We were supposed to do a low key dinner this week because we had Andrea’s dinner last week and mine next week, but she was supposed to be in San Raphael this afternoon and I’ve been having to eat at this restaurant in San Anselmo. Of course, her appointment needed to be rescheduled and we decided to go anyway. Rush hour traffic meant it took us an hour twenty to get there which reminded us a bit of why we don’t eat outside of San Francisco so often.
In any case, we had a 5:45 reservation and we were the first ones seated (they opened at 5, but it was a Thursday, our preferred night to eat out to avoid the weekend crowds). Decor and ambiance were nice…some California, some Japanese, some Nordic.
We went with the tasting menu as per usual, added the caviar course (also on brand for us), and the wine pairing (would you have thought otherwise?). Menu consisted of 11 courses plus the caviar course and the first course of “snacks” included 4 dishes. For me, the mini bao was my favorite snack.
For the rest of the man, the highlight for me was the jidori egg course, which not surprisingly is one of their signature dishes. Flavor was so rich and a soft egg is a bit of a cheat code with me. I also loved the very flavorful dashi in the salmon dish. No complaints on any of the meat courses – lobster and pork belly (a sort of surf and turf), the duck breast, and the ribeye.
Ever dish was meticulously prepared with layers of flavor. Portions were just right for that many of courses (I wasn’t even hungry when we were seated, but I am seemingly quadri-gastric like a cow, plus my hollow leg, so I can eat above my weight).
We really wished they were in SF since we’d definitely come back (and we probably will next time Andrea has an appointment up here). Menu is very reasonably priced (then again most things seem reasonable compared to SF pricing) and we totally agree with their Michelin star rating. If you’re near San Anselmo for dinner, it’s definitely worth a visit.
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