The essence of squandering is that you don’t go there every day: it’s a meal you save to buy so you can celebrate something special. For most people, dining in a fine dining restaurant is a heavy investment-so it's better to be good. I want to say that critics are the most valuable here, because a bad slice of pizza is easier to laugh at than a bad $200 meal.
For this reason, I visited many high-end restaurants in the Bay Area to learn about restaurants that are really good value for money. Due to the new wave of funding brought about by the wine industry and technological prosperity, food has become an important part of the reputation of Bay Area cooking. Although this type of food has been reduced during the pandemic's wasting period, fine dining has been rejuvenated. I find that in the hands of the right people, the experience can still move you: the restaurants on this list not only indulge diners-they also bring surprises and challenges to the taste buds. In Saison, the kitchen skewers grilled duck breast; in Nari, stone fruits not only appear in desserts, but are also the sweetener in the rich mussel curry.
Another thing I value in high-end restaurants is that the service does not make you feel like an intruder, such as Shota, which is the most lively omakase sushi bar in San Francisco. Don't miss Merchant Roots, a restaurant that combines haute cuisine and participatory theater art.
Below, find my selection of the best special occasion restaurants for the Bay Area. To get more advice during this celebratory season, please refer to the rest of our holiday guide.
Check the box to filter by dining features, or click on the image to get information about each restaurant.
In her Cow Hollow flagship store, chef Dominique Crenn digs deep into her memories and personal narratives to create her menu.
The flagship restaurant of French native Dominique Crenn adopts a delightful narrative cooking style: diners receive poetry as they dine, and each row corresponds to a 14-course pescatarian tasting menu ($365). Ingredients from the restaurant’s Sonoma County farm are carefully prepared, such as exquisite pies with rice cream and sturgeon caviar; prawn essence condensed into a muscular broth; and ingenious desserts by pastry chef Juan Contreras. This restaurant is also an extension of Crenn's social work: it has received a plastic-free certification and supports food insecure work in the San Francisco community. The outdoor seating area offers a shorter five-course tasting menu ($165).
Credit cards accepted • Beer and wine
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An ingenious American-style tasting menu restaurant using Japanese technology.
The 9-course tasting menu ($159) at Avery Restaurant in San Francisco is one of the hidden gems of the city’s dining scene. In this small restaurant on Fillmore Street, chef and owner Rodney Wages and his key staff provide exquisite and imaginative haute cuisine: Italian ravioli is as delicate as cat ears; ha Bissen cheese pie; and mini toaster pie with lingonberry. Japanese cooking styles are subtly expressed, such as tempura fried nettle leaves, takoyaki-shaped oyster "aebleskiver", and silky chawanmushi with umami-rich abalone. Although sake is a special focus of the beverage plan, the pairing of non-alcoholic beverages is full of surprises, such as fermented pineapple and sauerkraut extract, which pair well with cured Iberian ham.
Credit cards accepted • Beer and wine
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Consistent haute cuisine, borrowed from French, Korean and Cantonese traditions.
For a glimpse of the sublime, go to Benu. Accuracy seems to be the supreme virtue of this kitchen, manifested as rainbow-like vegetables isolated in fingerprint-sized mussels, carefully sliced tofu tendrils floating in the clear broth, and delicate jellyfish-wrapped prawns. Although present in a modern style, the cuisine here still relies on ancient techniques, such as the fermentation of Korean pottery and Hunan’s century-old tradition of marinating eggs. This restaurant was opened in 2010 by high-end dining veteran Corey Lee and won three Michelin stars in 2014-this is the first restaurant in San Francisco. An eight-course tasting menu ($350 plus 20% tip) can meet various dietary needs.
The whole animal cooking promotes this SoMa kitchen.
Birdsong is a SoMa restaurant inspired by the flavors of the Pacific Northwest. Everything is closely related to the wood-burning oven. The black cod was placed on a plate that exuded the aroma of Douglas fir resin. Parker House rolls are grilled on a metal rack on hot embers and are paired with kimchi and viscous Peking duck quail. Chef Chris Bleidorn's intense "Trout Sequence" breaks down a fish into its components: roe with cider sabayon and silky spaghetti squash; its tail is healed and placed in one piece Puffed skin; its soft and plump collar and waist are roasting on the fire. This 11-course menu ($255) is amazing. If you can, please sit at the chef's counter so that you can capture all the movements.
