It was Monday night. I had just gotten home from work. It was 80 degrees in our apartment (in November! in San Francisco!). We had no ideas for dinner and the thought of turning on the oven was just too much. We decided to go out. I told Jordan that I wanted to eat something light on a cool, quiet patio. Also, I didn’t want to walk far. While I thought this request impossible, my sweet Jordan found exactly what I was looking for in Hyde Street Bistro, just a few short (but uphill) blocks from our apartment.
Hyde Street Bistro (Hyde and Pacific) is a small, farm to table French restaurant. It is positively adorable, the wait staff is charming, the food is simple and French. We sat outside at a small bistro table under a tree decorated in white twinkle lights, the drone of the cable car tracks in the background. For sidewalk seating (especially in our colorful neighborhood), it was nice and quiet. I was quite pleased and I hadn’t even ordered.
We started with the butter lettuce salad with honey cider vinaigrette ($7). Simple, acidic, slightly sweet – a nicely composed salad. We then ordered the mussels mariniere ($14), fries ($5) and fresh vegetable sauté ($5). The mussels were delicious – you can’t go wrong with shallots, wine, parsley and butter. The fries were crisp and well-seasoned. The aioli that was served with them was also nice. The vegetables left something to be desired, although they were an appropriate crisp-tender. Nicely done, quickly prepared, simple and satisfying.
Overall, Hyde Street Bistro was exactly what I wanted: a light meal eaten outside on a quiet patio with no dishes for me to clean up afterward. Great pick Jordan! In addition to a full French menu, they also have a happy hour from 5:30 – 7 with $3 draft beers, $5 glasses of wine and $10 mussels with fries. We certainly will be back!
-Emily
