Our friends’ engagement gave me the opportunity for another girls’ night out. It was a nice, spur of the moment plan (for me anyway). I was excited that my attendance worked out. It was a beautiful day, a rare warm evening in San Francisco.

The girls agreed on meeting for dinner at Bistro Aix.

Bistro Aix offers Californian cuisine and is located in the Marina District of San Francisco. On these rare warm evenings in San Francisco, finding parking is an almost impossible task. As a result I was running late, and when I actually arrived at the restaurant the girls had already been seated and had ordered a few starters.

We were seated at a table by the front window, which was perfect. Soon after I arrived the waitress brought out the ordered dishes. I was still a bit frazzled from running in late, so I didn’t get a chance to capture all the starters. We fared on a cheese plate, which had a few different cheeses, orange slices, walnuts and few crackers. I think everyone agreed that it would have been nice if the dish had more crackers. We also had the Baby Beet Salad with Baby Spinach, Goat Cheese & Orange Vinaigrette and Cracker Crust Pizza with Tomato, Mozzarella, Fontina and Parmesan. All the starters were delicious and perfect for sharing.

We decided to keep the dinner on the lighter side and shared two more dishes. After careful consideration and suggestions from the waitress, we settled on the Gnocchi with Chanterelle mushrooms, peas and sage brown butter and Spaghetti with San Marzano Tomatoes, Genovese Basil & Grana Padano.

The waitress highly recommended both dishes. She said the regulars always opt for the spaghetti, even though she suggest that they venture out and try something different. I generally enjoy gnocchi and was not disappointed this time either. The spaghetti was very tasty and had a bit of a kick to it.

Overall the ambiance is great, the atmosphere is very relaxing, the staff is friendly, and the portions are just the right size. If you’re in the area, give Bistro Aix a try.