Sotto Mare Oysteria & Seafood

Despite a bit of a wait, it's totally worth it. This place's Cioppino is a perfect example of Italian-American food and it's like a symbol of San Francisco. The tomato stew with crab, fish, shrimp, scallops, mussels, and clams is amazing! This taste might be familiar to Asians too because they enjoy seafood stews as well. The reasonable price is a big plus. There's no reason not to visit! I highly recommend giving it a try!

Not a pasta place. Asked for al dente, waiter said the kitchen is bad at that, and they were right. The cioppino is the best thing there, followed by the bread (refills are free!). Cioppino is very rich and savory with lots of seafood. We asked for the pasta on the side. If the bread is warm, it is very crusty and pillowy. Would have been a 5 star experience if I realized sooner to not waste time with the pasta. We also ordered the seafood linguine in red sauce and the smoked salmon fettuccine. Each pasta dish was around $30. Their creamy white sauce is nothing special and not worth ordering. Only get the seafood linguine in red sauce if you don't have enough people to order the cioppino. Octopus salad around $20, nice octopus but I'm personally not a fan of the tartar sauce they added. The sand dab filets were nice, a sort of fish and chips vibe. It came with blanched spinach which was good. Do try and get a reservation, the lines looked long.

Went there for the second time. Both experiences are wonderful. Their seafood dishes are top notch. Fresh and well prepared. Today, we tried the main courses of scallops and Spanish octopus. Both are very tender and flavorful. The cioppino is full of various fresh seafood, with a mildly spiced tomato-based soup. It's a heart-warming dish as usual. We ordered fresh oysters, and you can tell they are fresh and sweet. We are totally satisfied after the meal.

Had to wait a bit to get a table, well worth the wait though. I was here to try the hyped cioppino and I can glad confirm that its not just hype. This is the real deal. Served piping hot, with fresh bread and butter on the side, this dish was more than enough for 2 people to share. Wonderfully rich broth with fresh seafood, seasoned and prepared to perfection. Great vibe and service too, even with a full restaurant and people outside waiting for a seat.

I have visited this place couple of times! It is always busy, it is busy on weekdays too. I would recommend this place if you love Italian food! And if you are visiting SF, this place should be in your list to visit. The atmosphere is very busy! The food is great no matter what you pick, they have nice ravioli and pasta. Also the best ciapino for two people, it is seafood in tomato soup. I like their pasta a lot!

This place is packed, even at 3PM. We sat inside at the bar facing the open kitchen. I think they might need better ventilation because it was a bit hot. The food was delicious! We ordered the scallops, the lobster ravioli, cioppino, and the steamed clams. All the dishes were good and I would recommend them.

Absolutely highly recommended must do visit for any visitors coming to San Francisco. We got there 20 minutes before closing time. There was no rush with our food coming out. The staff were super responsive to our needs... just a wow factor. The Cioppino for two was deliciously mouth watering & a pleasurable taste to last a lifetime. Good job Chef - you've created memories for our lifetime. We were the 2nd last to leave, but never once did we feel rushed with the service & our meal. The owner came by our table & even greeted us amongst a super busy evening with house full of guests. Ambience was the best & loved viewing all the wall decorations, antique cash registers, wall pictures, & reading the various one liner catch phrases!!! Overall great dinning experience...Would go back in a heartbeat!!! Thanks 👍 😊