Osteria Coppa, San Mateo- 4/5/2014

Hoa is on a business trip for 2 weeks so our friends are taking me out for dinner tonight at Osteria Coppa in San Mateo.  Originally we selected Vesta  a restaurant in Redwood City but we could not in so the next restaurant that was awarded a Bib Gourmand is  Osteria Coppa in San Mateo (about a 25 minutes drive from our house).

If you are not familiar "Bib Gourmand" it is a designation from the Michelin list that denotes a good cuisine at a reasonable price in a variety of comfort categories. Bib Gourmand is defined as “Inspectors’ favorites for "Good Value,” Bib Gourmand restaurants offer two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less (tax and gratuity not included), and are often of most value to a city’s residents, who regularly dine in neighborhood restaurants.

The front of the restaurant

It was a very nice and warm spring evening by the time we got to the restaurant and looking in the restaurant is totally full (thank god we had a reservation).

Minh, loan, Mai-Anh, Mail-Ly, Tuan, Me (at the end) , Hanh and Tuan

 

The menu

Our waiter was jovial and gave us very good service.

The restaurant was bustling and a very nice ambiance emanate in the air.

Looking at the menu....

Special of the day!

 

Their bread was warm, crusty and delicious and was served with olive oil.

 

Margherita, Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella Di Bufala ($13)

We ordered a bunch of appetizers to share.

The pizzas are baked at high temperature until the bottom of the crust forms spots of black char and the cheese bubbles and blisters into crisp, hollow bumps around the edge. Margherita is delicious even though all ingredients are so simple  mozzarella, fresh basil, tomato sauce.

Pork Sausage, Speck, Crimini Mushrooms ($17)

I like this pizza too.  The specks were very tasty.

 

Crispy Pig's Foot,  Frisee Salad, Aged‎ Balsamico ($12)

 

This dish is reminiscent of the French's version using pig trotters which I made a few times for my friends.

This dish is very rich so you only want a bite or two.

 

Fritto Misto (mixed Fried), Calamari, Shrimp, Fennel & Meyer Lemon ($13)

Huge portion!  They fried the seafood properly so it did not feel oily.

Main Course:

Veal Osso bucco with Risotto a la Milanese ($26)

A few of us ordered the Veal Osso Bucco.  You can't see it in this picture but there is bone marrow in the center that you can scoop out and spread it on a piece of bread (rich and delicious).  The Milanese risotto was also excellent.

Special of the day: Tagliolini with black truffles and English peas ($20)

The tagliolini is home made and is thicker than angel pasta and thinner than spaghetti.

We really like this dish and we complained that for $20 the portion is quite skimpy so our waiter told us that it is because the black truffle is very expensive.

Mt. Lassen Red Trout, Fregola Sarda, Asparagus and Preserved Orange ($26)

Loan and Mai-Anh shared this dish.  I did not tasted it but I was told the trout was good.

 

Maily, Tuan and I we shared the Veal Osso bucco and the fresh Tagliolini with black truffles.

we ordered so much food!

 

Maily and Kai leaving the restaurant.

Cream is a new ice cream/cookie shop in front of Osteria Coppa.  There are so many people lining up to buy their stuff.  I heard it is really good and dirt cheap.  Ice cream topped with two cookies for about $2. No wonder there are so many people and we could not find a parking so we had to use Valet Parking.

 

The food at Osteria Coppa is simple but they are executed properly.  There is no "wow" factor at Osteria Coppa but everything was good so if you want a family meal at a reasonable price then this is the restaurant for you to try.  Our server was really nice and he took really good care of our table.  He also gave us a free round of Limoncello.

The decor of the restaurant was also welcoming, relax, and casual.  Overall we had a very good dinning experience there.

 

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