Rich Table

There’s no use trying to put this Hayes Valley restaurant in a box—especially since their hyper-seasonal, no-holds-barred menu will be different whenever you come back. Rich Table has been an SF classic since it opened back in 2012, and is still one of the toughest tables to snag in the city. Yes, you’re coming here to eat more interesting (and flat-out fun) dishes than the other small plates spots in town. But you’re also doing it while being supremely well taken care of by staff who have genuine pride in the food they’re handing you. It’s just the Rich Table way. 

The energy here toes the line between candlelit, neighborhood hang (you can walk up and eat dinner at the bar any night) and a blowout spot you’ve been looking forward to for months. Whether you’re here for your 15th anniversary or decided to saunter in alone on a Tuesday, staff will treat you like you’re headlining Bill Graham. Someone might even break a sweat running to open the door for you. 

photo credit: Carly Hackbarth

photo credit: Carly Hackbarth

photo credit: Carly Hackbarth

photo credit: Carly Hackbarth

photo credit: Krescent Carasso

But presumably, since this is a Big SF Restaurant, the food should live up to the service. It does. Prepare to do a double take when reading a dish off the menu (which mostly rotates but includes a few standbys), then another when it lands on the table. You’ve had potato chips before? Cute. At Rich Table, they’re served with an entire sardine woven through the middle. Those are real Douglas fir needles infused into the bread, and doughnuts are coated in mushroom dust.

Sometimes swinging big means the occasional miss: the uni tonnarelli is bland, and a recent horseradish-y ribeye was delicious, but boring. But dessert sends you off with the thrill of a half-court buzzer beater—the tangy-sweet POG shave ice could put Hawaiian Sun out of business, and a Thin Mints-esque chocolate sable will have every Girl Scout cowering in a corner. In a city full of seasonal crudos and snoozy Cal-Ital pastas, Rich Table cuts through the noise. 

Food Rundown

photo credit: Carly Hackbarth

Chef Picks

This $110 tasting menu basically runs through the current menu’s hits—and for big-deal nights, it’s the best strategy. Dishes are portioned out depending on how many people you’re with, but things always start off with a sampler of “bites” (like oysters, porcini doughnuts, and sardine chips) and finish out with a round of desserts.

photo credit: Krescent Carasso

Dried Porcini Doughnuts

It’s simple: these are always on the menu, and they should always be on your table. The mushroom powder that coats the puffy doughnuts is basically pulverized umami, and licking it (and the cloud-like raclette) off your fingers is a required Rich Table activity.

photo credit: Carly Hackbarth

Aged Beef Wonton, RT Chili Crunch

Heaped with what seems like half a jar of chili crunch, this beef wonton is well-stuffed and juicy. Only one per order ($5), so plan accordingly—going halfsies is fine, but realistically, you’ll want the whole thing to yourself.

photo credit: Krescent Carasso

Sea Urchin “Cacio E Pepe”

This uni butter pasta is fine, but doesn’t have enough uni flavor to make it taste like anything other than, well, butter. You can skip.

photo credit: Carly Hackbarth

Plancha Fried Rice

The crispy bits make this dish. It’s loaded with salty-sweet bits of lap cheong and perfect to share with the table.

photo credit: Carly Hackbarth

POG “Shave Ice”

If you’ve panna cotta-ed yourself into oblivion with restaurant desserts across the city, that ends here. There’s always a granita on the menu—ranging from creamsicle to melon and mint—but the POG version is the frontrunner. The housemade passion fruit and guava sorbets are tangy, and the edges of the teeny guava gummies dissolve the second they make contact with your tongue. This dessert will stick to your brain for the next decade.