I checked out One65, it’s the address, 165 O’Farrell St, SF, across from Macy’s on O’Farrell.The Patisserie & Boutique opened 5/16/19 on the first floor. 2nd Chocolate Room Kitchen Lab - didn’t check if it’s open.
3rd Fl - Bistro & Grill will open Fri 5/24/19.
4th Fl - Elements Lounge & Bar - opens Fri 5/24/19.
5th Fl - O’ by Claud Le Tohic - opens Thurs 6/6/19.
6th Fl - O’Kitchen & Private Dining Rooms opens Fri 6/6/19.
It’s by the same folks from Alexander’s Patisserie in Mtn View. I’ve tried their pastries before and wasn’t too impressed, at this new location I tried the Ispahan $9 - it’s very pretty to look at, top is a raspberry mouse filling, cake part might have lychee I didn’t taste any, cookie bottom I didn’t eat.
Chouquettes $1 - tiny choux w/ sugars on the outside, soft inside. Meh to me.
Canneles $3ea or 2 for $5. One I tried was burnt outside, crunchy, and chewy soft inside. I didn’t like that it was burnt. 2nd one I had was better even the next day.
Macarons are $2.5 ea, not cheaper to buy in a box same price. I didn’t try any macarons. Chocolates are $2.5 ea - didn’t try any.
I might go back to check out the other floors when they open, not in any hurry to go back.
I picked up some of their plain croissants yesterday but neglected to take a picture of them. It was a solid (but not great) croissant that lacked the finesse and yum factor I’d get from croissants at standbys such as B. Patisserie and Jane. The exterior was pleasantly crunchy, but the inside was a little more doughy/bready than I’d like and not quite buttery enough.
I’ve been to the bistro and the bar recently, which has the full bistro menu. Generally seems reasonably solid. I liked the half smoked salmon (not very much like smoked salmon, more like something halfway between sashimi and cooked salmon) with what seemed to be a horseradish beurre blanc with some roe in it (the bar is quite dark, so I’m honestly kind of guessing here), as well as some of the classic old desserts, like the ile flottante. The “mashed potatoes” are a reasonable rendition of the Joel Robuchon aligot as well, although I think maybe it sets a little bit on the way from the kitchen down to the bar. Salted cod cromesquis seemed solid, and the people I was with really liked the onion tart.
The bar’s an odd place that seems to want to be some crazy overpriced cocktail lounge (there’s a backlit bottle of Louis XIII as you enter, and per bottle pricing for a lot of spirits as well), but the pricing for some things are oddly cheap. It’s one of the cheaper bourbon bars around for some of the somewhat more difficult things to find - ~$10 2oz pours for things like Stagg Jr. and Weller 12. I happened to go by Cavalier a couple days afterwards, and I think the Weller 12 was $25 or $30 there. It’s very peculiar for a place that theoretically is trying to sell $10k private cocktail lockers. Staff is all very friendly but don’t seem to be highly trained.
I’ll likely be back because I work nearby and have friends who live nearby. Curious to see what people think of O, the big fancy place upstairs. I was pretty pleased with Restaurant Joel Robuchon in Vegas where I think the chef was before, but I’m not really up for the long, super formal tasting menus quite as much these days.