Credit cards accepted• Beer, wine and sake
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A refreshing perspective on Latin American cuisine.
Californios adds a unique Latin American flavor to local high-end dining establishments. Chef and owner Val Cantu transforms seasonal produce and heirloom corn varieties into exquisite yet comfortable and familiar dishes such as stone ceviche and chile chile pigeon tacos. This approach makes Cantu's lengthy multi-course menu ($267) one of the most unique fine dining you can find on this side of the border. The modern, dark space was designed by co-owner Carolyn Cantu, and will inspire contemplation when you are immersed in it. Sommelier and owner Charlotte Randolph's carefully selected beverage pairings ($150) enhance the dining experience.
Credit cards accepted • Beer and wine
The meticulous technique and serious treatment of molecular gastronomy make dining at the 10-year-old Commis exciting.
Although Commis’ takeaway is one of the best in the field, Piedmont has now switched back to a face-to-face tasting menu ($189), where diners can taste more than a dozen technically sophisticated dishes. Executive chef and owner James Syhabout has allowed this high-end restaurant to evolve throughout its life cycle, from complex classic European cuisine to Southeast Asian-inspired menus. Now he starts to eat Lao-style dumplings: the kitchen wraps chicken and mushroom fillings in translucent tapioca wrappers, and is named after pepper nasturtium. There are some interesting changes to the menu: raw oysters gleaming with bright green pea leaf ice, and then silky brown rice porridge rich in duck fat. You can now dine indoors and in the courtyard of the restaurant.
Credit Card Accepted• Full Bar
Only omakase places exhibit seasonal products with a painting style.
Like its sister restaurant Utzutzu in Alameda, Delage is different from the typical omakase style sushi bar, using local seasonal products. Chef Mikiko Ando added ingredients such as summer corn and tomatoes to his eight-course omakase ($100), showing them the reverence that is usually only used in the rarest imported dishes. The dumpling set includes purple sweet potato wontons with dark cassava slices reminiscent of fried fish skin, and juicy watermelon slices on a translucent crystal plate as carpaccio. The climax is a chirashi duo of raw fish, rich in umami flavor, served in a delicate blue glass bowl.
Credit cards accepted• Beer, wine and sake
510-823-2050 • delageoakland.com • Order online
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International chef He Zhiwen has renewed the classic Chinatown banquet hall.
Empress by Boon lives up to the grandeur of its space. It used to be a banquet hall: from the turquoise glazed tiles to the expansive views of the Coit Tower and the roofs of Chinatown, every inch of the space has been carefully designed to amaze you. Its head chef Ho Chee Boon (Ho Chee Boon) is the long-term executive chef of the upscale international Chinese chain Hakka Mountain. He stands out with a Cantonese style similar to Hong Kong's luxury hotel restaurants. As a result, his menu at Empress by Boon is both rich and interesting, including the Passion Fruit Cheesecake ($19) made from Brillat-Savarin cheese, in which the cake is disguised as the fruit itself, and the aroma of crispy fried pumpkin puffs with truffle fried . Prix fixe ($78) includes seven snacks and family-style dishes, and is the best way to experience the restaurant.
Credit Card Accepted• Full Bar
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Yakitori was treated by omakase in this humble ode to chicken skewers.
The counter at Hina Yakitori in NoPa reopened after a long-term interruption, offering a 13-course tasting menu ($139), including chicken raised on farms grilled on imported Japanese coal. Led by chef Tommy Cleary, the team works at a brisk pace, watching fascinating dances on the counter, skillfully grilling, smearing and decorating your skewers. The seemingly humble skewers are dotted with not-so-so-so-so-so decorations, such as Tsar Nicolai caviar, finger lime pulp, pickled jidori egg yolks and smoked fish chopped in front of your eyes.
Credit cards accepted• Beer, wine and sake
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Kaiseki Saryo Hachi, once a ramen shop, has now been transformed into one of the best Japanese haute cuisine showcases in the Bay Area.
