I had dinner at Rich Table in Hayes Valley a couple times recently at the bar. Rich Table was opened by chefs Evan and Sarah Rich back in 2012, and was awarded a Michelin star last year. The kitchen is headed by chef de cuisine Brandon Rice. This place seems to be booked solid much of the time, but the bar is reserved for walk-ins and I was able to grab a seat at the bar both times without that much of a wait. These were my first visits, though I have been to their fast-casual rotisserie chicken place RT Rotisserie down the street a few times.
They have a “chef picks" menu for $99 a person available, but I wasn’t super hungry either time so I just ordered a la carte. Here’s some of what I ate:
Sardine Chip, Horseradish Creme Fraîche ($2 each)
This is one of their signature dishes. Basically potato chips with a small sardine threaded through it (actually seemed more like an anchovy) and fried. A delicious combination of crunchy potato and savory meaty fish. The cool horseradish sauce on the side was quite strong and a good dip for the chips.
Dried Porcini Doughnuts, Raclette ($9)
Another of their signature dishes - a savory doughnut. These were fantastic. Great fluffy texture, and the dusting of (dehydrated?) mushroom powder was incredibly umami rich, like mushroom MSG. The “raclette” sauce on the side was more creamy than cheesy.
Oysters on the Half ($3.75 each)
Nice oysters, dressed up with a zingy ponzu wasabi sauce.
Aged Beef Agnolotti, Borscht, Brussels Sprouts ($17)
Very striking looking. Red colored agnolotti pasta stuffed with beef, with a beet based “borscht” sauce. I don’t remember where the Brussels sprouts were in this dish. There were a few dabs of whole grain mustard around the pasta, which were nicely cooked al dente. Good.
21 Day Dry Aged Ribeye, RT “Poutine” ($37)
A ribeye steak, topped with fries, gravy, and some cheese curds. A steak covered with poutine I guess. This was really good. The ribeye steak definitely tasted aged and was very beefy. Fries were well executed, and the thick gravy covering everything was quite rich and meaty. The curds were I think a little too melted for poutine but were tasty nonetheless.
Rich Coffee ($13)
A dessert cocktail, with coffee, crème de cacao, fernet, pistachio whip. Very nice. Tasted like a pistachio flavored Irish coffee, with the fernet also adding some minty herbal flavor.
Coconut Cake ($13)
This was more of a coconut cupcake than a cake, with dollops of lime curd and cream around it and a brown butter ice cream on the side. Nice tropical flavored dessert.
Very good food and friendly service. The food kind of reminded me a bit of Frances and Octavia. California with a bit of inventiveness. Will definitely be back.
