Yabbies Coastal Kitchen
(Seafood)
2237 Polk Street between Green and Vallejo Streets (Russian Hill)
San Francisco, CA 94109
415 474 4088
MUNI Bus: 19, 41, 45, 47, 49.

From a lobster pound in Maine to a 2 lb. lobster at Bobby Van’s in Bridgehampton, I love nothing more than seafood. Yabbies’ décor, price, and ambience fall somewhere between the aforementioned locations. It was a Monday night (fish and chips night) and Yabbies was pretty much empty at 9pm. My friend and I sat down and immediately ordered a dozen oysters: 6 Kumamotos and 6 Hama Hamas (also from Washington). The Kumamotos were everything we expected (tasty) and nothing more. The Hama Hamas were not as tasty as the Kumamotos: they were slightly larger, looked like East Coast oysters, and had a slight briney flavor like their East Coast cousins. We gobbled the dozen down in seconds. The Kumamoto oysters were $2 each and the Hama Hama oysters were $1.80 each.

We also ordered a Caesar salad “The Classic Style” – heart of romaine with parmesan, croutons, anchovies, and dressing. It was small and certainly not worth $7.50, but on my quest to find the perfect Caesar salad, I sometimes have to pay the price.

We also ordered the Maine lobster and the linguine with fresh clams, garlic, and chili in white wine broth. It was a 1.5 pound lobster, boiled, with drawn butter. It was exactly what you’d expect from a 1.5 pound lobster flown to California from Maine and then served for 20-something dollars. It was satisfying enough. The linguine with clams was a disappointment. The pasta was overcooked – what were they thinking – linguine in white clam sauce should always be al dente! The portion was miserably small for $15.95 and the clams were sparse. It was slightly spicy but the chili really just took away from the flavor of the sauce. Yabbies’ version of linguine with fresh clams was a joke compared to the “real deal” and thus far my standard – the linguine with clam sauce at Enzo’s at 1998 Williamsbridge Road in the Bronx (http://arthuravenuebronx.com/enzo_restaurant.htm).

Overall, Yabbies was just fine. The food was decent, the wines by the glass and wine list were great (we had two white wines which were both excellent), and it was empty enough on a Monday night that we were able to enjoy the background music: the entire Led Zeppelin album. The only drawback (besides the linguine and Starbucks-like light fixtures) was that it wasn’t cheap… but neither is an airline ticket to Maine.