Cafe Altano (Hayes Valley), SF - any reports?

[hhc]

Read on sfeater that it's open as of Sun 3/22/09. Casual Italian place w/ pizza, sandwiches, pasta. Any reports?

602 Hayes Street, at Laguna; [phone]

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Cafe Altano
602 Hayes Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

[Oceanlover]

We would like to try this restaurant for a pre-symphony dinner. Any comments on your experience??

[rworange]

According to a yelper it is the same owner as Hayes and Kebab, Essencia, and Breezy's. Anyone know if this is true?

Here's the menu
http://sanfrancisco.menupages.com/res...

[rahir]

If that's true, then I have low expectations. Sigh.

[mdg]

We made pre-symphony reservations late and tried this despite the mixed reviews. My interest was in whether or not this would be a better Italian choice in the neighborhood than Cafe Delle Stelle. In short, no. Quality of ingredients is not up to par, especially in the vegetables. My pork osso bucco, for instance, had very tasty meat and sauce, but the accompanying vegetables had no taste apart from garlic and oil.

Memo to restauranteurs: the Civic Center area really could use a high-quality Italian place (like Incanto, La Ciccia, SPQR) in this Italian-crazy town. And it looks like a decent space will be opening up when Citizen Cake moves...

Michael

[norjah]

We tried it a couple weeks ago and were pleased with our meal. It's not high-end. I could see that it would be let down if you are looking for Incanto.

The prices and menu put it mid-way between Cafe Delle Stelle and Stelline. We thought of it as an alternative to Stelline and gave it the upper hand for the setting, wine list, and more interesting ingredients. The price was very reasonable with 2 pastas and glasses of wine for less than $40 before tip.

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Cafe Altano
602 Hayes Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

[rworange]

Has anyone tried their weekend brunch? There are souffle pancakes on the menu
http://www.cafealtanosf.com/brunch_me...