Local Kitchen & Wine Merchant

Love our local spot!

Went here for brunch with a group. We got a reservation and were able to be seated right away. Everyone’s food was delicious. But what we came for, mimosas, were a little disappointing. The Mimosas themselves were delicious, with a wonderful ratio of Champagne to OJ, but they no longer have bottomless mimosas. Sad… so sad. Overall, I would probably stop in again next time I’m in the City, because everything was valued pretty well.

My experience here is good. The décor is business like, contemporary, but artwork and fresh flowers offset any seriousness. Food was good. The entrance is a bit confusing, I think they are doing a little redecorating the entrance. But the giant metal door is cool.

OK we come here almost once a week because it is only one block away from where we live. The food is ok. It’s like simplified and contemporary diner food. The burger is decent although it got smaller recently. The chicken is very good. But nothing that special. Although if you’re hungry for a good roasted chicken you will really like this. I also highly recommend the salads. All are good. Also the Brussels sprouts appetizer and the French fries with truffle oil are amazing. I would have gone to 4 stars except they always serve a different vintage of wine than what they list on their menus. This has happened to me 3 times. I feel like I am getting ripped off because they charge the price for the older vintage and do not offer any compensation when they serve you the newer one. It’s making me seriously reconsider my relationship with them. I guess most people never check the vintage on the bottle of wine they order in restaurants but a good friend who used to manage a restaurant told me this is a way they can make higher margins on the wines which are already a ripoff over what you would buy them for in a wine merchant. Feeling cheated and taken advantage of.

All fresh ingredients and deliciously made. My burger was made with grass fed beef not grain fed, a real plus. Pizzas are delicious and also have fresh organic ingredients. The wine list is very good and the waiter was knowledgable in helping us choose the correct Pinot noir we wanted. An overall excellent experience eating here. We happened to have been here on a holiday weekend so we were lucky to not have any lines or waits. Highly recommend.

Best banana bread pudding ever! Mmmm… Other favorites: mushroom pizza and truffle fries! It’s out favorite local spot. A great place for takeout.

I’ve been here a couple times and have loved it! Great venue and super convenient to go to from my office (on 2^nd street).
They have a pretty exhaustive wine menu and good pizzas. Crispy, think crust; came out pretty warm. Takes reservations (last minute). Good area for happy hours and doesn’t seem like they are ever super crowded.

We stopped in here without a reservation yesterday… they were just reopening after having what looked like a pretty fun private cocktail party. (Yes, I would have liked to sample some of their wines they had open, but ya know, etiquette)
It took a couple minutes to get a table, but we were fine with that since we didn’t have a reservation anyway. We looked over the wine list and there were quite a few things we were unfamiliar with… seemed like a lot of small production wines. Our server asked about our preferences and selected a primitivo and a sancerre which we both loved.
Truffle fries, burrata and a salad to start, salsiccia pizza and the rainbow trout for entrees and splitting a bread pudding made for a perfect dinner.
We will definitely go back.

This is my overdue review for Mother’s Day Brunch at Local Kitchen.
We arrived on time for our reservation and were seated right away. The restaurant was abuzz with activity and Mother’s Day energy. Our server, Sandra, took our drink orders and was there throughout the meal. They even ran out of coffee at one point (it was packed!) so Sandra had a pot of French press made for us.
Okay, the food — the lightest, crispest, tastiest Neapolitan pizza I’ve had in ages. There were four to choose from, and I kept going back to the salsiccia. The benedicts, the croque madams, pancakes, bacon, French toast… I was very happy. I’m not big into the shellfish scene, but my friends loved the oysters and shrimp. The food was delicious. Sure, I could have avoided French fries (perfectly crisp!) to make space for more pizza, but I wanted everything. The dessert cookies were amazing. My son had two, and a miniature cupcake.
We moms were given a champagne gift after brunch. Classy! Great staff, great food, great ambiance. I’m craving salsiccia pizza as I type this.

