Cioppino in the City - Sotto Mare

The cold winter weather has Mijo and I craving for something soupy and tasty. This craving had us searching for a place that serves cioppino.

We found one and it is a good one. Sotto Mare whets our cioppino appetite and we've been back again and maybe more visits there in the future.

Mijo and I found out about Sotto Mare last holiday season. We got there late, around 8pm on a Thursday, but there was still a long line of people waiting. Our thought was, it must be good. We put our name in the list, got the pager and we waited. We waited about 45 minutes. The story ended well because we loved the food and it was worth the wait. But we did make a mental note that we'll try to come back early before dinner or in the afternoon.

 

We came back again last week and we did go there in the afternoon before 4pm. We sat right away at the bar. Our plan had worked!

   

Here's what a bar seating looks like. The restaurant is small and gave me a first impression of a homey neighborhood restaurant which is a good thing.

   

We told them about our order and we were given this bib a few minutes later.

   

While waiting, I noticed the wall displays are frames and frames of all what seem like pictures of  famous people that had visited the restaurant through the years. The people I don't recognize I assume are family members and good friends.

   

Seating by the bar, we had a view of a very busy kitchen. Orders would come in and food would come out. It looks like they have a very efficient system going on there. I could hear oysters being chucked, crab shells cracking, and the clinking of the dishes are so loud I am surprised that there not one broke while were there.

   

I don't really know what was their house wine. It tasted like Zinfandel (or Primitivo in Italian) but I suspect their choice of house wine varietal changes every night or every week. I liked it. They also gave us a complimentary bread and butter, olive oil and vinaigrette.

   

We also ordered these West Coast oysters. Very fresh and creamy!

   

Finally, our cioppino arrived. It looked like a lot. It has parts of a Dungeness crab, squid, shrimps, fish, clams, mussels, etc. I suspect they put what ever is the catch of the day.

   

I don't really know the history of cioppino but who ever put this stew together for the first time is a genius. All the flavors of the seafood with tomatoes and herbs and spices. We sat there for a long time trying to finish the serving.

   

Perfect for a cold night! Another thing I noticed is that they perfectly cracked the crab shells that neither Mijo nor I needed to ask for shell cracker.

   

   

Dunking bread into the stew to get all the tasty goodness is not frowned at.

   

We will definitely be back for the third time, hopefully, soon! Sotto Mare is located on Green St. in San Francisco's Little Italy.

 

~rl