Reform Club

Great spot, food was very good and the price was right. Service was good too.

As many times as I’ve walked up and down this block I’d never paid attention to Specchio. In fact I had a friend next door who worked at Cha Cha Cha and still I didn’t notice. After catching wind of the Reform Club dinners on Sundays, that has now changed. Very cool space, but certainly avant garde for an Italian joint. As Reform Club though it might be well fitting. Small bar at the front, open concrete space with a projector showing short clips of various food related scenes and other snippets of pop culture that is reminiscent of a psycotic drug trip. We missed the initial sell outs of the first month and experienced what was a few dinner services under their belt. After chatting with our friendly server the meal began:
–pan blistered padron and shishito peppers, sea salt, olive oil
fino sherry, vermouth, celery bitters
–local albacore crudo, fava, mint, strawbery, aged balsamic
2008 domaine barate le padabu chardonnay, Chablis, FR
–duck confit, succotash, corn, tomato, shelling beans, basil
2009 domaine de monpertuis cuvee counoise, Southern Rhone, FR
–chocolate budino, savoury cookie
bourbon, raspberry, coffee, cream
For forty dollars and a twenty five drink supplement, you’re going to get a solid meal and definitely a very good value for finer dining in these parts. If you look at each course they’re grounded in classics with modern touches. The staff are quite friendly and organized. Reform Club definitely has a lot of potential and Im interested in seeing the evolution and whether a unique identity evolves out of it. 4.3 stars

I loved this place. It had a great atmosphere, great service, amazing menu, and all around a good experience. Their dessert was to die for — deconstructed strawberry shortcake with cardamom ice cream. Yum.
Very reasonably priced and their selection of wine and cocktail pairings couldn’t of been better. They had a great rum and pineapple drink with a chile tincture. It wasn’t overly fruity or spicy — it was just right.
Would recommend to anyone. Especially to those who love good food :)

I like being in ‘the know’ regarding the process of this new pop up! I want to start a pop up someday! I commend the major players for providing a smooth and wonderful service on their first night last Sunday (7÷17÷11). After returning from Italy for over a week where I ate the most remarkable food and drank delectable beverages of all kinds, what a delight to eat such fantastic food, and consume wonderful drinks on my first night back in the states!
After eating fresh prosciutto for over a week most days (some speck thrown in for good measure) the crispy prosciutto in the melon salad was a nice departure and variation. I loved the wine pairing on this one the best I think (I cannot find the menu on line so you will just have to trust me on this one)
The liver pâté was too much for 2 people and that my sweetie didn’t want it and cared for the english pea pâté only, I could not finish! it also probably filled me up to begin with. The port-​brandy bevvie was goooood! very intensive to match the pâté. I also loved the strawberry rhubarb mustard and the pickled veggies (more more more per favore)!
The local halibut was perfectly cooked, looked like some of the fake fish that I see down the street from my work on Mkt (it is a japanese food model shop). It was so crispy, so refined, ate every bit as did my sweetie!
Dessert, James, you are a wonderful pastry chef (my first tasting). The almond cake covered with soft apricot was a nice combo. At first I thought the cake being hard to cut would be meh. But ayyyyyy papi! it was so chewy inside and crispy outside, that I truly want more. Somewhat reminiscent of macaroons really. I loved the white chocolate granola substance that was sprinkled around the plate and the accompanying coulie (sorry again I cannot find the menu). I am cheating by looking at JD’s review — thanks for that! I also loved the sweet dessert wine pairing.
I want to go back every time! and for the price, the lovely drinks, the impeccable choices of glassware (thanks Dion) and the amount of food, I would say this is well worth it!
I am excited to use my open table coupon for dining at Specchio once again. I like the place and it’s amazing proximity to my humble abode.