I went here last night with my mom who was in town from la. We chose to sit at the «pizza bar» so we could watch the kitchen work. We had a lovely bottle of Pinot, caesar salad and the margarita pizza. Pizza was spot on, hot, crispy and delicious. Ceasar was one of the better if had in the area, not too much dressing or anchovy, had three white anchovys on the top, and lovely parmesan sprinkled on top. My mom and I loved watching the wood fire pizza and the pizza get made. We had the chocolate cake, it was delicious. Nice and chocolate. And I found out they have happy hour here too. Yup I’m coming back.

Went here for lunch. Pretty great burger. Pizza was good also (had mushroom pizza and peppers pizza).
Restaurant was super loud, would be ok for a smaller party, but with 5 was a bit difficult to communicate.

This is a wonderful venue for group events! My office had our holiday party here and it was a breeze to coordinate with Eva. She hosted us at the restaurant a few weeks beforehand and let us sample different dishes to get an idea of how their menu was.
We were able to comfortably host a party for ~80 ppl. This includes having outside vendors come in to set up a photo booth in wine room and a few casino game tables in the main room.
All the food was delicious — my main favorites were the burrata and tuna poke. They have an island long table in the middle where it made it easy to set up large plates of appetizers. We did our party buffet style and the food was constantly refilled. They have a full bar and we named a couple of classic drinks (martini, John Collins) after our bosses and they happily obliged in making them.
They also do outside catering here. We ordered food for an office lunch party before. Just a note that they have a delivery/​set up fee, but you can try to pick it up in store. Just make sure to have extra boxes on hand as their containers were not very sturdy.
I’m liking forward to coming back her to eat… maybe for a future birthday dinner.

5 stars for bartender Brian!!! His service was above and beyond. If not for him, this place would only deserve 3 stars. The atmosphere and setting of Local Kitchen is great, albeit quite dim. If you sit at the bar in the back it’s pretty dark… A little too dark. It was also warm, didn’t seem like there was much ventilation in that area. They should work on that. We came here for an SF Beer Week event — Trumer Pils Meet the Brewer. We easily got seats and Brian immediately helped us with menus and food suggestions. We ordered 2 Trumer Pilsners, the beer battered spicy chicken, and the Salsiccia pizza. This place is definitely worth coming for happy hour. We luckily reached before happy hour ended, definitely worth the prices. Not sure if the regular menu is worth the price. Their pizzas are not anything special so I wouldn’t pay the full price for them. The chicken on the other hand was absolutely delicious. It was battered just enough and served with bbq sauce. It was slightly odd that the bbq sauce was served in an extremely small bowl completely disproportional to the amount of chicken we had. Would have been nice to get a more proportional amount to enjoy with every bite. We got to keep our sweet Trumer glasses which was awesome and Brian even gave us clean glasses and offered an empty box to take them home in so they wouldn’t break. SO thoughtful! I really appreciated that.

This bar smells REALLY bad. We were at the back bar and it stunk. No idea what kinda dead animal they were stewing in the back, but really bad stench. And the bar tender claimed it was dish washer soap. Epic fail

Such a nice venue. Despite being super last minute, I was able to book a lunch reservation for a team lunch and I absolutely loved the environment and the service. The food was also pretty good. I had the Dungeness crab muffin, which I thought was awesome with lots of crab meat, although one of my coworkers thought the bread was a bit too dry. It’s a matter of personal preference I suppose. The burger and the pizza also looked really delicious and came in hearty portions. For the price, size and quality, and most importantly, where we’re situated (SOMA), the pizzas especially had exceptional value.
They also have a downstairs wine cellar which I’ve gone for a private event before and it was a great venue for small/​medium-​sized events. Overall, I would definitely come back again for team events and large gatherings.

