Two

Two went down the tubes.
I preferred the original Hawthorne Lane concept better. Except for the fried calamari and the personal pizzas, most portions were ridiculously small. Service was nice.
On the positive side Corey Lee (former chef de cuisine at French Laundry, and sous chef at Per Se) is taking over the space to open his new restaurant named «Benu» (name of the Egyptian version of the Phoenix). Yes, Corey’s last name is the same as the Lee brothers from Namu restaurant, he’s also Korean but not related to them.

It saddens me to learn that they’re packing up shop in a few months — and to think I just discovered this pleasant and extraordinarily SOMA-​y nook. Little gem salad featured an outstanding butter caper dressing, and the wood fired pizza crust was of note. Features a full bar with decent house infusions (almond bourbon, for one).
The ambiance and furniture aesthetic is wonderful — like a perry como /​elmer fudd mashup with chic neo-​70s upholstery colliding head on with with hunting lodge accents and earthy colors.

We were excited when Two started offering lunch service again. They are wonderful for dinner and private parties, so I didn’t expect anything less from lunch.
We got there a bit before noon, and was the second table to be seated. The service was a bit slow, but tolerable since we weren’t in a hurry.
Note: their soda machine may be funky. My coworker ordered a Diet Coke that came out flat. They changed the syrup, gave her a second one, and it was still flat. Just saying.
I had the shrimp/​corn pizza (
). The shrimp overpowered the entire thing, and was a bit salty. Though it didn’t stop me from finishing it…
The others had a cobb salad (
) and a chopped salad (
). Neither were particularly special, but for the price it should be.
Overall, a satisfying meal, but nothing to write home about.

Two gave us an okay dinner last night & that about sums it up
Drinkys lost me on their random «floaters»
Cilantro Martini — fresh tasting w/​a yummy pucker of sour but didn’t much care for the pieces of cilantro floating in the drink
Purple Haze — Plum infused martini-​like drink w/​rum… teeny bits of grapefruit peel floating around & tasted a bit like cough syrup
They *ran out* of the Mission Fig Salad — and this was by 7:45…WTF?!
So 2 of us got the Tomato Bisque which they said was really spicy but I thought it was very tasty
I got the Egg in the Hole — Quail Egg cooked up in a grilled cheese & it was really yummy = very breakfasty
The Table Bread consisted of the MOST heavenly teeny tiny herbed biscuits — flaky & doughy & reminded me of a good Southern biscuit (in miniature form) I could have filled up on these alone
Dinner for Sis & me was the Pea Tortellini…7 tortellinis come out on this ginormous plate, paired w/​these microscopic tomatoes & drizzled w/​olive oil & TONS of fresh garlic to the point of it being too much… Vampires are running for the hills
Friend got the Veal Ravioli & her portion was HUGE — could barely finish half… when compared to our 7 little tortellinis, seemed weird
Waitstaff was completely nonexistent, claiming they didn’t know they’d be so busy last night. She was completely nice as could be, she just wasn’t around & we were sitting at our table, for FOREVER w/​no one coming to check on us
Final complaint — it was crazy loud in there — yelling at tablemates & still barely hearing… I think it must be how it always is… the bar sits in the middle of the restaurant, surrounded by tables so there’s no way out of the bar-​crowd
Final assessment: really loud, lack of service & didn’t taste a dish that really wowed. It’s not the best thing when the table bread is the hit of the night. Dinner was good but not the best I’ve ever had

Yay, it appears that Two is now serving lunch again!
We popped in here yesterday and noshed on a cheese plate and shared a lamb pastrami sammich and fries. I know, random combo, right? Well, random suits me just fine. All edibles were delicious and I’m super happy they are back on the lunch option wagon.

