Saha, San Francisco

Our recent visit to Saha, an exciting restaurant in Lower Nob Hill that boasts “a unique blend of Yemenese Arabic Cuisine and boundary pushing California cuisine with French hints mixed in for good measure” began at home. The evening started off with the breaking of my 12-day wine fast. I know, tough, but after Prof. T’s birthday indulgence at Garçon!, I decided that I needed a break to do a bunch of academic work for my classes. That requires a clear head and all my marbles.

Since I finished the bulk of the work and Prof. T had an exciting bottle he “imported” from his recent trip to Barcelona, D.O. Navarra Homenaje Tinto 2009 Bodegas Marco Real, it was the perfect time to pop the cork and start the indulgence. Having the wine at home before dinner, rather than with the meal, is not the classic way and many a French wine-snob would scoff. However, it beats corkage as a cost saving measure in these weak-economy-school-budget times and it can be tremendously romantic to sip your lovely glass of red while staring dreamily into your lover’s eyes in the privacy of your own home.

Actually we had tried Saha about six years ago, right after they opened. The Professor didn’t enjoy it then, so we never went back. But I often think that restaurants struggle a bit after they first open and sometimes it takes them some time to find their groove. Plus Zagat gave a glowing review, so why not try again?

The restaurant is behind the lobby of the Hotel Carlton on Sutter and Larkin Streets. The interior is designed with an Arabic tent theme. That’s cool. The place was packed and had that trendy feel, which it did not have last time. Our waiter, Mical, was very welcoming and introduced himself to us in a very casual and friendly manner. We ordered a glass of wine to share since we had already indulged at home, but wanted something to sip with the meal. I ordered the Finca Decero “Remolinos Vineyard” Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina for 8-dollars. It was deep and dark with chocolate, smoke and hints of ripe plums: perfect for sipping throughout our meal.

I ordered some “unmentionable things” for this website, but I have hormonal cravings for iron rich foods sometimes, but that’s another story. We both got the pre-fixe, which included a soup or salad, a small plate and an entrée. Prof. T ordered seafood tangine, a mix of a few different fish and shellfish over rice. I got the soup of the day, a vegan one (Saha specializes in veggie, and vegan dishes) with fennel and coconut milk. It was very intriguing. I’ve grown to love the special flavor of fennel, which I learned to appreciate with weirdcombinations.

Pro. T had the wild arugula, beets, roasted pears, date, candied pecans, blue cheese, with blueberry vinaigrette salad. His seafood tagine had wild salmon, prawns, scallops and ahi tuna simmered in hodeida, a delcious creamy hot sauce. All the seafood was scrumptiously fresh.

We truly indulged with dessert, Dulce Picchu: a gorgeous pyramid of dulce de leche and cream that was out of this world good.

I’m not really sure what parts of the meal were “Yemenese Arabic Cuisine” but who cares. It was all excellent. So it just goes to show that sometimes first impressions aren’t the whole story. I’m glad we returned to wonderful Saha. If you get the chance, you should go there sometime soon.