For my annual birthday celebration with my friends, I booked Lazy Bear and it was everything I imagined it to be.

It was a magical 3 hour, well executed, unpretentious, intimate and delicious dining experience I won't forget. The best part was it wasn't one of those expensive meals where you left hungry. My contingency plan was to grab a bacon wrapped hot dog right outside in the Mission if I was still hungry, but I left the restaurant completely satisfied.

Our dinner before drinks was about $280/pp. We opt out of the regular wine pairing which was $95/pp and ordered a $17 signature cocktail instead. Altogether, we spent roughly $300/pp and it was well worth it. Our neighbors had the wine pairing and really enjoyed it, so I might splurge a bit more the next time I return.

Now, let's get to the food!

My ultimate favorite dishes were the lobster, lamb, salmon, kohlrabi, and matsutake respectively.

There were a total of 14 courses. We started with a glass of punch and 5 snacks upstairs. Once we got seated downstairs in the main dining hall, we were served a house roll, 7 more dishes, followed by a platter of 3 desserts.

SNACKS (served upstairs)

• Whipped Scrambled Eggs [bacon, maple, hot sauce] - we were instructed to dig deep with our spoons to get to the spicy maple syrup. This was a nice start to whet our palettes.

• Canterelle and Goat Cheese Tart [Lisa's "BoDacious", pickled pluot, sunflower] - light and crisp goat cheese over a tart

• Modori Gatsuo Tataki [preserved allium pancake, nasturtium flower relish] - fish over a thin pancake

• Broiled Shigoku Oyster [smoked pumpkin, wild fennel] - one of my favorite snacks. This was a cooked oyster and I had first pick from a tray. Yay!

• Duck Liver Mousse [mountain huckleberry, cornbread] - it looked like a truffle and I popped it in my mouth

DINNER - served in the dining hall (downstairs)

• Spelt & Rye parker house roll [cultured butter] - the 7 year old cured butter was the best part. I gobbled every bit of this and seconds were offered. The bread itself was soft and fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. It was well balanced and light.

• Kohlrabi [smoked sturgeon, vin jaune, Lazy Bear Reserve Caviar by Tsar Nicoulai] - loved the texture of the kohlrabi. It was fresh, with a light crunch and smothered in a creamy caviar sauce.

• SF Coast King Salmon [grilled cucumber, buttermilk, coastal greens] - the salmon cut like butter

• Fall Squash [lobster bay, carolina gold rice] - the combo of the lobster bisque and gold rice was something special

• Matsutake [conifers, shinko pears] - I loved the flavor of mushroom broth and the pears made it

• BBQ Rack of Lamb [brassicas, black olives, date barbeque] - this was decadent! The lamb was the perfect temperature and well seasoned. You'll have to pick this up with your hand to get every bit of morsel off the bone. It was paired with a salty butter pie which was rich in flavor and too intense for me to finish with the exquisite lamb. At this point, I was getting full.

• Green Goddess [apple, juniper, creme fraiche] - perfectly refreshing after the lamb

• Honeynut Squash [chicory, masa, palm sugar] - not very memorable but it could be because I'm full

TREATS

• Pluot Gummy Bear [olive oil] - one big plum gummy bear
• Cookies 'N' Cream Bon Bon [white chocolate] - delicious!
• Black Truffle Cream Puff [honey] - you can definitely taste the truffle

Thank you Lazy Bear for the amazing experience! The staff are pretty awesome and fun too :)