In the early days of the pandemic, ramen shop owner Yuko Nammo took her husband, chef Shinichi Aoki, into the kitchen, and the Michelin-starred restaurant where he worked reduced business hours. Both have a background in traditional kaiseki cuisine, which is equivalent to Japanese haute cuisine. In the cozy shopping mall restaurant in Burlingame, they have a panoramic view of this type of experience and comfort. The $200 per person menu showcases various techniques in its multi-course course. Goldeneye bream is stewed with winter melon and lime soup, while soft scrambled eggs are paired with tender grilled eel. Seasonality is a major theme of kaiseki cuisine: in summer, look forward to preparations like broad bean tomato jelly; in autumn, roast duck with yam.
Credit cards accepted • Wine and sake
Lazy Bear’s approach is often imitated, but it is rarely matched. Their ultra-seasonal, campfire-scented cuisine is always an exciting experience.
Instead of the restaurant’s well-known large-scale communal dinner table, the Mission District fine dining restaurant offers its ultra-seasonal tasting menu (US$245 to US$265) at both indoor and outdoor social distance tables, decorated with individually enclosed tables covered by full-height Plexiglas barriers Separate. The menu represents the most exquisite luxury snacks: seafood tower, raw oysters with melon vinegar foam, Maine lobster tails dotted with delicious XO sauce; and roast duck breast with crispy fried huskies and rich duck meat. Tickets are sold through Tock.
198 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., San Anselmo
The best date night spot in Marin, offering an excellent Japanese menu.
Chef and owner Ron Siegel’s 10-course tasting menu ($110) changes frequently: you might find a piece of horse mackerel with soulful dashi broth; summer tortillas with black truffle; or Sighing pistachio, nectarine and avocado salad. Each dish is served with carefully considered ceramic tableware—sometimes heavy and plain, sometimes with different blue spots like the iris of the eye. If you often eat takeaway this year, please come and see how delicious the restaurant food is on a real plate from the professionals. Sidewalk tables and indoor restaurants are now open.
Credit cards accepted • Beer and wine
415-453-9898 • madcapmarin.com • Order online
This small restaurant offers an exquisite, concept-driven experience, usually with a literary twist.
The 3-year-old Merchant Roots is one of the most special dining experiences in the Bay Area. He likes theater performances. The SF restaurant, led by chefs Ryan Shelton and Leonard Roberts III, has adapted to a wide range of influences such as "Alice in Wonderland" and "Universal Elements and Celestial Bodies". The decoration and menu have been changed to suit the materials: The Mad Hatter’s tea party may be included in Cheese courses served on mousetraps and cooked food served in miniature picnic baskets. The current iteration is a nine-course menu ($134), inspired by the European folktale "stone soup", so the first course is a clear tomato water "soup" with grilled cheese baked in edible clay .
Credit cards accepted • Beer and wine
A high-end restaurant run only by married couples.
In the Vallejo shopping mall space with almost no signage, Ali and Michael Warring have created an exciting new American tasting menu experience, including 7 dishes ($84) or 12 dishes ($124) on Thursdays. The open kitchen has a cozy environment, with only one counter and a few tables in the restaurant. The couple provides a personable service suitable for small-scale restaurants. The menu changes frequently according to the season, and Warring will not hesitate to add French, Korean, Spanish and other dishes to the table. You may see heirloom tomato sorbet with iced Sabayon in August, or sour strawberry kimchi with peppery nasturtium in June. Look forward to Benedicts, which are made from powerful ingredients such as sea urchin shortbread or peanut butter cup-flavored ice cream. The cheese courses are served on rustic plates, which are nothing but rough clay plates with an original effect.
Credit cards accepted • Beer and wine
Mr. Jiu is one of the Chinese pioneers in the Bay Area, pushing boundaries with his new wave of Chinatown cuisine.
Mister Jiu's, led by chef and owner Brandon Jew and wife Anna Chet Jew-Lee, open indoor and outdoor dining, and its contemporary Chinatown gourmet menu continues to impress. The high ceiling space offers an enviable hilltop view of the streets of Chinatown, while the small lemon green park in front of the restaurant highlights the dramatic style of the restaurant. The Jew’s view of his food when he was young is to blend dishes such as Mapo Tofu ($18) or Big Lion Head Meatballs ($35) with seasonal California produce; you will see them with fresh, hand-peeled Additives such as broad beans and green garlic. Jiu's Ho Ho, an online retail concept during the pandemic, still exists, selling frozen dumplings ($19) and instant roasted whole duck ($110).
