Joe P.
Yelp
I had been here for drinks before, but not food so I owed it a review. Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant is located in, you guessed it, the Ferry Plaza building in SF. In addition to wines, WM also offers local beers, meat from Boccalone, cheese from Cowgirl, and bread from Acme: What a great way to enjoy all four vendors at one location!
We ordered the Boccalone salumi and Cowgirl cheese ($29.95). The charcuterie also came w/ Acme bread, olives, and peach chutney. First of all, the salumi was outstanding! The flavor of Chris Constantino's craft salumi shined: 5 Stars. In addition, the creaminess of the cheese contrasted nicely against the salumi: 5 Stars. Acme didn't disappoint either, and the bread was crusty on the outside, and chewy on the inside: 5 Stars. Lastly, the olives and chutney were also very good. The only downside was the plate needed more mustard, and I asked for no chutney, and replace w/ nuts: 4 Stars. To drink, she had a grenache from France ($10), while I had a schiava from Italy ($8.25). The grenache is a little heavier and it was exactly what she was looking for. The schiava is a lighter wine from a thin skinned, larger grape. It was perfect for me on a hot day: Both 4 Stars.
The ambiance is very nice. In addition to the retail store, there are a few seats at both sides of the bar, some high seats facing outward, and a few high seats along the main part of the Ferry building. The only downside was there wasn't a smaller charcuterie plate: It was a lot of food for two people: 4 Stars. Regarding the service, there was room for improvement. The bartender was friendly, but he took a while to acknowledge us. In addition, our food came out after another couple that arrived well after us. Lastly, the bartender didn't give her a place setting: 3 Stars for the bartender, 2 Stars for the kitchen.
I would have rated this place a 4, other than the fact that I met a Korean girl here. We had met the night before (Valentine's Day), and promised each other that if we showed up here the next day, we would exchange numbers. Well we both showed, and I couldn't have had a better time. So some times, the rating is not all about the food, ambiance or service. Whom you have a meal and glass of wine with is just as important - LMAO!!!