Buon SoMa
Bosco (SoMa)
RESTAURANTS • First Word
The Skinny: The Absinthe Group — which has excelled serving up both French (at Absinthe) and Spanish (Bellota and Barcino) cuisines — is charting a new culinary direction with their first Italian restaurant, Bosco. The restaurant opened last month at the Airbnb building in the former Bellota space, with Barcino alumni Kaili Hill and Ryan Mcllwraith leading the kitchen.
The Vibe: The industrial-chic space, with prominent concrete columns and a large, central open kitchen, has been given a facelift, most notably with earth-tone tile work, tan leather booths, and some all-important sound-baffling across the entire ceiling. (Bellota, as you might recall, was deafening). The front bar area with its huge casement windows looking out onto Brannan Street is a scene unto itself, a good spot for a meal for one or two.
The Food: McIlwraith and Hill created a menu that hits plenty of notes across the California-Italian spectrum, with a few tangents along the way. Ricotta meatballs atop deeply delicious braised greens, served with crispy fried polenta cakes and a rich marinara, are paradigms of the form. A punchy dish of octopus carpaccio is dressed with pickled onion, tomato-chili sauce, raisins, and thin-sliced caperberries. Twisty green and white gramigna — kind of a thicker spaghetti — is served with a subtly rich Bolognese of pork, beef, prosciutto, and mortadella. Delicate chicken and chive tortellini can be served with broth or Parmesan cream. And a dish of buckwheat chitarra with black cod draws on Japanese influence with a warming mushroom-kombu broth and cherry tomatoes.
From the wood grill, you could opt for a half-chicken with salsa verde, a Florentine-style steak for the table, or some sticky, smoky glazed pork ribs, finished with fennel pollen and topped with fresh peaches. A less showy side dish of smoked and fried potato “polpette” is a sleeper hit.
The Drink: Negroni variations and curveballs on classics are central, including the Spaghetti Western, a rye sour spiked with pickled apple brine and beer. The vegetal Basil + Artichoke marries gin, basil, artichoke, absinthe, and lime. And the Martini Grasso goes savory with olive-oil-washed gin, basil-infused vermouth, celery bitters, salt, and lactose.
Wines by the glass include unusual selections like a chilled Lambrusco from Umbria, and a rich Aglianico from Campania. There’s also a generous list of n/a options, and for dessert, three different variations on the Espresso Martini, including a “tropicale” with coconut-washed vodka and passionfruit.
The Verdict: Easy-to-like Italian fare coupled with just enough creativity to keep things interesting. This place once again proves The Absinthe Group’s mettle when it comes to creating hits. –Jay Barmann
→ Bosco (SoMa) • 888 Brannan St • Tue-Thu 5-9p, Fri-Sat 5-10p • Reserve.