Wolfsbane

Overall would recommend! Had an excellent dinner and experience here. Few highlights: best dish was the cold smoked scallop, amazing texture and taste. Cabbage, very creamy and great umami flavor. Salmon, came with a little bowl of delicious tomato water to compliment each bite. Sourdough, apparently a remnant of their last restaurant. Would skip the Waygu + morels (although delicious). My turbot had a little piece of bone in it, which considering the overall great experience can be overlooked. Impressive bourbon collection, wonderful blues guitar playlist and friendly staff!

Wolfsbane recently received a Michelin star earlier this week, so I was curious to try their tasting menu. Logistics-wise, parking costs can be a bit challenging due to proximity to the Chase Center and Oracle Park; with two simultaneous events nearby, I ended up paying $43 to park in a lot roughly a three-minute walk away. Persistent drivers may find street parking, but the nearby lot is a reliable fallback. Arriving right at the 5:30 PM opening, I was promptly seated in the main dining room. The interior layout sets a striking, world-class aesthetic baseline, combining industrial raw concrete pillars with plush leather booths and an upbeat, nostalgic classic rock soundtrack echoing through the space (Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" and "Everywhere", Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" and "Heart of Gold", and Jefferson Starship's "Miracles"). The atmosphere in the restaurant was upbeat and diners seemed to be enjoying themselves. The environment feels pristine, with the table being meticulously wiped down immediately following the conclusion of each course sequence. While the course pacing itself was very good, service experienced some notable front-of-house friction regarding boundaries. At the beginning of the meal, I made it clear to the waiter that I was only interested in the caviar supplement and was not interested in the wagyu or cheese options. Despite having already made my mind up, the waiter decided he would give me more time to think about it and check in later anyway. As the evening progressed, he tried a bit too hard to converse, coming over several times just to stand next to the table and ask, "So, how are you doing?" It felt as though he was simply searching for something to say to be engaging, but after two or three times, I wanted no part of it. It is entirely unnecessary to stand next to a diner to chit-chat multiple times over the course of a meal. As a solo diner, I was hoping to focus on the technical execution and the overall experience without constant, forced interruptions from the service staff. This friction peaked upon clearing the cabbage and buttermilk course; noticing the plate wasn't completely finished, the waiter bluntly asked, "You didn't like that one?" rather than inquiring with fine-dining refinement. My response ("I ate most of it") shouldn't have been necessary. Additionally, the standalone cocktail and wine menu was inexplicably left out, remaining unremoved on my table throughout the entire service. The tasting menu as detailed on the physical layout is an exceptional technical calibration of fresh, vibrant ingredients. The kitchen's use of smoke throughout the meal was amazing, and my absolute favorite dishes of the evening were: Squash: Remarkably fresh, delicious, and packing an absolutely amazing depth of flavor, highlighted by a clean table-side broth pour. Scallop: A beautiful presentation housed within a hollowed Vidalia onion layer. The cherry aigre doux sauce was delicious—delivering a profile that felt super rustic yet incredibly refined. Monkfish: Arrived flawlessly grilled in its fig leaf wrap, releasing a deeply earthy, smoky flavor matrix that permeated the entire dish. Peach: The sweet finale wraps up the trajectory with a highly unique composition, layering coconut rice pudding, lemon verbena, and verjus to deliver genuinely interesting textures that were thoroughly enjoyable. A technically brilliant kitchen performance that easily commands its newly minted Michelin status, marred only by the over-eager front-of-house pacing interruptions. Highly recommended.

I had high hopes for this newly opened Michelin-starred restaurant, but unfortunately, the overall experience fell short of expectations. There were several service issues that stood out. For example, the chopsticks were placed incorrectly, which felt especially surprising when serving Asian guests. Throughout the meal, both the servers and food runners seemed eager to clear our plates, even when it was obvious we were still eating. It made the dining experience feel rushed rather than relaxed. Another disappointment was that we were never offered coffee or tea to accompany dessert, which is something I’d expect from a restaurant at this level. The food itself was very good, though a few dishes felt repetitive in flavor and presentation. (Many peach and many cabbage.)While the cuisine showed technical skill, it wasn’t memorable enough to outweigh the service shortcomings. Overall, I’m glad I tried it once, but I don’t see myself returning or recommending it to others. It’s worth experiencing once, but not a destination I’d revisit.