The Road to the Good Life: Dining Out: Lot 7

When cubes and I first started dating we had a standing Wednesday dinner date. Each Wednesday, we'd explore a new restaurant either in his neighborhood, The Mission, or in mine, SOMA. Now that we have somewhat of a routine with Gates, we've been able to bring back this tradition on our Tuesday date nights.

The Mission is filled to bursting with food options. Even if we never went back to a restaurant, I don't think we could finish eating at all of the restaurants in a year. Last week, we headed down Valencia to Lot 7.

Update May 17, 2013: Lot 7 is no longer open.

Lot 7, a seafood and grill restaurant, has been open just over a year. The menu we were able to order from was more limited than the one they had posted on their website. It was missing Plateaux Shellfish, Oysters, and Gulf Shrimp Cocktail. I'd had my heart set on oysters, not remembering having had any since June.

What we ordered:

The starters: Grilled Prawns "Ras Al Hanout" ($12) and Clam Chowder ($9)
The entrees: Grilled Meatball Tajine ($15) and Seafood Saffron Risotto ($24)
The finish: Creme Brûlée ($8)

Our favorite dish of the evening was the Grilled Prawns "Ras Al Hanout" with its spicy ajvar harissa. The prawns were cooked perfectly. And, while we were cautioned that the harissa had a kick, the spice wasn't overpowering.

We were both meh on our entrees. They were good, but not earthshaking. The shellfish in the risotto was competently cooked, but as a complete dish it didn't quite come together. cubes was looking for a little more punch from the seasoning on the risotto. The temperatures in the grilled meatballs were inconsistent, the meatballs lukewarm, the cous cous steaming. The proportions of the dish were also a little off visually. When you first got your dish with four small meatballs you don't think it's going to be filling (the cous cous is). I was left with extra cous cous; without the meatball the flavor profile was not as enticing.

Overall I was underwhelmed with Lot 7. Dinner before tip was about $95 which included two glasses of wine, two appetizers, two entrees, and one dessert. The staff was attentive and friendly, but other than the prawns nothing really wowed my tastebuds. The meatballs were moist and flavorful, but not enough to draw me back. There are too many other good restaurants in The Mission.