A Mano

(San Francisco)

I don’t eat pasta too often and I haven’t tried that many places in San Francisco, but there’s one place that I keep going back to. Two summers ago, I had a pasta craving, something that’s never happened to me before, so I didn’t really know where to start. Luckily, I heard about a Mano and had been wanting to try it. I was really excited about this place because I heard that they had handmake their pasta daily, which is not something many Italian restaurants offer. Moreover, this restaurant is located in one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city, Hayes Valley.

a Mano means “by hand” in Italian and refers to the way in which the kitchen and the bar approach the creation of each and every dish and cocktail.

Credit

Appetizers:

• Duck Liver Mousse: I rarely get liver mousse, but ever since I had it at Starbelly, I’ve grown fond of it. I was pleasantly surprised by how big the portion was! Typically, I don’t like sweet and savory mixed together, but the fruit that it was paired with balanced the dish very well. If you need more crostini, just ask them for more 🙂
• Arancini: This is similar to a porcini, but they’re a lot crunchier. I would save to eat this at the end, so it doesn’t take up all your stomach space. It’s very hot, so be careful! I think it’s worth getting this once if you’ve never had an arancini before, but definitely not something I’d be able to eat a lot of. Although the sauce looked cheesy, it was actually tomatoey.

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Pasta:

• Spaghettini Seafood: I love how strong the seafood flavor is! Moreover, the sauce is light, so I can eat more of this.
• Campanelle Funghi: I liked the campanelle, but the sauce was very bland, so I wouldn’t get this again.
• Tagliatelle Pesto: The tagliatelle pasta was harder than I had liked, but the pesto sauce was great.

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• Fusilli Beef Shank: This is one of my favorite pasta dishes there! I love how much beef there is and the pasta they use.
• Tagliatelle Mushroom: The mushroom flavor was good, but the tagliatelle wasn’t the best since I’m used to a wider and thinner one.
• Fusilli Pesto: The pesto here is always great! I like the fusilli as well, but I wish there was meat in this dish.
• Squid Ink Orrechiete: I had high expectations for this, but I was very disappointed. There are as many chickpeas as there are orrechiete, if not more. However, the real disappointment was the pasta itself. It was quite hard, and I couldn’t taste the squid ink flavor much. I wouldn’t get this one again.

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They offer inside and outside seating as well as a bar area. However, the tables are quite small, but maybe that’s just because I get too much food. The high stool seating tables definitely don’t offer enough room if you decide to get more than one plate per person, and I strongly recommend ordering 3-4 plates per 2 people because their portions are not that big and also because they’re that yummy. I like the portion size because it allows me to get more dishes so I can try more of their pasta! Their prices are also inexpensive for pasta, especially for an Italian restaurant. I love how the menu changes every time I go! Of course they have seasonal items, but they switch up the pastas they use with the sauces they offer too. I’m not sure how many different type of pastas they actually make, but I’ve definitely had more than five different ones. The only thing I would change about this place might be the lighting. It definitely fits the ambiance, but it makes it hard to take good photos. Similarly, with the tables. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t come by because it’s worth the wait! Not to mention, Urban Ritual and Salt & Straw Ice Cream are just around the block.

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