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Seven Hills has been around for about a decade, and people talk about this neighborhood spot like it’s the city’s best-kept secret. (But have they heard of the Wave Organ?) The restaurant is always packed, reservations are hard to come by, and on any given night you might have to wait an hour just for a seat at the bar. But even though people come to this restaurant with their clothes a little more pressed than usual - and treat a dinner here like a big night out - a trip to Seven Hills ends up being a letdown, mainly because the food is so underwhelming.
Seven Hills serves California-style Italian dishes you’ve seen a hundred times. They have mozzarella, meatballs, steak au jus, and a fish of the day. If they pulled these dishes off with flawless precision, we’d consider moving nearby just so we could eat here more often.
But sadly, they don’t.
photo credit: Susie Lacocque
The meatballs and steak are just OK, the mozzarella is bland, and depending on the night, you might get fish served with an intensely sweet risotto that feels like someone put them on the same plate by mistake. You’ll be left with a lingering feeling of disappointment, and a little confused about how something so familiar can be so off-putting. Thankfully, there’s a way to avoid this heartbreak - go heavy on the pastas.
The pastas at Seven Hills constantly change, and are consistently the best things here. There may be a casoncelli with suckling pig and rich pork jus that will remind you why you’re obsessed with pasta in the first place, or a pappardelle with tender braised short ribs that fall apart under the weight of your fork. These dishes aren’t in the pantheon of great San Francisco pasta by any means - but they’re passably good. And even among these hits, there are misfires - like the mushroom tortellini that tastes like it was bought from Trader Joe’s and dressed up with a balsamic reduction. But still, we’d take it over the runny pate, which makes us wish we could travel back in time and warn ourselves to avoid it.
If you live in Russian or Nob Hills and are in the mood for a decent bowl of pasta - and don’t feel like facing downtown traffic or trekking to the Mission to the better neighborhood Italian spots - Seven Hills can get the job done. But if you’re coming here on hype alone, you won’t walk out feeling blown away. You’ll have much better luck at the Wave Organ.