Sons & Daughters — Restaurant in San Francisco

We celebrated an anniversary here during the brief period that Sons & Daughters was able to open. Precautions included a required wellness questionnaire and sanitizer at the table. We sat in a roomy booth right by the fireplace with ample distance from other patrons and the exposed kitchen. Also, there were air purifiers placed throughout, including one in the bathroom. We sat down to a personalized card and hot hand towels. To celebrate, we were offered a complimentary champagne toast. We proceeded with a nice Gamay.

Puffed beef tendon with nasturtium leaf emulsion and chive blossom, Sunchoke financier and bay leaf, Potato chip with Comte cream and dried herbs: Good! Bite size pieces served on a mythical centerpiece resembling an enchanted forest. The puffed tendon was good, but parts of it were too tough to bite through. Yet, the sunchoke financier was light and mildly herbaceous. So was the potato chip, also transparent and crisp.

Hollis red wheat sourdough with cultured butter: Okay! a miniature loaf with salt flakes on butter, crust was a bit hard

Maine scallop with juniper oil and elderflower: Good! thinly sliced, tartare-like, rather sweet tasting scallop served on the shell

Cured Japanese mackerel with pickled cucumber, almond and liquorice: Good! slivers of mackerel arranged like a flower with pickled cucumber broth, also quite sweet

Grilled and dried beetroot with bone marrow, dried alliums and fermented cherry: Good! surprisingly sinewy, meaty texture. Sweet again, especially with the cherry jelly

Fort Bragg sea urchin with new potato and shellfish butter: Good! chunks of uni hidden in creamy broth in a doughnut shaped bowl

Fermented corn chip with pumpkin seed and malt vinegar: Okay! beautiful leaf shaped chip, just too delicate to scoop the dip and pumpkin seed it was served with

Koji-cured egg yolk with preserved alliums and chicken broth: Good! gorgeous yolk in savory broth, tastes like drinking a silky egg

Boudin noir and charcoal: Good! blood sausage, though it resembles burnt debris, tastes pretty good

Laminated brioche with fresh cow's milk cheese and wild yarrow: Great! warm, airy, buttery, dome-shaped pastries

65 day dry-aged ribeye with preserved ramps, brassica and Bordelaise sauce: Okay! looks gorgeous, great flavor, but chewier than expected

Cured ribeye cap with green farro miso and a broth of grilled ribeye bones with smoked butter: Good! tasty, like a tender jerky

Mint and vanilla semifreddo with kiwi sorbet and green apple: Okay! cool, refreshing, tart, yet a bit too minty

Sweet potato custard with bitter chocolate and orange ice cream: Good! interesting take on a starchy base with some citrusy notes

Chocolate bon bon, chocolate tart, canneles bordelaise: The meal began and ended with dishes presented as homages to nature. The mini chocolate tarts were served with salt flakes, and green bon bons matched the greenery of the garnish. Even though we were full, I couldn't help but notice that we were missing the canneles, but we were quite stuffed and didn't think we'd miss it.

The service was great and put us at ease. I enjoyed the food, though some dishes slightly missed the mark. If it weren't for that or if some dishes had a bit more wow factor, that would definitely make S&D five...

I won’t go into the amazing courses as there are plenty of great reviews on them, but dining at Sons & Daughters was one of those experiences that’s gonna stay with me. It was mesmerizing to see the precision and artistry that went into every plate. It’s not just the incredible magic of Chef Harrison’s creations in the New Nordic approach I found unique and warm, but also the personal touches made it feel rather moving. One of my favorite details was the first few courses were served on elegant plates designed and made by Chef Harrison’s mum herself. It added such a heartfelt, personal vibe to what is usually the more serious affair of fine dining.

The wine service was another standout for sure. We opted for the half wine pairing and felt it was enough for two. David Kolvek, S&D’s beverage director, and the team did an amazing job pairing wines that not only elevated the dishes but also felt approachable. They explained the choices in a way that was thoughtful and interesting without being over-the-top. Clearly they loved what they were sharing, and the fun stories tied to the wines made it even better. Great way to transport all the senses to the bites in hand. I was also very pleasantly surprised by the thoughtful attention to detail David showed in incorporating my cultural background when presenting some wines.

The open kitchen setup is a fun touch as well. Watching the chefs work definitely added to the whole experience—it felt like being on the set of a Netflix chef show. If you can get the table right in front of the work area, you’ll be able to see much more than from the side tables.

Frida and staff were friendly, warm, and welcoming, always making sure we were comfortable but never hovering. We felt the plates came out at the right intervals-never too early and we didn’t feel like we had to wait either. Sons & Daughters has a way of making fine dining feel personal and special, and I felt that’s what makes it so memorable. It’s the kind of place you’ll want to come back to, not just for the food, but for the whole experience.

Thank you Chef Harrison...

Two stars, worth it! SERVICE NOTES: gracious about being a little late due to my guest, they state a 15min grace period, but being quick about options and drinks helps. They had a cute welcoming sign with our name at our table; nice touch. Seated at the bench table in full view of the open kitchen. If you can snag that, I'd recommend it as it adds entertainment. I appreciated that the wine selection process not being overly complicated, they overheard our mutterings as we took in the wine menu and translated those into our preferences. After coming up with a budget, resulted in a lovely bottle of gamay for our dinner. After a glass of champagne and snacks, courses came out at a good pace, 14 dishes in all. Never felt we were ever waiting too long. FOOD: nordic influence (seafood, smoke, pine forest), local produce, seasonal, seafood and game, presented beautifully, reminded me of Keiseki. Can't go on to describe every dish, but notable experiences (1) spot prawn on a crisp, flavor of prawn melded well with cream, butter, turnip, miso, contrasted with berries. But what I loved was that the prawn roe was striped in and was super intense (think uni) (2) whole smoked duck breast was presented before plating and that was just glorious to see. Served with a dollop of chicken fat mouse, veg, heart and jus (3) Grilled peaches w sour cream, which sounds simple but it was so well done. Everything brought out the taste of the peach, the sauce provided acid, sweetness and floral notes, fresh peaches sliced thin with the skin on preserving natural peach flavor, herbs as a garnish enhanced the bitter of peach, and topped with the cream element. COMPARISON: I've had the pleasure of dining at Quince, Le Bernadin and Brooklyn Fare, and if you liked those, you won't be...