Kezar Bar & Restaurant

(415)681-7678
900 Cole St.
(@ Carl)
San Francisco, CA
(Cole Valley district)

Rating: $-$$$
Rating: 7.5 (Rating & price key)
Last visit: 10/31/06

This sports bar cum restaurant has tasty california fare in a busting neighborhood location in the heart of Cole Valley. It can get loud and busy, especially on weekends, but more often than not we've been seated quickly enough.

I've had a tasty flatiron steak, served with mushrooms and okra in a light sauce, with a delicious crawfish mashed potato side. The Asian noodles were pretty good, but not spectacular. Burgers, served with Cajun fries, are always a solid bet. The daily special menu (a whole page long) is usually more interesting than the standard one, typically featuring more cal cuisine vs. the pub fare/comfort food on the normal menu. An Etouffee ($13) of crawfish, shrimp and smoked chicken was delicious, with crispy vegetables and rice in a flavorful broth, and Sarah's fish tacos were also tasty, but small (just two little tacos - not a full meal's worth). An unusual item occasionally on the specials menu is chicken and strawberry salad - although it sounds strange, the flavors really do complement each other.

Not all is wonderful, however -- a recent confit of duck with risotto ($15) was flavorful, but the duck flavor was buried under the myriad other flavors, including some too-heavy thyme, and the lima beans were undercooked. A terrine of salt cod with beans had a lovely texture for spreading on the generous pile of toasts, but the subtle flavor of the beans and cod was overwhelmed by boatloads of garlic.

Service has usually been surprisingly good given how bustling the place can be. Our servers have always been cheerful and stop by to check up on us at appropriate intervals. They have some good beer on tap including some more unusual Germans. A nice casual neighborhood place that we eat at perhaps once a month.