I give it 3.75 stars. We held a private event here for work and they did a great job with the place. We reserved the private room near the back and they were so accommodating and provided top-​notch service. Food was just OK — I wasn’t too happy with the tortellini. I ate about half of my main entrée and couldn’t finish the other half, thankfully I had the lobster bisque soup for an appetizer so that was enough to hold me over.
Two is moderately priced and affordable. It’s a hidden gem on Hawthorne Lane and close to the W Hotel, The Gold Club and Thirsty bear so if you want to grab a few more drinks after having dinner you can grab one close by or catch a show at the Gold Club. Anyway, I digress. This place is a nice place to take someone special on a date but the food is nothing to rave about. It’s decent but not amazing.

Good interior — just the right lighting… the bar anchors the entire room, and I love that the ample counter space, so you can park yourself at the bar and enjoy a leisurely dinner without feeling cramped. Good Happy Hour spot.
Recommendation: the angel hair pasta with brown sugar and uni. Fantastic!

I dined here with my best friend who was in town last weekend. When we arrived at the restaurant, the valet parking attend was no where to be found so we just ended up parking our car in the front. The good news was we didn’t have to pay to park in SF!
We were running late for our reservation but they were kind enough to let us push it back. Made sense when we got there because it wasn’t so full of people.
For dinner, we both had fish. I ordered the salmon and she ordered the grouper. The mini biscuits they give for appetizers are delicious! My dinner on the other hand, was not the best… My salmon was uncooked, and kind of meaty still. I had to re-​send it back to get cooked longer… By then, I was over it and didn’t care too much for the meal. I’ve definitely had WAY better than this, at less expensive restaurants. My friend finished almost all of her grouper. she liked it. If you are a fan of fish skin on your fish, then come here. They leave it on. I am not a fan of fish skin… so I think that also turned me off.
We had this chocolate ganache with raspberries for dessert. It was good, but really rich. The raspberries give it a tangy kick to offset the sweetness. It tastes like a chunky brownie or fudge with raspberries inside.
I don’t think I will be returning to this restaurant because they really didn’t give me a reason to want to come back. Nothing memorable… I’d pass and go somewhere worth the money.

I love Two for Happy Hour. I worked in SF for four months this year and all of my coworkers were obsessed with Kate O’s. But c’mon, I’m in business casual so let’s go somewhere slightly more upscale. Finally, after months of me whining, a group of us headed to Two.
We arrived around 5pm on a Friday afternoon and it was packed. We wanted to sit but there was no space. After talking to several waiters, we were finally allowed to put our stuff down at a large counter in the additional seating area in the room on the left/​back. The drinks were good and the appetizers were yummy although the smoked salmon appetizer was a bit hard to share.

I had been invited here by a some coworkers for a quick get together. Walking around the corner to the front door I had a major case of deja vu. Hadn’t I already been here?
Turns out I have! It used to be some other restaurant where I had dinner with my family. From what I can remember, it was a good meal. Now I was curious how «Two» would stack up.
We only ordered two pizzas and some drinks so I can’t entirely review this place. The wild mushroom pizzas were really tasty. So there…
Service is so so yet I can’t say because we were at tables that served more as an extension of the bar than dining area.
For place with appetizers and drinks it did well. I can’t really comment on anything else.

