Thanks for the writeup. Prices here are rather crazy, and the restaurant scene of SF isn’t what it was. The “broad middle” of $100pp restaurants (with tax tip alcohol) serving very good food are deeply thinned out, but are where we’re spending all our time. It’s harder to make destinations for a traveler, and the region is still figuring out what happens “downtown” given the area was a one-trick-pony of tech, and tech has moved hard to remote. While this cycle is constant (chevron moving out was a blow, tech came in after finance and oil left), it’s hard to see the next turn. Hopefully rents drop and permits become easier and there’s a renaissance next decade. We’ll see.
My partner is also cold sensitive (not as much as yours from the description), and I appreciate when a restaurant takes the extra effort - we were at Rooh in Palo Alto a few weeks ago, they saw her shivering (indoors), and both carefully rearranged the heavy drapes by the window, then I think offered a blanket).
I’ve mostly forsworn the fancier restaurants with longer service, and had my share of veeeerrrryyyyy loooonnnngg evenings. The state of the world of staffing these days means it’s just too easy to have a bad night, it seems. One place I hype is Lazy Bear because their strange “mass tasting” format doesn’t allow them too much slack (and true open kitchen).
One of the most memorable long fiascos (pre-covid) was Manresa, which I think was the last big tasing menu I’ve done. We were inside, but it was also funereal and simply less fun than, well, just about any meal within a few years, yet one of the most expensive, one of the reasons I’ve not been to Californios.
An example of a “broad middle” restaurant doing well is Beshram (dogpatch sf), which I ate at with friends a week or two ago. Interesting food, good tastes, warm service. I didn’t pick up the check that night (it was a thank you dinner for writing some software for a local artist), but would have pegged us at about $100pp. We also drop by the bar of Moshi Moshi frequently, it has warmth and a pleasant menu, but just isn’t a destination (Besharam might be into destination territory, especially if you’re a vegetarian). Anchovy Bar was a good effort, but kinda missed the quality mark I was hoping for (and I love a good anchovy).
