Fermentation Lab was another burger destination I felt the need to try, but as I mentioned previously, I was originally going for the katsu burger. Since the rest of the menu looked fantastic, and the seasonal Uni pasta was calling my partner’s name, so we both headed to Japantown one night to give it a try (with maybe a bit of pre-drinks at some of the sake bars nearby). And as you can guess from the name, Fermentation Lab is very focused on creating a menu that is very focused on fermented foods.
We decided to start with cocktails, and they were honestly so good, we decided we needed to just stick with them for the whole meal. To start, we went for the seafood kimchi pancake and the fermented onion dip with taro chips. (Someone in the family is obsessed with onion dip, and it’s not me.) Both dishes were incredibly delicious and enjoyable, and everything was moreish and made us very excited to see what the main courses would be like.
In case you haven’t read about the burger in my burger posts, the burger is out of this world. Everything on it worked so well, and basically it is my favorite burger in the city right now. But the uni pasta with squid ink noodles and caviar was maybe even better. I had one bite, and I wanted more, but also my burger was so good I was just sitting there enjoying everything as the food and the drinks ticked all the boxes for what I like at restaurants.
Of course, after so many amazing dishes, dessert was on the menu, and we decided on an ube cheesecake. The first couple of bites were a bit sweet and cloying, but that turned out to be from the sauce as the cheesecake itself was actually a great mix of sweet and savory, and it grew so much on me that I was sad when we finished.
Not only was the food and drink fantastic, but the server was amazing, sweet, and willing to answer pretty much every question I had (and we had a long conversation about which burger I should order). It’s definitely worth going to if you are in Japantown (and even worth traveling to Japantown to try out). I’m going to be heading back soon for another fantastic meal I’m sure, and it might be a place to bring out of town friends when they are visiting.
Score: 5/5
Recommendation: Burger? Pasta? Order everything really!
Fermentation Lab
1700A Post St
San Francisco, CA 94115
