San Francisco Restaurant, Atelier Crenn is a Worthwhile Splurge You Won’t Forget

Situated in the Cow Hollow neighbourhood of San Francisco, CA, Atelier Crenn is an artful exhibition of class and taste. It is a three-Michelin star restaurant founded in 2011 by acclaimed chef Dominique Crenn. Chef Crenn considers the restaurant a place to express her heritage, as well an ode to “poetic culinaria.”

There are a variety of service options - dine-in, curbside pickup, and delivery. Reservations are available as well, for a group of 6-10 guests. The restaurant is open Thursday to Sunday, from 4:30pm.

The nondescript street on which this restaurant is located is perhaps an unintended facade: the interior of the restaurant is invitingly warm and bright, even with its muted colours; brown is a repeatedly occurring hue, in the charming polished walnut tables, the bamboo of the ceilings and on the walls, and the wood-covered floors. Lines of poetry, written by chef Dominique Crenn, cover the walls, as well as paintings by her father. Music by classic and contemporary artists alike plays softly, serenading diners.

At Atelier Crenn, guests often start their dinner with the restaurant’s signature first bite: Kir Breton, a dainty ball of white chocolate capped with creme de cassis liqueur, and infused with apple cider vinegar.

There’s a 14-course seafood tasting menu, written as a poem, inspired by the chef’s father’s teachings and expressing her childhood on a farm. It includes classic French soup with melted cheese, fish and chips with Yukon potatoes, luxurious osetra caviar with fermented koji rice cream and buckwheat crepe crisps, an assortment of dishes called Walk in the Forest - burnt pine meringue, crunchy hazelnuts, and pumpernickel soil, among other delicacies.

Atelier Crenn’s Walk in the Forest.Vanity fair

Each dish served is well-prepared and meticulously plated, reminiscent indeed of the poetry that the chef is so passionate about. Every course is delicious and delightful, and keeps you wondering what comes next. Atelier Crenn is one restaurant that proves that, with regards to food, ‘fine art’ and satiety do not have to be mutually exclusive: the cuisine, while aesthetically presented, is also satisfying and justifies its price.

The desserts, courtesy of the pastry chef and business partner Juan Contreras are a masterful deviation from all that French: in particular, the Mexican-influenced delicious sapote ice cream in a cinnamon waffle cone, flavored with mint, lime and shiso.

The staff is competent, prompt and informative without being overbearing; a reflection of the restaurant, the food, and the head chef. Chef Crenn is known to walk table to table to greet her guests.

Chef Dominique Crenn began her culinary career in the US in the 1980s. Inspired by her food critic father, she worked at various restaurants before ultimately starting her Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, California.

Within only one year of operation, Atelier Crenn was awarded a Michelin star. The following one, Chef Dominique Crenn made history when Atelier Crenn won another Michelin star, becoming the first female chef in the US to do so. In november 2018, she beat her own record and became the first female chef in the US to be awarded three Michelin stars.

Crenn was honoured with the title of “best female chef in the world,” one she dismisses, because she does not believe there’s a need for sex distinction with regards to culinary ability.

With the menu costing over three hundred, Atelier Crenn is certainly on the expensive side, but it’s a worthwhile indulgence for those occasional whims for luxury we sometimes get. The restaurant promises - and delivers - an intimate dining experience, one you’ll find yourself remembering wistfully long after it has passed.

Atelier Crenn

3127 Filmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94123.

https://www.ateliercrenn.com/

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