Gitane Restaurant is on a quaint side alley in San Francisco’s financial district called Claude Lane, but something you could easily miss if you didn’t know where to look. Nearby is an equally quaint restaurant called Cafe Claude, which we keep meaning to review. The restaurant is very central, roughly five blocks from Union Square, just off of Bush or Sutter Streets near the intersection of Kearny Street.
Take a look at their incredibly old world bar…old world but hip and modern at the same time. The bar has a massive collection of cocktails and is decorated with large heavy drapes behind the main bar area with protruding classical oil paintings from the last century. And, if you look up, you’re greeted with warm blues and reds, soft hazy dim fused lights, and mirrors. Below is something I shot using a fisheye lens on my iPhone 5.
Gitane’s interior exhibits the sexy playfulness of a 1930’s cabaret, the swagger of Serge Gainsbourg, and the audacious spirit of the 70’s disco era. Chef team and husband and wife duo Bridget Batson and Patrick Kelly serve an updated contemporary Spanish menu that looks to Andalusia for gastronomic inspiration, spotlighting the southern regions of Spain but there’s a French feel to the place as well.
The menu changes seasonally to reflect the bounty of flavor profiles and distinctive regional influences from culinary-rich cities such as Seville, Andalusia to Valencia. There’s a five-course regional tasting menu and a la carte menu served in the upstairs dining room which we didn’t test out this time. Gitane is also home to one of the largest selections of sherry in the Bay Area.
To start off, try sharing one of their Charcuterie or cheese plates (selection of 3 for $30 and selection of 3 for $24). They also have a fabulous asparagus salad, served with serrano ham, eggs, mimosa and mojama, an artichoke dish that is roasted and crisped, served with machego cheese and olive oil, or a pasta filled canalone with roasted veal breast, lacinato kale and tetilla cheese. (YUM!) If you want to go a little heavier, you can the crispy, suckling pig confit, served with braised mustard greens, saffron golden raisins, with pine nuts and black olive jus. Wanting to know what to pair it with? While there are plenty of whites on the menu, most of which we ordered went better with one of their old world reds.
Try their Garnacha Merlot Blend (they have a 2010 Pasanau), or a 2008 Tempranillo/Syrah right next to the 2006 Tempranillo Vina Alberdi Rioja. They had a North Coast Pino (2010 La Fenetre), but personally, I’m not a fan of this one.
For entrees, they have a valencia rice a la plancha dish, a scrumptious option called Gallina, which is pancetta wrapped guinea hen ballotine, served with potato galleta and hen jus. There’s also a crispy duck leg and breast with Tempranillo chili and pine nuts, a roasted monkfish with Valencia rice (the Spanish influence again), with picada verde and marcona almonds. Is your mouth watering yet? If so, wait for this one – Conejo y Caracoles in Spanish, which equates to their Roasted Rabbit saddle and morcilla blanca, served with braised snails, asparagus coulis, spring garlic and those marcona almonds again.
The below shot of the seared scallop, served with crispy sweetbreads (YUM!), parsnip cream and lobster oil was delicious despite the graininess of the photo. Remember that was shot on my iPhone and the light was quite dim.
It wouldn’t have an infusion of old world French if it didn’t have Beignets with powdered sugar. They may not take you back to New Orleans’ Cafe du Monde (so itching to go back), but it will come close. These were SO delicious. You can also order a flight of sherry if you’d like to finish them off with, which included options from Charleston, Savannah, Boston and New York. Think: Gran barquero, Montilla-Moriles, San Leon – Bodegas Argueso, Vina AV – Gonzalez Byass and Cesar Florido – Chipiona. (if you get them separately, they’re in the $7-8 range per glass).
We love this place – the ambiance and service is top notch (bar tenders rocked it). We saddled up to the bar for our above tastings, but I’d like to return to dive into more of the entree menu and perhaps a bottle of red, so we’d have a wider selection to choose from – we opted for tastings by the glass our first time around.
For more great food and wine suggestions in San Francisco, visit our San Francisco restaurants and San Francisco food & wine section.
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.
