Pera: a Mediterranean Affair, San Francisco

Pera is a sensational newish restaurant in Potrero Hill only a short few blocks from our home. Their sub-title, “a Mediterranean Affair,” completely captures my exuberant feelings about this affordable and flavorful Turkish-inspired restaurant.

Located in the space of a now defunct Chinese restaurant, Pera is a perfect addition to the 18th Street “restaurant row.” Since our kitchen project started we’ve been twice and enjoyed it quite a lot both times. Most recently we had a party of six: Eurielle, Luc, their two sweet children with Hegui and me. After a glass of wine at home, we strolled to Heguiberto’s community garden plot to admire the plants and the views, then enjoyed a relaxed meander to Pera.

The décor is spare and casual. The tall pillars in the center of the place seem to retain a Chinese motif. Otherwise, you get a vaguely Mediterranean feel upon entering. The staff is friendly and quite attentive. They were super with kids, too, which is another sign in their favor.

It is a little hard to get a handle on the cuisine as much of it is commonly seen in Greek as well as Turkish establishments—and no doubt in other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. Any help here?

I always like the mezes, or starters, best, so I ordered quite a few. We got the “Pera Meze Platter” which comes with Tzatziki, Dolmades, Mücver, Saksuka, Melitzano salata, feta, olives and pita. This was not enough olives for Amaris, who required an entire order to enjoy herself. We ordered the flaming cheese, called Saganaki, both for the thrill of the show and the taste. That mild chewy cheese really sings to me.

The Piyaz / Fasolia Gigantes, a sort of giant white bean salad, was excellent and we all liked the traditional Greek Salata with tomatoes, cucumbers, scallions, romaine, feta and kalamata olives in a lemon vinaigrette.

Since the consensus at the table was that we were all starving, I ordered the Midye Tava, beer batter fried mussels as well as the yummy fried calamari.

The starters finished with the Börek / Spanakopita, filo triangles filled with spinach and feta cheese, more Kabak Mücver or zucchini cakes and a plate of dolma that are house-made.

After all this who needs the main course? Well, we did, obviously.

There was a special fish and a mixed seafood risotto that day. We four adults shared three of these between us, and were quite satisfied.

One of the many surprises was the Turkish wine. I randomly selected Ancyra, Kalecik Karasi, Kavaklidere 2009, Turkey. Our waiter confessed that it was a favorite. He then went on to regale us with tales of winemaking in the Anatolia peninsula over millennia. Our particular, medium bodied red with decent complexity, comes from a region thought to have first been planted during the Hittite Empire. That truly is ancient history.

We skipped the house-made dessert, since Hegui had Torta Paradiso waiting for us at home. On our first visit, I tried the Kaymakli Kayisi, these incredible stuffed apricots, which I highly recommend.

So that’s it. Pera is a winner in taste, comfort, congenial staff, price, etc. We will definitely be back. You should go sometime very soon.