I have not been on Unilocal in a while, but had to come by to share the positive experience my table had during the preview for this pop-​up restaurant. The short of it: tasty food by talented folks in a fun atmosphere. If this was a first night at a new bricks and mortar restaurant I would have been blown away. Given that this was a group popping in, I was even more taken aback.
So we had never been to a pop-​up before. Basically, this is a fun way to «produce» a dinner amongst a connected group of folks. Think about getting the best folks you know who cook x or y, that friend that knows wine, the guy from you favorite cocktail spot. Etc. The result was fun, creative in several spots and pleasing.
I won’t run down all the dishes, but a few highlights for me: a pâté that was smooth with just the right amount of salt — not too dense and not too runny like some I have had. Served with some pickled veggies (want these so bad) and a strawberry rhubarb mustard (amongst a few more accompaniments). Tasty. Served family style.
The melon salad was fresh and would have been ok, if not a little quiet on its own, but there was also a crispy prosciutto. All you pork crazed people would have loved it. Crispy flakes of piggy goodness brought a depth and pang of salt to the melon. Sprinkled with fresh herbs.
One of my favorite things to have at a restaurant is a perfectly cooked piece of fish. I will admit to not knowing how to cook many fishes, not even sure always what fish should be presented what way. But I know halibut. I was bored by the idea of it until I took a bite. I believe I gasped «Holy Sh@#!» to my dining companions and my face froze in the worry face. You know the one — you squint a little not believing something can be that good. When I cook, it’s what I aspire to and the halibut delivered. 8 people at the table. 8 halibuts. Lots of «worry face» and one «Holy Sh!#I» It was served with something I remember liking, but I still can’t stop thinking about the fish. The crust on top was perfection, a crispy crust a touch thicker than I ever remember having but not crossing the line into over cooking or compromising the fork and mouthfeel of the inside. A friend just Facebook commented that she wants that fish again.
Well hell, this is looking more like a recap. Fine. Wanna talk dessert? The worst part of this being a popup is that I can’t have dessert again. The menu said it was an almond «financier.» What? Like someone who finances almonds? Yeah — I may not know what the hell it is, but I can tell you that it kicked my but — and was super sexy. It came with a little compote and cocoanut sorbet with something called vadouvan, something I need to look up. Also some apricot. It was harmonious and sweet. The financier is a little cake. It needed a knife which was missing, but it’s carmelly, almondy, dense cake absorbed both the slow melt of the sorbet and the seeping juice of the apricot. I think there were little granola pieces as well. Texture dancing in lust.
I truly hope someone with some wine and cocktail depth writes up the drinks. We had the pairing and it was a decent amount alcohol for some of the lightweights to handle. At the edge, but I might be skewed after having a pre-​meal red (also yum). The pâté course was paired with a cocktail that had apple jack, grenandine, and port in it. Sweet, strong, cool, and then so warm on the throat. The melon course saw my favorite pairing. I love a sweeter wine and this one, called Guy Saget, Les Clissages d’Or was light with a honey tone that was awesome with the melon and salt from the prosciutto. A chenin blanc with dessert was also in harmony.
There were a few slow moments, but we had experienced, thoughtful service. More toast came without asking when the pâté course was on the table and water glasses (my big glitch) were never empty.
Finally, the space. Don’t go in expecting a quiet time. It’s a big semi industrial space with fun design flourishes. I had a prime seat to watch a running video of clips from Italian cooking shows (Lydia!) odd stop-​motion food clips, and other hilarity. No sound, so it was take it when you want it. Like many things here, a fun touch without whopping you over the head with the «Aren’t we clever» stick.

This is a new pop-​up restaurant (check out the website for more info) located at Specchio in the Mission. Last night was the preview night and I have to say that Allyson Harvie (chef de cuisine at Citizen Cake) did an absolutely fabulous job on the menu. Chicken liver pâté was great, the melon salad with feta vinaigrette was delicious, the corn soup was AWESOME, the halibut was perfect and the almond financier with apricots dessert was fabulous. The service was a tiny bit slow but it was their first night so I’m not holding it against them. Becky, the manager, was friendly and on top of things. My party didn’t get any of the drink pairings so I can’t comment on the drinks but they looked good! I will definitely be back when they pop-​up again. Brava ladies!