Aziza

(415)752-2222
5800 Geary Blvd.
(@ 22nd Ave)
San Francisco, CA
(Outer Richmond District)

Price: $$$-$$$$
Rating: 10 (Rating & price key)
Last visit: 02/14/06

Aziza is a stylish blend of traditional Moroccan cuisine and California influences. Located in an unassuming corner building on Geary and 22nd Ave, once you walk in, you're transported to a lush oasis and inventive gastronomic pleasures. Sarah & I have dined at Aziza twice and both times were memorably excellent meals, among the best I've had in San Francisco.

For our first visit in March of 2005, was for my birthday (Aziza's prices, although not out of line for the quality, put it in the "special occasion" category for me). We decided to order the Chef's 5-Course tasting menu ($39/each, and everyone at the table must order it) and were glad we did.

After very unusual, yet tasty ($9/ea) cocktails of Ginger & Pear (Sarah) and Cucumber Fresca (me) we started with a tomato-based lentil soup (Sarah) and Celerina(?) soup (me), both flavorful, and rather different from each other. Our second course was a salad with fingers of flaky dough, spinach and cheese over greens and capers, quite nice, and a spread plate with toasted pita points. The spreads were fantastic, wow wow wow! In increasing order of preference, a molasses eggplant, zingy yogurt with dill, and our favorite, a balsamic roasted eggplant, which I would happily eat a pint of. Verrrrrry good!

Following this was a nice bastilla, chicken and spices/nuts filling inside a pie - different than I've had at, say, El Mansour, but thankfully less sweet. They drizzle "Aziza" into the crust with honey before serving, a cute touch. The dough was flaky and tender, and the stuffing very well-balanced, without any overwhelming taste of cinnamon or sugar.

Entrees and dessert are the only things you get to choose when you do the tasting menu, as the chef picks the rest, and in short order Sarah's entree of striped sea bass, and mine of lamb brochettes arrived. My kebab was positively sublime, tender, juicy, rare (yet not too much so) - probably the best lamb I've ever had. Sarah's fish was good, but I was much more interested in the lamb, and quietly devoured it while sipping a Coteaux-de-languedoc ($30/bottle).

For dessert, Sarah had an apple pie/cake thingy whose name escapes me and I had a sorbet plate. Again I was glad to have done a little research in advance, as although Sarah's dessert was good, mine was awesome. A scoop of raspberry/cabernet, one of face-punchingly-sour grapefruit (I mean that in a good way) and one of cardamom/lime/gin made for a crazy, wonderful and palette-enticing combination, finishing the meal with style and flair.

Our second visit was on Valentine's day 2006. For this, and presumably other special dates, they had a 5-course prix fixe-only menu for $75/person.

We started with a blood orange and mint smash cocktail (me) and a lavendar and honey cocktail (Sarah, $9/ea), both superior and rather unusual (Aziza's cocktail list is wonderful - their signature drinks, although fairly expensive at $9, are inventive and of the ones I've had, consistently great).

Unlike the chef's tasting menu, we had choices for 4 of the 5 courses (the bastilla is mandatory, oh darn). S & I both had the asparagus w/crabmeat and red peppercorn soup for our first course, which was fabulous (the other choice, lentil, was more basic-sounding than we prefer at a place like this, although I'm sure it's tasty).

Much to our happiness, out-of-this-worldly-good spread plate we enjoyed on our first visit was available on this menu, so Sarah ordered that for the second course, and I a plate seafood philo dough pastries with herbed couscous. The spreads were amazing, as before. The seafood pastries were also flavorful, but what I liked the most about this dish was the superb, brightly flavored couscous under the pastries - perfectly fluffy and vibrant, it was everything a couscous should be.

Next came an amuse bouche of tuna tartar atop a sliced radish with creme fraiche, a nice red morsel (remember this was Valentines Day) to cleanse the palette. We'd finished our cocktails by this point, and with the waiter's guidance ordered a half bottle of Strub reisling ($17). This dry reisling went very well with the rest of our dishes, and was one of the better reislings I've had to date.

The bastilla arrived third, and was just as we'd remebered it from the previous year - fabulous!

Another amuse followed the bastilla, this time a granita of beet. Certainly inventive, and beautifully colored, it tasted, however, like concentrated dirt. S & I each ate a couple of polite spoonfulls before pushing it aside. We were amused to see our fellow diners' reactions, uniformly the same as ours. At least it wasn't one of the main courses that fell flat....

Sarah's entree of shrimp tagine in a tomato-based sauce served over vegetables was very good indeed, with a rich flavor, and tangy citrus'y notes. My couscous Aziza was superb, the best couscous I've ever had. It had a cornucopia of meats (lamb sausage, stewed lamb, shrimp, and chicken) as well as chickpeas, carrots, zucchini, almonds and dates. The harissa sauce served on the side was vibrant and rather spicy - just a little served to really elevate this dish. The juices from the meats and veggies infused the couscous, making every bite a delight. I would have a very difficult time choosing between this and the lamb brochettes next time I'm here, as both are the best of their type I've had!

All good things must come to an end, and for our end, from the dessert menu Sarah chose the candy store and me the bowl of bliss. My "bliss" was a chocolatey affair served in a bowl, with a side of hot chocolate, both very good, but not my favorite dishes of the evening. Sarah's candy store was fun and very good - comprised of a variety of bite-sized truffles and biscuits, each had a distinct and lovely flavor. As I recall, it had rose meringue, anise truffle, sesame crisps, carmel, peppermint patty, dried apricot baclava and a biscuit. All were very good, particularly the meringue and carmel.

Although the pricing hose-job on Valentines Day (or New Years etc) is a bit annoying (you can have a largely similar meal at Aziza most other nights for $39 or so), it was a great way to spend the evening, and we were given a little sachel of excellent chocolates to take home with us. Our final bill this time was $222 before tip.

Service on both visits was attentive, albeit a little aloof, and our courses arrived with absolutely perfect pacing. The space is very pretty, with three differently-themed rooms and mellow downtempo music on the speakers.

Aziza is a great place to take a group of people, and the tasting menu (which is modified depending on how many are in the party) is a pretty much sure bet. You can dine relatively inexpensively by ordering a la carte (and going easy on those $9 cocktails :), or you can treat yourself to a genuine feast for a bit more. Both of our meals here were fairly expensive by any regard, but for that special occasion, Aziza is hard to beat for innovative Cal-cuisine in a fantastic atmosphere.