Puccini & Pinetti

Not great. I suspect the Unilocal reviewers who gave five stars are infrequent users of cutlery. The food is passable in a shopping mall food court kind of way. Complimentary focaccia was stale and factory-​made and the spaghetti and meatballs, while offering plenty of both, featured overcooked meatballs and a sauce which was reduced too much and is memorable only for the acidic/​metallic note that tomato paste brings. The spaghetti was cooked correctly, though, which means perhaps the restaurant isn’t a total lost cause. The dish could have been recovered into something quite good by even an amateur chef who tasted their work before serving.

Came for dinner. Awesome service! Great atmosphere! Love their baked oysters! You order by how many you want! We ordered the calamari, kinda reminded me of olive garden except they add shrimp. I actually enjoy olive garden’s calamari so no complaints there. We ordered the baked oysters, steak with fries, short ribs, and calamari. I also got their drink that’s spicy (forgot the name), it has cucumber, cayenne pepper?, and basil… it was OK, not strong at all, but refreshing. Don’t think I’ll order it again though. Wouldn’t mind coming back again to try something else.

Great Union Square location and food was fine, although just a bit extra effort with higher quality ingredients would make it great. I had Caesar Salad and Margarita Pizza. The salad and dressing were excellent but the croutons seemed from a box. The Pizza crust tasted great, although could have been a bit lighter in texture, the tomato sauce was weak or from a can, and the cheese was a bit rubbery.
Like I said, a bit more attention to ingredients and this restaurant would be great.

Food is exquisite in a refined, bustling restaurant that is in the heart of San Francisco. Portions are good, price is very reasonable for the taste, quality and setting.
My wife and I always choose to go here on date nights.
It can get a bit noisy at times but we’ve never had a problem if we sit away from the bar.

A little pricey, but the food is well worth it.
Ordered some salad, a bottle of wine, and spaghetti with meatballs and I had the chicken marsala. The salad was excellent– very fresh and tasty. The spaghetti/​meatballs was ok.
I really enjoyed the chicken marsala. The sauce they use is tasty and fresh. Makes the whole meal enjoyable.
Location is on a corner. Wait wasn’t too long but we came in a bit late.
Would recommend this San Francisco Italian spot for a nice dinner– not too fancy, but not too dressed down.

I only came here bc my friend had a random Groupon. Food is really basic and heavy but unsatisfying. I had the crab cake benedict and it was fine but not very special or warm, which I thought was strange considering we were one of two parties at the entire restaurant. Like why isn’t my food warm? They do have $ 20 bottomless mimosas for numbing your palate in hopes of deceiving your mind of their bland flavors.
Connected to a hotel (you have to go through to go it to go the bathroom, lol fyi).

I like the service.
The antipasto and bread was free to start.
Order the bruschetta… even ½ order was very large.
Carpaccio was ok.

Once again, 5 star review. Food is amazing. Service is amazing. It’s just all around amazing.
Caesar salad-​Perfect, simple but delightful. The dressing has the perfect amount of anchovies pureed in it so you get the flavor but nothing overpowering.
Bruschetta-​The goat cheese makes this dish. Best bruschetta I’ve ever eaten, and I’ve worked and eaten at multiple Italian restaurants.
Gamberi-​The sauce is out of this world, mixed with the tomatos and shrimp. TO DIE FOR. We even asked for some extra crostinis to dip into the sauce because it was that good.
Main course the bf and I shared the Proscuitto Panini with truffle fries. We were kind of surprised to see the fries come just looking like regular fries without the typical herbs and cheese. Well lets just saw it worked, perfect flavor, so simple but out of this world.
Will took care of us in the lounge and was super friendly. Out of all the restaurants we dined at while in San Fran he definitely gave the most warm welcoming and fun experience. You can always tell when people enjoy their job, I recently got into management after hostess, server, and bartender for 6 years and lets just say if I had him as one of my employees, I would be very happy. Thanks for the great service Will!
Definitely a must go to restaurant. Will be back every time for our yearly trip.

