The Art Edition

The art on display often inspires the tone or details of a dish. For example, a recent When We Bloom exhibition by Mr. Star City features bold florals and vibrant greens, inspiring Sampogna’s use of edible flowers and the integration of ingredients like jalapeño gazpacho and crispy curry leaf with amberjack for visual and flavor harmony. It’s a subtle but intentional exchange between mediums. Sampogna’s creativity results in unexpected riffs, like a pretzel served with smoked tofu—or 36-month aged Comté cheese shaved over honey ice cream with freeze-dried honeycomb.

For the drama. Book the counter, otherwise known as “the main stage” to watch the chefs preparing the menu live in front of you.

Every theme-based menu unfolds in edible, visual, and physical forms to tell a multi-sensory story. The summer menu, Sleepover: Bedtime Stories & Nursery Rhymes, evokes the nostalgia of childhood slumber parties with snack-filled backpacks, Peter Piper’s pickled pepper Caribbean escabeche, and cookies & milk. Each menu lasts three months before the team changes everything, including the service format, plateware, menus, and decor.

For the element of surprise. Press a button in the secret strawberry bubble room, for example, to unleash an avalanche of edible bubbles.

Chef Jenner Tomaska draws inspiration from each new artist collaborator. Past menus have included a woven mosaic of white asparagus flavored with sea urchin and orange, or a salad bouquet that diners sweep through a painter’s palette of sauces. Tomaska and his team have perfected a tableside presentation of clay-baked proteins and produce, with the intricate, remarkably realistic clay sculptures for the following day carved each night after service.

You feel like a kid again, whether you’re licking Flamin’ hot Cheetos® dust off your fingers at the bar or cracking through a framed edible painting for a spoonful of dessert.

Bae views himself as a conduit of nature, presenting the best ingredients at peak flavor, including fresh picked fruit from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market selected with help from his three-year-old son. You’ll recognize Korean ingredients like kimchi, but Bae stays away from super funky flavors, opting for non-spicy white kimchi to complement grilled Pacific mackerel jorim. One of the first snacks, a Wagyu tartare tartlet, is drizzled tableside with sesame oil made by Bae’s father in South Korea from heirloom seeds grown in his garden, and mailed across the Pacific. American eel from Maine (which the restaurant receives live) is charcoal grilled with soy marinade and wrapped with koshihikari rice in delicate, soft gamtae seaweed rather than crispy nori, showcasing a rare Korean delicacy with a twist on a sushi handroll.

For the deeply personal perspective on Korean food and culture.

The sakizuke, or seasonal appetizer course that opens the meal, reflects more than just the time of year—it is occasionally themed around Japanese national holidays, such as Children’s Day, to honor cultural traditions. Chef Mitsue prepares his katsuo dashi in-house, freshly grating bonito to create the delicate broth that forms the foundation of his owan, a refined soup course. Each fish featured in the sashimi selection is meticulously dry-aged in-house to deepen both flavor and texture.

For the omotenashi, an elegant and nuanced form of Japanese hospitality.

Æbleskiver with truffle and Comté cheese is an indulgent opening bite, with a nod to Emborg’s Danish roots. Weird and wonderful combinations might include a corn cappuccino with shrimp broth, heaps of Ibérico ham and saffron mushroom ravioli. Totemic luxury ingredients abound, from foie gras and Wagyu beef to ungodly amounts of caviar atop silky custard with smoked olive oil. Desserts end on a light note, including a trio of doll-sized mignardise.

A lively soundtrack of Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, and Kesha shatters any fine dining pretension.

Foie gras brioche toast with seasonal fruit jam and crème fraîche “Dippin Dots” is a signature course that guests are invited to enjoy in the kitchen. Feel free to ask questions, crack jokes, or just watch the chefs effortlessly moving, like a choreographed performance. Capellini pasta, generously topped with a flurry of fresh shaved Périgord or white truffle and nutritional yeast is another umami bomb classic that has been on the menu for nearly a decade.

For the irreverent devil-may-care juxtaposition of fine dining and punk rock.

Cheney relies on fermentation to coax additional layers of flavors and preserve fleeting seasonal ingredients. Think 48-hour fermented white asparagus paired with sustainably sourced Osetra caviar—or 35-day dry-aged beef served with preserved wax beans, fresh garlic, and herbs from the farm at Meadowood.

For the sense of place. Pickled pine pollen, Douglas fir, and smoked black cod from Half Moon Bay showcase the best of Northern California.

Hayato Go’s cooking is akin to a jazz performance—fluid, spontaneous, and expressive. For example, if a farmer shows up with freshly picked vegetables, a new sweet corn and Hokkaido scallop kakiage tempura might appear on the menu for one night only. Courses progress more or less in kaiseki tradition, beginning with sakizuke appetizers, followed by light broth, sashimi-style seafood, grilled and simmered dishes, leading to a rice set main course before finishing with simple fresh fruit for dessert. The obvious beverage pairing here is sake, and they have some great bottles, but there’s an excellent selection of grower champagne as well, including Ulysse Collin and Cédric Bouchard.

For the restraint. Rather than putting his own signature on every dish, Chef Hayato Go focuses on highlighting pristine ingredients with minimal intervention.

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is a soup typically reserved for special occasions, chock-full of rare seafood ingredients like abalone, sea cucumber, and dried scallops. Here, the plant-based version features a plethora of mushrooms, baby bok choy, and plump goji berries instead. In fact, mushrooms appear in nearly every course, while the menu continuously evolves. Servers explain the nutritional benefits of each dish, including how it affects your qi and immune system.

For the strong sense of identity. Chef Guo hones in on a truly original vision he has been refining for decades.