This restaurant embodies the current Bay Area food trend. When it first opened, it was the «destination» restaurant for numerous dignitaries, including our famous cigar-​toting former president. For the past five or six years, they were one of the movement leaders to the «return of the comfort food» era, hence the name change from Hawthorne Lane to Two. The chefs have come and gone, but ambiance and decent food have remained constant. Organizing a last minutes dinner for nine can be a daunting task in the city for most fine restaurants. I was glad to get a 6 pm table for ten (one infant) here on a weeknight. Surprisingly, the bar area was hopping and many of the tables were already occupied when we arrived. I also LOVE the fact that you can find street parking here; just get here between 5:30 and 6 pm sit in the car until just before 6 pm. They have their regular menu which includes a variety of appetizers, pizza, pastas, and entrees. The memorable ones from previous meals are the bone marrow appetizer, paparadelle, and pork schnitzel. They also had a «stimulus», though it’s probably for stimulating for me, menu named «5 for $ 5.00», denoted on the page bottom that each item is $ 5.00; the specials were a) cucumber salad, b) anchovy pizzetta, c) spicy onion soup, d) peking duck/​radiccio cups, and e) raspberry feuillitte. On this particular evening, I ordered the following:
1) Spicy Onion Soup — Unlike the common French version, this was a warming soup with no cheese but with croutons. The twist was a small poached egg which made it more interesting. — $ 5.00
2) Peking Duck in Radiccio Cups — The table debate was how many ounces of duck would be in this order. There were two radiccio cups with one duck piece in each, garnished with a cranberry like sauce. Not bad and a tart take on Hoisin. — $ 5.00
3) Paparadelle with Veal Ragout — Remembering this dish from a previous meal, it was tasty and very good. Long ribbons of handmade pasta are topped with a savory tomato based meat sauce and cottage-​like cheese. It didn’t look like a substantial portion, but I felt like I’d finished a large slice of lasagna when I was done. — $ 15.00
Cocktail
Cherry Caipirinha — The menu description reminded me of cherries being in season. It was a nice, sweet beverage served with lime slices that crept up on me as the night went on. — $ 11.00
Our group also ordered an assortment of pizzas (around $ 11.00 each), the salmon entrée ($ 23.00), fried calamari ($ 13.00), pork schnitzel ($ 19.00), and the bone marrows ($ 9.00), though I didn’t try them. Most of the pizza diners took leftovers home.
The service was a mixed bag as our waiter/​waitress seemed harried by the number of large parties (3 including us) and regular diners; the servers were very good and attentive.
I almost forgot to mention their famed biscuits. I am more of a corn muffin person than biscuits (a bit dry for my taste), but everyone enjoyed these little morsels. When they first converted to Two, the owner even sold the biscuit mix to diner who wanted to bake their own at home.
One of the guests was kind enough to forward me a special gift card promotion where I bought two $ 100.00 gift cards for $ 100.00. Using these cards as a discount, the dinner came out to less than $ 30.00 per person on the average. It’s hard to find good eats at these prices these days. A sold 4-​star experience in my book.

I’m from OC. made reservations here for Valentines day. I had their 5 course meal and it was delicious. *I added some pics so check them out under my name* Since this place has enough reviews…
Long story short… it was great! ;)

When does Three into Two ever equal Five? Not tonight. The Three were Jamie W., my good friend Rene (she’s a New Yawk girl, not a French film director), and me. Two is the place on Hawthorne Lane that I had thought from my last visit had promise. And the Five? Well, it ain’t the number of stars I’m giving it for my experience tonight. Two deserves Two.
Rene and I decided on the place since we heard about the great happy hour there. No smiles on us. While we found a table in the lounge area, we were growing old waiting for anybody to hand us a menu. Cobwebs were forming between my thighs when Rene went into Manhattan maniac mode and took matters into her own hands. She stood in front of the bartender waiting to get his attention. Apparently if you stand behind the bar chair, you are invisible. However, if you stand in front of the chair with a look of smug disregard, then you get a befuddled stare and a delegated wave to the waitress who didn’t seem to realize she was in charge of menu distribution.
I love when Rene says things that others just say under their breath. Clear as a bell, she says, «Yeah, we were just hoping for some service. We didn’t know we’d have to provide it.» We ordered a $ 44 bottle of 2007 Pinot Noir from A to Z Wineworks in Oregon. Not bad though a tad chalky if you ask me. Then we quickly decided on the food since we didn’t know if the server would return in our lifetime, and we aren’t great believers in reincarnation. Sure enough, Rene had to go up to the bar to order the food — a $ 14 TWO Mac & Cheese under the Pizza menu, a $ 16 Meat Lover’s pizza and a side of fries.
What? You’re expecting me to go up to the bar. I just don’t have the Type A personality that demands attention. Besides, I was busy upgrading Facebook on my iPhone. Anyway, the Mac & Cheese came first… in a bowl. What the… Rene and I thought it was going to be a pizza with shaved truffles on top. Dammit, I knew Mac & Cheese Pizza was too good to be true. I went up to whine only to find out the menu listed it under «Pizzas and Pastas». Oh brother. Well, if somebody bothered caring about my dining experience, I wouldn’t have had to humiliate myself in front of a drunk who was willing to take the bowl.
The Meat Lover’s Pizza was typical bar pizza with little bits of meat and a hole lotta jalapenos. Spicy hot. But the thought of going up to the bar to get the water was overwhelming until the third-​degree burns on my tongue proved my undoing. To the bartender’s credit, he gave us the water with little fuss. The only uncontroversial item were the fries, and it would have been a sad sight if they screwed that up with Ore-​Ida krinkles. Actually I wouldn’t have been disappointed. All in all, it was an evening that will live in infamy if not in amnesia despite the good company.
FOOD — 2.5 stars… OK except for that jalapeño kick
AMBIANCE — 3.5 stars… still the upscale California central coastal vibe, still pretty loud though not unbearably so
SERVICE — 2 stars… they should just say it’s self-​service and parked a tray on the side of my head
TOTAL — 2 stars… sorry, the indifferent service trumps the other considerations

