Contigo Restaurant Review, San Francisco

Contigo means with you in Spanish. They are a Barcelona inspired Spanish and Catalan tapas (small plates) restaurant in the Noe Valley area of San Francisco. They cook everything from scratch using the products of local, organic, and humane farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and artisans. Pica-Pica small plates are $8 each or $7 when you order 3 or more.

Decor, Vibe – Small dining room with lots green elements like the recycled redwood tables and paneling. Small bar area and small patio in the back. Informally dressed foodies mainly in their 30’s and 40’s were eating.

Menu Pictures (Click to zoom into any picture)

Website Menu

Picks:

Oxtail Croquetas ($8) with pine nuts, raisins, Martin’s Mizuna were 2 deep fried balls of goodness. Delectable and tender braised oxtail was inside. Very nice crispy texture.

Calamares pinotxo style with manteca beans, marjoram ($8) was a beautiful mix of fresh squid and chock full of beans. The tender shellfish was cooked just right, no rubberyness or fishiness here.

Patatas Bravas ($8) Fried potatoes with allioli, salsa brava is a signature dish. We opted to keep the 2 condiments off the potatoes. Potatoes were Very crispy but almost over salted. The salsa was extremely spicy and the allioli pretty standard, validating our decision to put it on the side.

Tripe with chickpeas ($8) from their wood oven was a warm inviting dish with lots of delightful chewy tripe.

Coca (Flatbread) with txistorra Sausage ($14) spring onions, mancego was a simple, unpretentious pizza-like platillos that was cooked to perfection. No burnt or soggy crust here, just excellent cooking. Subdued flavor from the sausage.

Jamon Serrano Reserva ($9) was a healthy does of Spanish ham, aged 18 months, with some rustic bread. Lots of exotic, complex flavor and a nice match for some simple bread.

Clams cal pep style ($8) with manteca beans, marjoram had tons of tiny but savory clams along with cooked ham. Be sure to sop up the broth with some bread. Frankly, I liked the cooked ham in this dish more than the straight Jamon.

Chocolate caliente ($4) cup of super thick, rich barcelona style chocolate with freshly fried churros ($4) was a decadent dessert. The hot chocolate was like drinking a chocolate bar, one with a slight salt hint. The hot churros were bathed in sugar and were a must get for dipping. Do not order the hot chocolate without them.

OK:
None

Pans:
None

Contigo had surprisingly very good service with very casually dressed servers and bus boys roaming around. Prices are reasonable for tapas and portion sizes are decent. If you are looking for some Spanish tapas definitely check this place out.
Reasonable wine markup with Glasses of from $6, Garaffas from $16, Bottles from $31, $20 corkage.

Contigo Overall Rating: (Very Good 2.5)

Come Back?

Food Rating:	(Very Good)
Service Rating:	(Very Good)
Atmosphere Rating:	(Good)
Value Rating:	(Good)

Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Below/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary

Alcohol:	Beer, Wine
Attire:	Casual
Hours:	Sun - Th 530 - 10pm, Fri-Sat 530 - 11pm
Parking:	Street
Reservations:	Yes
Prices:	$8 - $19