transcendent. That is the highest praise of food. Not just good, or filling, or a good value, or whatever. Out of 7 dishes in my last visit, two of them took me to another planet where Unilocal reviews, the existence of restaurants, or the American economy did not matter. You forget yourself, it was that good. It is like going to see a music event and you are in shock.
Specifically, one dish, an oxtail appetizer, was the gateway. Always on the menu, the lamb chop was also amazing. A seasonal simple chanterelle mushroom side dish was also a gatewy to a better place.
The weak point as it has always been is the dessert, kind of desultory, overly sweet, not fresh, and I wonder what they’re thinking. Minus one star for that, but otherwise I would give them six stars so it comes out to five.
Seriously, if the oxtail is on the menu you have to try it.

I had a work lunch here and was really looking forward to trying the seasonal mushroom tart and the Gâteau Basque. I wasn’t really concerned about my main, I figured I’d game it and see what happens. After walking in to a completely empty restaurant, my co-​worker and I got settled in and ordered the mushroom tartlet, which they graciously split for the two of us! The tartlet, which appears on 7×7’s Big Eat list, is definitely worthwhile. The flaky tartlet crust with some seriously savory mushrooms is definitely a great starter. It’s not big either, so sharing it between two people was idea. I had their special shrimp salad, which in all honesty, was not that special. In fact, it was a borderline rip off. I should have stuck with the tuna. Alas, lesson learned I guess. My co-​worker had the tuna steak sandwich and absolutely loved the onion marmalade that came garnished with it. We then split the Gâteau Basque and I appreciated the not-​so sweet taste that came out from it. It was also split for the two of us, but the slice was incredibly small. The photos from Unilocal seem to indicate that the actual slice is bigger, but given that I’m trying to be better about what I’m eating, I guess this was a way of them helping me with portion control.
The total bill came out to around $ 80 after gratuity, and I honestly was a little disappointed that I wasn’t a) more full and b) more satisfied with my experience. That salad was easily the biggest disappointment, and while I loved the mushroom tartlet and the dessert, it wasn’t enough to overtake my disappointment in my entrée. Meh.

Piperade occupies a lovely space in a quiet part of the city. I was surprised to learn that the restaurant has been here for 12 years. There is plenty of seating, both indoors and outdoors.
The food was beautifully plated and came out very quickly. We were done eating about 40min after we were seated but sat around for much longer finishing our wine.
* Fried manchego with pickled vegetables — $ 8
Good appetizer.
* Warm sheep’s milk cheese + ham terrine — $ 15
Served on a bed of frisée. Tasty but salty.
* Seasonal mushroom tartlet with thyme + garlic — $ 14
Succulent pieces of mushroom with a creamy sauce and flaky crust. I’d order this again.
* Calamari a la plancha with fennel, olive, caper, mint, lemon — $ 15
Extremely tender pieces of baby calamari. The sauce looked and tasted like a red wine sauce and was a tad salty. I liked the calamari but would have preferred a lighter preparation.
* Braised seafood + shellfish stew with red pepper sauce — $ 29
The 2 of us shared this, and it was split for us in the kitchen. The seafood was a bit overcooked for my taste. I also found the red pepper sauce too sweet.