Credit Card Accepted• Full Bar
140 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco
Moroccan and Californian cuisine are fused together in this modern venue in the center of San Francisco.
The well-known restaurant owner Mourad Lahlou’s restaurant of the same name is not only a powerful lunch place, but because of its gorgeous high-ceiling restaurant and elegant cosmopolitan atmosphere, it functions very well. His vision for local Moroccan cuisine has been constantly evolving, but at the same time respecting old techniques, such as the art of rolling couscous by hand. For modern style, couscous ($26) is tossed with candied sunflower seeds, crispy maitake mushrooms, and pea tendrils with purple flowers. This restaurant encourages family-style dining and offers enticing large-scale dishes such as tender braised pork ribs seasoned with cardamom spices ($145). Serve with olive stewed kale, heirloom red bean paste kshuka and cermula.
Credit Card Accepted• Full Bar
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The best Thai restaurant in the Bay Area-and one of the most beautiful restaurants.
When it reopened its exquisite restaurant in Japantown, in addition to its first-class a la carte options, Nari also launched a very large chef’s selection home-style menu ($95/person). Led by restaurant owner Pim Techamuanvivit and head chef Meghan Clark, the menu changes weekly, focusing on any seasonal product: you may find mussels cooked in curry and charred stone fruits, cucumber papaya salad or sticky rice Dumpling strawberry essence. The star of the current menu is miang pla ($42), a diced and deep-fried Blanchino whose crisp slices are curly flavored with lemongrass, ginger, whole peanuts and chile peppers.
Credit Card Accepted• Full Bar
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Kim Alter’s California cuisine is served in an intimate restaurant and is simply amazing.
Nightbird, a restaurant defined by its custom elements, is one of the highlights of the crowded dining venues in Hayes Valley. Chef Kim Alter’s impressive "five-course, five-bits" tasting menu ($185) showcases local ingredients that caught her attention: Flannery beef from San Rafael, pepper honey from Mission District beehives And beeswax, as well as foraging kelp and ice grass. Custom tableware from local potters, some look like jagged oyster shells or jewelry pillows, make the experience more solemn. For a more casual experience, please walk into the Linden Room, a craft cocktail bar adjacent to the restaurant.
Credit Card Accepted• Full Bar
587 St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena
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A classic in the wine country, it is very popular among local wine merchants and tourists.
Naturally, St. Helena Press is all about Napa, Napa, and Napa. Its wine cellar is filled with Napa Valley wines, and it handles locally foraged and grown ingredients with a global mindset: Campaci collar ($16) with deep salted sea lettuce butter; organic vegetables ($16) with Sour croutons; juicy rib eye cap ($98) with Japanese Meyer lemon pepper sauce. Wine nerds will love the opportunity to dine with Napa's vintners while gazing at the Mayakamas Mountains, a historic regional winemaking center.
Credit Card Accepted• Full Bar
Serving new American dishes in a casual environment, including fixed prices and a la carte options.
Palo Alto's Protege is a high-end restaurant opened with the coldest intentions, catering to those who want delicious food without being ostentatious. Its casual and comfortable restaurant is equipped with luxurious benches, where you can enjoy chef and owner Anthony Secviar's interesting seven-course tasting menu (210 USD). The course includes his nine-layer lasagna, usually layered with morels, black truffles or porcini. This is an umami carnival-a spectacle from beginning to end. In the restaurant’s lounge and bar area, an à la carte menu is available, including sumptuous dishes and plenty of clever snacks, such as Shikoku oysters ($5) with mignonette and light rose foam. Try the glazed Bavarian pretzels ($8), shaped like baguettes, topped with well-balanced honey butter and topped with mustard seeds.
Credit Card Accepted• Full Bar
The reassuring porcini donuts and sea urchin cacio e pepe are the reputation of this restaurant.
