SPQR

(Pacific Heights)
1911 Fillmore Street  
415-771-7779 Map it
www.spqrsf.com

$$
Italian
dine at the bar, lunch, notable chef, notable wine list, open 7 days, open kitchen

SCENE: The team behind A16 has made the Italian restaurant into a household name among the food-loving cognoscenti, so it’s little surprise that its second venture—an approximation of a Roman trattoria squeezed into the former Chez Nous space on Fillmore—is packed every night. Bring snacks: Reservations aren’t taken, and the wait can be brutal.

EATS: The menu is organized into three categories: antipasti, pasta and entrées. Among the antipasti are cold, hot and fried options—the best include the crispy fried sweetbread nuggets, paired with celery salad, and the borlotti beans topped with pork soffritto. Basic pasta preparations, such as amatriciana, carbonara and cacio e pepe, are available with rigatoni or spaghetti (both house-made) and are the kind of simple dishes you could eat several times a week. Entrées tend toward the humble and rustic, from slow-cooked beef short ribs alla vaccinara to unfashionable but delicious braised tripe.