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Cha Cha Cha: A Must-Eat Spot on Haight Street
By Lily Peng
When I first passed by Cha Cha Cha on a Friday night, there were so many people
gathered outside of the place that I thought it was a nightclub. After talking
to a San Francisco savvy friend, I was informed the place was actually a well-known
Caribbean tapas restaurant that has been consistently voted as one of the best
in the city.
I must admit, though, as I first stepped into the restaurant, I was a bit intimidated.
The restaurant, dimly lit with dark walls and Santeria altars, was a perfect
setting for a séance (not that I've ever been to one — it
just looked like the ones I've seen in bad horror flicks). Of course,
we also went the weekend before Halloween, so that might have explained the
dark ambiance.
We were seated quite promptly at a colorful table already stocked with a bowl
of tortilla chips. The dinner menu wasn't extensive and was contained
on one laminated page — 15 tapas plates on one side and five dinner entrées
on the other. The restaurant also had a few daily specials and a lunch menu,
which had five additional sandwich options. We ordered three tapas dishes —
ceviche del dia (assorted seafood in spicy lime vinaigrette over a bed of mixed
greens, $8.50), BBQ chicken quesadilla ($7.75), and grilled marinated chicken
wings (with a guava-chipotle glaze) — and a dinner entrée —
arroz con pollo (chicken marinated with pimentos, capers and olives; baked with
Spanish rice and served with black beans, $12.25).
The servers weren't the friendliest or chattiest, but they were prompt
and efficient. We got our food promptly, and it tasted good — especially
the ceviche del dia, which consisted of scallops, shrimp, calamari, and mixed
greens soaked in a sauce with just the right amount of sourness that made my
taste buds skip. Although tapas usually means small plates, the tapas we got
were actually pretty large portions that would probably substitute as an entire
meal. The dinner entrée was massive, with two huge pieces of chicken
and tons of rice.
Although not as cheap as some of the options around the Inner Sunset, Cha Cha
Cha was actually reasonably priced for a restaurant in a prime tourist spot
(right next to Amoeba Music, next to Golden Gate Park, and across the street
from Milk night club). Needless to say, Cha Cha Cha isn't your typical
family style restaurant. With its eclectic décor, zebra-striped exit
signs, and flavorful food, the restaurant exudes the very essence of the Haight,
which makes it a must-see (or must-taste) during a visit to that area.
Rating: four stars out of five.
Cha Cha Cha
1801 Haight St.
San Francisco
Tel: 386-7670
Other locations:
2327 Mission Street between 19th & 20th streets
Tel: 648-0504
Lily Peng is a first-year pharmacy student.
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