Really liked this place! Went here for a business lunch midweek. We were able to make a last-​minute reservation online, which I don’t think was necessary, but you never know with these ritzy places in Financial District. I’m pre-​wired to assume San Francisco restaurants are packed, morning, noon, and night.
Anyways, we were seated at their long communal table which was perfectly comfortable. Normally I’m not a fan, but this was a casual lunch and the table was not crowded. Plenty of space to spread out and enjoy a conversation without shouting across the table.
Our waiter was an absolute doll (David? He deserves utmost props). So attentive and accommodating. We had some particular diners in our group and he fulfilled every sub, swap, nix request they had.
I went fairly simple with the local salad + salmon. Absolutely delicious. Salmon was cooked perfectly and all the ingredients worked lovely together. We also split a few orders of the brussel sprouts — YUM!
The space itself is quite memorable — beautifully appointed and clean. I can’t wait to come back for happy hour or dinner!

Came here for brunch and the service was awfully slow and the food was subpar. It took over an hour to get our food and the place wasn’t even half full. I’ve been here for lunch once and had a slightly better experience and the food was average.

Hmmmm, I took my 4 visiting nieces here for dinner. Though Local is only about ½ block from my home, I have only been here once… anyway, I digress… I had hoped to show my nieces some of the Northern Italian food that SF is sooooo good at producing. This place has an amazing space including a modern dining area, a beautiful open kitchen with wood fired oven, an incredible private wine room and an inviting bar…
For the ambiance I would give it 5 stars… but because I came for the food, only 2.
We started with a Tuna poke, something that should be easy to reproduce, the key being fresh tuna. The tuna was NOT fresh. It was mushy and poorly colored, we barely could touch it.
Next we ordered three pizzas, all had great toppings and were cooked well, the problem was the thickness of the crust. Whoever is spinning the dough needs help. the final product was way too doughy and thick. Kinda like Digornio out of a freezer… Napoli style pizza should be just that… so again, they really missed the mark…
The worst dish was listed on the menu as Wild Pork Ragu Paparardelle… Papparadelle should ALWAYS be ribbon thin with adequate width and cooked aldente. This pasta may have been made by the same person who lacked knowledge about pizza dough. The pasta was THICK! It was totally undercooked (probably because the chef did not take into account how thick the rolled pasta was) and so was tough to eat. This was a complete amateur attempt at fresh pasta making, not something you would expect at an experienced restaurant on a Saturday evening. The Ragu could have come out of a Jar. There was NO evidence that there was even pork in it, let alone slow roasted pork in the traditional holy triad with wine and stock…
I REALLY want this place to survive just because I live close and would like to go there. But if I can get the same food out of my freezer and a Jar, why bother?
BUT…we did get the Spicy Chicken Tenders as an app as well. This was totally off the hook good! Really a great starter! The only positive food event of the evening.
G

Full disclosure: I went to Local on New Year’s Day, where service might be slower and my desire for a great brunch to kick off the new year greater.
I was in a party of 7 so I knew service would take longer than usual even with a reservation, but it took about 50 minutes to receive our entrees and we were the third group of the day and got there a minute or two after opening. Most of the party ordered an Eggs Benedict (a few normal, a few salmon) and most felt that the regular eggs benedict was below San Francisco foodie standards. Nothing really wowed on the plate from quality of ingredients to a basic presentation.
I ordered the local-​special pizza, which would actually be something good to share with another person. Ingredients seemed quality but the flavor profile did not blow me out of the water. If I were to return, I would stick with the pizza though over other brunch options.
Generally, disappointed with the length of the wait and my higher expectations of the food.

