Nopa

YUM...I mean YUM. Wait, did I say YUM??

This is a lovely place. The food is excellent - very unique flavors for italian food. Imaginative dishes, beautiful wine list, elegant and tasty cocktails, fantastic - i mean fantastic service, super good desserts.

We were there for 4.5 hours - and it was such a treat. We left at almost 11pm on a Wednesday and the place was packed!

I'm sorry I don't have more detail on this one. But we had a table of 8 and I tried almost everything and loved it.

Super nice staff - very efficient and quick and helpful. Could've been because our reservation was at 9:30pm but I'll take it. Also / love that they had reservations that late. Our server was Max, he answered all our questions kindly (we were first timers so we had a few) thanks Max - great service!

We ordered the fried chicken with chili honey - BOMB.COM.
We also got the eggplant Parmesan and we ended up mixing the two plates (creating our own eggplant parm with chicken) and the flavors together were pretty damn good. I'd suggest it haha

Beautiful space - great food - loooove the branding font. It's a yes from me!

We dropped in on a Friday night with no reservation at 735p and were seated by 8:05p- not bad at all! Service and food wait time left a LOT to be desired, hence the 4-stars. I have never waited so long for food in my entire life...it was over an hour between ordering and actually getting any food brought to the table, which is frankly unacceptable...and in the meantime the waitress was inattentive and avoidant when we wanted to order another round of drinks, which is rather embarrassing since I'm here, waiting like a chump and still trying to give them more of my money for drinks ....and I started to get more than a little peeved....but then the food came was so goddamn good that I wasn't mad anymore .

We had the New York steak- tender and cooked to perfection (when you don't get asked how you want your steak cooked, that means they are about to do it correctly lol), French fries, which were salted to perfection and served with two of the most delectable dipping sauces I've ever tasted, one a home made ketsup and the other a pesto aioli, and the smoked trout, which I actually hadn't read closely enough to realize it was smoked and served cold haha, so was a little surprised but oh so glad because let me tell you, the tatziki, crostini, cucumber, and garden sweet baby tomatoes in that plate all came together with the smoked trout like a work of art.

And we sat there like chumps trying to buy more pre-food drinks because the drinks were incredible- the most delicious sparking Pinot noir I've ever had and an incredible NA sparking wine: I had no idea NA wine even existed!

The only thing we could have done without was the side of cauliflower, which was just ok and could have used more flavor.


Worth every penny and every moment of waiting, though I still think they could do better with timing their food.

My friends and I were in town and fortunately were able to get a seat inside without having to wait. The ambiance is warm and inviting, and the staff were all nice. We ordered the cheeseburger, the chicken special, and leg of lamb. I tried a bite of the chicken and lamb which were very tasty and juicy, but my cheeseburger was disappointing for the price. It lacked flavor and was pretty dry, plus I requested it to be medium rare but it was medium. Some of my friends ordered cocktails, and those were my favorite out of everything we got.

My main issue was that we had to wait over an hour to receive our food. I saw several people come in, order, eat, and leave all before we got our food. We basically finished our drinks before we could enjoy dinner. Our server was kind enough to bring us bread/butter and cookies to compensate for wait, but over an hour wait seemed ridiculous for just 2 cheeseburgers and the lamb and chicken without appetizers.

Came by for dinner the other night and it was a phenomenal world-class experience. Nopa tends to be a locals spot with minimal to no tourists as it's located in a part of SF where parking is difficult and BART/MUNIs are super far away!!

Made a reservation via OpenTable and our table was ready upon arrival. Dining is available outdoors, indoors at a table, on the mezzanine level or at the communal table/bar. Tables tend to be closer together and the dining room can get quite loud.

Staff are always hospitable and genuine. They do a phenomenal job explaining the menu, providing suggestions, as well as checking in on the table throughout the evening.

Started off with the house made bucatini and it was phenomenal! The pasta was fresh and al dente. Portions were tiny and perfect for sharing. Flavors were light and on point. I loved how the mushrooms and tomatoes complemented this small plate!

Moved on the eggplant parmesan and it was world class. Usually eggplant parmesan is soggy and sad. To my surprise, Nopa's version was light, crispy, and super flavorful!

Opted to share the country pork chop as a main and it was the highlight of the meal. Pork chop came out bone in and was super flavorful! I think Nopa has the best pork chop in SF! Most places serve pork chop that is like eating sand paper...yikes. I love how the blueberries and roasted corn complemented the pork chop!

Finished off the meal with the blueberry peach cobbler which was fantastic! The creme fraiche ice cream was super light and refreshing way to contrast the crispy crust and frosted almonds!

~$75/head after tax and gratuity. There is no longer any SF mandates on the bill. Gratuity now starts at 20% before tax.

I want to give a shout out to whoever canceled their 6pm resy at the last minute today. You gave me and my husband the gift of a fantastic dinner in SF :)

We had been wanting to stop by Nopa for a while but a cracked tooth delayed our time here. Luckily we were able to get a last minute reservation and enjoyed everything we had!

