Cole Valley Neighborhood Spot

When we were in Cole Valley to eat brunch at Zazie a couple months ago, we stopped by to look at the menu and realized that Eos could be a great dining experience: excellent wines, lots of Asian-influenced small plates.

We finally had a chance to go last Friday. It has a local, neighborhood feel but also has a smart vibe to it. The wine list is one of the best ones in the city, and it should not be a surprise that the people behind Bacar opened up Eos before they opened up Bacar. Similar to Bacar, you can choose bottles or stick to the by-the-glass menu. There you can have tastes, glasses, or flights.

We started with fresh oysters on the half shell (from Puget Sound when we went) and decided to have some sauvignon blanc to accompany the oysters. It paired perfectly. The mignonette and horseradish sauce helped bring out the flavors even more. Next, we had a goat cheese salad. While the goat cheese was excellent, the salad underneath left more to desire. We actually wondered if the salad was more a garnish.


By now we had finished the sauvignon blanc and we switched over to a shiraz flight. The shirahs came from all over the world: Australia, South Africa, Chile, and Northern California. These wines would end up pairing well with the next hot dishes we had. We then had the highlight of the meal: the shitake mushroom dumplings, pictured above. This rich, creamy, somewhat spicy dish is bursting with flavor. We used our bread to mop up the last bit of the sauce. Definitely order these when you go.


We thought the ahi tuna and mango rolls would be something similar to the delectable ahi tuna and mango tacos at Andalu. These rolls, though, were deep-fried. The dipping sauce was a nice spicy blend of wasabi and mustard. The last dish was a Pekin duck breast with a quince and pink peppercorn compote. The sweet compote spread over the rich duck worked well together.


We looked at the dessert menu, but we had seen the couple next to us have the dessert we wanted: molten dark chocolate cake with a milk chocolate center. The cake also came with salted caramel ice cream and peanut brittle. The hot / cold, different textures, salty/sweet, rich combinations worked their magic. I recommend Eos for its wine list, setting, and its great Asian-inspired small plates. As the above shows, there may be a bit of unevenness in the dishes. Overall, though, the food shines.