RICH TABLE

My favorite restaurant in SF!

As I was researching restaurants to visit while in San Francisco Rich Table kept popping up on different lists, food blogs, and articles, one even naming it one of the best restaurants in the city. So I knew I had to try this place.

I had a reservation for 10PM but I got a text a hour before saying I could arrive early if I wanted. When I arrived I was warmly greeted and seated immediately at my spot at the bar by someone who I later learned was the GM/Partner Jonny Gilbert.

The bar seat I had turned out to be perfect for me as I had a good view of the kitchen and expo station as well as being able to look out the windows and see some of the things that occur at night on the streets of SF. The bartender and every employee that I came in contact with were very knowledgeable and tuned in to good customer service.

I opted for the Chef Picks service so I could try a few different items including the caviar supplement and it turned out to be a great choice.

I have to say I loved everything, there might have been 1 or 2 things that didn't leave me wowed or blew my socks off. I can't remember the name of everything that I ate but here are some of the highlights:

Dried Porcini Doughnuts w/ Raclette 5/5
&
Sardine Chip w/ Horseradish Crème Fraîche 5/5
2 things Rich Table is know for and they definitely lived up to the hype. Did not disappoint. Everything that you heard about it and more!

Oyster w/ Aji Amarillo & Gooseberry Mignonette 5/5 I don't know how I'll go back to eating oysters without this.

Dungeness Crab, Pomelo, Crab Curry, Spaghetti Squash, Trout Crumble 5/5 but I would rate it higher if I could. Probably the best thing I ate at Rich Table. The presentation is perfect but all those tastes and textures really come together in a way I could never had imagined.

Tonnarelli, Sea Urchin, "Cacio e Pepe," Idiazabal 4.5/5 Perfect al dente and creaminess. Yes Italians say don't eat cheese w/ seafood, but this is California dining.

21 Day Dry Aged Ribeye, "A199" Steak Sauce, Twice Baked Potato 5/5 I love steak and if I'm at a steakhouse I order it medium rare, which is a warm RED center and that is exactly how this steak came out of the kitchen. I'm not a steak sauce fan but the "A199" sauce is homemade and I really enjoyed it. Also nowadays I very rarely see twice baked potatoes on a menu but this was good.

Then came dessert. I was celebrating my birthday so I was given a Mint Chocolate Sable with Mint Chocolate Cream and Ice Cream. 4.5/5 That was perfect and I would think it couldn’t get any better but then I was given an Orange Granita as the end of the Chef Picks and it was amazing. 5/5 I love chocolate and all things chocolate but this was even better than I could have ever expected. I mean the shaved ice with the orange segments and the vanilla ice cream (gelato?). I guess it brings back nostalgia for the creamsicles I used to have as a kid but so much better.

Overall a great experience with all of the exceptional food and enhanced by the employees and their friendliness and service along with meeting one of the Chef/Owners Evan Rich and conversing with him and Mr Gilbert about the industry.

A real treat to dine here. Service was top notch and our server checked in periodically throughout the evening. Everyone from the host, to our server, to the kitchen staff are extremely friendly and personable.

Even if the service was subpar, I’d still be tempted to rate Rich Table 5 stars for the food alone. The cocktails, wine, appetizers, pastas, and entrees all knocked it out of the park. The grilled cod was one of the best pieces of fish I’ve had in my life.

If we had any room left, I’m sure dessert would be spectacular. Looking forward to returning soon!

After hearing many good things about RT, Mr. Joy and I came here for an anniversary. We entered a dimly lit dining space with bar seating adjacent to an exposed kitchen. We arrived a few minutes early for our reservation, so they had us wait next to the bar, which turned into nearly a 40 minute wait. After they seated a couple of parties that arrived after us, they finally sat us at the bar, a little disappointing to wait all that time and not even get a table despite having made a reservation.

$16 Apple of My Rye - rye, apple brandy, amaro, sherry, vanilla
Good! Fun to watch the cocktail made in front of us on account of our seats. Tasty whiskey soaked apple slice

$3.75ea Sardine Chip Horseradish Creme Fraiche
Okay! Fried sardine tucked into a potato chip with chive creme fraiche on the side, taste was alright.

$20 Bluefin Tuna Toro Toast Yuzu Kosho, Milk Toast
Good! Chopped tuna on fluffy crunchy milk bread dressed with sweet yuzu kosho, and topped with flower petals just for decoration. Pretty pricey for a single portion. It came with a sharp knife to cut up, which made it easier to share.

$11 Dried Porcini Doughnuts Raclette
Great! These were probably the star of the show solely because of the porcini dusting. Such a lovely flavor that I almost didn't need the cream that came with it. However, you really need to eat these while they're hot. They get dense as they cool down.

$12 Chicken Liver Mousse Red Onion Marmalade
Good! Tasty liver mousse on toast, although the topping of pomegranates was a bit much and the flavor and texture takes over each bite.

$16 Chanterelle Tart, Goat Cheese, Black Garlic, Apricot
Okay! The chanterelles smell and taste good, and there were quite a few strong flavors emanating from the goat cheese, black garlic and I didn't love the sweet apricot. Also, I am not sure I consider this a tart, since it was all spread over a thin flatbread of some sort.

$27 Tonnarelli, Sea Urchin 'Cacio e Pepe,' Idiazabal
Great! Pasta was cooked to a great texture and the sauce was very thick and creamy, and it was generously topped with cheese and a few basil leaves that helped break through the richness.

$35 Dry Aged Duck Confit, Quince, Duck Fat Cornbread
Not great. The duck leg was not bad, but I wasn't a big fan of the heavily sweet and syrupy barbecue sauce, and the whole dish didn't really say confit to me.

Despite the initial wait to get seated, the rest of the evening went pretty smoothly, and we sat in front of a friendly bartender. Foodwise, I think the only dish that really stood out to me was the porcini doughnuts and creamy pasta is always enjoyable. The duck confit was the least enjoyable with the overwhelming sauce, and not really worth the $35.
Speaking of pricing, at this point we're very familiar with the SF mandates, although 7% here is relatively high. Speaking of 7s, I give Rich Table a 7/10 overall, and I wouldn't mind having some porcini powder at home.

The food is amazing here. The staff are great. However I did have a horrible experience with making a family style reservation. I paid a large deposit, wrote emails listing a few dietary restrictions asked for champagne to celebrate, which were all confirmed. We called that day about the reservation to confirm and didn’t get a call back. We arrived to find restaurant totally confused about our reservation with no table. They eventually did seat us but they had no record of any conversations Ihad. Then they apologized but didn’t offer anything complimentary or some kind of discount to make up for the whole issue. So i would not go here with large party.