Quince

Excellent food but rather 'traditional'. Nothing so creative, even in the full tasting menu, that one can acclaim "I've never had anything like this before." The dining room can be a tiny bit brighter. A middle-aged person might have problem reading the menu without his phone's magnifier.

Awesome venue and very comfortable and friendly dining experience, on top of the impeccable dishes! You will feel fully satisfied in every course! The only pity is the 25% service charge seems to be on the high side.

Absolutely amazing experience. The food, service, ambiance was excellent. If I could give 6 stars, I would. Manresa, in Los Gatos, was our favorite go-to place for special celebrations, but it may just have been de-throned. We do have a reservation with Manresa in a couple of months, so it will be fun to see, maybe memory fades. At Quince, the creative presentation of the food (not just what it looks like, but what it's served in, the captured 'smoke' scent as they removed the tray upon tray of starters (I called it the upside down Devo hat but in white)) was very cool to experience. The different styles of plating was cool. The whole experience was great for the eyes (fishing for white asparagus), the nose (infused smoke hidden between layers of serving plates), the sounds (yes, we could hear the kitchen and what sounded like faint happy cheering), the taste (OMG, so many variations and creative combinations that worked VERY well (at some other places, the variations were different, but didn't quite work out for us). And finally, a special treat... Totally unexpected, but for our dessert course, they invited us to have it back in the kitchen in the middle of all the activity. Wow, just WOW !! We were literally in the middle of it all. An unforgettable experience. Thank you Quince!! We can't wait to go back again !! Again, 6 stars !!! For service, for food, for ambiance, for experience. Taste, sight, smell, sound... The only thing missing was touch, otherwise, this experience "touched" on all the senses.

Wine pairing price = $275 Value (retail) = $101 <--- Highest retail value pairing in San Francisco of the 25 I've itemized. Markup = 270% 😍😍😍 One of the better wine pairing values in San Francisco with only a 2.7x markup on retail for our December 2019 visit. For other 3-star restaurants, Singlethread was 3x in March 2019 and their Kistler location was 2.1x in October 2020 (though at Kistler they almost exclusively pour their own wines so it lacks some diversity). Wines included champagne, 4 whites, 4 reds, and a dessert wine. We were able to revisit the first red poured when we sheepishly asked quickly emptying our glasses when we went for seconds on the smoked butter croissants. For other 1-star restaurants around the same time Mourad was 3.8x and Lord Stanley was 3.7x. The food incredible. Service is impeccable. It's worth visiting for a special occasion!

Went here for my birthday dinner with one of my best girlfriends. Staff was incredibly knowledgeable and soooo accommodating. My friend was not feeling too great And had an upset stomach (non restaurant related), and they went thru every effort to make sure she was comfortable from bringing us soda/bitters, ginger tea, extra bread, etc. We got a mini tutorial on how to fold two different types of napkins, another waitress gave me tons of suggestions on other things to do in the city. They even packed up our last course so that we could go home early as my friend was sick. But aside from the INCREDIBLE service, I don’t know if anything I say would do the food justice. Highlights: BEST slice of wagyu beef I’ve ever had in my life. The lobster/caviar/hollandaise omelette. The finger foods on the first course, particularly the oysters. The chocolate tarts and vanilla bean ice cream; TO DIE FOR.