Steller Mezes at Troya in Upper Fillmore

Troya Mediterranean Kitchen, serves up mouthwatering mezes from a light filled storefront on Upper Fillmore. It's a wonderful combination of Turkish, Kurdish, and Persian cuisine; and not a stretch to say it's the best we've had in the Bay Area. According to their website, Troya Fillmore brings a different, more modern approach to the Turkish-inspired Mediterranean kitchen, offering local and organic ingredients as often as possible. Over 4th of July weekend, with baby in tow, we met family there for an early dinner and were not disappointed. 

Troya's space in bright and modern, yet rustic; it almost feels like a SOMA loft space. Walls are painted white with accents of red brick. Mid-century light fixtures and Edison bulbs are neatly distributed above the cherry wood tables. Upon arrival, we were promptly seated at a large table across from the open bar space. Our only complaint about the space is that it gets noisy (not enough sound attenuation) and stuffy (not enough power on the ceiling fans). After perusing the menu for several minutes, we decided to order a bunch of sharing mezes for the table. Across the eight of us, we ordered 12 items, including dessert. For the purposes of this blog, I'll highlight the key eight. 

Hummus, Haydari, Muhammara with House Made Turkish Bread ($16) - Three dips of hummus (mashed chickpeas with tahini and olive oil), haydari (strained yogurt with garlic and mint) and muhammara (roasted red pepper with walnuts) served with warm airy leavened bread. Each dip has it's own distinct flavor - hummus was earthy and buttery smooth, haydari was fresh and citric, the muhammara was spicy and intense. My favorite was the muhammara paired with some haydari, the balance between the two was perfect, especially over the fluffy bread. 

Summer Watermelon Salad with fennel, feta and fresh mint ($9) - A bright flavorful appetizer portion salad of refreshing watermelon cubes, salty feta, and crunchy licorice-flavor fennel. I am generally not a fan of salads that include fruit, this one worked because it was the opposite - fruit paired with savory elements. Each ingredient had a purpose and the feta was not pungent or overpowering. All in all, a great pallet cleansing dish. 

Roasted eggplant salad with tomatoes, pine nuts and feta ($10) - Served warm, this dish was a pleasant surprise for me. The roasted and slightly charred eggplant was layered perfectly with juicy tomatoes, earthy pine nuts, and fresh feta. Combined as one, it was a perfect blend of the Mediterranean. My only feedback was to cut the eggplant thinner, so that each bite has equal balance. 

Crispy Brussel Sprouts with aleppo aioli ($9) - We liked the concept of the dish and the aioli, but the sprouts were inconsistent with some sprouts soggy and some over crisp. The aioli by itself had a nice kick but was a bit too eggy for my taste. From a great stable of mezes, this was a miss in our books. 

Grilled Halloumi Cheese with fresh figs almonds and grapes ($11) - We're aficionados of this Cyprus cheese having tasted in at many establishments throughout London. Troya does halloumi justice, each cube covered in Turkish spices was perfectly grilled and topped a fresh sweet fig jam - a really nice savory sweet dish. We were surprised at how large the portion was especially each halloumi cube. All of us end up cutting them in half. That being said, it's a staple we'll order again. 

Wild arugula salad with avocado, walnuts, and farmers cheese  ($9) - Another palate cleansing dish for the table. The bitter arugula was complemented by the buttery avocado, while the walnuts added a much needed crunch. There was lemon vinaigrette drizzled on top which added a hint of tartness. 

Pesto, Tomato, and Farmers Cheese Flatbread ($12) - This was a throw in dish, not needed given the amount of food we had ordered. There was nothing memorable about it, but you could definite taste the fresh ingredients. The pesto was a bit under-seasoned and the dish could have used some salt. That being said, I can't really turn down pizza, so needless to say it was finished. 

Turkish Coffee Chocolate Pot de Creme with house-made whipped cream ($8) - A dense, bittersweet chocolate pudding served cold. On first bite everyone felt the same way, too rich, too thick, too chocolately. Over time, we were able to taste the depthness and balance of flavors. There was only a hint of coffee and this flavor was certainly masked by the chocolate. However as a dessert it was too large and we left at least 1/4 of it uneaten. 

Baklava hand rolled with walnuts and pistachios, served with ice cream ($8) - A really solid dessert with thin phylo layers, crushed walnuts and pistachios, and drizzled honey. It was not overly sweet either which was good thing given the nice portion of vanilla ice cream that accompanied the two pieces of baklava. Troya's baklava had a great texture as the phylo was slightly crumbly and crispy. We would definitely order this again. 

