John B.
Yelp
Though it may take some exploration through San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, 15 Romolo is a worthwhile trip for brunch-fanatics seeking a creatively modern menu with bold flavors and heavy meals. Plus,15 Romolo self-describes their brunch as "f-ing Narnia" so you can't really help but be intrigued!
At least that's how I felt when I was back home looking for a brunch spot. Apparently "f-ing Narnia" means combining some hipster-esque elements to create some really interesting drinks and menu items. For instance, though I ordered some wine, I was seriously tempted to order a Sister Christian (bourbon, hot coffee, ancho chile, cardamom, honey, mandarin cream).
I ended up ordering their take chicken and waffles (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/15-romolo-san-francisco?select=qEb14Mv6lUQ9kOFfRA4zrQ). This item consisted of Spanish fried chicken, churro waffle, jamon butter, sunny side up egg, maple syrup, salad. The chicken had a nice crispy coating and I liked the spices they used. Churro waffle was a game changer for me too. But Jesus...everything on that plate was heavy. Even the goddamn salad! Don't even get me started on that jamon butter. It was porky and flavorful and I certainly liked it but I could not bring myself to even finish half.
My dining companion ordered the confit pork belly with sunny side up egg, roasted butternut squash, apple-marcona chutney, and pork jus. Thankfully, she let me have a few bites! The pork belly was super soft and I appreciate that the skin was crispy. There was this dark green substance on the plate that didn't look too appetizing. Turned out to be the chutney. Didn't taste bad.
Also, 15 Romolo is nice enough to provide complimentary waffle shots before your brunch (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/15-romolo-san-francisco?select=ImY8JZ--5B3PgDHL1u17pA)! These are little shot-sized pitchers containing some blackstrap rum, espresso liqueur, maple syrup, and waffle piece. To our surprise, it was more bitter than sweet.
Dinning here was certainly an experience for the both of us. It seemed like every time we tried a new component of our plates we just had to stop and and think "that's different" or "that's new." Their creativity is certainly evident. I feel like it is the reason why 15 Romolo earned 4 stars from me, but also the reason why I withheld that last star. My dining companion and I felt that while most of the items were pretty good, others fell flat. The interesting flavor combinations really challenged our palates and made us contemplate our food a bit more than usual, but we weren't convinced that a couple of these items actually worked out. We could see ourselves coming back, but neither of us could become regulars.