Fleur De Lys   

777 Sutter St
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-673-7779
www.fleurdelyssf.com

Directions   Email   Send to Cell   Make a Reservation

If you're going to splurge and dine at Fleur de Lys, go all the way with the five-course tasting menu with wine pairings. It's all part of the experience: posh, plush decor (with the trademark giant fabric ceiling "tent"), hushed, correct service and a parade of astonishingly good, ultra-refined dishes, all served in dainty portions.The menu doesn't offer a la carte, but it is flexible: You create a three-, four- or five-course menu, with or without wine pairings, by choosing among appetizers and entrees. Dishes arrive plated with amazing intricacy, like a foie and shiitakes in a tiny porcelain pot, sealed with a perfectly serrated band of pastry, which the waiter breaks open at the table. Chef Hubert Keller also mixes in creative whimsy: The other half of the same dish is a marvelous duck and foie "burger" on brioche. Keller loves working with less "American" ingredients, like rabbit, veal and squab. The vegetarian menu is a dazzling succession of carefully executed treats, like an inventive "gazpacho": a shot glass layered with brunoise, cucumber gelee and piquant tomato foam. If you don't go for wine pairings, the award-winning 625-label wine list can be daunting. But some 70 half bottles make experimenting fun. Fleur de Lys is known for its service; pretty much any request will be accommodated in a quiet, "but of course" fashion, and an army of bussers makes sure no glass goes unfilled. Men are expected to arrive in suit and tie, but there's not a trace of snootiness. Three hours is a reasonable amount to allot for dinner.