On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Mon-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Mon-Thu. 5:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
"Quick service, good seating, great vibe...awesome drinks. Let's talk about the Sangria...I have not had a Sangria worth its weight since…" read more »
Loading...
Overrated, pricey, piss-poor service, but a cool patio.
I have been to Ducca a couple time now. Once when the sun was out and the outside bar was packed and a lot of fun. The drinks are over priced outside of happy hour.
We went last night again to hit up the half off happy specials. Pretty good deal; half off all wine, cocktails and beer till 7pm on fri and sat. Couple issues though.
First, the food that we ordered with the drinks was pretty bad. I was expecting bar food and this still left a bad taste in my mouth. The shrimp were so gross I had to stop and get a pack of gum to get the taste out of my mouth.
Second, the normal price of a beer was $7 and most glasses of wine were over $11. Come on....even in SF $7 for a beer is a bit much. HH makes it a good deal but post-HH it can rack up the bill.
Third, the waiter forgot to give us HH prices, so we had to go back and ask...annoying.
All in all the patio is cool, but most likely won't go back.
I organize our company's holiday party every year. This year, with the recommendation of a friend, I decided to come to Ducca. The reservationist was very helpful and nice and accommodated us with what ever we needed.
The apps were really good and I have to say my favorite was the risotto balls. I try not to eat cheese very often but I couldn't stay away from them! Some of the entrees (chicken), were a little dry but overall we were very happy. The desert was also pretty interesting. It was some kind of pomegranate jello type thing. Some of us liked it and some didn't.
I don't know if I would come back here again on my own but our holiday lunch was definitely fun.
I went with a couple of friends for dinner, although the company was great I cant say much about the whole experience as a restaurant itself
it was just normal
We started with cheese plate - just ok and typical
I had the lamb shank with egg pasta - underseasoned
I tried my friends fish - also underseasoned
so we decided to order 3 bottles of wine instead and forget about the food
the service however was above average
I came here with some co-workers during Happy Hour for an informal meeting. I never expect the noise level to be quiet during any Happy Hour, but I expect to at least hear the people sitting next to me. We sat in the large round lounge area, but couldn't hear each other at all. In fact, the acoustics at Ducca is really odd...we actually heard the people ACROSS the room a lot better than each other. The appetizer selection was scant, mostly greasy fried foods. The only thing that saved Ducca from a 1-star review is the Arancini appetizer (fried risotto balls); those were pretty good.
1 star off: very poor acoustics
1 star off: not much to munch on during Happy Hour
1 star off: didn't really need to hear the BREAST-FEEDING action going on across the room (with all due respect to breast-feeding moms)
Ducca can be whatever you want it to be. I've been there for happy hour good bye parties. I've been there for professional mixers. I've seen a lot of first dates going down here at the bar.
It can be a romantic spot for two or a great spot for a larger, more boistrous party. They even play sports on the big-screen tv's on Sunday nights (tacky, maybe?). Any way you slice it, there's something for everyone.
Likewise, the menu is pretty straightforward and you'd be hard pressed to NOT find something interesting. Sadly, interesting doesn't always equal delicious. On a recent visit, I had the misfortune of ordering the artichoke hearts which appeared to have been drained from a jar, warmed in olive oil and served straight up. The ricotta ravioli in cream sauce with sage (which sounded delicious) was drenched in a rich, heavy, but tasteless sauce. The ravioli themselves would have shone in a more flavorful bath. You can't screw up olives, and Ducca doesn't. Their delicious little warm marinated olives were delicious with a really good (by SF standards) cheese plate and addictively tasty walnut bread (from Tartine perhaps?).
Three stars for a really beautiful interior and whimsical courtyard and inside circular bar seating area (love it!). The service is friendly, outgoing, and playful as well. Knowledgeable too- our server recommended some delicious wines. I like Ducca, I just wish the food had been better. I'll definitely be back for drinks and I'll give some of the other food a try while I'm at it.
I went to Ducca for drinks with a friend on Wednesday afternoon. The outdoor heat lamps were on and we decided to hang out and grab drinks. There was a small bar setup near the tables but no bartender, so we sat down to wait. After 15-minutes of no bartender, I went inside to inquire about getting drinks. The bartender inside wasn't there and after a few minutes he returned from the back.