I like the food here. This is the closest restaurant to where my boyfriend lives (and I have lazy tendencies), so this is my default «I’m hungry now» spot. I mostly dine here for breakfast. My go to is the classic local, and I opt for over-​easy eggs with chicken apple sausage ($ 14). My Canadian friend/​frequent breakfast buddy gets the pancakes ($ 12), and he approves (yes, this is a thing, and he is a tough judger of maple syrups being Canadian and all). My bf always gets the smoked salmon benedict ($ 16) and loves it. He also really likes the side salad he substitutes for home fries because it’s perfectly dressed. One not so hungry morning, we split the Dungenous crab omelet and it was also delicious, though it was so fresh that I caught some shell. If we’re up for it, we get bottomless mimosas for the decent price of $ 18 (by SF standards, of course). One day when I’m up for a boozier brunch, I’ll get the Bottomless Bloodies & Mimosas deal for just $ 7 more.
So why the 3 stars? I’m one of the few weirdos who enjoys dining alone and drinking a glass (or two) of wine. I got the fire roasted tomato soup to start. I usually love soups, but this one was boring and the added texture from the nuts was not very appetizing. For dinner, I ordered the kale & shaved brussels sprouts salad with steak. It was good, but nothing special. Lastly, the first glass of wine I ordered almost had a vinegary taste to it (it was a blend, I think). I changed to a moscato after that. This OK meal was completed with a less than OK check of ~$ 60. It was at this point that I realized that I could’ve gotten a similar quality steak and kale salad at Tender Greens for half the price. Whatever the bill may be, I wouldn’t care so much if the meal was spectacular as opposed to what it was– just alright. I think next time I’ll just get a pizza.
I’m still going to eat at this place frequently because of proximity, but the prices are a little high for what you actually get so be forewarned. On the plus, it smells really nice inside, the décor is lovely, and the staff is super friendly.

I kind of loved it. Not overrun. Nice modern clean space. Really good menu. Delicious salad, pizza, and juice. Big portions and they accommodated sharing.

I really enjoyed my dinner here.
We got the prosciutto burrata to start. YUM. We both got our individual pizzas. Double yum. Their specialty cocktails were also delicious. Since you’re in SOMA, the prices are a bit higher than I’d like, but the food’s quality was definitely up to par. Our server was attentive and made sure we were taken care of during our meal. I would come back again. I also heard they do brunch, so I’ll have to try that at some point.

Came in here with a group of five. It worked out real well, they had a good wine list and a decent selection of dinner options. We had two vegetarians in our group, and they took care of helping them without any problems. The service was excellent and the food I had was good.
On this visit, we tried the Turley zin, real good win options and with a pretty reasonable price. Though, you can spend much more here, Turley was one of their power priced options.
I ended up ordering the roast chicken, which was very well cooked, with crisp skin and tender meat. The fingerling potatoes were also cooked well, though they weren’t the best I’d had. Also had a side of broccolini, pretty good on that front too. All around this was an enjoyable meal, fits the 4 star experience well and I would recommend it if you are looking for a place to try in the neighborhood.

5 stars to local kitchen for doing take-​out! Ordered & picked up within 20 mins & it was all delicious! Don’t miss the tofu!
Loved my dinner here tonight! Brussel sprouts & the tofu were standouts & im not even vegetarian! The kale salad was also delicious too! Great great neighbourhood gem!

I came here for a company lunch and was very impressed. I love the space of the restaurant; it reminds me of someone’s fancy urban apartment.
All the employees and other patrons looked like young hipsters, which I for some reason found amusing. :)
The food itself is on the expensive side, but not uncommon in San Francisco. We ordered the following items:
— Burrata appetizer — this was delicious as it was paired with sweet fruits like tomato and peaches, but very expensive since the portion was small.
— Brussel sprouts — THESE were really good. Among the best brussel sprouts I have ever tried.
— Crab sandwich — this was delicious! I requested salad as my side, which they gave almost a whole plate of. The crab was very fresh and tasty.
— Flank steak pizza — Yummy! The steak wasn’t dry as is common on most pizzas. It was tender and well seasoned. I wish they put more steak on the pizza.
— Kono coffee — this was fairly pricey ($ 24 for a large carafe!), but good. Not your Starbucks cup of coffee, but I don’t think it was worth $ 24 either.
I’d def come back for the brussel sprouts alone!

