SFReview
photo credit: Carly Hackbarth
Rich Table
Included In
There’s no use trying to put this Hayes Valley restaurant in a box—especially since their hyper-seasonal, no-holds-barred menu will be different whenever you come back. Rich Table has been an SF classic since it opened back in 2012, and is still one of the toughest tables to snag in the city. Yes, you’re coming here to eat more interesting (and flat-out fun) dishes than the other small plates spots in town. But you’re also doing it while being supremely well taken care of by staff who have genuine pride in the food they’re handing you. It’s just the Rich Table way.
The energy here toes the line between candlelit, neighborhood hang (you can walk up and eat dinner at the bar any night) and a blowout spot you’ve been looking forward to for months. Whether you’re here for your 15th anniversary or decided to saunter in alone on a Tuesday, staff will treat you like you’re headlining Bill Graham. Someone might even break a sweat running to open the door for you.
photo credit: Carly Hackbarth
photo credit: Carly Hackbarth
photo credit: Carly Hackbarth
photo credit: Carly Hackbarth
photo credit: Krescent Carasso
But presumably, since this is a Big SF Restaurant, the food should live up to the service. It does. Prepare to do a double take when reading a dish off the menu (which mostly rotates but includes a few standbys), then another when it lands on the table. You’ve had potato chips before? Cute. At Rich Table, they’re served with an entire sardine woven through the middle. Those are real Douglas fir needles infused into the bread, and doughnuts are coated in mushroom dust.
Sometimes swinging big means the occasional miss: the uni tonnarelli is bland, and a recent horseradish-y ribeye was delicious, but boring. But dessert sends you off with the thrill of a half-court buzzer beater—the tangy-sweet POG shave ice could put Hawaiian Sun out of business, and a Thin Mints-esque chocolate sable will have every Girl Scout cowering in a corner. In a city full of seasonal crudos and snoozy Cal-Ital pastas, Rich Table cuts through the noise.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Carly Hackbarth
Chef Picks
photo credit: Krescent Carasso
Dried Porcini Doughnuts
photo credit: Carly Hackbarth
Aged Beef Wonton, RT Chili Crunch
photo credit: Krescent Carasso
Sea Urchin “Cacio E Pepe”
photo credit: Carly Hackbarth
Plancha Fried Rice
photo credit: Carly Hackbarth