Week in Reviews: Coco500, Troya, Cetrella and MORE!

The Scandinavian Designs interior of Coco500 [Photo: Yelp/Aaron S]

Leading off the festivities, we have Paul Reidinger visiting Loretta Keller's Coco500, where he muses on its predecessor Bizou, the pre-ballpark days of SoMa and the interior design of the trendy Coco500:

I went in warily, full of skepticism, and was almost instantly won over, and that is about the loudest hallelujah I can sing for any restaurant, reinvented or otherwise.

Most of Coco500's magic has to do with the food and the service, it must be said. The redesign of the interior emphasizes blond wood and is reminiscent of a Scandinavian Designs store or a sauna, and while there's nothing wrong with the Danish modern look, it doesn't exactly send the most accurate subliminal signals about what sort of food to expect

Despite the disconnect between Californian cuisine and a sauna, Reidinger praises the seasonal fare at Coco500 in every way imaginable, from flatbread crust "that could not be better" to "extraordinary" sides. [SFBG]

Pinch-hitting for Meredith Brody at SF Weekly is Robert Lauriston, who takes to the Inner Richmond's Turkish representative, Troya, which he describes as the Turkish version of Aziza: "Troya (the Turkish name for the city of Troy), a pretty restaurant on the corner of Clement and Fifth Avenue, started out as your basic kebab shop, but a few months ago chef Randy Gannaway took over the kitchen and developed a more sophisticated and creative menu ... Troya is currently an undiscovered gem; on both my visits, the place was almost empty. This ought to change when word gets around." [SFW]

The sole review from the Chronicle front comes from Mandy Erickson's excursion to the far reaches of San Ramon, where she has the standard two stars for a standard dim sum spot called Pearl Garden: "Pearl Garden looks like a basic Chinese restaurant, with tables generously spaced inside a boxy white-walled room dotted with plants and brightly colored paintings and fans. But the fish tanks stacked up against one wall are a sign that this restaurant offers a better-than-average experience." [Chron]

Aleta Watson goes to Cetrella and has 3.5 stars for the overhauled Half Moon Bay gem: "With former Cetrella Chef de Cuisine Robert Holt now at the helm, the kitchen is still turning out memorable Mediterranean-themed food based on top notch, often local ingredients. Flavors are bright, skewed a little more today to the vivid spices that Holt favors: cumin, coriander, smoked paprika and harissa ... there's no question dinner at Cetrella is still worth the drive to Half Moon Bay." [SJMN]

It's not a review per se, but Paul Reidinger also takes a moment to wax poetic and make predictions with regards to the arrival of Kuletoville on the Embarcadero: "What was an urban wilderland is now a glossy district both commercial and residential, a crown for the city, with a couple of gaudy new jewels. Like all view restaurants, Epic Roasthouse is bound to attract tourists, both out-of-towners and suburbanites, but it also stands to develop a city constituency." [SFBG]

ELSEWHERE: Sam at Becks & Posh shares her experience at Piperade, Katy St. Clair gets nostalgic for industry partying at Laiola, the Daily Feed goes to Serpentine, and Chef Ben is at B Restaurant in Oakland.

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COCO500

500 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94107