1) warm goat cheese: this flavorful cheese came with an abundance of crostinis!
2) smoked trout: tasted just as good as freshly cured trout from my friend's fishing trips. The smokiness was deep and delicious. The sauce was great as well.
3) spicy sausage flatbread. The presentation was different than I expected. It was lighter and yummier, not weighed down like a traditional flatbread.
3) tagliatelle bolognese: perfection
4) eggplant salad: sweet and savory to the last drop.

Everything was so delicious that we did not have room for dessert. That's okay because we will be back to try more amazing dishes. Thanks for a wonderful Friday night dinner date!

TLDR:
Whatever you do, get the pork chop. And if it's on the menu, get their black cod too. These were some of the best dishes I've ever had in SF because of their flavor and complexity, and I can't wait to come back to have these again. Service was lacking, but the food more than made up for it!

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FOOD:
1. [MUST TRY] Pork Chop (5/5):
Tender on the inside, grilled nicely so the edges are crispy on the outside. This is not only a huge portion and cooked so well, but the garnishes they add to this dish are what complete it. The sweet tartness from the fresh fruit jam and the crunch from the sweet corn -- these made each bite of the fatty pork heavenly. There's a reason why this is their most popular item.

2. [MUST TRY] Black Cod (5/5):
This is a new item, just added to the menu, and who knows how long it will stay on the menu. This was absolutely divine -- the cod melts in your mouth as black cod should, and the rich, buttery sauce for this dish went perfectly with the fish and the cabbage slaw. The caramelized onion was a fantastic addition to this, and the cherries felt random but they were still tasty.

3. [MUST TRY] Broccolini (5/5):
A fantastic side dish. Great char on the broccolini, and the acidity from the lemon was so refreshing. It's not a ton of broccolini but the quality and the taste make this well worth it if you're a fan of broccolini.

4. Brassicas (5/5):
Another fantastic side. There's more going on here than with the broccolini (in terms of ingredients) so if that's your style, get this instead or get this with the broccolini like we did!

5. Stracchiatella (4.5/5):
This is a creamy, milky cheese paired with pecans and seasonal fruit (in our case, dates), and all topped with honey (which we asked for on the side). The mint they sprinkle on top adds so much freshness to this otherwise rich dish. The key is to get a bite of cheese, honey, pecans, and a little piece of fruit all at once -- it's a flavor explosion. Only reason why this isn't a 5/5 is because it doesn't come with bread, but bread really elevates this dish in my opinion.

6. Warm Olives (3/5):
This fell short for me. These olives were way more sour and vinegar-forward than most olives are, and they weren't seasoned with anything so they just weren't special. However, this did come with two pieces of thick sourdough, which I used to eat the Stracchiatella.

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SERVICE:
* Surprisingly the service was a 2/5 for me. Despite dining at 5:30 pm (so not a peak hour), our waiter came back to our table seemingly every 5 minutes trying to clear plates and take things away (that we were still eating) which made us feel rushed even though the restaurant was half empty.
* If you can believe it, the food also came out a little too fast for us. Maybe we ordered too many apps (2?) but our pork chop and cod came out as we were still working on our apps. I can see why our waiter wanted to clear plates, but I also wonder if the courses could be better timed?

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ENVIRONMENT / AMBIANCE:
* This felt vibey and bustling, like it was the place to be.
* Tables are quite close to one another so be prepared for people to be squeezing by you
* There's a great upstairs section of tables that overlooks the entire restaurant that I actually really loved! If you're on the edge, it's also a great view of the kitchen where you see them cooking, like, 20 pork chops at a time!

Celebrated a friend's birthday dinner at NOPA for the first time and we ordered the Stracciatella, Local Halibut Crudo, Pork Chop, and Tagliatelle with corn and mushrooms.

I've heard great things about their Bolognese so will definitely be back to try that! Their menu is constantly revolving, so you can always expect something new to try.

The restaurant is more casual, but you can certainly dress up or down. Service is attentive and offered suggestions, which we appreciated.

I live in SF for years and Nopa was a favorite, so it was on the list for this latest trip. As usual, service is excellent. I've always like the ambience, but it can be quite loud so keep that in mind. Drinks/cocktails are awesome, and food is very tasty. Prices have increased (like everything else) so keep that in mid as you order, as it can get pricey quickly. One of the better run restaurants out there, the staff is pro 100%.
Don't skip the STRACCIATELLA app. SO good! (order crostini on the side)

Food:
*Country Pork Chop
*Pan Roasted Duck Breast
*French Fries (with basil parmesan aioli and ketchup)

Drinks:
*Whiskey Smash
*Whiskey Sour (not on the menu but they available upon request)

Service:
Good, had a reservation at 5:30 -got there early. Doors open at 5:30 sharp so we were waiting in line to enter the restaurant

Tip: although Nopa offers a rotating menu, do not skip the duck breast if it is offered that evening. It was delicious!

The parmesan aioli was also very good.

We were ultimately disappointed with the food here, especially the entrees.

The appetizers we ordered - hamachi crudo and flatbread- were the highlights of the meal. The flatbread was a unique combination of fresh, distinctive flavors and the fish was fresh and thinly sliced. We also ordered the burger and vegetable tagine for dinner - and both were really disappointing. The burger had no flavor, and the side of fries was soggy and tasted off. The vegetable tagline tasted like cut, unseasoned vegetables in a bowl of tomato soup.

The restaurant was crowded so service was on the slower side.