Birdsong

This is a bit of a late review but just wanted to highlight how exquisite the dishes at Birdsong were presented. Not only were the plating of each dish abstract and picturesque, the food was stupendous! This is on my top 5 favorite restaurants in California. Service was impeccable and it was pleasant to be able to see the cooking area open.

Highlights
Sea urchin cream puff- the brininess work surprisingly well with the butterscotch that it was enveloped in. Light, delicate, sweet and. Creamy. Heavenly.

Cornbread with caviar- assembled and served table side! The cornbread was perfectly baked and did not crumble apart. What I'm assuming is crème fraiche was velvety and worked well with the caviar.

Lamb loin- it was not gamey whatsoever and the meat was succulent and well seasoned.

There wasn't a single bad dish during the whole meal and I was thoroughly fascinated! Dare I say this is better than some of the three Michelin starred restaurants I've been to. I can't wait to be back!

Excellent service. Food was good but some bites weren't my favorite. Details below.

The restaurant has a great ambience and vibe. Elegant but not over the top. It is located in a rough neighborhood and they made sure to tell you in advance about taking an Uber/Lyft.

Most of the pescatarian bites were great. The spot prawn cream dish was the best of the night.

The other quail/ squab dishes were not my favorite and it's 100% my personal taste. You might like it.
I definitely preferred the grilled quail at Californios.

The experience of cutting my own herb from the bouquet, making a wrap and finally was served with a broth reminded me of eating phở. The broth was flavorful, quail's skin was slowly fried, crispy yet the meat inside was moist.

Desserts were fresh, decent but something was missing.

Had a nice meal at birdsong recently - overall a good experience, it's a nice but laidback atmosphere, with tables and seats around the focal point kitchen. Opted for the shorter discovery menu (still took 2.5-3 hours, 9 courses total), there were a few highlights while others missed the mark for me. Highlights were the uni bite, the abalone with liver custard, the pithivier, and quail lettuce wraps, as well as dessert. Others weren't as memorable, and my dining companion's subsitutions as a pescatarian seemed like an afterthought (zucchini wraps vs quail, asparagus shaved on asparagus vs. ham, omitting sweetbreads from the custard vs. replacing, etc.) - the one area where the pescatarian menu excelled was the bbq carrots which were phenomenal. and maybe it was the shorter menu format, but no amuse courses and only one small dessert for a 2 star michelin was a bit surprising

Service overall was good, the somm was great, most courses were served by the kitchen team with a couple by FOH.

I dined here on Saturday 2/24/24 and I think they were having an off night because dinner service was a bit chaotic. The food actually didn't speak to me unfortunately and I found everything to be a bit underwhelming for a 2 Michelin star restaurant. I didn't feel wowed or impressed by most of the dishes and left feeling a bit disappointed. Given this is just my experience of the dinner service and I'm sure it's a great restaurant but on the night I went, I was left feeling let down.

I think there was a lot of new staff as the dinner service was chaotic and they seemed to struggle with communication, serving, and getting dishes out. My favorites of the evening were the sea urchin cream puff, bbq carrot, old beef, and the gooseberry dessert. My partner and I found the remaining dishes a bit lackluster in comparison to our other Michelin star dining experiences. Their proteins were all cooked well and the temp was great on them. Except my squab pithivier was a bit on the cold side. For a restaurant with an emphasis on dry aging and fermenting I expected more vibrant/exciting flavors but this was not the case in my experience. My actual favorite thing of the entire evening was the chanterelle mushroom accompaniment that came with the beef. It had a beautiful char and flavor to it.

I typically love open kitchen concepts and jump at any and every opportunity to dine at the chefs table/counter because I love watching the meticulous work of the chefs creating intricate dishes. But the energy of the dinner service was very tense and it actually made my dining experience a little uncomfortable.

I would rate my overall dinner experience a 2.5/5 stars, the little gift of their homemade lamb jerky to take home was delicious and which bumps it up to 3 stars.

O V E R A L L
Wow!!! We came here for my birthday and it did not disappoint!! I've had Birdsong in my bookmarks for years and finally decided to come for my birthday. I haven't been to anything like this before and I'll highly recommend this to everyone. You can tell that the restaurant here put a lot of effort in setting the right ambiance.

O R D E R (June 2024)
[Savory]
* Halibut -- marinated seaweed salad (reminds me of sashimi)
* Dungeness crab, every part -- embered yam, brain fat, grilled shell cream (very flavorful)
* Abalone -- sweetbreads, custard of the livers (there's so much dimension to this! this reminds me of Japanese steamed egg)
* White asparagus cooked in its own juices -- ham, curds, broth of peels (this was probably the prettiest one and I forgot to take a picture)
* Cornbread, caviar, walnuts (caviar and cornbread?! What?! This was so unique)
* Sea urchin cream puff -- fermented shiitake, savory butterscotch (MY FAVORITE!!! I can probably eat 10 more of these and still want more)
* Quail, lacquered & smoked -- condiment of the innards, local lettuces, pickles (this was basically a DIY lettuce wrap with quail)
* Broth of grilled bones (this was a continuation of the previous lettuce wraps. this broth was so deep in flavor)
* Squab pithivier -- liver, heart, glazed prune (I've never had a Wellington before but this is what I imagine it would be similar to)
* Aged lamb loin -- morels, hazelnuts, charcoal (My second favorite!!! This was the best lamb I've ever had in my life!!)