After a long, hard week at the grind, bottomless mimosas? Yes, please!
We came here on Groupon deal for brunch and upgraded, $ 5 each, to the bottomless mimosas. They started off being a large carafe, and the manager came over a time or two to check in, and ask why we weren’t ordering another round of mimosas yet. At least she knew what was goin’ on! However, they did «downgrade» our carafe to a smaller size after the first two. But didn’t complain while refilling it.
The food was great. I got the omelet and my boyfriend got the crab sandwich which was LOADED with crab. We also got a nice fruit cup and coffees on the side.
Our waitress was great, totally attentive, even though her family was at the table next to us and demanded a lot of her attention as well.
Loved it. Will be back!

I was in the financial district of SF last night and it was hard to find places open around 10pm. Most places are closed at 10pm, so Local was my choice since they were open till 10.30pm.
The place has a cool vibe, a place where you’d feel comfortable coming with a few friends for cocktails/​wine/​drinks. They have high and low tables and some cool lighting and ambience.
The food is a little pricey but the flavor is pretty good. I tried the chicken tortilla soup which was more like tomato sauce which was strange. It was ok. The boar ragout was nice and tasty, the meat was not gamey and the portion was good. The bread that comes with it was also delicious. Their was a flank steak pizza on special that night which was pretty decent. The pizza is a bit dough-​y, I would have liked crispy and the crust starts to fill you up. The ingredients like the tomato, peppers, garlic looked fresh. Taste was ok but nothing crazy special.
Overall it was ok for my hunger at that time of night. I wish I had more options that night as Local wouldn’t have been my first choice. Service was ok, food was ok. Not a really bad or really good experience. It’s a chill atmosphere that I would probably enjoy more for drinks and small bites.

The menu and atmosphere here are so on point. Daily specials, items like feral boar ragout, local greens, and the like. Very good wine selection too.
A member of my party ordered trout and absolutely received salmon in her salad today. We giggled about it — a kitchen woopsie perhaps. I asked for salad as the side for my dungeness crab sandwich and received fries. Not that I’m really complaining because their aioli is especially tasty. The crab sandwich was too — piled on top of fresh arugula with lemon vinaigrette. So good with white wine.
The pizza looks to be their most impressive menu item, I would order that if you’ve got someone willing to share because they’re pretty big pies.
This is a fun little hidden spot to grab a work lunch with your team.

My office had a couple of disappointing mishaps with Local Kitchen’s catering department, mainly over poor communication. The food has never been the problem; the flavors are solid and the presentation is beautiful.
I’ve been to Local Kitchen a handful of times now — for work, drinks with the girls, and business lunch. Overall, it’s a great option to have in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the restaurant is in a really challenging location with no foot traffic.
On my latest visit, my friend and I walked in during lunch time and were seated at the counter. We got to watch the cooks make (and burn) pizza. We shared Brussels sprouts to start and a Salsiccia pizza. I liked both items and it was more than enough for two people for lunch. Service in the restaurant was also good. I’ll keep going to Local Kitchen since it’s convenient for me but it’s not a «destination» restaurant worth a special trip to visit.

If you have a 10+ people, I recommend reserving the wine cellar room which looks pretty cool but you would have to spend a minimum of 350 which is great for people coming here to brunch + $ 14 bottomless mimosas with a purchase of a entrée.
They have really good wooden stove pizza which also includes breakfast pizza with egg on top! I highly recommend trying their Eggs Benedict and their bacon pancake is a must!!! I would come back here again with a group of friends. The food was great and the service was great too. They made sure your glass is filled with mimosas!

Omg the potatoes! Sooo good! Whatever you do make sure those are on the side.
I got the classic eggs Benedict which was good but the potatoes were the star.
A friend got the breakfast pizza and that was also delicious.
They have bottomless mimosas in a classy setting and we all had a great time!