Da Flora

location: 701 columbus ave. (at filbert), north beach

da flora is an authentic venetian restaurant in north beach. owned & run by flora, she hand writes the italian menu daily and has an extensive list of italian wines available. having never been to venice, or italy for that matter, this is what i would expect it to be like. low lighting, nice ambiance, and a long meal with limited interruptions by the wait staff. i went with L & j for dinner so we opted to share a bottle of wine with our meal. the waitress was helpful in selecting a nice red and also in giving us recommendations and information about the food on our menu.

everything that i ate at da flora was amazing. i can still remember the tastes and smells of my dinner there. even the focaccia bread starter was memorable. i started with the crab, grapefruit & arugula salad ($12.50) that was covered in a delicious champagne vinaigrette. i could eat that salad every day and never get bored. for my main entrée i had the penne pasta ($20), covered in a spicy marinara sauce with guanciala. i had never even heard of this italian meat before my meal at da flora and i absolutely loved it.

i've read a lot of complaints about the service at da flora on the internet but i disagree that the wait staff is rude. they're attentive, they'll answer your questions and they expect you to be polite and have manners when dining in their restaurant. otherwise, they pretty much leave you alone. i don't like it when a server comes by my table a lot during the meal or makes me feel rushed, so i really enjoyed the atmosphere at da flora.

recommendation: perfect first date spot.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: yay!

service: yay!