I asked him about getting drinks outside and he said "oh their should be a bartender out there". I asked him to send someone to get our drink orders and he agreed willingly.
After another 5 minutes, still nobody. Finally a bartender showed up at the (empty) outdoor bar and we thought that he would come get our drink orders...not only did he not come get our drink orders, he didn't bother to let us know that he expected us (even though the place was totally empty) to come to the bar to order a drink.
After so many minutes of zero service I asked to speak with a manager and the "beverage manager" came out and was not very thoughtful and acted as if we should have known that a table with a heat-lamp on no visible bartender meant we should order at the (empty) bar.
Taste in my mouth is quite bitter regarding Ducca. Would have expected more for two $8 beers
The food is delicious! I have no idea why this place only has 3 stars on Yelp when there are plenty of janky, mediocre restaurants that are rated better. So weird. But maybe I feel this great about Ducca because I didn't have to pay for it--I came here for a company-subsidized team building event. I can only imagine what the bill looked like.
But before I start, note that service here was pretty slow. It was good that we were a large group of people, so it wasn't so obvious that they were taking a long time. If I came here on a date with someone who I didn't know that well, there would have been a lot of thumb-fiddling and awkward chuckling, and I would probably be ordering drinks during the wait to pass the time by faster.
We arrived about an hour early, and ended up lounging around in their lounge/bar area to wait for our reservation. It had a very hip yet still classy vibe to it--parts of the lounge area reminded me of an upscale club. I ended up getting a Bloody Mary, which was good, but not the best I've had (check out Dave and Buster's for that...seriously.) It wasn't tomatoey enough for me, and I think they put a bit of black pepper in it (wasn't a fan of that).
As for dinner...the night started off with bread and olive oil (super fresh olive oil--I could literally taste the green) and a cheese plate with 5 different kinds of cheese, crackers, fruits, and nuts.
I ended up getting a Scallop dish to start for myself. I think it was a Scallop Crudo, but don't quote me on that. It turned out be raw scallops in a light olive oil + lemon sauce garnished with radishes, and was absolutely delicious. Probably my favorite out of all of the things that I tried. The dish was very light and refreshing, and the scallops themselves were very buttery and fresh--get this if you love sashimi! I couldn't tell that I was eating seafood at all...I would totally go back to the restaurant just for this one dish. I also grabbed nibbles of other people's starters--the Heirloom Broccoli was actually very delicious. It had a roasted, smokey flavor and was probably the best broccoli I've ever had. Definitely unexpected!
For the main course, I had the Herb Stuffed Rotisserie chicken. The chicken itself was a bit dry on its own, but it tasted fine if I made sure to pick up some of the sauce on the plate. It came on a bed of vegetables which consisted mostly of corn and tomatoes. This tasted a LITTLE odd--it tasted like it was soaked in meat juice, and it probably was--but I loved the sweet buttery-ness of the corn (this part was perfect!) so much that it didn't really bother me.
I tried a bit of the Lamb Ragu, which also blew me away. The pasta was soft and chewy, and the sauce tasted like lamb without being too gamey. However, the pork dish that someone else got left a bit to be desired. The pork came breaded in what I suspect to be a Parmesean/bread crumb mix, and was pretty dry. It also tasted very simple--like comfort food--which is OK in the right circumstances, but I would have expected more for the price. I wouldn't recommend getting this dish. However, the Parmesean mashed potatoes that came with that dish was heavenly--buttery and delicious.
At the end of the meal, I had a plum dessert. Can't remember its name! :( All I remember is that it was like a tiny tart and came with a bit of walnut gelato. I wasn't really feeling it, but I think that was my fault for ordering a fruit dessert when I probably was in the mood for something else. The gelato was one of the best gelatos I've had though. You can really taste the walnut flavor, and it was very sweet and satisfying, but still refreshing.
Overall, I had a blast here. But it was definitely a huge plus to be able to share the night with a group of coworkers who didn't mind sharing their food. I'm looking forward to the day that I can bring my boyfriend here. It's a perfect place to bring your significant other for a nice night out!
Note: This review is only about the bar, not the restaurant.
This is a fairly solid and upscale bar that's fairly centrally located. The bartenders and waitstaff have always been extremely friendly every time I've been. The outdoor seating is awesome on a decent evening, and they do have the fire pit and heat lamps for the cooler nights.
