Slanted Door

(Embarcadero)
Ferry Building Marketplace  
415-861-8032 Map it
www.slanteddoor.com

E + D Award Winner
$$$-$$$$
bar scene, business lunch, dine at the bar, family style, good for groups, lunch, notable chef, open 7 days, prix-fixe menu, romantic, valet parking, view

2008 EAT + DRINK AWARD: Best Vietnamese
2007 EAT + DRINK AWARD: Best Food with a View / Best Vietnamese

SCENE: Good food and good views don’t often go together, but the Slanted Door’s current location proves an exception. The restaurant’s big, modern space at the northern end of the culinary utopia known as the Ferry Building Marketplace has a wall of windows overlooking the Bay and a lounge area with top-notch cocktails. Locals gawk right next to tourists.

EATS: With his Chez Panisse–like take on Vietnamese fare, chef Charles Phan showcases a menu of simple dishes with local, organic ingredients. Out of the wood-fired oven come clams with chiles and Thai basil and whole fish with spicy ginger sauce. Devoted regulars still order the shaking beef, daikon rice cakes and caramelized shrimp that made a name for Phan. The tea service here is oustanding.