Review: Restaurant Saison in San Francisco (2017) One of the World's Most Expensive Meals

How much is a meal worth? In certain parts of the world, say Taipei in Taiwan, I could buy two black pepper pork buns on the street, packed with flavor, and get stuffed for only $3. So why would I go to Mume, in the same city, and pay $100 to achieve a similar result (i.e. getting full)? Because it gave added value, of course, and a culinary experience beyond that of a tasty, yet simple piece of baked bread filled with meat, greens, and spices. Where is the limit, though? When is the bliss not worth the bucks? I believe that’s individual, and to a large extent dependant on your wallet. Equally important, however, is the feeling you get from the total experience. My personal limit was breached at Saison in San Francisco.

A cup of tea (or technically tisane) to cleanse the palate?
A cup of tea (or technically tisane) to cleanse the palate?

The 2nd Most Expensive Meal in America

So, where does Saison rate in the world of expensive meals? Ever since they raised their price tag to $398 before taxes for the set menu, they’ve been featured on top lists somewhere between 6th and 10th place – depending on whether you count taxes or not and take the wine pairing menu ($298) into consideration. Most lists agree, however, that Saison is currently the second most expensive restaurant in the USA, topped only by Masa in New York. We ended up paying $626 per person (a total of $1253), and that included nothing more than a glass of Champagne each to start, two cocktails, a fairly cheap bottle of wine to share ($128 compared to a retail price of roughly $40), and Chemex-brewed coffee. At that price level, I expect to be beyond amazed.

Saison's private batch of fermented caviar
Saison’s private batch of fermented caviar
Turbot sashimi
Turbot sashimi

Money Can’t Be an Issue

Without my determination to spend most of my money on eating at the best restaurants in the world, I couldn’t really afford such an extravagant meal. More importantly, though, it didn’t feel like it was worth the cost, despite the fact that it was an excellent meal per se. Saison should have been a restaurant I would want to tell the world about – and it’s on my map of favorite places in San Francisco! But the point is, that to truly enjoy it, money can’t be an issue for you. Because there are far less costly and, at the same time, better meals out there. I’ve had my share of expensive meals before, both at Noma, Maaemo, and Geranium to name a few, but they always left me with a feeling of satisfaction afterward – that my money was well spent. Saison did not. I’m all for paying your employees well and using high-quality produce, but in the end, you still have to make it worth the while for the guests. When Maaemo, in the not-so-cheap country of Norway, is half the price for twice the amount of servings and with much more complex dishes, there’s something not right.

Our Dinner Course by Course

I’ll take you through the meal course by course – they are all pictured in this review. The amuse bouche was a cup of tea, or tisane to be precise. Elegantly presented in a lovely porcelain cup, but in the end, it was just a cup of hot lemon water and herbs to clean your palate. Roast kelp in butter, baby spinach, and fermented proprietary caviar was the first real course. A dish that felt unique, at least, with a new and exciting flavor to the caviar. I loved the military colored presentation in rough ceramics. The next dish came in two servings. First one was a miss – the slices of raw turbot were probably not cut along the muscle fibers properly, which gave the fish a slightly chewy consistency. The condiments on the side did not lift the flavors. The second part, on the other hand, was delicious. A sort of fish wing made from turbot head meat. It reminded me of the turbot ribs we’ve had at Noma and Pjoltergeist.

Spot prawnz
Spot prawns
Radish and butter
Radish and butter

Course no. 4 was a local spot prawn. Not the amazing quality I had in Dénia, Spain, but still good. Remember to suck the brains out before you throw away the head. A lesson I learned the hard way at Quique Dacosta. A serving of Korean radish and clarified butter was tasty – possibly served in a Norwegian bowl called “Siri” from Hadeland glassverk (not confirmed). Next up was my favorite bite: uni on liquid toast. Sea urchins on top of a bread pudding of sorts – made from toasted Tartine Bakery sourdough bread that was basted with a juice made of the leftover bread, browned butter, and egg yolks. Salty, umami-rich and with a heavenly caramelized sweetness. Possibly a contender for my list of the best 25 dishes of 2017. So far, the meal was largely pleasant.

Sea urchin on liquid toast
Sea urchin on liquid toast

Then came two main courses that seemed designed to make us full, quickly, being basically just protein. Although the quail was perfectly grilled, it got a bit dull after three bites, when all we were eating was half a bird. Antelope came with a reduction sauce, plus biscuits and honey butter on the side (which I found a bit weird as a pairing). Sure, antelope is a rare meat, and it was presented and cut tableside, but it didn’t feel like a three-Michelin-starred dish. We also got a broth from the roasted bones afterward, but sadly, it wasn’t all that tasty and not really what I craved after all this meat. A shot would have been okay, but not a full soup bowl.

Smoked ice cream & caramel
Smoked ice cream & caramel

And just like that, we ventured into the final part of our dinner. Smoked ice cream with salted caramel, accompanied by candied pecans, peanuts and a few more nuts that I can’t remember. The second, and last, cold dish was an orange buttermilk creamsicle (a mix of ice cream and sorbet) served inside a hollowed orange. Compared to the apple at Noma, which was a far more sophisticated and elegant serving, this brought memories more of a home-cooking party trick I once performed myself. The orange came with marinated blueberries (the not-so-blue-inside American type) and fresh kumquats on the side. Not to be eaten together, really, more of a separate snack. At least coffee was included, but there were no further petits fours. I enjoyed both desserts, but it felt like a sudden ending.