Troya has a wonderful stable of well balanced mezes that are great to share with large groups. When ordering I would focus in on the truly authentic Turkish dishes rather than those that have Italian influence. We will definitely go back and give Troya a strong 8 out of 10. 

Michelin starred SPQR in Pacific Heights

SPQR has been on our restaurant list for years, but for one reason or another we hadn't dined there. It's premise is simple - farm to table fresh Northern Italian cuisine with one of SF's best wine menus. The menu changes daily based on the availability of locally sourced ingredients. This restaurant shot fame under Nate Appleman, who also oversaw A16 in the Marina. After his departure in 2009, Matthew Accarrino took the helm and elevated the restaurant to Michelin star level. From our perspective, very well deserved. One of the top restaurant we've been to in the city. 

The restaurant is located on Upper Fillmore amongst the stylish boutiques, contemporary furniture showrooms, and trendy restaurants. As you would expect, reservations are hard to come by, so plan ahead. We decided on a Sunday lunch over Labor Day weekend. The interior is warm and inviting, with rustic dark floor, cherry dining tables, and an open plan kitchen / wine bar. The menu had several vegetarian options after a few suggestions from the wait staff, we decided to share an antipasti and have separate entrees. After a few minutes, the dishes started coming out. 


Biscuits with apricot & wild fennel preserves and fresh butter - This was complementary and given to every table, probably because it was Sunday brunch time. The biscuits were warm and fresh out of the oven. Slight sweet with a hint of salt, the biscuits were crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. The homemade preserves had chucks of apricot with a dusting of fennel. It didn't take us long to finish these off. As a first tasting, we were instantly impressed. 

Sweet carrot and lentil salad, medjool date and vadouvan curry crema - The plating was amazing, each component was meticulously placed around the Heath ceramic plate. Because of the plating, we didn' t know whether to combine all the component or leave them separate. We decided on the latter, which allowed us to vary the taste in each bite. The textures and flavors are hard to describe, which you would not expect from an Italian restaurant. It had more of a Mediterranean influence and wonderful balance - there was the earthiness from glazed carrots, crunchiness from a chickpea fritter, spiciness from the curry crema, and natural sweetness from the medjool date paste. Every bite was different and left us wanting more. For those curious, vadouvan is a derivative of an Indian spice blend.  


Creste di galli, rapini pesto, leek, fingerling potato and ricotta salata - A fresh rooster's crown hollow pasta prepared with a light rapini (broccoli rabe) pesto and shaved ricotta. The dish was light yet flavorful; and i really enjoyed the pesto - not overpowering, nor olive oily. The ricotta salata had the consistency of fresh mozzarella, but more airy. the potatoes were a nice touch and were probably the only heavy component.  Similar to the salad, this dish had strong earthy qualities from the leeks, rapini, and potatoes. The portion size was perfect as well. Overall, we both agreed, that this was a well thought out dish and fine balance and finesse. Case in point, without the ricotta salata, Sheila felt that the dish lacked salt. However with all the components together, the dish was in complete harmony. 


Tuscan kale francobolli, goat cheese, green onion and poppy seed - A thin ravioli stuffed with tuscan kale served bits of fresh goat cheese, lightly sauteed green onions, poppy seeds. The pasta was not overfilled with kale nor was it thick, so you could taste the slight bitterness of the kale. The sauce was a very light butter and as the goat cheese melted it formed a creamy sauce. The poppy seeds seemed a bit unnecessary, but at times added a slight crunch. Sheila felt this was a hearty dish without being overly filing and was pleasantly surprised at how much she enjoyed the fresh goat cheese on warm pasta. It was great sunday lunch entree. 


Tiramisu, espresso coffee, mascarpone and cocoa - Served in a glass tumbler with multiple layers of mascarpone, lady fingers, and cocoa, topped with warm espresso. This was probably the richest dish we had during the meal. The flavors were bold - strong espresso shot, sweet creamy mascarpone, slightly bitter dark cocoa, and moist yet crunchy lady fingers. This was not your typical tiramisu, almost had a deconstruction quality to it; and as well spooned each layer the depth of flavors came alive. We thoroughly enjoyed it, even with food coma setting in. 

All in all, SPQR is worthy of its acclaim and Michelin star. A wonderful treat in SF if you can get a table, and if not try the lunch. Farm to table and locally sourced ingredients have come to be expected at SF restaurants. We will most certainly come back to this modern Northern Italian restaurant to try a few more dishes from this ever changing menu. Bravo with a rating of 8.5 out of 10.