Madcap — Restaurant in San Anselmo

Sadly, I didn't have a good experience here, and it was my birthday. I came in excited to try the tasting menu (especially given the good reviews), but I left very disappointed. Maybe it was an off night, but I can't give it a good review based on the experience I had.

It's a small restaurant and we sat there for quite awhile before the host finally came over to talk to us. He was wonderful, but I have no idea where our server was for so long.

I rarely drink, but wanted a Kir Royal for my birthday. They couldn't accommodate my request, and I didn't feel like our server cared much about that. I was offered wine.

When our server finally did come by, I had to explain that I can't do dairy. I told her that I was fine to skip the items that contain dairy, as I didn't want to make it difficult for the chef. Unfortunately, she made that conversation incredibly awkward and uncomfortable. I wanted to leave I felt so badly about it. Overall, the vibe wasn't friendly or welcoming.

The progression of the food took over 3 hours. We actually had to ask if they could rush the rest of the meal. There was one items on the menu I loved. The King salmon with Dashi was excellent and a real standout. Other than that, I wasn't sure what all the different items on the menu had to do with each other, or how they reflected the chef's POV (nine different proteins). The local anchovy was actually very well seasoned and quite good, but the sauce over powered it. Let the anchovy shine. The cashew cheese vegetable crudite was good as well. Everything else was lacking flavor and a distinct POV. Even the music was generic.

I have no idea why this bothered me in light of everything else, but the cherry tomatoes on one of the entrees were totally unseasoned and lacking flavor. I kinda can't get my head around that. It's summertime and there are gardens and farmers markets full of cherry tomatoes right now. They're a fruit, and it's hard to find cherry tomatoes that aren't full of flavor. Why put a flavorless cherry tomato on the plate, and then not season it? It's a small thing, but indicative of the meal in general and for $110 a person, I...

Madcap is a 1 Michelin-starred restaurant, so I came in with high expectations, but sadly, the experience left me underwhelmed. While nothing was outright bad, it didn’t deliver the level of creativity, precision, or excitement I’ve come to expect from a Michelin-starred establishment.

Some dishes lacked proper execution, which was disappointing. For example, the shrimp hasami came tempura-fried but arrived soggy, which undermined the dish entirely. The jidori egg in the Chawanmushi also missed the mark — the egg whites were overcooked, clinging to the edges of the bowl, which disrupted the silky texture one would expect. The dry-aged ribeye was another letdown, served slightly overcooked and at a cooler temperature than ideal. These details may seem small, but at this level, execution should be flawless.

What surprised me most was the lack of innovation. None of the dishes stood out as exciting or memorable, whether through unique pairings or fresh takes on classic recipes. Even the dessert, a meringue cake with vanilla ice cream, felt uninspired and forgettable, a far cry from the elevated finish I anticipated.

The service was fine, but again, nothing exceptional. It lacked the polished attentiveness that typically elevates a Michelin-starred experience.

In the end, the overall experience felt overwhelmingly average. Comparing Madcap to other restaurants in San Francisco at similar or even lower price points, I found myself questioning the Michelin distinction. While nothing was glaringly wrong, there wasn’t enough to make the meal special, and that’s not what I associate with a...

The pros: very nice setting, great silverware and plates and high quality service at the table and the food presentation was amazing The cons: out of the 8 dishes (which includes bread as one dish) the duck was gamey and "sushi" dish wasn't good. The steak and cod were both quite good but of course very small portions. I would expect better than 5 out of 8 good dishes for a place like this. However my biggest issue was that when i paid the $50 deposit per person (6 people = $300) no where did is say that the deposit was put toward the bill. The website didn't state this, the wait staff didn't mention this nor did it say it on the bill. So when the check was given to someone other than me (not sure why that happened either), the 3 couples split the check evenly. I didn't realize until later that i had spent an extra $300. And when I asked the owner about the process, rather than any apology for not having this info on the website or the check or having the wait staff mention the credit, I got no apology. Just this is how we do it. Very disappointing after a decent but not...