With our late afternoon/early evening arrival into SF, the question became where to have our first meal in the city? While we had credits at 1 Hotel SF, the restaurant’s menu didn’t appeal to us. So, after a quick search, we settled on Arquet Restaurant – which offered a convenient location and a compelling menu.
What is Arquet Restaurant?
Arquet Restaurant is a new concept by Chef Alex Hong, meant to be a more approachable and casual alternative to his Michelin-starred Sorrel Restaurant. Located in the Ferry Building, in the spot once occupied by Slanted Door, Arquet offers a seasonally-driven farmed-to-table concept built around a wood-fired hearth.
Being in the Ferry Building, meant that this option was a quick five- to ten-minute walk from our hotel, which was perfect for our needs that night. The only apprehension I had going in was that the restaurant was VERY new back in November, and the hype around it was HIGH. But, we were able to snag a prime dinnertime reservation, and decided to check it out.
Ambiance
Arquet Restaurant is an expansive space featuring a very modern, clean aesthetic filled with creams and blond woods. At the center is the open kitchen built around the aforementioned wood-fired hearth and a large pass, surrounded by tables and booths. The waitstaff are clad in all black, and even at this early stage, displayed a largely polished service.
Menu
The menu at Arquet isn’t organized in the traditional way. There is a section of small plates and salads, but everything else is divided between whether it comes from the land, the sea, or cooked in the fire. Our server made sense of it all, as certain items are entree-sized, while some are more like appetizers. The true difficulty came in deciding what to order.
Arquet Cuisine
As I said above, we had greatly difficulty deciding what to order, but eventually settled on five savory dishes and two sweet. To start, three small plates, including Ricotta Dumplings, Coke Farms Squash Blossoms, and Sudachi-Cured Yellowtail.
We seem to have a thing about ordering gnocchi and gnocchi-like dishes, especially in Northern California. These were especially interesting, as they paired ricotta dumplings with green garlic, local golden chanterelles, and G&S sweet corn. The results was an incredibly warm, rich, and savory dish filled with tons of umami, which was offset by bright bursts of crispy sweetness from the corn. Not something you can eat a lot of, but absolutely delicious.
The Sudachi-Cured Yellowtail is the polar opposite of the dumplings, which provided a fantastic contrast. Cool, clean, and citrusy, the team at Arquet cures the super-fresh yellowtail in Japanese citrus, and paired it with Kashiwase plums, kohlrabi, shiso, and tangerine aguachile. This resulted in a wonderful balance of meatiness, tart-citrus notes, earthiness, mild spice, and an herbaceousness. This dish was as tasty as it is beautiful.
Our last appetizer was Coke Farm Squash Blossom & Porcini, which wasn’t quite what we were expecting. What landed on our table was more like a fritto misto and tenpura of porcini mushrooms, squash slices, and squash blossoms with a red pepper jelly and a coriander sauce. This was deep-fried perfection. The batter was ethereally airy and crip, with the perfect amount of toothsomeness. The sauces went together perfectly, especially when eaten together, as the sweetness of the jelly helped to offset the spicy and herbal coriander sauce. I could’ve popped these all night.
For our mains, we chose one from the ocean and one from land. For her main, Mrs. Island Miler went with the BBQ Confit Liberty Duck. Spiced with Chinese five spice, it came paired with kimchi, K&J asian pear, and broccolini. Would you look at that crispy skin? Phenomenal. Though, I will say, the flavors were quite familiar, and this wasn’t a confit – at least, it didn’t look or taste like one, which is a good thing in my book.
The one complaint I’d have about this dish is that the fat layer was a bit much.
For my main, I went with the Mt. Lassen Trout. Here, this gorgeous piece of fish with crackly skin is paired with white miso mustard, artichoke, and Lucero Blue Lake Beans with a bit of trout roe. Crispy skin fish can often be overdone. Not so, here. The fish was a succulent medium-rare, with just the right amount of seasoning. The herbal sauce paired perfectly with this rich fish, while the crispy-meaty artichokes and crisp-sweet beans provided an excellent accompaniment.
For dessert, we went with the Ube and the Chocolate. The Ube came in the form of a Basque Cheesecake, which had me thinking it was going to be a very sweet, one-dimensional dessert, as they often are here in Hawai’i. But, no. This thing was masterfully balanced, with sweet, savory, and even slightly tart elements to it. The ube flavor was pronounced without hitting you over the head.
The chocolate dessert came in the form of a cake that was, in my opinion, reminiscent of a Kinder Bueno, but much more refined. Deep, dark chocolate pairs with hazelnut in a three-layer cake of sorts, with a crunch layer on the bottom, cake, and chocolate mousse with a side of vanilla cream. A sprinkle of flake sea salt helped to bring everything together. If you’re a chocolate lover or a fan of either Nutella or Kinder, you’ll love this dessert.
Arquet Restaurant, Final Thoughts
In a city of incredible restaurants, it’s hard to break through. But, I think Arquet pulled it off. Sure, they have pedigree behind them, but that only makes my expectations higher. And, they certainly succeeded. I wouldn’t hesitate to return, and I suggest you check it out when in the area, too.
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