When Woodward's Garden opened in 1992, Boyz II Men had a chart-topping hit, a gallon of gas cost $1.05 and an Arkansas governor became President.

A lot has changed in the ensuing 20 years. The restaurant, happily, has not.

Housed in a quirky Mission space beneath the I-80 overpass, the room is at once chic and cozy--the ideal setting for a neighborhood bistro entirely sure of itself.

Dana Tommasino has been the chef-owner since the beginning. She uses tried-and-true combinations: a country-style pork pâté with mustard cream, cornichons and kumquats; lamb tagine with pears; a piece of seared sturgeon with blood oranges and a tahini sauce.

She produces it all in a tiny kitchen. The hood fan limps along, so that the dining room always smells of food, as though you were eating in the home of a good friend.

Service here, largely provided by co-owner Margie Conrad, is knowing and efficient. Leaving recently on a weeknight, we realized we were the last people in the place; the door locked behind us, the lights switched off.

Then we glimpsed our watch: 9:45 p.m. It was a reminder that Woodward's Garden is not a bistro in Paris or New York, but a gem that could only be in San Francisco.

Woodward's Garden, 1700 Mission St. (at Duboce St.); 415-621-7122 or woodwardsgarden.com