Stars Restaurant

San Francisco Review

Relaunched in Fall 1999, Stars has a new design, a new chef, and great new food!   The restaurant's Mediterranean palette and intimate, sophisticated atmosphere include Persian carpets, and sleek Spanish lamps.  Stars' massive wood-burning grill and rotisserie are the center of an all new kitchen dominated by fresh, local ingredients and recipes from the Italian countryside. 

STARS RESTAURANT WAS CLOSED IN FALL 2004

HERE ARE SOME ALTERNATE CHOICES

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Stars new chef is Christopher Fernandez who features rustic, regional cuisine.   During his work at Oliveto in Oakland, Fernandez prepared meals honoring George and Charlotte Schulz, Francis Ford Coppola, and Ann Getty.  The menu offers natural flavors with reasonable prices and farm-direct produce.  "There is a layering of flavors that harmonize in the end... We allow each ingredient to compliment and support the other..."  Christopher was voted one of the top ten Bay Area chefs by the San Francisco Examiner in April 2000.  Expect to spend around $40-$50 for a complete meal at Stars including tip and drink. 

SFTravel's editors secretly dined at Stars in June 2000.   Here is our story...

We were seated in a booth in a corner which provided privacy. The waitress was very knowledgeable about the menu and her timing was perfect. She first came around and asked us if we wanted to order drinks--which we did. When she came with our drinks she then asked if we had questions concerning the menu. The cosmopolitan martini was excellent.

We started the dinner with the endive with gorgonzola, currants, and walnut salad. This salad was well balanced. The bitterness of the endive was toned down by the sweetness of the currants. There was also just the right amount of the vinaigrette unlike other restaurant's salads where the dressing overpowers the salad.

I had the spit roasted pork loin with green chards and roasted cauliflower. The pork loin was thinly sliced but moist and juicy. The Swiss chard had a bread crumb topping which was browned. The cauliflower was roasted to perfection that it just melted in your mouth.

My companion had the halibut with fresh market vegetable of the day. Apparently the chef shops at the local farmer's market and acquires the freshest vegetable in season. The halibut was excellent and cooked to perfection. The cooking process kept the flavor of the fish in. The halibut also came with mashed potatoes.

For dessert, I ordered the pane cotta with cherries. The two varieties of cherries which were poached garnished the plate. The pane cotta was like a custard but had a robust flavor.

My companion had the cherry tart with ice cream. This was actually more like a cherry pie rather than a tart since it had a topped crust. The pie was filled with high quality cherries with just the right sweetness and tanginess. This was accompanied with a scoop of ice cream that is flavored with the inside of the cherry pit so it had a nutty flavor.

The nice thing about the dessert menu is that after each dessert, a recommended wine was listed. If you're not up to sweets, a sampler of cheeses were offered as an alternative to dessert.

At the time of our visit to Stars, cherries were in season and there was a large bowl on the counter by the kitchen. You may ask for a fresh fruit bowl for dessert even though it is not listed on their dessert menu.

The restaurant had a warm welcoming ambiance. The dining room had beautiful high ceiling with a soft music in the background. On the walls were huge paintings of fruits each one depicting a season of the year. In the kitchen, the wood fired pit was also visible. There are also private rooms available for large parties.

STARS RESTAURANT WAS CLOSED IN FALL 2004

HERE ARE SOME ALTERNATE CHOICES

Restaurant Reviews of San Francisco's Best Restaurants

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