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At first glance, it's easy to view the relatively low-cost prix fixe menus of Restaurant Week as a way to try some pricier restaurants on the cheap. Except, that's often not the case. Of course there are restaurants offering legitimate savings on the food served on their regular menu, but others actually cost you more than if you were to go in outside of this particular week. Don't let that that happen to you — use this guide to San Francisco Restaurant Week's (January 20-31) best and worst dining deals to get the most out of it. And if it's Oakland's deals you'd like to know, head here.
The Best Deals
Les Clos
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This is hands down the best deal of the whole shebang, thanks to complimentary wine pairings with each course. Without the wine pairings, the three-course $40 dinner is already an $11 savings, so adding in three glasses of wine only ups the ante. Same deal goes for lunch, with two courses saving you at least $5, pre-pairings.
Image credit: Patricia Chang
Thirsty Bear Brewing
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It’s impossible to say how much you’re saving with Thirsty Bear’s menu since all of the dishes are new, but it is no doubt significant. Normally an entirely new menu is a bad sign since you can’t get a true feel for a place, but this one is an exception. For $40, you get five courses, two 12-ounce beers and three 3-ounce beers, in honor of restaurant week coinciding with SF Beer Week. This one’s a definite cause for celebration.
Image credit: Thirsty Bear/Facebook
The Barrel Room
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Another money loss menu on this $65 three-course dinner. At worst you’re $21 in the hole if you order the crispy Brussels sprouts, sea scallop pasta and sorbet. At best, if you order the poke, BBQ baby back ribs and Mexican chocolate cake, you’ll still lose $7. Editor’s note: This story has been updated to remove The Barrel Room from the worst deals category and place it into the best. Our calculations didn’t take into consideration that each course comes with a wine pairing, which in fact makes it one of the best deals.
Image credit: The Barrel Room
The Worst Deals
Bluestem Brasserie
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If you order the soup of the day, sweet potato gnocchi and dessert, you could lose $23 on this $65 three-course dinner. Even with the priciest options (baby lettuce salad, butter poached filet, dessert) you lose some money. Update, 1/14, 11:15 a.m.: Bluestem Brasserie's rep contacted Eater with a menu update: "All combos of selections [will] be offered for the $40 menu with the exception of ordering the filet, which would then be the $65 menu. [We] are working now to get this updated on the [SF Restaurant Week] site to make sure it's more clear." The rep also clarified that the amuse bouche — a choice of charcuterie or cheese — is a $10 value.
Image credit: Chris M./Yelp
Zingari
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Zingari offers a lot of options on its three-course $65 dinner menu, but all of them will cost you. At best, you'll lose $2.50 if you order the rucola salad, gorgonzola filet mignon and any of the desserts. At worst, though? You can stand to lose $20.50 if you order the mixed greens salad, mushroom risotto and dessert.
Image credit: Zingari/Yelp