Last night I checked out the "omakase" at Bushi Tei, an establishment generally well regarded in San Francisco. They were recently included in a culinary write up of our city in Les Echos and there was also rave from Bao last week. It was a nice enough meal but I wasn't at all blown away and I think you'd need to be at these prices

So I write "omakase" because it really is a tasting menu, or rather because Bushi-Tei for its name, ownership, location, decor and chef is rather a French restaurant that also serves sake

The place is stunning, I'll give them that. I do puzzle over the main attraction, the sprawling giant table in the middle of the restaurant. For all its impracticalities (it sits 12 and you are quite far from the person sitting across.. could be a good thing), it is lush and beautiful, accentuated by the room's dim lighting. It gobbles up too much floor plan though


Photo by rpslee

Note behind, the "secret" table perched upstairs, cropped from here. For lovers only jk. I like modern, and I love luxurious. It was still somewhat comfortable and relaxed (I suppose it could be romantic). The best seats might be those left of the entrance by the window

Here's the 5-course meal, starting with a crab croquette amuse

Anything bite-size already half-wins me over. It was pretty good, juicy. Note the tableware, modern and slick. To the left you can almost see the variation on the "chopstick holder" which also housed a spoon, fork and knife. The bread was okay, freshly baked or heated. That came in handy for most of the meal


1. Tuna ceviche, you cannot really do this wrong with the beautiful toro, fatty yums. Fresh pairing: pomegranate


2. The highlight of my meal: big chunks of Dungeness crab in a bread souffle with potato chowder. So good, it coulda been perfect had they not previewed this in the amuse-bouche


3. Butter was the main draw on this Saint-Pierre, I was just talking to James about this adn I think lemon is always great with fish, this coulda used a zest. I tasted no anise (and truffle oil?) whatsoever as indicated by the waiter. This coulda use more substantial sides


4. Argentinian grass-fed beef with a foie gras and truffle sauce. As pointed out by Rene, the mushroom risotto was actually the star of this dish


5. Standard chocolate dessert (here, a "souffle"), the ice cream was very icey :-(

Not pictured is a pomegranate sorbet palate cleanser which greatness was only in concept. With its failure you get to reflect the theatrics of the affair. Having each dish introduced for example was a huge turn off. I also thought they should print out the tasting menu rather than have the poor chap recite it. Unlike a soup of the day, something this elaborate begs to be mulled over (bonus: the menu probably changes often). I have another minor qualm about the service which I won't discuss, in general it is very good. I remember this one instance when I though "oh I'm going to have to pour more of the Zinfandel to my friend" and a waiter magically appeared to do so. Coulda just been coincidence but that was neat

I think Bushi-Tei tops at presentation and decor which is unfortunate because the food is very close to matching the rest. Easy fixes: increase portions by like 10%, I'd even settle for 5. They could also improve upon the pace which really sapped the flow of the meal on the last two dishes. Fwiw my parents' friends and Rene liked the meal very much ("delicious", "one of the year's best.."). Maybe I could be convinced to go back to Bushi-Tei, as a guest :-)

Last month, the 2008 Michelin removed Bushi-Tei's only star

Not be a total joykill, the financier mignardises had lemon in em but they were the real dealio: succulent butter almond goodness


Bushi-Tei
1638 Post St
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 440-4959
Google Maps (Post at Laguna)
bushi-tei.com

Reservations are recommended, I dunno if it made a difference but I asked for my own table

Dinner Hours (closed Monday)
Sunday, Tuesday - Thursday: 5:30pm - 10pm
Friday - Saturday: 5:30pm - 12am


If you skip dessert, I highly recommend Jubili, the Korean joint riding the frozen yogurt craze in SF. It's on Fillmore at Geary (1515 Fillmore St)