We eat out so much that it’s not very often that we’re so pleasantly surprised. Osito (little bear, which the chef explained his nickname at one point during the meal) was bestowed a Michelin star on Monday when they announced all of the new stars in Calfiornia, so of course we had to go. The food and flavor and service all exceeded our expectations.

To start, the lobby is very small and serves both Osito and Liliana, the sister bar (which was closed for a private holiday party) and the restaurant sits behind a closed door which reminded me a bit of Single Thread where the restuarant itself remains just a bit of a mystery. As we were usherd in, we were greeted by Chef Seth (formerly of Mister Jiu’s and Bar Agricole) in the ktichen with a savory tea. The chef was dressed in plaid and was often involved in serving tableside and was very personable and engaging. Seating is on a single communal table that spends the length of the dining room and seats about 20 people. The kitchen only has live fire for all of the cooking,which is very unique.

There is only a tasting menu with some supplements. I had pre-purchased the caviar add-on, but was a little skeptical of the truflle supplement since we’ve been burned so many times in the past (Acquerello). We did ask to see the truffle (white, from Alba) which they did present and it was very fragrant, so we went ahead with that. We did the wine pairings – they offered two wine pairings, standard and reserve so we had one of each so we could try all the maximum variety of wines. The standard pairing had an interesting theme in that all of the wines were only from the Southern Hemisphere. The somm/wine servers were all very attentive and provided a substantial description of each wine pairing (which contrasts to our terrible experience in Boulevard where the somm would drop off a wine with about 2 seconds of “explanation” even for expensive wines).

Seated on one side of us was a trio who were friends with the chef (and one would babysit their baby), the other side of us was a young Asian couple who also had eaten at many of the top restaurants in the Bay Area, and seated just beyond them was a group of 3.5 which included the chef’s wife and their baby (i.e. the .5).

We love this format for a menu where each course consists of multiple bites. The menu was titled Game Birds 2: Forest & Festivities. From the game bird side, this included quail, served tableside and various servings of duck including one course that included duck served 4 ways – duck breast mille feuille, duck heart, liver wrapped in cabbage, and duck brain with sunchoke (i did proclaim that it was the best brains I had eaten all week). The dishes were all very well seasoned (unlike my recollection of Marlena, but I really want to give them another try to see) and interesting and creative. I would say though that the caviar (from Tsar Niocoulai) presentation with apple butter was not my favorite presentation of caviar and the Ft. Bragg uni chawanmushi , but at least it was different and unique. Andrea’s favorite dish was the crab, XO, chili oil. For me, there were so many great dishes – I did really like the quail/sticky rick/bok choy 2-ways course and the chaterelle roll (or chate-roll as the chef liked to call it)was so interesting, and the sausage, abalone, mushroom dish topped with the white trufflle from Alba was fantastic (the truffle wasn’t really necessary though).

This restaurant received their first star on Monday (incredible given that they only opened a year ago) and we’d both honestly say that it was better than so many of the 1-star restaurants at which we’ve dined. All in all, it was a fantastic meal and experience and we’d very happily dine here again.