SF: Tasting Menu at Mr. Pollo

Four courses for $20? What is this madness? That’s what you get at Mr. Pollo, a tiny restaurant in the Mission. When my buddy Miss Carina said it was one of her best SF dining experiences in recent memory, I had to try it of course.

 

Mr. Pollo is Venezuelan cuisine serving fresh juices and arepas in addition to the 4-course tasting menu. I opted for a blackberry juice after a long 6-hour day at the St. George Distillery.

 

We started with a nice, light salad. It had really great dressing and I loved the crunchy pomegranate seeds and sliced apples.

 

During my last SF trip, the Opportunarian fell back to her mostly vegetarian ways. She did make an except for raw fish and so Mr. Pollo gave her slightly different courses than Carina and I. She started with raw salmon while we had it seared.

 

I actually prefer salmon raw but the sear was the merest kiss and we might as well been having the same thing.

 

We did add on a couple of arepas. We got veggie and chicken. I really liked the chicken. The arepa was crisp and warm.

 

For our third course, the Opportunarian got roasted veggies.

 

We had similar roasted veggies but ours came with a teensy bit of beef. When you get such a tiny strip, you savor every bit of it.

 

I noticed we were eating a lot of potatoes on this trip which is so unlike me (given a choice of rice, bread, potatoes or noodles, I always choose noodles).

 

The lamb sausage called out for those potatoes though.

 

Just when we thought we were full, we had to end on a sweet note. We added tres leches cake to our dinner. Did we spend just $20? Nope, between the drinks, additional arepas and cake, it was more but it was worth it. I liked the tiny intimacy of Mr. Pollo with one chef and one server.

I could see how this could become a weekly habit for those looking for something cute, unique and different.

Mr. Pollo

2823 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110 — (415) 374-5546

 

© The Minty 2012