Let me warn you that this place is on the pricier side of bars, but you get what you pay for here. Liquor pours are generally on the 5-6 second side of things (and they only get longer the longer you stay/more you spend).
I've only came here when partners from work have paid for drinks but I'm not sure if this would be my first choice when paying for my own drinks -- I'd probably choose Rickhouse over this. That said, I am comparing two totally different vibes. I guess I'm trying to say you should come here if you want standard drinks in a classy atmosphere and pretty people.
So we tried the breakfast buffet (25 bucks by the way), it was a lot less than what you'd get at an all inclusive resort but boy do they charge! The food is alright, I mean that it's average in a sense that it's not terrible but nothing really sticks out to me.
Maybe the anchovy covered Caesar salad? When I had lunch, the burger was average, tomatoes didn't seem too fresh, if it came from Salinas, then someone probably walked it over.
We'll, I'm stuck here for another few days, I'm telling the guys to avoid it since there's a lot more interesting places in the area.
Damn good! I was contemplating giving them 4 stars, but I was unable to produce a negative reason to do so. 5 stars!!
Great service! Salmon was fantastic! Went there with 5 others and we had a blast.
Left so very satisfied. Ducca, you did a damn good job.
Ducca would seem to have limitless potential, and yet it succeeds quite handily in tripping over itself.
The light on the horizon is that there's a new sheriff...er...chef in town, and her name is Erica Holland-Toll. The question is whether she can improve the quality of the service at Ducca as well as the menu. Doubtful, but here's hoping.
What is unique about Ducca is that it has the best outdoor seating of any restaurant in San Francisco. Period. Backed up against the Contemporary Jewish Museum, the outdoor area yields fantastic happy hours, with a portable bar, fire pit, heat lamps and wicker furniture. You can lose yourself there for hours. There's plenty of room for large groups, and easily two dozen tables that can seat 2-4+ for lunch or dinner. Definitely eat outside as the interior decor isn't much to write home about, and the bar area can be crowded and drafty.
The menu is Northern Italian, with my favorite item being the arancini (technically Sicilian, but the Italians have laid claim to it). When Holland-Toll took over in mid-June, she kept the same menu, but I taste some improvements. In the past, I stuck to the pastas (gnocchietti with oxtail or pappardelle in sugo) or risotto (with truffle zabaglione). Their main dishes historically missed the mark, for me, but I must say that there seem to have been some changes of late as the roast chicken was excellent, and the lamb was prepared beautifully (though, I thought the orange jus was not the best compliment).
Where the wheels can reeeeeally come off at this place is with the service. At lunch, there are usually 1 or 2 waiters fielding the entire outdoor area, and when they disappear inside to retrieve food/drinks, they can somehow manage to get lost in there and then you're sh*t out of luck. If Ducca overhauls their service etiquette and if Holland-Toll continues to deliver, I think this place will have serious potential to move from "eh" to "hell yeah".
Mediocre food. Top 100? Seriously? I ordered the simplest dish on the menu - rigatoni with broccoli raab, and they overcooked it so much it was inedible and gray. Then they tried to camouflage it by adding freshly cooked green broccoli. FAIL.
Ducca is a loser. We went there on Gay Parade Day around 3ish-4. Sat at a table outside since it was sunny. There were 3 waiters, one helping other tables and two chatting away with the bartender. Never came over. Were we supposed to help ourselves? Get our own drinks and sit down? If so, tell us or leave a note on the table informing your guests. With a drink menu on the table, we expected someone will be over to take our order...tick tick tick tick tick...nope.
There are plenty hotel in the immediate area, as well as bars and restaurants that will happily serve us. This display of non service is just unbelievable in today's economy. Excuse me, do you have too much business that you can now ignore guests? If you do not survive, thank your employees for doing their jobs.
Last night I had the best chicken of my life at Ducca. I didn't quite cry, but I misted up a bit. It was my "Jewish mom"'s birthday and it was basically myself with twelve ladies. We spent the whole time in the pre-dinner seating area first with cocktails and then actually moving on to a full dinner in the lounge. Why didn't we move inside? Well, mainly because our server Ethan was so awesome. He was kind, cheerful, attentive, and must have gotten us almost a dozen things for free from the kitchen, including four servings of amazing birthday chocolate cake for the birthday girl and her party. Incredible service - that's the first time in two years I've given a 50% tip.
