SPQR's Owner Downright Bubbly About Changes to the Pac Heights Osteria

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Lindgren: Overwhelmed with applications for the top spot.

​Shelley Lindgren sounded like an excited teenager when talking about all the changes going on at SPQR. The Pac Heights restaurant (1911 Fillmore at Bush) reopens today with new chef Matthew Accarrino at the helm, after a couple of weeks spent revamping the kitchen and dining room. Former chef Nate Appleman left SPQR (and sister restaurant A16) unexpectedly in July, for reasons that still remain murky.

"We got a lot of great applications for what we think of as a little place on Fillmore!" Lindgren, SPQR's owner and wine director, told SFoodie. "But Matthew was amazing -- we didn't think we were going to be able to afford him. We have a similar philosophy on using local farmers, and he likes to do some of his own foraging."

Gutting the kitchen and redoing the front of the house in such a short time frame was a tall order: The gas got turned on only last Friday, and there's a new convection oven, which means house-baked foccacia and more desserts. She said new offerings from pastry chef Jane Tseng include puff pastry with pink pearl apples and morello cherries; budino di zucca (squash with Chiboust pastry cream) with pomegranate, walnuts, and crema fresca; chestnut cake with pears, ricotta, chestnut honey, and a rosemary-pine nut Florentine; vanilla gelato affogato with candied almonds and anise toast; and a chocolate mousse-cake with pepperoncini and cocoa nibs.

Among her favorite Accarrino dishes are the sweetbreads with wild fennel -- "I'm not usually a sweetbreads fancier, but I would order that every day!" -- pumpkin and prune-filled cappelletti with grated almonds and spiced bread crumbs, and the ricotta ravioli with Fontina, brown butter, and lamb's quarters. "We have a little fryer for the spuntini -- still doing the fried cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, with a bit of a twist, but Matthew has added things, like wonderful sheep's ricotta fritters with honey dusted with wild fennel pollen."

The wine list grew over 30 percent, and, for the first time, the restaurant has started taking reservations. "We're not doing lunch any more, but we'll have brunch on the weekends," Lindgren said. "We'll still keep half the tables for walk-ins."

So, we asked, there'll still be people hanging around the door?

"Hopefully!" she said with a laugh.