Zero Zero: Dessert Before Dinnner

Okay I lied. But this is one of those times where I wish had dessert before dinner. Zero Zero is located in the heart of Soma. (With that being said, I’ll talk about transportation, reservation and such later in the post – or you can skip to the end right now.)

I was catching up with an close old friend and we decided to try a place we had never been to before – leading to Zero Zero. Reading the menu made me drool and going over Yelp reviews made me excited to try the dessert and their “exotic” toppings. Shall we get started?

Put two indecisive people together and you get no where. At least we didn’t. Do we get a pizza and pasta? Pasta and appetizer? Appetizer and pizza? They’ve got quite a good selection to pick from (here’s their dinner menu). Finally after going back on forth, our decision was based on dessert. Appetizer, one pizza, and plenty of room for dessert.

Apologies ahead of time for the pictures – the place was candlelit = no lighting!

For appetizers we started off with the Avocado Bruschetta, Spicy Salami, Manodori Balasmic. I am so glad we got this! A mix of creamy avocados but flavorful salami. They certainly did not skimp out on the avocados.

Then finally came the pizza (below). We got the Castro – Sopressata, House Made Sausage, Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Basil. This was one of those times I wish I had a handy dandy food dictionary to teach me how to pronounce certain food and what they are. I remember this pizza being good and I really enjoyed it. But that’s about it terms of my experience with the pizza. I do remember the pizza being heavy with tomato sauce and certainly lots of toppings! But for some reason I remember it being burnt. As you can see from the picture, parts of the pizza were burnt, but I just didn”t expect that much of the pizza is to be burnt.

But we could not be more excited to reach the very end of our dinner for dessert! Again, decisions decisions, and I’m quite indecisive. Here’s what the menu looked like – before I checked a bunch of boxes:

Um, apple pie compote?! Olive oil and sea salt, vanilla poached strawberries. Can you see why we had a hard time picking the dessert?! If you’re having a hard time reading the pictures, here’s the online version.

And here the pictures! Oh how I wish I took clearer pictures.

Below is the Vanilla Poached Strawberries with Balsamico Caramel & Ricotta Doughnuts.

Above is the Fiordolio Olive Oil and Sea Salt.

Above is all of them – in one delicious picture.

Of course we went a bit different with the dessert! (I really wanted to try the Apple Pie Compote.) We decided to share our desserts with each other so we get the best of both worlds. But where do I start?

I’ll start with the doughnuts. My oh my were they good doughnuts! They tasted really fresh, fluffy, and warm making me wonder if they were homemade. Definitely tasted even more amazing with the ice cream.

The Fiordolio Olive Oil and Sea Salt was really good too. An interesting mix, and I can’t describe it, you have to try it for yourself. However, I found this to be a bit too overwhelming near to end. I would definitely recommend sharing this someone.

I got the Vanilla Poached Strawberries with Balsamico Caramel – and I would get it again. Definitely a flavorful mix, and I love having fruit with my dessert. The vanilla strawberries weren’t too sweet and caramel was rich but not overwhelming (keep in mind – I’m not a food critic!). I remember scooping a strawberry and getting a bit of caramel to eat with my vanilla ice cream and really just enjoying a sweet by almost savory-life flavor.

Overall:

Now for parking and transportation: I walked here after work – and it’s a great place to come with a few friends after work to eat if you all work in Downtown. But I do not recommend driving here. Especially for dinner. There is the heavy rush hour traffic, one way streets, and terrible construction. I can’t imagine driving here and I would avoid driving here at all cost. Though on their website they do mention valet (I still wouldn’t drive).

If I were to come here again and drive – I would be smart and strategic, find a parking lot, come at off peak hours, etc. Otherwise bussing is a great option. It’s about 3 blocks behind Market St. where the main bus lines run so (warning if you don’t like walking) it’s a bit of a walk through Downtown or you can always search up a more direct route. I’m a walker and my main source of transportation from work to home (I’ve walked from Downtown San Francisco all the way to Ocean Beach). Or you can always Uber or whatever ride sharing start up has invaded San Francisco.

Waiting time: We made reservations for 6:00 on a weekday – and when I got there the reservation didn’t seem to be necessary. I did notice throughout the night the place did get more crowded so I would still suggest making reservations on Yelp or OpenTable. I would think to definitely make dinner reservations for the weekends. HINT: Do keep in mind they close Monday – Friday from 2:30 – 4pm.

Vibe: The vibe was weird. We sat upstairs where it was awkwardly dark. I’m here with an old friend just trying to catch up over dinner – not on a date (but can make a great date spot). Also, this place gets loud. Considering there’s a second floor, I can see why this place gets loud and echo-y. I think the downstairs area is more for coming in after work with coworkers, friends, or also a date. There’s also a bar area downstairs – which is also why this place can be ideal to come and unwind and knock back a few drinks. Upstairs seems more appropriate for a more intimate setting – family, birthday, dates – with the exception that it’s hard to hear a conversation.

Service: Service here is your average service. You’re greeted by a nice host, taken to your seats, and your server is there to provide you with great service.

Price Range: Remember, everyone is different. Prices aren’t a big deal to me if I am trying out a place. But in my opinion, this place is pricey enough I wouldn’t come back here. I’m the kind of girl that’s satisfied with $7 pho for dinner from Sunset.

Would I come back? Probably not anytime soon. While I did enjoy this place, I would prefer not to resort to reservations. Who knows if I still want pizza after work! I rather get off work and be able to freely choose where I want to unwind with great company without such a long and hectic wait. I know most places tend to have a wait, but this isn’t the kind of place I’d unwind at in general. It was a great place to catch up a friend though. However, we are all different! For all I know, this could be YOUR perfect and ideal spot where you’d love to unwind here once and week – and I say go for it!

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Zero Zero
826 Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 348-8800

Make reservations on their site, OpenTable, or Yelp. Just click a link below:
website: http://www.zerozerosf.com/
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/zero-zero-san-francisco
UrbanSpoon:

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