Orange buttermilk creamsicle
Orange buttermilk creamsicle
Lift the lid to reveal the ice cream inside
Lift the lid to reveal the ice cream inside

Enough Pleasure to Justify the Pain?

Our host was fresh in his job at Saison, only a few months in, but otherwise experienced. Maybe that’s why he was a bit stiff and seemed almost nervous. We connected better with a smiling waiter named Mike, who had been at Saison since the very beginning. In fact, he told us that Saison started out as a pop-up restaurant eight years ago, and moved quickly on from one to two, and finally three stars. According to sources who have dined here regularly, the menu used to be much longer (and at the same time cheaper). The magnitude of a 2015 Saison meal is illustrated in this article by ElizabethOnFood, with the full 18 servings, compared to our 10. Pete Wells of New York Times asked the question back in 2013: “How much are we willing to pay for an extraordinary dinner?” and furthermore: “The issue is whether Saison delivers enough pleasure to justify the pain.” His answer back then, when the menu cost $298, was yes. For the $398 menu today, my answer is no. Chef Joshua Skenes apparently spends less and less time at Saison, and more hosting dinner parties in Sonoma, and indeed his presence was missing this evening too.

Open kitchen
Open kitchen

What’s the most expensive meal you ate? And was it worth it? Please share in a comment below.

26 comments

  • Oh no! Saison impressed me more than you- we had much more than 10 courses- what has happened in one year??? I’m so sorry to hear it did not deliver, we had the same discussion regarding the price- but at least we walked out of the restaurant with one of our best dining experiences. Still to pricey when money matters as it does for us.

    • Yeah, money is just a number until you weigh it against the experience or product you buy. Our return wasn’t heavy enough :/

      • I agree with your article 100%. We had a great meal at saison but when you look back at the value of such an expensive meal, it just wasn’t worth it.

  • USD 3000 for two at Saison one year ago! Food was generally good but wine at 6-8 times mark-up is outrageous. The Uni, however, is one of my all time faves (got two servings ?), well on par with Maaemos Oyster!

  • So when you eat at Kawamura will I be reading the exact same review? Because its a lot more expensive and a lot more meat. At least you have service and ambiance. To be honest, in San Francisco the other restaurants are hardly behind, and you can easily spend more money at TFL and I am pretty sure Medowoods current menu at the Chefs Table is more expensive. The world Saison probably isn’t even in the top 20….

    • My point is not that I have an upper price limit. I dined at Noma Mexico a week later and paid $1500 and I loved every minute of it. That was value for money at so many levels, which is my point. I would go again if I had the option. The amount of meat definitely has nothing to do with it – my favorite restaurant in Oslo has proteins in every course. If you have the money to dine at more expensive restaurants, that’s good for you. Please do share if you ever reached a limit, though, that’d be interesting to hear.

  • Think we ended up at around 580 EUR per person at Piazza Duomo, which was a similar experience to the one you had here. Some fantastic dishes, not not an overwhelming experience, which is should be at that price.

    /Thor

    • I believe it should be too, if not it becomes just another restaurant for rich people to measure their wallet size.

  • 650 EUR at L’Ambroisie. I’ve been back, so I guess it was worth it. I’ll always remember it as a very expensive meal, but I also know there’s nowhere else I can get such unique anthogical dishes.

  • According to my calculations, $626 pr person for both food and wine pairing is only about 900 NOK more than Maaemo would charge you, and that’s if you don’t have an apertìf. So when you say that Maaemo is “half the price for twice the amount of servings” it seems that you are exaggerating a bit.

    • I see Maaemo has upped their price for the menu since last time I was there, so it might be a bit exaggerated with the current price, but not by much really. Even if the price had been the same, it felt like less than half the excitement and value I got out of a Maaemo meal. Again, this is my personal opinion, clearly, others will disagree and Saison is praised by many others.

    • Hmmm, the regular price for that is $366 per person, though. If you meant US dollar? DKK 1900 ($284) for the food and DKK 550 ($82) for the juice pairing. Wine pairings would have been DKK 1100 ($164).

  • Hey Anders,

    Glad that in the end, we had the same feeling about Saison.
    They just don’t live up to the expectations.
    Although I would walk into the restaurant just to have some 5 of those uni liquid toasts.
    Keep up with the SF reviews man!
    Lookinf forward to read about Noma Mexico also!

    Regards,

  • I have to go to Maaemo soon. What would you rank as Scandinavia’s best restaurant at the moment? Have you been to Fäviken or recently reopened Frantzen?

  • I was here in August. It was great! We had many servings, and plenty to eat. The uni was the no.1 bite. I took two botles of wine. Yes, it all came at a price…

  • Well, we now know what Chef Skenes absence meant!! I myself have eaten at Saison. Blew a whole paycheck on it. Was it worth it? For the experience, yes. This is cooking in it’s rawest form. Being from San Francisco and having worked with people that have worked at all the Saison locations, it’s something of a different discussion for me. There are plenty of rumors around about this chef and his kitchen. But genius he is.

    Love the Instagram!

    • Thanks for your input! Dining experiences are personal. This was the first time I didn’t feel like I got enough value for the money I left behind, which is why I wrote this post the way I did 🙂

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