Is Michael Mina good enough to be classed as San Francisco's best restaurant? Considering the competition, the title is there to be taken: Masa's is too old school; Gary Danko is too touristy; Coi is lovely but not grand enough; Farallon is fine only for fish; Fleur de Lys is pretentious, and so on.
Situated as it is just off the lobby of the Westin St. Francis hotel, Michael Mina is perhaps a little noisy to be described as romantic, although it's grand enough to be reserved for special occasions - in this case Mrs. Page's birthday.
The service was excellent, enough to make us feel special. Plenty of staff fussing over us, almost a different person for each of the dishes in our 6-course + amuse bouche tasting menu with paired wine. "Excellent" but not flawless; one waiter confidently served a course and described the Spanish Mackerel with enthusiasm, until we pointed out that it was actually the Sea Bass.
Our main waiter was a treat. He knew his stuff, and like most of the main waiters was dressed like a Victorian apothecary.
Annoyingly, despite having the six course tasting menu for $135, there were supplements if we chose the Foi Gras Terrine ($15) and the Wagyu Ribeye ($30), so in a flash my meal was $180 + $90 for 6 half-glasses of wine.
I'd be OK with that price if the food was perfect, but it wasn't. It was curiously patchy, like Mina hadn't been in for a while and his deputies had let standards slip a little.
Pavey thought the Elysian Field Lamb chop too gamey, but not as gamey as the Squab. There were high notes worthy of mention like the Wagyu beef, which was amazing. The foie gras terrine was a fabulous and creative dish with a dash of humor - our waiter's unknowingly calling the flageolet beans "flagellate".
All in all, an enjoyable, upscale night out, but we won't be rushing back there.
Good, but no Cyrus.
No comments:
Post a Comment