The Royal Treatment

Eat in style at Ducca.

At Ducca, the new restaurant in the Westin San Francisco Market Street hotel, you’ll be seduced long before the first plate of food arrives. Murano-glass chandeliers, buttery leather banquettes and a generously sized outdoor patio— complete with fire pits— go a long way toward making a stellar first impression. Then comes dinner: Cicchetti (small Venetian bar snacks) the perfect precursor to a good meal, include crispy, well-salted arancini, which make fine cocktail companions. Chef Richard Corbo, formerly of Mecca, shows an aptitude for the kind of rustic Italian dishes he grew up eating.The egg-rich pappardelle with hearty lamb sugo is toothsome, and chicken arrosto (shown here) is a crisp-skinned triumph, set on a bed of mascarpone polenta. Desserts are simple but outstanding, and include a silky panna cotta topped with espresso gelée and chocolate granita, and a butter-rich almond crostata served with roasted fruit and a scoop of grassy olive-oil gelato.

Ducca 50 Third St., 415-977-0271

email page | print page