Best Casual Restaurants in Cole Valley

Dinner at The Progress is absolutely worth stalking OpenTable for the reservation. The whole staff is attentive and having fun - the hostess had great banter and our server was phenomenally helpful with the menu and made sure we had just what our little hearts desired. The space itself is fantastic - green, big art, nice light fixtures, a tall ceiling - and there's a nice chatter level and energy without being oppressive. Of course, the main attraction is the food. The pig head was as much salad as pigs head but obviously you cannot go wrong with the combination of delicious pork, fennel and apple. The butter beans were simultaneously crispy and creamy with a great acidic pop to offset the fried feeling tossing in some burrata never hurt anyone either. Radicchio & persimmon salad hit the spot with the bitter and sweet combo lifted by the unami of hard cheese. The scallop crudo was the one thing I won't rave about - it was tasty but just a bit busy with a heavy emphasis on the yuzu - maybe should be billed as a ceviche more than crudo? But the real highlight was the dungeness crab and whole wheat sorpresine - in season, sweet crab and absolutely expertly prepared pasta? Sign me up. We didn't get any of the "main attractions" so I can't tell you much about potato clouds and duck. The table next to us got both so all I know for sure is that the cloud looks cute I guess and I'd probably want a party of 4 to tackle the duck. You could manage with 2 but there's so much deliciousness on offer that you should either bring friends or skip it and save room in my humble opinion. Cocktails are reasonably incentive sounding. A Mr Sinister is a really nice use of Mezcal and Benedictine that I wouldn't have cooked up on my own. The wine list is varied enough to have something of great quality for every taste. Dessert came in the form of a lemon olive oil cake that was equal parts very lemony and very sweet. Just a delightful way to cap off the meal. Next time we have somet

State Bird Provisions exceeded all expectations. The restaurant was moderately noisy, however, it wasn’t so loud that I couldn’t hear myself think. Lots of people were enjoying the excellent food and service provided by the attentive staff, and my wife and I were two of the lucky people dining here. It was our 8-year wedding anniversary, which made the evening extra special. I highly recommend dining here, as it will most definitely be a memorable experience. Lots of variety and both a dim sum offering and traditional menu of food offerings. This place is popular, so make a reservation in advance.

The restaurant is very pretty, the staff all very friendly and attentive. The food was delicious. The tables are a little too close to each other and it’s a bit loud but we will definitely come again.

The booth side seats were not very comfortable. Other than that the service and food was great!

We had Salmon, Calamari, Shrimp Linguini and strawberry chocolate dessert.