Debbie and I had dinner with Peggy and Mike at Mourad on our anniversary.
As you enter, to the right is a long L-shaped bar that seats 10 folks on the long side and four folks on the foot. There is a tabletop and several long shelves covered with wines and other alcohols that form the back of the bar. The back wall itself is a series of waist to ceiling windows that face the outside.
To the left of the long side of the bar is a dining table that will comfortably seat 16 people.
Heading into the length of the restaurant, away from the bar there is a long room for dining. On each side of this area there are three very large interesting rectangular booths with banquette seating on the long side and at each end. The tables are split in the middle so that two parties can sit in each booth.
Between the two lines of booths, there are a series of 2 and 4 stops that can easily be moved to handle larger parties.
From pictures of the second floor it appears to be designed only a bit differently than the first. The far end of the room has tall windows and there are two lines of tables that stretch the length of the room in the middle of the room. In fact, but for the bar, the second floor is much like the first floor. (I am stuck with describing the second floor from viewing pictures on the website. I was not able to see it firsthand because the only way to reach it is a long set of relatively steep stairs. There is no elevator.)
The restaurant can seat up to 180 people at any one time.
If you go to their website, you will see one of the most enticing collections of photos of meals that I have seen in a long time.
There was a fair amount of sharing of appetizers and main courses. Peggy and Debbie ordered Lamb Tartare – smoked oyster, roasted garlic tahini, crispy lentil; and Duck Liver – citrus, ginger, rye, pistachio. Mike and Mike ordered Octopus – brussels sprouts, Cauliflower, mustard, Preserved lemon.
The three main courses that were ordered were BRANZINO – prawns, brown butter, Harissa, Radish; SCALLOP – lobster, vadouvan, cauliflower, tarragon and LAMB – carrot, Sesame, Fregola, Green garlic.
We ordered three desserts which were also shared: HONEY & ALMOND – beeswax, Orange blossom; PUFFS –donut, honey sugar, Chocolate caraway; PRESERVED LEMON – coconut, toasted meringue, Citrus, Thyme.
Our server was Anna. She was very helpful in answering a number of questions and the food was beautifully served.
This is only the third restaurant I can recall that has a restroom that was designed to be used by both women and men. As you enter to the left there is a very long modern marble wash basin with a mirror from the top of the wash basin to the ceiling. The washbasin is designed to be used by several people at the same time. A little further on there is a shorter but similar washbasin. The floor is covered with tiny white tiles.
To the right there are five completely enclosed commode rooms. Within each commode room there is a floor-based commode and appropriate accessibility bars. There is a tile floor in each of these rooms composed of white square but angular tiles. The walls are covered with a multi-colored pattern of starbursts and flowers. There is a small wall-attached shelf topped by a mirror.
Mourad
140 New Montgomery St. #1
San Francisco, CA 94105
415-660-2500
Mouradsf.com