Town's End Restaurant and Bakery
2 Townsend Street (corner of Embarcadero), 415 512-0749
Dinner 5:30-9:30pm Tues-Sat (closed Sun and Mon).
Note: This review is for dinner only. Breakfast and lunch, as well as weekend brunch are also served. For information, phone the restaurant.
Update, 7/1/05
If asked, What is the best dinner deal in San Francisco?, I think I would say, the Tueday Night Special dinner at Town's End. The price for the three-course dinner on Tuesday has gone up from $13.95 to $14.95. It still consists of a choice of soup or an organic house salad as appetizer, and then any main course from the bountiful menu, and any dessert. With the dollar increase, it is still the best deal...
But another big deal is in the offing. The three-course $22.50 dinner, consisting of any appetizer, any main course, and any dessert will be $17.95 beginning the 1st of July, 2005. Again, an unusual deal in this upscale restaurant. We dined there recently and found that the menu has been expanded and the food has remained delectable. The service, as always, was personal and attentive.
Town's End Restaurant, established by chef-owners Mary and David Sperber 14 years ago, is an attractive structure at the foot of Townsend Street, facing the Embarcadero. The interior is a half-moon-shaped dining room of some 78 seats, with striking red walls create a homey atmosphere of understated elegance. The tables are covered with a glass top over white tablecloths, and there are complimenting cloth napkins.
I last ate at Town's End about 11 years ago. I now find the food as hearty and succulent as ever, the portions still as large, and the prices even more affordable than before.
Where in San Francisco can one get a comparable dinner consisting of an appetizer of soup or house salad, and a choice of entree and dessert from any on the large menu for $13.50?
That’s the Tuesday Neighborhood Special. On the remaining days of the week, there is a three-course prix-fixe meal for $22.50, where all three courses can be chosen off the menu. Truly, a great deal.
The food is not only delicious but the servings are large, so large that they offer the possibility of sharing dishes (additional $3 per shared dish). This not only makes dinner even more affordable, but, for many, more palatable. Service is most friendly; most servers have been there for many years, some from the beginning, 14 years ago.
A basketful of breads and breadsticks from their bakery – plus butter, of course – helps start a great dinner. One member of our party said he could make a dinner of these alone. And he might well have if the ordered dishes had not come so promptly!
Organic ingredients are a major part of the appetizers and main courses. The food can be described as comfort American and Mediterranean.
Regarding affordability – a recent survey cited in the S.F. Chronicle, entitled, “A Renewed Appetite for Splashy Restaurants,” reports that the post 9/11 blues in the economy are over for many. They quote a survey of 1,325 Bay Area diners – no statement of how they were chosen – who stated they are now spending a lot more at fancy restaurants than a year ago. More than 50% spend $30-50+ per person for dinner, including drinks, tax, and tip, and 80%+ are willing to spend $50 per person for dinner, including drinks, tax, and tip. As said, the sample was not defined, but it is doubtful that they were chosen among diners in low-priced or moderately-priced restaurants.
Of course, the economy is improving and earnings of top managers are increasing considerably. This group is certrainly spending more on restarurants now than a year ago, and they can support the flurry of plush restaurants that are now appearing. But their numbers are few, and a very small part of the 4,000+ restaurants in the City.
At the same time, many more new restaurants are appearing with lowered prices and prix-fixe meals. Town's End is a prime example. But even high-end French restaurants like Chapeau and Clementine offer superb three-course meals for $20.00, and other French restaurants with prix-fixes even lower than that, e.g., Metro Café and Baker Street Bistro at $12.50 and $14.00, respectively, for substantial excellent meals. La Bergerie (French) offers excelllent five-course dinners for $15.00-20.00 depending on the entree.
Recently, about a dozen Indian and Pakistani restaurants have begun serving traditional dishes of curries and tandooris for $3.99-5.00 a large dish. These restaurants are flourishing.
The Middle Class is still hurting in this country and that is reflected in the continued trend toward lower-priced restaurants in The City. Statistics continue to show that the rich are getting richer – especially with their new large tax cuts – while the rest – especially the large middle-class – are being squeezed. So, it is not surprising that a selected few high-priced restaurants are doing better now than a year ago. But this applies to a very few only. The survey cited by the Chronicle is misleading. What appears to be affordable for some well-heeled individuals – e.g. $50.00 per person for dinner – is not affordable for most diners.
 The Town's End menu:
Appetizers are reasonably-priced. They include house-made gnocchi with fresh ricotta, artichoke hearts, organic tomatoes, and crumbled blue cheese $4.50, mixed organic greens with balsamic vinagrette $5.00, with goat cheese or crumbled blue $6.00, house-cured salmon and potato pancakes with capers and sour cream $6.00, fresh crab cake with organic greens $6.50. Mixed organic greens with grilled vegetables $6.00.
Entrees include hamburger of naturally-raised beef, with hand-cut Texas fries $9.00, add choice of cheese $10.00, beef brisket with potato-carrot pancakes and apple compote $10.75, summer fettucine with organic broccoli, green heirloom tomatoes, red torpedo onions, and English peas, finished with fresh asiago $11.75, add roast chicken $12.75, seafood risotto with organic tomatoes, corn, red onions, and red snapper, finshed with queso fresco $12.75, lamb stew with organic celery, onions, and carrots, braised with red wine, served over grilled polenta $12.75, half-chicken grilled with chipotle glaze and served with corn bread and mixed pepper stuffing $12.50, choice flatiron steak grilled with port-balsamic reduction, served wth garlic-mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables $13.95, filet of local King salmon served with smoked corn and mango salsa, and garlic-roasted potatoes $14.95.
Desserts, all house-baked, $5.75, include lemon meringue pie with raspberry sauce, Boston cream pie with chocolate granache, blackberry cheesecake served wth wild, fresh Sonoma blackberries.
Beverages include organic house-blend coffee $2.00, espresso $1.75, choice of Chinese whole-leaf teas $2.00. Wine, their own brand Sonoma Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon $5.25 glass, $20.00 bottle, Dry Creek Chenin Blanc $4.50 glass, $17.00 bottle, other brands of red and white $19.00-34.00, tawny 10-year old port wine $5.00 glass. Beer – pints on tap $4.00 (six brands), bottles $3.75.
Town's End Restaurant reviewed 9/1/04 by Louis Madison
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