Nirvana graphic

Restaurant: Nirvana

Location:
544 Castro Street
San Francisco, CA

Phone: (415) 861-2226

Price Range: $6.75-$15.95

Number of visits: 2
Last visit before review: December 29, 2002

Randy had: Marinated grilled chicken, paprika tamarind sea bass.

Jeff had: kama curry chicken, curry Mandalay beef (special).

We shared: Chrysanthemum tea, jasmine tea, oolong tea.

Rating
10 chunks
10
(of 12)
Excellent
Jeff says: The kama curry chicken is awesome. It has chunks of chicken over udon noodles mixed with a creamy coconut curry sauce. There are also onions and chunks of sweet potato mixed in. Crispy noodles add texture, and lime slices and mint leaves provide an appetizing presentation. This dish really works, and the creamy coconut curry sauce is delicious.

Randy says: The marinated grilled chicken was delicious. It comes over choice of noodle and I opted for the spinach noodles on the waiter's recommendation. The chicken was delightfully seasoned and the noodles were al dente. I liked the addition of the crispy noodles also. The basil garlic sauce was not overpowering and not overly thick.

Jeff says: The curried Mandalay beef was okay but disappointing compared to the kama curry chicken. It had a nice sauce and mushrooms, bell peppers, brocoli and other vegetables in addition to the beef slices. It arrived super hot and I had to let it cool down to be able to get near it. A scoop of sticky white rice on the side with ground peanuts on top was also very nice, and when I ran out of beef and vegetables I used the soup spoon to dunk the rice into the broth.

Randy says: I was hesitant to order the paprika tamarind sea bass because sea bass is a mild white fish and I was afraid that it would be bland. Instead, the fish was infused with a wonderful ginger-cilantro-lemongrass flavor and was served in a tangy tamarind broth as promised on the menu. The ginger made it slightly spicy, warming me up on a frigid winter San Francisco day. The broth contained vegetables including fabulous tomato chunks, green beans, and more. I tried to get Jeff to taste a green bean or tomato, but he refused, scared there might be fish flavor on them although I assured him that wasn't the case.

Jeff says: While I thought my kama curry chicken was superb, I also thought Randy's marinated grilled chicken was great. The sauce was less creamy than mine but still somewhat buttery and very flavorful. The chrysanthemum tea was almost too subtle for me. The jasmine tea was just right.

Randy says: II liked the idea of the sweet potato in Jeff's kama curry chicken, but I didn't enjoy the sauce because it was so creamy and not as richly flavored as I would prefer. The oolong tea was a darker (more oxidized) variety of oolong, but it did have a distinctive oolong flavor (and a pronounced level of tannin). I quite liked the chrysanthemum tea. While it was subtle, I could happily drink pot after pot of it on a cold day. I thought the jasmine tea was good and I especially appreciated the use of looseleaf tea, but the tea quality was only average and the tea pot lacked any convenient way to arrest steeping.

We came into San Francisco despite a heavy downpour in hopes of having lunch at a place we'd enjoyed on previous visits, The Patio (indoors). After the usual problems of parking in the Castro district, and after braving strong winds and getting wet feet on the hike from the car to Castro Street, we arrived in front of The Patio to find it boarded up and For Lease. But they say every cloud has a silver lining and in this case it was Nirvana, almost directly across the street.

We thought Nirvana might be an Indian restaurant but it turned out to be Burmese. On the menu posted outside the door we saw several interesting items and decided to give it a try. We sat at a window where we watched people scurrying in the rain while we warmed up with a pot of chrysanthemum tea, then jasmine.

At the end of the entryway is a Buddha who appears overjoyed to great you. The thin narrow dining room has mostly small tables and large counters behind which are the bar and open kitchen.

The menu is a bit confusing. There are specials, entrees, and three sections of noodles: vegetarian, seafood, and nirvana which features chicken and pork noodle dishes. We decided to visit on two days so we could try noodle and non-noodle dishes. Jeff enjoyed both noodle dishes more, while Randy found the noodleless dishes more complex and richly flavored. Something that concerned us, however, was that on our first visit the restroom's two paper towel dispensers were both empty (why wouldn't the staff notice this unless...?), but we were pleased to find the condition corrected on our next visit.

We hope Nirvana does well so we can drop in on our new favorite place in San Francisco on the next of our infrequent visits.

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