Kokkari Estiatorio, Chef Erik Kosselman's Rustic, Fine-Dining Greek with Handmade Pottery just off The Embarcadero

[Kibbee Nayee]

Kokkari Estiatorio is the San Francisco Greek equivalent of Komi in DC. It is high-end Greek, and it is superb.

I was on a search for char-grilled octopus in San Francisco, and after some research, I headed to Jackson St., and scored a seat at the bar. The place was packed and fully booked, so I was lucky to get that seat.

I ordered a double of the char-grilled octopus, so I ended up with two delicious tentacles, drizzled with olive oil. It was tender, with the mouthfeel you come expect with a properly executed octopus dish. Thumbs up on this dish.

[DonRocks]

On 2/18/2017 at 4:32 PM, Kibbee Nayee said:

Kokkari Estiatorio is the San Francisco Greek equivalent of Komi in DC. It is high-end Greek, and it is superb.

Is it at the same level as Komi? That's one heck of a statement. (For our San Francisco friends, Komi is one of *the* great restaurants in Washington, DC - it's on *everybody's* Top 5 list, and I don't care how stringent your criteria are - I've dined at 50-100 Michelin stars in my life (that's just in France alone), and even though Komi got overlooked, it's at least a one-star, and close to being a two-star, restaurant by Michelin's American standards - and priced accordingly, as the non-optional, prix-fixe menu is $150, plus a very reasonable $75 for wine pairings (and most people come out thinking it's a bargain at that price) - it goes to show how blazingly inept the Michelin Red Guide is outside of France - although the sad truth is: You'll probably do better to rely on Michelin than to rely on any of Washington, DC's resident critics, save for one (btw, the one-star Blue Duck Tavern lost its Executive Chef since the Michelin guide was published: caveat emptor).

Incidentally, if anyone from San Francisco is a new member here, and plans on making a trip to Washington, DC, write me, and I'll be happy to help you. Our Washington, DC Dining Guide is the largest single-city dining guide in the world - the guide is available (free of charge) to all members who make ten posts, and it's not available to anybody else - I personally update it about five times a week.

Bruce, maybe Kokkari Estiatorio is more like Nostos? I know absolutely nothing about it, so I'm just trying to pry some more information out of you.

[Kibbee Nayee]

I was impressed with Kokkari Estiatorio, and I didn't walk in with Komi-like expectations. When I saw the two roasted whole-carcass lambs at the rotisserie pit to the right of the bar area, I was hooked. Although I only tried one dish, it was a winner. Bib Gourmand 2017 includes Kokkari Estiatorio in its list of 75 for the Bay Area, and it's easily the best Greek restaurant in the area. Is it Komi? Well, probably not quite, but it's San Francisco's distant equivalent.

[TrelayneNYC]

We loved it when we visited last year.

Gratin of broad beans with tomato and feta cheese

Mixed citrus salad (Cara Cara oranges, blood oranges, tangerines, Medjool dates, candied walnuts)

Stewed goat, with ouzo, artichokes and orzo

Full-flavored and not at all gamey as goat can sometimes be to my palate.

Roasted branzino -- the star of the show, as it should be.

Loukoumades -- traditional Greek doughnuts with honey, cinnamon and walnuts.

This was so sweet, we could barely finish half of it.

Galaktoboureko -- semolina custard in filo, with candied blood orange and cinnamon ice cream.

Similar to the Greek doughnuts previously pictured, this was way too sweet for my palate. I was bored after three bites.

 

Kokkari Estiatorio
200 Jackson Street (Front Street)
Jackson Square

 

[TrelayneNYC]

Had dinner here on Sunday, celebrating my partner's birthday (which technically occurred in June):

Octopus with lemon-oregano vinaigrette

Fried smelts with garlic-potato skordalia

Bacon chop with pork chicarron, potatoes and lemon

Grilled lamb chops, lemon-oregano vinaigrette, roasted potatoes

Bread pudding with berries and whipped cream

Greek yogurt with nuts and honey

 

We concluded that the things to eat at Kokkari are lamb and fish which makes sense since those are the dishes that Greek restaurants usually do well. The chop was not as successful as the server had made it sound (too rich, not flavorful enough). With a couple of glasses of rose wine, coffee and tea, this dinner came out to $255 with 20% tip.