Fleur de Lys, Sutter Street, San Francisco

Asparagus with pate and truffle

Brioche toast with portobello mushrooms on a basil sauce, paired with halibut and pine nuts on a tomato reduction

Cheese

Meringue et al (check out the swan on the right....)

The number one restaurant in San Francisco is the Fleur de Lys run by Hubert Keller. Leveraging a not quiet truthfully filled out OpenTable.com account a table was secured. The place was packed on a Tuesday night and had a very weird vibe. With stuffy interiors, heavy rugs and aged seats it looked more like a victorian wet dream than a fine dining establishment. This is what french restaurants on the tv show Columbo used to look like. Being a bit weary as what to expect, the first course blew me away, Asparagus with pate and truffle served in a cream sauce. The truffle took away from the asparagus and maybe one could argue that the not so elegant interior was mirrored in this dish, it was perfectly executed and set the pace for the evening. The second course was near perfection, simple in it’s concept yet thrilling in taste and beautifully plated. A brioche toast with portobello mushrooms on a basil sauce, paired with halibut and pine nuts on a tomato reduction. The flavours were strong and vibrant, the two separate elements paired beautifully and played nicely off each other. Some cheeses followed, funny enough there was a Tete de Moines among the selection, originating from Switzerland, it almost felt as if I’ve been followed by cheese halfway across the globe. Dessert had some lovely bits of Meringue on top of a chocolate mousse on it, the presentation reminded me a bit of what you get at a chinese restaurant, but focussing on the extreme delicate made up for it. I liked Fleur de Lys (do not be put off by the stuffy interior) it certainly was the best classic restaurant I was in San Francisco (do try the exciting asian restaurants) but there are two downsides. Service is rushed with a staccato like precision, it probably pays to order one course after the other, because there was almost no time between courses. Also since I prefer the savoury to the sweet dishes, I would have like to see a menu incorporating more of the savour dishes, instead of just two. Fleur de Lys is a place which is worth the visit if you’re in the area, do not forget to get some extra cash ahead of time US ATMs sometimes only dispense a 100 USD at a time…