By Melissa Myers

The choices of where to grab a bite to eat in San Francisco are endless. Each neighborhood is blocked with restaurant after restaurant. But sometimes, when you’re in the midst of residential, you’ll stumble upon a culinary gem, Alamo Square Seafood Grill, to be exact.

Alamo Square Seafood Grill is nestled on Fillmore Street between Grove and Fulton. I recently went there with my family, and this was the perfect spot for my dad who isn’t too keen on loud and crowded places.  He was a happy camper.

The atmosphere at Alamo Square Seafood Grill is relaxing, cozy, and quiet with attentive service. It is a small place, so make a reservation, as there are less than twenty tables. This quaint restaurant is comfortable and provides a home away from home feeling.

Better yet, on Mondays their wine list is half off and on Wednesdays you can bring up to two bottles of wine and have them corked there. If you plan on bringing your own wine, you may want to call ahead and ask what fish they are serving that night so that you may match up your wine choice accordingly. We brought a bottle of Pinot Noir (Fleur Carneros) which complemented our fish beautifully. 
 
Now onto the food! 

Be sure to start off with an appetizer! I had my first experience with escargot here – and was surprisingly pleased. Although I consider myself an adventurous eater, I was never interested in trying snails. The escargot was served coated in warm garlic and pesto sauce, which could have covered a piece of paper and would have still been delicious. For starters, we also got the calamari which is scattered over a white bean salad and joined with a sweet curry aioli dip, making the calamari even more addicting with each dip.

And for the main course, take a glance to the chalkboard on the walls to see the daily specials. The night we went there was a seafood pasta, pork loin and several other enticing entrees.  But don’t be too quick to decide – the wait staff will also offer you four entrees of fish to choose from.  We were delighted by the options of ahi tuna, snapper, trout or salmon. 

For those not into fish, you have various other nonseafood options. I’ve tried both the steak and chicken before and each of them was grilled to perfection and evenly sprinkled with flavor. However, considering it is a seafood restaurant – I’ll stick with the fish, and I suggest you do as well.

Depending on the various fish offered that day, you also have the choice between having it grilled, sautéed, poached, or blackened in either béarnaise, buerre blanc, green peppercorn, provencale, or buerre maitre d’hotel sauce.