 Nestled in the Westin, Ducca boasts an outdoor fire pit and a vast dining room with gleaming chandeliers and towering flower arrangements, yet basic design elements veer off course. Tables, for example, are too high, and chairs, though plush, dip low enough to make a tall person feel slumped. Under chef Erica Holland-Toll (Lark Creek Inn), Ducca's northern Italian fare suffers from a similarly inconsistent vision: individual elements deliver, but overall, dishes are limited in ambition and unspectacular in execution. In one of the Venetian-inspired small plates, or cicchetti, mushy baby artichokes with sea salt skate across a slick of oil. While a winter squash risotto oozes buttery sweetness, its crown of clams adds no balancing brine. Likewise, a humble supporting cast of caramelized cipollini and olive oil-"crushed" potatoes sing much deeper, more soulful notes than the sprawling New York strip steak they flank. Dinner might be run-of-the-mill, but Ducca's happy hour scene is lively with post-work drinkers and exhausted travelers staggering up to the bar. If you're in the neighborhood, join them in the lounge and soak up your cocktail with the best thing on the menu---the unusual and truly lovely roasted grape and burrata crostini. |
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Set the mood for love by reserving a table at one of the Best Romantic Restaurants in San Francisco, or view our list of Valentines Restaurants to find out which restaurants are offering unique menus just for February 14. Also, see who sets the standard for seductive dining across the country with our Top 10 Romantic Restaurants in the U.S. list.
