Foodie Digest

We’d been to Axis cafe once or twice before. They’ve got a great patio in back of the restaurant. Weekday service has been order at the counter and wait for service. We drove by with the dogs and noticed they had 2 tables out front. I also remembered reading the patio was dog friendly (even tho you walk through the restaurant).

and.. it is! We arrived 11 or so on a Sunday. I walked in the to host stand and responded to the “how many” question with “2, but we also have 2 dogs”. “Not a problem” she said with a smile. I beckoned to the outside crew and in we went. Through the restaurant! to the wonderful back patio complete with wind protecting walls.

We were presented with a menu with a great mix of breakfast and lunch type items. On this visit I had the oatmeal and he had the bison burger. In the past I’ve tried the soup (great!) and have repeatedly had the tuna/avocado salad. Mmm. still one of my favorite salads.

the oatmeal was a generous portion (half for tomorrow!) of slow cooked oats with currants and pecans and topped with fresh strawberries. A cinnamon stick was buried in for flavor. This was really hearty and tasty.

the bison burger is served on a flavorful rosemary bun with avocado, roasted peppers and garlic aioli. It’s served with a side salad.

The dogs chilled out in the patio completely oblivious to the other dogs chilling out.

I really love the atmosphere here, and the food is quite solid and reasonably priced. Plenty of great options on the menu and really look forward to returning.

Overall thumbs: Up. While the charm in this place really is the patio, the inside is pleasant. 

Tastiness rating: High. Their food is good. Not swoon-worthy, but good.

Service rating: Good. We had a dog water bowl with us that they offered to fill as they sat us. Our server was friendly and efficient and our water glasses were refilled regularly.

Another winner.

We’d been fans of Couleur Cafe in Potrero Hill for the great outdoor patio and consistent food. And while the food was decent, it wasn’t food we craved week after week.

Apparently we weren’t the only ones; the owners revamped Couleur Cafe and reopened it as PizzaNostra. Ahh, a friendly neighborhood pizza place.

We’ve been twice now; once for dinner with just the two of us, and once in the patio with the 2 dogs. Each time our food has been great (and this place has only been open a week!). Friendly service and as an added bonus they had an abundance of dog water bowls.

So far we’ve had:

• burrata with fava bean salad: The burrata here is good. Fresh but not mind-blowingly pillowy. Still, great flavor and a generous portion.
• Eli’s meatballs: really great sauce, dense and flavorful meatballs.
• Grilled octopus salad: served with chickpeas. This was decent. Not enough octopus to make me order it again but was fine.
• Rock shrimp and white bean salad: rock shrimp served over fennel and white beans with a lemony mint dressing. This was really bright and refreshing. 
• Gnocchi with meat sauce: again, a great sauce. tender gnocchi. 
• Pizza caprese: fresh prosciutto parma and arugula. This was wonderful. The pizza is cooked with great cheese and parma, then pulled out of the oven and topped with 2 more types of cheese and tons of fresh arugula.
• Pizza cannibal: with bolognese and a fresh egg. This was our brunch pizza. Definitely a fork and knife pizza but also very good.
• TRONCHETTO NUTELLA AND BANANA. This was a dessert pizza. They also do a tronchetto with savory ingredients. A tronchetto is basically a rolled pizza, but not folded like a calzone. The dessert one is cooked with marscapone cheese, nutella and banana, then dusted with sugar and cocoa powder. It’s very delicious.

While I like all the food here, the stars are definitely the pizzas. A blistered crust with high quality toppings. Our first visit we sat at the counter overlooking the kitchen and chatted with both the pizza chef and the head chef. The head chef is responsible for the phenomenal sauces we had and both of them were incredibly friendly.

I’ve been very pleased with the meals and service here. The outside patio was wide open when we got there at 11:30 on a beautiful Saturday but was fully packed when we left at 12:30. 

Overall thumbs: Up. Extra points for the great dog friendly patio.

Tastiness rating: High. I could live on pizza every day. Especially really great pizza with such high quality ingredients.

Service rating: Very good. We were there the 2nd night it opened and the chef made certain we got the service we needed (waitstaff was a little sluggish that eve). Our 2nd visit had good service.