Best Open Kitchen Restaurants in Civic Center / Hayes Valley / Van Ness

Fun menu with emphasis on plates to share, creative use of seasonal ingredients and the pita bread is to die for. The Breaking Bread appetizer sampler is a must order. Lamb chops were divine. Our server was friendly, helpful and attentive, but not overly so--made for a delicious, relaxing weekday lunch with girlfriends.

We really enjoyed our dinner at Nopa. Beginning with the bread and butter. All I can say is order it. Next we had the Tortelli which was excellent (not to be missed). We also had the Tagliatelle with the bolognese sauce which was very good. For dessert we had the key lime pie which was good but the ice cream that came for the birthday person was outstanding. Our server who was excellent said it was ginger snap but it didn’t taste like ginger. Best ice cream I’ve ever eaten. Can’t wait to go back for my birthday and have that ice cream.

Food was absolutely incredible, service impeccable, restaurant soo beautiful!

We had such a fantastic time at Foreign Cinema! From the warm welcome when we arrived to the excellent servers and the delicious food, it was an all star visit. It's no wonder Foreign Cinema is an icon in San Francisco. We can't wait to go back!

What a find! Food choices were great- love the fact they are shareable as it's hard sometimes for my wife and me to try different things at a restaurant with individual/full portions. Quality was excellent as dishes are innovative, accurately described, and tasty. Don't pass on the caviar potato cloud (insider tip- order one for yourself instead of sharing)! And the drinks are also innovative and quite balanced in their flavor profiles!