I was staying at the Hotel Abri and had a $ 10 off coupon. And I was hungry, so I headed in at 9:00 or so on a Thursday night. It was still very busy. I sat at the bar.
Service was very attentive from the nice bartenders. I got a glass of Malbec for $ 10 (so, basically, my wine was free) and then I ordered the beef carpaccio from the appetizer menu for $ 14 and the meatballs from the bar menu for maybe $ 12 or so. I thought both the carpaccio and the meatballs were tasty and well portioned. The meatballs, in particular, were very good — three piping hot medium-​sized meatballs with a little bit of tomato sauce and some melted cheese. Perfect size for a small dinner.
My final bill after tip and discount was around $ 33, which was probably pricey for what I got (one glass of wine, one appetizer and one bar menu item) but … This IS San Francisco, you know. It ain’t cheap.

Reasonable prices. Clever menu. Superb wine list. Good remodel back in 2013. Food is – above average to good but not superb.
But please God! When will the truffle fry fad be over? So beyond weary of truffle oil on everything. I know it’s an Italian luxury but…
Carpaccio is well flavored and arugula adds a nice bite.
Arugula salad had great flavor and texture but was overdressed. Greens felt wet — crisp greens and well-​flavored dressing but just too much of it.
Perfectly dressed salad is always my standard gauge of French and Italian fare.
I was very tempted by the affagato. Next time.
I’ll certainly be back.

Came to this café bar for brunch. Had a nice selection of standard breakfast options like eggs, potatoes, and waffles, plus sandwiches. They also had a few things on the fancier side like crab cake benedict and carpaccio. A little on the pricey side for the quality and presentation of food, but the restaurant was clean and the staff friendly and accommodating. Would be open to giving it another shot for lunch or dinner where they have a larger selection of appetizers, sides, and mains.

A couple of co-​workers and I decided to utilize our $ 10 off coupon (from staying at Hotel Abri) at this place for breakfast/​brunch. The restaurant was pretty empty upon arrival, so we were seated right away. Our waiter was nice, but a bit too soft-​spoken and didn’t carry much presence whenever he was around. However, the staff that we encountered were pretty nice in general.
The brunch menu here is very limited and the food is over priced to be extremely honest with you. For 3 people, our bill was nearly $ 80 (prior to them taking the $ 10 off because of the coupon). The portion sizes are basically a joke here, especially for the amount of money you’re paying for. I ordered the $ 14 Belgian waffle breakfast, thinking I’d have at least two large waffles with the toppings from the description; however, I only got 1 waffle with a sliced banana, toasted walnuts, and butter on top. What a total rip off! The food was decent, but it wasn’t delicious, which made me feel like I wasted my time and money at this restaurant.
The food here met the basic need to be satiated, but I would only dine here again if this place were my last resort. My advice is to read the fine print on the menu so you don’t get screwed over and charged an arm & a leg like how we were.

This place is good for groups during a weekday lunch. I came here with about 15 people and even though we had a reservation, there was plenty of seating.
We started with some apps and I didn’t want to fill up on them because I was excited about my entrée. I did have some of the bruschetta and even though I’m not a huge tomato fan, the sauce to dip it in was really good and the bread was nice and crunchy.
I got the Frutte de Mare for my entrée and half an order was perfect. It came with a decent amount of seafood (fish, shrimp, clam, calamari, etc.) and it was pretty fresh. The soup broth was pretty good as well and it was a good filling meal.
Overall, the food is pretty good here and the service is good.

Usually a reliable staple of Union Square my most recent visit was a miss. The bartender sucked (slow, unpleasant, and sting – plus there was only four people at the bar!) and the food wasn’t great (see the picture of my salad).
It’s a tourists spot so expectations are a little lower but, no referrals/​refreshes offered is subpar.

