Belga: Belgian Fare in SF's Cow Hollow

Robin and I were looking to eat somewhere nearby Fort Mason Saturday night, in order to let all the traffic subside. We're almost never in San Francisco on a Saturday night. With the car parked in a space already paid for, we were within easy walking distance of many places close to the Marina. She had heard good things about Belga, so we decided to walk on over.

Belga resides in a spot that was formerly a French restaurant--marble floors, hard surfaces, beautiful and elegant. The design of the plates, silverware, napkins and other accessories caught my eye. Warm mood lighting, and the vibe seemed pretty cheerful.

The one good photo we got is of the Steamed Mussels dish. In the 90s, I used to go to an Italian restaurant in Austin, Texas, Mezzaluna, with my buddy Janice Rossen & others, for their version of this very dish. PEI Mussels with lemon, garlic, olive oil/butter, parsley, shallots, and white wine. Belga's version is similar, using Witbier instead. I've had versions of this dish probably close to 50 times (& made it a few times myself), but this has to be the best one--chalk it up to fresher ingredients. Wish they had brought us more bread to soak up the sauce, it was so good, as it should be.

Belga's got a nice selection of Belgian-style ales on draft: I ordered the Allagash Black Stout (Portland, ME), which is sublime.

Finally, we had a Steak Poivre with Frites--quite good, and a perfect match with the stout. Their frites resemble McDonald's in terms of size and shape, but they are much, much better: they taste fresh-cut, and are perfectly fried.

The service was great, and I would recommend Belga if you're in the neighborhood. Next time, we'll get the Mussels again, but maybe the Duck instead.


belgasf.com