My wife will be in San Fran on business next week and will be celebrating a friend’s 60th Birthday while she is in town. They (there will be four of them) are “semi-foodies” and are used to eating out in nice restaurants, but are not looking for an über-exclusive type place. Just a special place that is fun, with great food, service, and wine list. Any recommendations would be much appreciated!
there are tons of such restaurants. Any other filters or qualifiers?
Atelier Crenn, Saison, Coi, and Benu are the big boys.
La Folie, Gary Danko, michael mina are a step behind, but still solid.
on a more a casual front, SPQR, AQ, perbacco/bar bacco, delfina, zuni, are off the top of my head.
If you want Japanese sushi, there are some good places as well, but won’t satisfy service and wine list requirements.
Sorry C…I think they would prefer what I used to call “continental cuisine” (if that still means anything), meaning steaks, fresh seafood, great salads, rack of lamb, etc…just good food prepared well. Hope that helps…
zuni cafe would still qualify
same with delfina
Come all the way to SF and you want continental? That’s kind of lacking in SF, but if you want a steak check out Mina’s place in the St. Francis or walk around the corner to Aqua for seafood. Zuni has solid but limited menu.
This was the best meal we had in SF. They nailed everything. We came back the next day and had lunch at the pizza place. Again everything was on point.
Some of the restaurants above are quite expensive and require a reservation by now. I would suggest Chapeau!
or perhaps Bar Tartine
http://www.bartartine.com/
and lastly, Chef Gerald Hirigoyen is from the Basque region of France: Piperade
Quince, easy call
What price point?
Marc, I would say expensive is fine, just not crazy pricing (I.e. I don’t think they are looking for a place with a $200 prix-fixe menu, if that offers any clarity on pricing). I would think a place with entree’s in the $25-$50 range would be optimal…
House of Prime Rib. Really good but not fancy. Awesome Prime Rib, good cocktails, lots of food.
Sounds like Quince is too expensive. What part of town are they in? Boulevard sounds like it is a good compromise for this group.
One Market too I guess
Boulevard seems like the place that would meet all the criteria you outlined. My experiences ther have been incredibly consistent. There is a reason it’s been open for 20+ years & has a Michelin star.
I enjoyed the creativity at Atelier Crenn, but it is more expensive & a bit too “precious” perhaps. Quince is great, but more expensive & wouldn’t fit the continental theme.
rich table if you can get reservations, azziza, gary danko, spruce should fit the criteria.
All should be under $100pp with tax/tip excluding wine.
If none of the places which were mentioned fit the bill, I’ll think of some more places.
Nothing else is coming to mind now.
I think Alexander’s Steakhouse in SF might fit the bill, but the prices are on the higher end, depending on what you order. The wine list is pretty nice as well.
Thanks to all for the recommendations! Much appreciated…….I think they have settled on Boulevard, which seems to be a good fit for them.
There is a reason Boulevard has been open 20+ years and there are also reasons why Chez Panisse and Zuni have been open even longer. I no longer find them compelling though, after being disappointed at all three. I moved on years ago to newer spots like Cotogna and Rich Table, and I’m giving Delfina another chance, though that was not my choice to make. (I don’t frequent the high end, charge account restaurants).
For fancier - Atelier Crenn is very pretty and creative (and love their wine program); Coi is very clean and lovely as well.
La Folie is more traditional French, if you will, but solid.
Recently had a great meal at Sons and Daughters – good showing of what they produce out of their farm, but not “Continental.”
State Bird Provisions is fun if you can get in, but probably not what your looking for in terms of genre.
Cotogna – same owners at Quince, great wine list and cocktails, hearty food (even in the smaller plate genre).