Came here with some friends and we shared a variety of appetizers. There’s a separate bar menu so make sure you ask for bar seating if you want that menu. From the dining room menu we had calamari, margherita pizza, and caprese salad. We were able to try a meatball trio from the bar menu since we saw it pass by.
Pros:
–Food for the most part was decent. So-​so really for the price overall.
–The caprese salad was our favorite. The choice of cheese and tomatoes they use are different but flavorful.
Cons:
–Service was good, but not from our waitress. The assistant staff kept our drinks full and cleared the table as plates were emptied. We saw our waitress when we ordered and then had to wave her down for the check. Even then, she dropped it on the table and never said thanks, good night, or anything.
Overall it’s not a bad place but with all the other places to try, I won’t be back.

Having walked by on several occasions, we finally decided to check out Puccini and Pinetti for dinner. Located in the Union Square shopping district and across from a major hotel, many of the customers appeared to be tourists/​visitors to the area.
Arriving for our reservation, we were promptly seated. Our waiter, Angel, welcomed us and mentioned the specials of the day. Our order:
House Focaccia Bread: First, the tapenade of sun dried tomatoes, olive oil and herbs was delicious. Too bad the bread was not soft and was on the stale side
Minestrone Soup with seasonal vegetables and ditalini pasta. The soup was on the thin side and it needed more seasoning. At $ 9, this was pricey.
Caesar Salad: Romaine was fresh with a tasty Caesar dressing. Like the fresh shavings of Parmesan cheese.
Chicken Marsala: Two thin slices of chicken breast with mushrooms on top of mashed potatoes and some spinach. The sauce was tasty that had a sweet flavor, probably from the marsala wine. Since the chicken was thin, thought it might be dry, but it was not. For $ 26, this was on the expensive side.
Saffron Risotto with rock shrimp, frisee with cherry tomatoes and agrumato topped with freshly grated Parmesan. Had a taste of the risotto and it was tasty.
Profiteroles and Pistachio Gelato topped with dark chocolate fudge and whipped cream and nuts. This was good but would have been better if the profiteroles were not on the stale side.
Overall, it might be good restaurant for the Union Square clientele, but there are better options outside this area. Service from Angel and the other servers were good.

I was in invited to a dinner at this location while visiting for a night in San Francisco. Very nice location. Service was slow. But they have a great menu.
Since I couldn’t make my mind up. I went with the classic Spaghetti and Meatballs. Not bad but not good. Very dull sauce and I had to put a lot of fresh cheese on top to make it more flavorful. It’s alright but would not recommend this place to a friend.

Located in the heart of Union Square, Puccini and Pinetti is unsurprisingly located within a hotel. Due to this location, this establishment caters to out of town guests.
When we (local SF city dwellers) visited it was pretty apparent that the restaurant was filled with business travelers and families visiting out of town. Now, of course there is no problem whatsoever with that, it’s just a fact that should be stated to depict the «vibe». The dining and bar area isn’t decorated in artsy or trendy décor like most SF restaurants, in fact, I made a statement while sitting down that it reminding me of «a very upscale Midwestern Chili’s».
The wine menu was more than sufficient and the dining menu is sweet and succinct, offering appetizers, pastas, and main dishes. We ordered a little gem salad, truffle fries, and chicken marsala. Our food came out very quick– not once did we feel as though we were waiting. The salad was very fresh and tasted like a warm summer day. The fries were excellent and also contained a fair amount of garlic– I appreciated that! Also, we were impressed with the very generous portion here. Our main dish was good, but nothing too notable.
Overall, Puccini & Pinetti got the job done. If I were a guest at a nearby hotel, or in need of a family-​friendly dining experience, I would certainly visit again. However, I’m a local who is constantly seeking dining «experiences», not a dining place with road warriors chugging away at their laptop working on presentation slides and spreadsheets while spending a per diem. Other than that, this is a great place to relax after a long business trip workday or a family excursion in the city!

