When it feels like new restaurants are popping up on every corner in San Francisco everyday, it is easy to feel overwhelmed at the number of options when in the mood to try one of the city’s latest and greatest. Pair the endless number of restaurants with an appetite for just about every type of cuisine and you have a surefire way to culinary decision paralysis!

My boyfriend, Derek, lives in the Mission District of San Francisco, and for date nights in the area, we often opt for a nice dinner out, followed by a movie and boozy milkshakes at Alamo Drafthouse! We have passed by Son’s Addition countless times, and the restaurant is always packed, so when we saw that there were open reservations online, we knew we had to go!

Son’s Addition is listed as an American restaurant, but its dishes definitely have Mexican and Asian influences. I love a good fusion!

The menu is broken down to 3 main sections: Bites & Raw, Small Plates, and Large Plates. Ordering a bunch of small plates is my ideal dining situation, simply because I often find myself wanting to taste everything on the entire menu!

Although we had a reservation, the restaurant was still completely packed when we arrived. The maitre d’ kindly asked us to enjoy a drink at the bar while they prepared our table. Once seated, our waiter brought us complimentary bacon kimchi deviled eggs for the wait, which really couldn’t have been more than 10 minutes. As someone who has always been hesitant and picky when it comes to deviled eggs, I was incredibly pleased with the crispiness of the bacon and the creaminess of the yolk!

Derek and I decided to go with 4 small plates. The waiter recommended the braised lamb albondigas, as well as charred Spanish octopus. We also opted for the wagyu steak tartare and the roasted bone marrow.

The braised lamb albondigas ($16) were cooked perfectly and the mole complemented the lamb in a combination I’ve never tasted before. The meatballs were smothered in pecan mole and pecorino cheese. Umm… yum!! We knew that the meal was off to a good start.

Then came the wagyu steak tartare ($16), topped with radish, lime, and petit herbs. It wasn’t served as I’ve traditionally had it in the past – there was no egg yolk and it was paired with Sourdough, but there was absolutely no lack in flavor! I loved the gentle nod to San Francisco by incorporating Sourdough, and Derek, who was a beef tartare first timer, loved how the sourdough added a tasty little crunch!

The roasted bone marrow ($16) was so incredibly rich and soft – it basically melted in my mouth! The texture was delicate and absolutely perfect, with a light saltiness that really brought all the flavors together. Derek laughed at how blissful I looked, sitting and chewing with my eyes closed, completely immersed in the taste. Hey, sometimes, you just have to sit back and live!

Last but not least, the star of the show: the charred Spanish octopus ($16) was incredible. Like wow. Where do I even begin. It was served over yucca which was so soft, it almost felt like it was mashed. It was cooked with some sort of curry spice blend and wow… the flavor! The octopus was cooked PERFECTLY. The meat was soooooo tender, not a hint of gumminess. The flavors in a single bite with octopus, yucca, and buddah’s hand aioli was out of this world. I can’t say wow enough… I didn’t know what “Buddah’s Hand” was, so I looked it up – it’s basically a funky lemon. If I could eat this dish again everyday for the rest of my life, I would be a very very content gal.

Knowing that Son’s Addition is just a short walk away means that we will without a doubt be back to try some more of their offerings! Some dishes that we didn’t get to try (but really wanted to!) were the Tuna & Uni Tostadas, Chicken Liver Mousse Toasts, Roasted Hen of the Woods Mushrooms, and a Grilled Hanger Steak (with charred onion-uni butter… droooool).

From our reservation at 8PM all the way til almost the end of our meal, there were patrons waiting to be seated, meaning that this restaurant’s good eats are not a secret! I can’t wait to come back again soon, but in the meantime, I’ll be over here dreaming roasted bone marrow and charred octopus dreams…