The Basics
Cuisine: American with a Southern Twist
Ambiance: Rustic Chic
Address: 342 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Neighborhood: SOMA
Phone: 415.908.3900
Web Site: http://www.townhallsf.com/ (site didn’t work when I tried it earlier today, but this is the URL listed – could be temporarily down)
Must Taste (Dinner):
- Starter: Butter Lettuce Salad – this salad had an overall light taste, and the combination of the ingredients (fuji apple, blue cheese, butter lettuce, thin radish slices) makes this a winner. My client, who is a foodie herself, recommended this, and it was a great recommendation that I’d like to pass on.
Pricing Samples (Dinner):
- I didn’t write down any pricing info while I was there and the web site appears to be down, so I don’t have a lot of info here for now. My entree, the osso bucco, was around $25 if that helps.
- Starters – $10.50 – 15 (got this from one of my pictures)
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Best For: Business or Dinner with friends. Town Hall would make a great date, too, but don’t expect quiet romance here.
What to Wear: nice-casual to dressy – business to special occasion
Fave Points: interesting flavor combinations – slightly Southern feel
My Occasion: dinner with clients
My Fave Dish: San Francisco’s Best Hot Chocolate – so decadent and delicious. This dessert is unfortunately only available during cold weather months – Check with restaurant for availability details.
Menu pricing and availability subject to change.
My Dish
I was in San Francisco, CA on business and took 2 of my clients out for dinner at a local restaurant they selected – Town Hall . We talked about possibly going to Boulevard but after pulling up and reviewing the menus for both restaurants online, we all decided to stick with the original choice.
We had a reservation for 5:30 pm, but we arrived a wee bit early and the hostess offered for us to wait at the bar while they prepared our table. We sat at a gigantic table next to the bar (looked like a 14-top) and ordered drinks while we waited. I ordered an Athena – “Veev acai spirit, Eli’s refresher blend of white peach & guava purees, a floater of sparkling wine, lime twist with two brandied cherries.” The drink tasted just as good as it sounded on the menu and the table was ready before I got to finish it.
The interior of the restaurant had a really rustic-chic feel to it with exposed brick walls and lots of wooden furniture.
I really liked the one-of-a-kind chandeliers overhead and the big windows that let lots of natural light in.
At the table – very simple place-settings and table decor.
The menu had lots of great options and the waitress was helpful in assisting all of us with our orders.
We received a rustic, wooden container of bread to start the meal.
Upon recommendation of one of my clients, I tried the butter lettuce salad, which was excellent! I don’t even like blue cheese, and I still absolutely loved this! This salad made blue cheese taste good.
As we enjoyed our salad and bread, we also enjoyed some great conversation talking about everything from other great restaurants in SF to Casual Carpool – a concept I thought was pretty fascinating and one I’d never heard of in any other city before.
For my entree, I had the Pork Osso Buco – “Niman Ranch pork osso buco, Anson Mills grits, black trumpet mushrooms, brussels sprouts and a coffee mushroom jus.“
The pork was fall-off-the-bone tender and seasoned very well. I really enjoyed the pork with the grits underneath the meat and the sauce really enhanced the flavors which all went quite splendidly together. I only wish there were more veggies, but at least I got plenty in the salad.
Dessert was a tough choice altogether. I was torn between the Warm Cornmeal Crepes with Meyer Lemon Curd and San Francisco’s Best Cup of Hot Chocolate. The “San Francisco’s Best” part of the latter option completely intrigued me, and I had to have it. All 3 of us at the table ended up ordering the hot chocolate dessert – it was a real chocolate fest.
The hot chocolate was like liquid chocolate – so rich, thick, and creamy. I added some of the chantilly cream, which was served on the side, in every other bite. I ate one of the two chocolate cookies that accompanied the hot chocolate and they were nearly as decadent as the drink itself. They were soft, moist, chocolaty, and nice + chewy – just the way I like my cookies. I could only finish half the hot chocolate, but it was worth trying! I don’t know if I’d call it the “best” of San Fran because different people like their hot chocolate served differently, but I was glad to have tried it. Personally, I like mine more on the milky side, but served this thick, the Town Hall version made a better “dessert” than what I’m used to drinking for fun. The cookies and cream really rounded out the dessert to make it extra special.
At the end of the meal, our bill was delivered in a red book, which I believe I signed (I think there were signatures in there, but my memory is fuzzy now since it’s been a couple months). I thought the book was a unique touch.
Final Dish
Town Hall proved to be the perfect spot for our client dinner. Everyone was happily full by the end of the meal and we were all in great spirits from the delish eats.
If you’re looking for a quiet date night, you may want to look again. For me, Town Hall seemed like a better place to kick back and have fun and maybe even get a little loud. I’m not saying you couldn’t do a date night here…I think you could have a wonderful date night here, too.
As for the menu, I’m actually from the South, so I was surprised to see so many Southern options on the menu, like the Fried Chicken and biscuits. I usually try to eat whatever is special to the destination I’m visiting (and not what is normally, easily accessible), so I shied away from the Fried Chicken, though I did still end up with grits. 
Southern or not, the menu had many wonderful options – especially that dessert menu! I only wish I had enough time to try one of each.