I cannot believe the low scores that this restaurant is getting.
We were looking what to do on New Years eve and came across the 3– course pre-​fixe menu that they had on their website, and thought that it sounded good, so we made reservations and didn’t think any more of it until NYE arrived.
I will admit, the location of the restaurant is interesting. Hawthorne Lane, more like back alley, but i digress. We flew up from South Bay, and actually arrived into the city early. For me, that started the evening on a good note. no fighting or sitting in traffic. but again i digress further.
To the restaurant. Being early, we decided to have a drink at the bar to start. My friend had A Royal Hound, her fiancé and I had galanga gimlets. Very impressive that they made the grapefruit juice for the hound and thel ime juice for the Gimlet right in front of you by taking fresh fruit and mashing it ala mojito style into a bottom of the glass. the hound was really good, and the gimlets all we could taste was bitter. (Not impressed with my first drink and yet the restaurant gets 5 stars must tell you something)
when we get to the table, we donned the crab bibs provided, and then sampled the wine on tap (how could we not, even just for the novelty of it) they have, and decide it wasn’t for us, so we ordered more cocktails. To counter the Gimlet, i ordered the sweetest thing i could find on the menu, and got a Raspberry Lemon Drop which was really sweet, but liked it much better.
Cocktails ordered, we were studying the menu when much to our surprise, our waitress told us that we get everything on it, not just one from each section, so we ended up with a 3 course 6 dish meal! More Food? how could I complain?
First out was the roasted oysters with Brussels sprouts, pancetta and vermouth butter. talk about melt in your mouth! I so could of ate the whole tray by myself.
With the oysters mas a watercress, avocado, and grapefruit salad. Total food bliss.
With those plates cleared, the main course came out, with 3 crab halves in a crab shell (half a crab each). The crab was boiled? and then put in a wood fired oved to crisp it. It was served with ultra thin fries and slaw. again I could of had 2 crabs myself.
Paired with it was tri-​tip, cooked perfectly pink, and sliced with a bernaise sauce, and served over roast beef hash. I thought i was in food heaven.
The final course was of course desert. I couldn’t tell you what it was, but it was a chocolate mouse cake thing that was perfectly tart. and paired with that was a babana/​puff pastry served with bourbon ice cream.
I could not believe the quality of the food, and even though we were stuffed, after every bite, every course, i was wishing i could just start over from the beginning and eat more.
would definitly eat here whenever I was in SF, and as my friend said they should server their crab dish everynight.

