Sergeant Ma, San Francisco

Reviewer: Foodnut.com Sergeant Ma 185 Berry St Ste 1500 San Francisco, CA 94107 (415) 757-0557 Sergeant Ma Website

Sergeant Ma is the latest restaurant from Hi Neighbor Hospitality, which runs 7Adams, Trestle and more. It’s located right near Oracle park, right by the water. It was confusing how to even get to the restaurant from Berry st because the building is used by UCSF and other tech firms. I suggest heading to the waterfront and then you’ll see it easier. Rated 4.3 on Yelp, 4.6 on Google. Annoyingly they do not answer phones.

They serve California cuisine with Asian influences, which is similar to many other spots in the City. Amount of Asian influence is very low. They have some nice patio seating outside with heaters and a long bar. Their cocktail program looks great. We sat at the bar and saw some cool cocktails like the Steam Schooner.

We ordered too much for a party of 3. Be careful. Pacing was very uneven for the 3 week old restaurant, although servers were clearly experienced and comp’d us a dessert. By the time the duck came, we were done eating.

All in all this is a beautiful restaurant that serves up solid food. We can’t find a defining themes, making it hard to characterize this spot.

If you decide to come here, order cocktails and the appetizers, skip the big plates.

Food Review:
THE TALLYMAN ($15) Zero-proof – Ghia Berry Aperitif, House Banana Syrup, Casals Non-Alcoholic Vermouth, Club Soda shows how a sophisticated NA drink can be. Cool glass cup. Too much ice. 9/10

Half-Dozen Shigoku Oysters ($30) DF / GF Chili Sam, Strawberry, Tomato sounds simple but hit the mark with small oyster shooters filled with zesty toppings. Expensive, but you’re paying for the space! 9/10

Bluefin Tuna Noodle Salad ($27) DF / GF Shaved Vegetables, Crispy Ginger, Sesame-Yuzu Dressing is simply a beautiful dish. Fresh fish with some nice accents. 9/10

Chopped Summer Salad ($26) GF Corn, Toasted Almonds, Avocado, Crispy Chickpea, Citrus-Koji Vinaigrette is a beautiful salad, tossed tableside. Huge portion size. 10/10

Spicy Manila Clams & Pork Belly ($24) Crispy Noodles, Corn, Sour Chili is a fun dish with lots of small clams in the shell and a touch of heat and crisp. Not a lot of pork belly. They should serve rice so you can use the sauce up. 8.5/10

Roasted Scallops ($58 GF) Tandoori Spices, Sweet Corn, Summer Squash, Mint Yogurt had 4 large scallops, one of which was over torched. Cream of corn like sauce. Decent dish but very disjointed from the squash. The version we had at Boulevard last month was far better. 8/10

Coriander-Crusted Duck Breast ($61) DF / GF Braised Leg, Yellow Peach, Anise Jus, Crispy Black Rice was a large dish, kinda shocking after all the little ones. We were full by the time the long delay hit. Some pieces are a bit overcooked. Not sure why they didn’t just pour the jus. 8.5/10

Coconut Mango Semi-Fredo ($14) Lychee ice, white chocolate puffed rice, pomelo had a nice mixtures of textures and flavors. A little more Asian than the other dishes. 9/10

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