But I digress from my main point, which is to address the chicken.
This must have been the sweetest, most loved, kindest-souled chicken God sent to Earth, because this roast chicken arrived so tender, so juicy, so full of simple but amazing flavor I seriously was emotionally moved. It came on a bed of creamy polenta, fresh steamed corn (quite crisp and amazingly naturally sweet), and jus - with just a tiny bit of criped basil. The flavors were so simple, naturally vibrant, powerful, and excellent that it almost immediately made me tingle and squirm with delight.
I really don't understand the other yelp reviews - maybe this place is in the middle of a transformation? But this was a really divine experience. Give it a whirl!!
Food was well plated, but not exceptional, the outdoor area is nice.
I got these cornbread/cheese balls things, they tasted kinda like crappy hush puppies. The sides are pretty big.
Outdoor fire pit & half price wine on Wednesdays sounds like my kind of place.
Just like a lot of other reviewers say, this place has amazing potential. It has one of the best outdoor drinking areas in the city - with heat lamps to keep you warm. But yet it falls way short of its vast potential. The outdoor patio had only two servers so the service was slooooow. It would also be better if they served a greater variety of food outside. We wouldn't have left if we could have gotten dinner there as well. At one point a group of townies, who were not patronizing the restaurant/bar came and sat at the table next to us. One guy kept spitting right near me. It was gross. I expected someone from the place to ask them to leave- they weren't buying anything!
I have actually eaten in the restaurant before and enjoyed my food quite a bit and had a great server. If only they could mirror that outside this place could quickly become a hot spot.
My sales job involves a lot of client lunches and dinners...and when I'm looking for a place to impress, I need a place that's going to deliver the service and quality you'd expect for the $$$'s I'm about to shell out, especially given I'm not about to nickle and dime or think twice about what's being ordered. In this particular case, I had a party of about 15 executives in the food and beverage industry come out for Open World.
Given the size of our party, we had a set menu for lunch. Totally understandable. The service was so-so (even though it wasn't overly busy) and the lapse in time from one dish to the next was a little longer than to be desired given there isn't always easy conversation fillers for a table that long and large. HOWEVER...this is not the reason for the 1 Star. I'm getting itchy as I write this, but in the salads we were served, 4 out of the 8 who ordered the green salad had worms in them- you heard it - worms that were crawling around in the greens. I actually saw one crawl on the edge of the plate 3 seats down, it was that big. My client politely ate around one without saying anything, and when he saw another he put his fork down and made a comment, to which everyone else around then begin looking in their salads. I put down my fork and had the server take them away. Not only did they not ask if we'd like the caesar option instead, they didn't even ask if we'd like the same green salad replaced (not like anyone was in the mood to say yes.)
After the bill came, my client (again, in the food industry) said that we should ask for 10% off or to get the salads comped. Not only were the salads still on the bill, I had to make a special request to see if we could get a small adjustment for the uneaten salads. When the manager on duty at the time came out, she said that there were worms in the salad because it was likely "SO FRESH & ORGANIC". WHAT?!!? I'm just about to spend $900 on lunch at the Westin's hotel restaurant (I spent $600 2 days earlier for lunch) and she's making a fuss about removing the 8 - $8 salads on the menu and acts as tho the restaurant is doing me a service because their salads are SO SO fresh because it's organic. Organic or not, I'm not eating any food that's got live bugs crawling around in it. Not only that, the experience pretty much turned off my client from eating.
Anyhow - it's taken me a couple of weeks to write this, but I just walked by Ducca today and I was reminded. It would have been a perfect day to stop in for olives and a glass of wine, but I thought twice and yelped another wine bar. I'm hoping their management reads this and re-thinks their policy on customer service, especially if there is something that glaring that should have been corrected. I'm thinking twice about my next client meeting.
We probably wouldn't have stepped in here had we not been staying at the Westin. As a matter of fact, my family has dined here more than enough times since they frequent this hotel... Laziness runs in the family, I guess.
