The Royal Treatment

At Ducca, the new restaurant in the Westin San Francisco Market Street hotel, you’ll be seduced long before the first plate of food arrives. Murano-glass chandeliers, buttery leather banquettes and a generously sized outdoor patio— complete with fire pits— go a long way toward making a stellar first impression. Then comes dinner: Cicchetti (small Venetian bar snacks) the perfect precursor to a good meal, include crispy, well-salted arancini, which make fine cocktail companions. Chef Richard Corbo, formerly of Mecca, shows an aptitude for the kind of rustic Italian dishes he grew up eating.The egg-rich pappardelle with hearty lamb sugo is toothsome, and chicken arrosto (shown here) is a crisp-skinned triumph, set on a bed of mascarpone polenta. Desserts are simple but outstanding, and include a silky panna cotta topped with espresso gelée and chocolate granita, and a butter-rich almond crostata served with roasted fruit and a scoop of grassy olive-oil gelato.

Ducca 50 Third St., 415-977-0271