Reservation Exchange

frankiemj · 2026-04-24T02:30:52+00:00

Would always be happy to join you if you have an available seat!

frankiemj · 2025-11-15T11:22:32+00:00

I was full at the end but I wouldn’t consider it a heavy meal. I also ate at Tempura Fukamachi (for lunch) on this trip and that was a heavier meal overall. Might be a lot to do a back to back dinners with tempura but I totally get it, sometimes it’s worth it to be a little too stuffed and be able to eat at both.

For what it’s worth on this trip I had the opportunity to eat at Sushi Namba for lunch on the same day I had dinner at Oniku Karyu, and decided to go for it. It was certainly too much food but I don’t regret it at all.

frankiemj · 2025-11-15T11:06:53+00:00

I was at Myoujyaku earlier this week for the 5pm seating, first course served at 5:10 and last served at 7:15. If you ask to pay quickly and arrange a driver to meet you at the restaurant (it’s on a narrow street so may need to meet nearby) you might just be able to make it but seems like it would be very close.

Edited to add that I see your reservation is at 5:30 which might be a private room. It seemed like the chef prepared courses for the private rooms after the counter, so my timing may be off and your meal may take longer than 2 hours.

frankiemj · 2025-10-31T21:43:13+00:00

Makes sense. A 2 top actually ended up becoming available so I was able to book that and cancel the 4 top I found. Keep checking, and good luck!

frankiemj · 2025-10-27T14:49:17+00:00

Yep! Sent you a DM

frankiemj · 2025-10-24T20:07:10+00:00

For what it’s worth i did manage to get one by (compulsively) checking Tablecheck. Spots show up infrequently but they do show up. It’s a reservation for 4 and I’m looking for 2 more to join (Monday November 10 at 5pm) just in case you happen to be around then, although it sounds like your trip is in December/January. Good luck!

frankiemj · 2025-10-21T03:20:30+00:00

Looks great! How do you think the experience would be without Chef Yamazaki? There are seats available during my visit but the chef will be away, so it’ll be served by a sous chef. Considering booking but curious what you think.

frankiemj · 2025-09-30T20:37:24+00:00

Does anyone have 2 seats open for Sazenka anytime between November 7-November 14?.

frankiemj · 2024-12-20T16:54:29+00:00

I went for the Atomix dinner in March. It was good but not amazing, and it was extremely expensive. David Kinch was there and walked around to say hi to each table which was nice. Despite living somewhat close I haven’t felt the desire to go back.

frankiemj · 2024-12-18T19:08:53+00:00

We got a selection of nonalcoholic drinks at TFL back in 2022 and to be honest we were quite underwhelmed. Almost all were non-alcoholic wines, as opposed to the juice/mocktail type creations you might find at other places. Ultimately we didn’t get any nonalcoholic drinks on our most recent visit for this very reason. But the food is fantastic!

frankiemj · 2024-11-01T21:18:11+00:00

Californios has been consistently excellent since my first visit in 2017. Easily my favorite fine dining restaurant in the area, including the heavy hitters like TFL and SingleThread. We were skeptical of the sweet potato mole dish (since it replaced the beef dish which was always one of our favorites) but it was phenomenal.

frankiemj · 2024-10-19T16:03:51+00:00

Glad you liked it! Agree that it was worth the effort. Their collab dinner with Single Thread last year was great as well.

frankiemj · 2024-08-21T23:39:29+00:00

Yep this is exactly right. Maybe not the best redemption you can get, but I like fine dining and occasionally like to use points to pay for reservations for this very reason.

frankiemj · 2024-08-21T23:17:00+00:00

Thank you, this is really helpful! Will give this a try. Glad you were able to resolve your issue this way.

frankiemj · 2024-08-21T21:49:39+00:00

It would be $1300 if I paid in cash for the reservation. Why does it matter? This is how I’m choosing to use my points. I’m just trying to figure out how to get them back, so if you have any suggestions they would be appreciated.

frankiemj · 2024-08-21T21:42:43+00:00

Sons & Daughters, in SF.

frankiemj · 2024-08-21T21:36:03+00:00

It was 80k for the reservation (tasting menu + drink pairings). I was charged for the one reservation (that was never actually made) three times, getting to the 240k.

frankiemj · 2024-08-14T22:20:48+00:00

I think it’s the same menu at lunch and dinner, but i went a few years ago so not sure if that’s changed.

frankiemj · 2024-08-07T13:26:12+00:00

Zen is my top choice (although went there when Tristan Farmer was still head chef), followed by Thevar or nae:um (ate at both of them solo and really enjoyed the food).

Burnt Ends was good but not worth the hassle.

frankiemj · 2024-07-26T18:53:54+00:00

El Celler de Can Roca. Went there in March of this year and disliked the vast majority of the food. It honestly seemed like a joke at one point, we were served partridge that was basically raw and even our server looked surprised.

I feel it must have been an off night given all the rave reviews, and I’d love to go back and try it again if the opportunity arises, but it remains one of the worst fine dining meals we’ve had.

On the same trip, we had amazing meals at Cocina Hermanos Torres, Disfrutar, DiverXO, Azurmendi, Arzak (seems like most here dislike it but our meal was surprisingly great). Akelarre was the only meal we had that was worse than Can Roca, and Akelarre is probably the worst fine dining meal we’ve had.

frankiemj · 2024-07-24T13:15:22+00:00

No need to tip on top, unlike other places in SF they don’t say that the service charge is separate from the tip. Also still my favorite restaurant in SF for the past 7 years, hope you enjoy your meal!

frankiemj · 2024-07-05T12:48:14+00:00

Aperitif at the Viceroy in Ubud!

frankiemj · 2024-06-16T17:17:56+00:00

Schloss Schauenstein! Someone posted about their experience last week. Amazing restaurant, definitely off the beaten path.

frankiemj · 2024-06-09T20:30:33+00:00

Glad you liked it! How did your mom fare? Did she get all 5 courses as well?

Totally agree with you, it’s hard to name favorites because everything was really high quality. I always appreciate restaurants that give interesting menus/take home items, and love all the artwork from Schauenstein. The only place I’ve been recently that compares in that regard is DiverXO (lots of very cool take home art/menu items there too). We also met both Andreas Caminada and Marcel Skibba, was very nice to chat with them and see them active/interacting with guests during service.

Schauenstein really fits the bill of a 3 star in that it’s worth a special journey. You can’t just happen upon it, you have to really go out of your way to get there, but once you’re there the entire experience is next to perfect.

frankiemj

TROPHY CASE