FOOD:
* Most of us had the $30 prix fixe deal (appetizer, main and dessert), which was surprisingly good. First came a salad with pecans, beets and tomatoes, topped with sliced cheese and some sweet dressing. Not bad. The main was a pork dish, prepared in three distinct ways. I'm normally not a pork-person, but really enjoyed it...and thank goodness you can't get swine flu from eating pork. The dessert was awesome, but quite milky...so I (being lactose intolerant) had to exercise the little self-control in me and not finish it.
* For additional $15, we got the wine pairing option with this 3-course dinner. Fabulous.
* My father had the veal topped with fried egg. He ate it without any comment, so that's a "no" for me. According to my mother, the buckwheat pasta is horrible...so I'll stay away from this next time as well.
* Lastly, some wine selects are half-off on Wednesdays. FABULOUS!
SETTING & SERVICE:
The restaurant's ambiance is classy, polished and reserved...just like most other Starwood properties. The bar area is equally plush, and the lounge offers a cozy, open space with lots of cushions. Too bad it's only open til midnight.
SUM:
3.5 stars, maybe? Again, the prix fixe + wine pairing is the way to go, though it's not offered every day. And to be honest, the chance of my returning here solely depends on whether or not I stay at the Westin again.
$30 Prix Fixe.
Half off wine list on Wednesdays. Just discovered Vermentino wine.
New York restaurant vibe.
Details details details... Pancetta wrapped chicken livers dusted with chestnut. Gnocchi pan fried before tossing it together. Cannoli garnished with a peanut candied meringue.
Girls night out.
Wobbling and swaying home emitting a relaxed happy shimmery glow I realized I have more fun on a Wednesday night then on Saturday date night.
After a couple of wonderful happy hour experiences at Ducca, I returned this Wednesday with 20 friends for a belated birthday celebration. Each and every friend left raving about Ducca, so much so that multiple literally said: "why would you go anywhere else for happy hour?"
What was so good? Well, the service continued to be the best ever (thank you Ethan!), which is tricky when you're dealing with a group as large as ours, and one where people are adding on and leaving constantly. They provided extra glasses, opened new bottles for us to try, even moved furniture on the fly (without our asking) to make the group as comfortable as possible. The icing on the cake was that when I mentioned I'd brought a treat from home they put it on a platter, complete with beautiful garnish and toothpicks for us! Think about most place's general snobbishness about outside food/bev (cake cutting and corkage fees galore) and this is truly exceptional.
We hadn't planned on staying past drinks and apps, but were having such a good time that we ended up eating dinner as well and got to sample a cross section of the menu. They have a fairly new chef evidently, who came from Lark Creek Inn up in Marin (assuming I got that right, I was a few glasses in). Every single thing was delicious. Some highlights were a side of broccoli in a delicious spicy oil, the scallops and some sinfully rich polenta. My friend, who has had his fair share of fine dining, ordered the roast chicken and gobbled it down before I could snatch a taste, then proclaimed it the best chicken he's ever had.
I left with my opinion reaffirmed that this place should be going off. I think their challenge is it's a huge venue with lots of different areas to fill. But the upside of that is it's a great place for a group gathering. Don't wait for group occasions though. I plan on going back every week, whether with a few or a pack, especially on "wine Wednesday" (they don't actually call it that, but maybe they should).
**This review is for the Wednesday HH only**
It blows my mind that Ducca isn't more popular for it's…
Read more »
I've never had food here. Some of my friends are loyal fans for happy hour . I personally don't care for this place. I guess it's a decent place for a hotel bar, but it's a HOTEL BAR. It reminds me of lonely nights on occasional business trips where I walk down to the bar in the hotel I'm staying to grab a drink by myself. Well, Ducca is a nicer joint than a bar at the Sheraton airport hotel, but the fact that it's inside a hotel really kills it for me.
The atmosphere is NYC masculine. Drinks are on the pricey side, but very strong. Come to think of it . . . my male friends tend to like this place more than my female friends.
Ducca was stop #2 on my Bon Voyage, San Francisco tour.
Their patio is open for drinks and small plates from 4:30-7:30 so we sat outside on a sunny day, drinking wine, watching tourists and eating arancini (Take some risotto, roll it into a ball, put some cheese in the middle, and deep fry it...delicious, right? Plus, there was a delightful white truffle flavor which my winglady and I really dig but we hear there are some crazy people out there who are not truffle lovers, in which case I say I'LL EAT YOURS!).
