I booked this for Andrea’s b-day. I didn’t recall that we had dined here 4 years ago in 2019 for her b-day as well until I looked it up here on Facebook. Also, prior to this becoming Atelier Crenn, it was Plumpjack where Andrea and I went on a date over 20 years ago…

The restaurant had renovated in January and was a much more light colored, Japanese minimalist aesthetic, which we liked. Menu was redone and was still pescatarian (for sustainability reasons) as well as also now non-dairy. The menu consisted of a Kir Breton (which was also served 4 years ago when we were here) for an amuse, a play on a Kir Royale to start and then 5 starters, 8 courses, and then 6 dessert bites.

From the starters, my favorite was probably the crab dashi in the 5th starter. Andrea’s was the “cherry bomb” and was probably her favorite dish of the evening. The dungeness crab ice cream was a bit odd/interesting (not as funky as the oyster ice cream at Aphotic…), but it worked ok, esp. with the trout roe and then a sip of he dashi.

For the following courses, there were many innovative dishes meticulously crafted. The beets 3-way was interesting and tasty. The abalone course was a play on a brat with sauerkraut and mustard seed, and I loved the black cod with the steamed bun dramatically served with dry ice fog (my favorite dish of the evening).

At this point in the meal, they took us on a tour of the kitchens and then took us next door to Bar Crenn for the dessert courses. We actually enjoyed the ambiance better here at Bar Crenn than in the main Atelier Crenn dining area. The dining room was surprisingly loud, which gave a great energy, but was also not as much of a quiet contemplative fine dining experience; Bar Crenn was very chill (it was also a Tuesday) and more our vibe. It was darker, quieter, and also had a Japanese music bar complete with a collection of records (although I took a look at them and they look like mostly generic pop and they were not actually playing any records (unlike Osito where they did), but was amusingly a 80/90s playlist (e.g. Asia, Big Country, The Outfield, etc.).

When we last dined here in 2019, I had posted that it was one of our top 3 dining experiences. We’ve eaten at numerous very nice places since then. I appreciated the food intellectually (amazing technique and a lot of creativity), but I can’t say I loved it. This experience wouldn’t make either of our top 5 dining experiences.

Wine was good and the reserve pairing was better than the regular pairing in most cases, but was not as good as the pairings at Single Thread. For one of the reserve pairings, they served a 2013 Pride Merlot. Don’t get me wrong, we have purchased many cases from Pride over the last 20+ years, but this seemed a bit lightweight for a reserve pairing at $550/person and I suspect this was the case for so many more of the pours. Even for dessert, the reserve was paired with an older Sauterne, but it wasn’t that great (contrast that with a Chateau D’yquem for both the regular and the reserve pairing at Single Thread, but different vintages and both were vastly superior to this Sauterne). It left me feeling like the wines were a bit of a profit grab.

On top of that, we both felt that the service was perfunctory (i.e. by the book) almost all around and at this level, we’re looking for a bit more of an engaging experience. So, on the plus side, it was probably one of the best meals we’ve had on a Tuesday, but then again, we don’t eat most of our meals out on a Tuesday… dinner now