I came here years ago when it was still Hawthorne Lane. They totally re-​did the interior and I remembered tables or booths in the main dining room, but now there are long benches and smaller tables. The long benches look like a great idea for big parties.
I made reservations at 8 pm and our table wasn’t ready! I think we were finally seated at 815. I agree with the other reviews that the bread basket is delicious! We both had the salad, which was good for a salad, but the plate seemed too small and I kept knocking off pieces of the salad and croutons on the table. The croutons were defn homemade and huge! I had the pork chop for dinner and it was grilled nicely. I couldn’t finish it because the portions are huge.
All in all, the restaurant is ok, but nothing really that special or noteworthy. I remember that Hawthorne Lane (which btw is the same owner as now) had a reputation of being a good restaurant back in the day, but when I actually ate there, i left feeling sorta under-​impressed. The same for last night’s experience as I left sorta under-​impressed.
The cool thing though is that the bathroom is huge and well decorated with a couch and tons of mirrors.

There is one reason only to go to this restaurant: THE BAR. It is outstanding and the bartenders are some of the coolest people I have ever met.
The food.. . it attempts to impress me, but leaves me hanging.
The décor.. . really, really bad. Truly.
I have a lot of choice words for this place, but I refrain. Just don’t go, and plead for Hawthorn Lane back.

TWO visits, still THREE stars.
My second visit to Two was similar to the first. None of the dishes struck me with the exception of ONE: the Foie Gras «PB&J.» While foie gras, peach chutney, peanut butter, and toast may seem like a culinary experiment gone amok, it was actually an unusual, interesting, and delicious combination! (But with the small portion and not small price tag ($ 17), this spendy treat tastes even better when you know it’s going on your friend’s expense account.)
Thanks K!

3 ½ stars.
I really loved the interior and the layout of the restaurant. The bar is in the center, with a communal table on one side and regular tables throughout. I enjoyed the muted tones of the chandeliers and window treatments (isn’t that what they call them?) that seemed to make the best of the daylight.
Now on the the alcohol & food. We started with a cocktail because that’s what my friend and I always do when we get together for lunch. And we were both quite happy with our respective drinks.
We ordered the hamburger and the meat lovers pizza (carnivores unite!) to share. The burger was good but the meat was much smaller than the bun, reminding me of childhood bbqs when I was left with too much bread. Luckily the bun at Two was much better than the wonder-​bread crap I grew up with so it wasn’t too bad to have some leftover. The meat was also good, but not thrilling. The standout part of the pizza was that it included beef cheeks, which were quite yummy. Overall the food was good and it was an enjoyable lunch but it didn’t cross the threshold over to greatness.