Owners Sarah and Evan Ritchie have now opened restaurants for their community gatherings, in addition to serving their creative California cuisine in the bustling Hayes Valley small park. In the outdoor seating area, each table is hidden in its own corner. The chef’s selection menu at $125 per person is always a good choice, bringing you Rich Table classics such as savory aged beef dumplings and sea urchin cacio e pepe pasta, as well as dishes made with current seasonal ingredients . Otherwise, a good way to enjoy the restaurant is to sit in the bar and order all the snacks such as fried sardine chips ($3.50 each), caviar plate ($38) and salads, and then choose from the cocktail list.
Credit Card Accepted• Full Bar
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The wood-burning oven in this restaurant is located in a restored warehouse space.
Imagine you are in a hut on a snowy mountain, while your friends and family are all skiing outside, and your only companion is in the soothing warmth of the crackling of the hearth and hot tea. This is the spirit of Saison. This fire-centric restaurant in SoMa has made Joshua Skenes' original cuisine style famous all over the world. Now led by head chef Richard Lee, Saison is still a profound dining experience. Its 11-course menu ($288) includes many ingredients from hunters and foragers, as well as internally fermented or pickled ingredients. The black cod meal starts by emulsifying the fish into French brandy and culminates in a concentrated broth made from slow-roasted bones. The duck breast also comes with crunchy hearts and gizzard skewers.
Credit Card Accepted• Full Bar
This sushi counter is friendly and interesting, and its omakase is always impressive.
Shota is the first restaurant of young sushi chef Ingi Son, a jewelry box for a sushi restaurant in the financial district of San Francisco. Attentive service is the main attraction here: the chef behind the counter is personable and talkative, eager to answer any questions you have about the fish. The 15-course omakase ($250) relies mainly on classic Edo-mae sushi, but also mixes some interesting surprises, such as ocean sea urchin sauce and grilled mushrooms with crunchy grilled quinoa and black cod. The drink mix created by general manager Shar Guillermo is presented in gorgeous and colorful artisan glassware.
Credit cards accepted• Beer, wine and sake
The restaurant is seamlessly integrated with its farm.
There is no SingleThread restaurant without a farm, and vice versa. Conceived by the farmer and chef couple Katina and Kyle Connaughton, SingleThread's twin business makes it a culinary powerhouse. At the Healdsburg restaurant, the farm’s incredible fresh produce is based on a 10-course tasting menu ($375) centered on Japanese technology. The iconic first dish is a small sculptural plate-raw oysters, sashimi, caviar panna cotta, etc.-arranged around the farm's dewy leaves and bean sprouts. Other courses may include silky homemade tofu scooped with mushroom tea, and ice cream made with walnut miso, served with earthy hojicha cakes and drizzle nosino.
1921 El Camino Real, Palo Alto
Palo Alto's popular steakhouse exudes classic charm.
Sundance exudes a calm temperament, which is enough to explain its status as an elderly politician in the restaurant industry. This steak and seafood restaurant opened in 1974 and is widely acclaimed for its first-class service, club-like atmosphere (with many real golf clubs) and reliable high-quality beef menu, dry marinated for at least five weeks. The delicious slow-roasted premium ribs ($29.95/$39.50) are the best seller-if you dine on the restaurant’s terrace, you will most likely see this steak on every table. Each steak is served a la carte, and the side dish menu itself is impressive: you have baked potatoes ($6.95), which is the MVP of the steakhouse; sweet organic tomatoes ($4.50); and a great wild rice Pilaf ($4.95), which exudes an earthy, forest-like aroma from fresh thyme and mushrooms.
Credit Card Accepted• Full Bar
650-321-6798 • sundancethesteakhouse.com • Order online
325 E Fourth Avenue, San Mateo
Akira Yoshizumi's exquisite skills shine through in an intimate omakase dinner.
In an oasis near downtown San Mateo, there is an Edo-style sushi bar that serves a variety of amazing high-quality pickled, smoked, aged and stewed fish and seafood. Putting Chef Akira Yoshizumi at the helm is like reading a tramp novel, and every bite reads a new and surprising episode. His old-fashioned omakase ($275) is a simple exercise: only rice, fish, and fresh mustard, a dazzling combination. The chef often imports his fish and seafood directly from the Toyosu Fish Market in Tokyo, and he maintains its quality by avoiding obstacles.
Credit cards accepted• Beer and sake
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