Aphotic is a fairly new seafood based restaurant that opened up recently in San Francisco. It’s a new concept that took over where Palette used to live, and while the team is the same, it’s definitely a very different venue than it was before. In the first year of opening, it also obtained a Michelin star as well as a green star, showing that the restaurant is dedicated to more eco-friendly food practices. While the dining room is a tasting menu, they also have a bar bites menu available if you want to sit at the bar. They have also developed a cocktail tasting menu consisting of eight small cocktails you have at the bar, which is available on it’s own or, if you choose to order from the bar menu, they can work on pairing the food with the drinks as they come out.
We chose a selection of bar food that sounded fantastic, and we excitedly awaited the first cocktail to come out. I’m not going to go into detail about every cocktail or every dish, because I don’t want you to be reading this post for an hour, but the first drink was definitely a winner as it was a fun, spherefied cocktail made to resemble an oyster shooter. It was a light and refreshing way to begin the meal!
When I mentioned it was a seafood based restaurant, I want to reiterate that is all they do. And they come up with some very interesting seafood concepts. Never before had I had any sort of seafood charcuterie (unless you consider smoked salmon charcuterie), and Aphotic has not one, but two different types on the menu. We ordered the spot prawn mortadella which turned out to be a fantastic revelation. It worked so well as a pork substitute, I was really taken aback at the flavor similarities. They also do a drier saucisson sec made from tuna which we didn’t have, but the images I’ve seen look fantastic as well.
As the night went on and more and more cocktails and food came pouring out, we continued to enjoy a fantastic selection. They really did try to come up with innovate flavor combinations with the cocktails, but they also had some interesting and fantastic ways to serve them, including glasses shaped like horns and even one that might require a lot of dexterity if you want to try to drink it like a pro.
Foodwise, some standout dishes were the trout rillettes and the prawn risotto with sea urchin foam. The rice in the risotto was perfectly cooked, and it had the ooze from the liquid was exactly the way it should be. I’m always dubious about ordering risotto in restaurants, but this one was probably the best I’ve had. Finally, for dessert, we tried the oyster ice cream, and if you love oysters this is definitely the dish for you. It had that perfect briny oyster flavor in a rich, creamy ice cream. And it was just a little splash so you won’t get overwhelmed.
Overall, the cocktail tasting menu was absolutely superb. While I tried a lot of things I might not have ordered off of a regular menu, none of the cocktails were a disappointment, and even the ones that fell on the sweet side that I am usually not a fan of provided an interesting combination of flavors that I really enjoyed.
Aphotic turned out to be a wonderous surprise for me. I’m not usually a fish heavy person, but almost all the food we had was packed with flavor and well prepared. Pair the food with a line-up of outstanding and interesting cocktails, and it’s definitely a winning night for a cocktail lover, especially if you’re a cocktail lover celebrating a special occasion like an anniversary! The service was also stellar, as we were kept well entertained and informed by the amazing bartender making the drinks. It’s definitely something I’m going to do again in the future, hopefully when a few of the cocktails change.
Score: 5/5
Recommendation: Cocktail tasting, seafood charcuterie, risotto and oyster ice cream!
Aphotic
816 Folsom St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