Note to the guy who I watched happily chit chat with the bartender and then leave a $2 tip on a $30 bill: If your black socks didn't give away your Euro status, that crappy tip sure did.
4 stars minus .5 for all the tourists and .5 for needing a map to find the ladies' room, but +1 for excellent service (in general...not in the bathroom...I've got that covered, thanks) = 4 stars.
If I still worked downtown and was looking for somewhere to have a sunny day happy hour, I'd put Ducca on my short list.
Where to begin? Last night, I had a meeting with 5 other lovely ladies and we decended upon Ducca. While the bar area was packed, the dinner area was empty. I approached the hostess and was VERY honest with her- 3 of us would be eating dinner and 3 of us would be drinking only. Could she seat us in the empty dining area? The hostess denied us at first, but in realizing that those seats would remain empty, offered us the table.
Immediately upon being seated, apparently the server wasnt aware that not all of us were eating and was extremely annoyed, rushed us through our order and somewhat rude, in a snyde sort of way. The salad he recommended (with pears and i think tehy were beats but i could be wrong) was AWFUL. I mean, AWFUL. I felt like I was a bunny rabbit eating weeds. Furthermore, when I asked if I could add chicken to the salad, he looked at me like I had asked for "the world" and said "we dont do substitutions"... great...
I did enjoy the cheese platter, however, it was served for the whole table when we clearly stated that the 2 of us would be sharing it- a bit akward when you have to pick up the platter and move it to your side of the table.
The reason I only put one star is because several of us heard comments from our server like "i hope ur not going to give me 6 credit cards" or "not all of them are eating and the ones that are ordered salads" to the hostess. Sorry buddy, but you got your 18% tip regardless and you had to work all of 4 minutes on our table the whole night? Better than an empty table, right?
I wont be back here. For what I paid, I felt really gipped...
We dined here for a work event and had a prix fixe menu. I choose the halibut with polenta. A light tasty dish. The mixed green salad was topped with a nice dressing and the chocolate hazelnut dessert even better but a little too rich for my taste. Overall, the service was good with a nice ambiance.
I attended Ducca bar for a Bocce Ball and BBQ party on a lovely hot San Francisco Friday after work.
The place was packed with business professionals who were looking to score free vodka mixed drinks and POP champagne (I was one of them). I hung out with my friends while enjoying the awesome weather and people watching. After an hour or so into the party, people's inhibitions started breaking down and a few people were brave enough to venture to the dance area and groove to the DJ music.
At the party, free horsd'oeuvres were passed around that were delicious (don't remember the names of any of them but if the horsd'oeuvres are any indication of their dinner menu I was instantly convinced to come back for dinner).
Good drinks, good horsd'oeuvres and a good atmosphere = 4 stars!
Review for Bar Only:
Great hotel bar. Very spacious and sexy. Last call is at 11pm. Not cool.
Ok it's a hotel bar. So it's got that going for it.
It has a really cool round room with textured velvet wallpaper and a red chandelier. Rad.
The bartenders are nice. Alrighty, we're getting somewhere.
The martinis are delicious! Oh, and they're, uh, whoa. $14?! Ok. Wow. Well, I guess it's a hotel bar at the Westin, right? No, no thanks. 2 will do. (had I known in advance, a beer would have done).
Maybe I should just have a soda. I need to wake up anyway. How much is that, $2.50? it's a hotel right? Wait, what? $4.85 for a Coca cola?! Holy SHIT! "Oh, but you get free refills." She tells me. That's the most expensive fucking free refill I have ever seen in my life.
But hey, it's a hotel bar in a Westin, right?
Maybe if I had the chance to enjoy what looks like a beautiful patio, I would have been more stoked about the place. With the price of a soda, I didn't even venture to guess what dinner cost. Even if it's not pricey, a policy that charges $4.85 for a Coke is ludicrous.
1 star for the decor - pretty nice place!
1 star for the staff - helpful and very accomodating.. we had a huge party
1 star for the carmelized brussel sprouts!!!! You can get it as a side, or it comes with one of the fish dishes...SO DELICIOUS. .. not even usually a fan of bean sprouts.