Edit: Upping my review from 3 stars to 5 02÷22÷08
After my previous review (see below the plus signs), David, the owner of Two, actually messaged me on Unilocal and apologized for the service my party and I received last time. I told him I’d give it another try, and last night a group of us came for another birthday dinner.
My boyfriend and I arrived first, and as soon as we came in, we were greeted warmly and shown to our table. While we waited, they came around and took our drink orders, but they were not pushy with us ordering as some restaurants are inclined to do when there are people waiting. Our friends arrived later, and our waitress, Kris, was very nice and warm to all of us. She gave us time to look over the menus, and after we had ordered our courses, we were given a surprise by David. We received a speciality tuna tartare dish that is no longer on the menu, but was a remnant of the Hawthorne Lane restaurant. It was delicious. The tuna was fresh and spicy! It came on four baked seaweed (I believe) chips, and we all ooohed and aaahed at the taste.
Our table ordered the beef carpaccio, half chicken, the risotto, the rabbit pot pie, and the swordfish. Everything was delicious and savory. The pot pie was very hearty and the crust delightful. We ended with a caramel nut sundae (just as delicious as mentioned below) that had ‘Happy Birthday Nina’ scribbled in chocolate on a plate for my friend with the birthday. It also came with a cute candle.
The service this time around was impeccable and more in line with a high end restaurant. They were patient, accommodating, didn’t rush us, and checked in on us just enough times to be pleasant, and not overbearing.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I’d say 3.5 stars, but Unilocal doesn’t let me give a half star =(
Came here tonight for the first time. Review —
Décor — Awesome. Very swanky, loungey, and dark/​muted tones. I like restaurants like that, where I can sit back, relax, and enjoy a cozy meal. It’s tucked away in a cute street.
Service — A bit lacking. Our waitress was overworked and harried. I think she was serving the entire back section, which makes me sympathetic to her harried self, but I think that a restaurant of that demeanor should have more than just one server. She didn’t check on us very often, was hard to flag down, remembered our order wrong (I ended up getting a pork chop not prepared the way I wanted it, you have two choices, and our fries came at the very last, when our entrees were finished and we had to remind her), and shoved my dessert menu towards me so that all the crumbs on the table in front of me fell on me. Smooth.
Food — I couldn’t really justify the price to the taste. I think you’re paying more for the dining experience than the dishes. I had the pork chop… I wanted it with the broccoli rabe and lemon, but I was given it with the spicy marinara sauce. It was a pretty typical pork chop, similar to what I’d get at a place like Pasta Pomodora. cheesy, saucy, and salty. I was a bit surprised (I guess the menu indicated it all) when I just got a pork chop. No garnish, no little veggies on the side, just a pork chop. My bad for misreading the menu!
The dessert was a lot better than the entrees. This place has really good desserts. My friends and I ordered the caramel nut sundae (delicious, nutty, rich, but not overly rich, and yet still light — interesting); the mini ice cream sandwiches (a nice twist on regular ice cream sandwiches, they had oatmeal cookies with ice cream in the middle, and chocolate cookies with espresso coffee in the middle), and the root beer float (yum and a kind of root beer brand I’ve never seen before).
I’d come back for desserts for sure! I think I’d give the entrees another shot but I’d try something that’s not a pork chop =). Also, they seem to have run out of a lot of food, though our reservations weren’t that late (by the time we arrived they’d run out of scallops, chicken noodle soup, and mint ice cream for the brownie and mint chocolate ice cream sandwich). I guess that’s what’s to be expected when the menus change frequently?

Two.
I’ve been writing this review for awhile now. I was attempting to be creative by inserting some Two Legit — Two legit to Quit — MC Hammer lyrics… but Hammer’s quick beats don’t quite fit with the elegant, relaxing, and polished loveliness — that is Two.
With a plethora of business meeting spots — which include crowded Osha and others, it is so refreshing to have a sophisticated place like Two to take co-​workers, after work dates, and the like.
Two’s menu is continually changing. Each change and addition is creative and exceptional, and even before you have a chance to sample their exquisite food selection, you can’t help but roll around the ingredients in your mouth. They roooooollll and flow.
Their pizzas, pastas, and meat entrees all are rich, beautifully presented, and delicious. I was a particularly big fan of their spaghetti dish with rock shrimp awhile back, which was seasoned delicately; each bite dazzled my mouth.
All of Two’s dishes and dish ingredients are melded together perfectly and though the portions (outside of the pizza) may be on the smaller side (in comparison with our crazy American portions) — the food is so rich and superb — that it ends up being just right — especially if your lunch partner (s) are open to sharing things.
Two’s other outstanding feature is their wine selection. It is both fairly affordable (I have to admit, and was justly called out in a nice way on this — that affordable is relative — but Two does an impressive job of selling superb quality wines and reasonable prices) and extensive. If you ask their quick and gracious servers to recommend a particular wine to accompany your meal — they are more than willing to — and are more than familiar with the selections.
A quiet, charming retreat from the work-​day and either busy Mon-​Fri financial district or deserted weekend area, Two deserves a visit.
Also be sure to take some time as you enter to admire the entrance way of the lovely venue, accented with quaint, darling, rustic touches. All of which Mr. Winkle explored and enjoyed thoroughly —