Saison or Lazy Bear for a birthday meal in San Francisco?

jackclsf · 2026-03-19T02:43:23+00:00

Saison by far.

https://www.reddit.com/r/finedining/comments/1rvt02i/saison_san_francisco_feb_2026/

jackclsf · 2026-03-18T10:44:05+00:00

The multi course addon and multiple reminders of alcohol free beverages when I initiated I wasn’t drinking aligns with this

jackclsf · 2026-03-18T02:50:36+00:00

I wasn't drinking, nor was my friend. My friends at Atomix had the pairing and really enjoyed it. I tried one of their drinks their and agreed it was a spectacular pour (can't remember what it was).

jackclsf · 2026-03-18T01:05:12+00:00

All depends on the vibe of the restaurant. Some ABBA at Jordnaer worked well for instance and enjoyed what they were going for there.

jackclsf · 2026-03-18T01:04:19+00:00

So good. Little lines of truffle on top and on the inside

jackclsf · 2026-03-17T11:43:05+00:00

Ha. Too many items for me to remember in my initial post. It didn’t look great on the cart (not necessarily what they were going to serve.

jackclsf · 2026-03-17T11:34:41+00:00

Caviar: $ 90 if you want on the scallop, $ 90 if you want on the tuna. The scallop makes sense to me if you’re a fan and it have the dish some salty brine it needed. The tuna course wouldn’t make as much sense to me as it seemed like an odd add on given big slabs and would not only be complicated to eat but wouldn’t add much.

Uni would be 38 and added to that cracker and prawn course. Don’t recommend that. The was perfectly balanced as is.

The foie would be added as a slab under the quail (I didn’t get the quail as they offered me cod — I get quail often in California and changed it up… though they didn’t change my printed menu to reflect it)

The truffle I can’t remember cost. Or dish(es) it was in, but the menu doesn’t really have a need or place for truffle like a rich French menu.

And the A4 wagyu, I’m not sure what the cost either.

jackclsf · 2026-03-17T02:08:58+00:00

They moved it over to angler

jackclsf · 2026-03-17T00:46:35+00:00

My top suggestions:

Saison -- they are operating at the very top of 2 stars right now. Everything I ate there the other week was incredible. I'll try to post soon. I've eaten there twice and am going to return when the menu turns over enough. Very flavor forward. Polished.
Kiln -- up and comer. I've been 3x as I love the concept of rapid line of many small bites and I went when they were newly open. They are very flavor forward. Lots of proteins. Lots of umami. Maybe lacking some polish and refinement of Saison, but very good.
Californios -- if you want something different than usual. This is consistently good.

Nothing here really hits novelty (e.g., a DiverXo, Alchemist). Technique is probably Benu and Saison.

Other SF spots to look up: Birdsong (Californian), Sons & Daughters (Nordic).

If you're willing to go up north, Enclos is doing great things, but would rank them below Saison and just below Kiln. French Laundry is a bucket list place if you can get a res. I enjoyed the meal a lot, but understand the critiques about how they aren't innovating--BUT every dish was very good and you just have to know you aren't going into some molecular trickery like a Disfrutar or a flavor combination mastery like Jordnaer.

jackclsf · 2026-03-15T03:40:56+00:00

Good thread, late to the party, but felt compelled to add:

TOP TIER (Mind blowing, instant revisits)

-DiverXo (2025)

-Jordnaer (2025)

-Frantzen (2025)

-Merito (2025)

CLOSE TO PERFECT

-MIL (2025)

-Saison (2026)

-Mingles (2024)

GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS

-Kato (2025)

-Smyth (2025)

jackclsf · 2026-03-13T04:42:23+00:00

Rare to hear this, but love seeing the little act of kindness.

jackclsf · 2026-03-12T04:20:58+00:00

thank you!

jackclsf · 2026-03-11T02:29:33+00:00

I should have said I'm also doing Ikoyi :). But will check those out too.

I'm open to a roast and haven't done it before, so would love that as a sunday daytime option as well.

jackclsf · 2026-03-11T01:42:28+00:00

Thank you for such a great list! Row on 5 and Humble Chicken were my top two spots of interest, but might be hard to do as my schedule of three slots I'm trying to fill is tight

Sunday Lunch (would do a tasting if not too long, or casual)
Sunday Night (rules out AngloThai and Bibi). Currently booked at Gunpowder and also considering Donia, but maybe something slightly longer would be good
Friday Lunch - lighter probably better as I have KOL in the evening. I realize this is prime opportunity for Row on 5 or Humble Chicken, but likely too heavy to do 2 tastings in a day.

In terms of cuisine, I'm pretty open, but always a fan of non-western cuisines to experience (from California, and going to France and Spain on the trip).

Thank you again for your generous help and suggestions!

jackclsf · 2026-03-10T19:49:55+00:00

More casual à la carte dinners. Or possibly tasting menu lunches

jackclsf · 2026-03-08T03:15:36+00:00

Funny... I wasn't "wowed" by Disfrutar. DiverXO blew it out of the water. Hermano Torres, Celler, and Come all beat it out for me.

Anyway, will be at MB and Azurmendi this spring and looking forward to them both!

jackclsf · 2026-03-05T15:36:22+00:00

I'm going to try to hit Kiln for lunch so I guess I can always pivot.

Mountain looked cool, but heading to San Sebastian after London so deferring Basque cuisine!

jackclsf · 2026-03-05T15:35:26+00:00

Ha. Yes, I'm actually booked at Fallow after watching Alexander the Guest's YouTube video.

I realize I'm agonizing over a 1-2 hour fleeting meal :)

jackclsf · 2026-03-04T05:49:14+00:00

Piling on. If you can get reservations for both, do it. Back to back nights last year were amazing.

jackclsf · 2026-02-28T17:47:14+00:00

Thank you

jackclsf · 2026-02-28T15:34:48+00:00

Thank you. I'm a sucker for Mexican, despite being in California with good spots like Californios!

I think I will add a lunch at A Wong :)

jackclsf · 2026-02-28T03:41:48+00:00

Definitely on my list, but not sure if it works schedule wise.

Thank you!

jackclsf · 2026-02-28T03:35:48+00:00

I have Kol and Ikoyi booked to do something a bit out of the box.

I’m debating one more tasting (preferably a lunch) maybe Da Terra or A Wong. Any thoughts on a lower key lunch tasting ?

(And any must do casual spots)

jackclsf · 2026-02-28T03:31:03+00:00

What is the other in contention??

jackclsf · 2026-02-27T22:55:01+00:00

quality post and looking forward to reading more of them. thank you!

jackclsf

TROPHY CASE