Birthday dinners are a special occasion that call for a bit of a splurge. This year, I really wanted to get to Californios. I’ve been wanting to try it for ages; ever since my move back to the Bay Area in fact. Early on I did a cooking course with Chef Val Cantu that was amazing, and I still make corn tortillas to this day! I have been aching to get here to try some Mexican fine dining, but due to my lack of planning and covid, I never really managed to book it. This year, I definitely worked on planning ahead so I could book a meal here and really enjoy my birthday in style!
As we sat down, they had a birthday greeting for me, so it was nice that they did that. We also sat next to the window showing their beautiful wine cellar, so we also had a great view. As a two Michelin star restaurant, they only do a tasting menu, but you can get it with wine pairings, or just order cocktails or wine from the menu. We love a good wine pairing, so it seemed like the obvious choice. Basically it just allowed us to sit back, relax, wait for food to arrive and enjoy ourselves. The first wine of the night was Dom Perignon, as Val Cantu is apparently one of a small selection of chefs that are allowed to serve it by the glass, and while it was a fancy way to start, it did feel like a lot of the cost of the pairings went for that, as we definitely had some wines that we have ordered by the glass or bottle in places before. I do always hope for something unique with pairings, and sadly, Californios definitely let us down a little bit that way.
There are definitely too many courses to go into details about, and the first five were the masa courses, providing various ways to showcase masa. There’s a lot of caviar on the menu, which is always exciting, even if sometimes it felt a bit superfluous. They also served it with an amazing cherry based agua fresca that really helped cleanse the palate. I personally loved the smoked sturgeon mousse, as it was an intense hit of smokiness that really started the meal out spectacularly. The arepa was also a fantastic masa course, and while the others weren’t as memorable, they were all very nice and different from each other.
Up next was an amazing cucumber sorbet to lead us into the ceviches (or aguachile? I’m not quite sure the difference, and they were called both on the menu). There was a fruit one made of pineapple that was outstanding, and the other two were fine, but I felt they could have used with a kick of heat or something to really make the fish sing.
Up next was the controversial banana with smoked caviar and savory dulce de leche that I had seen making the rounds on social media, and while it sounds weird, it was one of the best dishes of the night. Up next were some street food dishes, and the barbacoa taco was definitely a winner here as well as the Tlacoyo, which reminded me a bit of a gordita (not the taco bell kind), and the sides they served with it were amazing. I fell in love with their salsa verde as it really added a bit of heat to things, and I absolutely adore that use of spice in Mexican food. There was only one real main course before the desserts: A rack of lamb, and while everything was cooked well, I really was hoping for a lot more of the Mexican flavors I really love.
Next came the many, many small desserts, and this is really where Californios really shines, as every single one of them was a taste explosion in my mouth. The ginger juice as a palate cleanser really worked well, and every dessert was so good, it’s hard to choose the best. Never before had I had coconut sugar cotton candy, and it was a revelation. Honestly, the desserts were probably my favorite part of the meal. They also provided a small bottle of house-made vanilla extract to take home, which is a nice touch (although my cousin gave me a bottle of hers, and I think hers might be a bit better).
While there were definitely a few stand out dishes, a lot of them felt like they could just use a bit more. Nothing was bad, but only a few dishes really made me say “Wow” when I put them in my mouth. The pairings definitely weren’t that exciting either, but all in all the service was spectacular and I really enjoyed my meal here. If you are looking for Mexican fine dining, there aren’t many places that do it, so Californios is definitely a good choice. I just was hoping that there might be a lot more of the Mexican flavors that I love, which seemed to get a bit muted with the transfer into a fine dining experience. If you’re a dessert fan, I would definitely recommend going for the few amazing courses, and the spectacular desserts!
Score: 4/5
Recommendation: It’s a tasting menu, so nothing food-wise, but maybe skip the pairing and buy some bottles you might like or a cocktail or two.
Californios
355 11th St
San Francisco, CA 94103