We went for a work shindig .. so we tried every dessert on the menu... I didn't particularly love anything but a few of the girls really liked their latte flavored gelato with the creme?? It's been awhile so I can barely remember..but if randomly end up at this place, get the freakin brussel sprouts.
I've eaten here before, but I forgot what I ate, I'm old, but I know it had something to do with sugo... It was the Pappardelle in Sugo. It was excellent...
Last night, I tried a couple of items on their Cicheti menu- a selection of Venetian inspired snacks or starters...
I had the Arancini- crispy risotto fritter, sottocenere. Very nice. The fritter has nice crunchy texture to it...
And Polpettini Friti- crisp lamp meatballs served with Cipillini Orange Marmalade. The sweetness of the dipping sauce paired well with the savory nature of the meatballs...
The Cicheti menu is meant to pair with wine, but to me, it was fine with a couple of Morettis.
I got tremendous service from Dave Hahn. Dave works both in the main dining room and the cocktail area. He's from the islands, therefore we connected...
I like this place...
No 4% service charge.
Colleen C and I were on our way up to our fabulous rooms at the Westin when we decided we weren't quite done eating for the night. Seriously, when are we ever done eating? And so we found ourselves at Ducca, conveniently connected to the Westin.
We decided that our second dinner of the night would be somewhat light and we'd just share a few appetizers...yep, we're pigs like that. A few minutes later we put in our request for the scallops and rock shrimp. And a few minutes after that our waiter reappeared to tell us that they were out of scallops. GASP! We went with the cheese plate instead...
We had no problems devouring both the cheese plate and rock shrimp. Oh, and the warm, soft complimentary bread was pretty darn good too! A very nice second dinner!
I probably wouldn't go out of my way to go here since it's a bit stuffy and on the pricey side, but a nice option for future stays at the Westin.
I'm a little confused by all the negative reviews.
We made easy reservations for a Friday evening at 6:30. The bar was packed, and yes, it would have made me crazy to have been in there for a spell. But luckily, the restaurant was spacious, and I really really liked the fact that tables don't sit on each other. You can have a conversation and not worry about Jackie at the table next to you hearing everything you say.
The pre-dinner limoncello martini was tart and delicious, the squash tasters were fabulous, the pappardelle was lovely, and my chicken was perfectly cooked.
The service was attentive but not overly so.
I liked the patio, but it was a bit too frigid for my taste. Next spring, maybe I'll give it a whirl.
Ducca has one of the most interesting lounge rooms I've seen in a hotel. It's circular with a deep red chandelier and small tables all around the couch-like seating. It feels sophisticated and sexy, but gets fairly crowded on most days around happy hour.
They have a decent cocktail list, but I stuck to my favorite Prosecco. And when I needed a snack they were there for me with a lovely cheese plate. Plus the last evening I was hanging out with some other CMs from around the country they brought out a complimentary meat plate. Who doesn't appreciate free snacks?
I also had breakfast one morning in the restaurant part of Ducca. It was fairly standard offerings, but the coffee was good and the service was friendly. So, it worked for me.
Ducca gets 1 star for service and 5 stars for ambiance. Its really weird to see a place with such a nice design and location to have such terrible service. Waitstaff deliberately avoid eye contact and you could easily sit at a table for an hour with no one checking on you. Wait, I guess that means you could bring your own food and drink and they wouldn't care. Yes, that's it. I recommend Ducca as a nice place to have a picnic.
Underwhelmed. Met a friend here for happy hour. We stood there looking like idiots waiting for someone to acknowledge us outside for 10 minutes before going inside. Service inside wasn't much better. Overpriced and sub-par service. The food and wine were good though.
Ok, I'm not kidding, our waitress was on something when we came here. And we're not talking some kind of starter drug, we're talking the kind of drug that earns the word 'addict' after it. So..that was a little creepy.
Also, we tried about 4 apps, 2 entrees and 3 desserts and the best thing I had that night was the salad. Not because it was so good, cause, lets face it, how good can lettuce really get, but because the rest of the dishes were so disappointing.
Lastly, the decor of the restaurant is horrible. The bar and patio area aren't bad but the restaurant itself it visually disgusting.