After work I met up with my friend in SF near Powell Bart to get dinner/​drinks. After looking at what was nearby on Unilocal,we picked Puccini and Pinetti. It had a decent amount of stars and Italian sounded lovely.
SF has been full of customers and diners recently due to the Giants games, so we were hoping that it wasn’t booked up. Though it looked busy, we were able to get a table near the window. This restaurant is very bright and has nice paintings on the wall. From the pictures, it looked higher end with their plates and drinks, however it has more of a fancier-​version-​of-​Olive-​Garden feel. Not to put that down, I still had a nice time, but don’t expect something out of haute cuisine magazine (is that a real thing?).
The bread was fantastic! It was a focaccia-​like bread that was super soft. The dip was also full of flavor — it tasted like sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, olives, garlic and other misc herbs. I really enjoyed the bread.
The prices are a little high, so we decided to split the Chicken Marsala dish and ordered two beers. I had the Amber and it was pretty good. Nothing to blow me away, but I really enjoyed that beer after a long day of work. This place also seemed more of a cocktail and wine kind of restaurant anyways. The waiters were very nice and the wait for the food was neither too long, nor too short.
Splitting one dish does not give you much. I had also hit the gym after work and could have used some more grub. The chicken was relatively thin over a decent portion of mashed potatoes and spinach with mushrooms spread on top. The sauce was savory, but it had a strong sweet flavor. The chicken was a little dry to be honest, but I really enjoyed the mushrooms and potatoes. Seeing that these items weren’t the star of the dish, I would give it a ²⁄₅. I think I enjoyed the bread more.
In the end, we had an ok time. Though it was a bit disappointing, it was nice to grab dinner in the city. The area is also not great. I do understand that SF has some not so nice areas, but this restaurant was located in a more rowdy sort of neighborhood (at least from what I know of — and I’ve lived in DTLA and Oakland. just sayin’). At nighttime we felt a little uneasy walking to the car.
I probably wouldn’t recommend to a friend or return. The food is bit overpriced for the quality. It wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t great.
Ambiance: 3.75÷5
Food: ³⁄₅
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Overall Experience: ³⁄₅

Das essen ist gut, da hatten wir keine klagen. es war aber auch nicht so gut, dass die hohen Preise gerechtfertigt sind.

To be honest, I did not have high expectations. A large Italian restaurant, near Union Square, could easily be a tourist trap. However; we did not have all that many options when we finally decided there to go and how wrong can one go with Italian?
It started out quite ok, we had a drink at the bar, whlist waiting for our table. A vibrant setting is great for a Saturday night, although being just three people, we were struggling to hear each other properly.
At the table we all started having a carpaccio, which we all found tasty and delicious. The waiter was nice and helped choosing a bottle of wine to go with our orders. The service was efficient. However; we discussed around the table how we just never get used to the fact that the waiters start clearing the table plate by plate before everyone is done with their dishes.
For main I had the frutti di mare pasta. It looked good and based on the ingredients, it should have a lot of flavours. It didn’t. And concidering the prices, it was straight out disappointing in its overcookedness. A way to big chocolate cake for the dessert did not lift the impression.
Not recommended if your after food experiences.

Ich habe gemischte Gefühle zu Puccini & Pinetti: einerseits war das Essen gut, andererseits sind die Preise extrem hoch für das was man bekommt. Ich war zum Frühstück hier, wo man eine für amerikanische Verhältnisse kleine Auswahl hat zwischen Omelette, American Breakfast oder Waffeln. Ich hatte das Omelette, das mit Kartoffeln und Toast serviert wird. Wie gesagt, an der Qualität gibt es absolut nichts auszusetzen, allerdings kam ich inklusive Kaffee, Orangensaft und Trinkgeld auf eine Rechnung von 25 $, was für ein einfaches Frühstück doch ein enormer Betrag ist. Aus diesem Grund nur drei Sterne, auch wenn es von der Essensqualität her vier wären.