I first started going to LuLu Restaurant in San Francisco’s SOMA about six years ago and at the time, it was a trendy restaurant known for mid-level people watching (note: it’s definitely not an LA kind of people watching scene, particularly given its semi-industrial neighborhood). Sometimes I’d meet a media friend or a girlfriend at the bar and just order a glass or two of their umpteen glasses of wine by the glass and a salad.
The building itself is very cool; a 1910 warehouse, the inside was transformed by architect Cass Calder Smith. Their menu? “Seasonal” Provençal and they have an open wood-fired oven, rotisserie and grill. I felt it may have lost its mojo a bit a few years ago and stopped going, however I wound up there recently for a business lunch and while I was more impressed by my colleague’s choices than my own, two things stood out: the wine selection remained great and the service was better than average.
If you don’t want to dive into a full blown meal, you can just hang at the wine bar and try one of their over 70 selections by the glass. You can also try one of their creative wine flights, where you can go for a 2 ounce taste or order a pichet if you really love it. They feature over 500 bottles focusing on wines from France, Italy, Spain and the U.S.
From roasted beets and arugula rabe with fennel to bruschetta with calabrian chili jam and country pate with cornichons, you’ll experience a rustic French cuisine experience right down to the Leek, Goat Cheese and Bacon Tart.
If you want to go for a full course meal, even at lunch, there are options and they do a special price fixe menu during the day for $19 which includes a soup or caesar salad, a main (often a pasta or sandwich) and a dessert.
If that’s too much for you, there are plenty of salad options, starters, burgers, sandwiches, pizza or pasta.
I tried the chicken with rosemary, aioli, tomatoes and garlic), which typically comes with french fries, but I ordered a salad side to keep it a little healthier. To be honest, while the prosciutto was a nice added touch, the bread was on the dry side and adding an entire side of aioli didn’t do much to offset it. It really didn’t live up to the expectation or perception of the restaurant name.
My colleague ordered a Margarita pizza, one of the simplest of the pizza choices on the menu. You can also go for a meatball one, mushroom with mozzarella and thyme, asparagus with braised leek crema, prosciutto and mozzarella, a Carbonara with Guanciale, Egg, Pecorino (one of my favorites), Mozzarella and pea sprouts (sounds delicious), or the roasted garlic and goat cheese ravioli with sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts (sounds even more delicious) – see below.
I love quail and they had it on the menu (served grilled) and also an organic spelt conchiglioni with slow cooked pork, fennel sausage ragu and bellwether farms ricotta. (an interesting combination although it sounds a bit too rich for my stomach).
Overall, it disappointed like it did the last time I was there. The food doesn’t live up to the expectation on a consistent basis….that said, the wine list is still a great perk to the place as is the fact that its not overly busy so you don’t have to wait in line for an hour begging for a table like you do with some of the others in its category in the city. Range Restaurant on Valencia Street comes to mind. I stopped going even though its technically in my hood; too much attitude and I never feel like they want to accommodate me since they always seem to have a line. Why go over the top making just ‘one’ customer feel special? I don’t subscribe but once a restaurant becomes popular, all too often, a l’il attitude comes into play, often the thing that makes me look for another new discovery in the city without the attitude.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