The only good part is the outdoor patio. Go here for a drink on a nice day. Not sure if it's still going on but they used to have BBQ Wednesdays where they would set up the patio and cook fresh meat and vegetables outdoors. The first time they had this it was all-you-can-eat, but they quickly limited it to a plate of food. While the BBQ food is locally grown and not bad, it could still be better.
Overall, I'd skip the thought of eating here altogether and use this as a great space for outdoor drinking (they have fire pits and heat lamps for colder days.) If you're not particularly fond of your date, bring her here for dinner, so she can lose interest in you as well.
Ducca has old school elegance without feeling stodgy or dated. Beautiful chandeliers and art make for a relaxed, but very upscale experience. Don't expect a scene or hipster crowd and there was no wait for a table.
Everyone on the staff was friendly and conversational--without a trace of attitude. Expect four-star service (that's 4-star by restaurateur standards, not yelp). When I raved about my dinner, our server brought me a gift copy of a cookbook which featured recipes by their executive chef. Talk about finding a way to my heart.
Ducca's food lives up to the atmosphere and service; it's to die for! No corners are cut and the offerings are beautifully and carefully prepared. They easily stand up to Spruce, the Water Bar or any of the other higher end dinner spots.
While dining at Ducca is not in my weekly budget, I will definitely keep this one on file for special occasions and guests I want to impress. I'm surprised more people aren't talking about this place.
Blah served with an extra generous serving of blah on the side.
I really wanted to like this place. The inside and outside seating areas look particularly nice, and Ducca showed up on Michael Bauer's Top 100 Restaurants list. I had also been meaning to stop by Ducca for a while.
So, things got off to a good start with the appetizers, which left me anticipating the entrees. However, the entrees left me wholly unimpressed. They were just... blah. It's also a pricey restaurant, which is unfortunate given how forgettable most of the meal was.
And to top it off, I had to pay an exorbitant hotel valet parking fee after. A somehow fitting end to a disappointing meal.
If you go here, you might want to just get drinks and appetizers.
Went here once... It was a OK.. Its nice to sit outside tho. The place is pretty comfy and fun to hangout with girlfriends... But the food is so-so.. Maybe, I ll come back for drinks only next time.
Dookie....all of it.
Sooo my parents and I happened into this snazzy joint as it was around the corner from their hotel, and is one of those places I could never go to unless the rents are paying or Im on a date with a real estate guy (meaning first date...and last).
- Lamb meatballs - tasted like the kebabs i used to get backpacking through Aus....though they were $5 more and had orange jam as a topper...awkward!
- Polenta squares...could have played yatzee with them
- my harvest salad...i think the Shrute Beet farm pooped on my plate
- My dad's soup had an pretty great pork broth to be ruined by the bean and spaghettios base.
On the plus side the Oil they served with the bread and the Iced Tea (yes my father is so classy he ordered iced tea at a nice dinner) kicked ASS! So if 6 bread slices with yummy oil and 8 refills of China Mist tea are worth $90...so be it!
We had pizza and coffee bean after...all better than anything they put on our plate - Thanks Dookie!
My gf wanted to grab a drink and an app after work and we ended up here. I wish we didn't.
We decided to sit outside and avoid the stuffed shirts and fake blondes inside. We sat by the fire pit and decided to order some drinks and food. I got the Bulleit Manhattan Antica and my gf ordered a dirty martini. The drinks came right away and were pretty strong, but the martini wasn't dirty. The food menu, which we requested when we ordered the drinks, never came and had to be borrowed from another party. The server only came to check on us once and that was at the end when we wanted to pay the tab and leave.
Needless to say, the management needs to learn how to staff correctly and make sure the customers outside the restaurant are taken care of like the patrons inside. I probably won't be back here again even though the server was nice enough to only charge us for one drink. Sorry about your martini gf.
Neighborhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin
Category: Nightlife
Neighborhood: Union Square
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Financial District
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: SOMA
Category: American (New)
Ever want a random list of things to crave near…
Want to punish your liver while you're in SF, well…
From slurps to eats to dancin, these are the best…
Does Yelp need another HH list? Probably not, but…
Places I'd scream about if other reviewers could…
From cute and quant to sleek and sexy, these are…
outdoor dining or covered patio spots to soak in…
Some dive, some not so dive. But I'm sure you'll…