[Sweet]
* Late winter citruses with early spring flowers
* Pine pollen -- rhubarb & strawberries

[Birthday special]
* DIY Sundae (this was such a unique fun way to celebrate - I just poured all the toppings in mine and it was amazing!!!!!)

S E R V I C E
The staff allowed us to be seated early when they saw us waiting outside the door --- extremely thankful for that!

I've never been to a restaurant where the staff was so in sync with each other? The amount of attention to detail and care was beyond what I've ever experienced. I'm thoroughly impressed.

At the end, we received a mini goodie bag with lamb jerky and chili oil... and the lady at the front told us we can wait inside until our transportation is here. At first I was confused and thought "wow I know your service is great but there's no need to be that nice" and then the drive out, I realized why --- so thank you for saying that and allowing us to wait for our ride indoors.

O T H E R
We parked in a garage at work and then took a Lyft. I have to say I didn't realize what neighborhoods we were passing through on the way there, but on the way back, it seems like we were a couple streets down Tenderloin. There were so many people sprawled on the streets / hunched over and jaywalking... I started getting nervous that someone would try to open the car door to something bad was going to happen (based on the crazy news and stories you hear).

So take into consideration on how you might get transportation here - especially for those who are not used to how SF has become these days.

Very late post, so the menu has probably changed, but wanted to share my special bday dinner from last year. Birdsong was one of the most unique dining experiences we've had! The vibes honestly kinda reminded me of the film "the menu" but like in a brighter, not scary way!

Honestly the first 5 courses were all my fave; they were insane (check out the photos to see the set menu we had with detailed descriptions of each course). But then I started getting full after course 7 and still had 2 meats and 3 desserts to go lol. Everything was amazing!! but this was the first set menu I've done that I physically couldn't finish, so if I went again I'd do the smaller set menu option!

Everyone was really kind to us and created a special dining experience. Overall, I still think about this meal half a year later and definitely recommend for a special occasion!

Had a fantastic anniversary dinner here.

Extra touches really made this a wonderful experience:
- a card with a Polaroid photo inside of us
- I had some questions about the appliances and backlash tile and the staff was really attentive.
- subtle bird decor and bird sounds in the bathroom

The only downside was this area of SF was really run down with a lot of unhoused people. In the absence of valet parking, it doesn't feel super safe walking to and from your car at night. And the stark juxtaposition of spending ~$1000 on dinner while others are without a home induces a lot of guilt. This restaurant group should really look into additional job creation (like valet drivers) and non-profits (maybe a neighborhood garden).

How do you describe a Masterpiece? Birdsong is just that. From a detailed tasting menu customized to your dietary requirements that you can specify when booking. This place is hard to get into so pre planning is a must.

When you arrive they review your tasting menu. The beverage selection was wide and they have zero proof options that match the mastery of the menu to come.

I must mention the staff. As you are welcomed into the seating area you have full view of the kitchen. All staff and cooking areas are on view. They move in a smooth way as if a ballet scene is to unfold and it actually does in orchestrated synchronization for four people service you have a plethora of staff. If you ever wanted to know what elegant dining and interactions with staff are, this is the place. The staff are impeccable.

The tasting menu was delightfully arranged to offer trios of tasting experiences to solo standouts. The cascade of the flavor and partnership of choices for each setting and the attention to detail is beyond anything I can ever imagine . With each setting you get place settings that fit the dish from chopsticks, dining ware , and many hand held food experiences. The food was never ending. I was dizzy with delight and hypnotized if the cascade of each selection until after 3 hours the final act was revealed and was so delightful it deserved a standing ovation. I had tow settings modified due to shell fish , so my menu was customized to me.

I feel I went to another world I have never seen and I will always dream of going back to again.

Came here for a birthday celebration and we had a wonderful time. The location was super shady though, right across the street was a homeless encampment, and we walked to the restaurant so felt a bit unsafe while walking there. We also arrived before the restaurant opened so we had to stand outside for a while before they opened their doors.
We sat right by the kitchen, so we were able to watch the chefs prepare all the food!

I won't go too into all the dishes, but I really enjoyed the experience overall. Lots of unique dishes and small bites. I think the dish that stood out to me the most was the bread with caviar on stop. It was super tasty. The presentation of everything was wonderful and unique. The whole experience was a journey through different flavors and types of meat, so really enjoyed our experience here!

The four stars take into account the $400+ price tag after taxes, no drinks.

Birdsong was a lovely experience, and unlike many tasting menus, does not shy away from giving you the stars of the show. Apart from one carrot dish and dessert, the meat or seafood was front and center, cooked perfectly and in enough amount to truly enjoy. The restaurant itself is beautiful and the service is impeccable without being overbearing. Food was maintained at an extremely high quality throughout and its easy to see why birdsong has two michelin stars.

Some areas of improvement-- menu progression could have been better. There is a parade of extremely savoury courses in the middle that was a bit tiring. I think there could be more salt or spice especially in the sashimi course and the lamb course, both were slightly too bland.

My favorite course was the abalone chawan mushi, which was soooo delicious and the one course that totally blew my mind. If you love meat and seafood, highly recommend checking this one out.