Scoma's
Restaurant Fisherman's Wharf
Traditional San Francisco Fresh Seafood and more
Dining
Detectives
By Carol & Joe Davis
We
love to dine at trendy, upscale, nouvelle cuisine restaurants
in San Francisco but we also have a soft spot in our hearts for
the old school "tried and true" as well. Scoma's
Restaurant has been serving fresh right off the boat
seafood for almost 50 years at Fisherman's Wharf. Surely things
have changed since 1965 but there are reasons that both Bay Area
locals and tourists from around the world keep coming back including
the fresh seafood, large portions, warm hospitality and the stiff
cocktails. You drive down Al Scoma Way off of Jefferson Street
and you return to yesteryear. The restaurant is wedged between
commercial fishing boats right on the water and set away from
the maddening crowds. There are views from their big windows of
the fishing boats as well as Coit Tower, the Transamerica Pyramid
and on the sunny day that we dined we could see some fog out toward
the Golden Gate Bridge.
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We
were seated at a window table with a white linen table cloth,
ordered cocktails and soon received a basket of authentic San
Francisco Sourdough bread. You definitely get a "San Francisco"
pour on the cocktails. The Cosmopolitan was excellent
as was the Whaler's Rum.
We
chatted with some of our neighboring diners as we looked at the
menu. A San Francisco Firefighter and his family were enjoying
Pasta Seafood dishes and a couple from Arkansas, who always make
sure they dine at Scoma's Restaurant every time they are in town,
were happily sharing a bottle of Napa Valley Wine and the Lazy
Man's Cioppino.
We
stared out by tasting the Soups. Both the classic Clam Chowder
and Lobster Bisque were just rich enough and very flavorful.
A cup is not too filling and a great way to begin your meal! Next,
we had their traditional Dungeness Crab Cakes. They were
almost all crab, perfectly seasoned with fresh celery and nicely
browned. The Oysters Rockefeller alla Scoma was another tasty
appetizer. These hot oysters were served off shell and were healthier
and lighter than most we've tasted.
Dungeness
Crab is in season so we knew we needed to have the Cracked
Crab which was roasted with herbs and olive oil. It was so much
fun cracking the crab and digging out the crab meat. Our other
entrée was the classic grilled Shrimp and Scallops
alla Gannon. This was a mountain of food with shrimp and
nicely sautéed scallops adjacent to mashed potatoes, rice,
broccoli and cauliflower. This was easily enough food for two
meals or lunch the next day. The Sides that we ordered were all
large portions and absolutely delicious! We loved the Sautéed
Mushrooms, classic Creamed Spinach and the Parmesan
Polenta.
Scoma's
Restaurant has an Award Winning Wine List with quite a few wines
offered by the glass. We enjoyed the 2011 MacMurray Ranch
Sonoma Coast Pinot Gris with our appetizers and the 2009
Hitching Post Rita Hills Pinot Noir paired perfectly with
our entrees. The Desserts were both excellent and exceeded our
expectations...can't wait to have them again! The Apple Crisp
had a lot of brown sugar and reminded us of the Apple Betty our
Mom's used to make.
The
Crème Caramel was perfect also which is not that
easy to find. A Mr. Espresso and a 2005 Taylor Fladgate Ruby Port
were the perfect finish to our fabulous dinner.
Scoma's
Restaurant is open daily serving fresh, sustainable seafood
as well as steaks, salads and pasta dishes. Executive Chef Alan
Fairhurst who graduated from the California Culinary
Academy has led the kitchen since 1999 and the staff is friendly
and professional. The portions are huge and everyone we talked
to enjoyed their food and drinks. We loved our dinner, the Old
School feeling, felt the family love and look forward to returning
soon.
Scoma's
Restaurant Fisherman's Wharf - PIER 47
1 Al Scoma Way (at Jefferson St.)
San Francisco, CA. 94133
415-771-4383
www.Scomas.com